Mr. President
Master's Academy
Morning
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Day job
"Come on, Viale, this stuff's easy!"
"Yeah I agree, easy… for you to say, harder for me to lift!"
"Oh please, if I still had ｢Silver Chariot｣, I'd be wiping the floor with you right now."
"Yeah, because you have forty years on me!"
As it turned out, ｢Mr. President｣ could create rooms to suit the needs of the user. The gang didn't know this before, as the user was a tortoise, but now that the Stand was shared between two people – one being a human with needs – this aspect of the Stand had been discovered. In this case, it produced a training room, designed specifically for determining a Stand's capabilities.
"So, three-hundred kilograms is your limit… Huh. Jotaro's was similar… Unfortunately, you couldn't hold it as long." Polnareff took out his clipboard and checked a box. "That's an 'A' in Power and a 'B' in Stamina, then."
｢Mr. Blue Sky｣ dropped the weights, Viale stretching his now-sore arms. "Cool, can I leave?"
"Ha! In your dreams! We've still got like, four more stats to figure out!"
"Who made this whole thing, anyway?"
"Me and a couple of old pals came up with this 'Stand Stat' system. We've found it to be pretty consistent with humanoid Stands, but it gets pretty funky when it comes to out-of-the-box Stands, and when considering abilities."
Polnareff thought back to that time under the stars after arriving in Egypt. Kakyoin had come up with the idea, Jotaro (who all other Stands were ranked against) had done the tests, and Joseph had fleshed out the system. They'd come up with five stats: Power, Speed, Range, Stamina and Precision. Potential came later. With the baseline of ｢Star Platinum｣, the list was quite comprehensive; it even accounted for abilities that compensated for a physically weak Stand.
From what he had heard, Old Man Joseph and his son Josuke had spread the system around those old Stand forums, and it'd caught on. When Polnareff had met Giorno and the gang, they were already using it.
"Hey Viale, do you know how we test Speed and Precision?" From behind his back, Polnareff revealed…
"What the–"
…a tommy gun.
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!
Viale was caught by surprise, but Polnareff had fortuitously aimed just to the side of him so he wouldn't get hit. Not that it mattered, as Mr. Blue Sky had aptly caught and dropped all of the bullets Polnareff fired.
"HAHAHA! You should've seen the look on your face!" Polnareff wiped a tear from his eye. "Ah, geez, that never gets old!" He put the firearm down on the table to his right.
Mr. Joestar had come up with that one. Inspired by both a "badass vampire fight" in his youth and Star Platinum catching a bullet Jotaro shot at himself before he and Polnareff had met.
"Hehe, looks like an 'A' in Speed and Precision, too!" he giggled.
"Polnareff, please, is that the last test?" Viale was still catching his breath. He made a mental note to put laxatives in Coco Jumbo's food later.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, since we can't really test Potential until I see more of Mr. Blue Sky." Polnareff turned the page. "Alright, Viale, let's see that ability of yours."
Mr. President's floor suddenly glowed with a bright light, instruments that weren't being used anymore dissipating into the Stand. In its place, a jungle gym.
"I want to see the full capabilities of your Stand."
"Ugh, fine."
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Approach
Viale reluctantly approached the monkey bars, put his hand on the nearest pole, and was sucked inside.
"Interesting…" Polnareff wrote himself a note as Viale exited the pole. "It looks like you were sucked in there. Is there momentum to the action?"
"I can decide whether or not I want to be sucked into the surface."
Polnareff nodded. Next to Viale, a spot on the ceiling glowed and produced a sandbag with an electronic display appearing underneath.
"Try to kick this whilst entering the monkey bars."
Viale shrugged and took a few steps back. With a runup, Viale grazed the pole and stuck his leg out. With a large thud, the sandbag was knocked back, and Viale was gone. The digital display on the ground showed a '1494N'.
"Wow. One-thousand-four-hundred-and-ninety-four newtons. If we take into account how much the average male leg weighs, which I know off the top of my head, you entered the surface at…" he paused to calculate, "eighty-three metres per second."
Viale popped his head out of the bar. "Is that fast?"
"Well, seeing as Star Platinum's fastest punch was twenty metres per second, yeah I'd say that was pretty fast. That's definitely an 'A'."
Viale smirked.
"Hey Viale?"
Training had just ended, and Viale was now getting ready for school.
"Yo?"
