Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Wayward Baby

by RobynRider

In the year 2009, Shizuka Joestar begins to have questions about her origins. In her search for answers, she finds herself in a conflict far beyond anything she bargained for. Secrets are revealed, friends are made, and the fate of the world could be forever changed. Typical week for a Joestar. -Edited by Pianolote. Originally posted on AO3. Cover by "tsundenials" on Twitter.

42. Checkmate

It was Thursday night as the group arrived in Baltimore, Maryland. They'd just spent eleven hours in the car and were stretching their atrophied limbs a little bit in the hotel parking lot. All they'd been doing for the past few days was driving and battling enemies. It was kind of an exhausting trip. This was likely the last night they'd spend on the road, though. New York City was only about three hours from Baltimore. Even with terrible traffic, they'd make it to the city far before sundown. That was good since they only had until Sunday to get there and meet Blondie's demands. They'd made very good time, even with a small detour. Blondie certainly wasn't unfair with the seven-day time limit, though the mooks she sent to kill them along the way weren't exactly appreciated.

As Shizuka stared out into the city skyline, she wondered where her family was at that moment. Were the others in New York? Had they fallen behind somehow? Or were they killed by some Stand User along the way? Shizuka took solace in the fact that Blondie's orders only involved her death, nobody else's. She had no clue as to why, though. Blondie had personal relationships with Joseph, Jotaro, even Ripley. But Shizuka? She was nobody, a little girl in a big world. Could it have something to do with that certainty she felt in her stomach? The knowledge that she would be the one to kill Blondie? Was it possible that Blondie knew about Tsuru's "grand plan?" She had no reason to believe the women knew one another, but perhaps the world wasn't as big as she thought?

"Well, it's our last night sleeping in a hotel, huh?" Marina groaned as she stretched her legs. "Always focus on the bright side."

Ripley got out shortly after. She glanced toward the towering buildings ahead of them and nodded her head slowly. "That's a silver lining, I suppose."

They all grabbed what little bags they had and walked inside. After getting a room, Shizuka plopped into her bed rather quickly. She was exhausted from spending so long in a car. It was funny how doing absolutely nothing for an entire day could leave one feeling so drained. Pepsi and Shirlie were sitting on the other bed speaking quietly among themselves. That left Marina sitting in a wooden chair beside the minibar. She was staring at a sign taped on the glass of the refrigerator.

"They automatically charge you for even moving a drink? How am I supposed to read the labels in the back then?" She mumbled to herself.

"How did I know I'd find you sitting here?" Ripley asked as she walked out of the bathroom. She dried her hands on a fresh towel folded on a nearby table. The woman approached Marina with a little smirk. "Doesn't look like there's anything fruity. That's too bad."

"They never keep anything fun in these things." Marina scoffed.

Ripley laughed, rolling her head back and folding her hands a bit. She squatted down beside the chair and sat on the backs of her heels. "You could walk down the road? I'm sure there's something worth drinking."

Marina shook her head. "Meh, not really in the mood."

There was a brief silence between them. Eventually, Ripley spoke up. "You know… This might not just be our last night in a motel." She mumbled carefully. Her eyes drifted up to Marina's to gauge her expression.

The blonde just leaned back further in the uncomfortable wooden chair. "I know, Agent. It may very well be our last night, period. We're arriving in the city of dreams tomorrow. There might not be anything left of us in twenty-four hours."

Ripley glanced over her shoulder to check if the younger members of the group were listening. Thankfully, they seemed preoccupied in their own little worlds. She nodded, a grim expression forming on her face.

"That's why I'd be okay with you going out and… indulging a bit. It's kind of like a last meal." She explained.

Marina sat up and looked at the agent with confusion. "Why would I want to get messed up and forget my last night on Earth? I'd much rather spend it with people who are worth a damn. Besides, going out and drinking would only make tomorrow come faster. I'm not exactly in a rush to leave this place if I'm being perfectly honest."

Ripley nodded quietly. "Isn't it funny? We spent all our energy getting here as quickly as possible, but we're afraid to step across the finish line. I get it, though… Why would anyone be in a rush to fight such a horrible woman? Part of me forgot that we don't even have a plan."

"Agent! Shizuka's weird-vision-ghost-spirit would take offense to that." Marina spoke in a posh voice, rolling her eyes. "Bah, plan-schman. I've got all my cards on that weird vision lady… Shizuka seems to believe in her, and that's good enough for me. I don't understand half of what's going on. Some lady pulling out an ex-Machina and saving our asses sounds awfully nice right about now."

"And if this thing piggybacking on Shizuka can't be trusted? Who's to say Blondie didn't put it there herself?" Ripley countered.

"In that case, I've got a baseball bat. I'll swing it until anything that's trying to kill me is dead. That's a pretty good plan, too." She wrinkled her nose, smiling a bit.

Ripley leaned forward and stood up from her squat. She cupped both of Marina's cheeks and rubbed their noses together for a moment. After that, she pulled away and rubbed the girl's pale cheek with her thumb.

"Nobody's allowed to die tomorrow, you got that? You better swing that bat of yours like you've never swung it before."

"Pfft, Agent. I'm practically Babe Ruth. Just watch me… That's half the fun." She placed her hand over Ripley's on her cheek and closed her eyes. After a long silence, she pulled away. "All jokes aside… I promise. Even if I've gotta crawl with my chin across twenty miles of glass, there's no way that Blondie skank is knocking me out of the game. She's an old fossil. It's time for us young babes to inherit the Earth." She grinned.

Ripley looked out the window and stared at the smearing lights of vehicles and advertisements far as the eye could see. Eventually, her gaze landed back on Marina. She stared at the woman and tried to imagine those eyes devoid of life… It was pretty damn difficult. Marina just had this moxie to her. The agent stared for a little longer than she meant to, just admiring Marina's features. Finally, the blonde took notice.

"Errrr…. Earth to Ripley?" She waved her hand, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue.

"This feels like the moment where one of us is supposed to say something really romantic… Maybe an 'I love you,' or a promise about what we'll do when this is all over." Ripley spoke quietly, reaching for Marina.

The woman felt so far away, even though her fingers were nearly upon her. She imagined how it would feel if a battle were to tear them apart. She didn't want that, not one bit… This deep, potent infatuation struck fast and strong against the poor agent. She didn't even notice it happening. Spend two weeks traveling with a girl and suddenly you're imagining owning a cat together and eating ice cream with the same spoon? She'd never seriously considered such a mundane, domestic life with anyone before. It wasn't love, of course. There simply wasn't the time. Not yet, at least. Still, her feelings were as powerful as they were painful. It wasn't love, but it was a start.

"Well… That sounds a little corny for gals like us. Right?" Marina asked, picking up on Ripley's feelings without exchanging a word.

"Yeah, I'll just say this instead." Ripley smiled, cupping Marina's cheek again. "I would love to get to know you, Marina. I'd love that more than anything…" She admitted, sniffling once near the end.

Marina grinned, sitting up and taking Ripley's free hand into her own. "Yeah? Sounds lovely." She slipped an arm around the small of Ripley's back and brought her in for a tight hug. Her chin rested on the agent's shoulder as she let out a satisfied little grunt. "I'd love to get to know you too, Ripley. My weekend's pretty packed though, let's get lunch on Monday?" She whispered.

"Sounds like heaven." The woman closed her eyes with a big, dopey smile.

The night was quiet from then on.

