I've been looking forward to this one. Stars Are Eternal is a return to Morioh and is meant to be a spiritual successor to Diamond is Unbreakable. So let's check back in on that crazy, noisy, bizarre town, shall we? Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Kamen Rider, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Death Note.

Stars Are Eternal Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin

It wasn't often that Josuke Higashikata left Morioh. It was his home after all, and he felt it was his duty to keep it safe in memory of his long-deceased grandfather. But out of all the scumbags that he and his friends took out like yesterday's trash, he held a special hatred for serial killers. So when news topics about a mysterious figure known only as Kira were reporting him killing dozens across the world, Josuke immediately joined the local chat rooms who were outraged at these blatant acts of murder. Granted it was mostly against criminals, but there was no proof that these criminals were truly guilty. Especially in Japan, which had a higher conviction rate than any other country.

Before long, it was starting to become clear that Kira had some sort of supernatural power. Josuke didn't know if it was a Stand, or magic, or if he had help from some metaphysical reality, but the type didn't matter. It was the specifics that mattered. And before long, the world had started to silently narrow in on a small neighborhood in Tokyo. So now here Josuke was, and sitting in the car next to him was his sixteen-year-old son, Jogo. The current year was 2017, and it was clear whoever Kira was, he greatly underestimated the scope of the internet. Jogo read off everything that was being discussed on the Discord servers.

"Guy sounds a complete sociopath," he noted, "And all the evidence is leading to one student. Light Yagami, the son of the police chief heading up the Kira Task Force in Tokyo." Josuke nodded. "L's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, but to be honest thousands of people across the world have narrowed in on this guy even faster, so he's not the most efficient. You remember the bike helmets?" "Yeah, but are we okay with this?," Jogo asked, "I kinda like to keep my hairstyle." Like his father, Jogo had gravitated towards an out-of-the-ordinary hairstyle, an old greaser look in this case a la John Travolta.

As they drove up to the Yagami household, Jogo noticed a dim light in the upper window. "It looks like Light's home," he noted. He closed his eyes. "Cosmic Mind!" His Stand appeared nearby. It looked like a streamlined spacesuit with rocket fins on a cone-shaped head, and glowing orange eyes. On each of its limbs was a circle, cross, square, and triangle. "Activate Camera!," Jogo said. Cosmic Mind held out its left hand, manifesting a giant camera which Jogo looked through. "I see him writing on something. Wait... He just turned a page. I think he's keeping a journal of some kind." He then narrowed his eyes. "He's got something with him... Humanoid, black, and demonic-looking."

"A Stand?," Josuke asked. Jogo shook his head. "No, the Camera can't detect any sort of Stand energy coming off of Light or the creature. I'm thinking it's a spirit of some kind. Might be vulnerable to Stand attacks. You said once that Rohan could affect a ghost with his Stand, right?" Josuke nodded. "Koichi, Yukako, and your mom all corroborated that story, as did Reimi herself. So if this is some sort of lesser deity or phantom, we should be able to hurt it. Let's move in." The father and son duo stepped out, Josuke revealing his own Stand, Crazy Diamond.

In a secret location, a lone male figure stood in front of several others. He was dressed in a priest uniform, and behind him floated a giant mannequin figure with 108 spherical holes in its body, most of the filled with orbs that each had a numeral marked on it. "Greetings to each of you, whom I have chosen," the man said, "I am Father Roche. And you have all been granted special abilities by the grace of my Stand." One figure, shadowed stood with a giant floating wall decorated with jutting horns at the top. Father Roche nodded to it. "Number 01, Numeron Gate Ekam."