"With Mr. Blue Sky, can you put bigger objects inside smaller objects? Not just yourself, I mean."
Viale considered the question. He knew he had brought things like his clothes inside smaller things like books as they were considered part of his 'person', but he had never thought of trying this new idea.
"I don't know… why do you ask?"
"Well," Polnareff adjusted his position resting on the gem inside the key, "What if you got, oh I don't know, a 10-sided-die? And put a bunch of things inside it?"
Viale felt dumb.
"It's just a thought. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, but the principal wants to see you. He'll call you in at some point today."
Viale nodded, threw his bag over his shoulder, and left the room.
Master's Academy
Venice
Midday
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Stardust Man Appears
As per usual, Vuoto was stuck inside his own head. This time, he was thinking about something pressing. Something that didn't make sense. It had been on his mind for a few days – since the day Viale fought Zeppeli. The answer, really, was quite simple, but the reasoning behind it was a riddle.
It was to do with one Sana Rossi. She had seen and talked to Vuoto in class. At the time Vuoto had been stuck in his own head, thinking about Viale and his precarious situation. The answer as to 'how' was easy: Sana was a Stand user. But the real question was 'how?'
'Actually,' Vuoto thought, 'That's an easy answer, too. She was obviously in contact with the Stand Arrow at some point.'
But that brought up some concerning questions, pointedly, if she was really trustworthy. 'For all I know she could've had the Arrow this whole time.'
Vuoto was brought out of his head by the school bell ringing.
As he made his way to class, he bumped into someone. Because of the paranoid thinking, Vuoto instantly sprung back, as people were meant to just walk around him. The person he bumped into had to be a Stand user!
The person in question was a relatively short guy, with thin, black hair, and a matching leather jacket which looked a size too big. All of this was offset by a simple yellow A4 spiral notebook that the boy had dropped. When Vuoto went to pick it up, he saw the words 'Property of: My Ass' on the front cover.
"Give that back."
Vuoto looked up to see that the boy wound up to uppercut him. Vuoto yelped and dodged back, the fist missed him, and the notebook fell back to the ground.
"What the hell!?" Vuoto yelled, "What's your problem?"
The boy picked up the book. "This is my book."
"I thought it was My Ass' book."
"Alright, I didn't write that."
"Look, man, I know you're a Stand user. Just back off and we don't have to fight."
The boy opened the notebook and had a quick read.
"Wow, your Stand sucks! No one but Stand users can see or perceive you? Man, what a bummer. How are you gonna get bitches if none of them can see you?"
Vuoto was dumbstruck. How did he know that?
"My name is Matito Romano, and this is my Stand ｢Take On Me｣!" Romano struck a pose, one hand covering an eye, the other one ominously holding the book that, when Vuoto looked closer, had a slight grey Stand-aura surrounding it.
The hallway was empty now – everyone had gone to class. That is, everyone but the two Stand users in a face-off, and Sana Rossi peeking around a corner, trying to figure out what was going on.
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Seeker
'What does he mean, no one should be able to see Vuoto? I can see him just fine!' Sana thought.
"Hello, Ms Rossi, wanna come have a chat?" Romano called out. Sana let out a little squeak, surprised she was discovered so easily. She stepped out from her hiding place.
'From where the guy's standing, he shouldn't have even been able to see me! What gives?'
"I'll tell you what gives, Ms Rossi. My Stand, Take On Me, absorbs all data around me in a twenty-five metre radius and writes it all out in this book. That includes reading minds." To display, he flipped through some pages, not that Sana could read it from how far away she was. "And to answer your question about Vuoto, you can see him because you have the same power we do: a Stand."
"I knew it!" Vuoto exclaimed. She and Matito paid him no mind.
"Well, this little confrontation has been very informative. I'm sure Vuoto can explain what a Stand is." Romano began down the hall, confidently walking past Sana. "Just remember, with my Stand, I can know all of your secrets. Don't test me, and I won't ruin you."
He left.
"Rossi, come by Viale's room after school. I'll explain there, and hopefully, he will too."
Sana nodded, and set off to a class she definitely did not pay attention to.
Principal's Office
Master's Academy
Lunchtime
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - A Fate that Still Remains
Viale sat on the stool opposite the Principal's desk. The last time he'd been in here was a couple weeks ago, when he transferred in. Despite having weeks to comprehend, Viale still couldn't understand why this person had so many movie posters of such second-rate movies.