Shizuka was the kind of sleeper who'd wake up multiple times throughout the night and stare at her surroundings. It was even worse if those surroundings were foreign, something all too common lately. She'd find herself staring at cracks in the wall and analyzing the font of digital clocks long before her mind even realized she was awake. The little girl slowly came to, reading the clock with hazy vision. It was 3:42 a.m. She could sleep a little longer, right?

She heard a strange buzzing above her head. The girl tried to ignore it, but something just didn't feel right. It wasn't the type of buzzing you'd hear from a fly. It almost sounded… Flappy? She turned onto her back and stared into the dark hotel room. Her eyes had to adjust for a short while, but soon she saw something disturbing the uniform darkness above her. There wasn't enough detail to make anything out. At least, not with the current distribution of light. She reached her hand over and touched the alarm clock. Ultra Violet took the red haze from its display and cast it into the air in a thick, concentrated beam.

There!

Shizuka could see it! However, the sight before her made the girl question whether or not she was experiencing the most vivid dream of her life. The source of the buzzing and flapping above Shizuka was none other than a flying paper airplane. It flew through the air, whizzing and tearing through the hotel room before making a sharp turn just short of the wall. It spun around and did another full circle of the room. Shizuka's eyes followed it lazily as her mind lagged. What on Earth was this? She tried to comprehend, but was so tired.

The paper plane drifted closer to Shizuka's bed. This caught her attention. She scanned the lines and creases of the plane carefully. It was just like any old paper plane you'd find in a classroom. She'd made quite a few herself. They couldn't fly like that, though. Most of the time she'd see a paper plane spin sadly through the air a few times before promptly nose-diving into its death below. This plane was different. It was flying as though it were piloted by a living organism. How could that be?

It finally clicked in Shizuka's tired mind. She barely had enough time to act. The bottom of the paper plane opened up to reveal a strange cargo haul within. She narrowed her eyes only to see tiny paper balls falling out of the plane. Her mind drifted to the stories of her father piloting fighter planes, and it all came together. Without thinking, Shizuka's hand left the alarm clock and grabbed the Holy Bible placed conveniently on the bedside table of every American hotel room. She held it above her face with two hands and braced for impact.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BOOM!

The girl flinched as the paper bombs made contact with the Bible and filled the room with startling flashes of light. This woke the entire crew, though they let out a scream or two during the panic. Shizuka rolled out of bed and had Ultra Violet reach for the nearby light switch. Once the room was bright, she wiped her eyes a few times to jolt them awake.

"We're under attack by a paper airplane!" She shouted.

The plane had already circled back and flown above the twin's bed. It dropped a series of bombs. Ripley sprang into action, ripping the alarm clock's power cord from the wall and slinging it over to the bombs. Violent sparks flew out of the two metal prongs on the end of the plug and vaporized the meager paper before it could reach the bed.

Marina stood and pointed Bubblegum Bitch's bat in the 'home run' position before swinging it with all her might and striking the plane right across its center mass. There was a satisfying CLANK as the plane was flung across the room and into the wall. From there, it was stuck in place and unable to fly any longer.

"Homer!" Marina pumped her fist and jumped out of bed. She ran over to the wall and inspected the plane carefully. "It looks like normal paper, even up close! It's not even moving anymore. Do we think this is the Stand?"

Ripley and Shizuka walked over to investigate. The twins were pretty much awake at that point, though they were grumbling and whining with confusion.

"What kind of Stand is this? A paper plane that drops bombs? They didn't even destroy that Bible over there. It would take a couple dozen of these to kill someone. Who's confident enough to attack all five of us with something like this?" Shizuka mumbled.

"We were asleep, Jojo. You don't need confidence to assassinate a slumber party." Marina tilted her head as she leaned closer toward the plane.

"Yeah, but this would only injure one or two of us in the best-case scenario. Are they really getting this desperate?" Shizuka frowned. She had a really bad feeling about this.

"Are you suggesting that the enemy is stronger than they're letting on?" Ripley rubbed her chin. "We're right at the edge of the city now. They're probably sending their top dogs to take care of us. One last swipe at Shizuka and the feather before they become the boss's problem."

"Well, that's even better. I wanted a swing at this Mother character before dealing with Blondie anyway. She's next on my evil hags list." Marina slung her bat over her shoulder with a huff.

"Everybody keep your eyes peeled. It's not safe here anymore. We need to get back on the road and sleep in shifts." Shizuka walked over to her bag and began packing it.

"God-damn paper terrorists ruining my last good night of sleep," Marina growled under her breath.

Ripley was looking around the room to see where she left her suit jacket when something peculiar stood out to her. She glanced across the room and noticed something white peeking out from underneath a shirt cast carelessly in front of Shizuka's bed. The girl had rolled off of the side of her bed in the mayhem, but this looked like it could've been meant to get her as she jumped onto the floor. She was rapidly approaching it without a care in the world. Ripley finally put the pieces together not a moment too soon.

"Shizuka! Don't take one more step!" She roared across the hotel room.

The girl froze on instinct, eyes rapidly searching for any source of danger. Eventually, she glanced down and noticed something white barely sticking out from underneath her shirt. What could it be? The color seemed to suggest that it was another paper weapon. How many Stands could this one person have? Unless the ability was to turn paper into explosive weapons? Her eyes widened when she realized that her foot was probably inches away from a paper landmine. The girl leaned her weight back and took a deep breath.

"Nobody moves an inch! This room could be riddled with booby traps!" She shouted.

"You were right, Shizuka… The single plane was too amateur for the main event. It was probably meant to let our guards down! What does this Stand do? How close does the User have to be?" Marina asked.

"That mine is placed too deliberately for it to be guesswork! We didn't notice anyone slipping in because everyone's always getting up to pee in the middle of the night. We all probably assumed it was somebody else." Shizuka rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"What if they're still in the room?" Shirlie asked groggily from her bed.

"They'd have to be pretty small." Ripley looked around. "Small, or invisible. Let's just hope we're not dealing with another combo."

Shizuka felt her breathing grow heavier as she realized just how deep in trouble they were. If someone had all the time in the world to lace their room with traps, it was probably already a checkmate. Whoever broke in didn't seem to care about attacking them in their sleep. They wanted the group to fumble around the room and get into trouble. Every possible way out was probably already accounted for.

"Just… nobody move! Everybody stay completely still! We're lucky that we haven't been blown up already!" Shizuka ordered.

"What's the plan here, Jojo? I'm sure you've done the math. It's looking pretty bad!" Marina called across the room.

"Where could the User be hiding? Was the closet closed when we went to bed?" Ripley questioned.

"Yeah, no way of telling if they're inside." Marina frowned.

"Maybe they're in that chest at the foot of Marina and Ripley's bed?" Pepsi pointed over to an old wooden chest meant for housing quilts and spare blankets. "They'd have to be around Shizuka's size to fit.

"No, I could fit in there if I had to." Ripley furrowed her brow. "A small woman could easily hide inside that chest. Any other ideas?"

The room was silent.

"Alright then… Seems like we have three options. The enemy is either in the closet, chest, or bathroom. I don't see any other landmines, but we can't plan on seeing them all. What's worse is that the enemy could send more planes out and force us to move. Lucky for us, it seems like they can't do that without alerting us to their position. We can hope…" Ripley said.

