Hello, welcome back! We are now in part 2 of the saga. Enjoy!
-Outbreakgirl
Messina is pacing in the office, having bad feeling about this. He never should've let her go alone, but she insisted, so for now he'll have to trust her. A few minutes ago, she just called to confirm that she is on the trail of the mask they are looking for. That is good news, but this doesn't ease him. He has indeed trained her in the way of Sendo, and is a promising student, she can indeed handle herself. However, there is always a high possibility for things to go wrong. Whenever a mask is involved, bad things usually follow in its wake. He stops, needing to just go outside and cool off before he goes crazy worrying. Messina exits the office, walking to the altar as he sits on the many empty benches.
"Gah…I am always a worrywart." He chided himself, staring forward. He might as well offer a prayer since he is here before the Virgin Mother. Closing his eyes, and clasping his hands together, he is silent in his words. He was concentrating, but it broke the moment the front doors opened. The priest turns to greet this new visitor. "Hello?" There is indeed a person standing there, a man strolls inside wearing a long cloak that hides his large frame. His stoic face hides behind his long, crimson hair as he looks directly at Messina. "Wait a moment….Santana?"
He couldn't believe his eyes, as he moved closer to the man. "This is a surprise! I didn't know you were coming to Verona. You should've written." He smiles, being cheerful.
"Apologies, Master Messina, I was told to come here after my mission." Santana calmly replied, keeping his demeanor.
"That's good, it's like the Virgin Mary herself has answered my prayers." He admits. "We have a situation. Vincent has the stone mask, and Julia went to his mansion to retrieve it. She has been out all day and has yet to return."
Santana listens. "Julia is a Hamon warrior, she has been trained to handle dangerous situations."
"Yes, but even still, I feel a dark cloud hanging over. There is something about all of this that's giving me a horrible feeling." He frowns. "She is out there right now at the villa. She had to go with an aristocratic fellow to infiltrate Vincent's abode."
"Fine, to dispel your concern, i'll go to her." He said, as he turned away to go and look for her for Messina's sake.
"Thank you, the villa is on the outskirts." He informs him, but this is all the info that he needs as he leaves through the door and back into the outside. His attention is to the road, Santana pulls a compass and watches as the small arrow points towards the direction, and he follows it. The city is still fairly active as the night is young, but he takes the quiet streets, all the while seeking his young sister.
JOJOJOJOJO
Julia stumbles backwards, glaring hard at Joseph Joestar who is grinning wider than a Cheshire cat. He stood there for now, turning to face her.
"Accursed Joestar!" She growls. "You have hidden yourself well, now you reveal yourself to kill me?"
"Let's not be too hostile, love. I didn't plan all of this to kill you." He told her, shrugging casually. "No, honest, it is true I have done all this to get close to you…because I have fallen for you."
She stares in disbelief "What?"
"You heard me, actually, this isn't the first time we have met." He took one step forward. "To be more specific, I saw you six months ago in Rome. Surely you remember that incident. I was there when I saw you, near the great coliseum when you and your master fought that vampire. I was there observing, and that is when I saw you. Right then and there…I fell head over heels in love." He sighs in content. "This was the only way I could get close to you, and it worked. I even helped you retrieve this." He held up the stone mask, which made Julia gasp as she had it in her possession the whole time.
"So…you are deluded, that does not surprise me. I know that your family are twisted beings, but now I see it for myself." She told him, in no uncertain terms. "It is a shame that you are not a vampire, or I would've killed you already."
"Kill me? Deluded?" Joseph playfully pouts. "You are pretty stubborn, that's what I like about you, it's cute in a way." He steps closer to her, but she wouldn't allow it as she moves backwards.
"Stay away from me." Julia warns him, winced as she tries to hold herself together. Joseph did not heed her word, confident that he would have her in his arms. She doesn't fall sway to him, she is ready to defend herself if she must. However, he stops, noticing that something is behind her, or rather someone caught his attention.
Julia follows his eyes, and turns to the darkness of the street as a figure is approaching. The light shows a tall man walking stoically towards them, and she realized who this is. "Santana?" She is surprised at her brother's arrival, as he stops in front of her. "What are you doing here?"
