Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-27560171-20170111003030/@comment-26912075-20170117223124

Lucario of the Gods wrote: Depeche Mode hesitates for a moment as he detects Octavius on the move once again without Joachim following the explosion that he had heard; thoughts rush through his mind as he nears the finale of the dash, whether to decide between trying to save Joachim and keeping him in the race or getting a good first start for the rest of the Steel Ball Run. ... Eventually, he casts his decision.

"... Damn it. I sure hope this doesn't bite me in the ass."

Depeche proceeds to turn his horse around, rushing back towards the downed Joachim while sacrificing the possibility of making it as the first place competitor of this stage. Detecting the presence of two out of three of the incendiary bullets - the third having narrowly missed Joachim while the other two made non-lethal impact - Depeche proceeds to use his jacket to douse the flames produced by the bullets and places a hand on Joachim's wounds. Soon, he finds the entry holes gradually closing over, the incendiary bullets soon losing effect while flesh is slowly regrown. Joachim then opens his eyes, as though he were not actually knocked out in the first place. "Octavius, is screwed. I got him with my stand without his knowledge." Depeche and Joachim turn to Octavius as he gets covered in mist and seemingly stop. "Worry not, Depeche. That is my stand's second mode. I call it 'Serpentine Fire'. Now," Joachim says as he rises off the floor, "we can at least beat Octavius in this section."