Chara

Rain trickles down the windows of an apartment that sits beneath the darkness of night.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "I learnt about these series of events from an article I read last night. This is actually the reason I didn't want to hand Josefa my phone: I wanted to do some research. Specifically...research on the Hard Times Orphanage. "

Inside, we see an open plan apartment that's considerably large for what it is. A glass bottle smashes across the kitchen floor.

**Woman:** "Please! Please don't! Don't do this, please!"

The woman cowers against the kitchen side as a man, shrouded in darkness, grabs her by the throat. He grunts and yells but never speaks. His fingers dig deeper into her neck and she releases a cry of utter agony as blood begins to run down his side of his hand. Letting out one more enraged roar, he flings her by her neck across the room; her forehead shatters off the corner of the counter and her body collapses to ground.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout: "**In 2015, 3 years ago, a woman was found murdered in her home, with the presumed culprit being her famously abusive husband. No murder is okay...none at all...but if I'm being honest, this would have been just your standard murder if it wasn't for one thing..."

The man covered in darkness grabs a few items from around the apartment and rushes out. The body of his wife lays stiff across the floor with a puddle of blood rapidly accumulating around her. Kneeling in that crimson lake is a young girl with short, black and white hair and tears flowing down her cheeks.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "The man had left his 9 year old daughter alone in there. The girl's name...was Dead Posey!"

Dead Posey, staring into the lifeless, cold eyes of her mother, lies down in the blood besides her and hugs her tight.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "It was estimated by the police that Dead Posey had been lying with her mother for about 56 hours before being found. A lot happened after she was found but I'll skip ahead to what's important: the orphnage."

It cuts to Dead Posey sitting on a chair in a rather ancient looking building with jarringly modern furniture. Surrounding her are dozens upon dozens of other children and staff members all wondering around this old yet young place. Sitting in front of her, in a chair only a couple feet away, is Icarus Bastille.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "The staff at the orphnage quickly found out Dead Posey wasn't like their usual orphans - she was mute. More accurately, she was newly mute. Be by personal choice or because of the trauma she had recently went through, Dead Posey didn't speak. No matter how hard they tried to get her to speak, even bringing in the owner to help, she didn't say a single word."

**Icarus Bastille:** "You truly are an enigma, aren't you young girl? How about this...I'll ask some yes or no questions, and you simply nod. How's that?"

Dead Posey stares deep into his eyes, not responding.

**Icarus Bastille:** "Okay, how to begin..." *He scratches his chin.* "Ah, tell me, is your name Dead Posey?"

Hesitant, the girl slowly nods.

**Icarus Bastille, relieved:** "Great! You can respond! At least I know you can understand me! Phew...now, would you prefer me to call you Posey?"

Again, she carefully nods but continues not to utter a word.

**Icarus Bastille:** "Oh okay...I see why you like that nickname. Posey feels a lot...kinder...than your first name. Posey, I'd like to know why you can't speak to me. Is it because you're mute?" She tilts her head to the side with a confused expression...

**Icarus Bastille:** "That makes sense, you are only nine, so I understand the confusion. 'Muteness' is when someone can't speak. So, can you not speak or feel like you can't speak?" A bit more confident, she shakes her head.

**Icarus Bastille:** "So...does that mean you choose not to?"

She nods.

**Icarus Bastille:** "Interesting..." *He leans back on his chair.* "Very interesting..."

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "This article didn't feel particularly strange. It was just a quiet kid who'd lot their mother and was severely traumatised. Don't get me wrong, what happened was horrible and just thinking about a person who'd kill someone, especially someone they're supposed to love, makes my blood boil, but it didn't really have much to do with the orphnage other than that being where she was sent. That was up until November 13th of course...about a month after she got there."

We cut to about two members of staff running over to Posey as she collapses to her knees in the middle of the hallways. She clenches the right side of her head and lets out cries of indescribable anguish.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "11/13/15 is the day she suffered from an intense migraine and experienced even more trauma...Up until this point, the staff had noticed some strange tendencies. Like that she often to went to bed while it was still bright out, and she'd always scream hysterically if she ever woke up in the middle of the night..."

Icarus rushes over to her and helps carry her to the small, cut off room at the back of the orphnage.

