Lamp Entertainment presents…

Our heroes are strong, not just in their fists, but in conviction. They refuse to follow some dark fate laid out before them by others. They forge their own destinies. And together, there is no evil they cannot overcome.

Together…

Chapter 19: Stand Together, Act 2

Don't deceive your free will at all
Don't deceive your free will at all
Owner of a lonely heart

The Beach…

Taking all the relevant factors into account, Peridot had arrived at the conclusion that the current situation warranted a great deal of annoyance.

To recap; the pillar man Santana had possessed several humans and granted them stand abilities. He had placed them at various locations throughout the city and threatened to kill them if he wasn't given the Aja within ten minutes. This was an obvious attempt to split the opposing force into smaller, more manageable groups. Of course, just because the stratagem was obvious didn't mean it was any less effective.

All of that was bad enough. But add onto it the fact that Peridot's hand was stuck on Lion by means of a dozen or so fishing hooks stabbing into her… suffice it to say, she was in a foul mood.

She was dragged backward, first down the hard wooden stairs and then over rough ground. Then out on the coarse sand. She heard the others quickly devise a plan of attack; split up and deal with the groups of stand users. A good enough strategy to be sure, but any plan that did not include Peridot was automatically less effective than one that did include her. How would the Crystal Gems fare without her brilliant mind to back up their muscle?

Peridot tried to wiggle her fingers and winced as the pain shot through her hand like hot needles. She clenched her teeth and tried to concentrate on anything other than the pulsating hurt in her hand. She focused her attention on keeping her newly built weapon suspended above her head with her magnetic powers. It might come in handy, no pun intended. Although she really would prefer if she didn't have to fire it at any human… the human was unlikely to survive that.

Lapis emerged from the house, carrying the shortest of the stand users with her into the air. She caught up with and hovered above Lion and Peridot. After them followed Steven, Connie, and the stand user with the cool hair. Then Pearl, Amethyst, and the stand user who was good with cats. The last group to exit the beach house was Garnet, Joseph, and the stand user whose hat was fused to his hair.

"H-hey," the stand user called out to her from above. "Garnet told us to help you deal with the stand users responsible for this." He pointed out towards the sea. Peridot tried to turn her head to look at whatever he was pointing at, but she could only turn her head so many degrees before her neck started straining. "We think there might be two stand users on the boat," he continued.

"Hah! Easy!" Peridot said. "Between my intellect, Lapis' power, and, uh… what did you say your name was again?" Peridot may or may not have missed the stand users introducing themselves while she was, ah… busy. Busy tinkering on her weapon. Not thinking about a certain… incident that had occurred just prior. Definitely not thinking about the incident that had occurred a few minutes prior involving herself and Lapis.

"Koichi," the stand user said. "My name's Koichi Hirose. Nice to meet you! You're Peridot, right?"

"Precisely! And as I was saying, between my intellect, Lapis' power, and you, Koichi Hirose's experience with stands, the stand users on that boat won't stand a chance! They will only know what hit them because I will loudly announce it shortly beforehand!" Peridot smiled widely at Lapis. Of course they'd win. No matter how crazy their stand abilities may be, no stand user would be able to defeat Lapis out on the sea. Even a Diamond would struggle to win that fight! "Isn't that right, Lapis?"

Lapis glared at her. It was a dark and cold stare that made Peridot's smile fade and her confidence waver.

Lion stepped out onto the sea. A faint aura and yellow sparks jumped around his paws. The water rippled around them as he walked on its surface as if it were solid ground. Peridot was not so lucky. She was dragged into the cold water. Shivers ran down Peridot's back. Not from the sea's chilly embrace. Something else.

"Sure," Lapis said. Her voice was cold and low. Suddenly, she accelerated through the air, leaving Peridot and Lion behind.

"G-great!" Peridot yelled. "You two go on ahead and do some scouting! I'll catch up!"

One of the many things Peridot had learned about during her time on Earth was something Amethyst called "gut feeling." It was a vague feeling or instinct about something you might not consciously know or be aware of just yet.

The feeling in Peridot's gut was telling her something was wrong. That something was very, very wrong.

Ever since the incident at the barn with the stand user in the cornfield, Lapis had been acting strange. Except… no. That wasn't quite it either. Lapis running away after being defeated wasn't all that strange… it was after she came back she started acting weird.

