“Reporting back, Master!” – a small faint voice sounded from inside his room. – “It seems like both Balin A. Thor and D. E. Staz have failed us! Worst part about it is that they’ve joined the deliverers’ side!”

“Just as I thought…” – He answered. – “Good thing I have the rest of my minions to send after these fools. My dear messenger, Era O’Tick. You wouldn’t betray me now, would you?”

“Of course not, my Master… The Finisher.” – Answered the small voice which suddenly didn’t even sound that small. A dark silhouette appeared in front of The Finisher. – “I am forever your loyal servant. The same can’t be said about Staz and Balin though…”

“It’s not like Staz was ever on my side. He wanted the box for his own sake. I need that box for my sake as well. So I can finally go back home. I boarded this damn flight to Denmark, the country! BUT THEY MISTOOK MY DESTINATION TO DENMARK, AUSTRALIA! NOW I’M STUCK HERE IN THIS BACKWARDS SMALL TOWN!” – The Finisher smashed the table next to him so hard it broke in half. – “I need the contents of that box to get back home to Europe. Speaking of… I still don’t understand how you could run all the way from Denmark, Australia to Sydney and back in just 3 hours.”

“Part of my Stand’s power, Master… It’s why I’m able to be your perfect messenger.”

“Perfect. Now then, I shall alert and send some more of my Stand user army to retrieve that box for me…”

Meanwhile, our heroes were struggling to figure out a way to continue their journey.

“So!” – Shouted ToTo urgently. – “Now that the bus is literally split in half and we’re stuck here on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, what shall we do?”

“I mean… We could rent a car I guess.” – Answered Bali. – “Or hail a taxi.”

“Trust me there are no taxis on this road at all.” – Said Brian.

“Does anyone have a phone or something so we could call one though?” – Asked Staz.

“Check the bus, maybe it has an on-board phone for the driver.” – Said ToTo.

Staz and Brian went to check the bus, only to find nothing on-board.

“Well, unless you can use an air freshener as a phone, there’s pretty much nothing here.” – Shouted Staz from inside the rolled-over bus.

“Hah, I knew a guy like that… Too bad it turned out he just had a split-personality he was talking with.” – Laughed Bali.

“Oh man, what can we do now?” – Panic took over ToTo. – “We’re stuck here in the middle of the road with no food, no water, nothing! We’re too far from Sydney to just walk back, what are we going to do now?”

“Guys… We’re seriously stupid.” – Said Staz, now out of the bus. – “There’s a town right there!” – He pointed at the small water tower and houses on the horizon. – “It shouldn’t be more than a 30 minute walk from here!”

“Shall we risk it?” – Asked Balin.

“I mean… All our supplies were destroyed in the bus crash so yes, we HAVE to risk it.” – Answered Brian with a leader-like tone, encouraging the others.

And so they walked. And kept walking. As to what happened to the other passengers is up to the imagination. Some went to the same town as our heroes, some tried walking back to Sydney. After about 30 minutes of walking, just as Staz predicted, our heroes arrived at the small town nearby, filled with the sense of exhaustion.

“Finally, we made it!” – Said ToTo in relief.

“All thanks to Staz and his good eyes!” – Said Bali proudly.

“Yeah… Though most of it was thanks to Hellraiser’s precision. He could spot the town easily. Anyways uhh, wrong timing but I really need to take a piss.”

“Let’s split up, how about that?” – Started Bali. – “Staz, since your bladder is about to explode, go and find a toilet, Brian and ToTo, you two scout the area at the town centre, I’ll go shop for some food, water, and other essentials. Once Staz and I are done we shall meet you two at the town centre.”

“Sounds good to me.” – Answered Brian.

The group has split up, all going their own ways with their own objectives. Staz has successfully found a bathroom at the edge of the town.

“Are you serious, it’s paid?” – Staz started getting mad. – “It better be a luxurious place where the toilet cleans my fucking ass after I’ve finished and they give you free towels and a Michelin star meal!”

Staz has paid the fee to use the toilet as he couldn’t hold it in anymore. The place was rather grimy, cramped, 1 out of the 5 urinals had half of it broken off and the stalls did not even have doors.

“Is this legit what I had to pay for?” – Said Staz outraged. – “At least it’s empty I guess, since nobody would come to this shithole. Not only do you have to pay, but you also get these conditions too, just to take a piss.”

