A lithe woman sat alone at her workstation below the streets of Cairo, Egypt. She tapped a pen against her bottom lip repeatedly in thought as her eyes drifted up to the ceiling. She could feel it in her teeth, the mansion was rumbling and shaking terribly above her head. If she had to guess, Tsuru would say the Joestars had arrived.
Atum, Tenore Sax, and Cream… those were the Stands the Joestars had to defeat before they got a chance against Dio. The battle above was likely the sound of Cream blowing the mansion to bits. Tenore Sax was rather useless in combat. Its only purpose was to disorient its enemies and leave them open to attacks from a stronger ability.
Tsuru twirled her pen around in her slender fingers as she imagined the battles happening upstairs. Who would end up battling D'Arby's Atum? If she had to guess, D'Arby would probably try to snag Jotaro and Joseph into his gamer lair. Joseph for his lack of gaming experience, and Jotaro because of his raw power. Star Platinum would have the best chance against Cream, so they probably coordinated a way to avoid such a matchup. The woman bit down on her lip with a snarky grin.
"Those damn fools." She shook her head.
Sure, Jotaro would be devastating against Cream, but one would be dangerously naive if they believed he was any less of a threat against Terrence D'arby. The truth was simple: Jotaro would likely kill whoever he encountered. Terrence was just too proud to admit such a thing. If Vanilla Ice could kill the rest of the Joestar party while Jotaro and Joseph meandered in the basement, Lord Dio's chances would skyrocket. Of course, Jotaro would likely kill Vanilla Ice before the night was over. Dio would have planned for all of it, though. If Cream could lay a few scratches on Jotaro before dying in battle, victory would be guaranteed.
The scientist tapped her pen against her desk repeatedly as she imagined all the ways Jotaro might defeat his opponents. Her job was to understand things, and Dio kept her incredibly informed on the enemy. She had tried to warn him about Star Platinum's potential, but the man was too proud to hear it. Tsuru had a bad feeling about Jotaro's Stand. Something just wasn't adding up. Most Stands had abilities. Hermit Purple could make predictions, Death 13 could create dream worlds… What was Star Platinum's ability? She'd hardly consider strength and speed to be a Stand Ability. Those were attributes. Every Stand had attributes. The World was plenty fast and strong even without its ability to freeze time. If Tsuru were a betting woman, she'd wager that Star Platinum had a latent ability that even Jotaro was unaware of. From her research, it didn't matter whether the User was aware of an ability. In times of extreme danger, a Stand could act on instinct. Star Platinum might just use its mystery ability without Jotaro's knowledge. It'd have to be a moment where Jotaro was facing immediate death, otherwise, he'd have developed it ages ago. Tsuru couldn't help but laugh. Immediate death? Perhaps he'd manifest his ability against Lord Dio.
Oh, dare to dream!
Tsuru placed a cigarette between her lips and leaned back in her chair. She propped herself up using her right foot, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes. Smoke slowly wafted from a crack in her lips. If anyone in the world could defeat Dio, it would be Jotaro Kujo. Still, such a thing was certainly wishful thinking on her part. It had to be.
Right?
Shizuka thought about what D'Arby had said before their battle. She was meant to be leveraged in the gambler's real battle against Joseph and Jotaro. Of course, D'Arby made the common mistake of underestimating Shizuka and her friends. It really happened to the best of them. Still, that bothered Shizuka to no end. Why would D'Arby drag them to some town in Texas for a game? She certainly didn't seem like a native Texan. Michael brought the group there for a reason. Shizuka's first guess was that her family were close by. The others agreed, but there was nothing to be done.
Joseph, Jotaro and the others departed inside of Passione's magic turtle. It was nearly impossible to track. The entire group was tucked away inside the turtle's shell while they traveled. Even if Shizuka was right, how could they find the rest of the group? Mr. President protected the Joestars from friends and enemies alike by making them nearly impossible to spot while traveling.
Eventually, she had to make peace with that fact and agree to progress with the others. Nothing had fundamentally changed, after all. She still had Marina, Ripley, Pepsi and Shirlie. They had a fighting chance! Just because D'Arby moved them around a bit didn't mean they were out of the game. The timeline would be tight, but they had just enough time left to make it. The crew embarked at the crack of dawn and drove for nearly six hours. It was just past noon as they arrived in Shreveport, Louisiana.
They parked downtown and tiredly stepped out of the car. Shizuka cracked her neck before stretching both arms high above her head. She sighed, rolling her shoulders.
"We don't have much time to waste. It's best to split up and cover all our bases." The child glanced around.
"Agreed. Marina and I can hit the mall and pick up a few essentials. Why don't you and the twins get us lunch somewhere? Meet back at the car in thirty?" Ripley raised a brow.
"I'd like to grab a few things at the mall," Pepsi muttered.
Everyone seemed a tad surprised at the teen voicing an opinion on much of anything. They typically went with the flow. Marina shot a look over at Ripley before shrugging.
"I'm fine with that. We can't ditch the buddy system, though. Shirlie, are you fine getting the food with Shizuka?" Marina asked.
Shirlie held both hands in her pockets. Ginger hair fell down past her shoulders as she shrugged apathetically. "Pepsi's really good at shoplifting. Security cameras don't pick them up, and no one can notice them grabbing things. I'd recommend letting them steal from big franchises like Walmart. Their stuff's insured anyway."
