As we wind down with the Joestar Collection, various plot lines start to reach their conclusion and we start to close in on the mysterious Inaba copycat. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Persona series, Lupin the Third, or any other referenced media.

Fifty-First Caper: A Killer Confronted, Elder's Memory

Alix Kubdel looked at the pocket watch in her hand. It was a family heirloom, and as it turned out, one of the Miraculouses. Apparently it had at one point been sent back to her family's past, hence the reason why there were two versions. She began to wonder if any of her ancestors had become Rabbit heroes, like how she was officially becoming the hero Bunnyx. Inside the mysterious Burrow, Alix could see everything about this universe, including how it got started. "It's older than anyone thought... And it looks like I'll be getting more involved with Joker and a member of the Joestar clan in the near future..."

Ren and Sumire had intended on returning to Paris immediately after helping Hikari, but a newspaper headline prevented them from hopping on the next flight out. "Tohru Adachi escaped from custody?," Sumire asked in shock, "Mom told me about him. He was the one behind the previous incident in Inaba." Ren frowned. He quickly sent a call out to the heroes. "We'll need to stay in Japan for a little longer. Something came up that requires our immediate attention." 'Hey, no rush,' Marinette said on the other end, 'That trip to New York isn't for another week.'

"Who sent Adachi a TV?," Yu asked. He and Goro were investigating the cell that Adachi had escaped from. "I'm more concerned on how it went unnoticed," Goro said, "If I'm not mistaken, there were specific instructions that Adachi was not to be allowed to be in the same room as a TV so that he couldn't use his Stand." Despite this, a large plasma TV was now adorning Adachi's cell. Yu looked inside the box and found a card. "Take a look at this. 'Getting this in here took effort, so I expect something in exchange. Take care of this item.' What do you think it means?"

Goro took a look into the box and noticed a smaller ring box. "It means Adachi has been drawn into the conspiracy surrounding the theft of the Joestar Collection," he realized, "And he likely has a piece of his own right about now. And that means it won't be long before Phantom Thief Joker shows up to confront him." "Adachi will likely return to his old home in Inaba," Yu said, "It's been abandoned for some time but it's still livable. Do you think that means Joker will return there?" Goro nodded. "Yeah. For some reason he's decided to operate largely in Paris, but he still travels outward from time to time. And a piece of the Joestar Collection surfacing would definitely catch his attention."

Indeed, Joker and Violet had already started checking around Adachi's old home for any signs of a new cavern. They found one soon enough, and were shocked to find that it resembled Inaba as a demolition sight. Much of it was wrapped up in police tape. The tape seemed to radiate Stand energy, but a quick test with his blade showed Joker that it was decidedly real world-based. "It must be a Stand construct," Violet suggested, "Something a Stand user was able to create long-term to keep people out."

Joker nodded, and they started cutting through the tape. "Just look at this place," Violet said, "It looks rather desolated." "Apparently it's meant to represent the world as Adachi sees it," Joker said, "According to a psychiatric study, he suffers from Antisocial Personality Disorder, leaving him a sociopathic misanthrope." 'You forgot nihilistic, depressive, and cynical,' came Adachi's voice from a nearby TV. "Ah, I was wondering if you could listen in," Joker replied, "I'm assuming this is the effect of your Stand. Backside of the TV, was it?" 'You're as sharp as I've heard,' Adachi said, 'Right now I'm in the depths of this place. Hope you already prepared your calling card, because I don't want to waste time on this.'

"So I'm guessing Adachi's Stand has nothing to do with the police tape?," Violet asked. "His Stand's power is to draw people into a TV world filled with his own personal demons," Joker clarified, "And allows him to travel through TVs and even use them for remote communication. It cannot under any circumstances keep someone trapped in the TV world. No, there's another Stand user here setting up the police tape barriers. And from the feel of it, they're also trying to confuse the logical spacing of the area. Our elemental forms may not have the normal freedom we're used to."