Another had an incredibly thin humanoid jester. "Number 007, Lucky Straight." A third had a floating satellite that resembling a five-petal flower. "Number 009, Dyson Sphere." Another figure had a floating white saxophone-like device. "Number 002, Numeron Gate Dve." There was figure with a quadrupedal figure with a long neck that had four wings coming off the sides of it. "Number 008, Heraldic King Genom-Heritage." Another figure had a similar device to Number 002, only colored black. "Number 003, Number Gate Trini." A figure in the back had a giant humanoid that looked to be made of rock. "Number 006, Chronomaly Atlandis." A final figure had a floating silver platform with two spikes jutting upward from the sides. "Number 004, Numeron Gate Catvari."

"It seems odd that the first eight of us would be missing a number in between," Number 001 noted. "I was just about to go and seek out a good candidate for Number 005," Father Roche explained, "But as I do, remember this. That if you truly possess a will for evolution, those powers will evolve... And become yours." He walked out of the room. It had been years since he heard about Pucci's death. And now with the defeat of both the Steering Committee and SEELE, he felt confidant enough to begin his own plans to carry on the will of DIO. 'This shall be a day to remember. I wonder how many I'll be able to create before I use up all the spheres. No matter... They will become the foundation.'

Light found himself completely caught off guard as the two figures jumped him on his way to school. Ryuk, the Shinigami who had given him the Death Note, had spotted the car, but Light thought it was only some plain-clothes officers. Turns out it was a couple of vigilantes. Light had some fighting skills, but these guys seemed so fast their attacks came out of nowhere. 'Damn it!,' Light thought as he started running, 'Things weren't supposed to go like this! Who even are these guys!?' As it happened, they were Josuke and Jogo. Josuke picked up the small notebook, which read "Death Note" on the cover. "I'll investigate this," he said to Jogo, "Get after Light."

Jogo nodded. "Activate Wheel!" A small Segway appeared on Cosmic Mind's left leg, increasing its mobility as Jogo seemed to float across the street, racing after Light. Light managed to duck into a nearby alley, where he bumped into a male figure. He looked up, seeing Father Roche. "So you are the one known as Kira." He grinned. "I could use someone of your mentality. Egoist!" He brought forth his Stand. Light couldn't see the Stand itself, but he could see the floating spheres. Thinking this man was a danger for knowing who he was, Light tried to get up, only to feel extremely heavy, like time itself was moving at a snail's pace. He could still perceive at a normal speed, however.

"There's no need to be concerned," Father Roche assured him, "I offer you a chance to escape the danger you are in. I offer you one of these spheres. They will grant a special power. And if you have the will to evolve, then that power can become yours permanently." Light heard the sound of an engine moving at a normal speed. Whoever was chasing him wasn't affected by this slowdown. "Fine," he said. Father Roche nodded. "Then I grant you use of Number 005, Doom Chimera Dragon." The sphere marked with a numeral five entered Light, emerging from his back as a winged serpent dragon with a feathered body and skeletal underbelly.

Light suddenly found he could move normally again. Father Roche ducked out of sight, but wound up dropping a mysterious file as he did. Light then noticed Jogo moving up, but gasped when he saw the form of his Stand. Jogo must have realized, narrowing his eyes under his helmet. He took his helmet off. "You didn't have a Stand before, and the only means of awakening one are either contained or destroyed. So how did you get that?" "Let's just say I gained a new benefactor," Light said cryptically, "Doom Chimera Dragon!" The dragon launched a stream of flames from its mouth. "Activate Shield!" Cosmic Mind manifested a shield resembling the underbelly of spaceship on its left arm, which blocked the blast.

Light cackled. "This power is intense. It might be even better than the Death Note. I can truly become a god with this power!" Jogo scoffed. "Don't act so cocky. If you weren't so blinded by power, you'd realize that attack didn't even phase me. I've had a Stand ever since I was born... And I have sixteen years more experience than you. Cosmic Mind!" His Stand readied itself before making an attack, easily nailing the dragon, causing Light serious pain. "You feel that?," Jogo said, "When a Stand gets damaged, nine times out of ten the user takes damage too. Now the same could be said for me, but my defenses are a bit above you."