"I definitely don't condone this, but we're running low on money again. We should save it for hotels. Pepsi, you're sure you can be careful?" Ripley frowned.
"They'll never know they were robbed. That's the only way to steal." The teen mumbled.
"Alright then. Meet back here in thirty minutes! Don't be long." Shizuka gave them a lazy wave of the hand before walking over to the sidewalk.
Shirlie followed shortly after. They walked through the city without much incident. The girls were looking for something they could stomach after so many days on the road. Eating nothing but McDonald's for days on end might seem appealing to a ten-year-old at first, but Shizuka was growing to miss home cooking.
They seemed to be walking through a local farmer's market. Shizuka quickly found her way over to a produce stand and ogled over a basket of freshly picked strawberries. Shirlie meandered over and glanced at the prices. She frowned, lifting one hand from her pocket and tilting the little inventory list up for a better look.
"These seem pricey, Shizuka. We can't spend money on fresh food right now, no matter how tempting it is. We've gotta stick to highly processed garbage till New York."
Shizuka sighed, hanging her head in defeat. "Alright. Maybe we can at least get some apples? Those are almost like meals." She pointed across the marketplace. "I see some over there."
Shirlie glanced over toward the other produce stand and sighed. They were meant to grab cheap food for the whole car, not indulge in fresh produce. She felt something strange crawling up her spine. It was a nasty, dark feeling. She didn't like it one bit. The girl looked at Shizuka with a bit of disdain from above. Why did she feel angry? The child just wanted some good food. It didn't add up. Shirlie was very in touch with her emotions. Someone like her had to be. Pa-Pa-Power emerged from the depths of her spirit and stood behind her anxiously. She peered over her shoulder and matched his frown with a confused scowl of her own.
Something was wrong.
Power could feel it, too. Shirlie was used to experiencing other people's emotions. Being an empath meant sifting through the good, bad, and ugly feelings in any given room. It was sometimes compared to a thick mud that needed slogging through. Still, this was different. She wasn't picking up on latent traces of passersby emotions. It was as if someone's emotions were being directly injected into her. She was the only one who could do that. Pa-Pa-Power could force other people to experience whatever myriad of emotions that were going through Shirlie at a given moment. Why was she feeling anger, then?
"Tell her no." A voice whispered into her ear.
Shirlie nearly jumped in surprise. She spun around, stumbling a bit as she scanned the area for whoever just whispered that to her. Shizuka looked up at her with confusion. Shirlie and Power had just acted like they found a spider or something. The ginger's heart pounded as she failed to find the source.
"Tell Shizuka no. Tell her that she can't have any fresh produce…"
There it was again! Shirlie spun once more in a futile attempt to pin down the voice. She was facing Shizuka once more, and the child looked incredibly skeptical.
"Shirlie, are you alright? Do you sense something?" She asked cautiously.
"Tell the brat that you won't indulge her. Do it. Do it now."
Shirlie felt sweat beading down her neck as the voice continued with its demands. Where could it possibly be coming from? Sure, she wanted to shoot Shizuka down but hearing it spoken with such malice gave her second thoughts. What harm could a bag of apples really do? If it came down to it, they could just steal more money.
"Weeeeeeeeeeak. Weak. You are weak. Tell her no. Tell her to screw off!"
The taller girl felt sick. Something was toying with her head and she had no idea why. She held a hand over her mouth, fearful that something might slip out on its own. Shizuka's uneasiness was practically radiating from her body at that point. Power absorbed it all and filled Shirlie with the same anxiety. They were making quite a scene, too. The woman who ran the strawberry stand was glaring at them strangely. Shirlie moved her hand away from her mouth and cleared her throat.
"Uhm…"
"TELL HER NO!"
"No, Shizuka. We can't get any apples. Let's go." She spoke sternly.
Shizuka's eyes weren't curious any longer. Instead, she stared at Shirlie with cautious skepticism. The child took a single step back, looking all around for any signs of something strange in the area. Power could feel all of the girl's worry and doubt in real-time. It was hard to hide any emotion from Shirlie. That made it all the more painful for the ginger as she caused these strange emotions.
What was going on? Shirlie had read about intrusive thoughts before. Some dim-witted psychologist at one of her many orphanages used to go on and on about them. She never thought they could materialize as full sentences, though. Why were they being whispered into her ear? Shouldn't her thoughts be spoken in her own voice? She felt even sicker. Could Shirlie be losing her mind?
"Yeah, okay," Shizuka muttered. "Let's find an Arby's or something."
Shirlie nodded in agreement. Whatever was happening might as well continue as they walked. She didn't feel ready to tell Shizuka yet. If it progressed much further, she'd need to ask for help. She felt a pit in the depths of her stomach, though. Something was seriously wrong. The teenager feared that she might be completely losing her mind. The whispering continued incoherently as they walked down the sidewalk. No words formed in the noise, but it never went away. She rubbed her right arm nervously as they walked past the apple stand. Guilt tugged at her heart for some reason. It didn't really matter, did it? Shizuka probably wouldn't even remember the apples in an hour or so. If that was true, why did Shirlie feel so awful about it? She swallowed nervously, clearing her throat a few more times in an attempt to calm down.
The restless feeling continued as they left the market. A strange weight was pressuring her shoulders. Shirlie grunted in discomfort. She shrugged a few times, but the sensation wouldn't stop. Shizuka noticed this and stood in place. It took a moment for Shirlie to notice this. The child was about three feet behind her friend, staring intently at the tall girl's back.