Peridot replayed the events in her mind. Things Lapis had said and done, strange words and small mannerisms, drinking coffee, the… the kiss…

"Oh no…" Peridot whispered. Salty seawater splashed in her face and mouth, making her cough violently. "N-no! It… can't be…"

It was a horrible thought. The realization made her feel like she was sinking into a sea far deeper, darker, and colder than the one around her. Peridot didn't want to believe it. She wanted desperately for her mind to come up with an alternate explanation. Any hypothesis would do, just anything other than the grim truth.

In the distance, she heard an engine sputter to life. Internal combustion engine, common on Earth. Based on where the sound was coming from, it was likely to be the boat with the two stand users. The one Lion, and by extension, Peridot herself were being dragged towards.

Of course. If the purpose of pulling Lion towards the boat with some stand ability was to neutralize him as a threat, it made sense to keep the boat moving so he would never catch up to it. A sensible strategy; Lion's ability to open portals made him a valuable addition to the battlefield. Santana had most likely come to realize this after the fight in the forest and constructed this plan specifically to eliminate that advantage.

A few moments after the boat engine started, Peridot felt a shiver move throughout Lion's body. The hooks attached to her hand suddenly vanished.

She yelped and sunk beneath the surface. She kicked and flailed, trying to make her way back to the surface. Unfortunately, for as well educated and knowledgeable as she was on topics such as science, technology, kindergartening, and Canadian teen dramas, Peridot never learned how to swim. But before she could sink all the way to the bottom of the ocean and be forced to walk back to shore, she felt the water around her become firmer. It solidified into a bubble that lifted her above the surface.

"L-Lapis?" Peridot stammered, spitting out seawater. The blue gem was floating just over the surface, a few waves coming close to licking her feet. "Where… where's Koichi?" The stand user was gone.

Lapis didn't respond or even look at Peridot. She was starring straight down at the depths of the sea. Peridot tried to move, but the water bubble was so firm, like an enormous fist holding her in its strong grip. Like the mighty hand of a Diamond ready to shatter her into dust.

Lion looked confused. A guttural growl vibrated from deep within his chest. But the growl quickly became strained and he shook his head.

"GRAHH!" he roared as if something had attacked him. He stumbled backward and lowered his head, shaking it violently.

"Wha-what's going on?" Peridot asked. "What's happening to him?"

"Don't worry," Lapis said, her voice empty and lifeless. She still refused to look Peridot in the eyes. "He's probably just trying to resist being hypnotized again. But…"

Lion whimpered one last time. His eyes became glassy once again as he stared towards the boat slowly moving away. He started walking towards it again.

"…it's useless." Lapis continued. "Every thing in this world has to obey certain absolute laws. And it is an absolute law that whoever hears Yellow Tail's hypnotic music has to follow it. Trying to fight against it is a useless waste of time and energy."

Her dead monotone voice coming from Lapis' mouth scared Peridot more than any stand user or pillar man ever could.

"L-Lapis," she stammered, a small part of her still holding on to the hope that this was all just a big misunderstanding on her part. Lapis wasn't… she couldn't really be… "Please, just… what's going on? Why…?"

"Sorry," Lapis said, still not looking at Peridot. "I… have to do what they say."

Peridot couldn't quite tell if the wet droplets running down her face were seawater or tears.

Lapis flapped her wings and set off, quickly catching up with the small boat. Peridot followed along, trapped in an almost solid bubble of water, unable to do anything to resist. As they got closer, she could see what had happened to Koichi. He too was encased in a watery prison, most of his body aside from his head trapped and hovering a few meters away from the boat. The surface of his bubble rippled and shivered. No doubt he was trying to free himself with his stand, but to little avail.

Of course it was of no use. He may have a stand, but Lapis was a terraformer quite literally in her element. They had no chance of escape or beating her. Not when they were surrounded by water on all sides.

Lapis landed on the boat and retracted her wings. She kept Peridot in her bubble hovering a few meters behind her.

"There we go," she said, her voice still dead.