Light took a quick look at the dragon next to him, noting the wings. "Well I bet you can't fly." He leapt into the air, the dragon letting him take off into the sky. Jogo scoffed. "Activate Rocket!" A small rocket appeared on Cosmic Mind's right arm and immediately started ignition, letting Jogo jet into the sky at incredible speed. Down below, Josuke had caught up and found the strange file that was dropped earlier. Light realized Jogo was following him, but figured he was more maneuverable. It took a bit of doing, but he was able to lose Jogo inside a nearby warehouse. However, he found himself greeted by eight other figures, each of whom had their own Stand-like being. "Greetings," said Number 001, "Welcome to the fold, Number 005."

In a small building, twelve individuals were meeting. One of them addressed the others. "My friends, as we speak the one I was telling you about is selecting his followers. The rules are simple... Whichever of us defeats the most followers is the winner of this little contest, and shall earn this." He held up a diary. "This contains a certain formula designed to ascend a Stand to its highest evolution. If you don't want to use it, that's fine. The formula is rather complicated and might draw unwanted attention. That said, you may still want it for the simple fact that you don't want others to have it."

"What happens if there's a tie?," one of the figures asked, "Or if someone else takes these guys out before we can." "If that happens, the tie will be broken by whomever has the lower numerical denomination," the first figure said, "But that doesn't mean those lower down can slack off. After all, you never know how many victories another contestant might have under his belt. Our mediator will keep track of how many each of us has, so no fudging the numbers. Now then, shall we proceed?" The others all walked out at different times, ready to get started on their little game.

Meanwhile, Josuke had shown Jogo the file that was dropped, containing a list of all the different pseudo-Stands that someone intended on giving out to individuals they thought might have Stand potential. Already a bunch of them were attacking in Tokyo, and Josuke and Jogo were dealing with two. One was Number 034, Terror-Byte, a mechanical scorpion. The other was Number 012, Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja, a male humanoid with red flowing hair and red armor. After knocking his opponent around for a while, Jogo wound up fighting against another figure, this one with Number 066, Master Key Beetle, a golden stag beetle with an cross-style key for a horn.

Finally, the entire group of pseudo-Stand users left, managing to find Father Roche. "We need to deal with those two," Number 012 noted. "I know where they live," Father Roche said, "But it will not be an easy ride. Everyone pack your things. We're heading for Morioh." Light, who was in the back, looked concerned. He'd heard plenty of bizarre stories coming out of Morioh, and if that's where these two interlopers were from, there was a good chance there were more to deal with. "But at least it'll give me a chance to lose the police in Tokyo," he muttered.

A few days later, back in Morioh, Jogo explained what he experienced to his friends. "The source of the pseudo-Stands could force time to slow down," he noted, "But only non-Stand users would be affected. This also included anyone who had one of the pseudo-Stands." Jogo's friends included his girlfriend Tsukuyomi Hirose, also known as Luna, Kengo Yamashita, Yuki Jojima, Miu Kazashiro, Jingu Kaizo, whom everyone called JK, Shun Daimonji, Tomoko Nozama, and Ryusei Sakuta. Each of them were Stand users, and all of them went to Grape Hill High School.

"Come to think of it," JK said, "News on the local rumor mill is that sudden slowdowns have been happening in Morioh. Looks like your mystery group decided to move in." He pulled up the site on his phone. "Someone's been attacking certain individuals, specifically those that like to work out. Some have disappeared, others have been found marked with red on their skin." Kengo looked sullen. "What's the problem?," Luna asked. "This means we'll have to start using our Stands," Kengo explained, "I don't really like mine." "It's not like it's the same as his," Shun pointed out, "Sure it looks the same, but it functions differently." Kengo nodded. "All right. Let's go check it out."

As it happened, there was already a recent attack to check out. Police were already on the scene, and from the sounds of it they were already thinking it was some kind of attempted murder. Luna then spotted something flying above the scene. "Look, it's Dad's Stand." Said Stand was Echoes, the Stand of Koichi Hirose. Koichi and his wife Yukako were Luna's parents, just as Josuke and Pinkie were Jogo's parents. "Four victims in as many days," one officer muttered to his partner, "And all with the same experience of everything just... Slowing down."