**Icarus Bastille, placing Posey on a chair:** "Posey! Posey! Listen, it seems you're having a migraine, but you have to calm down! I'm going to go get some painkillers!" *He gets up and runs out of the room with urgency.* "Look after her will you!"

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "If they'd have figured out these weird sleeping patterns quicker, then maybe it wouldn't have happened..."

One of the staff members closes the door to the room.

**Staff Member:** "Migraines can be helped by sitting in a dark room so if we just turn of the lights..."

As he reaches over for the switch, Posey's eyes go lifeless.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "It was...horrific..."

Icarus, outside, stops his running as he hears screaming and yelling coming from within the room. Cautiously, he makes his way back and opens the door.

**Icarus Bastille:** "Dear lord..."

Before him is a room filled with dismembered bodies pinned up against floors and walls with cuts running all along them. Almost all objects in the room have either been smashed to smithereens or submerged in gallons of blood. And, notably, the lights were still on. Shaking, Icarus takes a few steps back.

**(n) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "The police were called immediately, however, it wasn't just because of the blood bath. Dead Posey was also gone. The door was closed and yet she'd completely disappeared. In addition, the article stated that the police had found that a supernatural phenomena had occurred with the bodies - none of them had any shadows whatsoever!"

With Icarus stood before this massacre, we cut back to present day where Bangtan hides outside of the toilets. With Belinda by his side, he watches the battle through the crack.

**(t) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "There's a lot in that article that I'm not inclined to believe, like the fact that Dead Posey went missing afterwards and yet has been sent after us by the same people who sent Icarus. If I were to guess, I'd say he had something to do with her disappearance between that genocide and now. In fact, I'd even call her a victim of the orphnage, but I honestly can't be certain. Furthermore, Icarus is the one that told all of this information to the reporters, and he's not exactly the most trustworthy source..."

Dead Posey, inside the bathroom, puts her mask back on and attempts to get back to her feet.

**(t) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "She's getting up again! They're trying to defeat her without harming her, but they're optimism is blinding them to how truly powerful her stand is!"

Posey stares at the two girls before her as she summons her scythe Stand within her palm.

**(t) Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "If there was any truth to what Icarus said, then I may know how to beat her! Fighting in the daylight, going to sleep while it's bright outside, killing just as the lights are to go off...they all link back to one thing!"

While Bran and Josefa's brains tick trying to come up with a plan, Posey regains her strength and stands tall. The three glare between one another...

*SLAM!*

The door to the toilets smashes shut as Bangtan uses all his force to keep it closed from outside.

**Bangtan Boy-Scout, shouting:** "Destroy the lights! Destroy all of the lights in there!"

**Josefa Alejo:** "Bangtan, is that you?!"

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "Yes, now listen! You guys don't have the time for me to explain much but this girl, Dead Posey, she's nyctophobic!"

**Bran Nuiyes:** "How the hell do you know about her?!"

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "Bran, like I said, no time to explain! There's still a lot I don't know about her but for now, I know you have to destroy the lights. I'm certain that's how you'll beat her!"

Posey's eyes widen and her head flings towards the lights.

**Josefa Alejo:** "Damn, he may be right..." *Her eyes narrow.* "Okay Dead Posey, let's do this!" Mercy Mercy Me appears on top of Josefa and uses her as a launch pad to leap across the room at the six working lights that line the wall. Dead Posey, sweating, sprints at Mercy Mercy Me.

**Josefa Alejo:** "As long as Mercy doesn't touch the ground, my shadow can't effect it!"

As Mercy Mercy Me reaches only inches away from the lights, Dead Posey realises she won't make it in time and so chooses a different approach. Taking a new grip on her scythe and coming to a grinding halt, Posey looks to the collapsed Josefa and fires her scythe like a javelin at her.

**Josefa Alejo:** "OH SHI-"

The weapon dissipates moments after completely slicing through Josefa's left arm, cutting it clean off.

**Josefa Alejo:** "FFUUUUUUCCCKKKKK!!!"

Consequently, Mercy Mercy Me loses it's arm in a bloody mess too, and demanifests before it's able to reach the lights. Josefa goes to cover her gaping wound with her right hand but her shadow stops her.