A gunshot burst through the hotel room and blew out the eardrums of the entire group. Shizuka's ears were ringing as she searched for the source. That's when she noticed a clean, smoking hole in the side of the chest. She had Ultra Violet concentrate light directly onto the hole and saw a human eye clear as day inside.

"Inside the chest! She's got a gun!" Shizuka shouted.

That was just what everyone needed. They couldn't run because of potential traps, but some psychopath was hiding inside a chest with a gun? Marina was through with the entire situation. She gritted her teeth and looked over at the large windows overlooking the city.

"This is bullshit." She muttered, jumping across the room and scooping Shizuka into her arms. She held the girl effortlessly and ran right for the window. "I can think of one place she wouldn't think to trap!

Bubblegum Bitch struck the glass with its bat right before Marina jumped through. The window shattered into millions of tiny pieces as Marina and Shizuka flew through the air. The older woman was cradling Shizuka against her chest as she turned her back to the ground. Marina looked up at the hotel room with a little smile as it grew further and further away. In a matter of seconds, she slammed into the sidewalk below with a powerful thud. Her body absorbed all of the kinetic energy and dispersed it through her feet. They rippled and flung around for a minute as she worked all of it through her system. Marina was becoming better with her Stand by the day. She'd never have been able to pull something like that off even a matter of days ago.

"Jojo! Are you alright?" She uncurled her arms and looked down at the girl.

Shizuka stared up at the sky with pure shock on her face. She quickly got a grip, rolling off of the woman and standing up. "You have to warn a girl before you drag her out of a window!"

Marina laughed, springing to her feet and cracking her neck. "I had to think quickly! That bitch was about to shoot us all! They have very clear orders, right? Kill you, get the feather from me. If we're both down here, whoever's coming after us will have to come too!"

"Maybe! Or maybe she's killing the others right now!" Shizuka shouted.

"No, I haven't heard any other gunshots or explosions. We've just gotta pull back a little and come up with a plan. It'll be easier to fight her in an environment she hasn't rigged with booby traps."

An unidentifiable roar came from the hotel above. Shizuka threw her head up in shock. She'd never heard something like that in real life before. After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed something perched on the very top of the building. She struggled to identify it at first. Its oddly triangular head was silhouetted against the moon above. No, it wasn't until the creature cast its wings out that Shizuka recognized what on Earth she was looking at.

"Holy shit…" She mumbled, taking a step back.

"You're seeing this too, right?" Marina whispered.

"A pterodactyl… It's an origami pterodactyl!"

The dinosaur let out a piercing screech before diving off the roof and soaring directly for them. It tore through the air with a sort of horrific beauty, but there wasn't time to appreciate it. Shizuka grabbed Marina's arm and yanked her down the sidewalk.

"Run!"

They sprinted down the sidewalk before dipping into an alley. The pterodactyl curved around the corner and flew right for them. Marina took a stand, readying her bat and waiting for just the right moment. She struck the pterodactyl right across the face with a loud, satisfying crack of the bat. The creature lurched back in pain, its head thrashing in rage and confusion from the attack.

"Its face should be sticky now! Hit it against the wall, Shizuka!" Marina shouted.

"Hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora!" Ultra Violet's fists blurred through the air in a wave of cascading colors as they connected with the pterodactyl's side. She tried her damndest to move the origami creature, but it seemed to have a solid footing. Shizuka stumbled back with strained breathing as she recovered from the barrage. "This thing's tough… Star Platinum could knock it around, but I'm already out of juice."

"It's made out of goddamn paper! This doesn't make any sense!" Marina growled in frustration.

"Five times..." Shizuka muttered in disbelief.

"What!?" Marina looked at her with confusion.

"First it was Wagner, then you, then the twins, and those weird guys in Italy… Someone has tried to kill me in an alley five times now." The child shook her head. "How many people do you know who've been attacked in an alley five times? You think eventually I'd stop running into them so easily."

Marina allowed her eyes to fixate on the paper monster once again. Her expression was one of acknowledgement as she gave Shizuka a little shrug. "I'm definitely never following you into an alley ever again."

The hotel room was bustling with panic when Marina and Shizuka launched out the window. Nobody moved to pursue them, it would be pointless. Besides, they were still in danger. Ripley glared at the chest at the foot of her bed. An enemy was hiding inside with a gun of some kind. She needed to play her cards right, otherwise, this would all go south.

"Well fuck me. Was that Marina and Shizuka?" A feminine voice called from inside the chest.

Ripley was taken aback by the sudden chattiness of their enemy. They'd spent so much time and energy trying to determine her location only for her to reveal it seconds later. The agent looked over at the shattered glass and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I assume you're with Red Eden?" She asked.

There was silence for a short while as the woman inside the chest thought of what to do next. "Nah, I'm kind of like a contractor. My job is simple: Kill Shizuka and get Marina's feather. So like, nothing against you randos, but I think I'm gonna skedaddle."

"Are you?" Ripley challenged the woman. "You just said you plan on killing a ten-year-old girl. I can't exactly let you walk out of here with plans like that."

A burst of hysterical laughter came from inside the chest. The piece of furniture rocked and rumbled around on the floor as she appeared to heave with amusement. "You forgot your place that quickly, Ripley!? What makes you any better than me when you were two signatures away from being in this chest instead?"

The agent's eyes widened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oops! I shouldn't have spoiled the fun! Y'see, Blondie gave us two orders. You know that part! But Mother gave me a third; capture Ripley alive! She said it wasn't too important, but she'd love to talk!"

"Maybe your mother could come and chat in person instead. Are you aware of what's been happening to your siblings during our trip? We didn't kill them, your mommy did." Ripley snarled. "Estelle died in my arms. I didn't know what to do! I wasn't going to kill her!"

"She was going to squeal! Squawk, squawk, squawk! Like a bird! All of them were! That's what Mother dearest does! She makes the most loyal children… It's impossible to do anything she'd interpret as a betrayal! You saw what happens if someone tries!"

"Betrayal? None of them were talking! I'm not even sure they'd cave if we tried!" Ripley argued.

"They lost, Ripley! That's the betrayal! She sent them to do something and they FAILED! That's why I know I'm going to win. That's why I know I'm going to kill you all!" She flung the chest open and stood up from the cluttered insides.

The woman who emerged from the chest had a rather strange appearance. Her brown hair was kept clean and buzzed on all sides. She had olive skin that complimented her hazel eyes. Her face was rather symmetrical, and under different circumstances, she might be considered gorgeous. Her Grecian nose contributed to her sharp, angular aesthetic alongside her strong jawline. She wore dark, beaded earrings that ended with a black stone dangling on each side of her head.

Her outfit was an odd mix of conservative and revealing at the same time. She wore a fully zipped grey track jacket underneath a high-waisted black skirt. A pair of compression shorts kept her covered for around two extra inches below the skirt, but her skin was left bare on the way down to her fishnet socks. Her outfit was held together by a pair of black suspenders that held her skirt tightly in place against her stomach. She was rather fit, albeit a little short at 5"2. Thor's mighty hammer, Mjolnir, was dangling from her neck on a simple black chain. The golden hammer sparkled beautifully underneath the bright lights of the hotel room as it spun in circles from her sudden movement.

Finally, she was holding a paper airplane in one hand and a strange gun in the other. The gun was made completely out of paper. It even seemed to be shedding tiny pieces as she moved around. The woman held these paper tools confidently as if they could hold their own in a battle against three powerful Stand Users. That made Ripley extremely cautious. They were already attacked by a paper airplane before. She had no reason to believe these new weapons packed any less of a punch.

