The Ludicrous Escapade Pt.3

Dubious

"Lucy..." You took a step toward her and stopped. She was still alive, but was becoming more wounded as the corpse parts left her body. You were weary about getting too close, for fear that the corpse parts might slip into your own body. If you lost your ability to control blood now of all times, things might not turn out all too great. Luckily, there still seemed to be time before the situation got too dire.

"I have one more thing to say!" Valentine clasped his hands together and spoke firmly. He needed your attention back on himself. "My actions were not done out of selfish desire. I do not desire to procure the corpse for the sake of power or in order to control someone. I have feelings of patriotism. Every action I have performed was because I judged it as necessary for the sake of the country."

You weren't sure why he thought that would convince you. You weren't even from the United States.

Valentine just kept going, now occasionally moving his gaze from you to Johnny. "You experienced it, didn't you? Only things of happiness and beauty gather toward the corpse. Things of unhappiness and cruelty were blown away somewhere, having someone elsewhere bear the brunt. That is because in the reality of this human world, it is impossible for everyone to be happy. In the shadow of happiness there is cruelty. There is always a balance between the negatives and the positives. That's what the holy corpse is!"

The President stared directly into you eyes, unblinking. "Just think of what would happen if it was handed over to some low-life bastard on the other side of the world. He would only use its power for low-life things. One can only imagine what deplorable events would be in store for this country. That is one scenario which I must prevent."

He straightened his back, keeping his head held high. "As President, it is my sworn duty to guarantee the safety of the people in my country. That is what it all comes down to! Having Stand users collect the corpse was the only way. As you would know from history, during times of dramatic change there is always battle and there must be sacrifices. Those who died were just a necessary result."

"It is because it was a race and not a war that this could be done with a minimum amount of losses." Valentine's voice sounded almost too sincere. "Please, do not be hasty. The only one who correctly understands the corpse is me. I will not hand it over to another country. I am not afraid of death, but I need time! I can't die here. Please, stop this infinite rotation in my body."

You shook your head. Did he really think he could convince you just like that after everything he had done? That would be absurd. "Okay, I've heard enough. Let's just..."

The Joestar held up a hand. "Wait..." He felt conflicted. While the President had this very honorable sounding purpose for the corpse, he only wanted to make himself walk again. In comparison, his own goal was much more selfish. "I... want to be believe you Valentine. I want to believe that you're a good person and that maybe my actions have been the bad ones."

"Johnny?" You were a little confused. Did the Joestar actually believe what the President was saying?

Johnny wrapped his hand around yours. He knew you believed in him. Whether or not your actions were good or bad, he didn't care. Even if he didn't always trust himself, he did trust you. "But there's no proof, Valentine. There's no proof that we'll be safe and there's no proof you're actually as righteous as you say! You're just a powerful and talented liar! If you really expected to convince us, you should've tried a whole hell of a lot harder."

Valentine tensed his jaw. He couldn't attack yet. Both of you still had your guard up. He had to keep trying. "Here." He reached into his jacket and pulled out something, tossing it at your feet. "That's Hot Pants's spray. She became a sacrifice as well, but that spray is from another dimension's Hot Pants. I took it from one earlier. When the corpse is fully separated from Lucy, she will probably die. But with that spray you could save her. I held onto it in case her life became endangered."

You picked the spray up off the ground. You were sure he had planned to leave Lucy to die on the train. Bringing up the name of someone else he had killed didn't really help his case much either. You would still keep the spray, though, since it actually would be helpful.

You turned around to spray Slow Dancer's wound, that way you wouldn't need to rely on your blood ability. Once the corpse finished leaving her body, you would heal Lucy, too. Not to mention, Johnny would probably want his hand reattached.

"Listen..." Valentine, now feeling he had your attention, began speaking again. "The one who got in my way was Steven Steel. If not for him, I would have successfully cut open Johnny's throat and we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. The reason I didn't kill him is because I promised Lucy I would guarantee his safety. Once I have verbally vowed something, I will always carry it out. If I promise not to take vengeance on you, then I absolutely won't."

He reached into his pocket again, pulling out a handkerchief. The date '20 Sep. 1847' was embroidered into the fabric. "This is a momento of my father's. He wrote a date on everything... This is my birthday. This handkerchief is a support for my heart. I always carry it with me at important times. I was told he had it with him when he died in war and it was then returned to me. It may be impossible for someone else to understand it's irreplaceable importance to me, but I swear on my deceased father's handkerchief."

Funny Valentine held the handkerchief out in front of himself, clutching it tightly. "Johnny Joestar and (Y/N) (L/N), I vow that I will not take revenge on you nor will I continue to pursue you. I will end everything here."

Valentine grit his teeth, seeing you were still clearly unconvinced. So he decided to keep talking about his dad, hoping that might stir some empathy. "My father would write a date on everything, even his underwear, but he was a great man. Since after he died I thought so more and more. From this handkerchief, I learned of a father's love and patriotism. It was my starting point." He traced a finger along the thread. "But even in countless other dimensions my father was already dead and gone. I went to search for him countless times... If there was a way to find him, I'd like to see my father one more time..."

Slow Dancer started moving, having woken back up.

"What will you decide?" Asked Valentine. "The right to make this deal lies solely with the two of you. I hope you make the right decision. To stop this rotation by hitting D4C with a spin in the opposite direction."

Johnny looked up at you again. "I don't think either of us can relate much to your story, Mr. President. (Y/N)'s father died when she was young. Mine is still alive, but... I don't know if I really harbor any love toward him anymore. Even if I could go to alternate dimensions, I wouldn't do something like look for my father. So maybe in that aspect you are better than us."

"So truly you must be much more suited than the likes of us to be responsible for the corpse. You're righteousness personified. We definitely believe you now. It's just..." You crouched down and pulled something out of the dirt. You took a second to dust off the mud caking the revolver. "This is your gun. The one you shot at Gyro with." You tossed it in front of Valentine's feet. "You fired all six of the bullets in it and threw it away. It's completely empty right now." You gave a close eyed smile. "As a little test, why don't you pick it up?"

Johnny nodded along. "Right, right... We totally, one hundred percent believe you. From the bottom of our hearts we want to reverse the infinite rotation that I put you in. But, for some reason we just can't seem to shake the feeling that behind your vow lies deception and betrayal. Of course, we know there's no possible way that's true. So all you have to do is pick up that gun. As long as nothing happens, all our worries will be dispelled."

The Joestar narrowed his eyes, not able to keep up the fake respect for long. "Go on, President Valentine. Just try picking it up."

Valentine could tell now that his efforts to convince the two of you had been in vain. He could practically feel the sarcasm dripping from your words. But he wouldn't let that deter him from his goals.

The President stood up straight. "My heart and actions are utterly unclouded! They are all those of justice." And then he reached for the gun in his back pocket.