Near the scene, Jogo noticed a piece of paper scrap that seemed to have come off of something. Echoes then yelled out in Koichi's voice, "Everyone watch out! The one responsible is still around!" Sure enough, everything started slowing down for everyone but the group of friends. A young man started walking through the slowed time with ease, catching Jogo's attention. "Hey you," he called out, "How can you move so easily?" The man turned to Jogo and raised an eyebrow. "You as well? But you aren't one of the Numbers. No matter, perhaps I can use you to further my evolution."

Behind him manifested a cat girl dressed in black that had the appearance of doll. Jogo saw a twenty-nine on its body. "Number 029, Mannequin Cat. So you're one of the ones from that night. A shard of Egoist." The man approached Jogo, but then got intercepted by Kengo, who had called his Stand. "Killer Queen!" Indeed, Kengo's Stand was one similar to Yoshikage Kira. Small surprise since Kengo was both Kira's biological son and his reincarnation, Kira having died in between the time Kengo was conceived and the time his fetus was infused with blood.

However, this version of Killer Queen had some important differences. It didn't have access to Sheer Heart Attack or Bites The Dust, and instead of turning objects into bombs to erase enemies, it created explosions in the air with its fists, the explosions creating a visible impact on whatever they hit. The harder the hit, the more deadly the explosion. JK then moved in with his own Stand, a humanoid figure with turntables on its left arm. "Pump Up The Volume!" The figure manipulated the turntables with its right arm, creating sonic vibrations that stunned the man and dulled his senses.

Luna then moved in. "Fly Me To The Moon!" A miniature moon appeared over her head, as did a female figure dressed in a darker blue that matched Luna's dyed hair. The figure pointed to the moon, shifting its phases, the growing shadows making the man feel colder. Jogo then leapt into the air. "Cosmic Mind! Activate Drill!" A large drill appeared on Cosmic Mind's left leg, which started rotating as Jogo made a flying kick at Mannequin Cat, striking it and doing damage. The man quickly ran off before he could take anymore damage.

Back at the Higashikata home, Josuke showed a picture of the guy from before to Pinkie and Jogo. "Looks like Granddad's name still holds a lot of weight," Josuke noted, "The police force was willing to clue me in on who this guy is. His name is Masuda Nobuo, a regular fitness junkie. That Stand he had was similar to Light's. A sort of pseudo-Stand, a shard of a much stronger Stand." "He must be trying to train it a little more," Jogo noted, "He spoke about wanting to make it evolve." "Maybe he thinks if he works hard enough, it'll give him a real Stand," Pinkie suggested.

"That's certainly possible," Josuke admitted, "Some of the group he was part of did have Stand energy, but others didn't, even with these shards fused to them. Jogo, did you sense the same energy with Masuda?" "Didn't get a clear enough look," Jogo said, shaking his head, "My friends wailed on him and he bolted before we could really get a clear idea of him. I'll start checking out the local gyms. If he is after people working out, that's where he'll be staking out." Josuke noticed a familiar look in his son's eyes. A certain sense of justice that was common to their bloodline. From his point of view, Josuke could see the same star-shaped birthmark on Jogo's neck.

In the eighteen years since the summer of 1999, Morioh had developed even further. While the simple country atmosphere hadn't faded, the town now had more modern conveniences. In addition, the only radio tower still left standing was the one used as a home by Toyohiro Kanedaichi. So it was no surprise that there were now several gyms in the area. Jogo and Luna soon spotted Masuda as he was tailing a jogger who was coming out of one such gym, just across the street from Aya's beauty parlor. They managed to intercept Masuda just as he was attacking the jogger using the slowdown effect.