**Josefa Alejo:** "MIERDA! This hurts like shit!"

As Josefa screams out, tears run down her cheeks. And behind that stream of tears...is a smile.

**Josefa Alejo:** "But it was worth it!"

Dead Posey tenses.

**Josefa Alejo:** "You're a child, so I wouldn't exp-" *She winces at the pain.* "So...I wouldn't expect you to have remembered or even noticed."

The scythe begins to reappear in Posey's grasp as she tries to figure out what Josefa's saying. There's a sudden shattering sound. Anxious, her eyes redirect from Josefa to the source of the noise.

**Josefa Alejo:** "Remember...I'm not the only foe you have to worry about here!"

Posey trembles as she looks up. Leaning against the back wall next to the lights, Bran stands with her hands snugly tucked in her pockets. Besides her, Paramore speedily shatters the lights one by one, having broken only one so far.

**Bran Nuiyes:** "Is that why you attacked JoJo when she was alone?" *Paramore breaks another light...* "Or why you only attacked me once she was already down?" *And another...* "You're young and clearly can't focus on more than one powerful foe at a time! And I bet Bangtan showing up didn't help that much either!" *The room grows dim as she breaks yet another...* "That's probably why your stand works independently of you, else you wouldn't have the mental capacity to control multiple shadows at once. You may be trained, buy you're also just a kid." *And another...* "That my friend..."

Paramore flies towards the final light as Dead Posey shrieks.

**Josefa Alejo:** "Is your fatal flaw!"

As tears well up in her mask, Posey runs at Paramore as fast as she can.

**Paramore:** "CRUSHCRUSHCRUSH!!!"

Paramore obliterates the last light.

The entire room goes pitch black and everything goes silent along with it.

Many moments of quiet pass, with not even footsteps or breathing shattering silence.

In this noiseless void, gentle weeping begins to be heard and the sound of teardrops hitting the ground echoes in the abyss.

**(t) Josefa Alejo:** "This girl...she's so scarred by her past, so haunted by it, that the mere idea of darkness seems to break her. I can't imagine what's happened in her life so far and yet I still sympathise with her. If they'd resort to this, it begs the question...how far will the R.E.M. Foundation go to hunt us down?"

Breathing heavy from anticipation, Bangtan shouts into the toilets once again.

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "Josefa...? Bran...? Is it over?"

Sounds of rustling, movement and footsteps come from inside.

**Josefa Alejo:** "Yeah...it's over..."

Bangtan, letting out of sigh of relief, cautiously opens the door. Rapidly coming through the opening, Bran and Josefa rush out before Bangtan slams the door behind them.

**Bran Nuiyes:** "It's like the dark has completely immobilised her. Until it's light again in there, I don't think she'll be moving."

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "That's good. Are you guys okay?"

Bran, with a massive slash through her stomach which is bleeding out profusely, and Josefa, who's carrying her severed left arm in her heavily damaged right arm, stare at him for a moment.

**Josefa Alejo:** "What do you think?"

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "Yeah...maybe that was a dumb question..."

**Bran Nuiyes, smirking:** "Ya think?"

Mercy Mercy Me appears besides Josefa and in just a few punches, it's able to relocate their damage to the ground, create plenty of massive fissures in the ground around them. Luckily for Josefa, her Stand only lost it's arm because she's the one who originally lost it - rather than the other way around - so it's arm healed as well. After Bran thanks her, Josefa looks towards the door of the toilets.

**Josefa Alejo:** "Question is, what do we do with Dead Posey now?"

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "She's vulnerable, but also extremely volatile. If we let her out of that dark room, I'm sure she'd try to kill us. But we also can't just leave her here."

After thinking it over for a moment, Josefa pipes up.

**Josefa Alejo:** "Or maybe we can..."

**Bran Nuiyes:** "What? We can't just abandon her here."

**Josefa Alejo:** "No no, hear me out. She's what? 11? 12 maybe?"

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "Yeah, she's 12. That still doesn't explain what you're getting at."

**Josefa Alejo:** "We really need to talk about why you know so much but for now, that's besides the point. We know her Stand has really no travel-based capabilities. With that and her age, we're to assume that she didn't get here on her own. Instead, she was brought here. So we are also to assume..."

She waits for them to finish her sentence for her, but they both just look confused.

