"OVERDRIVE!" Jonathan shouted just before his fist connected with Hazel's. A miniature shockwave erupted from the force of their blows, a small gust of wind blowing outwards. Normally, two fighters would continue whaling away at each other after such a hit, but JoJo and Hazel stood with their fists pushing against each other.
The two narrowed their eyes in determination and pushed harder. It was a contest of strength, to see which of these large men would budge first. JoJo intensified his Hamon, sending as much as he could into Hazel, but it didn't seem to affect the large man at all.
"You're big," Jonathan told him, forced to look up to meet Hazel's eyes. "I've fought bigger."
Hazel gritted his teeth and swung with his other fist. On instinct, JoJo ducked under the jab and rammed his elbow into Hazel's unguarded ribs. The larger man didn't even flinch.
"I was expecting more from you after the state you put Tyrian in," Hazel's voice rumbled. A large hand seized Jonathan's arms, then Hazel rammed his head into the Joestar's forehead.
JoJo stumbled back and clutched his head. Luckily, his aura had shielded him, but the sheer force of the blow felt like being punched by any trained boxer. Maybe it had something to do with that Dust he injected? He asked himself.
The thought reminded JoJo of his match against Dio when they were twelve.
A lightbulb went off in the Joestar's head. Well Dio, he thought. Maybe you did teach me something useful.
Before Hazel could land another blow, Jonathan raised his fists in a traditional boxing stance. The Joestar dashed forward to meet Hazel's charge. JoJo took account of his speed, the angle he would attack from, his height, and even their position in the room. All of this raced through his mind in that very moment, and just when the two giants among men got within arms' length, he made his move.
"Kooooooh!" Hamon coursed through JoJo's limbs, making his fists glow with life-filled energy. Jonathan sidestepped to avoid another one of Hazel's large fists. He followed through by sending his fist skyward into a powerful uppercut to Hazel's chin.
"Arooaaaaah!" JoJo shouted, sending all of his Hamon through his knuckles and into the larger man before him. Hazel stumbled back and glared at Jonathan. The young Joestar smirked and stood with his arms forward, his wrists crossed and his hands pointing downward.
"My friends and I have come too far to be stopped by Salem and her forces, Hazel," JoJo stated. "I promised I would protect Ruby and the others from meeting the same terrible fate as the former Fall Maiden, Pyrrha Nikos, and all others that died in Vale because of Cinder." Jonathan then changed his stance until his arms were folded and he pointed at Hazel at one hand, his other hand held under his arm. "And if I have to destroy you to keep them safe, then I will."
Hazel tightened his fists until yellow sparks were continually flying away from him. "Bold words, boy. But you should not underestimate Salem or me."
Then the large man rushed Jonathan, bringing both of his fists down to smash his head. But JoJo caught them out of midair! He raised his palms and focused all of his Hamon into his hands to meet the blow.
"I am not a boy, Hazel. And I have fought far worse than you," Jonathan told him.
Hazel gritted his teeth. "We'll see about that."
His fists grew heavier in JoJo's hands, and he strained to keep them at bay. Deciding that it was better to abandon this comparison of strength, JoJo redirected Hazel's fists to go past him, giving JoJo the opportunity to slam his elbows into Hazel's side.
"Rebuff Overdrive!" Jonathan shouted. Hazel groaned, his aura flickering. Jonathan jumped back to get some breathing room, and Hazel's fist managed to catch him in the side before he got out of striking distance. JoJo winced and clutched his side, then Oscar appeared beside him.
"This isn't your fight, JoJo," Ozpin said through Oscar.
Jonathan inspected his side and found yellow Dust energy sparking along his ribcage. His blue sleeveless shirt was in tatters on his entire left side, presumably from the Dust.
JoJo tightened his jaw and ripped the cloth away from his body. "It became my fight when he attacked my friends."
Ozpin looked like he wanted to argue, but he just nodded and turned his attention to Hazel.
"Ozpin!" Hazel yelled once he saw Oscar standing next to JoJo.
"Shall we, Professor?" JoJo asked.
"We shall, JoJo," Ozpin nodded. Jonathan raised his fists, sparking and glowing with Hamon, and together, they charged.
. . .
"So, then, this is Rome," Dio Brando took in the sight of the wide expanse of low buildings and greenery from the top of the Colosseum. Around the circumference of the city, a ring of mountains served as a natural wall to protect against invaders. Rome had its high points and low points—literally, the entire city was built on hills on a mountain range. Dio had always wanted to visit the heart of the old Roman empire. The title "Emperor" really spoke to the vampire on a spiritual level.
He'd intentionally left Italy alone when sending his zombie forces across Europe. Dio wanted to take this city himself. But tonight, he had another goal in mind—destroying these "Pillar Men" before they awaken.