"I have come to fetch you." He simply said. "We must return immediately."
"Santana, the mask!" She points at Joseph who still holds the mask in his hand.
"Then i'll take care of this." He turns to the man, as he is prepared to do what he must. Joseph stares at the siblings, pouting. "Surrender the mask."
"Oops, it appears that the big brother arrived." He clicks his tongue, then shows him the object in his hand. "Nice to meet you, your lovely sister and I were on a date."
"Shut up!" She snapped at him, but winced, holding her chest.
"Such fiery temper, dearest Julia." He teased, but his eyes turned to the mask. "I'll tell you what. You can have this sodding thing if you want, however, not for free. I would like for the lady's hand in marriage. What do you say?" He grins wide, which only made Julia even more fuming. Her brother, on the other hand, remained calm, but did take the first step forward. "Hold on!" Joseph backs away, holding his hands out. "Hold on, mate, let's not be too hasty. Y-You aren't going to actually try and hit me, right?"
Santana didn't stop his approach, in fact, he sped up and moved close to the young man and thrust a palm square center in his chest. This causes Joseph to fly backwards, landing painfully with a grunt. The mask flew upwards, which was caught by the more experienced Hamon user. Now that he has his prize, he turns away from his measly opponent and walks back to his sister.
"We have what we came for, let us return to the others and take our leave." He, but Julia shook her head.
"Wait, Santana, we should kill him." She points to the Joestar. "That snake must not be allowed to live. The Joestars are our enemies, you know that." She said as she ushers him, but he does nothing to strike.
"You are right, he will die by our hands, but only when the time is right." He simply responds, making Julia blinks in confusion.
"When…the time is right?" She repeated his words, not understanding why they cannot do it now. Joseph is defenseless and at their mercy. Before she could ask what he meant, car headlights can be seen, heading their way. He scoops up Julia in his arms.
"Come," and with that, he jumps on the rooftops by using the balconies to scale upwards
Joseph coughs up blood, his chest is burning and it is hard to breathe as the wind was knocked out of him. At the same time, Stroheim's body began to stir as he was regaining his consciousness. Two jeeps arrived, screeching to a halt as German soldiers hop out and surround the two men.
"Major Stroheim! Sir!" At least three men helped him on his feet, keeping him steady as he get his bearings. "Are you alright sir?"
"Where…" He slurs his voice at first, but it is coming back to him. "Where is the stone mask?" He looks around, the girl is gone and so is the mask, which made his blood boil. "Where is the Mask!" He shouted angrily, shoving the men helping him. Of course, they didn't have an answer for him, but Stroheim turns to the Joestar on the ground and strolls up to him. "You…you no good English piece of shit!" He stops harshly on his shoulder, enraged. "I'll kill you!" He stops his assault and pulls out his pistol and points it straight at his head. He was going to pull the trigger, but stopped when he heard the strained laugh. "Wha-what is so funny, you swine?"
Joseph was the culprit, giving a hearty chuckle even after the beating he took. He looks up at the Major. "So sorry about that, Major. I must apologize for getting in the way, but what gentleman wouldn't defend his date?" He grunts a bit, holding his bruised shoulder. "But…I do feel that I have to make it to you for all the trouble. How about it? I'll help you get the mask."
Rudol stares at him, then gives a howling laughter. "And what makes you think you are of any use to me?"
"Because I know that these Hamon Warriors are looking for the masks to destroy them. You, on the other hand have no idea
"There is….more than one?"
"Very much so! So what if they render this one to ashes? There are plenty more, and I know how to reach them. I have been tracking the group for a while, so it shouldn't be a problem even if they escape Verona. I'll be your humble guide."
The Major didn't lower his gun, not amused at this situation, but it seems like he is contemplating. He remembers that he is wearing very nice clothing, which means that he comes from a well-off family, or might even be an aristocrat despite his foolish nature.
"Hm, is that right? Why should I believe you?"
"Okay, okay, if you want my trust, then the first thing I should do is to properly introduce myself. My name is Joseph Joestar"
"Joestar?" This name does sound familiar to him, he believes that he has heard it before. "What a minute...The Joestar family?"