"W-What's up, Shizuka?" Shirlie asked, feeling strangely guilty.
Shizuka simply stared at Shirlie's back in response. She narrowed her eyes, seemingly dissatisfied with what she was seeing.
"Something's wrong, but I can't see anything." She muttered.
"Of course she can't see me. You have to bear this weight alone, Shirlie." That voice whispered into her ear.
The redhead tensed up instantly. Her skin was pale as a ghost. Something was on her back, she couldn't deny it any longer. The weight was growing each moment. Shirlie was never a fan of seeming paranoid, but they were definitely under attack. Pa-Pa-Power shot up from her feet and checked her back. His eyes widened upon seeing a strange-looking creature clinging to dear life. He carefully tapped its head with his boxing glove, resulting in a piercing cry from Shirlie.
"My chest!" She wailed, falling onto one knee and clutching her chest. "God, my chest! Something's wrong! Am I having a heart attack?"
Shizuka raised a brow. Heart attacks varied greatly between the sexes in both symptoms and warning signs. It wasn't uncommon for those assigned female at birth to experience upper back pain and shoulder tension during heart attacks. It could even feel like a heavy weight pressing down on the patient in certain cases. That could certainly explain Shirlie's odd behavior along with the way she had Power investigate her upper back. Still, something seemed off long before she reeled back in pain. Whether it was a heart attack or a deadly opponent, Shizuka didn't have long to act.
"Punch her. Punch Shizuka right in the stomach. C'mon. C'mon. C'mon! You know you want to!" The voice in Shirlie's mind whispered even louder.
Red locks of hair fell over the teen's eyes as she gasped for air on the concrete. Shizuka was kneeling right beside her to see if she was okay. Her eyes drifted to the child's stomach. They bulged out wide as she realized what the voice would have her do. She gritted her teeth, shaking her head repeatedly as sweat gathered on her brow.
"Shirlie!" Shizuka shouted. "If you're having a heart attack, you need to sit down! Prop your back against this building. Knees bent up, head held high. Keep your breathing steady." She explained.
As the girl guided Shirlie to sit against the nearby brick building, Shirlie continued to stare at her stomach. Her hand flexed involuntarily as she considered doing it. The whispering wouldn't stop. Why wouldn't it just stop!? She bit down on her lip as hard as she could, closing her eyes and trying desperately to think about anything else.
"Oh… C'mon. C'mon. C'mon! Just punch her already! If you don't, something horrible is going to happen."
Shirlie squeaked as she felt a hand reaching into her body from behind. All the air left her lungs as an incorporeal hand slipped inside and gripped her heart. The fingers were so cold against her insides. She couldn't speak! This thing was holding her heart! It squeezed gently as a threat.
"C'mon… C'mon. C'MON! Do it!"
Shizuka noticed that things were getting worse. She still wasn't positive that this was a heart attack, but until something else became clear it was best to air on the side of caution.
"I'm going to call the others. Something's definitely wrong. We might need to get you an ambulance." She frowned.
Shirlie balled up her right fist and gritted her teeth. She clenched her jaw so hard that it felt like her teeth might fracture. Without another thought, she drove her fist into Shizuka's stomach and punched the child as hard as she possibly could. The girl was caught completely off guard, rolling back a few feet and holding herself in pain.
"What the hell's your problem!?" She shouted.
Relief. Oh, the relief! Shirlie could breathe again for the first time in what felt like hours! The intrusive thoughts were gone, too. She felt clarity, sweet clarity! No more voices to plague her mind! It was like having a stuffy nose for an entire day, only to get a big breath of air through both nostrils at the same time! She couldn't believe how refreshing it felt to simply breathe! The tightness in her chest and shoulders felt like a distant memory. She just sat against the building with an unsettling smile plastered across her face. The girl even laughed! She didn't know when it began, at some point she just tuned into the sound of her own joyous laughter!
Shizuka fumbled to her feet and backed away from Shirlie cautiously. That confirmed it. They were under attack.
"Shirlie, who's doing this to you?" She asked calmly. "Who made you punch me?"
"Say her mother, then make a joke about the bitch being dead!"
Shirlie's eyes rolled back as she heard this new command. A shrill howl left her lips, followed by a squeak of amusement. The girl held her face with one hand, staring at Shizuka.
"Your mother! Oh wait, she's dead!" Shirlie laughed uncontrollably.
The child tried to stay calm. Shirlie's words ran off her like water because they couldn't be real. Something was influencing her. Shizuka needed to find out what. She looked around the market for any sign of an enemy. She didn't know enough about the Stand to know if its User had to be close by. Even if they were, Shizuka would have an awfully difficult time finding them. It could be anyone!
"Alright, Shirlie! I'm going to find the User, try to keep yourself out of trouble!" She held a palm out toward Shirlie to emphasize her point.
Shirlie was in a world of her own. She completely missed Shizuka's words as her eyes stared into the sun. The girl's eyes watered after a good while, causing her to wipe them dry. White noise blared inside her head, but Shirlie barely heard it. Pa-Pa-Power was strangely absent. Typically, he would always pop out to engage with his friends or check in on Shirlie. Was something keeping him dormant? After an unclear period, Shirlie began to perceive the world around her once again. The white noise subsided for the time being, leaving her rather perplexed by her surroundings. Why was she sitting on the sidewalk? Her back was against a building, but she couldn't remember falling down. She had foggy memories of urgent words and a violent act, but nothing was concrete.