**Josefa Alejo:** "We're to assume someone will pick her up!"

**Bran & Bangtan:** "Oh!"

**Josefa Alejo:** "As well, her Stand is so strong that it isn't something you'd just drop after one failed usage."

**Bran Nuiyes:** "You're right, but we can't just wait here with her until she gets picked up. Wouldn't that be putting us at risk of being captured?"

**Bangtan Boy-Scout:** "Bran has a point."

**(t) Josefa Alejo:** "Yeah, she does...but I can't think of any other options we have here. Come on Josefa! Think!"

**???:** "Maybe I can help."

The three of them get on the defensive as a voice comes from their left. In unison, They all turn to see who's been eavesdropping on them.

**Mraz:** "Oh, sorry if I scared you."

**Bran Nuiyes:** "Mraz?"

**Josefa Alejo:** "Who?"

**Bran Nuiyes:** "He's the guy who works here. Why were you listening in on our conversation?!"

**Mraz:** "Yeah...sorry about that too. I was lured over here by what I saw."

**Bran Nuiyes:** "And what did you see exactly?"

**Mraz:** "Just that you guys were hurt one second and the next...the ground was utterly smashed instead. To me...it kind of looked like a Stand ability."

**(t) Josefa Alejo:** "What did he just say?"

Paramore and Mercy Mercy Me both manifest while Bangtan takes a combat-ready position. Notably, Mraz has absolutely no reaction to the stands appearing.

**Josefa Alejo:** "How do you know about Stands?!"

**Mraz:** "Woah, calm down. I don't have one myself, but my cousin does and he always used to tell me about them."

Josefa, Bran and Bangtan all look between one another.

**Bran Nuiyes:** "Seems convenient. How can we trust you don't have a Stand?"

**Mraz:** "That's fair. You could summon your Stands and test if I see them I guess but honestly, I don't have one. I just wanna help."

**(t) Josefa Alejo:** "Well, seeing that we've summoned them already, he may be being honest. Or it could just be an elaborate lie..."

**Mraz, after a few seconds of waiting:** "Um...Have you done it yet?"

**Josefa Alejo:** "Just...Just tell is how you can help us!"

**Mraz:** "Oh, um...You said you guys can't stay and make sure the person in there gets picked up but I work here so, I could keep watch for you."

**Bran Nuiyes:** "That's...not a bad idea actually."

**Josefa Alejo:** "Yeah but it's not like we personally know the guy. How can we trust him, fully that is?"

**Bran Nuiyes:** "What other options do we have?"

Josefa gazes to Bangtan, who's unsurprisingly gone quiet, and he shrugs in response.

**Josefa Alejo:** "You should know that by doing this, you're gonna be putting yourself in a lot of danger."

**Mraz:** "I'll be fine. At least, I hope I will. All I'd have to do is hide from a distance and watch, right?

You guys didn't notice me until I spoke so I think I'll be okay.

**Josefa Alejo:** "Then..." *She demanifests her Stand, calms down, and shakes his hand.* "I entrust you with making sure she gets picked up." *Her hand squeeze his intensely.* "But if I found out anything happened to her because of you, I'll be back. I'll do what happened to the floor...to your face."

Mraz gulps and nods. Josefa takes hold of her sister's buggy (which has the shopping in it's basket) and goes to walk away with the others before turning back for just a moment.

**Josefa Alejo:** "And what will you do if she doesn't get picked up?"

**Mraz:** "I haven't decided yet but...I was thinking about getting in contact with my cousin. Seeing that he has a Stand, he might now how to sort out the situation."

Josefa, with a small smile of confidence, nods and turns back. With Bran and Bangtan by her side, they continue on their journey.

**(t) Josefa Alejo:** "I'll never be one hundred percent sure that he's a good guy, and whether or not I should have trusted him with Dead Posey, but I need to put Belinda first. I've had to take a leap of faith with him - even if I did have to put the fear of God into him before hand - and I know this won't be the last leap of faith I have to take. It will all be worth it though when we're finally able to reach freedom!"

The camera zooms out to see our 3 heroes travelling along the roadside while Mraz waves them adieu from the gas station.

**Narrator:** "Dead Posey. Status: Defeated!"