"There's usually at least one other Stand user involved in these scenarios," Violet noted with a quick nod, "If you ask me, I think they're some sort of enforcer for that copycat." "That was my thinking as well," Joker said, "We should be encountering them before long." The two thieves quickly dodged out of the way as various yellow streamers shot out at them. "Tough luck," came a feminine voice, "I guess you're too quick for my Calystegia." The woman looked like some sort of idol singer. "Name's Hatsuko Haku. The streamers created by my Stand can take whatever image I need and alter the landscape as I please."

She fired off several streamers from her hands, which did indeed look like police tape. "Careful!," Joker said as he dodged aside, "Our phasing might not work with those threads while they're being created!" "Then we'll just need to find another way to get in close!," Violet decided. She carefully danced around the streamers, getting closer as she did. Hatsuko started to freak as more and more streamers were launched in an effort to stop Violet, but she was so distracted that Joker was able to get around behind her and knock her out. "And that's why we're a team," Violet declared.

"What exactly are you after?," Adachi asked a mysterious figure appearing on the TV. 'I admired your work from years ago,' the figure said, 'But I feel you didn't go far enough, and made a number of mistakes. I've been trying to rectify them, and create the Inaba you always dreamed of.' "You wouldn't happen to be a cute girl, would you?," Adachi asked, "Not that it matters. Sadly there's no real room in my heart for any sort of human interaction, let alone romance."

'Oh, you misunderstand my motives,' the figure said, 'While I do have admiration for your plan, you yourself are an absolute train wreck of a human being. Which is why I had you dragged into my plan in the first place. I was embarrassed when a bunch of kids were able to beat the tar out of you inside your own Stand.' "I overestimated my Stand's abilities," Adachi admitted, "You see, I need to physically kill someone inside this world for it to stick. And by 'physically' I mean with my own two hands. And while I am a grown man who was going up against a bunch of teens... I was still outnumbered."

'And now you're outclassed,' the figure noted, 'And I will prove myself superior to you.' "Oh?," Adachi said, a little condescending in his tone, "I've been following your actions so far and the only thing you've proven superior in is keeping yourself hidden. But with Phantom Thief Joker on the case, I can't imagine it'll be that way for long. After all, he is the Lord of Crime and I'd imagine his network is growing fast. Entire crime families respect him enough to act as informants on any wrongdoings they feel deserve his attention, and he in turn directs them to areas in need of protection."

Meanwhile, Joker and Violet had run into yet another Stand user, this one patrolling the area as a giant. "I WILL FIND YOU, PHANTOM THIEVES!," he called out, "THANKS TO THE POWER OF THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS!" Violet spotted a large Stand sitting in the center of the area, a tall figure that looked to be made of scaffolding. "Not a very well-protected Stand, is it?" "Careful," Joker said, "It might be as tough as its exterior suggests. And it's possible it can alert its user if anything happens."

As it happened, it could. But luckily the two thieves had enough power to overcome that just as the large Stand user tried to grab them, suddenly shrinking as the Stand toppled to the ground. He looked at Joker and Violet as they glared at him and chuckled nervously. "Uh... Parlay?" The man, who just went by the name Triangle for whatever reason, was soon trussed up and knocked out. "At this point we should just have to worry about Adachi," Joker noted, "And while his Stand can be dangerous, it's not overall very versatile in terms of defense." "Do we have the calling card?," Violet asked. Joker nodded as he held up the card.

Adachi picked up the card and chuckled. "Tohru Adachi, we are the Phantom Thieves Joker and Violet. Today we will steal the Elder's Memory from your possession." The Elder's Memory was a simple ring with a small skull adorning it, one of the Memories of the Dead. It was the ring that Adachi had been handed along with the TV that permitted his escape. Due to his Stand needing a TV to function, an ordinary cell had been enough to contain him. All the prison had to do was make sure he didn't get within arm's reach of a TV screen. "Whoever sent me that TV sure went to a lot of trouble..."