Her moment of peace was cut short by the sensation of a small creature crawling up her back. She writhed in shock, reaching back and trying to rip the thing off of her. Shirlie's hands went right through it even though she could clearly feel it on her back! A Stand! It had to be a Stand. She couldn't touch it with her bare hands, and Pa-Pa-Power was nowhere to be seen.
"Let's cause a little more chaos, okay Shirlie? Get up… You want to get up. Get up right now!"
That voice, she remembered now! That terrible voice made her say and do awful things to Shizuka. Her heart pounded as she tried to figure out what to do. The damn Stand was trying to get her up and mobile. What would it have her do if she complied?
"You bastard…" She growled. "No way in hell am I ever standing up for you! I'm sitting right here until Shizuka comes back."
"Shirlie, Shirlie, Shirlie… Why do you have to protest? You know you want to stand up. Think about this very carefully. If you don't get up, something terrible could happen."
Something terrible? Was that a threat? The girl's heart pounded even faster than before. Why couldn't she summon Power? She felt so alone without him. Her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip in distress as she kept her ground on the sidewalk.
"I know something terrible will happen if I listen to you! I hit Shizuka because of you!" She argued.
"You hit Shizuka because something terrible would have happened otherwise! It was for your own good! Shizuka is alive, you're alive, what's the issue here? Just get up, Shirlie. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Stand up!"
The teenager had conviction. There was absolutely no way this monster could get her off the ground. She gritted her teeth and crossed her arms even tighter over her chest. She felt the Stand sigh dramatically on her back. Was it giving up? If only it were that simple. A chillingly cold hand slipped in through Shirlie's back and into her body. She thrashed uncontrollably for a moment in shock and discomfort. The hand felt like it was made of ice inside her warm flesh! Due to its temperature, she could track its movement within her perfectly. It was moving directly forward through her back. Shirlie felt her stomach drop when she realized what was going on. The bastard was going to grab her heart! She didn't have more than a second to brace herself before four icy fingers wrapped around her pulsating heart. It throbbed and pounded within her chest as the Stand laughed into her ear.
"I really think you should get up, Shirlie. If you don't, something terrible will happen! Don't you feel it? Your heart is pounding with fear!"
"Leave me alone…" She closed her eyes, her voice barely above a pitiful squeak.
"We don't want something terrible, do we? Just take the easy way out and stand up. C'mon… C'mon… C'MON! Get up, Shirlie!"
The lanky teen sprang to her feet without a second thought. She held a hand against the building to prop herself up as her head reeled with anxiety. Just like before, Shirlie was overwhelmed with a sense of relief. It washed over her like a cool wave on a summer afternoon. She still felt that cold hand on her heart, but the grip seemed looser than before. She felt better after giving in to its demands.
"Good job, Shirlie! You're doing great! Now walk back to the farmer's market, pronto!"
She stumbled up the sidewalk and over to the market from before. A few vendors gave her passing looks of concern, but nobody said anything. She wasn't walking so much as gliding across the floor. She seemed bottom-heavy, her torso dangling back in a curve as she walked. It was almost as if her top and bottom were two separate units trying desperately to work together. Soon, she came across a woman who appeared to be struggling with several reusable bags of produce. Shirlie stared at her for a moment like a deer in headlights. The poor woman was close to dropping one of the bags. It clung to her index finger, and Shirlie watched as that finger turned darker shades of red from stress.
"Slap the bags out of her hands."
She felt the fingers on her heart tighten once again. This wasn't a request; the Stand was threatening to pop her heart if she didn't obey. Shirlie tensed up as she watched the woman walking slowly with all of her bags. Why did she have so many? Didn't she have a husband or something to carry some of them? There wasn't a chance that she had a car nearby, the entire street was shut down for the market. How far did she plan on walking with all those bags? What an idiot…
IDIOT.
Shirlie felt a shiver run down her spine as that word bounced around her head. Idiot… What an absolute idiot. Besides, how big of an inconvenience would it really be to pick the bags back up? It was basically a victimless crime. Shirlie's fingers trembled as she considered her options. Soon, her body moved on its own. She lunged forward and spiked the groceries into the ground like a volleyball. The woman was much shorter than her, so Shirlie towered above her victim as the bags tumbled into the concrete.
Apples, blueberries, and lettuce spilled all over the road as the bags toppled over uselessly in the hot sun. Shirlie panted heavily, but the relief quickly washed over her. It was the same relief as earlier. If she disobeyed, the Stand killed her. If she did as she was told, would she get to feel this way all the time? Euphoric bliss filled her veins as she laughed before the frustrated woman. The victim seemed to be saying something, but Shirlie couldn't hear her. She was too busy inside her own head.
The tall teenager shoved past the woman and continued down the street. A few people came to assist her with the bags, but Shirlie was long gone by that point. She stumbled haphazardly down the sidewalk with heavy breaths. There wasn't as much euphoria as last time. She felt immeasurable guilt after ruining that lady's groceries. Her lip trembled, and it even felt like she might cry for a moment. Where the hell was Shizuka?
There wasn't much time. Shizuka stormed through the market in search of the Stand User. She didn't have much information to work with. All she knew was that it took control of Shirlie somehow. For all she knew, the User could be miles away! Maybe it was a weak variant that could be operated with simple directions at a distance? She clenched her fists and looked around.
