MHGA Chapter 185: Joseph's Calling / An Aberration
"Jo—Joseph."
David wasn't all that familiar with Joseph Joestar, but since he'd heard Kairo Retsu call him that earlier, he addressed him the same way: "Do you have a driver's license?"
"I can drive!" Joseph replied cheerfully.
"No, I mean—do you have a license?" David felt an ominous chill—but in the next moment, he felt the car accelerate.
"I can drive!" Joseph answered with the same cheer.
"!"
Under David's mildly horrified gaze, Joseph followed David's directions and veered straight onto the expressway…
"Hermit Purple is really handy!" Joseph exclaimed in delight upon discovering that his Stand, Hermit Purple, could even help him drive.
"Wahoo!" Joseph shouted joyfully, driving with one hand while switching on the car radio and enjoying the wind through the window.
David was dumbfounded.
Why did this guy seem more at home on Night City's streets than he was—the one who actually lived here?
Just as David was thinking this, he suddenly heard something behind them.
Worried by the memory of what had happened to Gloria, he instinctively turned to look—only to see two gangs shooting at each other again on the expressway.
David's breathing grew heavy. Hugging Gloria tightly, he shouted at Joseph, "Joseph! Hurry—step on it!"
A mixture of rage and fear twisted in him. Those gang shootouts always ended up hurting innocent people.
Just as the gang vehicles were about to overtake them, Joseph noticed the two warring factions.
"Don't you dare interrupt my joyride, bastards!"
Joseph grabbed one of the submachine guns left on the passenger seat by the earlier thugs, leaned halfway out the window, and—while Hermit Purple took over driving—started firing at the gangs.
Joseph Joestar was a man who'd already been tearing up the streets of New York with Ripple-infused Tommy Guns over a hundred years ago!
Street shootouts? These punks a century later weren't even qualified!!
"NO FRIED CHICKEN FOR YOU!!!" Joseph roared at the top of his lungs, causing both gangs to instinctively turn toward him.
And then—from the launcher on his left arm—a crafted Flash Bomb fired out.
The Flash Bomb, designed to blind monsters dozens of meters tall, instantly overloaded all the gang members' cybernetic eyes. A chaotic storm of gunfire followed… then two thunderous explosions shook the expressway behind them.
Joseph climbed back into the car, grinning triumphantly.
Watching him casually drive after ending a gang battle, David felt all the lingering fear of being caught in the crossfire vanish.
Now, he had only one thought:
A true calling… this 195cm man had found his true calling in Night City.
How could anyone be this suited to being a Night City street punk?!
But…
Looking back at the vanishing gang wreckage, David realized something.
Those punks weren't all that scary after all.
His future was different now.
Gloria was alive—and there were still things David needed to do.
But there was one thing he knew he'd have to disappoint her on.
He probably wouldn't be standing at the top of Arasaka Tower like she'd dreamed. He had another path now.
And just then, Joseph suddenly spoke.
"Your mom really loves you, you know," Joseph said. "I didn't really get to see mine growing up."
"Huh… huh?" David looked up, curiosity flashing in his eyes. "Why's that?"
"I haven't reunited with Lisa Lisa yet. Guildmaster just told me first." Joseph kept chatting as he drove. "Kinda like how you saw your own future, I saw mine too… Lisa Lisa was on the run, trying to avenge my dad. I only met her right before coming to the Gathering Hub."
Joseph scratched his head. "She's teaching me Ripple techniques now… Who'd've thought she was my mom! And soon we'll be going after the Pillar Men together… So much stuff I've gotta change!"
"And Caesar! That punk actually went off to solo Wamuu in the future… No way I'm letting him say stuff like 'This is my final Ripple!' Not happening on my watch!"
Joseph kept chatting while driving, unknowingly bridging the emotional gap between him and David.
As David listened, he realized something: every Hunter in the Gathering Hub had their own story, their own burdens. Maybe he didn't need to be so afraid of what lay ahead.
"Don't worry about it—we're all in the same Gathering Hub!" Joseph gave David a thumbs-up without even looking back. "Let's get along, yeah?"
"Thanks, Joseph." David relaxed slightly. "I feel… a lot better now."
"Then point the way!" Joseph said, using Hermit Purple to start flipping through the radio channels. "Let's see what kinda music they play on 2077's radio…"
He switched stations quickly, flipping through static and songs.
But neither Joseph nor David noticed that buried within the radio's static… a message was beginning to form:
[Wasteland… Pale… Hoof… Judgment…]
The strange distortion in the radio was quickly replaced by another music broadcast.
Joseph and David continued listening to tunes, chatting about the bands they heard, and driving toward David's home.
Meanwhile, outside of Night City… ominous black clouds were gathering in the sky, rumbling with thunder.
Many of the trees growing out in the wastelands—particularly the larger ones—had been scorched by lightning strikes. A few wanderers eking out a living in the badlands glanced up at the sky and cursed before returning to scavenging.
"Hey, what are you staring at?" one scavver shouted to his companion squatting by a crate.
"I found a weird hair…"
"The hell's so interesting about a hair?! Don't tell me you pulled a curly one from your own damn—"
"No, it looks like a mane or something. And just now, it shocked me…"
"Stop daydreaming! Come on, with this freak weather, we've gotta get outta here!"
The scavvers slowly packed up and left.
None of them noticed the looming thunderclouds above—lightning-charged, slowly closing in on—
Night City.
A city full of electricity.
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