"So you don't actually know," came Joker's voice. Adachi sighed and he turned around, only to be surprised at seeing Violet there. He quickly lifted his hand and saw that the ring was no longer on his hand. Joker walked out from behind Adachi, the ring being tossed in his hand. "A clever ploy on Violet's part," Joker said, "In many ways she's the perfect partner. Honestly, I'm grateful for her. Sooner or later even a man like me has to step into the light. That only leaves one final detail." He pulled out his pistol. "My shadow bullets will only kill if I tune them to the right frequency. And right now I'm sure the police would be more receptive to placing you back in your cell." He pulled the trigger as Adachi gave a reserved shrug.

"Guy looks like he was hit with a riot suppression round," one of the officers said to Dojima as Adachi was placed in a special police van. Dojima nodded. "They must have had to knock him out to get ejected from the TV world created by Adachi's Stand." Goro and Yu were overseeing the arrests. "I've confirmed that Joker stole the ring that was delivered to Adachi," Goro said, "That only leaves the mystery of who delivered it to him in the first place. This copycat is really starting to get on my nerves..."

"There are only two more incidents involving the copycat," Yu assured him, "We're almost through this. Somehow I can't help but trust that Joker and Violet can finish this and find out just who this copycat is." Goro nodded, not knowing that said Phantom Thieves were watching from a nearby roof. "Nice to know we can be trusted with something as valuable as justice," Joker admitted. "Even thieves can fight for justice," Violet noted, "And ultimately, isn't that why you got started with all this?" Joker smiled and nodded. "Yep. Now let's see if we can get a chance to head back to Paris."

"Not just yet," Bunnyx noted, "Seems you've got one more job in Inaba before you can return. But it looks like you'll be able to get back in time for the trip to New York. Where it all began..." She smiled. While her powers couldn't shape a new future, they could preserve an already existing one. And the current future is one she liked very much. "The power of the Miraculouses has been irrevocably linked to the destiny of the Joestar clan. They have been chosen by fate as guardians of the world, forever fighting to hold back the worst evils..." She smiled. "Though I wonder if I should let Marinette know the name of the hamster..."

Wow, we're getting some more Stands for the archives.

Backside of the TV (Song by Lotus Juice)
User: Tohru Adachi
Ability: This Stand creates a world inside of a TV that is connected to any TV screen Adachi is aware of. To activate it, he must first touch a TV screen. Anything inside the TV world can become as real as the inhabitants perceive, so unless a victim is unaware that they are inside TV they don't have much to worry about. That said, the creatures that inhabit that TV world can be deadly to anyone that believes they are real, with only Adachi being perfectly safe. Luckily, the only thing that can permanently kill someone in the TV world is Adachi, and there's nothing preventing a person from leaving through the screen they entered.
Power: E
Speed: E
Range: A
Durability: B
Precision: C
Potential: C

Calystegia (Song from Persona 4: Dancing All Night)
User: Hatsuko Haku
Ability: This Stand creates what are essentially metaphysical streamers that can look like whatever Hatsuko wants, and are capable of altering the spacial reality of whatever they are attached to. While still being manifested they are practically indestructible, but once anchored they become real-word objects that can be damaged. Removing a streamer can correct whatever reality it was distorting.
Power: C
Speed: A
Range: B
Durability: B
Precision: B
Potential: D

They Might Be Giants (American Alternate Rock Band)
User: Triangle
Ability: This Stand takes the form of a tall statue, and it can make Triangle into a giant while he's within its range. However, while it quite durable, it's also immobile, leaving it wide open should someone discover it. And while it won't transfer damage to its user, taking it out will cancel its effect. To counter this, the Stand can alert its user if it comes under attack.
Power: E
Speed: E
Range: B
Durability: B
Precision: C
Potential: D

Next time, Joker and Violet get no time to relax when they learn that a local weather woman has disappeared. As they follow the trail to the ever-infamous copycat, they learn that in this world, the idea that Stand users have the power of gods has a basis in reality. Read and review.