No… She had to believe that the User was nearby. They'd only stopped in this town fifteen minutes prior. Before that, they'd been moving at seventy miles per hour on the interstate for the entire morning. There were only a few options. Either the User was following them by car the entire time, or they were waiting in this town for their arrival. Either way, they weren't miles and miles away. It just wasn't probable.
"Think, Shizuka." She growled under her breath. "Where is he? What kind of person comes up with a Stand that makes people hit children?"
Her eyes scanned the crowd with no luck. Everyone seemed absolutely inconspicuous. She'd kill to see a man in an orange tuxedo or any other wild accessories that her enemies wore from time to time. Unfortunately, it appeared that this User was playing it smart for the time being. What could she do? She had to find him before Shirlie did something horrible.
The teen propped herself against a window with her hand as she felt sweat trickling down her skin. She panted heavily, twisting her neck to see the abomination clinging to her back. It laughed, using its free hand to turn her head toward the window. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the sun's glare and soon she could see the Stand reflected before her.
"What's your plan?" She growled. "I doubt your ability just making me commit petty assaults and hurt people's feelings all afternoon. When is this going to escalate? What are you going to make me do!?" She demanded.
The Stand looked remarkably like a human baby with a few unsettling differences. Large tubes were connecting its neck to the lower back. A strange red liquid flowed through the tubes with numerous bubbles scattered about. Its eyes were closed, though Shirlie could still feel it staring into her despite that. When it smiled, she could see sharp fangs peeking under its thin lips.
"Oh, Shirlie…" It grinned manically. "I can't make you do anything. All these things were ultimately your decision. You punched Shizuka, you knocked that woman's bags down, anything less would be an unhealthy coping mechanism. You need to be able to blame some inanimate force for your shortcomings, don't you? Honestly, it's pathetic."
Shirlie snorted. "Inanimate force? You're an enemy's Stand!"
"Am I?" It shot back quickly. "You don't see Pa-Pa-Power around, do you? What if I'm from your soul, Shirlie? Maybe your Stand is changing like Shizuka's. It's possible… As I said, I really can't make you do anything! I can only speak the words I hear bouncing around in your soul. You want to do these things… You need to!"
"Shut up!" She shouted into the window's reflection. "You're keeping Power locked away somehow! There's no way you're him! You're not me, either!"
"Hmmm… How many self-aware Stands do you know about? This is your new reality, Shirlie. Now, look inside…"
Shirlie's eyes adjusted to the window once again, allowing her to see through it. There was a shop inside. It took her a minute to realize what she was looking at. It appeared to be some kind of comic book store. She had a bad feeling about this, but she wasn't exactly the one calling the shots. A Stand had her heart in its clutches, after all. Shirlie pulled away from the window and walked inside. A bell jingled as she entered, and a man sat up behind the counter.
"Hello! Welcome to Comic's And's! We have comics, video game rentals, retro pokemon cards, and offer a beginner's guide to Dungeons and Dragons! Also, the name is kind of a play on comic sans." He laughed nervously.
Shirlie walked over to the desk and looked around. Her eyes drifted to something shoved away and hidden underneath a stack of papers. She could barely see it underneath all the mess, but it looked rather colorful. The nervous worker seemed to notice her gaze as he laughed once again.
"Oh… You're looking at my manuscript? Yeah, it's a little embarrassing!" He reached over and pulled it from the pile. "I'm kind of working on my own comic. It's not that great or anything, but it makes me really happy! You can flip through if you like. None of the designs are finalized or anything."
The redhead accepted the offer and flipped through the pages curiously. Suddenly the hand on her heart tightened, causing Shirlie to gasp. She realized what it would have her do. She felt herself sweating once again as her heart pounded away in her chest. She didn't want to do it… As she flipped through the pages it became obvious how much effort this poor artist had put into his world. Not only that, but the last page seemed fresh. Did he have any other copies? How much work would be destroyed?
"Rip it up, Shirlie. You know you want to. Just imagine the satisfying tear! This comic is garbage! The art is ridiculous, and just look at all those colors! It will never succeed… You're doing this poor bastard a favor."
She shook her head, lowering it in despair as her hands trembled. The cashier noticed something was wrong.
"Uhm… Hey, you can go ahead and give that back." He muttered sheepishly.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP.
Shirlie tore the manuscript in two, but that wasn't enough. She folded the pieces together and ripped them again. Once that was finished, she tore those into even tinier pieces. They fell to the floor as she repeatedly ripped and shredded the man's hard work. The artist let out a piercing shriek of distress as his life was torn to shreds before his very eyes. Shirlie's hair fell down to cover her expression as she let the last pieces fall from her hands.
"You suck at art. Give up." She muttered, walking out of the store.
The cashier could be heard sobbing until the door closed behind Shirlie on her way out. She walked heartlessly down the sidewalk with a numb expression under her bangs. She wasn't trembling anymore. Instead, she was stiff and lifeless. The Stand on her back was howling with laughter as Shirlie meandered down the street.
"Goodness! You're one cold bitch, Shirlie Brooks! How could you do such a thing to a poor young artist? He may never pick up a pencil again! Do you think you just killed his dreams? How many people would have loved his story? Try to grasp the amount of happiness you just robbed from the future!" The Stand squeezed her heart even tighter. "Makes you feel sick, doesn't it?"
