A Bizarre New World, Chapter One: Cat’s In The Cradle

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Hironobu remained quiet for some time, allowing them to purge themselves of their initial reactions; outrage, confusion, whining, and everything else in between.

"That video was made roughly two hours before Mr. Joestar's death. I'd say he was more coherent than most of you would have been. Still, I am willing to be... understanding of your situation, so I will ease back on my retorts, for now." Approaching a wall, the teenager pushed on it, revealing a hidden function as it flipped over to reveal a whiteboard, "For Ms. Sandra, I will try and make this as simple as I can; Mr. Joestar had discovered that there was a correlation between the Night Fever and Ocasek 678. While there had been theories about this ever since the meteors struck, no one had the resources to go into the impact zones and find the remains of the meteors, nonetheless retrieve a sample. Your father eventually made that possible and found that combining samples from all three zones produced a... result. Testing proved that while it did not outright cure the Night Fever, it ensured the inflicted survived. Needless to say with the current survival rate, it might as well be a cure."

Pulling out a dry-erase marker, Hironobu pulled the cap off before he wrote out a name,

「LITA FORD」

"Mr. Joestar did not have many enemies, but one of them for certain was the O.S.S. after a... certain incident. It was only natural that they would be hostile to his attempts to obtain the RIZ sample," Tapping on the board right below the name, he continued, "They sent someone to retrieve the RIZ sample, as well as take the other two and the research as added interest and while we were successful in keeping her from succeeding in her mission, Brigadier General Lita Ford was ultimately the one who dealt the deathblow to your father."

Capping the marker, he turned back to them, "The speed in which Mr. Joestar deteriorated meant that some details of his research were not recorded and lost with him. In order to reproduce your father's cure, we will need the meteor fragments from all three impact zones."

The little prick offered more information about the situation Sandra and her "siblings" found themselves in than that old **** bothered to.

She knew that Ocasek 678 was the meteoroid that struck Earth years ago and fucked everything up in what used to be the USA. He found a correlation between that and Night Fever, and after some testing, managed to develop some kind of medicine or something that could improve chances of survival. Whatever the **** OSS was didn't like it and they - or Lita Ford - did something to him and eventually killed him. Sandra assumed that this Ford woman was the "woman with the gauntlet" Joestar talked about and that gauntlet fucked with his soul or something.

She frowned. The three impact zones were pretty far from each other. That meant they would likely have to split up. A cold chill ran down her spine, because there were only nine of them. Three teams of three meant there was a chance she could end up with...

" O.S.S, huh, my granduncle knows guys, and he doesn't like them very much. He considers them to be assholes. In fact, I'm pretty sure the whole world of assassination knows about such a group," Boris said.

She sighed tersely and squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Will you shut the **** up about your stupid granduncle? Nobody gives a ****."

[Yun Lao]

"How much of the meteor fragments will be needed? I've seen meteorites in Natural History Museums that are the size of a golf ball, and others that are as big as a small car. Each of the Ocasek 678 fragments could be broken up and scattered over a wide area, or it might be intact."

Jinny then thought of something, "Speaking of enemies, does anyone have any idea who attacked Jamie and Boris? Seems odd and unsettling that they would be attacked inside the Foundation."

"Mr. Joestar mentioned that he had learned that the「Cores」 were intact, but each were guarded in their own way. Barring them, you'll have to find as many fragments as possible."

Hironobu stayed quiet on the topic of the attacker, as if uncertain whether or not to say anything. Instead, he moved to address their previous concern: support.

"As I have mentioned earlier, the Speedwagon Foundation was prepared to embark on this, with or without the support of Mr. Joestar's children. This has not changed, but with your numbers, we can now focus more on the... behind-the-scenes aspects to make things smoother for you. As of right now, our best options are to focus on the SIZ and GIZ regions, as we have established connections within them."

[Tami]

"Mr. Joestar mentioned that he had learned that the「Cores」 were intact, but each were guarded in their own way. Barring them, you'll have to find as many fragments as possible."