"Santana was a fool," Dio thought aloud. "Giving away his comrades' location like that? Ha, the idiot knows not what he's done. Now, these Pillar Men will face I, Dio, as soon as they wake!" He laughed into the night. in all reality, he was trying to hype himself up. He knows just how powerful Santana was, and if his allies are much stronger just like he said, it would take a lot to take them down.
Dio bit his lip so hard that it bled—mostly because his fangs were really sharp. If my intel is good, he thought to himself. "Those Pillar Men are three or four blocks from here.
With that, Dio leaped from the top of the ancient Colosseum and dove to the ground several stories below. He landed nimbly and strolled north. Fifteen minutes later, he was standing in front of an ancient stone building that appeared to go underground—which was perfect for Dio because if the sun rose, he'd be protected from its rays. But that also meant that the Pillar Men would be as well.
"Higher beings," Dio mocked. "They have yet to meet the might of Dio."
. . .
"Scarlet Overdrive!" Jonathan shouted as he delivered another Hamon-filled blow to Hazel. The larger man groaned, but he continued his attack. Hazel's massive fist slammed into JoJo's chest and sent him backwards.
"This is getting tiresome," Hazel said.
"Agreed," JoJo said and looked at Ozpin. The former headmaster looked rather winded, likely from not being used to his new form. He'd been jumping and flipping around Hazel, jabbing him with his cane with such speed and precision that Jonathan wondered if it was humanly possible.
"So, I'm going to end this right now," JoJo raised his arms in front of him, his fingers spread and his palms facing Hazel.
"We'll see if you can back your words up," Hazel told him. In response, JoJo began to walk towards the taller man without saying a word.
"And now you're walking directly at me? No ploys to flank or trick me?" Hazel asked.
"I can't beat you into the ground without getting closer," Jonathan replied. Hazel didn't respond then, only staring straight at JoJo and walking to intercept him.
On the way, Jonathan cast his eyes to the side to check on his friends. Ruby and Yang were fighting Emerald and Mercury, Jaune, Nora, and Ren were still at Weiss's side, and Qrow was fighting off Raven and Vernal.
Just hold out, he thought to himself. We can beat them.
As soon as Jonathan was within range of Hazel, he sent his fist flying towards him.
"Zoom Punch!" He shouted, his fist connecting with Hazel's chin.
"How...?" He murmured after clutching his face, one eye peeking between two fingers.
"Rebuff Overdrive!" JoJo immediately followed up by sending his elbows upward and into Hazel's ribcage. Hazel struck back, and the electricity Dust stung, but he continued his assault. He pounded Hazel with so much Hamon, he would've disintegrated Dio and his army of zombies a hundred times over. It amazed Jonathan that Hazel was still standing.
JoJo numbed Hazel's blows with Hamon, but the attacks still felt like being hit by a train.
He gritted his teeth and kept punching, and being punched.
"Jonathan!" Ozpin shouted. JoJo turned his head to see him pointing towards the statue, except that it's now an entrance leading down. Cinder, Raven, and Vernal were going into it.
JoJo turned back to Hazel just in time to avoid a punch aimed at his face.
"It's time to end this," Hazel growled.
"Indeed it is," Jonathan replied, his arms glowing significantly brighter. He focuses all of his Hamon into his fists. "This burning determination," he said aloud. "My beating heart!"
Hazel raised an eyebrow, probably wondering what in the world JoJo was talking about.
"Kooooooh! Sunlight Yellow OVERDRIVE!" Jonathan punched Hazel so hard and fast, his fists were only visible as a rapid flurry.
"Arrrooooooaaggghh!" JoJo shouted. Hazel's aura flickered and his body recoiled with every burning punch that was delivered to him. With one final blow, the man's large body was sent flying away from him until he crashed through a wooden pillar.
JoJo exhaled, the glow of Hamon faded from his body. He looked just in time to see the tail of Cinder's dress disappear into the entranceway.
Jonathan took off across the room, his bound covering two meters with every step. Mercury stepped in the Joestar's way to intercept him, but JoJo simply shoved him out of the way and kept running without breaking stride.
"Stop hi-!" Emerald shouted, but Ruby slammed her in the side with both feet and sent the dark-skinned girl several meters away.
"Go get them, JoJo! Stop Cinder!" She shouted. Jonathan gave a steely, determined nod, then descended the stone stairway.
I'm going to finish this fight, Jonathan thought to himself as he delved into the darkness.
. . .
"So, these are the beings that wield power even greater than I, Dio? The creators of the Stone Mask?" Dio Brando asked himself as he inspected the stone wall before him. Three extremely muscled men were carved into the wall. One wore a capped headpiece and had fluffy white hair, another wore a headpiece with wiry strands hanging from it, and the last one wore a black wrapping around his head that covered his hair completely.