A surprise to be sure, and after taking in the situation, he lowers his pistol and has made his decision. "Very well, your life will be spared, but you will be under my custody until further notice. If you prove your worth to me, then you will be treated well. If not….then there will be consequences. Do you understand the situation?"
"...Crystal." Joseph simply confirms, and the Major motions for his man to stand him up.
"Good. Now then, Herr Joestar, do you know where that girl is heading?"
JOJOJOJOJO
The cathedral doors open as Santana and Julia came back with him supporting her as they walked inside the sacred halls. It is empty except with the presence of Suzi Q as if she was waiting for them. "Thank goodness you came back!" She greeted them, but she gasped in horror at Julia's state. "What happened?"
"Don't worry about me, Suzi. Where is Master Messina?"
"The master has prepared for us to leave. There is a car waiting for us, follow me." She said as she moved quickly, leading the way to the wanting to waste anymore time, Santana carried the young woman in his arms.
Suzi walks through a long corridor, where a double door is on the other side, which she pushes open. It leads to the outside, where Messina is waiting right next to the vehicle.
"Ah, there you are." He stops pacing, turning to face them. "We cannot stay here, our time in Verona is over now." He opens the back door, the car is large enough to have at least four people. As soon as they are inside, Messina turns to Suzi who is at the wheel. "Get us out of here."
She nods, and she starts to engine and drives away and onto the streets. Messina looks back where the two siblings are. "What happened?"
"We have the stone mask in our possession, but we may have German tropes on our tail." Santana has his sister beside him, waving a hand over her injuries, transferring Hamon. The small open cuts are healing under the light of his hand, sending relief to her body.
"That man….is a Joestar." She said as a warning, trying to breathe as she is being healed. "Jorgen was a fake. He knows about us, he was using the mission to get close to me. He didn't want the mask…"
Messina's face turns slightly pale at the revelation, gritting his teeth. "Damn it…a Joestar is here? This is a problem." He leans back on his seat, sighing as a million thoughts race through his head. "We need to return to her, she needs to know what has happened."
The car comes to a stop as there is some traffic in front of them. The night is still young, as they are close to the bustling center of the city. Suzi pursed her lips, watching for any side streets she could use to avoid the main road. Her eyes could see something coming up the road, the headlights of a car that was shining brightly from the side view mirror. It quickly passed them on the other lane, realizing it was a military jeep that thankfully didn't notice them since they seemed to be in a hurry.
"It must be them, we must go to the alleyway to avoid detection," Messina suggested, pointing to a nearby opening.
The traffic finally starts to move, and the vehicle moves away and enters into it, as it is wide enough for them to drive through. Before they could reach the other side, Suzi came to a screeching halt when she was blinded by bright lights. The origin is coming from a jeep that is blocking their path, doors opening as the men exit their vehicle.
"Stop right there, Hamon warriors." Major Stroheim calls out to them. "You are cornered, make this easy and surrender. You have my word that your lives will be spared if you do."
"Damn!" Messina hissed, looking behind them as it appeared at the very least no one was behind them. "Suzi, get us out of here!"
Nodding, she quickly spins into action as she cranks the shift gear and moves the car backward away from the jeep. It is a straight drive until they exit back into the main road and the blonde shifts the car back to regular drive and races down the street. Forgoing the traffic laws, Suzi is in flight mode, looking at the side mirror to see that they are being followed. No doubt by looks of it, the Germans are right at their tail. "They are coming!"
"Keep going, we have to get out of here." Messina held onto the door to brace himself as the nun was swerving skillfully from corner to corner, trying to shake their pursuers.
The chase is high speed, as two more enemy jeeps have joined the chase, getting closer to them with each second.
Gunshots can be heard as the bullets clank on the surface of the car as they are shooting at them. Santana turns his head, removing himself from his sister's embrace as he opens the car's door and hops on the roof of the car, staring down at the pursuers. They shoot at him, and he effortlessly blocks them with his energy-charged cloak. Once they cease, he flings it open, redirecting the bullets back at the cars all at once.
It caused the jeeps to swerve as their windows were damaged, and one of them went out of control as the driver was hit with a bullet that managed to go through the class. It goes out of control without the driver and swerves to its side before crashing into a window display of a shop.