As he stood next to the urinal, unzipping his pants, somebody else walked into the bathroom. A middle-aged man slightly shorter than him with a receding blonde hairline and a stylish blonde moustache and goatee to go with it. The man was wearing a white tank-top and blue jeans.

“This guy looks like the embodiment of a boomer.” – Thought Staz to himself. – “Besides… Can’t I take a goddamn piss in peace?”

Right as he finished his thought process, the stranger proceeded to approach him and stand at the urinal right besides Staz.

“Alright… Excuse me, sir. BUT DON’T YOU KNOW THE NUMBER ONE RULE OF URINALS?” – Staz screamed at the stranger. – “YOU ALWAYS LEAVE ONE SPACE BETWEEN EACH OTHER UNLESS ALL SPOTS ARE TAKEN!”

“I don’t care about those stupid rules.” – Answered the stranger promptly.

“But I do! HELLRAISER!” – Staz’s Stand quickly punched towards the stranger only to be stopped by a large bulky sheet of metal. – “Is that…”

“A shield, yes. I suppose I had to use something to stop your punch.” – Answered the stranger – “Now then, prepare to die, D. E. Staz!” – The stranger grabbed a large cannon-like object with a boxing glove at the end of the barrel and aimed it towards Staz. In the blink of an eye, a spring launched the glove towards Staz, hitting him successfully and launching him with so much force that Staz’s body crashed through the wall and flew a good 8 metres out onto the street.

The stranger slowly walked out of the hole Staz’s body left in the wall.

“The name’s Akram Bey Bla’ed. I was sent by The Finisher alongside my friend to defeat you all and retrieve the package.”

Staz slowly stood up, dusting off the debris from his clothes. He was filled with anger, he wanted to bash Akram’s head in.

“So you’re a Stand user.” – Staz said. – “Judging by how you pulled out those things from nowhere. And considering you mentioned The Finisher and… Wait where’s my wallet?” – Staz started searching around his pockets. His wallet was gone. Initially, he thought he had lost it but he remembered using the money from it to pay for the bathroom.

“You mean this?” – Akram pulled a brown leather wallet out of his pockets. – “I took it to feed my Stand, hope you don’t mind.”

“YOU STOLE MY MONEY? YOU THIEF!” – Hellraiser hurled a large rock at Akram, which he once again deflected with the shield.

“Nobody can just deflect the rock hurl!” – Staz shouted. – “Just what is that Stand?”

“My Stand? Do you want to see it that badly? Well, I used up all your money already so I suppose I will have to reveal it either way.” – Said Akram as an orange robot-like Stand appeared behind him. – “This is my Stand, 50 Cent!”

The Stand suddenly started sucking up money from around itself using its mouth with a screen in the middle counting how much currency it had.

“So your Stand steals money, alright. But why is it measuring it in Euros? We’re in Australia!” – Asked Staz.

“Because Euros are more stable than the Australian Dollar. Also because I’m European so I brought my heritage with me!” – Answered Akram.

Staz started slowly approaching Akram with bloodlust in his eyes.

“Do you honestly think I’ll just let you walk up to me?” – Laughed Akram as he grabbed a gun from the Stand’s compartment and fired it at Staz’s leg. Staz fell on his knee from the pain but quickly ripped his tie off and wrapped it around his wound to stop the bleeding.

“Finally, I have your Stand figured out.” – Giggled Staz. – “You can exchange money for any sort of item using your Stand. The money decreases based on the real-life price of the item. Dude, just how much did you memorise the stock market?”

“Took me a good 2 months of non-stop memorising not going to lie.” – Answered Akram with a smirk.

“Then I guess if I beat the living shit out of you for a good 2 minutes I could make you forget. It’s simple maths. 1 minute of pounding equals to forgetting 1 month of learning.” – Staz got up once again and started walking towards Akram, now much slower. His steps seemed to be in rhythm and the footsteps he left behind always had the same distance between them. Staz’s breathing started being steady, deep breaths in, long breathing out. However, just as he was doing these exercises, Akram aimed the gun to fire again, shooting out 3 consecutive rounds.

“This is where it ends.” – Staz said as Hellraiser swiftly caught all 3 bullets with its index and middle fingers. Akram fired one more bullet only to be met with the same result.

“As I said, you’re done for!” – Staz’s eyes turned ferocious. – “HELLRAISER!”