Aura licked her lips, enjoying all of the eyes on her as she stood underneath the hotel's LED lights. The woman rolled her hips and leaned back on her feet as she soaked in the attention. It fueled her in a twisted way. After a moment, she decided to take action.

"I'll die if I fail." She hissed, aiming her origami gun at Ripley.

Before she had a chance to fire, Aura was struck in the cheek by a pair of brass knuckles. Her eyes widened as she made the connection for just a moment. As her eyes bulged out of her head, they locked onto Pepsi for just a moment. She had been briefed on all five of the Stands she'd be fighting. Pepsi's MIST seemed to be one of the more troublesome abilities to battle in a group setting. She tried to memorize the teen's location because the moment those knuckles parted ways with her skin Pepsi vanished into thin air. Aura could only perceive Pepsi while they were making physical contact. She reeled back in pain, stumbling out of the chest and falling onto the ground.

Aura rolled onto her back and looked up just in time to see Pa-Pa-Power towering over her like a classic Goliath. He sent a barrage of punches her way, forcing the girl to roll sideways and into the wall. She fumbled through her coat pocket and pulled out a wrinkled paper plane. After tossing it into the air, the plane took on a life of its own and soared around the hotel room. It honed in on Shirlie, beeping a few times before firing its turrets.

Dozens of tiny little pellets tore through the air and connected with Shirlie's skin. She winced in pain as each pellet caused a small welt on her skin. They weren't even as powerful as air-soft rounds, but the sheer number caused them to overwhelm the teen rather quickly. She covered her face as Pa-Pa-Power blindly swung at the airplane.

"And we should see Pepsi right about…" Aura mumbled to herself.

A powerful fist connected with Aura's stomach, and she saw Pepsi once again. She coughed as her stomach was struck by the brass knuckles, but it revealed the teen's position. Aura's eyes lit up with violent lust as she jammed the barrel of her paper gun into Pepsi's stomach. It appeared to be checkmate for poor Pepsi. The teen stared down in shock as they felt it connect with their shirt. Aura tilted her head, licking her lips and preparing to pull the trigger.

All of the lights in the room burst in a powerful surge of energy. Sparks and flames erupted from the light fixtures and rained down onto the struggle in the corner. Aura was distracted for just long enough for Pepsi to yank themself free and disappear from view. Aura covered her eyes as hot particles pelted her shaved head. She looked over to the entrance of the room and saw Ripley with her hand on the light switch. Electric Lady must have overcharged the circuit and blown the lights out. What an annoying bunch of Stands!

"Fine! I was going to kill the twins to make things simpler, but it's not really on my list of demands! I'm going to get the real prize!" Aura threw her head back and reached into her other pocket. She pulled out what appeared to be a cartoon bomb made out of paper. She threw it against the floor and caused a cloud of smoke to engulf the room.

Everyone was on their guard as the smoke bomb blinded them, but Aura wasn't interested in fighting anymore. She made a beeline for the window before swan diving out and into the city lights. She was silhouetted against the Baltimore skyline before sinking past the windowsill and out of view. Ripley waved her hands in front of her face in an attempt to clear the smoke… No luck.

"Goddammit! The crazy bitch jumped!" Shirlie looked out the window.

"We need to get downstairs, now! Leave your things, we're close enough to New York already." Ripley sprinted out of the room and down the hall.

The origami pterodactyl loomed over Shizuka and Marina like a grotesque history book as its nostrils flared with steam. Shizuka wasn't sure how either of them could fight a dinosaur with their abilities. Ultra Violet lacked the raw force needed to lay a dent on the creature, and Bubblegum Bitch was meant for restraining and bludgeoning its targets. She had a better shot than Shizuka, but it was still quite the uphill battle.

"How do you fight a dinosaur, Shizuka?" Marina mumbled.

"Never really thought I'd have to." The girl smirked nervously.

The beast let out another piercing cry before lunging toward the girls and swiping at them with its talons. Marina sidestepped the attack and struck the creature in its beak yet again with Bubblegum Bitch's bat. It was flung against the wall this time, causing Marina to rush forward for another blow. She jabbed the beast right in its ribs. This elicited a pained screech from the origami monster.

"Its bones should be pretty frail, Marina! Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to fly! Break the wings! Those should be the weak points!" Shizuka shouted.

Marina nodded, swinging BB's bat and striking the pterodactyl's left wing. It cried out, spreading both its wings in an attempt to fly away. Marina wasted no time in jabbing the beast's wing into the wall with her bat. This stuck it in place and forced the pterodactyl to flail helplessly a few inches above the ground. Without any means of escape, the creature was pummeled to a pulp by Bubblegum Bitch's bat. She slammed her Stand's weapon into the paper bird until it began to crumble and tear. Marina's eyes widened when a small wisp of light appeared in the center of the pterodactyl's chest. It flew out of the alley and up into the air with startling speed. The moment that light vanished, the pterodactyl was devoid of life. The resistance BB's bat was facing disappeared, and the creature began to crumble into a weightless mass of paper.

"Looks like you knocked the soul out of it." Shizuka rubbed her chin. "It seems like this girl can make anything she wants out of paper, but that light makes me think there's a limitation. Maybe she can only make a certain number of objects, or even just a limit on objects that act on their own."

"Otherwise she would have sent twenty dinosaurs at us instead, right?" Marina nodded.

"Ooooooooooooooooo~! That's a good idea!" Aura called from above.

Shizuka shot her gaze up in search of the voice's source. Aura was hanging from the old rickety fire escape staircase hanging on the side of a building. She had one foot firmly on the stairs with the other dangling above the steep drop-off. A single hand gripped the railing for support as her body leaned freely towards the open air. The small woman flashed a pearly smile to her enemies down below.

"Twenty dinosaurs, is that what you said? I could manage twenty! We're just getting started!"

"Get down here, you crazy bitch! I wanna introduce you to my bat!" Marina spat.

"Oh, I won't be getting anywhere near your bat, Marina dear! I think I prefer the idea of plucking that feather of yours from your pocket after I kill you both. You're dangerous, definitely the two strongest of the group! I'm glad you went through all the trouble of isolating yourselves for little old me! I even had a few plans up my sleeve, but they're worthless now! You're making this so user-friendly, and it's very appreciated!"

The blonde gritted her teeth, keeping her Stand ready for anything. She glanced down at Shizuka for a moment to see what the girl was thinking. Shizuka was just glaring at Aura with a prominent wrinkle across her scowling nose. She didn't respond to Marina's gaze, though. It seemed like she was laser-focused on the enemy.

"I was told the kid would be more talkative. She's the main character, isn't she?" Aura turned her nose to the enemies, looking down at them like they were lesser than her. "The spunky, plucky firecracker of a Joestar, hellbent on defeating evil and restoring balance to the world! Gimme a break, kid! You're out past your bedtime."

Marina seemed to notice something behind Aura, though her eyes refused to process it for a moment. There wasn't any noise to signify an approach, so how could he be there? She felt her jaw drop in disbelief as the sight fully registered to her. Aura hadn't seemed to notice how bad the situation had gotten for her yet. There was only one man who could get this close to an enemy without leaving any kind of trace. He would have to travel in a single instant… He'd have to close the distance so quickly that even his smell wouldn't be picked up by his opponent.

Jotaro Kujo was standing right behind Aura.