"Oh God!" The driver of another jeep watched what just unfolded, scared out of his mind. This vehicle is lucky that it didn't share the same fate, turning to Major Stroheim as he and Joseph are in the back. "Are you alright, sir?"
"Focus on the road, you idiot!" He shouted, pointing to pay attention. He takes out his pistol and sticks his upper body out in the open. He takes aim at the fleeing vehicle and fires a bullet right at the left tire and it pops. It caused the car to swerve, and Santana goes on one knee to maintain balance.
Acting quickly, he uses his palms to transfer Hamon throughout the car to keep the busted tire stable. Stroheim clicks his tongue in annoyance. "These God-forsaken powers, always getting in the way!" He slams his fist on the door, gritting his teeth. He aims for the back tires again, but the power of Hamon blocks the oncoming bullets with a protective shield. However, something caught the major's attention. There is a stationary gas truck up ahead on the road and this gives him a sinister idea. He aims his gun and fires off a few rounds right at the canisters on the truck. Santana turned his head as he realized what the intention was, but it was too late as the truck exploded upon contact, causing the vehicle to catch on fire.
"Suzi! Watch out!" Messina shouted in horror when the truck exploded in front of them. Suzi-Q gasped, pressing hard on the brakes so that they wouldn't crash into the burning wreck. It was successful, making a hard turn as the car screeched to a halt in front of the flames. Santana on top has managed to keep himself steady but jumps on the ground when the jeeps pull up. He is joined by Messina who stands beside him as the Germans are armed and pointing their guns.
"That was a waste of my time, Hamon warriors," Stroheim grumbled. "I was sincere when I told you earlier that you would be spared. But now, you have squandered my kindness and for that, you will die."
"Do you think you can take us?" Messina crossed his arms. "Mere grunts such as yourselves are of little challenge."
"We shall see about that." Stroheim pulls something from his belt, a grenade. "I have been saving this up just in case. Your little group has been causing a lot of trouble for us, but no more."
His soldiers also have the grenades with them, and he is the first to remove the pin and throw it right at their feet. It soon emits a large puff of black smoke, which causes the two warriors to shield their mouths. Other grenades land near them, obscuring their vision as the warriors are surrounded by thick clouds.
"Let's get out of here-" Messina shouts in pain as a bullet passes through his shoulder, the soldiers are shooting at them. Since they cannot see, their shots are firing at random. This didn't matter to Santana as he took this opportunity to high into the air above the smoke, and this caught the attention of the Germans, as they aimed right at him. The bullets didn't hit him as the warrior easily shields himself with his Hamon infused cloak.
Stroheim klicks his tongue in annoyance, but instead of focusing on Santana, he turns his attention on the smoke where the others are. He cannot possibly succeed against a full fledged warrior, but he could at least take out the others while they are licking their wounds. Speaking of which, Messina came of out the smoke, running at the soldiers with his hands up with sparks crackling from them. The major smirks, removing a grenade from his belt and pulling the cord, tossing it right at the approaching Hamon master. Messina hits the grenade with a single chop, but it caused it to explode with something coming out of it.
"Ah! What the-" He felt is hands become cold as his left hand became frozen, covered in the crystals which causes him to stop in his tracks, blood running cold as his entire arms becomes incased in ice.
"Do you like it?" Stroheim smirks. "This is the result of research and German engineering. We have learned from out mistakes and cooked up a little something for you Hamon warriors: frost grenades. It truly works like a charm." He takes another grenade from his belt, just when Santana drops gracefully back on the concrete behind his master. By this time, the smoke finally clears from the car, where Julia and Suzi is taking shelter from the earlier gunfire. They both could see clearly that Messina is in pain and his arms frozen.
"There is plenty more for the lot of you, you will die here." The major smirks in victory, but before he could use another, a strong grip on his wrist halted his movement. He turns to see Joseph is the one responsible. "Joestar? What are you doing?" He demanded angerly.
"Now...Major..." The young man kept hand firm. "May I ask for one small favor? It's not much, I promise." He used his other hand to point at the warriors. "Spare the girl, my date." He eyes Julia, pointing her out. "You can do whatever you want with the rest of them, but I want her alive." Stroheim watches him incredulously, sneering at this foolishness.
