"Alright then big man." Miro taunted. "I hope you're ready to take me on. All that drinking better not have taken a toll on your physical prowess." Konstantin lowered his glare. "I will not be so kind to you as you have been to these people." He threatened. Miro ignored it, sending it straight for the Bulgarian. "Imagine Dragons!" The stand was called out and began to take damage from the shell spinning into it.

"Interesting strategy you have there, to keep taking damage like that. I wonder how many seconds that will add to your life?" Miro asked in a supercilious manner. "It's not me who's taking damage!" Konstantin shouted, finally unleashing his stand's best ability. Imagine Dragons uses its free hand, now glowing with built up energy, to punch the shell. That was enough to relieve the pressure, sending the shell flying backwards and reversing his momentum. Miro was clearly impressed, and saw no point in hiding it. "Well, that surprised me. Looks as though the old dog does have a few tricks still in him!" He laughed, sending the shell back again, though this time it moved from side to side as it went towards him, making it much harder to predict.

Hanna had to hand it to him, the Slav knew what he was doing. Konstantin was far too slow to keep up with such rapid movements. Any hope he had was quickly fading. It got even worse for him as he misjudged the trajectory of the shell and it collided with his side. "I can't just sit by and do nothing!" Teemu rushed to get involved, but Hanna held him back. "As hopeless as he is, you would stand even less of a chance against him." Hanna hissed in his ear, making sure Konstantin couldn't hear.

Speaking of him, he was on the ground, and the shell was closing in. "Too slow. I'm curious to know how you planned to beat me moving at such a slow pace." Konstantin was slowly drawing his stand out, waiting for the shell to get close enough. He had a theory that he was willing to test, looking at the underside of the shell. He waited under it was well within range, but then he struck the underside with a strong punch.

Miro raised his hand to his chest, but then saw that Konstantin was looking. "Alright, you figured it out." He glared at the Bulgarian as he picked himself off the ground. "But so what? It's not like I can't defend against that!" Evening Stars began spinning rapidly and tilting to its side, closing the window of opportunity. "I can flank him then!" Hanna realized. "I have no time to waste, I must-" The shell struck her in the side of the head, knocking her straight back down. "I saw that look in your eyes, Miss. Don't think I don't know what you intended." Konstantin looked around. Hanna was in no condition to fight at the moment, at least not until she recovered from the shock of the blow. He didn't have much time to think, the shell was closing in with every second.

WHAM!

Konstantin grunted as his stand struggled to hold back the sheer force of the shell. He was trying his hardest to hold it off, but he just wasn't fit enough. He let the shell crash into him, and toss him into the nearest brick wall. Amazingly he didn't break through, but his back felt that blow. He collapsed almost immediately. "Konstantin, I'll buy you time to get away!" Teemu ran in to intervene. "Shouldn't we be helping?" Sergio asked. "Not exactly. What can we do? Aside from getting hit by a giant fuckin shell." Vahid argued.

But at the same time though, he could understand Teemu's concern. Konstantin looked like he was going sweet nowhere on his own.

Tension was still high aboard the cargo ship travelling across the Pacific Ocean. One murder had the Stardust Crusaders on high alert for the stand user which they were now certain was on board. The sailors seemed shocked and horrified too though, which must have meant there was a hidden stowaway somewhere. "I'm checking the lower decks. Someone has to be on board. That we don't know about." She was off in a flash, racing towards the lower decks. Racing through the corridors and down flights of steps, Varo had Heart out at all times.

But there was no one on the lower decks. Even as Varo descended to the very bottom decks, Heart detected no signs of life. Not even fish in the water. But wait. Something was racing down the stairs towards her like there was no tomorrow. That had to be the stand user. Whatever it was, Varo braced herself, taking cover behind the hatch and waiting for this creep to show themselves. She had already charged up a hamon filled punch to surprise the intruder. As he stepped in, Varo launched her attack.