The Stand pinched the bullet between its two fingers, took aim and fired the bullet out using its other index and middle fingers.

“I call this one recycling. You should really use it sometimes instead of creating something new all the time then throwing it away. It’s bad for the environment.” – Grinned Staz.

The bullet hit Akram straight in the shoulder which he grabbed with his hand with a scream of agony.

“And this one… Well, it’s a move I have already shown you.” – Hellraiser hurled another rock towards Akram, this time with much more speed, hitting him straight in the stomach, drilling its way into it. Staz slowly walked up to Akram, who had blood gushing out from his bullet wound and the hole the rock left in his stomach while also coughing up blood from the damage the rock did to his organs.

“The reason you lost…” – Started Staz. – “was because you made me piss on my pants, you stole my wallet, I was already in a bad mood and because you underestimated me. I’ll be taking this from you though.” – Hellraiser grabbed Akram’s Stand, 50 Cent and started beating it continuously, only making Akram scream more in agony and cough even more blood up. Eventually, the Stand released a huge stack of money from its mouth. – “Yeah. This shall do. For my new pants, the toilet fee, treatment for my wounds and some leftover for other stuff. Listen here, asshole!” – Staz grabbed the suffering Akram by his neck. – “I’ll let your puny ass live, BUT if you ever try to attack me or my friends ever again, I won’t let you off the hook that easily, GOT IT?”

Akram only nodded in fear and because he couldn’t even speak from the pain.

“Your Stand though… It seems quite interesting. I smell business in it. Oh well, too bad you’re just some low-life scum who decided to go up against me! Hah! Foolish.” – Staz walked away from Akram towards the town centre. – “Wait… He mentioned something about having a friend here as well. Which means somebody else was ambushed as well. Judging by the methods these guys use, they wouldn’t go for 2 people at once, Bali on the other hand… Ah who am I kidding, the guy will be fine.” – Laughed Staz.

Name: Akram Bey Bla’ed

Stand: 50 Cent.

Status: Retired

Staz was quite right. Just as Bali got done shopping and was leaving the store, a man of his height was standing in front of him. He had short brown hair, dark glasses, and an orange shirt.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Balin A. Thor.” – Said the man.

“Wow, déjà vu!” – Answered Bali. – “Anyways, how may I help?”

“By dying!” – Laughed the man.

“Aww, but I don’t even know your name yet, friend! Come on, don’t be shy! It’s only normal to share your name with someone you already seem to know the name of.”

“The name’s Deppo, yes.” – Answered the man.

“Good, now that we are properly introduced, I suppose you were sent by The Finisher as well to kill us and retrieve the box, right?”

“Just give us the box and nobody will get hurt.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, friend. However, I will let you go if you slowly turn around and leave.” – Said Bali.

“Why are you underestimating me?” – Asked Deppo.

“Why am I underestimating you? After all, what Stand could you have? Buckethead!” – Bali summoned his Stand and proceeded to spawn a bucket over Deppo’s head, blocking his vision. – “Wow, this bucket spawning exhausted me for some reason. I suppose it’s because I haven’t eaten anything for a good while now.” – Bali fell on his knees all of a sudden. – “Oh my… This is strange. Guess I really am tired.”

Bali couldn’t get up fast enough to reach Deppo before he could take the bucket off his head. Now Deppo had the upper-hand over the exhausted Bali.

“B-Buckethead!” – Bali tried summoning his Stand but it was all futile. Buckethead did not appear. – “What the hell anymore…”

“Underestimation, eh?” – Deppo walked up to Bali and kicked him straight in the face. – “What did you say about underestimation just now? It seems like your Stand doesn’t even want to come out, is it scared or something?”

“What’s the point, to be honest? Why did I agree to take on this journey anyways? It’s none of my business. I could’ve lived my life without it quite easily.” – Said Bali frowningly.

“So are you giving up? Is this your final goodbye before you die, Balin A. Thor?” – Deppo asked joyously. – “It seems like it’s working. You don’t feel like fighting me at all, do you? You’re already too tired of this bullshit!”

“Honestly… Nah, I mean I got to continue this, don’t I? So if I can’t use my Stand… I’ll just use my fist!” – Bali quickly jabbed at Deppo’s stomach who backed up from the impact. –“You’re a Stand user and you are causing me to be this demotivated and tired, aren’t you?”