"Shut up! You are the prisoner here, you are not in a position to demand anything!" He yells at the captive, trying to yank his hand away, but the grip has tightened.
"Don't be so greedy, major. All I ask is that you spare the life of that woman-" He was interrupted by the major's backhand, causing his head to swing to the side with a bruise on his cheek. His grip was released when he was struck on the face, but he didn't stumble back as the red mark stings his skin.
"You worthless dog!" Stroheim sneered, viciously grabbing the younger man's neck, forcing him to lean forward so that he could shout into his face. "I told you that you are in no position to demand anything! I'll kill you mysel-" Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of him, doubling over in pain as a fist eyes bulging and saliva pooling in the back of his throat. His grip loosen enough for Joseph twirls the major forward in a smooth motion and painful jerks both of his behind his back, being held by the Joestar's tight grip so he would not escape. His free arm quickly drew Stroheim's revolver, placing the barrel on the side of his forehead. The soldiers were stunned, but quickly drew their firearms, aiming right at Joseph and their captive commander.
"Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn't try anything if I were you lot, or do you want a bullet in your precious major's head?" The young man pointed out, keeping his composure.
This distraction provides a huge opportunity for the Hamon users, Santana turns to Messina. "Quickly, we must escape." He helps him on his feet, ushering him back to the car where Julia and Suzi are waiting.
"They are escaping!" The German Soldiers noticed the warriors moving, but before they took action, Joseph whistled to gain their attention.
"Oi! This is a hostage situation, remember?" He teased, making them freeze in fear of harm to their commander. "Oh Julia!" He called out to the girl as she glared daggers at him. "I'm letting you go for now, but I will find you." He turns his head, his eye looking right at her while he gives a wide smile. She can see that it is sinister in nature, his green eyes flaring with an ominous glow. "I cannot wait for our next romantic rendezvous."
Julia said nothing, but her eyes are full of hate and disgust, even as the car makes its escape by passing the soldiers and speeding through the opening between the military jeeps. After their escape, she leans back on the seat, breathing as steadily as she can. They are injured, but safe as they are leaving Verona for good, to return to the side of the grandmaster who is waiting for them. However, what Julia is certain is that when she meets with Joseph Joestar again...
She will show no mercy.
JOJOJOJOJO
St. Moritz, Switzerland-February 13th, 1939
Julia opens her eyes to greet the light of a new day. The sun's rays shine through the windows of her modest room. Sitting up from her bed, she used her hands to wipe away the sleep from her eyes, yawning as she moved her bare feet to touch the wooden floor. On the bedside table is a basin of water in which she can clean her face with, she needs it to wake herself up a bit. She splashed the purifying liquid on her face, and dried it with a towel just as the door opened and Suzi's head peaked through.
"Buongiorno!" She beams, fully entering into the room. She is fully dressed in casual winter clothing. "It's time to go to church, everyone is waiting."
"Yeah, okay, just let me get dressed." The blonde turns to a long wooden wardrobe, preparing her nun garbs for the day. Suzi leaves to give her some privacy as she closes the door, but is standing outside waiting for her. It only took 12 minutes before Julia opened the door fully clothed and ready to go with her coat. The town of St. Moritz is beautiful in snow, an ideal winter resort town where the Piz Nair mountains can be seen towering over the town from the south. In fact, a few years earlier, it became famous for hosting a world skiing competition, which is why the rich are flocking to for their winter vacation.
The two ladies exit the building, taking a brisk paced walk on the snow covered cobblestone, taking the path of least resistance as best as possible. It was a short walk to their destination, St. Maurice church. After ascending the stairway, they are in the stone courtyard in front of the church, where a lone figure is standing looking outwards toward the St Moritz Lake. It is Santana, draped in a long heavy cloak.
"Oh~ there is Santana! Hello!" Suzi cheerfully greeted him, waving at him as he casually turned to acknowledge them.
"Morning, brother." Julia greeted, she approached then noticed something in his hand. "Hm? What is that?" she could see that it was a notebook. He seemed to have been engrossed in it's contents before the girls took his attention away from it.