The one with the wrapping held a red jewel in between his index finger and thumb. Dio stepped closer to the wall, his face nearing the jewel.
"Don't you dare touch that, Dio," a strangely familiar voice said from behind him. Dio casually turned around with a smirk on his vampiric lips.
"Ah, there you are. I was wondering where you went off to." Dio's eyes fell on the muscular form of Robert E. O. Speedwagon.
"I've been researching the best way to defeat you, Dio. I've scoured the world while you were busy conquering it," Speedwagon told him. He wore the same attire as when he and Jonathan stormed Dio's tower. Baron Zeppeli's hat sat crooked on his blond hair.
"Oh? And what do you have to show for it, human? A parlor trick like JoJo's Hamon?" Dio smirked.
A smile tugged at Speedwagon's lips. "You've no idea."
"Well then, human, is it powerful enough for the might of Dio?!" The vampire shouted, shooting super-heated blasts of fluid from his eyes towards Speedwagon. But just before they reached the former gangster, both beams of energy deflected off of some invisible force and shot into the ceiling.
"What?!" Dio exclaimed. His eye-fluid beams could cut through just about anything, but they changed course away from Speedwagon and missed him completely!
"How, you ask?" Speedwagon slid his fingers along the brim of his hat. "When I was in Egypt, I discovered this strange ⌞Arrow⌝." Speedwagon pulled a golden arrow from his jacket, holding the shaft tightly in one fist. "When I picked it up, the point stabbed into me, almost like it was magnetically attracted! When I awoke, this strange power was now part of me. So!" Speedwagon pointed at Dio. "I say unto you, Dio Brando! Witness the power of my Stand, Music Man!"
What? Dio thought. Magic arrows that grant power? Could it be an object like the Stone Mask? What is this human talking about?
"Hey! What're you two doing here? This is a restricted area!" a new voice shouted. A man in what Dio assumed was Rome's police uniform was approaching them.
Dio gave a sinister smile that sent a chill down Speedwagon's spine, then turned to face their new guest.
With inhuman speed, Dio lunged forward and grabbed the human's throat.
"Put him down, Dio!" Speedwagon shouted. Dio held the officer like a hostage, his fingers inserted into the human's neck as if he were about to drain him.
"Or what, Speedwagon? I'm holding this human's carotid artery. One move, and I'll slice him open to drain out on the floor."
"You lowly scum!" Speedwagon clenched his fists. Dio didn't know what exactly Speedwagon's "ability" could do, but he was betting that Robert wouldn't make a move if he had a hostage.
Dio thought wrong. Suddenly, something powerful struck his side, and he and the Italian man were thrown sideways. Dio regained his balance easily, but the man slammed into the wall next to them. The same wall that held the Pillar Men.
"And what did that do, Speedwagon? You've injured the very man you were trying to save!" Dio laughed.
"H-help me!" the Italian pleaded.
"Silence, human," Dio hissed.
Speedwagon's eyes went wide. "Get him away from that wall right now!"
"You dare address me in such a way-?" Dio roared.
"Dio, you piece of rubbish, look! Get him away from the wall!" Speedwagon shouted. Out of curiosity, Dio looked at the wall, and what he saw was not pleasant.
The Italian man was being absorbed into the wall, much like how Santana would absorb his "food" into him.
"WHAT?!" Dio exclaimed. But it was too late. Risking being attacked by Dio, Speedwagon dashed forward to grab the Italian's arm. The man had already head had already been absorbed, and when Speedwagon tried to yank him out of the wall, all he did was pull his severed arm free.
"Bollocks!" Speedwagon slammed his fist into the ground. Immediately, a deep rumbling emanated from the stone wall. The man in the middle, the one with the wiry strands hanging from his head, gained color and texture to his skin until he looked human.
"This isn't good. This isn't good at all," Speedwagon backed away.
"Nonsense. I'll make them obey me, just like I did with all those back in England. Even Jack the Ripper himself couldn't resist bowing down to I, Dio."
"You daft vampire," Speedwagon muttered.
Dio laughed as the Pillar man broke himself free from the wall and fell onto one knee. When he met Dio's gaze, the vampire resisted the urge to shudder. The light behind this Pillar Man's eyes... it held thousands of years of experience, age, knowledge, and an uncanny intelligence. He also saw something that he'd only seen in Jonathan Joestar—undying loyalty and honor beyond that of any normal man.
"So," the Pillar Man's deep voice rumbled like a landslide. "The time has come to return to the human world."
"You, Pillar Man!" Dio addressed the nearly nude man before him. He wore some sort of leather harness and a loincloth, leaving about ninety-five percent of his body bare. "I, Dio, have awakened you from your ancient slumber. I've defeated your ally, Santana, so know that I am capable of harming you. In return for my kindness, you and your allies will swear your loyalty to me."
