PhantomKnightPercival: It could honestly go either way. Perhaps all three of them will live...
TheCommonCold: Not steroids, just passion. I love writing this story!
DeathlyJazzHands55: *laughs maliciously*
Coolk: As I said before, Valentine is subtle. He is keeping everything under wraps, even the upcoming fight. No one has any idea that he has less than honorable intentions. As for The World AU...I guess this is a slight spoiler, but Johnny won't fight it, because he won't need to. That doesn't mean he won't fight a stand that is...similar...
Iron: You'll just have to find out :)
*Author's Note: The final showdown is here, and as stated before, there will be blood. Beloved characters will be mutilated, some may even die. However...keep reading. I can assure you, one of the deaths depicted in this chapter is a fakeout, although I won't say who. You'll have to find out next time!
...
Kyoka should have realized something was wrong the moment Hagakure collapsed.
At first, she didn't notice, with the lack of a visible head and all, but when she noticed the lack of footsteps beside her, she turned to see her classmate sprawled on the ground. "Hagakure!" She ran to her friend, only to stop.
There was a strange purple mist surrounding them, and suddenly Kyoka couldn't breathe. No...poison...
Her legs turned to jello, and she dropped to her knees, coughing and gagging as she struggled to breathe. Shit! Everything's getting blurry...no, I have to save Hagakure! I can't die here...I can't close my eyes. I need...I need to see if Johnny makes it! I need to come home to my parents! I need...
Darkness overtook her, and the last thing that her earphone jacks picked up were a series of loud thuds, and a familiar battle cry: "ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"
...
Jotaro finished pummeling Mustard, dispelling the gas. As the villain laid twitching on the ground, he rushed to his two students. Neither of them were moving, and Jotaro quickly checked their pulses.
They were both alive. Jotaro sat on the ground, relieved. "Yare yare daze..." He muttered, as his mind went back to when he observed Johnny and Kyoka training on the beach. He had never seen his son so...content...being around someone other than family. And from what Jolyne told him, Kyoka had gotten through to him, lifted him from Susan's curse, something that Jotaro, who was suffering from it himself, was never able to do...
And here was this girl, the one who quite literally saved his son from the brink of disaster, lying on the ground, barely breathing.
How could he have let this happen? This girl was literally a godsend, and he had let her get hurt.
And then there was Midoriya, Johnny's oldest friend, the ninth holder of One For All...
Where the hell is he?
Then a massive boom came from the mountains, and Jotaro used Star Platinum's enhanced hearing, and he heard a faint: "1 MILLION PERCENT SMAAAAAASH!"
Yare yare...he broke himself again, didn't he?
Judging from the massive hole that was blasted in the side of the mountain, clearly Izuku had pulverized somebody, although Jotaro doubted the boy had the will to kill his opponent. Besides...Kyoka needed medical attention, immediately.
He scooped her limp body up into his arms, as Star Platinum picked up Hagakure. Without another word, Jotaro used a stand jump, flying over the forest to the facility, looking down at Kyoka with the expression of a concerned father. I'll get you help, don't worry, we will get through this...
...
"There he is...he's getting on the train..." Diego said, his eyes covered by binoculars.
"Does he have the Corpse?" Johnny asked, and Diego nodded. "He's covering it with a sheet, but I can see the outline of it..."
"Then we make our move...remember the plan?" Joseph asked.
"Yes. Me and Diego will board the train, you will attack from the roof, and Johnny and Gyro will attack from the outside. We box him in, even if he retreats to a different reality, he has to come back for the Corpse." Hot Pants said.
"And with all of us attacking together, we might be able to overwhelm him." Gyro noted.
"Okay...we've got a plan...so let's get moving!"
"Before we do...I just want everyone to know. I know we didn't start out on the best of terms-"
"*cough* attempted murder *cough*" Gyro teased, earning a glare from Diego.
"BUT...I'm glad we were able to move past that. The four of you are truly the closest friends that I ever had...so if we fail, I'm honored to fight and die beside you."
Johnny put a hand on the British jockey's shoulder. "When we first started this race...I thought you were all DIO, and no Joestar. But you proved me wrong, and I'm glad I saw the good in you when I did."
Gyro grinned. "Even if you're still kind of an asshole..."
"Ruining the moment Gyro."
Joseph took out Wekapipo's...no...HIS steel balls, and nodded. "I called for backup, let's just say...if things get ugly...we'll have an army to back us up!"
The group turned to face the incoming battle. If they were going to ride to their deaths, they were going to do so together.
...