"I'm just reading something, nothing more." Santana answered nonchalantly, closing the book." The grandmaster is waiting inside, let us not keep her waiting." He gently ushers the two ladies inside of the church, which is thankfully a lot warmer than outside. The whole church is empty of a congregation, but it is occupied by a single woman standing near a row of lit candles. She is clad in a dark azure nun dress with a hood covering her dark brown hair. Turning to face the three, she is a very stunning woman with youthful pale skin and blue eyes adding to her alluring beauty.
"Master Lisa," The warrior greeted her, giving a bow afterwards.
"I told you Santana, you do not have to be so formal with me." She turns around, giving a soft smile for a moment before she returns to a neutral expression.. "Now then, I have just received word from Messina and Loggins, there has been vampiric activities in the surrounding small villages and is more than likely that they will come to St Moritz any day now, and its either a random chance or they have managed to follow the trail from Mexico."
"That's impossible." Santana frowns. "I have made sure every vampire and wretched servants within that sect were rendered to ashes."
"Hm, still, we cannot rule out the possibility. Regardless, they must be eliminated." Lisa walks away from the altar. "We might have to remove ourselves from the town if things get out of hand. We cannot let them get their hands on the stone if it is the sect looking for it. Julia, Santana, keep a lookout. Messina and Loggins will continue to investigate and report back to me."
Lisa turns back to the candles as the Zeppeli siblings leave their master while Suzi stays behind with her. As they walk together, Julia's thoughts wander of the sacred treasure in their possession.
"Santana," She looks up at her older brother. "If we are dealing with the cult you fought in Mexico, then do you mind telling me what you know?"
He is silent for a few moments, stopping at the door that leads back outside. "What is there to tell? They are one of many vampire covens that are no more. Even if there are survivors, they will fall by our hands if they dare to approach." He opens the door, feeling the cold winter air on his face.
"Its just that you have the most knowledge of this particular coven. Mexico was once your home-" She frowns as she stops herself. "I'm sorry, I was going to say something insensitive."
"Its alright, all of that is in the past." He stops, looking at the lake again from the front terrace. "I grew up in Los Tres, it was a small village where I lived a normal life. It is said that the villagers were descendants of an ancient race that were the apex of life on Earth. I am ashamed to admit this, but my memories of the stories are clouded."
She nods, listening closely as he continues. "I have been trying to learn a bit more of these powerful predecessors, my village spoke highly of them as near perfect legends aren't well known and even if there was information, they are like pieces to a large puzzle. However, I believe that I may have found an interesting piece, and it concerns the stone."
This has gotten her eyes lit up at the mention of the stone. In his hand is the same notebook he was reading earlier. " The ancient race coveted magical stones, and one of them is the very same red jewel in Master Lisa's possession."
"The Red Stone of Aja…"Julia murmured.
"Correct, they might have been Hamon users, I am unsure. There is still so much that I do not know."
"I see, so you were doing research on your ancestors, and you believe they weren't human?"
He nods. "They were said to be extraordinary, that's for sure. I must admit that this has me curious, so I use my free time to learn as much as possible. Right now, we should be vigilant, even more so at night."
Julia nods, joining him as the both watch the lake as the morning light shines on the water's surface. At the moment, the water is frozen, somewhat covered in snow from the flurry last night. Still, Lake St. Moritz is as beautiful as it was during the warmer months.
JOJOJOJOJO
A jeep pulls up to a large cabin in the middle of the countryside, as two men come out of it wearing comfortable military attire suited for the winter. Mark shivers as the cold wind hits his face, rubbing his gloved hands for a bit of warmth before moving towards the door and opening it, the two men entering inside. Unknown to them however, the two story cabin is being watched from afar by two men on horseback.
"Hm, so the Germans are here…this is just great." Messina sighs in annoyance, lowering his binoculars, then he looks up at the orange sky as the sun is setting on the horizon. "Twilight is upon us, we best be going back, Loggins."
Loggins is a man in his mid 30s, regardless has a clean shaven face that shows off his chiseled features. "Is that right? They are annoyingly persistent. Almost as bad as the blood suckers we are trying to track."