It was around that moment when Aura noticed Marina was staring behind her. She felt her stomach drop and turned around in an instant. A shriek filled the alley as Aura lurched back in sheer terror. She swung her weight back onto the staircase and took a few steps away from the towering man. They were facing each other now with the alley to one shoulder and a brick building to the other. Aura's back was facing deeper into the alley while Jotaro was closer to the road. That made escaping a little trickier. She stared at her new adversary with fire in her eyes.

"Jotaro Kujo… I never thought I'd have to deal with you. The time daddy, a real stickler for justice. Have you come to judge me, time daddy?" She tilted her head.

Jotaro kept his hands in his pockets and glared at Aura. He lifted one hand and pointed his index finger at her without a word. She winced as if the finger itself could cut her life short. After a moment her eyes opened and she tilted her head. Why was she still alive? Why hadn't Star Platinum beaten her into a beautiful pulp and stained the alley walls with her blood? She felt a chill run up her spine as the wind blew through her hair. That's when it all came together. The wind… How was the wind blowing her hair? She had her back to an alley, and this hulking slab of man-meat was standing directly in front of her. She could feel by the wind on her cheeks that the gusts were coming from behind Jotaro. Either this man was filled with tiny holes, or he had no tangibility at all.

"Jotaro? Is there a reason you're not talking?" She stepped a little closer. "Could it be that you can't? That's impossible, you're no mute. Unless…" She jerked her hand forward and slapped it through Jotaro's extended finger. She passed through him without any resistance. He wasn't physical. "It's a fake." She whispered. "Why would you do something like that, Shizuka!?"

Aura turned her attention back to the girls on the ground. Neither of them was moving, they just stared back up at her. She grimaced, taking a few pieces of loose change from her pocket and tossing them down. The pennies pelted into the asphalt without making contact with either girl. They were gone. Ultra Violet had pulled one over on Aura.

"What a clever girl… I'll have to be more careful. Ultra Violet is the most dangerous Stand in the group. Especially if she knew how to use it… Maybe this is why Blondie wants her dead now before she's smarter than a fifth-grader." Aura mumbled.

Shizuka and Marina sprinted through the far end of the alley with labored breathing. They took cover around the corner and caught their breath.

"That was a pretty good trick, Jojo, but it'll only work once. She's not gonna fall for anyone coming and saving our asses again." Marina panted.

"We're on our own. We've gotta find the others and come up with a plan. This woman's dangerous. She could easily take all five of us if she wanted. So why…" She trailed off, staring at her shoes for a moment.

"Why, what?" Marina raised a brow.

"Why didn't she kill us all in the hotel? It's not adding up. She could've easily killed me in my sleep, but all she sent was a tiny paper airplane."

"She's nuts, Jojo! Maybe she wanted to hear you scream, I dunno? We shouldn't cry over people not assassinating us!" Marina shrugged.

"No, that's not it. There has to be some kind of limit to her power. Otherwise, she'd just make a paper death ray and blast us to bits, right? Her ability doesn't seem to be restricted to real-world objects. Paleontologists are still disputing whether pterodactyls are even real. We may be mistaking other bones for a creature that didn't exist. Despite that, she summoned a textbook example of one. That means her ability is operating off of her mind, not an objective truth." Shizuka wiggled around nervously as she tried to kick her brain into overdrive. "She should be able to make even stronger objects with her paper, but she isn't. That's the puzzle, Marina. If we don't figure it out, we're going to lose."

"You're making things too complicated. She's got a specific goal, Jojo. There's no way she's gonna stop without accomplishing them. That means we have to turn her into white powder like the rest of them." Marina slammed her bat against the ground. "Paper Powers aren't anything special. Everyone bleeds the same."

"You're not thinking straight! She had a perfect position to shoot us dead, Marina! Why did she proudly broadcast her position on the fire escape instead of just shooting us!? It's not adding up. This isn't like a normal enemy. We should be dead, but we're not!" Shizuka explained.

"But we're not." Marina echoed. "If she's pulling her punches, that's even better. We're too deep in enemy territory to do the same. I'm not going to get to New York and tell your father that we lost you to this bitch. It's her or us, and that's an easy answer."

Ripley, Pepsi, and Shirlie sprinted out of the hotel and onto the sidewalk. The agent looked around for any sign of where the others could have gone. She noticed some strange claw marks on the bricks leading into a nearby alley. The three Stand Users carefully crept closer to the alley before peering inside. There was nothing. Ripley went first, slowly walking into the alley with her guard high and her nerves even higher.

"See anything?" She asked the twins.

The sound of a metal clank fired above them. There wasn't time to determine its nature before Shirlie was grabbed by a paper grappling hook around the arm. It dug into her skin and yanked her right into the nearest brick wall. She grunted in pain, eyes darting up to the fire escape to find Aura snickering above.

"You three should have stayed in bed! None of you are a match for my Paper Planes! I don't have any reason to fight you, but if you insist…" Aura rolled her eyes.

Pa-Pa-Power rose out of Shirlie and grabbed the grappling hook with pure rage. He tore the contraption into pieces, revealing a wisp of light that flew back to Aura in a flash. It entered her chest with a burst of light before vanishing altogether. This caused the woman to click her tongue in frustration.

"Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you people? Marina and the kid keep running away from me, and I'm stuck with the B-Team when we all know I'm the main event!? It's disrespectful!"

"Sorry to disappoint, but we don't take notes from child-killing psychopaths." Ripley spat.

Aura took exception to this. She just pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Child-killing? I haven't done anything like that yet. They didn't call Picasso a painter when he was still working at Best Buy, did they?" She shrugged.

"You just compared killing a ten-year-old to art," Pepsi growled.

"Art is subjective! If some Italian freak can sell a can of paint spilled onto a canvas made out of toenail clippings, I think I can call my work art as well!" Aura laughed.

"I'm done listening to this…" Shirlie snarled. "We need to approach. I'll take the steps. Pepsi, do something unexpected."

The mysterious teen nodded before fading from view. With that, Shirlie walked over to the metal steps of the fire escape before stomping her foot onto the first one. Aura raised a brow, readying her paper gun.

"You're coming up, Shirlie? I guess that's fair, your Stand can't do anything to me from this far away! That's why you're weak!" She pointed her gun directly at the redhead.

Shirlie locked eyes with Aura and continued walking. She sent a wave of emotions up to the woman using Pa-Pa-Power. It would be wrong to assume she had no capabilities at a range. Power's empathy could span thirty meters. Aura was plenty close enough for that! She continued to stomp up the staircase with renewed resolve.

"What's wrong!? Feeling a little uncertain? Can't pull the trigger? That feeling is coming from you, lady! All I did was bring it to the surface and kick it up to eleven!" Shirlie laughed confidently as she stepped closer.

Aura leaned back against the railing and held her forehead in discomfort. She shook her head with a groan. "Y-You're supposed to feel everything you cast onto others, right? How are you approaching me with all that confidence?!"

Shirlie merely laughed again. "Oh, I'm not confident at all! I'm riddled with uncertainty! I'm just better at operating under stress than a whiny punk like you!"

Aura's eyes widened as she experienced a sickening level of rage and disdain. Shirlie felt it instantly. The woman was in utter disbelief that anybody could question her struggles. That was fascinating. Shirlie made sure to process those foreign emotions as they flooded into her mind. She was growing to understand Aura more with each step. That uncertainty was deeply rooted in her soul. It wouldn't surprise Shirlie if Aura wasn't certain about anything. She seemed to question her very existence. At the same time, she was completely aghast at the very idea of Shirlie challenging her hardships. She couldn't figure out exactly what, but Shirlie understood that Aura was the victim of quite a bit of abuse.