It was only thanks to Star Platinum that Jotaro managed to avoid getting his skull caved in, but he didn't seem at all fazed. "Don't you remember? We're not supposed to go rushing off alone." He reprimanded the Italian. "The old man sent me down. Let's get back up before he chews us both out." With little thought, he walked upstairs, with Varo following close behind. However, they only made it up one flight of stairs before Varo stopped them both. "What's the matter with you?" Jotaro asked, noticing Varo was on edge. "I feel like someone is nearby. A stand user." Jotaro didn't think much of the Zeppeli girl his senile old grandpa had taken an interest in, but he was inclined to take her seriously here. At the same time though, they couldn't see anything. It was just nother corridor, with a closed door at the end. No way in, no way out, unless it was hiding behind the door of course. Waiting for something to come through, Jotaro and Varo carefully approached it.

"ooh, ooh!" What the hell?! Alarmed, both stand users turned around to see Forever coming out of the wall, literally. He didn't bust through it in a show of manliness, but instead phased through the wall like an alien. "Hey, I didn't know they had a monkey on board." Jotaro muttered, still being somewhat impressed that it had a stand, as well as a captain's uniform. He had a Rubix Cube in one hand and a pipe in his mouth, and appeared to be taking great interest in Varo once again, much to her discomfort. "Fuck off, damn orangutan." She spat. "Where's your stand?!" She demanded, sharply raising her voice. He disappeared back into the wall, although both Jotaro and Varo remained en garde. It wasn't long though before Forever returned with an English dictionary, open on a page with 'S' words. He was pointing to a word at the bottom of the page.

'Strength'

"Of course. One of the Tarot Cards." Varo realized. "This guy has been set up by Dio." The primate wasn't paying attention to her though, fixated on his Rubix Cube. "But where's his stand?" Jotaro asked, looking around. "This boat couldn't be the stand. Those sailors could see it so it can't be." Varo conceded. That made sense, so that possibility was off the cards. Or was it? Before either of them had a chance to react, he had finished his Rubix Cube. He cheered at this, before tossing the toy away and focusing on Varo. He was breathing heavily, behaving like well, an animal. Taking advantage of his distracted state, Jotaro unleashed Star Platinum, giving the hairy stand user a shock. His pipe was launched from his mouth, and he fell backwards. Clearly he wasn't a fan of Jotaro now.

Up above on the deck, things weren't going so well. The crew had been murdered, sinking into the deck and being crushed by massive pressure. Things weren't looking much better for the other four either. "What's going on?" Joseph demanded, finding it impossible to break free. "Why is the boat attacking us?" Polnareff was worried about more important things. "So this is what it's like to be so close to death." He laughed nervously. "We can't keep going for much longer!" Abdul grunted as he tried to free himself. "The pressure is getting way too much for me!" Then he had an idea. "Kakyoin, can you use Hierophant Green to contact Jotaro and Varo?" Kakyoin tried shaking his head, although that was proving to be a challenge for him considering how close the ship was to completely devouring him. "I can't! This thing has an iron grip on both me and Hieropant Green!"

"Such power!" Abdul sunk further into the deck. "How can this be a stand?!" Joseph questioned. "The sailors saw it perfectly!" A valid point, but Abdul had an answer. "It's probably because of the massive energy it's giving off! I can only imagine the amount of power required to control such a stand!" If only he knew what the stand user actually was...

Back down below, Forever hadn't calmed down from his little temper tantrum. Jotaro was waiting for him to unleash his stand, but he never did. Instead, he charged like a wild animal, but launched a surprisingly intelligent kick to Jotaro's side. Not nearly quick enough though, as Star Platinum was far too quick to be beaten by such a pathetic attempt. Varo was wary though, and saw what the orangutan was up to. "Hey, watch behind him!" A ceiling fan snapped off and hurled itself at Jotaro, who was only aware thanks to Varo. She was preparing a surprise attack, almost certain of its success, but her feet began to sink as well. "Shit!" She swore, trying to use hamon to stay up, but with no such luck, the same with Heart. It was like her entire body was being constricted, even though only her legs were trapped. Jotaro was the last man standing, and Varo could do little more than shout at him. She hoped he would do good, but had very little genuine faith in him. He had a very simple and one dimensional way of fighting by the looks of things, and relied far too often on his opponent making the first move for his fighting style to be effective.