Hironobu stayed quiet on the topic of the attacker, as if uncertain whether or not to say anything. Instead, he moved to address their previous concern: support.

"As I have mentioned earlier, the Speedwagon Foundation was prepared to embark on this, with or without the support of Mr. Joestar's children. This has not changed, but with your numbers, we can now focus more on the... behind-the-scenes aspects to make things smoother for you. As of right now, our best options are to focus on the SIZ and GIZ regions, as we have established connections within them."

"Saving Roswell for last," Jinny spoke softly as if thinking out loud. Addressing Hironobu again, "What do you mean by connections? Does Johannes have friends in those areas?"

[Jcogginsa]

"Mr. Joestar mentioned that he had learned that the「Cores」 were intact, but each were guarded in their own way. Barring them, you'll have to find as many fragments as possible."

Hironobu stayed quiet on the topic of the attacker, as if uncertain whether or not to say anything. Instead, he moved to address their previous concern: support.

"As I have mentioned earlier, the Speedwagon Foundation was prepared to embark on this, with or without the support of Mr. Joestar's children. This has not changed, but with your numbers, we can now focus more on the... behind-the-scenes aspects to make things smoother for you. As of right now, our best options are to focus on the SIZ and GIZ regions, as we have established connections within them."

"What do you know about those guarding these cores?" John asked

[The Dog]

Hironobu remained quiet for some time, allowing them to purge themselves of their initial reactions; outrage, confusion, whining, and everything else in between.

"That video was made roughly two hours before Mr. Joestar's death. I'd say he was more coherent than most of you would have been. Still, I am willing to be... understanding of your situation, so I will ease back on my retorts, for now." Approaching a wall, the teenager pushed on it, revealing a hidden function as it flipped over to reveal a whiteboard, "For Ms. Sandra, I will try and make this as simple as I can; Mr. Joestar had discovered that there was a correlation between the Night Fever and Ocasek 678. While there had been theories about this ever since the meteors struck, no one had the resources to go into the impact zones and find the remains of the meteors, nonetheless retrieve a sample. Your father eventually made that possible and found that combining samples from all three zones produced a... result. Testing proved that while it did not outright cure the Night Fever, it ensured the inflicted survived. Needless to say with the current survival rate, it might as well be a cure."

Pulling out a dry-erase marker, Hironobu pulled the cap off before he wrote out a name,

「LITA FORD」

"Mr. Joestar did not have many enemies, but one of them for certain was the O.S.S. after a... certain incident. It was only natural that they would be hostile to his attempts to obtain the RIZ sample," Tapping on the board right below the name, he continued, "They sent someone to retrieve the RIZ sample, as well as take the other two and the research as added interest and while we were successful in keeping her from succeeding in her mission, Brigadier General Lita Ford was ultimately the one who dealt the deathblow to your father."

Capping the marker, he turned back to them, "The speed in which Mr. Joestar deteriorated meant that some details of his research were not recorded and lost with him. In order to reproduce your father's cure, we will need the meteor fragments from all three impact zones."

"O.S.S.?" Jamie asked with a frown, adding "My parents were supporters of the organization, though it's been a few years since I've spoken to them."

[Yun Lao]

"Saving Roswell for last," Jinny spoke softly as if thinking out loud. Addressing Hironobu again, "What do you mean by connections? Does Johannes have friends in those areas?"

"Yes," He replied, not feeling the need to elaborate on this.

"What do you know about those guarding these cores?" John asked

"Very little. Each region possesses different challenges when it comes to even get close to where the cores might be. Moonchild herself says she is willing to aid us in reaching the SIZ core but has not revealed her price just yet."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Very little. Each region possesses different challenges when it comes to even get close to where the cores might be. Moonchild herself says she is willing to aid us in reaching the SIZ core but has not revealed her price just yet."