"You think I'm uncertain?" She shouted down the metal staircase. "Maybe that's true, but I can't fail my family! I'm fighting for my EXISTENCE! Can you say the same?"

Ripley was nervous about the entire situation. She didn't like letting the twins take care of the entire assault. Her eyes fired around the alley in search of anything that Electric Lady could use. They landed on a power box about ten feet away from the fire escape. It was probably connected to one of the neighboring buildings. That could be her chance!

"We'll settle whose cause is stronger when I get to the top of these steps!" Shirlie shouted with a shaky voice. All of Aura's negativity was seeping into her psyche. She didn't fight people with such grief and hardship very often. Keeping herself attached to Aura was draining her humanity. She couldn't do it for long without risking her sanity. Whatever this woman went through was traumatizing on a different level, and that's saying a lot coming from Shirlie Brooks.

The redhead was getting extremely close to Aura's level on the fire escape. The time for fighting words was about to pass. Soon, it'd be time to put actions behind those words. Shirlie reached the final level before her enemy and took a deep breath. Pa-Pa-Power could be devastating in close quarters combat, but Aura was armed with paper weaponry. She'd need to end the fight quickly. Power's mental abilities prevented Aura from pulling the trigger from afar, but one's survival instincts were simply too strong to override in a real brawl. Shirlie wouldn't be able to stop Aura from pulling the trigger once they started throwing punches.

"There's just one emotion I need you to explain for me before we scrap, lady…" Shirlie mumbled as she ascended the final staircase. "Buried under the mountain of uncertainty, trauma, and terror seems to be a small tinge of desperation… You're desperate to be perceived by us. There's this deep, perverted need to be seen by as many people as possible. Why do you feel this way?"

If looks could kill, Aura's current facial expression would've likely killed Shirlie from fifty yards. She stared daggers at the teenager, pursing her lip and pointing the paper gun directly at her.

"You might be able to read my emotions, but that's NOT the same as understanding me, you little freak! So what if I need to be perceived? Some people enjoy being the center of attention. Unlike you." She twisted her gun backward in a sudden jerking motion. It was pointed directly behind her into the open air.

Shirlie's eyes widened, and then there was the popping blast of a gunshot. It wasn't directed at her, despite her best efforts to be a distraction. Instead, Aura had slammed her gun behind her back and made contact with Pepsi. The teen had snuck upstairs and crawled out of a window onto the fire escape. All of their movements were completely silent and untraceable, yet somehow Aura anticipated them anyway. She had a keen sixth sense in dangerous situations. Blood burst through Pepsi's back as they stood behind Aura. The gunshot was clean through and through their body. The utter shock in their eyes was worth a thousand words as they fell onto one knee. Aura turned to face them, holding them up by the shoulder with her free hand. She cupped Pepsi's cheek, staring into those eyes.

"This was a painfully obvious trick, you two… Even if you made it past me, there's nothing a couple of street punks like you could do against Blondie's Rapture. Consider this a favor." She spoke without a hint of remorse in her voice.

With that, Aura let go of Pepsi and let them fall face-first onto the cold metal bars of the fire escape. Shirlie just shrieked unintelligibly as she witnessed her twin being shot so brutally. Pa-Pa-Power swung his entire arm into Aura's body and slammed the woman into the building with nearly lethal force. She cracked a few bricks, gripping her arm in agony as she leaned all her weight into the building. Aura had broken her left arm upon impact. It was hardly a fair tradeoff, her right arm for only a single member of the enemy team?

Shirlie's cries were incoherent as she held Pepsi against her chest. An unsettling amount of blood was gushing through both ends of the wound. It was directly in their stomach, missing any vital organs. Despite that, they didn't have long to live with that kind of blood loss. Aura was irritated by the high-pitched shrieking of the remaining twin. She tilted her head and wondered if maybe two kills would be worth her broken arm. She grabbed her gun and aimed it at Shirlie's head from behind.

"No, you don't!" Ripley screamed from the ground.

Surges of electricity flowed through the damp metal fire escape and pooled directly into Aura's body. The woman fell onto her hands and knees in confusion. She could see Ripley through the barred floor of the escape. The agent had taken her phone charger from her pants pocket and yanked the cord off of the power brick. From there, she held one point to the building's circuit box and gripped the other in her hand. It was held to the box with a powerful static cling, sending an immense amount of power through the conductive staircase. The only reason Aura was still alive was likely due to the distance of Ripley's attack, and the voltage limit of a meager phone charger. If Ripley tried to send too much power through the little charger cord, she'd likely destroy the entire thing before doing enough damage to kill Aura.

The lone woman gnashed her teeth together as she had enemies on both sides to deal with. Shirlie would likely come to her senses sooner or later and seek revenge for her sibling's murder. Ripley was going Rambo with electricity in an attempt to fry Aura's insides extra crispy. Things weren't looking good. Not only that but Pa-Pa-Power's empathy link was still connected to Aura. She felt Shirlie's unimaginable grief and suffering at that moment. The adrenaline from Ripley's attack managed to ward it off for a few seconds, but she was now experiencing Shirlie's raw emotions in full force.

Aura began to sob just as loudly as the grieving sister. She held herself up with her good hand and tried to collect her emotions. If she didn't get away, she'd be killed by the enemy.

"I'm sorry!" She closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. "Oh my God, Pepsi! Please… Please be okay!" The very woman who shot the teen heard herself crying into the night.

Ripley was spread impossibly thin. If she let go of the phone charger, Aura might be able to get herself together and flee. That couldn't happen, but there wasn't much else the agent could do from the bottom of the long staircase. She glanced over her shoulder in some fruitless plea for Marina or Shizuka to come and save the day. The agent gritted her teeth and shook her head. Marina and Shizuka needed to stay far away from this conflict. They were protecting the feather and a child's life. Ripley couldn't just rely on someone to come and save their asses at such a crucial moment. She could feel Shirlie's despair potently on the ground. Both twins were down for all intents and purposes. What could Ripley do? Electric Lady wasn't a ranged Stand. All she could do was manipulate electric currents. She wasn't special, and her power was only as impressive as the energy source she drew it from.

Think! Think! Think! Ripley held onto the charger as it continued to subdue her enemy. It was difficult to keep herself together through the tidal wave of Shirlie's emotions. The only way they would survive this was through Ripley. She was the brightest student in her class, the first of the Ripley family to get into college, on a full-ride no less! She wanted to be President of the United States, how could she fail now? At the age of twenty-two, she was appointed head of security for one of the most important buildings in the world! She was making history with every single step she took. That history wasn't about to be stopped by some lunatic with an origami Glock.

It didn't matter if the situation seemed hopeless. A good leader shouldn't know the meaning of that word! If there wasn't any hope left, Ripley would simply have to make some. She clenched her fists and let go of the phone charger. Her eyes closed, and she focused on the four words that motivated her all those years ago.

Three weeks after Ripley's disastrous high school graduation went viral, she quickly realized that any prospective universities no longer wanted to be affiliated with her image. Some news pundits went so far as to accuse her of terrorism, others thought it was simply a stunt for attention. The only people who seemed even remotely sympathetic to her still had no explanation for the catastrophic events during her valedictorian speech. Every single light in the auditorium had burst from raw energy. There was no way to explain such a phenomenon. Still, that man approached her without an ounce of fear and gave her a phone number. With no answers about her strange abilities and a dwindling pool of opportunities left for her future, Ripley finally decided to call it.

