Sometimes the chapters I write wind up being short, even when I want to write so much. Regardless, here's the next big caper. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Kamen Rider, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Future Diary.
Stars Are Eternal Chapter 3: Magical Babyrinth
In a dark warehouse, a lone figure met with Shinzo and Mitsuharu. "I feel something happening," the figure said, "The shard I was given has started to change." Behind him manifested an armored cavalryman astride its steed. This was Number 010, Illumiknight. And it was starting to show cracks. Shinzo smiled. "You have the potential… Your shard is beginning to mutate. In mere moments it will become a true Stand all your own." The figure looked at the shard as its original form soon crumbled away, revealing a humanoid figure covered in artist tools.
Elsewhere, JK was telling the others about the attempted abduction. "There's been a lot of these kidnappings going around lately," Luna noted, "All of them young women. And there's another connection, all of them have apparently modeled for a big time artist who's currently visiting Morioh." She held out the flyer. Jogo looked at it. "Kazuhiro Asaya… He's that avant garde painter who prefers doing portraits, correct?" Luna nodded. "The area in which Number 084 attacked was right around the area in which Kazuhiro is hosting his current gallery. We should take a look."
Kazuhiro definitely seemed an amiable sort. "I definitely remember each of these women," he admitted, "Then again, since I display my work prominently, it's hard for me to forget a face. It's strange though, all of them were seen leaving my temporary studio safely, by several people no less." Jogo looked at the portraits. Most of the women were missing, but something about this made him think Kazuhiro wasn't responsible. Maybe it was the fact that both his mom Pinkie, and Luna's mom Yukako were among the portraits, and neither of them were missing.
"How do you make these portraits so fast?," Shun asked. Kazuhiro chuckled. "That, my young friend, is a trade secret. After all, I need to get myself a head start before one of Madarame's pupils starts to find his rising star and climb to the top of the art world. If someone were to learn my secret…" He shrugged. "Well, I can't have them potentially copying it." "Do you know of anyone in your circle who might be behind this?," Miu asked. Kazuhiro tapped his chin. "Well… One of my own apprentices is always following some of the women I've painted. And he always returns the next day with a big smile on his face. Though there have been a few exceptions. Yesterday, for example, he came in complaining of an earache." That got JK's attention.
"Yesterday when I was making that rescue, I used Pump Up The Volume on the would-be kidnapper," JK explained to his friends, "If this apprentice was coming in complaining of an earache, then he's someone to look into." Nearby Kazuhiro was going out for a walk, when he suddenly had to dodge some large rocks being thrown at him. The group looked to see Yukiteru standing there. "Kazuhiro Asaya," he said, "You have been identified as Number 010. Now I'm here to defeat you." The group was shocked. "He's one of the shard carriers!?," Yuki called out.
Kazuhiro shook his head. "Your information is slightly out of date. My shard has already evolved, as have I. Paint it Black!" The humanoid Stand with the art tools appeared behind him. Paint it Black manifested a glob of paint and shot it at Yukiteru, shattering one of the rocks he had created. Yukiteru kept dodging as Kazuhiro created more. He then noticed a nearby chimney and directed his Stand to target it, causing it to crumble into pigments before reforming above Yukiteru, causing him to roll out of the way before using his own Stand to grab the object and try flinging it back at Kazuhiro.
The back and forth scene made Jogo sigh. "We can't have them tearing up the landscape like that… Come on guys! Activate Wheel and Rocket!" He raced forward using Cosmic Mind's wheel attachment, using it to catch Yukiteru off-guard and start fighting him. Kazuhiro tried to get away, only to get blindsided as Shun tackled him with Pigskin. Kazuhiro scoffed before launching a few exploding paint globs, only to get surprised as Pigskin easily tanked them. Seeing the two enemies getting too riled up, Jogo decided to take things up a notch. "JK! Get set up!"
JK gave the thumbs up. "Pump Up The Volume!" "Activate Beat!" A sub-woofer appeared on Cosmic Mind's right leg, which along with Pump Up The Volume started creating a soundwave that resonated on a level that caused both Yukiteru and Kazuhiro to cover their ears to try avoid the intense pain, forcing them both to run for it. The group joined up again. "So Kazuhiro is actually one of the Numbers we're looking for?," Luna asked. "Number 010, Illumiknight," Jogo noted, "Yukiteru said that was Kazuhiro's number. Clearly Kazuhiro had Stand potential, causing that shard to mutate and become a true Stand."
Meanwhile, Shinzo and Mitsuharu were chasing after a bank robber. The man immediately turned around. "Finisher the Strong Arm!" He manifested a red horned humanoid with large arms that tried to punch the duo. Shinzo halted for a moment. "Kickstart My Heart!" His Stand appeared and immediately blocked the punch. As the robber looked dumbfounded, Shinzo shook his head. "You should know better than this, Number 051. We do not have these powers because we are superior to normal people. And even if we were, taking to bank robbery is not exactly something a supposedly superior being would stoop to."