He grunted at the sight of the two. "I had a feeling I'd get interrupted again. Luckily, I brought a few new friends!" Two more people jumped out and attacked with two more shards. One was Number 042, Galaxy Tomahawk, a stealth bomber with a whip-like tail. The other was Number 088, Gimmick Puppet of Leo, a humanoid robot with a lion's head and dressed in robes. The young couple leapt out of the way. "So there's more," Luna said. "This is gonna be a serious fight," Jogo noted, "But this is the sort of action a Higashikata... No... A Joestar is prepared for!"

Masuda looked confused. "Joestar?" "Didn't you know?," Jogo said with a cocky grin, "My grandfather is Joseph Joestar!" That got the trio to step back in shock as Jogo readied his Stand. "Cosmic Mind!" He leapt at Masuda, while Luna rushed at the two others. "Fly Me To The Moon!" Her Stand waved its arm as it manipulated the artificial moon to strike at the duo, sending them flying. Meanwhile Jogo and Masuda were trading their own blows. "Activate Fire!" Cosmic Mind turned bright red and gained special spray gun that could dispense both water and fire, roasting the pseudo-Stand.

The other two noticed their boss in trouble and moved to help, only for Luna to tag in as the couple traded partners. Jogo dodged a few attacks before readying another mode. "Activate Elek!" Cosmic Mind shifted from red to gold, and became charged with electrical energy which it launched at the duo. Masuda was launched at the duo. "Jogo!," Luna called out, "Time to finish it!" Jogo nodded. "Let's go! Activate Rocket and Drill! Cosmic Mind!" He leapt into the air as Cosmic Mind equipped both the rocket and drill, coming down hard with a spinning drill kick. Masuda managed to get away in time, but Numbers 42 and 88 weren't so lucky, the assault causing cracks to run along their pseudo-Stands before breaking up altogether, the spheres that made them shattering on the ground.

The couple returned to the man who was attacked, grateful to see he was recovering. However, they also noticed a small silver scrap near where he had been attacked. Jogo looked at it with interest. "The man attacked earlier had a similar scrap piece near his body," he noted. "Think it's a clue?," Luna asked. Jogo nodded. "There has to be a connection. Some of the people attacked were never found. Looks like Morioh just found itself smack-dab in the middle of another bizarre mystery. And this one might be even crazier than when our parents were fighting back in 1999."

Masuda found himself back at the warehouse the group of shard users was using as a hideout. It was still in use by a company owned by Father Roche, so the police would ignore it. "Having trouble?," came a male voice. Masuda turned to find Shinzo Hiroi, one the first people selected. "Number 002," Masuda noted. "Not just a number anymore," Shinzo clarified. He revealed a large humanoid figure, crimson red with two large horns curved upward and a heart motif on its body. "The shard I was given has mutated," he explained, "It's now a true Stand. I call it... Kickstart My Heart!"

He pointed to Masuda. "And you have the same potential. I understood when I felt my Stand awaken. Only those of us who have the potential to gain a Stand will obtain one from these shards. Before long, you'll find yourself gaining a power all your own, instead of having to rely on Father Roche." Masuda looked shocked, but he did feel that power slowly growing within him. "And what about those kids? They've clearly been at this for longer than we have." "Indeed," Shinzo admitted, "Despite being younger than us, they are clearly our superiors. We will have to watch our step, as we try to gather as many Stands as we can... From the 108 shards Father Roche has dispatched."

The reason for the disclaimer is because of the cameo with Light, and the fact that this story includes elements of both Kamen Rider Fourze and Kamen Rider Drive. Speaking of which, a little chart to indicate which shards are destroyed. Keep in mind this will include shards that have mutated into Stands.

001 002(END) 003 004 005 006 007 008 009
010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018
019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027
028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036
037 038 039 040 041 042(END) 043 044 045
046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054
055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063
064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072
073 074 075 076 077 078 079 080 081
082 083 084 085 086 087 088(END) 089 090
091 092 093 094 095 096 097 098 099
100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108

Speaking of Stands, here's the one's introduced in this chapter. And no, this will not include the various shards, since those are too generic in their abilities. By the way, Father Roche is a call-back to a time when Jojo characters had musical references, rather than Stands. In this case, it's a reference to Papa Roach.