Nonetheless, Jotaro was able to dodge the fan as it slammed off the door, smashing into a million pieces. "Did he just make that fan attack me by itself?" Jotaro asked himself. As if to answer his question, the glass on the door window shattered, and Jotaro found himself under fire again. "Again! Could this boat really be his stand?" Star Platinum was quick to defend though, as none of the shards came close to his user. Jotaro tried to turn the tables, aiming a glass shard filled punch at Forever, but the orangutan simply faded back into the wall, leaving the stand to hit nothing. Star Platinum looked around for his target, anticipating it to come from anywhere. "Hey lady, any idea where he's coming from?" Jotaro asked. "Varo! V-A-R-O! And no, I don't! He's everywhere at once!" Damn. But Jotaro soon fell victim to Strength again. He found himself being constricted against the wall as both he and Star Platinum were grabbed up against the wall by pipes, and then immediately afterwards, Forever returned from the walls, pleased with his work. He began making more noises, trying to refocus his attention on Varo. She simply gave him a death stare, which he was oblivious to.

Star Platinum then broke one of the pipes, proving to be a big mistake as Forever demonstrated his multitasking skills, by restraining Star Platinum's arm further. Jotaro looked at his arm as if it was his last hope, something which Varo looked on at in despair, but also acknowledgement that this was always likely to happen. Now she had to put up with the orangutan. Or, at least until Jotaro hit him in the back of the head with a button off his uniform. Confused, he turned around to the high school student, picking up what was thrown at him. "You can't control that, can you?" Jotaro asked, as if winding him up. It was working though, as Forever turned its attention to him. "Does that hurt your pride?" He pondered the question, while Jotaro answered it for him. "Nah. Of course it doesn't. Cause apes have no pride." The orangutan was starting to foam at the mouth. "And that's all you are," Jotaro continued. "A dirty. Fucking. Ape." That was enough for Forever as he flew into a rage, beating his chest wildly.

But then, a spark of blood. Something had just been fired through his skull, causing the screaming to turn from that of rage to pain. Varo almost didn't see it, but she could see it as it shattered against the wall behind the ape. A piece of the ceiling fan, thrown with Star Platinum's other hand. Incredible, that with so little swing room it generated so much momentum, never mind Jotaro having the piece of mind to pick up a fragment of the fan. He immediately seized the opportunity though, as Forever had just lost a tremendous amount of strength and was now unable to restrain Star Platinum, which busted both himself and Jotaro out of their confines. Forever immediately realized that the odds were firmly stacked against him, backing into a corner and ripping open his jacket. Amazing that he was still alive and standing. Jotaro didn't care though. "Hmmmm..." He observed the creature's behaviour as it whined. "I read somewhere that animals show their stomachs as a sign of weakness." He explained. "So I suppose you want me to go easy on you?" Forever nodded with a pleading look in his eyes. Jotaro had no time for beggars. "Sorry, but you crossed a line no animal should ever cross." As Star Platinum got ready to deal the decisive blow, Forever had a moment to realize how truly fucked he was, which Varo would have normally felt sympathy for, seeing an animal like that. But this one? Fuck him.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" Star Platinum shouted as it launched an all out pummeling of the captain, reducing him to ruin by the time all was said and done. He was most certainly dead. Varo was finally able to use her feet again, something which she was thankful for. If she knew what was going on earlier, she would have ended the fight with a single Hamon Beat, but at the same time...

She had to admit it, Jotaro was clever. Not to his face though, she could never say that to him given his outwardly rude personality which Varo could not stand.

That was the least of their worries though as without its user, the stand faded, leaving the Stardust Crusaders with a significantly crappier boat. Once everyone was in, Jotaro and Varo explained what happened. "I should have known there was something up with him." Varo muttered. "But still, an animal stand user? Wonder what else Dio could have up his sleeve..."