The Pillar Man tilted his head as if an insect had just entered his field of view. "You are a vampire." He then rose to his full height, towering over Dio by roughly three inches. "I will do no such thing." Then he raised his arms. "Wamuu!" The Pillar Man announced, then touched each of his index fingers to the other Pillar Men's foreheads. "Awaken, my masters!"
The two remaining Pillar Men immediately broke from the wall, their skin becoming a light brown and their eyes filling with life.
Dio resisted taking a step back. Speedwagon was trembling where he stood. The two Pillar Men rose to their full heights and faced their comrade. The one who woke them knelt respectively.
"Lord Kars and Esidisi," the first one spoke.
"Wamuu, why have we awakened from our slumber?" the lightest colored one, the one wearing the black head wrapping, spoke in a cool and relaxed voice.
"It was I who awoke you," Dio spoke. Kars and Esidisi turned their heads to Dio as if noticing he and Speedwagon for the first time.
"Is this true, Wamuu? A vampire has woken us?" the other one, Esidisi, asked.
"Yes, Lord Esidisi. Though I am not sure why. He says he has defeated Santana." Wamuu replied.
Kars laughed. "A vampire killing one of us in combat? Unlikely."
Dio gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. How dare they question his might? "I am Dio Brando, killer of Santana and rightful ruler of the Earth. Who are you, Pillar Men?"
"'Pillar Men' you say? My, that's an interesting title. I am Kars, inventor of the Mask you surely used to turn yourself into a vampire. These are my comrades, Esidisi and Wamuu." Kars said coolly.
"You will submit to me," Dio ordered. The Pillar Men regarded him with cold gazes for a few moments, then each of them chuckled.
"Submit to a vampire? Preposterous," Esidisi said.
"That is what I told him. He ordered me to submit in exchange for him awakening us." Wamuu chuckled.
"You're a brave one, aren't you? Or perhaps," Kars ejected his bone blade from his forearm, a bright light shining from it and lighting up the room. "You do not know your place."
Dio glared at them, his chest heaving from anger. Speedwagon only stared in shocked silence at the interaction. After battling against Dio and his zombies in the past, he was deathly afraid of the vampire, but he could tell that these Pillar Men were far, far worse than Dio. But given Dio's unique personality, this was like watching a single cougar facing down three lions.
Dio did the last thing Speedwagon expected him to do. The blond vampire bent backwards and hooked his arms upward, his sharp nails glistening in the light.
"WRYYYY!" Dio lunged at the Pillar Men.
. . .
"This," Jonathan said aloud. "Is not good."
As soon as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, JoJo was met by a gigantic cavern. A narrow bridge connected his platform to a second, much larger platform hanging over a black abyss. A giant structure resided atop the large platform, which JoJo assumed was the vault, complete with tall trees with thick orange foliage. No, the leaves were green, but orange lights glowed brightly from the branches. The floor compromised of green grass and a wide stone pathway, with three women standing in front of the vault.
Jonathan hurriedly jogged across the bridge, trying to reach Cinder, Raven, and Vernal.
Cinder was suspiciously walking behind Raven and Vernal, and before Jonathan could call out, Raven was suddenly frozen solid, and Vernal was on the ground with a black, clawed hand plunged into her gut.
"CINDER!" Jonathan shouted with a commanding tone to his voice. The Fall Maiden's smirk melted and the fire from her eye extinguished when she saw the shirtless figure of Jonathan Joestar marching towards her, his fists clenched and his body glowing with Hamon.
"Get away from that woman. Right now," Jonathan cracked his knuckles.
Cinder recovered quickly. "Or what, Joestar?" She laughed. "You'll light me up with your Hamon? I think you'll find that I can handle much more than that."
Jonathan's face hardened. "We shall see."
Cinder turned back to Vernal, who was beginning to struggle less and less with the clawed, black hand in her abdomen. Even JoJo knew something was off. Before, when Cinder gained the powers of the Fall Maiden, an orange-colored aura was absorbed into her. Now, there was nothing.
It pained Jonathan to watch someone else die, but Vernal ceased all movement, and her glassy eyes stared up at the cave ceiling far above. He wanted to rush Cinder right there for the heinous act, but something held him back. The ice on Raven's frozen form began to crack.
"What?!" Cinder demanded. "Where's the power?"
The ice's cracks grew wider until large pieces fell to the ground.
"She's not the Spring Maiden," JoJo realized. Cinder's eye blazed when she turned to glare at him.
Raven stepped out of the ice that was now in pieces. "I am."