The gravelly-voiced man told her to meet him at a little coffee shop just outside of town. She arrived fifteen minutes early only to find him already seated with a cup in the far corner of the establishment. She walked directly to his table and extended her hand toward him.

"Dr. Kujo, from the graduation ceremony?" She asked with a shaky tone. Ripley tried to sound professional, but she was all nervous.

Jotaro lowered his coffee and inspected her hand for a moment. The man reached over and shook it briefly. She was very firm, and it felt like he was trying to pull away well before she was finished. This caused her cheeks to heat up as she cleared her throat and pulled back.

"Raven, right?" Jotaro asked, lifting his coffee back to his lips. "Have a seat if you're not going to order anything."

Ripley quickly sat down across from Jotaro and folded her hands on the table. She was sitting at a perfect ninety-degree angle without a single flaw in her posture. It may have seemed professional to her, but the behavior was skeeving Jotaro out. Despite his decades of academia and ass-kissing, he was nowhere near as uptight as this eighteen-year-old woman.

"I'm glad you called. Before we continue, I've got a few things to go over. Firstly, the supernatural anomaly at your graduation was likely your doing. I know it's probably easier to imagine a world where some ghost got upset and crashed a ceremony, but it was coming from you. Secondly, I'm choosing to believe that these abilities are new to you. The look on your face when the lights burst was too genuine to be an act. Let me make one thing clear, though…"

A steaming cup of coffee appeared about six inches in front of Ripley's folded hands on the table. She jumped in surprise as her eyes refused to accept what just happened before them. It was the kind of thing that the brain struggled to process, yet she witnessed it in broad daylight. Where did the cup come from? It had to be Jotaro! The timing was just too impeccable for it to be anything else.

"Your powers might be exciting you a bit, but getting cocky is the worst thing for you here. There are things you don't understand, alright?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. When Ripley's eyes drifted back to her cup of coffee, all of the liquid was gone. It had been steaming right in front of her just a second prior! "Respect the chaotic nature of our world. You can't understand everything, and cockiness will get the strongest people killed the fastest."

Ripley's mouth felt dry from the nerves, and she was wishing her drink hadn't magically emptied itself into thin air. She nodded her head, trying to come up with a response to this confusing monologue.

"I'm not cocky." She mumbled. "I'm really, really confused. Everybody thinks I pulled some prank with the lights… They're even calling me a terrorist on the local news. Someone was filming the ceremony on their phone before it blew up… They managed to recover the SD card and upload my little outburst onto YouTube. It's gotten over a million views." She explained. "Dr. Kujo, I'm ashamed. I never wanted this to happen… All of the colleges that offered me scholarships have pulled back. My entire future was taken away from me, and I still don't even know what I did." She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears.

Jotaro finished his coffee and placed the cup down on the table. "I believe what you manifested was a Stand. It's a physical manifestation of your strong will. In times of stress or uncertainty, a Stand can act on its own survival instincts. If you aren't in control of your mind and soul, it can cause devastation. This might sound harsh but listen to me very carefully. What happened at your graduation was your fault, not anybody else's. It happened because you lost control. If you continue to lose control, it will only happen more. Do you want that?" He raised a brow.

Ripley let it all sink in before responding. A lesser woman might deflect and argue, but she knew it was all true. Sure, she had no clue what a Stand was, but Jotaro's words made total sense. This power was hers, and she let it run wild throughout the ceremony. That was her cross to bear. She nodded her head slowly.

"How do I control myself?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. It's different for everybody. Your outburst was extremely volatile. Have you noticed anything since graduation? Every Stand has a different ability. I'm curious about yours."

Ripley twitched her fingers a bit as she listened to the question. "Just sparks… When I touch anything with an electric current, I can feel the sparks. Is that connected to all of the electronic devices in the auditorium exploding?"

Jotaro nodded slowly as he stayed back in his seat. "Have you ever summoned something, even just a flash? Can you see a hand appearing when these sparks occur? Anything even remotely human?"

She shook her head. "No… Is that good?"

Jotaro sat up in his chair and adjusted his hat. "Well, I don't make a habit of getting mine out, but I can show you for the sake of demonstration."
An enormous being appeared behind Jotaro's chair. It was like the biggest man Ripley had ever seen. Its long dark hair flowed with a nonexistent wind as it stood powerfully behind him. The spirit seemed to be immensely powerful, causing Ripley's jaw to tense up from its sheer presence. She managed to tear her gaze away from the giant for a moment to see what everyone else's reaction was. How could Jotaro be so senseless? People would panic! Ripley scanned the room for any sign of shock or disbelief, but nobody was even looking at them. She felt her stomach sink for a moment, though the fog in her mind cleared shortly after.

"They… can't see it." She muttered.

"Only Stand Users can see Stands. This confirms that your little electric anomaly wasn't a one-time event. You're a Stand User, Raven. From where I'm sitting, you look like a pretty damn powerful one." Jotaro let his lips curve into the slightest smile after saying that.

It seemed too good to be true. Even so, Ripley didn't have any other logical explanations! Either she was slamming herself against padded walls in an institution while imaging purple ghosts in coffee shops, or this was all really happening to her. She had to roll with the latter. This was her life now… A life of monsters, superpowers, and secrets. It was not what she had planned on graduation day.

"You really think I'm strong?" She asked with a bit of a shaky voice.

The older man chuckled and leaned back in his seat once more. He nodded his head in approval. "You could be great."

You could be great. You could be great. You could be great. Those words bounced around Ripley's mind like bullets as she stared up at the fire escape. The toughest man she'd ever met thought she could be great? He didn't mean awesome or successful, either. She knew that Jotaro was using great in a traditional manner. Powerful, large, noteworthy… That's what she wanted to be. That's what she never saw when she looked in the mirror… All Ripley wanted was greatness, and to use that greatness to help others. It couldn't be clearer, she was her own worst enemy. After spending so many years holding herself back, Ripley had to make herself great. She was the woman who single-handedly ruined her graduation by destroying every electronic device within a hundred feet. That was her power! Electric Lady wasn't some tame, utilitarian ability with niche applications and lackluster results. She was a FIREWORK!

Aura was writhing on the floor high above the alley as she tried to cope with the grief coming from Shirlie and Pa-Pa-Power. She gritted her teeth and pounded a fist against the metal bars below. She would overcome this pain. The death of a beloved twin was nothing compared to her experiences. She stood up and wavered on her feet for a moment before glancing over her shoulder. She needed to get away from Shirlie and her area of emotional turmoil. Shizuka and Marina were her targets at the moment, she did not need to mess with these kids. She ran toward the steps but was stopped in her tracks by the sound of something snapping above.

Multiple hissing noises were followed by distinct pops as nearby power lines were torn from their poles and lunged toward the fire escape. Aura's jaw dropped, but she didn't have time to stop it. The cables flung toward her at unreal speeds before coiling around the small woman and squeezing her tight. She struggled and shouted as the electricity coursed through her. The woman's head flung down toward Ripley on the ground, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Right here!" A powerful voice commanded from beside Aura.

