Stan Mathers gasps as Viva La Vida, Stand of Nero Zeppeli, rips him from his ceiling hiding place and slams him into the floor of the planetarium. The bolts of electricity arcing from the walls stop as Stan loses the energy to fight.
"Okay, I'm done," he mutters. He looks over at Julius Zeppeli, who is leaning against a chair, barely standing after his brutal fight with Stan. "There's no point in waiting, we both know how this ends. You kill me, like my brother before me."
Julius raises an eyebrow. "I have no idea what on earth you're talking about," he says.
Stan grits his teeth. "Of course you don't, just another innocent person slaughtered in your wake. I even showed you the body and you couldn't be bothered to remember! For you it was just a Tuesday, right?" he growls. "But it wasn't just another day for me, and it sure as fuck wasn't just another day for my brother. I can't get the sight of his body out of my mind, the gaping hole where his heart was supposed to be!"
Nero takes a deep breath. "Stanely, Julius Zeppeli did not kill your brother," he says.
"Bullshit! Woodstock said Zeppeli killed Jimmy!" Stan screams. "God, you can't even imagine the pain you've caused me. We had nothing when we were kids, nothing but each other. And I was his big brother, I was supposed to protect him."
Tears streak down Stan's face. He rips off his hat, revealing that one of his ears is missing, covered by a large scar. "See this? This is a testament to my brotherly devotion!" he shouts. "When we were young, some bullies tried to beat up Jimmy. I stood in their way, I took their blows. I lost an ear and ended up in a coma, but I have never regretted it for a moment, because I protected my brother!"
"Julius Zeppeli did not kill James Mathers, his nephew did," Nero says. "His nephew, Nero Zeppeli. I killed your brother."
Stan furrows his brow. "You killed my brother?" he whispers.
"Stands are shared through bloodlines. When Woodstock gave you your Slim Shady, your brother also received a monstrous Stand he named Wrap God," Nero says. "Using this Stand, he murdered girls who refused to go out with him and teachers who gave him poor grades. He attacked my cousin and her roommate, and I was forced to kill him. I understand your rage, but your brother was a monster. I have no desire to fight you, but will understand if you must kill me out of familial honor."
"You punched a hole in his chest, do you really think I'm just going to give up because you made some shit up about my brother being an asshole?" Stan asks.
Nero sighs. "No," he says.
It happens in an instant. Stan grabs his left arm, the one with the knife tattoo, and the knife turns real. He lunges at Nero, knife in hand. A metal hand grabs his wrist, crushing it, and a circle of fire appears on Nero's stomach, preventing the knife from dealing any damage.
Twisted Sister flings Stan at a planetarium wall. Johana and Kan stand behind the Stand. "Sorry we're late, we ran into a little trouble on the staircase," Johana says.
"Is it over?" Nero asks.
"It's over," Kan says. "Sting's in a sewer, Lady Gaga shot herself with a cannon, and the guy you were fighting can't stand anymore."
"She shot herself with a cannon?" Nero asks.
"I mean, she shot Johana and Johana caught it and threw it back. Same thing, really," Kan says.
Julius coughs and everyone looks at him. By now, the blood from his wounds has completely stained his suit. "Are you okay?" Johana asks.
"No, not really," Julius says.
"We need to get you to a hospital-"
"No, no hospitals. Hospitals ask questions," Julius says. "Have Nero call a Speedwagon Foundation doctor to the little girl's house."
"Can you survive long enough for us to get you home?"
Julius draws one of his Beatles. "Time is effectively frozen within my Beatles," he says. "I'll store myself inside until the doctor arrives." With that, Julius Zeppeli disappears into the red sphere. Nero picks it up and places it in his pocket.
Unbeknownst to Johana and her group, a red arm is slithering into the planetarium, bending and stretching as it reaches for its target. It grabs Stan by the arm and begins dragging him out.
Kan spots the arm and runs after it. "Lady Gaga, she's dragging Stan away!" Kan shouts. Johana and Nero follow.