Even when standing behind Raven and out of range of her fire-y, Maiden-y powers, Jonathan could still see the blazing red fire that raged from her eyes.
"Vernal was a fake all along," Cinder commented in a relatively calm tone. "The last Spring Maiden must have trusted you a great deal before she died. I bet that was a mistake."
JoJo saw Raven tense. "Wait!" He reached out, but it was too late. Raven drew her sword and charged, flying across the platform headfirst towards Cinder. A glass sword appeared in the Fall Maiden's hand just in time for Raven's weapon to clash against it.
"Damn it," Jonathan gripped the hilt of Rose's Thorn and pulled it free. "I've got to stop getting in the middle of all these Maiden fights." Then he ran towards the clashing women.
By time he reached them, they flew up against the rocky wall of the vault. Raven seemed to have Cinder on the ropes, judging by the power struggle they were having.
Just when he reached the base of the vault, a memory resurfaced in JoJo's mind. When he, Baron Zeppeli, and Speedwagon were traveling to Windknight's Lot, a hypnotized lad, Poco, had swiped the leather carrying bag that contained all of their money. By time they reached him, Poco was scaling the wall of a short cliff with their bag in tow. And to get him down, Jonathan performed the same feat with Hamon that he was about to repeat now.
Jonathan took in a breath of air, already feeling Hamon warming in his body.
"Overdrive!" He pounded the side of his fist into the wall. Hamon spread through the rocks and up to Cinder and Raven. JoJo could hear his mentor's voice in his head, "A nice sound, JoJo. Your Hamon traveled all the way through."
Cinder exclaimed as the rocks shifted behind her and threw her and Raven away from the wall. Instead of stopping them or possibly knocking them out, as JoJo was hoping would happen, they continued fighting. Like a bullet, they shot to the ground, their swords continuously sparking against each other.
JoJo leaped into action. He was mostly targeting Cinder, but he'd attack Raven if he had to. He swung his sword in a wide arc, slicing into Cinder's side.
"Ah!" she exclaimed, because Raven sent a blast of fire that hit her Grimm arm.
Jonathan took a step back and shouldered his sword.
"Aura won't protect that arm," Raven told her. "You turned yourself into a monster just for power."
JoJo was instantly reminded of his stepbrother Dio. He could still hear the words Dio said on that fateful night in his family's mansion, "I reject my humanity, JoJo!"
He was snapped back to reality when a glass javelin appeared in Cinder's hands. Before she had the chance to use it, JoJo rushed forward and grabbed her black arm.
"You don't deserve to wield this power. But I think I'll take you up on your offer," he told her. Raven only watched with curious eyes as to what this muscled gentleman was talking about.
"What offer?" Cinder's eyes narrowed. Despite the situation, Jonathan grinned. He was happy to give Cinder exactly what she's been deserving ever since that night at Beacon.
"Scarlet Overdrive!" JoJo sent burning red Hamon into her arm. Cinder's eyes widened in horror and her arm steamed from its burning flesh. It surprised Jonathan that her arm hadn't disintegrated right there, but perhaps Cinder was more durable than zombies.
Cinder recoiled and backed away, clutching her arm to her chest.
"You son of a BITCH!" Cinder screamed.
Jonathan held his fist close to his chest, Hamon sparking across his knuckles. "As I said, you do not deserve this power. It was not rightfully yours to begin with, Cinder. You stole the Maiden's power, and now, you'll pay for everything you've done."
"I don't know you," Raven said from behind Jonathan. "But if you're after her, I won't fight you."
JoJo only turned his head and gave a single nod. He didn't necessarily like Raven or what she does or the way she betrayed them, but not fighting her was better than fighting two Maidens at once.
"Neither of you are making it out of here alive," Cinder promised.
"I beg to differ," Jonathan replied. Hefting Rose's Thorn, a small smirk played on his lips. "And my friend here does as well."
Cinder gritted her teeth and disappeared. In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of JoJo. He barely had time to raise his sword and defend himself.
Her glass weapon clashed against Rose's Thorn. The surge of strength from her was almost overwhelming, but Jonathan was able to push her back for enough room to fight effectively.
JoJo used all of the sword fighting skills he was taught in Beacon and by Jaune and Ozpin. Which was to say, he was about as good as Jaune. But his added size and strength really tipped the scales.
He deflected her strikes, parried her jabs, blocked her swipes, but he was still too slow. He was taking so many hits to his aura that he was glad none of his team or friends were watching. But thankfully, it didn't take long for Raven to jump in.
Jonathan and Raven waylaid into Cinder, slashing at the Fall Maiden rapidly. Cinder summoned another sword into her free hand, blocking and parrying their attacks as if her hands acted independently.
She laughed, "Is this the best you have?"
How is she this good? JoJo thought. Can't be something to do with her Maiden powers.