One of the two humans looked up from what he was doing. By Peridot's judgment, he looked fairly young, though older than Steven and Connie. Closer in age to the stand users like Koichi. A so-called teen. He looked disheveled, with messy hair and wrinkled clothes. He had dark rings under his eyes, a clear indication he wasn't getting the ideal seven to eight hours of sleep humans required. He was impatiently tapping a pen against a small drawing board in his lap.

There was another man standing inside the small cabin, steering the boat. He was older and wearing a bright yellow jacket.

"Good," the young human muttered. "I was getting tired of waiting. How long do I gotta stay here? This boat stinks. Literally."

"I don't know," Lapis said. "What did Santana tell you?"

The young human sat still for a moment, his eyes becoming glassy and empty.

"Take them to the lighthouse," he said. His voice sounded fake, almost robotic. Like a machine repeating a recorded message. "He'll be waiting at the top. But first, fly around the city and see how things are going. If any of the Crystal Gems or stand users have been knocked out or defeated, take them with you." He paused for a moment. "Oh, and he wanted me to remind you to do exactly as he says."

"I know," Lapis muttered. "I remember the first three times you told me that. I'm pretty sure a perfect memory is part of my abilities or something."

Wait a moment… perfect memory? Since when did Lapis Lazulis boast eidetic memory? And… why had Lapis been behaving so bizarrely?

Peridot felt her above-average intellect kick into high gear once again, reexamining and reanalyzing all the evidence, reconsidering and revising her conclusions.

Lapis had only started behaving weirdly after she returned from some time alone… she expressed behaviors and traits she usually didn't display… She claimed to have a perfect moment as one of he abilities, and perhaps most importantly, she was taking orders from the young human and obeying them blindly, without question or input. Could it be… that the Lapis standing in front of Peridot… wasn't Lapis at all? It looked and sounded like her and it had all of her powers, but it didn't act like her. If What if Lapis' sudden betrayal wasn't a betrayal but the actions of some form of stand ability?

"Was that all?" Not-Lapis asked. The young human, presumably the user of the stand that had taken control over Lapis blinked a few times. His eyes became slightly less glassy and vacant.

"No, there's one more thing," he said. "I've got a new outfit for you to try out."

"Seriously?" Not-Lapis said, actually emoting and emotion. Annoyance. "What if I don't wanna play dress-up and just get going so we can get this all over with? You'll get off this boat faster."

"Hey, you're part of me or something, right?" the young human said, equally annoyed. "A refraction of my soul, or whatever."

"I think it's supposed to be 'reflection,' not refraction," Not-Lapis said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the young human dismissed said dismissively. "Either way, I'm pretty sure that means that whatever I want is what you want."

"I guess," said Not-Lapis with a shrug. "Let's see."

That confirmed it. The person in front of Peridot, the one who had captured her and Koichi was not the real one. It wasn't Lapis. It was some kind of stand that had copied, or more likely, possessed Lapis' body.

This revelation washed away all the sadness and despair from Peridot and filled her instead with other emotions Something closer to anger. How dare they!? How dare those villains take Peridot's best friend and turn her against them? How dare they invade and overwrite her consciousness and turn her into nothing more than a puppet to some vile ambition?

The young human showed Not-Lapis what he'd been drawing on the board. Peridot could've tried to catch a glimpse, but she couldn't care less about fashion at that moment.

She had to do something. The… thing possessing Lapis was going to take her and Koichi to Santana, no doubt for them to be used as hostages. Peridot thought hard, trying to squeeze some hasty plan out of that genius gem of hers.

There were three enemies onboard the boat. The young human in control of Not-Lapis seemed to pose little to no threat on his own. However, he controlled Lapis, which was the most dangerous opponent you could possibly face out on the sea. Then there was the second human, the one in the yellow jacket. He was the one with the stand that entranced Lion. This ability most likely only worked on one target at a time. Otherwise, why not take out all of the Crystal Gems and stand users in one fell swoop with that ability?

All in all, the two humans didn't seem to present much of a threat by themselves. The problem was Not-Lapis. As long as she was there, any attempt to fight back would result in a quick and watery defeat, at best. At worst, death.

Conclusion; in order to ensure victory, Not-Lapis had to be removed from the playing field. But how?

Peridot suddenly became consciously aware of the magnetic field she had been keeping up ever since she got stuck on Lion and dragged out the beach house. The weapon she had built was still suspended in the field, hovering lazily behind her head.