Cosmic Mind (Image song for Kamen Rider Fourze Cosmic States)
User: Jogo Higashikata
Ability: Cosmic Mind is a versatile Stand that manipulates ambient energy present throughout the cosmos to create a number of utilities on each of its four limbs, ten per limb for a total of forty. The right arm uses Rocket, Magic Hand, Elek, Chain Array, Flash, Fire, Scoop, N Magnet, Claw, and Cosmic. The right leg uses Launcher, Chainsaw, Beat, Smoke, Stealth, Pen, Hand, Freeze, Giant Foot, and Net. The left leg uses Drill, Hopping, Spike, Gatling, Water, Wheel, Screw, Board, Aero, and Stamper. The left arm uses Radar, Camera, Parachute, Scissors, Winch, Shield, Hammer, Medical, S Magnet, and Gyro. The usage of four limbs means four different utilities can be used at once. This usage of cosmic energy is also capable of granting Jogo infinite strength, or at least enough to overcome a powerful foe.
Power: A
Speed: A
Range: B
Durability: A
Precision: C
Potential: A

Egoist (Theme of Dues ex Machina from Future Diary)
User: Father Roche
Ability: This Stand has the power to slow down time. Anyone affected will still have perception in real time, but their bodies won't be able to catch up with their minds until the effect is canceled. The only exceptions are Stand users, who are immune to the effect. Egoist also has 108 spheres lining its body, which are visible to non-Stand users. These can be separated and fused with an individual, essentially carrying a shard of the Stand. They will also be immune to Egoist's effect and can even use the effect for themselves. If the person fused with the shard has Stand potential, the shard will eventually mutate into a true Stand shaped by the person's soul. If they don't have the potential, the shard can be destroyed with enough force, typically from another Stand. If the shard does mutate, it loses the ability to share Egoist's power. Egoist gains a bit of strength as each shard either mutates or is destroyed. Once all 108 are thus effected, Egoist gains the power to shape physical matter to the user's will. The following stats are for Egoist's baseline abilities, without any shards either destroyed or mutated.
Power: C
Speed: A
Range: A
Durability: B
Precision: C
Potential: A

Pump Up The Volume (Song by MARRS)
User: Jingo "JK" Kaizo
Ability: Pump Up the Volume can manipulate the turntables on its left arm to manipulate sound waves, creating a variety of effects based on the wavelength, from causing a victim to feel motion sickness to simply dulling their senses. The sound waves can also be made more physical to create a concussive force.
Power: B
Speed: A
Range: B
Durability: B
Precision: A
Potential: A

Fly Me To The Moon (Song by Frank Sinatra)
User: Tsukuyomi "Luna" Hirose
Ability: This Stand has two different parts, the main body and an artificial moon. This moon doesn't affect the real world unless Fly Me To The Moon activates its ability. Then it can shift the phases of the moon to create certain affects, creating shadows that bring cold during a new moon, launching silver blades during a crescent moon, generating a gravity increase during a gibbous moon, and creating a blinding light with a full moon. The moon itself can also be swung around like a blunt instrument.
Power: B
Speed: B
Range: A
Durability: C
Precision: B
Potential: C

Kickstart My Heart (Song by Motley Crue)
User: Shinzo Hiroi
Ability: This Stand mutated from Egoist shard Number 002, Numeron Gate Dve, due to Shinzo having Stand potential. It can absorb any form of heat, even the ambient heat from the air, and grow stronger as it does so. It can also grow stronger the longer its user fights an opponent. If not defeated quickly enough, it can overpower a superior opponent. If it does lose, it will maintain a little bit of its accumulated strength.
Power: B
Speed: A
Range: C
Durability: A
Precision: C
Potential: A

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