He remembered that he'd gotten a text in class, but Viale, fancying himself a good student, hadn't checked it at the time.
Vuoto
Hey, I forgot to tell you, but I remembered something about my Stand.
I talked to the principal when I had ｢Coldplay｣.
He's probably a Stand user. And so is Sana, but she doesn't know what her Stand does. I promised her that we'd explain it in your dorm after school.
Just a heads up.
Also Sana and I found another Stand user. I'll tell you later.
Viale wasn't allowed to process this, as his reading was cut off by someone clearing their throat. When Viale wasn't looking, the principal had somehow entered the room and sat down.
"O-oh, sorry." Viale put his phone in his pocket. He was slightly wary; Vuoto wasn't one to lie, so he fully believed the contention that the principal was a Stand user. The principal must've noticed the hesitation in Viale's eyes. That wasn't in-character for the young Giovanna.
"Hello, Mr Giovanna. You look healthy. Before we begin, it is my understanding that you know I have a Stand." Esposito leaned forward, leaning on his intertwined hands. "But you don't, however, know a lot about me and my background. I am, first and foremost, principal of this establishment. It is my goal to pull this school up, as it and its staff and students deserve. I am also an agent of the Speedwagon Foundation. That means you, being a Joestar, are my second priority."
He leaned back and stood up from his chair, and turned to look out the window. Viale was silent throughout this exchange.
"I am also Augustus Zeppeli's uncle." Viale's eyes widened. "Now, before you go all beatdown on me, understand that I do not agree with his ideals. I know for a fact that your cousin, Joseph Joestar, killed our ancestor. In any case," he waved a hand, "your family has already done plenty for the world; they don't always get it right. Augustus did not know this. I am only privy to the information I have because of my role as a S.P.W. Agent. Despite what you may think, he is a good person. His heart was in the right place, but his anger clouded his judgement. Therefore I take blame for his foolish actions. Please forgive me."
He did not expect an answer, but Viale nodded anyway. Esposito continued.
"Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to brass tax." He returned to his seat. "As I told you before, and I don't know if you have had any interaction with the Speedwagon Foundation, but it is my duty to aid any Joestars that ask for it. As the principal, I can cover up any, hmm, 'justice-seeking'', that you may perform in order to keep this school safe, should you ask me to."
Viale was shocked. Not only at the news that his school principal was an international spy, but that his teacher that he'd just recently beaten up was completely unfounded in attacking him. Viale realised that Esposito was still waiting for an answer.
"R-right, uh, well I know of…" he counted with his fingers, "eight – including you and I – Stand users in the school. I don't know if we should, like, compare notes, or…" Viale trailed off. This was an unprecedented conversation. "You know what? Yes. I'd appreciate your help."
"Excellent." To Viale, the sickly principal didn't seem like much of a fighter, but he knew that one should not judge a book by its cover, unless the cover was League of Legends. "I'll give you my phone number, should any unforeseen complications come your way."
Viale's Dorm Room
Master's Academy
Late-Afternoon
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Get Together
When Viale opened the door, he had not expected Vuoto at his desk doing homework, and Sana playing with her phone on his ex-roommate's bed. They both startled at the door opening, Sana scurrying off the bed.
"I see you've made yourselves comfortable." He put his messenger bag down next to the door. "How did you even get in here?"
Sana stammered, "U-uh, Amicio gave me his key." She looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry, GioGio."
'While if it wasn't for his incompetence, I just might be dead, it sure is annoying when Amicio's not useful.'
"It's alright, but you just ask if you want to stay over."
Viale's shit-eating grin was quickly dissuaded when Vuoto reminded him why the two were here in the first place. "Sana deserves an explanation of Stands, Viale."
"Finally, something interesting is happening." Polnareff yawned from the tortoise shell that had somehow got on top of the dresser.
"Oh yeah," Sana recovered from her embarrassment, and offhandedly gestured to Coco Jumbo. "We met your uncle. Is your whole family like that?"
"In a tortoise?"
"It's a turtle."
"I'm pretty sure turtles are sea creatures–"
"This isn't why we're here, Viale!" Vuoto interrupted Sana and Viale's bickering. "Stay on topic."
"Right." He reached up to Coco Jumbo and placed her softly on the ground next to his feet. He then turned to his two friends, and deadpanned, "Get in the tortoise."
Legend says that only Viale would ever be able to say that with a straight face.
To Be Continued ===