"Just make me do the next thing already." She droned in a pitiful little mumble as her eyes stared at the concrete.
"Hmmmmm?" The Stand held its free hand up to its ear. "Pardon me? I can't MAKE you do anything, Shirlie! Everything you've done was of your own free will! I'm not a mind controller! You're the one who needs to carry these sins on your shoulder!"
"You're wrong." Shirlie frowned. "I'm being held at gunpoint. It's not my fault."
"GUNPOINT!?" The Stand shrieked with joy. "Get over yourself! I'm just snuggled up against your back! And besides, a choice is a choice. You could have chosen to die instead, right? Don't try to pin this on me! I can't do anything!"
The redhead hung her head and leaned against a nearby building for support. The past few minutes had been incredibly exhausting for her heart in more ways than one. Her vision was hazy, potentially from a mix of fatigue and tears. She wasn't sure anymore- everything was blurring together. Shirlie coughed into her hand and lifted her head. She saw a young couple walking down the sidewalk. They were two boys holding hands in the middle of Louisiana, neither seemed to be older than fifteen or so. She smiled for a moment, but it turned to terror rather quickly. What was this Stand going to make her do?
"Oh, my…" It whispered into her ear. "Look at that grotesque display, huh? In Louisiana no less! Who do they think they are! Clearly, they've never gotten a good beating before. I'm sure we can turn 'em straight again!"
Shirlie clenched her fist and fell onto one knee. Her eyes shut tight as she shook her head. "No way in hell! You can't make me!" She slammed her fist against the brick building beside her.
"You're getting boring, Shirlie! I can't make you do anything! You're doing this because it's what you want! You have these bogus virtues and stand on such high soapboxes, but when push comes to shove you're a nasty person who doesn't deserve anything more than this despair you're experiencing right now!"
"You're wrong!" She growled in response, her face contorting as she tried to conquer the presence on her back. "Wrong about me, wrong about those boys… You're wrong about everything! You're sick! What kind of a person makes a Stand like this? I could probably pick you out of the crowd right now!"
"Then do it, Shirlie! Better choose carefully, though! It's just like you to hurt someone innocent in your blind fury! It's happened before, hasn't it?"
The girl gasped, eyes bulging wide as she sank from her knee. She barely managed to avoid a faceplant by catching herself with one hand against the concrete. She winced, lifting the hand to find it had been scraped brutally during the landing. Her heartfelt like it was pounding in the injured hand. Blood was dripping from it at a concerning rate. She needed to end this quickly. Shirlie's eyes scanned the crowd. Just think! Where could the Stand User be? Where was the User?
"Shirlie, you klutz!" The Stand laughed directly into her ear. "Get up right now and do what you want to those boys! Shame them! Humiliate them! Make them feel bad! That's what you love!"
Despite her horrible situation, Shirlie felt her lips curling into a smile. She leaned back and stood on her knees for a moment. The sun cast across her pale, freckled skin and warmed her heart. She seemed different from before. The girl stood tall and proud, walking in the opposite direction of the boys. She seemed to be heading right for a pickup truck.
"What are you doing!?" The Stand demanded, tugging at her hair and kicking her lower back. "They're back there, you dolt!"
Shirlie kept her smile as she reached the green truck. She grabbed a can of gasoline from the bed and swung it over her shoulder. It phased right through the Stand's face, but that was still rather rude. The creature crawled over and stuck its chin on Shirlie's other shoulder.
"What, are you going to set those boys on fire? That's low, even for a horrible person like you!"
"Listen, because I'm only going to say this once," Shirlie growled as she walked down the road. "I might be impulsive. I'm loud, overwhelming, and struggle to pay attention to other people's feelings. If I didn't have Pa-Pa-Power I'd be completely blind to the world around me. He keeps me honest." She explained. "We're alike in a lot of ways. In fact, I think I used to be you."
Shirlie marched down the street and toward the two boys. "Bitter, resentful, and entitled. I stole from men because it was easy for me. They liked my body and turned into massive idiots the second I giggled at their jokes. I took advantage of people, stealing wallets and cars. Sure, some of them were scumbags who hit on teenage girls… But some of them didn't know my age. I lied to some of them about my age. Life was just easier for me if I painted them all as monstrous losers because that took all responsibility off my shoulders."
The Stand raised a brow in confusion as Shirlie went on and on.
"What does any of that matter? I have your heart, Shirlie! You have to listen to me!" It threatened, squeezing her heart rather painfully.
The teen maintained her composure and stopped in the middle of the road. She shook her head and clicked her tongue a few times.
"It's just like how you act, huh? You spend all your time belittling your victims and convincing them how horrible they are. If I'm an awful woman who rips up comic books and punches gay kids, I deserve to die? You're just like who I used to be. I judged those men for acting exactly how any mediocre guy would in the situation I created for him. You judge me for doing the impulsive things that come to your mind. The despicable one isn't me,"
Shirlie slung the gasoline can back over her shoulder and spun the lid off in one smooth motion. Then, she turned ninety degrees and cast the contents onto a random pedestrian walking on the sidewalk.
"It's YOU!" She cried with burning eyes as gasoline particles sparkled against the sunlight above.
A shrill cry filled the farmer's market as a random woman was doused in an entire can of gasoline. She dropped her phone and stood there in confusion. Her hair dripped with the volatile substance, and her eyes stayed closed to avoid irritation. The Stand on Shirlie's back gripped her shoulders tightly.