The weapon was a hastily put-together UV laser cannon she had built from an electric handmixer, some microwave parts, and some other stuff she had taken from Steven's house. The weapon was powerful, the beam strong enough to cut through at least a few centimeters of stone. She had made it to combat Santana based on Joseph's account of what his abilities were. The problem was that she only had one shot, literally. The materials in Steven's house were ill-suited for building laser weaponry. After that one shot, the battery would be drained and the internal mechanism melted. So she would have to make the shot count.

Attacking any of the humans was right out of the question. She was a Crystal Gem after all, it was her duty to protect them. Also, she'd feel bad.

No, she'd have to poof Not-Lapis. Once she was out of the fight, the combined might of Peridot and Koichi should be able to overpower the two humans. Hopefully, knocking the yellow-jacketed man out would free Lion. She and Koichi could then use him to get back to the city and warn the others. But she had to act quickly.

Peridot started to slowly move the weapon and line up the shot. She had to be careful, both so that she would actually hit Not-Lapis, but also so that the young human wouldn't notice what she was doing. Thankfully, he seemed fully absorbed in explaining his drawing to Not-Lapis.

She felt something touching the back of her head and Peridot had to suppress the urge to yelp in surprise. Something was moving right behind her, touching her hair! A second later, she felt something touching her neck.

"It's me," she heard Koichi's voice whisper to her. "Are you trying to knock out Lapis?"

Peridot nodded tinily. She only dared a small motion. She wasn't sure how Koichi was communicating with her when his stand was only supposed to have a range of five meters, but he had apparently figured something out.

She felt the presence hiding behind her hair stir again before a new message played for her.

"I'll take out the boy," Koichi's disembodied voice said. "Echoes Act 2 has longer range but less power, but I'll try my best to knock him out."

Peridot wasn't exactly sure what he meant by "Act 2," but she got the gist of it. She continued to carefully maneuver her weapon into position, waiting for the perfect opportunity. At the same time, she felt the invisible presence of Koichi's stand move from where it was hiding behind her head.

She took aim and was ready to pull the trigger with her magnetic manipulation. But she stopped for a second, hesitating. She had to absolutely sure she wouldn't accidentally hit Lapis' gem or the young human.

That's when it all went wrong.

The young human looked up and frowned.

"What's that?" he asked out loud.

Not-Lapis's eyes widened and she spun around in place, moving a little to the left of where Peridot was aiming. Peridot flinched, which threw her aim off even more. And if that wasn't enough, the bubble around her shivered, making it an inevitability that as soon as the trigger was pulled…

「KA-PEEEEW!」

…the beam flew past Not-Lapis harmlessly. It didn't even get close to scratching her skin, much less poofing her.

But all hope wasn't lost. At the same time as Peridot pulled the trigger, the young human shrieked and reeled backward, undoubtedly thanks to Koichi's stand finally making its move!

「POW!」

A strange sound came from somewhere in front of the young human, who was knocked back and landed on the deck of the boat. His eyes flickered for a few moments, before becoming still. Unconscious.

"W-what the…" Not-Lapis said, looking puzzled. She seemed to be staring at some spot on the deck roughly where the young human had been standing a second prior. She then looked at Peridot and then over at Koichi.

"Oh," she mumbled. "I see." She summoned a large hand of water from the sea. The large hand flicked its finger at what looked to Peridot like the thin air. Judging by Koichi's pained gasp though, she had just swatted his stand away like an annoying fly. "Nice try," she said. The hand of water grabbed Peridot's weapon out of the air and crushed it. The insides hissed as the water touched the superheated mechanism. "But if you were trying to beat me by knocking him out, I'm afraid that won't work."

Peridot cursed violently, spitting out a series of obscene expletives that would make a hardened quartz soldier shiver.

Not-Lapis eyes wandered around, seeming to look everywhere except Peridot.

"I think I get it," Koichi piped up. "You must be some kind of automatic stand possessing Lapis then? You can act without your user's direct input."

Not-Lapis shrugged and kicked something on the deck.

"Something like that, I guess," she muttered. She picked up the drawing board the young human, her user, had been showing her. She studied it for a few seconds before throwing it to the side. "Just a moment," she mumbled.

