Somewhere in America
2011

? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Farewell

"No! Please don't go!"

"I'm sorry, baby, but I just can't stay tied down. I'm a free bird now."

"But what about Harry? He's only a year old! You can't leave him!"

"The boy… I'll admit, Sharon, I do love him, but I just don't think I'm a good influence on him."

"No, please, Holland!"

"C'mon, baby, that's not my name anymore."

"Right, sorry."

"Say my name."

"Huh?"

"Say. My. Name."

"Hol Horse."

He looked up to the blue sky. "You're goddamn right."

Seven years later
Venice

"Hey mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Who's 'Holland'?"

She popped her head out of the kitchen, surprised. She found Harry looking through her old diaries. "Oh, Holland? He's…" She trailed off.

"He's my dad, right?"

Sharon left the kitchen and began to break down. "Oh, Harry, I'm so, so sorry." She rushed over to her son and put her arms around him.

"Where did he go?"

"He… he went away, dear. For a very long time," she said between hiccups.

Harry's mind began to churn. 'I'm going to find him,' he thought. Once he did, he didn't know what he was going to do.

"Can you tell me about him?"

Sharon brought her arms out, still holding her world. "Yes, of course, Haf."

2027

As it turns out, Haf's mother didn't know much about his father. She'd told him his full name, 'Holland 'Hol' Horse'. She had named her son after him, naming him 'Harry 'Haf' Horse'. This made it pretty easy to find him on the internet.

He was on a school trip to America. Not anywhere interesting, just Austin, Texas. Haf and a few of his rowdier friends decided to try to sneak into a bar. He'd managed to get in, as he looked like a 25-year-old man after not shaving for a week.

It wasn't like he wanted to get drunk. He was responsible like that. He'd leave the drinking to his friends – some of which had followed him in and already started ordering the cheapest stuff they could.

'Fags,' he thought. Yeah, he knew he wasn't allowed to say that word, especially in America. But honestly, he didn't give a shit about what those snowflakes were enforcing.

He excused himself to go to the toilet, offhandedly pinching a woman's ass on the way, when he spotted a man that looked to be in his early-seventies sitting in one of the booths. He had a cowboy's hat on, even though he was inside, and wrinkles lining his once-handsome face. Haf recognised him instantly. It was his father, Hol Horse.

He made an instantaneous decision.

"Hey, old man."

Hol's cowboy hat tilted to the side, his eyes obscured by shadow. "What do you want, kid?" He answered, mildly annoyed. His voice was gravelly, a far cry from what it once was.

"Isn't it bedtime for an old man like you? Your wife must be waiting."

"Heh." Hol Horse staggered out of the booth, "A smart mouth, eh? Well let me tell ya, I don't have no wife. I'm a free bird." He got up in Haf's face. Had Hol been a younger man, Haf would be staring into a proverbial mirror by how much they looked alike.

Hol Horse's eyes widened in recognition. "You're… you're Harry, aren't you?"

"Glad you recognise me, pops."

Hol Horse gave him a shaky grin. "Yeah, I see you. In fact," he said as he slowly backed off, "I see right through you."

"What on God's Green Earth do you mean?"

"Heh. You're no kid of mine." Hol Horse waved him off as he began walking towards the door. The bar was quiet, especially now that they all saw a young man pestering the elderly. "I bet your mother has told you all about me and my… womanising, hasn't she? I bet you think you're just as good, if not better than me, huh?" He looked over his shoulder. Haf was silent. He didn't like what he was hearing. "Well, I can't blame you. I wasn't there to prove you wrong."

"You," Haf grabbed his shoulder, "are just a deadbeat old man."

"That's where you're wrong, kiddo." Hol turned to face his son yet again. "I've had my redemption, I reckon." He looked down, a hint of regret lining his eyes. "Maybe– maybe if I had stayed, I coulda told you all about my life." He shook his head. "Eh, whatever. My story's over."

Haf was left in disbelief. He couldn't believe, after all these years, this was the only interaction he'd get from his father. Boy was he right.

"Come with me, kid. Just outside."

Haf looked over to see Old Man Hol Horse holding the door open. He glanced at his friends, who were already drunk off their asses, and shrugged.

"Ya want some advice, kiddo?" Hol asked his son outside. It was the Fall, so it was getting rather cold. "Lord knows I've had plenty of mistakes to learn from."

Hol Horse sat down on the curb. His son followed suit.

"Whatever."

Hol ignored his son's attitude. "Don't let other people tell you what to do. You're your own man." Haf was surprised. He hadn't expected this kind of introspection from the old fart. "A long, long time ago, I was hired by a man named DIO to do some… dirty work."

"Like the Italian word for 'God'?"

Hol hummed, "I always thought it was like the band, but sure. Whatever floats your boat. Anyway, this guy, DIO, heh, he walked all over me, lemme tell ya. He made me do things that…" he trailed off for a second, "...that I'm not proud of." He sighed. "He put me at odds with the Joestar Family. Joseph Joestar died a few years back – I went to his funeral. Anyway, after his grandson, Jotaro Kujo, kicked the shit out of me, and his bastard son helped me out one time, I learned something: do what you choose. Don't let people walk all over you; go your own way. I'll tell you now: if you listen to my advice, you'll become a free bird, just like me."