“So you figured me out…” – A small skeleton-like blue creature crawled up Deppo’s back. – “Yes indeed, my Stand, SAD! can make anyone demotivated and depressed. Do you know dopamine? The chemical that controls your motivation? I removed a good chunk of it from your body to the point where you don’t even feel like standing or summoning Buckethead!”

“Oh, I see… Well, guess this is where I die. I don’t feel like fighting. I give up. Just kill me.” – Said Bali while looking down on the ground.

“Very well then... SAD!” – The small Stand quickly jumped off Deppo’s back towards Balin to deal a killing blow.

“So you really thought my only ability was to summon buckets?” – Giggled Balin in himself. – “Not even ToTo knows of this ability of mine yet… HERMIT PUR-… I mean… BUCKETHEAD!” – Bali reached towards SAD! with guitar strings shooting out from his arm, wrapping around the Stand. – “I can freely manipulate Buckethead’s guitar strings! This way I don’t need to summon my Stand, thus using up much less power! Did you really think I would give up this easily? Yes… I feel demotivated, I feel depressed indeed. But I still know I have a purpose I must fulfil! I have a mission that I must finish!”

Deppo’s Stand was trapped in Bali’s guitar strings now and couldn’t move at all.

“I guess I just have to remove even more dopamine from your system!” – Deppo struggled to utter the words from his mouth as even breathing was almost impossible. However, the hold got looser. Bali was losing motivation again.

“No matter how much you try to replenish your dopamine by saying motivational bullshit to yourself, I WIN! I can just remove more and more and more of it!” – Deppo finally could free himself from the hold with his Stand also breaking free. Balin was again on the ground, not even the guitar strings could be manifested anymore.

“Dammit, there’s got to be something.” – Said Bali in fear. SAD! once again jumped towards him but he was too demotivated to even move, he only rolled over a little bit so the Stand would not hit him head-on. – “This is really not it… Aw man, there has got to be some way of defeating this guy.”

Deppo walked up to Balin, stomped on his face and looked down on him.

“There’s nothing you can do anymore! You are done for!” – Deppo repeatedly stomped on Bali and kicked him as he did not feel like doing anything anymore. He was defenceless, with nobody around to help. What can he do anymore? He had no energy or motivation to even stand up.

“ToTo! I can’t believe it, you guys have come to help me!” – Bali shouted to his right. Deppo suddenly stepped off Balin and looked in the direction he shouted at. At this moment, Bali quickly bit Deppo’s ankle with all the energy he had left, with Deppo falling on his knees from the pain, holding the bite marks.

“What the hell is your problem?” – Screamed Deppo at Bali.

“So it seems like your Stand’s ability gets weaker if you get surprised, just as I guessed. That’s why the punch I gave you in the stomach also allowed me to summon the guitar strings. I got you figured out now. And how gullible are you? You fell for the ages-old joke of ‘look over there’!” – Bali laughed at Deppo. – “Buckethead! Let’s deal with this fool in style…”

The Stand finally appeared behind Bali, spawning a bucket on top of Deppo’s head and grabbing his guitar in anger. First, a sudden swing into Deppo’s stomach made him cough up blood and his Stand’s effects to finally disappear completely. Then Bali made Deppo stand up only to be hit in the knee by Buckethead’s guitar. Finally, a massive hit on the bucket on top of Deppo’s head made him go flying 25 metres into a pile of trash.

“Right where you belong!” – Shouted Balin after Deppo. – “Well then… Time for me to withdraw… Coolly.” – As Bali walked away, Deppo slowly stood up from the pile of garbage.

“This guy… I’ll be back one day! Just you wait!” – Muttered Deppo in himself.

Name: Deppo

Stand: SAD!

Status: Escaped

“Oh, you two are back! Damn you look beaten up, what happened?” – Asked Brian as Staz and Balin arrived at the town centre.

“Enemy Stand user ambushed me.” – Said Staz.

“Enemy Stand user ambushed me.” – Said Bali.

“Oh, glad you two are okay though. Albeit your wounds I suppose…” – Said Brian jokingly.

“One thing’s for sure.” – Started Bali. – “The Finisher is sending more and more Stand users against us to fight… We only have so much time to rest. We must get a move on to reach our destination as soon as we can!”

The team’s first fights thus conclude. What awaits them further along the way? One thing is for sure: It’s not going to be easy. Further challenges are coming up.