"What the hell are you doing, you psychopath!? Who told you to do that? You just threw gas all over a random woman! You really are heartless!"
Shirlie grinned. "Since when do you care, Shirlie? Aren't you just a manifestation of my inner darkness or something? I think I wanna set this woman on fire."
The stranger shrieked in fear, falling to her knees. "Please, don't do it! I'm sorry! I don't know what's going on, but please! I'll do anything!"
"Look at her, Shirlie!" The Stand growled. "She's confused! She doesn't know who you are! She can't even hear me!"
Shirlie's eyes went dark as she reached into her pocket and grabbed a cheap dollar-store lighter. She liked to fidget with the rolling mechanism during long car drives, much to the dismay of Ripley. The teen held the lighter up and rested her thumb on the ignition. She stared down at the begging woman with heartless eyes.
"I knew you would be a good actor, Stand User." She mumbled. "That's why I had to take such drastic measures. I noticed the can of gasoline sitting in the back of that truck before walking into the comic book store. Such a dumb place to leave gas, right? Someone could get hurt."
She lit the flame and held it up above her victim. At that moment, the hand around her heart squeezed tighter than ever before. Shirlie gasped, her chest tightening up as she struggled to breathe.
"Don't you dare, Shirlie!" The Stand commanded. "If you drop that lighter, I'll pop your heart like a balloon! You don't make the rules here! I do! I am the one in charge! You obey me!"
Shirlie just stood there, still as a statue. Her thumb kept the lighter going even after the flame began to burn her skin and irritate her hand. She thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"I did some thinking, and you're right. You can't tell me what to do. If you were able to pop my heart, why wouldn't you have done it by now? As a matter of fact, why not just jump onto Shizuka and kill her instead? She's the one your boss ordered you to kill." Shirlie smiled, waving the lighter left and right. "You can't. Your Stand is terrifying, but it can't actually pull the trigger. It's a sad, pathetic manipulator meant to drive people insane. You made me feel so bad doing all those things… It nearly worked, but something snapped."
Shirlie knelt down in front of the woman and wiped her eyes clean with her free hands. She slapped her cheeks gently, urging her to open her eyes. "When I was trying to find the User in the crowd, I finally saw you. Totally inconspicuous, just a girl in a hoodie walking down the sidewalk. But I knew it was you… I could see it in your eyes. When I wracked my brain trying to think of who could manifest such an awful ability, your eyes came to mind. They look just like mine did. Pepsi's too…" She poked the woman's forehead with her left hand. "We were nothing, had nothing. We'd have fallen prey to some bogus organization too. I feel sorry for you."
"D-Don't you dare!" She shouted, her voice sounding just like the one that had been whispering into Shirlie for so long. "You don't get to tell me that we're just the same and leave it like that! I am nothing like you! You're the weak one!"
"Shirlie!" A young girl cried from behind. Shizuka ran up to the scene along with several other concerned patrons of the market.
She just held out a hand. "Stay back, Shizuka! This is between the two of us!" She got back onto her feet and sparked the lighter again. "Let go of my heart and give me Pa-Pa-Power back, or else I light you like a birthday cake." She threatened.
The woman glared at her opponent, but she didn't have any choice. Shirlie felt the Stand leave her back, and moments later Pa-Pa-Power roared silently out of her body. He stood behind her with clenched boxing gloves and a grimace on his face. Shizuka watched carefully, unsure if Shirlie was fully in control. The girl had been struggling the last time they saw each other.
"Good," Shirlie mumbled. She shoved the lighter into her pocket and rested herself against Power's towering frame. "I missed you, buddy."
He wrapped his hulking muscles around Shirlie's body and hugged her tightly. She smirked, looking down at the gas-covered woman with a scowl.
"Unfortunately, we're not done here." She pulled her hands from both pockets and clapped them together a few times as if to dust them off. "There's still the matter of your punishment. Someone can't go running around and doing this to whoever they want. Your ability could easily drive someone to suicide, or worse."
"I'm sorry!" The woman pleaded, clasping her hands together. "Please, don't burn me! Don't kill me!"
"Kill you?" Shirlie raised her brow. "I'm not like you, lady. I said we used to be really similar. Nobody's killing anybody."
The enemy's face sank in confusion, but quickly took on an expression of hope. "Really!?" She beamed. "You're letting me go?"
"Letting you go!? Did you listen to a word I said? No… You can't just use that ability of yours whenever you want. You need to be taught a lesson. Ready, Pa-Pa-Power?"
"W-What?" The woman muttered, shaking her head. "Wait, no! Please! I can't take it!"
Pa-Pa-Power pounded his chest with his boxing gloves and threw his head back with a silent roar. Then, he stepped through Shirlie and drove his foot into the concrete right in front of the enemy. He wasted no time, pummeling her right in center mass with both gloves at the same time.
"Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-POWER!" Shirlie roared, flexing her arms and slouching forward as her Stand's arms soared back and forth in a pink flash. He sent her flying back into a nearby building before pounding his chest proudly once again.
The enemy fell onto her knees and coughed in pain. She lifted her head and met eyes with Shirlie for a moment before it all came crashing down. Her vision failed, and she fell face-first into the concrete. The poor woman thrashed and writhed in confusion as her mind was assaulted by a frenzy of negative emotions all at the same time. Drool poured freely from her lips, and her fingers wiggled uncontrollably as if she'd just been zapped by lightning. Shirlie stomped forward with both hands in her pockets.