Two armed guards were standing by the entrance to the caboose of the train, when a knife suddenly went into one's throat. The other guard turned to see Diego Brando kneeling over the slain guard, but before he could scream or fire, flesh was sprayed over his mouth, and Diego tossed the knife to Hot Pants, who plunged it into the guard's head.
The two turned and gave a thumbs up to Joseph, who emerged from the bushes and ran to the other two, who joined their hands together and hoisted the old man onto the top of the train. Johnny and Gyro readied their horses as Diego and Hot Pants entered the train just as it began to depart.
Phase One of the plan was underway.
...
Diego and Hot Pants threw open the door, to find Valentine waiting for them. His eyes gleaned in anticipation. "So you finally made your move...took you long enough."
Diego glared at the President. "You knew we were coming?"
"Of course, your little group didn't seem the type to give up easily...I lured you to this train, I put the Corpse here on purpose, knowing you would go for it. Let me guess...Joseph Joestar is waiting to ambush me from the roof? Are Kujo and Zeppeli keeping up with the train outside?"
A small bead of sweat ran down Diego's face. That bastard...he predicted us!
"It doesn't matter, I'm afraid you are are quite outnumbered."
Suddenly, guards burst from different sides of the train, all of them were dressed in pink body armor and black gas masks. "The anguish of the quirkless...it truly is shameful, how society treats them for something that isn't their fault...which is why I took them in, trained them to be the most elite soldiers in the Western Hemisphere. Behold: my devastating quirkless task force: Cupid's Arrow!"
Cupid's Arrow soldiers began to surround the heroes. Johnny and Gyro were pursuing the train, when a massive Jeep blocked their path, followed by several more. Unable to follow the train, Johnny and Gyro brought their horses back to back, ready to go down together.
Joseph found himself completely surrounded on the roof, and he reluctantly raised his hands after several guns were pointed at him. But then Joseph smiled as he heard the distinct sound of a chopper heading their way.
A fleet of helicopters approached the train, each bearing the Speedwagon Foundation logo, and one of the doors on the side opened, revealing a silhouette that had a very distinct hairstyle.
"No way..." Johnny's mouth almost hit the ground. "It can't be..."
Then Crazy Diamond came barreling down from the helicopter, landing on several of Valentine's goons. Josuke Higashikata grinned at his nephew. "Needed backup?"
"UNCLE JOSUKE?!"
The Hand crashed down right next to him, and swiped towards a cluster of soldiers, pulling them in for Crazy Diamond to pummel.
"You two follow that train! We'll handle these clowns!" Okuyasu stated, giving Johnny a thumbs up. Johnny gave his uncle and family friend a grateful smile, and he and Gyro raced off.
"So...any more relatives dropping from the sky, Johnny?"
"I don't know! Gramps must've called them!"
Gyro grinned. "We're up to three Joestars, and an army of Speedwagon agents fighting on our side...I think the odds are starting to turn in our favor!"
...
Hot Pants smiled at the commotion outside, as the Speedwagon Foundation and Cupid's Arrow began a nasty firefight. "Outnumbered, huh?"
If Valentine was bothered by the events happening outside of the train, he didn't show it. He didn't say anything at all, he just began to walk backwards. Then he dashed in between the door and the wall.
"Get back here, COWARD!" Diego rushed towards the door and flung it open.
Only to come face to face with multiple Funny Valentines.
Needless to say, Diego wasn't getting any sleep tonight.
The Funny Valentines lept on Diego and began beating him, and Hot Pants brought out Cream Starter, desperately trying to aim. "CUT HIM DIEGO!"
"WHICH ONE?!"
"DOESN'T MATTER, I JUST NEED DNA!"
"USHAAAAAAAA!"
A splash of blood flew towards Hot Pants, and it landed on Cream Starter. "NOW!" She yelled, and squirted into the Valentine pile. The Valentines quickly seperated, only to find that none of them were attacked. In fact, Diego was gone.
"I used Cream Starter's ultimate technique: I used Valentine's DNA and applied it to Diego! One of you is actually him in disguise! The question is: which Valentine can you trust?"
One Valentine stepped forward. "Clever, very clever Hot Pants. But you also have no idea..."
"Which one of us..."
"Is the real me!"
One Valentine spoke up. "But we also don't know which one of us is Brando either..."
Another Valentine shot that Valentine in the chest. "Why would I give that away...DIEGO?"
That Valentine pushed the other Valentine aside. "Are you insane?! We can't just kill each other, or else we lose the advantage!"
The Valentines began bickering, and shouting at each other. Hot Pants grinned, Diego was really playing the part, they had no idea which is which. You may be able to summon an army at will, Valentine, but one little squirt and everything falls apart.
Suddenly, a slash, and several Valentines fell to the ground, dead. Diego had begun stealthily making kills, and he was slowly picking them off one by one.