With a determined shout, he kicked her in the side. It immediately got his desired effect. Hamon traveled up her body and down to her Grimm arm. Cinder shrieked and recoiled, shrinking back from JoJo and Raven.
Raven immediately capitalized on the opportunity she was given. She rushed forward and slashed Cinder across the chest. Cinder flew back and tumbled across the ground.
But she was immediately got to her feet and charged again. This time, Raven rushed to intercept her.
It looked like a blue light began to encircle her, and the same for Cinder, except hers was orange. At first, Jonathan thought it was a trick of the light, but then he realized that light was actually flying around them. Then, to top it all off, they began to float into the air.
That's a new one, JoJo thought.
But when the wind and stones began to float around them, that's when he decided to stop this before it escalated even further.
Jonathan hefted his sword and ran. When he got halfway to them, huge, and he means huge swords appeared in their hands. Raven held a giant katana that seemed to be formed out of blue crystal, and Cinder wielded one of searing metal, as if someone had been in the middle of forging it.
Jonathan leaped into the air with the help of his aura at the same time that Raven and Cinder charged each other.
In that moment, just before JoJo got within range to use his sword, he supercharged Rose's Thorn so full of Hamon that the blade was continuously sparking and glowed with life energy.
Just before Cinder and Raven's enormous swords clashed, JoJo stuck his sword in the middle, very similarly to how he did when Dio and Baron Zeppeli were fighting. JoJo had stopped Dio's fist before it could freeze the Baron's other arm. Except this time, he was dealing with magic swords that quite possibly explode.
It was too late to pull back his sword now, and the same went for Raven and Cinder.
As soon as their swords slammed into Rose's Thorn, two things happened. One, the swords did explode, and the three of them were sent flying in different directions. Two, Rose's Thorn also exploded. Literally. The blade broke into a million different pieces and shot in every direction. Thanks to Cinder already beating up on his aura, the shards of the sword peppered against JoJo's chest, and almost instantaneously, his aura failed.
Jonathan grunted when he felt something plunge into his shoulder. The explosion blinded him and made his ears ring, so he could only feel when he hit the ground. His back slammed into the concrete and knocked the wind out of the Joestar.
Immediately, he tried to breathe normally again. It was vital for him to be able to breathe to use Hamon. Then again, it was vital for everyone to breathe, so...
After several seconds, he was able to do his exercised Hamon breaths and send warmth to his chest. He didn't want to close the wound, because he knew that a piece of shrapnel was still in him. Instead, he settled for numbing the wound and stopping any bleeding.
Once the ringing in his ears stopped and his vision was back to normal, JoJo sat up and scanned his surroundings. And it wasn't too good. Chunks of rock were falling from the cave ceiling, the area around him was completely wrecked, and Cinder and Raven were in the air. Again.
Except now, they were on giant chunks of falling rocks.
Then JoJo looked over to what he held in his hand. He thought his sword felt lighter, and now he saw why. The hilt of Rose's Thorn lay in his right hand, the blade broken off several inches from the cross guard.
"Great, another sword gone," Jonathan sighed. He tossed the broken sword to the side and unsteadily got to his feet. He glanced down at the shard of metal protruding from his right shoulder.
It was maybe the size of a Dust crystal, and as thin as wire. JoJo tried to pull it out, but as soon as he touched it, his entire right side lit aflame. Even with his Hamon to dull the pain, it still hurt worse than being shot by Dio's eye fluid.
"Jonathan!" Raven shouted just before something slammed into JoJo's side. The next thing he knew, he was in free fall.
Instinctively, JoJo stuck his hand out and grabbed the only thing he could—a small ledge about the size of a DVD case, just big enough to hold with three fingers.
JoJo looked up and found himself about two meters down the cliff. The bad thing was that he was hanging by his right arm, and it was straining his wound.
Again, he was reminded of the last night he spent in his family home. He had been climbing up to the roof with the point of an iron javelin in his shoulder.
"Had enough?" Raven's voice said from above.
"Shut the hell up," Cinder hissed, then JoJo heard the sounds of swords clashing.
"Damn it...!" Jonathan muttered. He scanned the cliff face for any handholds he could take advantage of.
Yes! He thought. It was about half a meter away, but he could reach it if he jumped.
And he did. He pushed off of what little he could and launched himself upwards. He stuck his hand out to grab the ledge, then slipped! Or he would have, if there were no water droplets on the handhold. With just a bit of Hamon, his hand stuck to the ledge like super glue.
Now, the edge of the cliff was just barely within arm's reach. Then he felt wind blow against his side, and he looked over just in time to see Cinder falling into the abyss.
He had time to think, "Hey, check that out" before she disappeared, slowly turning into a Cinder-cicle from one of Raven's blasts of magic.
