In my old draft for the story I nearly forgot about George receiving the Red Stone of Aja until the last chapter. But now I figure it would be perfect for this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, or Overlord.

Spirit Tracks Chapter 42: The Cult Leader

Inside the Desert Temple the group peeked in on Skeldritch, who was peering into a viewing crystal. Evileye's eyes widened. "That's him. The cult leader who was experimenting with the stone masks." "He must have used one on himself," Gyro realized. "What are we waiting around here for?," Gagaran asked, "We should be getting inside to attack." "One problem," Zesshi pointed out, "We don't know if it's this vampire or Kelvin who planted the spores in the hostages. If we kill the wrong vampire, we kill off potential allies."

Just then, an image of Yaldabaoth appeared in the crystal. 'For now we will zigzag around the realm. Skeldritch, continue to maintain the magic well. As long as our enemies don't realize that it's Kelvin's spores controlling our last few members, we have suitable hostages.' "No fear of that," Skeldritch replied, "I suspect they are the sort to just rush in and attack with regard for anyone's safety." The others turned to Gagaran and glared, making her blush with embarrassment. "I'll make sure they assume I am the one responsible for the spores," Skeldritch continued, "That way their plans will be halted." 'Excellent,' Yaldabaoth said, 'We'll contact you later.'

"Okay," George said, "Now we can move in." The group walked inside the chamber, surprising Skeldritch with their nonchalant pace. "Oh dear... You overheard that conversation just now didn't you?" There was a general nodding, which made Skeldritch scoff. "Fine... I was hoping to draw this out to give my masters time to come up with a counter-plan, but it looks like I'll be... Cleaning Out My Closer!" The entire room started to fill with sand, and a large skeletal creature wearing armor appeared behind Skeldritch.

"Not very hot for a desert," Lakyus noted. "Deserts aren't always hot," George pointed out, "They just lack water. On our side of the tear there's a country called Mongolia. It has one of the coldest deserts on record." "Indeed," Skeldritch said, "Besides, as an adventurer you should now... The desert has far greater dangers than just heat!" That's when several boulders appeared from the sands and rushed at the heroes. "Indestructible!" Gagaran tanked one coming right at her using her Stand, the others using their power to deflect the shots.

Evileye's ice crystals pierced through one and hit Cleaning Out My Closet directly, taking off a chunk of its armor. Seeing this, George realized something. "Hey, this is just like Polnareff's Stand. Take off the armor and it's far more vulnerable. Tusk Act 1!" He fired off a few fingernails which impacted the armor, leaving cracks. "Let me try getting in close," Zesshi said, "Cover me." Skeldritch directed a few boulders to attack her, but they were destroyed by a combined effort from Evileye, Lakyus, Holly, and Gyro. This let Zesshi get close enough to slice through the Stand's chest plate.

The chest plate dropped and shattered. However, Skeldritch merely chuckled. "Well, good job destroying one piece of the armor. But Cleaning Out My Closet has five more remaining. The four limbs, the helmet, and the waist. And all four must be destroyed to render it vulnerable!" George smirked. "Thanks for letting us know. We could have wasted so much time attacking the exposed chest and doing no damage. But now we can focus on dealing with the other armor pieces." Skeldritch blanched, but recovered quickly. "Fine, I screwed that up. But you'll need to get close enough to attack!"

He then saw Cleaning Out My Closet struggling against a few vines before the armor on its right arm broke apart. "You are so easily distracted," Holly said as Chumbawamba dropped the shattered pieces, "And people call me absentminded." Skeldritch had his Stand move to attack Holly directly, only to get blocked by Gagaran, Evileye leaping over her. "This is for the torment you put me through," she noted, "Blood Stare!" The high-pressure liquid cut through the waist plate, cutting it in half and causing it to drop.

"And one more for the head piece!," Gagaran called out as she brought her war hammer down on the Stand's head, cracking open the helmet. As she did, Starlight rushed in. "Dove and Grenade!" She conjured a solid blade using her Stand's metal aspect, letting her slice off the left arm's armor. She then pulled up a stone column quickly to block an attack from Cleaning Out My Closet. Skeldritch grimaced. "Don't forgot I have the same powers Evileye does. Blood Stare!" "Hamon Hair Attack!" George leapt in front of Starlight and activated his Hamon barrier, blocking the liquid attack.

"Zoom Punch!" Gyro came in, nailing Skeldritch in the side of the face, burning some of his flesh. Gyro then turned his attention to Cleaning Out My Closet. "Ball Breaker!" A quick shot from his Stand aged the armor on the left leg to dust. Just one armor piece left. Skeldritch roared as he summoned a veritable avalanche's worth of boulders to push the group back. He then saw something. The sand from his Stand was getting wet. Extremely wet. He followed the trail up to a smirking Starlight. "I started to realize... You never said anything about your sand draining water. And the whole time we've been standing on it, we never felt like we were drying out."

"And sand is great for absorbing water," Tia noted. "But it can only hold so much," Tina finished. Sure enough, before long a massive volume of water emerged from the sand and struck Skeldritch, knocking him back. "And sand's other major weakness," Starlight noted, "Is direct heat, such as from fire. After all, it's how we make glass. Dove and Grenade!" Shasryu got the hint and readied his own Stand. "Saint Elmo's Fire!" The burning trails along the sand reached Cleaning Out My Closet, trapping it. Zaryusu moved in amidst the flames. "Cold Wind Blows!" He swung his Stand and struck through the remaining armor piece on the right leg, breaking it off and leaving the skeletal Stand vulnerable.

Skeldritch stood up from where he had been knocked down and gasped as George seemed to radiate energy. "It's all over, Skeldritch!' He got out the Red Stone of Aja and focused a Hamon charge through it. The amplified beam of energy cut right through Skeldrtich's brain, killing him instantly. As his body crumbled to dust, Evileye breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, I can stop looking over my shoulder..." Once the room was clear, the final well opened up.

"This is the lynchpin of the Spirit Tracks," Zaryusu noted, "Now we just need to find out where Barbro is." "Come to think of it," Zesshi noted, "The ruling bodies of each nation arrived to oversee the protection of Roble." The group looked at each other. "Barbro intended to use the war as a distraction," George realized with a clenched fist, "He's going to head to each kingdom in turn and usurp the throne for himself." "He can only go so far with that move," Evileye pointed out. "That just shows how desperate he is," Starlight noted, "But while he has hostages he can keep all he is taking. We need to find them and free them."

And we now have a new Stand to check out. Been a while...

Cleaning Out My Closet (Song by Eminem)
User: Skeldritch
Ability: Upon activation, this Stand creates a miniature desert within a limited area. Just like with the actual definition of desert, this is less about heat and more about the absence of water, focusing more on the volume of sand. From this sand Cleaning Out My Closet can generate and launch massive boulders to attack with. It can also attack on its own if someone should get in close. However, once its armor is destroyed its as brittle as a normal skeleton, though each piece must be broken for this to occur.
Power: B
Speed: B
Range: B
Durability: C
Precision: B
Potential: E

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