As Kan steps out of the planetarium, a blast of fire surrounds her, throwing her backwards into a wall. Johana and Nero summon their Stands. Lady Gaga stands at one end of the hall, dragging Stan to her using Iron Maiden's stretchy arms. Inspector Sting stands at the other end of the hall, still soaking wet from his dunk into the sewer.
Johana begins to sprint after Stan and Gaga, but Twisted Sister shoves her, saving her from a blast of fire created by Inspector Sting. Lady Gaga drags Stan into an exhibit on the ancient Aztecs.
"Okay, we'll deal with them later," Johana says as she regains her balance. "Inspector Sting, it's a pleasure as always to meet you."
Lady Gaga collapses in the middle of the Aztec exhibit. The deserted exhibit is filled with artifacts recovered from a recent dig site. Weapons, pottery, religious relics, and other ancient items are spread out on tables around the exhibit. A mural showing men wearing stone masks performing a ritualistic sacrifice is displayed on the wall.
"Stefani?" Stan mutters, regaining consciousness. "What are you doing here?"
"I stayed behind to fight off Zeppeli's friends for you," Lady Gaga wheezes. "It didn't go so well."
"Neither did my fight with Zeppeli. Or, my fight with Zeppelis, if I'm being accurate," Stan says.
"I can't believe they beat you up like this. If I wasn't so injured, I'd kill those bastards."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," Stan says with a half-hearted smile. "Stefani, I think this is the end of the road for me. Even if a doctor could treat my wounds, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ran away. I think I'll stay here and fight. I won't be able to kill all of them, but I might get lucky and take Nero Zeppeli out."
Stefani takes Stan's hand. "I'm with you to the end, Stanely," she says. "Let's kill these bastards."
Stan smiles. "I love you," he says. "Now we need to figure a way to make them die."
Lady Gaga crawls to her feet. "I have an idea," she says, picking up a stone mask from one of the tables. "If I put this mask on, I'll look just like the men in that mural. You can hide me in the mural with your Stand, and I can ambush them when they come in the room," she says.
"All three of you are here, why am I not surprised?" Inspector says, gritting his teeth.
"I know that us being at the site of another disaster is disconcerting, to say the least, but we are not responsible for most of the damage to this museum," Nero says.
"Way to make us look innocent, Nero," Johana says.
"Your false pleas of innocence won't work on me," Inspector Sting says. "I know now that you aren't regular people. You have abilities far beyond those of a normal human being."
"What? No, you're crazy," Johana says half heartedly.
"I can see that monster you summoned to fight for you," Sting snaps. "Everywhere you go, chaos follows. People die. It's time I put a stop to that."
Inspector Sting extends his arm so that his hand covers Nero and crushes his palm. Flames envelop Nero. Before they can do any damage, Viva La Vida strikes them, putting them out.
"Be careful! I don't know how his Stand works, but I know he can create fire by closing his hands!" Kan yells.
Inspector Sting turns to throw another blast of flames at the injured Kan. She escapes the fire through a hole her Stand makes in the floor, falling down to the third floor.
Johana charges at Inspector Sting and strikes him with Twisted Sister. Sting flies back and crashes to the ground. The punch tore through his shirt and twisted the skin on his stomach into a knot. He groans and raises his arm to summon flames.
He closes his palm and a pillar of flames surrounds Johana. A moment later, the flames are gone, replaced by a cloud of white mist. When the cloud clears, Nero Zeppeli is standing next to Johana, holding a fire extinguisher. Nero charges at Inspector Sting. Sting opens his hand to prepare a fireball and Nero smashes the fire extinguisher open with his Stand. The foam covers Sting, blinding him.
Nero tackles Sting to the ground, forcing him into an armbar. Viva La Vida pulls Nero's hat off his head and pulls it down over Sting's eyes. "Your Stand allows you to set things on fire when you remove them from your field of vision," Nero says. "It is useless if you cannot see anything."