JoJo looked up to see Raven peering over the edge at him, her eyes blazing with red flames.
"Hey," she prompted. "Need a hand?"
A few moments later, Jonathan was safely standing back on the platform in front of the giant vault door.
"So," Jonathan broke the silence. "This is the Vault of the Relic of Knowledge?"
"Indeed it is," Raven replied. She gazed up at the tall golden door and took a step forward. The bandit leader pressed her palm against the door. A faint blue light glowed from the bottom and spread upwards, taking the shape of growing vines. The light briefly glowed brighter, and the door began to fold up in what looked like sunflower petals. The "petals" folded up and receded into the sides of the door, and just beyond the threshold was what Jonathan would describe as a mirage. The rolling sand dunes seemed to go on forever, but the ground and air shimmered like a mirage, and fog blanketed sand around the circular clearing.
Several meters through the doorway, a pedestal sat alone in the clearing. Atop it was a golden lantern that glowed with blue light.
Jonathan could have stood there looking into the Vault of the Spring Maiden all day, but sudden movement in front of him caught his eye. Raven was approaching the vault door.
"Hold it," JoJo called out, and Raven halted. "Maiden powers are transferred to the person who was in their thoughts last. The last Spring Maiden must have trusted you a lot to make you the Maiden."
Raven glanced over her shoulder. "And?"
JoJo flexed his injured shoulder. "So, how did she pass, then?"
"What does it matter?" Raven turned to face him. Her face was unreadable to the normal eye, but he recognized the look behind her eyes. The last time he saw it, he threw Dio Brando off of the second floor in his house when he found out that Dio had been poisoning their father.
"You killed her," Jonathan guessed.
"She was weak when I found her. No matter how much training I put her through, she learned nothing. She was afraid to use her own powers. With those powers, she would have been hunted her entire life. What I did—" she began to shout.
"Was cruel," Jonathan's eyes narrowed.
"It was mercy!" Raven's eyes blazed with red flame.
Jonathan bent his knees and his back to stand in an odd way, his shoulders back, "What you did was a crime and unnecessary. You think it was a kindness? That you're merciful? There may be no one to condemn you for your acts, Raven Branwen, and that is why I, Jonathan Joestar," JoJo pointed at Raven, his fist clenched, and his index finger extended. "will be the one to judge you!"
Raven was silent for a count to five. Then a low chuckle emanated from her mouth. "You're in no shape to fight me, Joestar."
"But I will try," JoJo ceased his pose and raised his fists in an attacking stance.
With a smirk, she instantaneously unsheathed her katana. "If you think I even want the relic, you're sorely mistaken. I already have a target on my back the size of Mistral and taking that relic will just make it bigger." She sliced the air beside her, cutting a red portal into thin air. "Take the relic. You can be Ozpin's guinea pig, and make the target on your back even bigger than it already is." Then she disappeared into the portal, and it closed behind her.
Jonathan exhaled heavily. Ever since stating that he'd be the one to punish her for her crimes, he'd been holding his breath.
"Well," JoJo thought aloud. "That was terrifying."
Then he turned his gaze back to the vault and stepped inside. JoJo walked towards the relic, ignoring the mirage-like imagery around him. Upon closer inspection, the relic was rather large for a lamp. It had a golden casing and handle, but the "glass" glowed a warm blue.
Jonathan picked it up by the handle, the metal surprisingly cool to the touch.
Better get back up top, JoJo thought. There's no telling how that fight is going.
. . .
Dio Brando was on the ropes. Nothing he did injured the Pillar Men, just like with Santana. But Speedwagon seemed to be having some progress. Neither the Pillar Men nor Dio could see this "Stand" of his, and it played to the human's advantage. Speedwagon delivered powerful blows to the ancient Aztecs with an invisible force. Wamuu spun his arms rapidly, creating a hurricane to blast at his opponents. Luckily, Dio and Speedwagon managed to avoid it.
"We have to work together if we want a chance at defeating them!" Speedwagon called out after pulling a large sledgehammer seemingly out of nowhere.
"As if I'd ever agree to that!" Dio roared after blasting Esidisi with heated eye fluids.
"You stupid monst—" Speedwagon was interrupted when Kars managed to slam him in the side. Robert Speedwagon flew for several meters and slammed into a stone pillar, the mystical golden arrow flying from his hand and landing at Dio's feet.
Dio picked the arrow up and inspected it. Strangely enough, he had to pull the arrow away from him because it was straining to dip its point towards him.
Is this what Speedwagon meant by "magnetically drawn?" Dio thought. He tensed, then threw his body to the left to avoid being sliced in two. Kars was standing several feet away from Dio. If he hadn't dodged, Kars's blade would've cleaved right through him. Dio knew there was something off about it. There's no way his "bone blade" could catch the light like that if not for some additional reason.