Before Haf could react, he saw something glint in the corner of his eyes, and he heard a loud gunshot. Something warm ran down his head. Blood. His father fell over, ｢The Emperor｣ disappearing from his hand.

Hol Horse was dead.

The world grew colder.

Haf's Dorm Room
Master's Academy
Venice

Haf woke up in a cold sweat, huffing and puffing. 'That damned dream again…'

Ever since that day, Haf Horse hadn't been the same. He could never focus in school, so much to the point that he was held back two years. He'd done some… things, too, that shall go unnamed.

Another thing that happened after Hol Horse died was Haf's Stand, which he'd discovered a few months ago. It acted like a virus, which spread through eye contact, starting from him. Anyone with the 'virus', Haf could paralyse. Anyone that had the virus could also spread it.

He'd been given the Stand Arrow to protect from Zeppeli; he'd only reluctantly agreed, only because he was really in charge. And Haf didn't want to piss him off.

He checked the time, 4:52pm. He chastised himself. He knew that Giovanna was going to be interrogating Zeppeli in the hospital around this time. Thankfully, he already had a mole in the room.

He reached and waded through his Stand's networks until he found what he was looking for: the guy he didn't know the name of. That didn't matter, though, as what mattered was that this guy was in the same room as Zeppeli. That meant he had eyes and ears where he shouldn't.

He activated his Stand, causing the already-asleep man to freeze.

Something he had figured out with his Stand was that, if he tried hard enough, he could sort of take the place of someone who was frozen. He could see what they see, hear what they hear, and even with some difficulty, project his voice out of their throat.

When he did this, he heard something rather concerning:

"He's dangerous. I don't know what his Stand does, but I know he's dangerous."

"See you at school, Mr. Zeppeli."

"Shit."

｢Hotel California｣

Long-Ranged Stand

Stats:

Power: C

Speed: A

Range: A (1km)

Stamina: C

Precision: B

Potential: D

Streets of Venice
Near Master's Academy
Afternoon

? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Travellers Who Rest

"Uh huh, yeah, a kid named…"

"Haf Horse."

"Haf Horse. Yeah, that's the guy. Can you get on that? Thanks." Viale hung up the phone. "Esposito said that he's gonna go get the guy."

Vuoto smiled and responded, "That's great."

Viale nodded. They'd walked back from the hospital. It was a pretty long walk. During the walk, he noticed Sana's persistent silence. It was odd. She was usually rather quiet, but this, Viale noted, was out of character for the redhead. Viale fancied himself quite adept at reading people's emotions. It's how he knew something was up when Zeppeli called him to his office. Sana's face, however, gave nothing away.

The group passed Hotel Montalvo, and bid farewell to Beneficci.

"Thanks for your help."

"Call me if you need any help."

Viale turned as Beneficci waltzed inside. Viale caught Sana staring at where Beneficci once was. Knowing that the mood was delicate, Viale turned to Vuoto and whispered, "You go along. I need to talk to Sana." Vuoto raised his eyebrow knowingly. "No, not like that."

"Sure, Viale. Whatever you say." Vuoto waved him off as he left.

"What was that for?" Sana finally broke her silence.

"Privacy. We need to talk."

"Do we?" Sana asked, seemingly agitated. "As far as I can tell, things are going great."

"Then you can tell me what's been going on with you, and things will be even better."

Sana was silent as they walked, slightly slower than Vuoto so that their friend wouldn't be able to listen in.

"Sana?"

"Yeah."

"Can you tell-"

"I heard you the first time."

"Okay."

"It's… my Stand," she said finally, shaking her head. "I can't…"

"It'll come," Viale said. "I'm sure of it."

"I… maybe. Yeah." She looked off to the side, and he got the impression that she was frowning. "But the rest of you…"

"We've had time. You…" She turned her head back towards him before he could say any more, glaring into his eyes.

"So have I," she said. "The hotel. The hospital. I've had plenty of opportunity to… to…"

"Hey." Viale got her attention. "Look on the bright side. Maybe your Stand is like Vuoto's. Y'know, a curse, more than an ability."

She put her hand on her hip. "What, glass-half-full?"

"Exactly."

"Yeah, no thanks."

The two continued walking.

"I think you need to find your resolve."

Sana was silent.

Once they were close enough to the school, she noticed something.

"Hey, we lost Vuoto."

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sure he's fine."

Viale's phone buzzed.

? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Bad

Haf peered down at Vuoto running away in slow-motion. Haf was intrigued; he'd had no experience with using his Stand on other Stand users before this day. It seemed that they could still be frozen, but only with significant eye contact, not just a one-off glance. He shrugged. It wasn't as if this was a set-back – it was merely a quirk.

Vuoto had just walked into the dorm building when Haf caught him. The principal, who Haf had known was coming through his Stand, was frozen outside his dorm room. That was how he'd learnt what effect his Stand had on other Stand users.

Vuoto hadn't recognised him, and he didn't really know what Haf's Stand's ability was, so he hadn't stood a chance.

Refocusing on the underclassman's prone form, he decided he would make an example. Rossi and Giovanna had to be arriving soon, so he had to make this work properly.

｢Free Bird｣ wasn't going to let him down.

To Be Continued ===