"Nothing good, I assure you." Vivian noted dryly.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" Hey, Hironobu is there any place around here I can make an international call?" Boris said. Boris looks around. ( huh my granduncle isn't stupid he's one of the most infamous assassins in the world, you have to be living under a rock not to know who my granduncle is,) Boris thought.

[Yun Lao]

" Hey, Hironobu is there any place around here I can make an international call?" Boris said. Boris looks around. ( huh my granduncle isn't stupid he's one of the most infamous assassins in the world, you have to be living under a rock not to know who my granduncle is,) Boris thought.

"For what reason?" Hironobu asked, eyes narrowing.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"For what reason?" Hironobu asked, eyes narrowing.

"Oh, just want to make a private call to my mother, just a normal everyday call," Boris said. Boris gives Hironobu the icy glare of an assassin. ( should I tell Hironobu that I want to call my granduncle to talk to my granduncle about what he knows about O.S.S?) Boris thought.

[Yun Lao]

"Oh, just want to make a private call to my mother, just a normal everyday call," Boris said. Boris gives Hironobu the icy glare of an assassin. ( should I tell Hironobu that I want to call my granduncle to talk to my granduncle about what he knows about O.S.S?) Boris thought.

"Don't bullshit with me. If I so much as hear you trying to make a phone call here, I will rip your vocal cords out and strangle you with them. That goes for all of you," He said, clearly not buying Boris' excuse, "Not a single word about this leaves this room, got it?"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"Don't bullshit with me. If I so much as hear you trying to make a phone call here, I will rip your vocal cords out and strangle you with them. That goes for all of you," He said, clearly not buying Boris' excuse, "Not a single word about this leaves this room, got it?"

( That would be the other way around. I would be the one to rip his vocal cords out and strangle him with them with we ever came to blows) Boris thought.

" Look, I'm not threatened by you but, judging by your action, I won't make any calls, not even if it's to get outside help. I can see by your action, you really want to keep this all under wraps," Boris said.

" You care a lot about this, don't you? Do you have anything personal at stake?" Boris asked.

Boris then looks a Jamie."Jamie, don't call your parents," Boris said.

[Yun Lao]

( That would be the other way around. I would be the one to rip his vocal cords out and strangle him with them with we ever came to blows) Boris thought.

" Look, I'm not threatened by you but, judging by your action, I won't make any calls, not even if it's to get outside help. I can see by your action, you really want to keep this all under wraps," Boris said.

" You care a lot about this, don't you? Do you have anything personal at stake?" Boris asked.

Boris then looks a Jamie."Jamie, don't call your parents," Boris said.

"Anything personal at stake? Considering it was the final work of my benefactor and a possible cure for an illness with an 80% death rate? Then yes, I do have a personal stake in this and I will not have it ruined by any means necessary."

[Tami]

"Don't bullshit with me. If I so much as hear you trying to make a phone call here, I will rip your vocal cords out and strangle you with them. That goes for all of you," He said, clearly not buying Boris' excuse, "Not a single word about this leaves this room, got it?"

"I can appreciate the need for secrecy," Jinny hesitated long enough to chose her words carefully, "however, some of us do have affairs that need to be dealt with. Not to mention dealing with these checks. If you can not trust us to keep this a secret, how can we trust you to keep up your end of Johannes' last wish?"

She then added, "And before you answer, I am fully aware that there is no reason why any of us should trust anyone, at least not yet. Still, if we are to work together, then some trust will be needed, eventually."

[Yun Lao]

"I can appreciate the need for secrecy," Jinny hesitated long enough to chose her words carefully, "however, some of us do have affairs that need to be dealt with. Not to mention dealing with these checks. If you can not trust us to keep this a secret, how can we trust you to keep up your end of Johannes' last wish?"

She then added, "And before you answer, I am fully aware that there is no reason why any of us should trust anyone, at least not yet. Still, if we are to work together, then some trust will be needed, eventually."

"I have no issue with you taking care of other affairs, however," Hironobu gestured to Boris, "Some of you have already proven that you're willing to disregard secrecy. Surely you understand why my trust in all of you is shaky right about now."