She closed her eyes and her entire body lit up with bright light. Her skirt changed shape and became a pair of pants. Her top grew sleeves and something appeared on top of her head. Odd shapes appeared on her chest and leg. When the light faded, Lapis' clothes had been exchanged for something completely different.

Peridot didn't know it, but Not-Lapis clothes resembled a white sailor suit and cap with dark blue stripes. The suit was adorned with several golden pins and decorations, almost to the point of excess. A hollow frame of a heart hung on the left side of her chest and an anchor on the right. A small golden dolphin hung from a chain attached to her dixie cup hat. Several golden rings vaguely resembling chains ran down the lengths of her right arm and leg. From a few of the circles dangled dolphins or stars in thing chains.

"Hm…" Not-Lapis hummed to herself while examining her arms. "Maybe this is not so bad?" She summoned a thin sheet of water to use as a mirror, though as soon as she looked at herself in it, she grimaced and threw it away. "Shut up, shut up, shut up…" she muttered rapidly under her breath.

She spread her wings and lifted a few centimeters into the air.

"Hey, you," she said, turning to the human in the cabin. "Yellow Tail. Make sure my stupid user doesn't die, okay?"

Yellow Tail nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

"Good," Not-Lapis said. "As for you two…" Peridot felt the bubble of water around her tighten and squeeze her uncomfortably. "Don't cause any more trouble and you might just get out of this unscathed."

She didn't wait for an answer. She just flapped her wings and shot upward, dragging the bubbles with her two prisoners along for the ride. They rose high, high up into the air, several hundred meters.

Eventually, Not-Lapis started slowing down until she reached a crescendo where she stayed for a moment, floating in the air far above the sea below them. Beach City looked so small and insignificant from up there, nothing but a patch of roofs and streets. It was hard to imagine events that would redefine the world going on down there.

Then they fell. Not-Lapis went into a steep dive, falling through the air towards the small town.

Towards Santana.

xxXXxx

Go n' Fish
Long-range utility type stand.

User: Yellow Tail.

Appearance: Go n' Fish appear as a pale, naked human male. The figure is quite beautiful, with chiseled features and long flowing black hair. The figure carries a dark violin that plays haunting, yet enchanting music.

Powers and Abilities
•I'll Go Fishing-GnF plays a hypnotic melody that can only be heard by one specific target the user chooses. As long as the target hears the melody, they will be forced to walk towards the position of the user, even if it puts them in danger. If the target has their ears stuffed or is otherwise rendered deaf (or is already deaf) GnF's ability will cease working.
•Hooked on a Feeling-Sharp fishing hooks will shoot out and hook onto anyone who touches the target affected by GnF. The unlucky person who gets hooked will get dragged along unless they can remove the hooks. The hooks are visible and can be interacted with by non-stand users.

Stats
Destructive Power: N/A*
Speed: None**
Range: A (ca. 3 nautical miles)
Durability: E
Precision: D
Development Potential: B

Notes
*The fishing hooks will penetrate through nearly anything that touches the target under GnF's effect but have little destructive power beyond that.
**Once the user activates GnF, the stand will remain in that same spot until the user dismisses it. However, if the user places the stand on a boat or other vehicle, the stand will move with that vehicle.
•GnF can also play normal, non-hypnotic music. This music can be heard by everyone, including non-stand users. The stand will also become visible to non-stand users, but only from a distance; the closer the viewer gets, the more transparent the stand will appear to them, as if it were nothing more than an illusion.

To be continued…

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Hey, long time no see, eh? Long story short, I done a sad, feelin' a bit better now.

Lonely Heart's new outfit is based on "Still feeling so jojo.B Lapis" by gameboyred over on Deaviantart. My design is a bit different, but that's where I got the idea, so shoutout to that artist.

Go n' Fish is named after Gå & Fiska by Gyllene Tider. It's a song about… going fishing. Go figure. Also, the Hooked on a Feeling ability is obviously named after the song by the same name by Blue Swede. The design of the stand was inspired by Näcken (lit. "the naked one") from Swedish folklore. It's a creature that lives in or close to water and lures people into drowning with his beautiful music.

Hopefully, the next chapter won't be as long of a wait. Until next time, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!