The Ludicrous Escapade Pt.3

Checkpoint Reached

"Yes! The iron sand that was wrapped around us fell off!" Exclaimed Gyro, incredibly glad for the fight to finally be over. "The control they had over iron! The magnetic force is gone!"

"Are you okay?" Mountain Tim extended a hand to you. "This race is quite dangerous for a lady such as yourself."

You took his hand and let him pull you up to your feet. "Yeah, well, it's dangerous for everyone."

Gyro leaned on your shoulder, chuckling to himself as he talked to Mountain Tim. "I know you didn't see her Stand or whatever in action, but it can blow things up." He pointed to L.A. and the dead Benjamin. "There used to be three of those guys." The Zeppeli had since been convinced that you could fend for yourself.

"Oh, apologies. I didn't mean to suggest that you can't fight." Mountain Tim hoped he hadn't offended you. He was just worried for your safety. "Anyone with a Stand usually has some kind of strength to them."

"Gyro..." Johnny was staring down at his hands. "What in the world is happening to my fingers? Am I really getting a Stand?"

"How the hell should I know?" Gyro knew the least about Stands out of anyone in the group, so he wasn't sure why Johnny was asking him in the first place. "It's not a power of rotation I know anything about! I'm just as curious as you are about it!"

"Johnny Joestar... if you're saying it's something beyond technique, make no mistake." Mountain Tim gave his own opinion on the situation. "It's a Stand! You've come under the influence of the Devil's Palm! We're probably in that area right now!" He took a step back. "We've been in it without realizing!" He started picking up all of his stuff that had wound up on the ground. "Call back your horses! If we're really in the Devil's Palm, we need to get out of here immediately!"

"So I really have a Stand!" Johnny was stuck on loop, still coming to terms with the fact.

The Cowboy hopped onto his horse. "I don't know why the Devil's Palm is here! It could be coincidence. Or it could be that the land pulled us in. Probably the latter. Get on your horses! The ground will move and the land will change! If we don't escape now, we'll get lost! We'll never find the water hole!"

Moxy trotted over to your side, nudging you gently to check up on you.

"I'm all good, Moxy. Don't worry." Although it might not have been very reassuring when you were splattered with blood. You found your saddle on the ground and set it on her back.

"Stop right there, bastards!" L.A. held on tightly to his father, tears streaming down his face. "I'll get you back! I'll never forgive you for this!"

"Just leave him..." Mountain Tim was already starting to go. Having been in the Devil's Palm once before, he was eager to get out as soon as possible. "The Boom Boom family is finished. They won't be able to escape the desert with those wounds. They'll probably run out of water by noon tomorrow. The rescue crew won't find them."

"Gyro Zeppeli!" L.A. called out the Italian's name. "There's no way you'll reach the goal anyway! Do you think we're the only ones after your lives? Wrong! Just ask that person from your country! The reason we came after you wasn't because you came in first! It's because this person promised $200,000 for your death! There's a bounty on your head!"

Johnny, having gotten onto his horse, turned his head to the enemy, curious about their ramblings. "What?"

Gyro glared at L.A. "Who hired you?"

"What are you doing?! Hurry up, you three!" The cowboy knew this was no time for lallygagging. "The prints we left earlier are starting to fade! The ground is moving!"

Yoshikage stared at L.A. who was continuing to spew out profanities and death threats, "I don't think they're going to be telling us any useful information. Would it be better to just dispose of them now?"