"I just gave you a dose of emotion, lady." She mumbled grimly. "Every single emotion you caused today. All the pain, confusion, anger, grief, misery… And guilt. My guilt, the very guilt you tried to avoid by forcing me to do those horrible things vicariously. Do you feel it? It's terrible, isn't it? You're almost choking on regret… How could you do something so terrible?" She growled.
"I'm…" The woman tried to speak, but instead, she just choked on her emotions.
Shizuka walked closer and inspected Shirlie for any injuries. Then, the girl glared down at the defeated foe.
"Gosh… You really did a number on her." She mumbled.
"I did her a mercy." Shirlie shrugged. "The last few enemies have all crumbled into powder the second they lost, right? It's probably some kind of mechanism to prevent them from spilling information or turning on their organization. This woman doesn't know she's lost, though. She's too busy going insane."
The little girl nodded in agreement. "I heard a little bit of what you said to her. You think you used to be like this?" She asked, looking up at the tall teenager.
Shirlie smiled. "Little bit. Maybe that'll be good for her. I ramped up Pa-Pa-Power's empathy ability to the max and forced her to feel every single emotion that horrible ability caused today. The only way for her to regain her sanity is to sift through it all and come to terms with them. Hopefully experiencing all those people's pain will teach her some damn empathy."
Shizuka frowned. "Or it'll make her even worse."
"That's her choice, Shizuka. I have to let her make it. For me."
The child was fascinated by this. She'd always heard of pacifists, people who wouldn't even kill their worst enemies. She thought it was an immature mindset. Some people just had to die, like Blondie. She couldn't imagine a world where they settled their differences peacefully. Still, she couldn't bring herself to judge Shirlie for this. The woman was taking responsibility for her opponent. She did what she thought was right, and if the lady goes on and hurts someone else, Shirlie would be to blame. Did she believe in the ability to change that much? People like Blondie used to be good and pure. They helped others, worked for society, and did their best every single day. Then, something turned sour and they broke bad. Maybe the opposite could be true? Maybe Shirlie really did get through to this woman just now? It would certainly be a nice change of pace…
Enemy Stand User: Jessica Shultz, age 18. Utterly defeated, retired. She was spared from "Mother" due to her mental state and would be brought to a local psychiatric facility to aid in her recovery. With any luck, she would make a full recovery.
In the depths of a modest suburban basement, Aura sat alone listening to pop music from days long gone. It was uncharacteristically cheery for someone like her, but it continued all the same through her cassette tape player as she carefully sewed two stuffed bears together in an attempt to create the ultimate cuddlemonster. She smiled to herself as the needle plunged through her subject, dragging thread along for the ride each and every time. After a few minutes she held it up to the light and admired a job well done. That's when she heard footsteps on the staircase. Her eyes darted over to the steps as she fumbled to hide her abomination underneath a blanket.
A tall, elegant woman made her way into Aura's room with folded hands and little patience. She glared down at the young woman while collecting her thoughts.
"...Mother." Aura mumbled, the silence killing her.
"Veronica," She spoke in a sinfully soft voice. "Estelle, Felix, Barry, Roland and Jessica…"
Aura felt her stomach sink at the news of Jessica's defeat. By the sound of Mother's disappointment, she likely didn't defeat a single member of the Joestar party either. Having the names of her fallen siblings listed felt so brutal. It almost caused Aura to cry, but she seared her tear ducts shut a long time ago. The young woman swallowed heavily and nodded with sweaty hands.
"I'm sorry, Mother." She lowered her eyes.
"The word 'sorry' won't bring my children back, will they Tiffany?" Mother fired back with a stern tone.
Aura visibly flinched at the use of that name. She clearly took issue with it, but would never speak out of turn with her foster mother. Instead, she hung her head and waited for the berating to continue.
"You've been having your little temper tantrum down here in this basement for too long, Tiffany. Each of your brothers and sisters had situational abilities that were easily defeated by our enemy. Deadly? Perhaps, but they were all little parlor tricks. The Joestars don't rely on gimmicks to defeat their opponents, Tiffany. They rely on strength." Mother stomped her foot rather forcefully with that final word. This evoked a sudden gasp from her daughter.
"Yes, Mother."
"The only one out of us with enough raw power to finish the job is you, Tiffany… You can take all five of them at once! It's time you fought the Joestars and made me proud." She knelt down before Aura's bed and took the girl's hands. "Okay?"
Aura couldn't bring herself to look Mother in the eyes. Instead, she stared down at her bedding and nodded. "I'll defeat them, Mother. Kill Shizuka and get the feather, that's what Blondie said."
Mother licked her lips, lifting Aura's chin with two fingers and forcing eye contact. "Good girl. You'd never do anything to disappoint me, would you? You're not like your weak brothers and sisters… You're powerful, like me. That's why we had to take care of Daddy. He was weak. He couldn't see what we saw. The strong deserve the world, right sweetheart?"
Aura stared into Mother's eyes with an empty expression. She just wanted the contact to be over. She just wanted to get back to her bear. If she killed Shizuka, maybe everybody would just leave her alone for a little while? Maybe she could go one day without hearing those heels stepping down the staircase and disrupting her peace?
She would do anything for silence.
To be Continued...