It's time to start wrapping up the last few plot threads we have in this story, starting with Hikari's little side quest. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Persona series, Lupin the Third, or any other referenced media.
Fifty-Fifth Caper: Old Time Theater, Hydrangea Brooch
"It's a little surprising to learn that any member of the Naegi family could be evil," Violet noted as they approached the older theater. Hikari had contacted them saying she had found out who was behind the attempts to shut down her movies. Turns out the reason is surprisingly mundane. Hikari had been using Nagi Naegi's theater for her early works, only for the woman to berate her for bringing "crass" products into her precious theater and charging an arm and a leg just so "people wouldn't have to watch such garbage". Later another theater, the one Hikari was currently using, offered her a better deal and her career soared, which to Nagi was a perfect insult because it made her look petty.
They already had the calling card sent out for this job. "Nagi Naegi, we are the Phantom Thieves Joker and Violet. Today we will steal the Hydrangea Brooch from your possession." "We're down to only four remaining pieces," Violet noted, "I wonder where our careers will go after we're done." "Who knows?," Joker admitted, "But there's always going to be evil-doers out there who try to take advantage of the innocent. And they'll always have wealth to share. But for now, we have our job here."
The two of them entered the theater only to find its interior had become bizarre. 'So you arrived,' came Nagi's voice, 'How do you like my Days of Old? It provides all of my customers with a personal viewing experience. However, anyone who enters without a ticket finds it... Difficult to locate their seats.' "Or the projector room," Violet noted, "Which is where I'm guessing you are." 'Very astute,' Nagi admitted, 'I can see why Joker took you on as a partner. Seek me out if you dare, but I should warn you that several horror movies are being showcased right now... And the creatures within don't like theater jumpers.'
Joker and Violet noticed all the strange creatures roaming around and couldn't help but chuckle. "It's like every cheesy monster ever featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000," Violet quipped. "You know I hear that show is up for a revival soon," Joker noted, "With a new guy shot up into space. Though I wonder how they'll justify the Bots moving out of Mike's apartment." Violet giggled. "Ah yes, Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds. You know, only the third one could be considered his fault. What kind of scientifically advanced apes don't know what a thermonuclear device is? And those nanobots should have told Mike what a Number Seven is supposed to be."
She struck out with her hand, grabbing what appeared to be the Creature from the Black Lagoon by its forehead. "Wow, Nagi wasn't kidding. It's like a cheesy movie matinee." "Oddly enough MST3K never featured the original movie," Joker noted, "Only the first sequel. Then again, the first movie was a feature blockbuster with very little to riff on." 'As compared to all those saccharin, moral-driven, soap operas that girl is directing!,' Nagi called out, 'What happened to to true quality entertainment in media?' 'Absolutely petty,' the two thieves thought as one.
"It seems Nagi is too set in early movie serials," Joker noted as he looked at all the movie posters, "And despises anything that was made with modern technologies or sensibilities." "No wonder she calls her Stand 'Days of Old'," Violet noted, "It seems to be a full on overlay of reality. I didn't know Stands could get so powerful in a normal state." "I'd wager the theater-goers are safe enough," Joker said, "Nagi made it clear the only reason we're getting attacked is because we don't have tickets, meaning customers are off-limits."
Just then, a large brontosaurus appeared and tried to snatch up the duo in its jaws. "Looks like one of the dinos from Lost Continent!," Joker called out, "Little Foot this ain't!" Violet quickly came surfing down the brontosaurus' neck using light energy, striking it in the head and causing it to topple over. "Can't believe I managed to hit it," she said, "I was aiming for the brain." Joker took a quick look. "Well, clearly your aim is improving. I get the feeling we'll be facing some more creatures like this one."
The sounds of shouting had him rolling his eyes. "Or cavemen... Only in a movie world." After dealing with the cavemen, the duo noticed other dangers in the overlay, such as large piles of debris that required tricking giant monsters into destroying them, or large gusts of wind that were strong enough to cause them to float. The pathway also looked to be made out of filmstrip. "It's like Nagi's Stand is a dark reflection of Hikari's," Violet noted, "Both involved movies, but under vastly different contexts."
"She spoke about horror movies," Joker noted, "But I'm not seeing too many horror monsters around here." "Maybe she was exaggerating," Violet suggested, "Trying to scare us off." Joker raised an eyebrow. "She tried to scare off the Lord and Lady of Crime..." Violet blushed at being called "Lady of Crime". "King and Queen of the Rogue Court..." Violet blushed even deeper. "And the Emperor and Empress of Thieves..." Joker noticed how red Violet was getting. "You know, you're cute when you're flustered." Violet let out a small squeak of embarrassment, but couldn't help feeling happy at Joker's words.
"A-Anyway," Violet said, "It looks like there are switches designed to move the windbreakers keeping the fans in check." Joker nodded. "Wish we had Alibaba's help for this. But apparently dimensional overlays block outside communication signals. We're gonna have to do this on our own." "Terrific," Violet muttered, "I'm sure you're used to it, but I joined after Alibaba did, so I may be too used to her presence. On the other hand, this could be an excellent learning experience if I hope to become a better thief. Adaptation is the cornerstone of any deed worth doing." Joker nodded. "Let's keep exploring."
A lot of classics seemed to be showcased within the various theaters, making the overlay quite vast. If Joker was being honest, this was a type of Stand he never expected to encounter. He'd only heard of one before now, Kenny G's Tenor Sax, which could create an infinite maze straight out of MC Escher. Of course, said Stand user had long been dead, and Joker had only really heard about him from reading The Book of Love. 'I'm beginning to regret not paying more attention to the modern entries,' he thought to himself. "Something wrong?," Violet asked.