Number 051 tried to attack again, only to get completely paralyzed. "Ego Brain!," Mitsuharu called out, his Stand injecting a few spikes into the Number. One was for injecting his Stand's neurotoxin to contain him, the other was an antidote so that he wouldn't die. "So," Mitsuharu said to his friend, "What shall we do with him?" "I think we should let him reflect on his actions," Shinzo replied, "We have enough to be concerned with thanks to the local Stand users, but now we have a few new 'friends' from out of town actively seeking to eliminate us. At least, that's what both Masuda and Kazuhiro mentioned."
"Speaking of which," Mitsuharu said, "Masuda was arrested for multiple kidnapping cases, correct? I heard he turned himself in after getting beaten by a young man named Jogo Higashikata." Shinzo looked interested. "Higashikata? Word on the street is that's the family name of the man who sealed a dangerous serial killer inside the stone I was showing you. I think said hero's first name was… Josuke." Mitsuharu nodded. "I traced the local records. Jogo is Josuke's son with his wife Diane Higashikata. Nice woman, if a little odd. Judging from her picture, I can see why people refer to her as…" He chuckled. "Pinkie Pie." Shinzo couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, we'll need to warn our other friends about this recent development."
Later, the group was at the home of the apprentice Kazuhiro mentioned. As the man in question walked out, JK snapped his fingers. "That's the guy! I saw him as he was trying to kidnap someone while all those ghosts were around." Jogo nodded. "The ghosts must have been caused by Kazuhiro's Stand somehow. Perhaps an aftereffect of his Stand ability. Let's deal with this guy, then see if we can't question Kazuhiro later." He and Luna leapt out to confront the man, who panicked. "Shit… Pain Gainer!" The cartoon spider appeared and tried to web up the duo. Jogo chuckled. "Not good enough. Activate Scissors!"
A pair of scissors manifested on Cosmic Mind's right arm, which easily cut through the web. "So you are the one behind the kidnappings," Luna noted. "It was the only way I could keep up!," Number 084 insisted, "Kazuhiro was able to use his power to mimic the image of anyone he wanted and place it on canvas. This tended to cause afterimages to appear in a certain light. I thought I could use that to mask my actions, and maybe even frame him so I could get ahead! He never appreciated my art…" "Can't say I much care for it either," Luna quipped, "Fly Me To The Moon!"
She shifted her Stand's moon to its crescent phase, launching several blades that struck at Number 84. "Activate Claw!" Jogo caused a clawed gauntlet to appear on his Stand right arm, which he used to slash through the pseudo-Stand. "One more for good measure!," he said, "Activate Stamper!" A giant stamp device appeared and Cosmic Mind's left leg, which it smashed right into Pain Gainer. The stamp suddenly exploded, causing the shard severe damage, before Luna finished it off by having her Stand launch its moon right into the fragmenting body. Nearby, Takao watched as the group dragged the hapless man off to the police. "Lost another one… We'll have to pick up the pace if we hope to win this contest…"
Here's your shard update.
001 002(END) 003(END) 004 005 006 007
008 009 010(END) 011 012 013 014
015 016 017 018 019 020 021
022 023 024 025 026 027 028
029(END) 030 031 032 033 034 035
036 037 038 039 040 041 042(END)
043 044 045 046 047 048 049
050 051 052 053 054 055 056
057 058 059 060 061 062 063
064 065 066 067 068 069 070
071(END) 072 073 074 075 076 077
078 079 080 081 082 083 084(END)
085 086 087 088(END) 089 090 091
092 093(END) 094 095 096 097 098
099 100 101 102 103 104 105
106 107 108
Remember that these also include shards that have mutated, even if said shard user has yet to be defeated or contained. Now for the Stands.
Paint it Black (Song by U2)
User: Kazuhiro Asaya
Ability: Mutated from Egoist shard Number 010, Illumiknight. Its power is to manipulate strands of paint. Applied to inanimate objects, it can disassemble them into pigments and reform them elsewhere. Used on living beings, it simply copies their form onto a medium of Kazuhiro's choosing, though unless they are Stand users they will be worn out from the process and need time to recover. In addition, the Stand can launch globs of paint that can be either destructive or debilitating.
Power: B
Speed: B
Range: A
Durability: B
Precision: A
Potential: B
Not much from this side of things, but we do have a couple from Phantom Thieves Origins.
Dead Man (Song by Pearl Jam)
User: Lavenza
Ability: This Stand has several aspects to it, all of which take the form of various execution devices and all of which can manipulate Stand energy, which is most commonly obtained when it is shed from Stand usage. There is a set of guillotines that can fuse the energy, a solitary confinement cell that can boost physical power, a gallows to increase Stand stats temporarily, and an electric chair to create items. Lavenza's power and access to these devices increases as she practices her Stand.
Power: D
Speed: E
Range: C
Durability: B
Precision: B
Potential: B
Soul Kitchen (Song by The Doors)
User: Sojiro Sakura
Ability: This Stand can infuse whatever Sojiro cooks or brews with a substance that boosts the energy of whoever consumes the food or drink.
Power: E
Speed: C
Range: C
Durability: B
Precision: A
Potential: D
Yeah, just a coupe though. Still, I hope you enjoy both this chapter and the accompanying chapter from Phantom Thieves Origins. Read and review.