Johana runs over and helps Nero place Sting's handcuffs on his own wrists. "You are under arrest, Inspector Sting," Nero says. He chuckles. "Not really, that was merely a joke."
"Just kill me already, it's better than sitting here and listening to you mock me," Sting says.
"We aren't going to kill you. We aren't murderers," Johana says.
"Well, that is less than truthful," Nero says. "We have both killed on several occasions. For example, our entanglement with Stan Mathers stems from the fact that I killed his brother, leading to him to seek misplaced revenge against Uncle Julius."
"Again, Nero, stop saying stuff that hurts our case," Johana says.
Suddenly, a red claw shoots down the hallway at Johana and Nero. It grabs Sting by the throat and rips him back to the Aztec exhibit. Johana and Nero turn to see a woman in a red suit of armor with a helmet resembling a crown. Lady Gaga.
Gaga slams Sting against a wall, knocking him out, and charges at Johana. She's fast, far faster than she was when the two first fought. Johana tries to jump out of Gaga's way, but Gaga grabs her by the ankle and slams her into Nero.
Viva La Vida flies forward and strikes Lady Gaga in the face. The punch damage is reflected back onto Nero. He stumbles backwards. Lady Gaga tears into Viva La Vida, ripping into it with the claws of her Stand. "RARARARARAH!" Lady Gaga screams and she launches blow after blow into Nero's Stand. Nero flies back and crashes into a museum wall, blood dripping from his chest. The red ball slips from Nero's pocket and rolls away. Gaga's helmet disappears as she bends down and begins licking up Nero's blood.
Johana slowly walks towards Lady Gaga. The creature sitting on the floor in front of her is far different from the duchess she fought in the pirate exhibit. Gaga licks the blood up with the fervor of a starving animal. Her skin is pale, and her teeth are pointed, like those of a beast. Her eyes show no humanity.
Johana reaches out for Gaga. In an instant, Gaga lunges at Johana, tackling her to the ground. She strikes Johana again and again and again, her red fists tearing into Johana's chest. Johana raises her arms to cover her face and Gaga slams down on them. Johana hears a disturbing crack as her arms shatter.
Julius Zeppeli pops out of the red Beatle. Something is wrong and he knows it, deep within his bones. This conclusion is supported by the fact that Nero, Johana, and Kan are nowhere to be seen. Julius looks around. He's in the Aztec exhibit across from the planetarium. The body of Stan Mathers lies in front of him.
Julius leans in close to the body. Stan's skin is tight and dry, as if all of the blood has been drained from his veins. A stone mask lies on the ground next to him, with blood smeared on its forehead.
"Dear God," Julius whispers.
He knows exactly what happened in this room a few minutes earlier. Lady Gaga put the mask on and Stan touched her forehead with his bloody fingers, perhaps as a loving goodbye. When the blood touched the mask, its spikes extended and penetrated Gaga's skull. She died, but not really.
Lady Gaga, Stefani, changed. The mask transformed her into something monstrous. Something primal. A vampire. And, as newfound hunger consumed her, she killed the man she loved without a second thought.
Johana is trapped. Lady Gaga is beating her to death, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. Her arms are broken, Nero is unconscious, and Kan still hasn't returned from the third floor. Unholy speed and strength have joined Gaga's unmatched defence, and there is nothing Johana can do.
"Johana!" Kan shouts as she finally returns to the fight. Gaga jumps off Johana and kicks Kan in the stomach.
As Kan keels over, The Doors flies by Gaga's head and places a hole on the side of her helmet. Johana's Stand helps her up. She lunges at Lady Gaga, her broken arms hanging at her side, and strikes her in the face with Twisted Sister.
The force of the blow breaks Gaga's neck, sending her head spinning 180 degrees like an owl. The rest of Gaga's body spins around to match it. As she spins, her arms extend, striking Johana and Kan.