The two men turned their steeds behind them as they returned to the bath from whence they came.
"But if they are here, what could they be after? There is no way that they would've known about the sacred object…" Messina ponders.
"Whatever the reason, if they get in our way, we will show them no mercy."
It has been a while since they have been on the road, they traveled a bit further on the outskirts, so it may take a while to return to St. Moritz. They are bundled up for the cold night, but do not wish to stay out longer than necessary. The white moon is becoming more visible in the sky, and the stars are starting to twinkle.
The warriors are going through a small dirt path in the woods, having their horses go in a light sprint. Using the main road is too risky, alternatives are needed in order to move around without gaining attention. Loggins is keeping his eyes open, all seems quiet as they travel, but that could change in an instant.
"Loggins…" Messina did notice something in the corner of his eyes, whispering to his comrade as his eyes fell towards the tree lines. Is it an animal? Even in the twilight, there was the presence of fauna while they were around, but the forest is as dead as a cemetery. Speaking of which, there is the scent of iron in the air, which he has taken notice of right away. "Blood."
Loggins also noticed, as he pointed at the snow along the trees. They have gotten closer and follow the blood trail to see the shadow of an animal, most likely a Red Deer that is laying there motionless. The light in the sky is too dim for them to see clearly, but they didn't need to with the look at each other in silent confirmation that there is indeed vampire activity.
JOJOJOJOJO
Julia sighs as she is walking on the streets of the town, so far, everything seems quiet. The only activity she has seen are the people that are out and about, enjoying the youthful night despite the biting winter air. She wishes that it would stay this way, even for a while longer. It is peaceful here.
"Sister! Sister!" The cries of a little girl catches her attention, and she turns her gaze down towards the girl, a brunette with a fluffy brown winter coat approaches her with frantic gray eyes. "Sister, I beg of you for help. It's my mother!" She clasped her gloved hands, pleading. Julia placed a hand on her soft and silky brunette hair.
"Of course, please lead me to her." She said gently, which lit up the girl's face. Without another word, she took her hand and pulled the novitiate along the sidewalk to head to where the trouble was. A crowd of people are more focused at the city center, but the further they walked, the less of a crowd there was. Julia is continued to be led until they turn into an alley. She couldn't see well in the darkness, but the girl let go of her hand and ran out of sight. "Wait, little one." She calls out to her, following her into the darkened, narrow path.
She calls out again, not seeing any signs of the girl or her mother. Stopping since she didn't receive any kind of answer, her green eyes scanning her surroundings. It is deathly silent for a moment until she turns behind her, and the first thing she does is to shield her face as a bright light surrounds her. It was disorienting, so much so that she didn't realize that someone was behind her until it was too late. A strong grip pulls her right hand behind her back, and before she could do anything, a pinching sensation is felt on her neck. She gasped, it was cold and like a needle that pierced her skin and injected her with something. This is when she starts to resist, but the grip is tight and she could hear a man's voice.
"Whoa whoa, luv. Calm down, I got you." Its a familiar voice that has her tensed up, right into her ears, whispering. "You just relax and i'll take care of you."
It's him, Joseph Joestar, which gives her all the more reason to fight back. However, whatever is in her system is working it's magic. She is feeling drowsy, her vision blurring, and her body is being too relaxed. She could hardly move at this point to do anything and darkness is starting to take hold.
"There we go, my sweet. I told you I would find you." He picks her up bridal style and walks forward. The source of the light is coming from the headlights of a car that has parked behind Julia. The backseat door opens, as a figure peeks out from the vehicle. "See, old man? I told you it would work, she is out like a light."
"Thank God that we didn't have a fight on our hands, this is a huge gamble for a girl, especially a Hamon user, you are insane, boy." The man chides him, crossing his arms.
"Come on, men do crazy things for love. She is the one, Speedwagon." Joseph approaches the car, and places Julia in the back. "The Mexican coven should be here any moment now. Let's get out of here before the bloodbath starts." Both men enter the car, closing the door as the car drives away, its destination is out of the city. Joseph's butler is at the wheel, so he takes the time to look at the unconscious woman beside him.
He has her, and he is not letting her go.
To Be Continued=