We're getting close to wrapping up one of the side-plots in this story. And another little tidbit I need to add in. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Persona series, Lupin the Third, or any other referenced media.

Forty-First Caper: Heaven is a Place on Earth, Carlysle's Mill

Goro noted that Yu had a look of dread on his face. "Is something wrong?" "The next likely target," Yu explained, "It's my cousin Nanako, Dojima's daughter. We need to find out where the next attack may come from and stop it, but we have no means to do so." "If you're willing to rely on things outside the law," came a woman's voice, "I may have an idea or two." The two of them turned to see a woman in blue. "Who are you?," Goro asked. "I am known as Margaret," the woman replied, "I've been helping Phantom Thief Joker locate the copycat who's been targeting this town."

Goro looked a little apprehensive, knowing who Joker really was. "Can we really rely on his sense of justice? He is elusive, after all." "He's not as unpredictable as you might think," Margaret assured him, "After all, he's willing to take requests to bring down dangerous criminals from his social media account. Honestly I think he should create his own website, it would be so much more convenient. But the point is, if you ask, he can easily track down the most elusive of criminals. Just let him know, and he'll track down whoever is threatening your loves ones." Yu looked at Goro, who nodded after a few seconds of deliberation. "We have nothing to lose. We might even find a chance to capture Joker."


"So yeah," Sumire admitted, "There's always been a part of me that resented my sister for her gymnastic abilities." "Well you're no slouch in that department," Ren assured her, "Especially if you movements as a Phantom Thief are anything to go by. Plus you have your own special talents." "True," Sumire said with a smile, "Kasumi is a mess in the kitchen, but I've made dishes my parents consider worthy of a five-star restaurant." "That reminds me," Ren said, "I named myself Joker because my Stand is the perfect trump card, but what about your codename of Violet?"

"It's a translation of my name into English," Sumire explained, "And because it's such a simple name, no one will look too deeply into it." She looked down for a moment. "You know, my Stand manifested while I was trying to improve myself so I could be on the same level as Kasumi. When all she got for a Stand was what amounts to rideable musical scores, I started to wonder if the gap between us was really so large. But I couldn't figure out how to get better. So I decided to speak with a talented psychologist, and he suggested I stop trying to emulate my sister and work on my own style. It worked. Turns out while Kasumi is perfect at the fundamentals of gymnastics, I'm overall the better performer."

Just then, Ren's phone went off. "Oh... It's for Joker's account..." He checked the posting. "Well how do you like that? Someone in Inaba is concerned that the police chief's daughter is being targeted next." "Who could be targeting her?," Sumire wondered, "Do you think this could be a trap?" "Yes and no," Ren admitted, "Yes because a posting like this would give Goro an ample chance to capture us. And no because it's true that the daughter in question, Nanako Dojima, would certainly be on the copycat's radar. One way or another it's in our best interest to go check it out."


Ren was a little surprised to find Margaret at the station waiting for him and Sumire. "Did Igor send you here?," Ren asked. "I came of my own volition," Margaret clarified, "This town has such happy memories, I wanted to properly experience it. I managed to use Toxic to get some information about the incident from 2011, but..." She looked a little sheepish, which Ren did not know was an emotion she could have. "What happened?" "I got the information straight from Dojima," Margaret explained, "And learned that booze and my Stand don't mix... Fortunately Dojima was a gentleman the morning after."

Sumire was a little surprised. "I know you said she didn't feel human, but she clearly has a human body." Ren shrugged. "All I know is she and Igor are certainly extra-dimensional. How human they are is up for debate. So, I take it you had the posting sent." Margaret smiled. "I convinced Yu and Goro to send it. But I should mention something. Nanako may not be the only victim. During the incident, the killer conned a former politician into helping him. The man had been involved in a scandal regarding an affair with a TV announcer."

Ren nodded. "Taro Namatame. I remember my folks watching the news during that time. And his ex-wife, a famous enka singer, is currently visiting. She's been hitting a rough patch herself what with the reveal that her lawsuit against her husband was actually fraudulent, since they were in the middle of a divorce at the time Namatame started dating the announcer." He grinned. "If she's involved in this... Then she'd make for an excellent target. Come on, Sumire. Let's find that cave entrance."


"You've got to be kidding me," Violet said when she and Joker found the dungeon entrance. It was not far from Dojima's house. And it looked like some child's fantasy heaven, with fantasy castles, rainbows, waterfalls, and flowerbeds. There was a large gate right in front of them. "Come to think about it," Violet noted, "Dojima lost his wife to a hit-and-run while she was on the way to pick up Nanako. Whoever is targeting her and Namatame must be trying to recreate her idea of Heaven."

Joker nodded. "As Phantom Thieves we are chained to Hell, so this may be the closest we get to Heaven. Let's enjoy the experience for the time being. Doesn't look like there are anymore mook makers this time, so infiltrating to the other side of the dungeon shouldn't be as difficult." Violet nodded. "But we still need to be careful, since we don't know how many Stand users are down here or what powers they have." Joker took a look around. "This may look like Heaven but there are still shadows for me to exploit if we have to fight. Let's start looking around."


There were several vines leading to upper areas in the dungeon. "How far down do you think we are?," Violet asked. "We may not be as far down as we think," Joker pointed out, "After all, a Stand made these caves, so for all we now there's some spatial distortion going on. In previous cases were I checked these caves out, they led to an exit that was far closer than the overall size of the cave suggested." Violet nodded. "Yeah, I get what you mean. There was a Stand user back in the 80s who could turn into an entire building into a labyrinth straight out of MC Escher, with pathways that could easily get even other Stand users turned around. But he apparently lost his life in 1989."