"How long do you think it will take them to figure out which one Diego is?" A voice came from behind her, and Hot Pants felt a cold chill crawl down her spine. A Funny Valentine, no...THE Funny Valentine, was just standing behind her, watching the fight to down. He wasn't even a part of it.
Hot Pants whirled around and shot flesh at the President, but he opened one side of his coat, pressed the coat into his body, and opened the other side, squirting the flesh right back. Hot Pants ducked under the attack, only for D4C's fist to fill her vision.
SHI-
CRACK!
Hot Pants went flying out the window, crashing to the ground below at an incredibly high speed. No one could survive falling from a train when it is going at top speed. One of the two remaining Funny Valentines reached out and screamed her name.
"There you are."
BANG!
The remaining Valentine tried to shoot Diego, but his dinosaur reflexes kicked in, fueled by a blind rage. He punched right through the remaining Valen's chest, crushing his heart in his fist, and turned his attention towards the real deal.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Diego screamed as he rushed towards Valentine. D4C responded by attempting to rush him, but Diego batted away the dimension hopping stand's fists. Diego tackled Valentine out the window, and they both hurtled toward the wheels.
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!" Diego cried as he slashed and hacked at Valentine with his claws, blood flying everywhere.
"WRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, I'LL KILL YOU DEAD!" Diego screetched as he slit Valentine's throat wide open. The President coughed up blood as Diego raised a hand to strike a killing blow. I'll beat him for you, Hot Pants! Your death won't be in vain!
Then Valentine wrapped his legs around Diego's torso, and before hurling the redeemed Brando straight at the wheels.
...
I got him...I slit his throat, he's as good as dead...
Diego crawled away, satisfaction on his face. I did it! I killed him! I saved everyone! I...
I...I don't have legs anymore.
Diego looked back, the wheels of the train had chopped him in half. But he was satisfied, he had avenged Wekapipo and Hot Pants. He could die happy...
Until he saw Valentine on top of the train, without a single scratch, D4C glimmering behind him.
No...He transferred his stand...to another...him...I failed...I...I'm sorry everyone...I really tried...my best...
But it wasn't good enough...
Diego's arms gave out, and his upper half stopped moving.
...
Joseph punched a member of Cupid's Arrow in the face, before suddenly he felt a horrible cold feeling. Somehow...in the back of his head, he knew.
Diego...no...
Joseph knelt down and made a fist, fighting back the tears. The fact that I felt it...you really were a part of the family after all...we should have been there for you from the beginning.
Then he heard a clicking sound, and Joseph raised his head to see a gun pointed directly at him. It was one of the Cupid's Arrow soldiers, but he had a wide brimmed hat and a red scarf. "Put your hands behind your head, terrorist scum!"
Joseph slowly brought his hands behind his back, but what the man didn't realize, was that the steel balls he got from Wekapipo were on his back. Hermit Purple slowly wrapped around the steel ball, and Joseph spoke up.
"Your next line is: GRRRHK!"
The soldier cocked his head, before a steel ball smashed into his skull. "GRRRHK!" He fell off of the train and onto the ground below with a sickening crunch. The other soldiers started to back away as Joseph revealed his new weapon.
He had Hermit Purple wrap around the rotating steel ball, and he was swinging it around like a deadly mace.
"Wrecking Ball and Hermit Purple: Flail Mode!"
Soldiers screamed as Joseph began clubbing them down with the spinning melee weapon, a few tried to shoot, but Joseph batted away their bullets with this new technique. Everyone that stood in his path got a flail to the head.
He wasn't fooling around anymore.
...
Valentine made his way across the train to the car in which he had stored the Corpse. He knew that this was a losing battle, sure he killed two of them, but Cupid's Arrow just couldn't compete with the Speedwagon Foundation.
A large amount of his task force was already dead. He could see Kujo now, just casually shooting his way through his men.
Then his hand was violently pulled to the ground. "ECHOES ACT 3, THREE FREEZE! S-H-I-T!"
Koichi Hirose flipped the hatch on top of the train car, emerging onto the roof. "You aren't going anywhere, murderer!"
Valentine glared at Koichi. "I would advise that confronting me isn't the best idea, boy."
"I've faced monsters like you before, and I don't care if you can go to other dimensions! Because I-" Koichi's eyes widened as Valentine began to disappear. "This gravitational force that your stand put on me, it technically counts as being pressed in between two opposing objects. Thank you for assuring my escape."
"NO! YOU'RE NOT-" Koichi attempted to grab Valentine, but the President grabbed onto him and pulled him with him. Koichi attempted to yank his arm out of Valentine's grip, and surprisingly, it worked.