"Ms. Zeppeli, if I may ask, how come your stand didn't pick up that the boat was the stand?" Abdul asked. It was a perfectly legitimate question, to be fair. Varo had to wonder why Heart didn't immediately pick up that Strength was the whole boat. "I suppose I just wasn't thinking clearly. I haven't seen a stand like that before. Maybe it was part of his ability." She suggested. Either way, they were thankful to be alive after that. "Damn it." Jotaro grumbled. "All my cigs are wet. How long until we get to land?" Joseph, for once, had no idea. With no map or compass, the only thing they could do was travel in one direction and wait for help to arrive.

Regardless, they were still on the way to California, with a long way to go for a crappy little boat like that.

That is, if a ship didn't come sailing into view. A cargo ship looking similar to Forever, only this one had a red hull. Within minutes the ship had thrown down a rope ladder, having gotten alongside the small ship. Once on board the captain explained himself.

"Well, we were sailing along just fine until we got a distress signal from around here. Why, it sounded so urgent we turned this boat around right away!" He seemed a jovial man, but the Stardust Crusaders were understandably on edge. Varo was double checking every little thing, making absolutely sure there was no chance of a stand user being on board.

"Well that's awfully kind of you." Joseph thanked the man. "Where is it you're headed?" He inquired. "San Fran. Is that okay with you or do you wanna go back to Samoa?" They all looked at each other. "San Fran is perfect, thank you very much." He walked away. That was when Varo walked up to the captain. "You're not carrying any...monkeys or anything like that, are you?" The captain shook his head. "No ma'am. Something wrong?" She shook her head. "No no, it's just...I have allergies." She lied. With that, she went to try and relax.

Key word being 'try'. She doubted she would be able to relax again for a long time.

Slowly, he picked himself up. Miro had to admit, someone with that level of endurance was certainly impressive. Hanna was incapacitated, and that only took one hit. So for him to be still going...it irritated Miro. "Why do you continue to fight? They assured me you were a good for nothing drunk." Konstantin ignored him, seeing Evening Stars rushing in again. Rather boldly, Konstantin rushed in to meet it, knowing Imagine Dragons only had a few seconds left before it took damage. Miro chuckled. "How strange." He muttered to himself. "The old man still has a little bit of his energy left. Nice to see it wasn't all pounded out of him, but still, what an idiot."

"You're brave, I'll give you that. But at the end of the day you have about as many ideas as Evening Stars without me!"

"You fool!" Konstantin growled. "You should pay more attention to where I aim!"

"Huh?" Imagine Dragons came down hard with the energetic punch on the side of the shell, causing it to somersault into the air. "Uwahhhh?!" Miro was horrified as Evening Nights soared into the sky. Even more so as Konstantin moved closer to where it was going to land. He turned to Miro. "Any last words?" Miro was breathing heavily. He could see where things were going, and yet he refused to believe that a fate like that could befall him. "You're not serious. Evening Nights is strong enough to withstand a blow like that!" He declared. Konti said nothing, watching to see which way the shell would land. But even then he could see the sweat starting to soak into Miro's skin tight suit, confirming that he knew exactly what was going to happen. It landed on the weaker underside.

No sooner had the underside crashed into the ground than a loud crunch could be heard from Miro's stomach as his entire rib cage just collapsed. Blood splattered everywhere as he fell to the ground, unable to scream in his extreme pain. Konstantin walked over to him, seeing if there was anything at all he could salvage. "Are you alright?" He asked. Miro was still alive, but they weren't sure for how much longer. He was struggling to even breathe. "Zheng..." He spluttered, before returning to his wheezing. Konstantin had heard of that name before, but he wasn't quite sure where. He clearly wasn't getting anywhere with him though, and so he left Miro to himself.

The first of Teberhel to get over to him was Hanna. She looked a little worse for wear, but nothing too severe. With her arms folded, she silently inspected Konstantin as he began coughing, kneeling down to support his weight. "Ooohhh~" He groaned in between coughs. Slowly, he got to his feet. "I need a rest." He said, breathing heavily. "What? You only fought him for a few minutes." Hanna pointed out. "Do not judge me. I beat him."

To that argument, Hanna had to concede. "I suppose. But I still find it sub-par and will expect improvement." With that, they got moving. The boat wouldn't wait, after all. Amazing that no one had even come by to see what the hullabaloo was about. They were somewhat thankful though, not having to deal with the press or God forbid the police again. Still though, she had some unanswered questions, and the more she thought about it, the more she remembered hearing a Bulgarian name very similar to Vasilev in the past before.