"Ah, I take it you read The Book of Love at one point," Joker noted. The Book of Love was a Stand that once belonged to Aleister Crowley, and persisted after his death thanks to ink infused with dust from the Cape York meteorite that brought Stand power Earth. It's words confused anyone who read them with dummy ciphers, but would remain perfectly legible to any Stand user who read from it. It contained information on every Stand user throughout history, and was constantly writing about more.

"Yeah," Violet admitted, "Me and Kasumi learned the book was in Twilight City for a spell and she dared me to a race for it. We had to go through the same courses, and go through all of them. It was kinda fun, and I even managed to reach the book before she could." She then noticed someone up ahead. Judging from the attire, it was a female enka singer. In fact, it was Namatame's ex-wife, Misuzu Hiiragi. She was speaking on a phone with someone while a large scale was balanced behind her.

"I don't care about some dumb brat," she said, "She doesn't even know who you are. We need to focus on my ex. He's been sitting pretty as the local mayor, in spite of my attempts to ruin his political career." She grimaced. "By the script, you say? That man certainly is convoluted, isn't he? Well, no matter. I'll be ready for Phantom Thief Joker when he stops by." She gasped as a blank calling card hit the ground near her foot. She looked up to see Joker and Violet standing on a broken column. "And just how do you intend to be ready?," Joker asked.

Misuzu smirked. "Ah, Joker. What a nice surprise. I was hoping to introduce you to my new Stand. Allow me to show you... Heaven and Hell!" The darker half of the scales tipped over, covering Misuzu in darkness. "Now I am the same element as you!," Misuzu bragged, "You can't phase through me, none of your attacks will work, I-AH!" She had been struck by Violet's rapier. "Joker may be shadow," she said, "But I am light." Misuzu growled. "No matter, Heaven and Hell is prepared for that as well!" The scales titled over to the light side. "Now your attacks are useless, little girl!"

She cried out in pain when W Boiled Xtreme's claws struck her. "But now you're vulnerable to my Stand again," Joker pointed out, "It looks like you can only be immune to either light or shadow, not both. And we're well-coordinated at this point." He and Violet aimed their firearms at Misuzu. "So what'll it be?," Violet asked, "A quick surrender, or a drawn out curb-stomp in our favor?" Misuzu trembled with rage, but ultimately relented. Joker wasted no time in knocking her out and tying her up.


They soon found the other end of the dungeon. Joker noticed the plaque for Carlysle's Mill hanging on a nearby wall as he peeked up from the floor. "This looks like a private residence," he noted, "Only a few blocks from Dojima's, actually." No one was home, so the duo decided to check out the place. Violet soon found a diary, along with a picture of a middle-aged man. "Alibaba," Violet asked, "Can you run a facial-scan on this guy? I get the feeling he lives here." 'Seems he does,' Alibaba replied, 'His name's Raye Suzuharu, a Japanese-American. He has several priors for sexual harassment.'

Joker looked through the diary. "Seems he tried to pick up Dojima's wife, not buying that she was married. And he ran her over when she refused him, even threatening to call the police." "Dojima's been looking for this guy for years," Violet noted, "I think with this evidence, he might be able to further his investigation." Joker nodded. "But first... We need to do this right." "Calling card time?," Violet asked with a smirk. Joker grinned wide. "Calling card time. Let's hit this guy where it hurts."


Later, Raye returned to his home and was shocked to find evidence that someone had been inside. This included the familiar calling card from Joker wedged into his diary. "Oh shit...," he muttered as he got the calling card. "Raye Suzuharu, we are the Phantom Thieves Joker and Violet. Tonight we will steal Carlysle's Mill from your possession." "Not if I have anything to say about it," Raye declared, grabbing the plaque and running for the dungeon to hide. As he started to get deeper in, he heard Violet call out, "So... Were they all this dumb?"

Raye quickly called out a gangly humanoid with a hug head and angelic robes. "Go, Sweet Black Angel! Blast them with your rays of judgement! My Stand can punish anyone who doesn't see my reality!" As the rays started firing, Sweet Black Angel got hit by several arrows. "Then maybe your reality should change," came Goro's voice. Raye was so distracted that Violet was able to snag the plaque, and she and Joker quickly disappeared. Goro sighed in frustration. "Can't say I wasn't asking for that..." He leapt over and collared Raye. "But right now I have you to deal with!"


"One more treasure accounted for," Sumire noted as Ren finished sending the package off to Speedwagon. Ren nodded. "It's getting down to the last few. I'm honestly glad I picked up a partner for this. Apparently Lupin had some dark moments in his career after Albert left him, but before he wound up with Jigen and Goemon. I'd rather not wind up like that." Sumire nodded. "I'll make sure of it. If your shadows get too dark... I'll be the light that brings you dawn." The two gazed at each other, before they began to press their lips together.

And two more Stands to showcase.

Heaven and Hell (Song by Black Sabbath)
User: Misuzu Hiiragi
Ability: Taking the form of a scale, this Stand can tip the scale to make Misuzu invulnerable to either shadows or light. However, she cannot do both at once, and protecting herself from one leaves her open to the other.
Power: E
Speed: E
Range: D
Durability: C
Precision: C
Potential: D

Sweet Black Angel (Song by The Rolling Stones)
User: Raye Suzuharu
Ability: Sweet Black Angel can fire beams of energy that damage anyone that doesn't agree with Raye's version of reality. The more they disagree, the more it damages them. However, solid inanimate objects can block the beams since they have no concept of reality.
Power: A
Speed: D
Range: A
Durability: C
Precision: B
Potential: B

Next time, a young woman finds out that her life is in danger. Joker and Lupin agree to run interference, along with one of Goemon's most promising pupils and his pink-haired girlfriend. There's something bizarre about her, but Joker and Violet find themselves more concerned with what may be the most rabid Zodiac Assassin of them all. Read and review.