Until Koichi realized his arm wasn't there anymore. Valentine had pulled it into the other universe, and severed the connection. Koichi bit his lip to keep himself from screaming, he wasn't going to give Valentine the satisfaction.
*Note: Credit goes to Kosaku Valentine for coming up with the idea to have Valentine sever things mid-dimension hop. Don't worry about Koichi, let's just say he'll be asking Giorno for a favor.
Valentine emerged from the hatch, and D4C kicked Koichi off the train. Suddenly, a Jeep drove up, and an enraged Josuke caught his friend. "You bastard...his arm is in another dimension, I can't bring it back!"
Okuyasu, who hijacked the Jeep from Valentine's minions, didn't even say a word. He just stared at Valentine with a look of pure hatred. No one hurts my man Koichi like that, NOBODY!
Before Okuyasu could even hope to retaliate, Valentine ducked back into the car. "He's GOING FOR THE CORPSE!" Josuke yelled. "STEP ON IT OKUYASU!"
"WHAT ABOUT KOICHI?! HE LOST A FUCKIN' ARM!"
"I always knew this job was gonna cost...an arm and a leg..." Koichi weakly teased.
"Shut up asshole! Let me stop the bleeding!"
Okuyasu slammed his foot on the pedal, and the Jeep drove faster. The Jeep pulled right up to Valentine's train car, and Josuke lept through the window.
Right into a sea of Valentines.
"WHAT THE FU-"
"So you're Joseph Joestar's son, correct? I read the newspaper article about the whole illegitimate child thing, frankly, I'm surprised you still seem to care for him."
D4C materialized behind Josuke, and punched the fourth JoJo in the ribs. Josuke spat out blood as he summoned Crazy Diamond, and the two stands began exchanging blows.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
"DOJIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
He's just as strong as Crazy Diamond!
D4C suddenly disappeared, and reappeared at Josuke's side, throwing another punch. Josuke tilted his head backwards, avoiding getting his head taken off, and kicked out as he fell back, nailing D4C in the chest.
One of the Valentines stumbled back, when D4C suddenly appeared behind another Valentine. He's...he's switching his stand between the alternate versions of himself! Any Valentine could be a host...he could attack from anywhere! *another great idea by Kosaku Valentine.*
D4C hopped from Valentine to Valentine, taking the opportunity to strike at Josuke in vulnerable spots. The only thing Josuke could do was defend, but he was quickly losing his stamina. Suddenly, D4C stopped it's assault and looked at it's hand.
It had turned into a book.
"HEAVEN'S DOOR!"
A pissed Rohan Kishibe had somehow got onto the train, and before Valentine could do anything, Rohan wrote something into his hand:
I will deactivate my abilty, send the others back, and I will not use it again.
"Wait-"
All of the Valentines were sent back to their respective universes, and Valentine was left standing with two pissed off stand users, and with a crippled D4C. The odds were no longer in his favor...but he wouldn't go down without a fight.
He quickly drew a pistol, but a strand of hair wrapped around his wrist, twisting it. An enraged Yukako had climbed into the train. "YOU HURT MY KOICHI!" She snarled. Love Deluxe wrapped around Valentine's neck and began to squeeze.
D4C attempted to swat Yukako aside, but Crazy Diamond crushed it in a bear hug. Then Valentine dropped to his knees as a crushing weight fell upon him.
"THREE FREEZE!"
Koichistood in the destroyed window, the bandages that covered his stump flowing in the wind. "Did you think I was done, Valentine?!"
"WE GOT HIM! HE CAN'T RUN NOW!" Josuke screamed. "OKUYASU! USE THE HAND TO PULL THE CORPSE OUT OF THE TRAIN!"
"YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, JOSUKE!" Okuyasu responded as his stand swiped at the train. Joseph watched from the roof, a big smile on his face. I knew calling Josuke was a good idea! We won! There's no way Valentine can get out of this now!
But Joseph was wrong. The Corpse had registered Okuyasu's attempt to grab it as an attack. So naturally, it empowered the person who was taking care of it.
Golden light blocked The Hand's swipe, he erased nothing but air. "WHAT THE-"
The Golden Light began to surround Valentine, and he opened his eyes, his pupils were now glowing bright yellow. The Corpse had chosen him, blessed him in an effort to protect itself.
Gyro and Johnny, who were riding behind, could only stare in horror as the entire train car exploded, throwing everybody who was inside and out, scattering them across the desert. A lone figure was floating in midair above the wreckage...
And then the ascended Valentine slowly turned his head in their direction, and a confident smile came across his face...
"Why do I hear boss music...?" Gyro muttered.