A green sphere flies through the air and hits Gaga in the side of the head. Gaga disappears into the Beatle as Julius Zeppeli runs back into the fight. "Johana, use Hamon!" he shouts.
"What?" Johana asks.
"I don't have time to explain, just use it! It's the only way to stop her!"
Johana takes a deep breath and Hamon energy flows through her body. Her arm begins to heal. Fighting off the pain, Johana pulls her arm back.
The second Gaga pops out of the Beatle, Johana strikes her as hard as she can. The force of the punch is reflected back, but the Hamon Energy, the golden power of Johana's lungs, that pierces the armor.
Lady Gaga screams as she falls to her knees. The red plates of her armor fall to the ground and disappear, revealing the beastial woman lying within. The center of Gaga's stomach, where she was punched by Johana, begins to turn to dust. This decay spreads as the Hamon moves through her body, until nothing remains but ashes.
"Julius?" Johana asks, catching her breath. "What the fuck just happened?"
A fireman drags Inspector Sting out of the Tote Museum. By now, the flames have been extinguished and Johana's group has fled. A variety of emergency vehicles have appeared at the stone steps at the front of the museum. The fireman pulls Sting into an ambulance. A paramedic tries to climb inside, but the fireman shoves him out and slams the door shut.
As the ambulance drives away from the Tote museum, Sting opens his eyes. The fireman is sitting next to him in the ambulance. "Where am I?" he asks.
"You're in the back of an ambulance," the fireman says. He's young and well built, with a square jaw and big innocent eyes.
"You're taking me to a hospital?"
"Not quite."
The fireman begins to take off his heavy protective clothing, shedding his coat and hat. He pulls off his gloves, revealing the silver bracelet around his wrist. The fireman reaches into his pocket and produces an identical bracelet, which he hands to Inspector Sting.
"Who are you?" Sting asks.
"Jefferson," the young fireman replies.
The ambulance pulls into a back alley and stops. The driver, a woman who is clearly not a paramedic, walks around and opens the doors. She climbs in and sits down next to Jefferson.
She wears a black catsuit with a silver belt emblazoned with the eye of providence. She has curly blonde hair and wears bright red lipstick. Her legs are crossed, showing off the red heels on her feet and silver bracelet around her ankle. A quiver containing a single arrow is slung over her shoulder.
"That arrow, it's just like the one Johana Joestar had at the airport," Sting says.
"It is the arrow she had at the airport," the woman says. "Jefferson was kind enough to retrieve it from the wreckage for me after that tragic plane crash."
Sting sits up. "Who are you?" he asks. "Are you working with Joestar-"
"I am Woodstock, and no, Johana Joestar and her associates are mere acquaintances of mine," the woman says. "I would describe myself as a servant of fate, helping certain people along the paths they are destined to take."
"What kind of people?" Sting asks.
"People like yourself, Jefferson, and Johana Joestar," Woodstock says. "People with special abilities. People with Stands."
"Stands?"
"A manifestation of a person's soul and fighting spirit. The fire you create, that is the power of your Stand," Woodstock says. "I help people realize the full potential of their Stands, and can help you reach yours."
"Why?"
"What do you mean by? Why do I do this? Why do you have a Stand? Or, do you mean why are you going to say yes."
"All of those, I suppose," Sting says.
"You have a Stand because there is something special inside you," Woodstock says. "Yours manifested when you cut yourself on this arrow. Normally, the arrow kills those it pierces, but you survived and became stronger because there is a fire within you, a fire that, if properly fed, can destroy all that stands in its way. Why do I cultivate Stand Users and lead them to conflict? Because I wish to create a Stand User that can fulfill my dreams. And, why will you accept my tutelage? Because you will never defeat your Johana Joestar without my help."
Sting mulls it over for a moment. "What do I have to do for you. I mean, there's gotta be a catch," he says.
"No catch, all I need is for you to put on the silver bracelet Jefferson gave you."
To Be Continued In
Chapter 32: Origin of the Stone Mask, Part 1