"Just thinking about how I should have paid more attention at one point," Joker admitted, "During a training exercise, me and some other Stand using interns at Speedwagon were taking the test to find the the Book of the Law, which is actually a Stand called The Book of Love. Its special ability is that it constantly catalogues every Stand user in existence. Naturally this would have included Nagi, but I was more interested in previous Stand users that I likely would never get another chance to learn about. In hindsight, I should have looked up any currently existing ones."
Violet shrugged. "Sometimes it's better to be caught off-guard. Makes life more exciting." Joker smiled. "You're right. Speaking of, I really got smitten when you knocked out Godzilla of all things!" Violet blushed while rubbing the back of her head. "I guess movie monsters are no match for real-world supernatural powers, no matter how big or strong they are. Speaking of which, what do you think the physical form of this Stand looks like?" Joke tapped his temple. "Hard to say. This overlay is just a manifestation of the Stand's power. But the real Stand will be closer to Nagi. We find Nagi, we'll know what her Stand truly looks like." Violet nodded. "Then let's go and find her."
Meanwhile Nagi was checking on the theater patrons, the Hydrangea Brooch pinned in her hair. While her Stand was active her hair changed from light brown to vibrant red. "All cinemas are running, snacks are pouring in... I think today will be another quota surplus, even with those thieves running around. This is true cinema at its finest with directors who studied hard for their craft, not some upstart high-schooler with a prodigal gift for cinematography. Why anyone can enjoy her movies is truly beyond me."
"So basically she's being picky about what gets shown in her theater," Joker noted, "Preferring notable directors with a degree in cinematography, no matter how cheesy their movies are." "And there are so many theaters here," Violet said as she looked around, "She's clearly going for quantity with quality, using her Stand to give each person their own individual experience. If it wasn't for the fact that she's basically bullying Hikari, I'd actually admire her work ethic. But as it is... Her actions cannot be forgiven. We need to find where the projection booth is. I'd wager that's where we'll find her."
They soon reached where the projector room was, only to find it blocked off. Four additional projectors were creating a barrier using film negative. "We'll need to find those projectors to shut them down," Joker noted, "Otherwise we won't be able to get through to where Nagi is." He looked down at the ground. "Come to think of it, the filmstrip making up the walkway seems to be made up of negative film." He grinned. "I know just how to open it up." He pulled out a film reel. "Hey, that's one of Hikari's films," Violet realized, "What do you intend to do with it?"
Joker gave a small smirk. "We're going to showcase Hikari's films across the theater. Nagi thinks no one could possibly like Hikari's films, but her success in another theater shows how short-sighted Nagi really is." He walked up to the first projector. "Let's see how these people enjoy a true superhero epic... One where the hero needs to overcome some serious flaws." He inserted the real for Lunar Woman into the projector. Up in the booth, Nagi was shocked that the film was running, even moreso that the patrons seemed to be enjoying the new movie. "What on earth!?"
She immediately directed the movie constructs to engage the twin thieves. Violet quickly ducked through several movie monsters before slipping the reel for Mesozoic Island into the second projector, whilst Joker slipped through to place the reel for AI Am Myself in the third. Before the monsters could find a way to track the two thieves, Violet had reached the fourth projector and placed the reel for Hikari, A Life in Projections. The amazing cheers of the theater patrons seemed to cause the overlay to shift tremendously, breaking open the door to the projection room. "Sweet," Joker said, "Time to grab the prize."
That's when a giant horned humanoid carrying twin sword appeared, attempting to strike at the thieves, who quickly dodged aside. "How dare you poison my theater with this amateur garbage!," Nagi called out, "Days of Old! Deal with them!" Joker and Violet quickly leapt to the top of a pair of projectors. "Hikari is the Ultimate Director for a reason," Joker pointed out. "She knows what she's doing," Violet noted, "And you're just too short-sighted to understand that." They leapt into the air as their own Stands activated. "W Boiled Xtreme!" "Be The One!" Nagi's eyes widened as she tried to use her arms to shield herself from the attack.
Nagi's Stand proved a tough one, but hardly insurmountable. And Nagi herself wasn't exactly physically capable. Many of the theater-goers thought it a shame that she had to be arrested for sabotaging Hikari's movies, since they enjoyed how unique her theater was. As for Joker and Violet, they now had the Hydrangea Brooch. "We're almost done," Joker noted, "But the last few will the be most difficult to find." "I know where we can find at least on," Violet said, "I think it's about time we deal with Mister Versus."
Been awhile since I showcased a new Stand.
Days of Old (Song by VStylez)
User: Nagi Naegi
Ability: Days of Old creates a dimensional overlay in the form of a large multi-theater. Each small theater can only seat one, but that customer can watch any movie, and order all the snacks they want. In the spaces between each theater roam creatures and enemies from the movies being showcased, who will attack anyone trying to enter the overlay without purchasing a ticket. Nagi herself stays in a projector booth with Days of Old's physical form, which is protected by four projectors. Should anything happen to the projectors, Days of Old can still defend itself.
Power: B
Speed: B
Range: B
Durability: C
Precision: B
Potential: A
Next time, Joker and Violet return to Inaba one last time to seek out the mysterious Versus, the copycat who has been plaguing the city for months. And along the way, Joker may just have to say goodbye to Margaret. Read and review.