"You're fast, for a vampire," Kars said. Dio gritted his teeth and got to his feet.
"Fast enough to out-speed you, monster."
Kars only smirked and walked towards Dio at a leisurely pace. Dio resisted the urge to bolt. He was Dio Brando, the future ruler of this world, he refused to run from some supposed "higher being."
The golden arrow continued to struggle in Dio's hand. A new power, Dio recalled. Speedwagon had been fending off the Pillar Men with some sort of invisible power. If he could attain something like that...
"This better work," Dio muttered, then drove the point of the golden arrow into his chest.
. . .
The walk up took a bit longer than Jonathan would have preferred, but he finally arrived aboveground. And the first thing he saw warmed him right down to his bones, it did.
The four members of team RWBY sat on the floor, just holding onto each other. Where Blake had come from, JoJo had absolutely no clue. But there she was, with her team as if she'd never left.
Jonathan stepped off of the lift, alerting RWBY to his presence.
"JoJo!" Ruby gasped, then their eyes were drawn to the golden lamp in his hand.
"Hey, guys," Jonathan chuckled and scratched the side of his face.
"You're hurt," Weiss said.
"Oh, it's nothing. Although, I am starting to feel it. Ouch," JoJo brought his free hand to his shoulder, sending a bit of Hamon into it. Then he scanned the room. Everyone they were fighting was gone. There were some new faces as well, though. Sun Wukong stood with a tall man with black hair and yellow eyes, and a short woman that looked like an older version of Blake. Her parents, he guessed.
When Sun locked eyes with JoJo, the monkey Faunus grinned and jogged over to greet him.
"JoJo!" he high-fived the Joestar.
"Sun! What're you doing here?"
Sun gestured to Blake, "Supporting the troops. Someone had to back her up in the fight."
Jonathan smiled. Sun and his teammate Neptune were among the first to meet JoJo upon his arrival at Beacon. After all this time, it was good to see the Faunus again.
Then he glanced to the side and saw Qrow kneeling next to Oscar. "Hold that thought," Jonathan told him. He strode over to the huntsman and headmaster. Oscar appeared to be completely worn out. Fighting for so long with Ozpin behind the controls was probably exhausting for the young lad.
"Qrow," Jonathan lifted the Relic of Knowledge for them to see.
"We did it," Qrow sighed in relief. "We did it, Oz."
"But we're not finished, are we?" JoJo asked.
"Far from it, kid," Qrow got to his feet and took the relic from Jonathan. "We've got another journey ahead of us."
"Great, I love long journeys," Jonathan rolled his eyes.
Qrow narrowed his eyes. "I think you've been around my nieces too long with that kind of attitude."
"Can you blame me? It took, what, two, three months to get here? And now we're going somewhere else?"
"...Not really, no," Qrow put a hand on the back of his neck. "But now we're going somewhere that no one wants to go—Atlas."
Jonathan's arms went slack. "Atlas? Why?"
"Dunno. That's what Oz said before going dark on us."
JoJo ran a hand through his blue hair. "The others aren't going to like this."
"I know," Qrow sighed. "But they—we don't have a choice." Then he noticed the shard of metal sticking out of Jonathan's shoulder. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. Just have to remove it and fix it up with a bit of Hamon," JoJo told him. The Joestar looked back to Ruby and the others. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go catch up with Blake. It's been a while."
Qrow nodded, and JoJo walked back to his friends.
"What's up, JoJo?" Ruby asked when he rejoined them.
Jonathan shook his head and held his injured shoulder. "Just... Glad this battle's over."
"Me too," Weiss sighed. "We can finally take a break and rest for a while."
JoJo moistened his lips. "I'm afraid..." the others looked to him with raised eyebrows. "that we're only just getting started."
Well, time to begin volume six. Still working out what Jonathan's gonna do to be his own person and significant and all that in the future rather than just following along with the story, but I've learned I get all my ideas as I'm writing it rather than trying to plan it. I know this chapter might not have been the most entertaining to read, unless that's just my own self-doubt in the back of my head when I was writing it. Nevertheless, I'm gonna try to make it more, like, better. If that makes sense. And yeah, Speedwagon has a Stand, and Dio used the Arrow. We'll see how the fight against the Pillar Men goes. But I assure you, a certain boi is going to fight them also.
Stand Master: Robert E. O. Speedwagon
Stand Name: Music Man
Ability: Sending waves of melodious sounds that have different effects depending on the "music notes." Similar to Echoes Part 2. Music Man can literally shoot fire music at its opponents. Range: four meters.
Appearance: ???
Power - B
Speed - C
Range - D
Durability - B
Precision - D
Potential - C