Once they arrived at the docks, Vahid and Teemu went to get the boat while leaving Hanna, Sergio and Konstantin to go and get a drink to calm their nerves. "Is your head okay?" Sergio asked. "I'm fine." Hanna nodded, only taking a bottle of water. Konstantin had settled for tea, which he clearly wasn't coping very well with. Perhaps he was just craving a cig though. Sergio wasn't going to leave that up to chance though. "How about you, Konti?" He nodded. "I am just in need of a rest." He replied. Truth was, Hanna's feeling was correct, and his cravings were kicking in. Not a fag in sight though, and it wouldn't be like him to start begging.

"Dijkstra, I never got an answer from you for this question." Hanna spoke to the Argentine. "Which one?" He asked. "About what you do for a living." He smiled. "I have a great job! I run the biggest night club in Rosario!" Now his fashion sense made logical sense to Hanna. It would be typical for someone a little more carefree in his lifestyle to dress like that, to be setting his own trends rather than following others. He was a more likable person than Vahid, at least in Hanna's eyes, but she still had some issues with him, arising from that occupation. Chances were, he was a swinger, going from woman to woman, never giving a second thought as to the consequences of such a lifestyle. But before she could respond, something happened.

In the corner of the café, the telephone rang. Hanna had a gut feeling she knew who was on the other end of the phone, and so her legs went into autopilot, straight over to the phone. "Hello?" She answered. "Hello again!" Artem cheerfully greeted. Hanna rolled her eyes in annoyance. "What is it now?" She asked. "I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done." He replied. "I'm on the train right now, I'm heading east to Vladivostok to conduct my business from a different position. I will keep in touch though." Hanna wasn;t letting him away with just that though. "Cut the shit. What are you really after?" She demanded. "I just wanted to make sure you're going to Iceland." He told her. "Yes, at least I hope so." She looked into the water. Who knew what kind of stand would be waiting to take them on once they were out at sea, if any?

Soon after, they were on the boat. Heading north to the volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic. "Do you know anyone in Iceland?" Sergio asked. Vahid shook his head. "I'm afraid not, at least not in Reykjavik. I met an old guy who lived in a light house, but I didn't find any stand users." He explained. "Shame really. I was looking forward to finding a yeti or something." They all raised their eyebrows. "The Yeti lives in the Himalayas." Teemu pointed out. "Yeah but it also doesn't exist." Vahid countered. "So you went looking on the wrong side of the planet for a creature that you know doesn't even exist? Retard." Hanna scoffed. "I'm going to have a rest. If you see a Yeti next to my bed, that's my coat, okay?"

All she could hope for was that the change in climate made the Iranian somewhat more tolerable.

Author's Note

So Teberhel travels to Iceland next on the way to America, still a long way off but getting there slowly. Idk where I came up with Sergio being a nightclub owner, but I suppose it does set him apart from the rest of the group, looking back on that decision. I feel like I should also say this but 'fag' is slang for cigarette in this context. Y'all probably know that but just in case.

Evening Stars was definitely a stand where I thought of how it was going to be beaten before anything else, unlike other stands. Idk if that will show, but I will leave that out there.

Captain Tennille was omitted, yes. I'm going to have a lot more stand users, so minor ones like him are just some unfortunate casualties. Some major ones too, but none too major.

Also I was considering having Jotaro take out Forever like he did in the anime, but that shit never gets used again so fuck that, lmao. The eternal Zeppeli-Joestar rivalry carries on to yet another generation. Lucky that ship picked them up, or else they'd be fucked. Anyway, there's nothing sinister about this ship, and I mean that, lol. No more stand users until we get to America, which should be next chapter thanks to this guy. But hey, they'll have plenty of stand users to fight once they're there.

STAND: Evening Stars

NAMESAKE: Touhou track

USER: Miro Djajic

STAND TYPE:

POWER: B

RANGE: D

SPEED: B

PRECISION: C

DURABILITY: A

POTENTIAL: D