She tilted her head to see Ripley levitating in the air with the help of a few power cables wrapped around her wrist. She had absolute control of the electric current and was in no danger of electrocution. Aura's eyes refused to believe the sight before them. She gritted her teeth and thrashed against her confinements.

"Let me go, you crazy bitch!" She screamed.

Ripley wasn't fazed by that behavior. She kept a level head and floated closer to the fire escape. She was resisting Shirlie's empathy abilities for the time being. The residual energy of the girl's potent grief was overwhelming for everybody, but it would be worse for Aura due to their mental link upon Pepsi's injury. Ripley knew that she had the upper hand. She would end things before anyone else got hurt. The wires around Aura clung tighter as Ripley considered the woman's fate.

"Give me a single reason to spare you," Ripley ordered. "You came here to kill a child and aid in the apocalypse. There's no reason for me to let you go."

Aura let herself hang from the cables with her eyes pointed at the ground. She didn't respond immediately. Instead, she trembled and struggled against the lethal bindings. Her teeth were grinding together in a way that would make any dentist weep. She flung her head up and gave the agent a wicked smile.

"There's not a reason." She matched Ripley's piercing gaze. "You deserve to kill me. It seems like the culmination of an important emotional arc in your life."

Aura began to flex and strain her body against the electric wires as if looking for chips in the armor. She became acquainted with them, seemingly more confident than before. This wasn't lost on Ripley. The agent knew that Aura's composure was radically inappropriate for someone facing imminent death. Her instincts were screaming to end things, so she obeyed. Ripley flexed her fists and sent ten times the lethal amount of electricity through the stray power lines and into Aura's body. The woman thrashed and spasmed like a ragdoll until the endeavor was complete. Her head hung low, and the cold night air blew the only trace of sound into an otherwise morbidly silent alleyway.

"...unfortunately, life doesn't work like that," Aura mumbled under her breath, slicing the silent tension with a proverbial thousand-degree knife.

Ripley's eyes shot open with fear and confusion as she heard the presumed corpse speak once more. She sent even more electricity through the cables in a futile attempt to silence those mocking words. It was no use. The original dose was more than enough to kill a woman three times Aura's size. There was simply no way the bitch could still be alive! Did she have some secret ability?

"Arcs are man-made constructs meant to amuse children at bedtime. Daniel doesn't get to defeat Goliath just because he dreamed hard enough. Arthur can't pull Excalibur just because everyone's eyes are on him! Shit happens to people no matter what they deserve! Believe me, there's a documentary about the shit that's happened to me!" She screamed.

A fighter jet could be heard roaring through the air just outside the alley. Ripely's eyes darted to the street just in time to see a rather sizable paper airplane flying rather close to the ground. It appeared to be around seven feet long and sounded like an old 1940's biplane. The street lit up as its turrets fired at the nearest power pole and severed the cables from their connections. This caused the power lines coiled around Aura to lose their electricity, and their strength quickly dissipated. Soon, they weren't strong enough to hold the woman in place even with Ripley's best effort. Aura broke free from the cables and cast them off the fire escape.

"If this is the ending of an arc, Ripley, you might wanna tread very carefully. The story of your life might actually be a tragedy, not a romantic adventure." Aura smirked.

Ripley knew that plane was coming for her next. Unfortunately for her, she was running low on electricity in the cables holding her in the air. She managed to shift them far enough forward to leap over to the lower level of the fire escape. Her body slammed into the cold, unfeeling metal with enough force to crack a rib or two. The agent cried out in pain, writhing around on the damp barred flooring while Aura crept closer to the staircase. The older woman stepped confidently to the lower level and glared at Ripley with disdain.

"Give me one reason not to kill you, Raven." She spoke in a husky growl.

"I'll use your answer," Ripley mumbled. "You should."

Aura raised a brow in amusement. "I can respect that."

The agent's fist slammed against the metal railing beside her. She used it as leverage to lift herself into a half-sitting position. Most of her weight rested against the wall as she stared into Aura's eyes.

"I can't say I'm going to make it easy for you, though… I'll blackout this entire city before I let my friends die."

There was a noticeable shift in the air when she said this. Aura turned her attention to the street for a moment and noticed multiple cars stopping dead in their tracks. They were crashing into one another in countless rear-endings. The streetlights that dimly illuminated the alley burst into pieces shortly after. For a moment they were engulfed in darkness, but an electric blue light quickly resonated around Ripley. She seemed to be emitting enough light to fill a house. Aura had to squint just to look at her.

"I've spent the past five years desperately trying to keep control of my power. The people in my life told me it was the best way to live happily and peacefully. That organization betrayed me and my friends… I don't have to listen to their rules anymore. Maybe letting go is dangerous, but it sure as hell can't be worse than letting your side win!"

The blue light around Ripley began to shift forward and pull free from her form. It was no longer an outline as it became its own bright silhouette separate from her body. The blue figure stood up and towered above Ripley, putting itself between Aura and its User. The brightness of the figure eventually dimmed, revealing a fully formed humanoid Stand! Electric Lady had taken its physical form!

Electric Lady was around 6"4 with broad shoulders and a curled pompadour rising nearly a foot off its head. It wore a sparkling blue sequined tuxedo with a big bowtie below its pointy chin. Its skin was a greenish blue, and its eyes were covered by a big pair of glowing goggles. The Stand took a fighting stance in front of its injured User and smirked confidently at Aura. The older woman wasn't visibly threatened.

"You have to drain a city block just to manifest your Stand's body? Wow, your ability's even more inconvenient than mine!" Aura laughed.

"This isn't a Stand in the traditional sense. A normal person could see it with their own eyes. It's just the way my spirit has chosen to channel all of the electricity I siphoned from the area. Do you know how much electricity is running through Baltimore every second? I can take as much as I need… Sure, it'll send the place into chaos, but your organization is trying to destroy humanity. I'm willing to make some sacrifices."

Despite its dimmed light, Electric Lady was still straining Aura's eyes quite a bit. She'd kill for some sunglasses. The woman smirked, using her good hand as a visor for her eyes. She rolled her left shoulder a few times to see how it was holding up. Pa-Pa-Power had definitely broken it when he threw her into the wall earlier. She'd have to take care of Ripley with one hand.

"I have to say, Ripley, in any fair situation you would have easily beaten me. Who would've guessed your Stand has such raw power repressed behind all your insecurities and trauma? It's a real shame that your defeat will be due to your hard work, though. Have you thought for two seconds about why your power line attack didn't kill me earlier?" She tilted her head menacingly.

Ripley faltered for a moment as she recalled the powerful blast of electricity she sent into Aura's body. It should have killed her, yet there they were… Surely a city block's worth of power would be enough to kill a single woman, right?

"I do my homework, Ripley, as any good role model should. When I was sent to take care of the dream team here, I asked the Speedy-Weedy Foundation for some gadgets to help. My Stand Paper Planes is already a utility power, right? Why not boost my arsenal even further?"

Aura reached up and unzipped her grey track sweater to reveal something Ripley knew well. It was a skintight black mesh suit with multiple threads of wire and plating woven throughout the design. Ripley immediately recognized the suit to be the Speedwagon Foundation's experimental Faraday armor.

A Faraday cage is an enclosure that completely protects the objects or people inside from any form of external electrification. The entire cage is made out of conductive material that evenly distributes the current throughout and prevents any from entering the inside and harming the contents. The only way to electrocute someone standing inside a Faraday cage is to use electricity within the cage itself, which usually isn't present. Faraday suits are similar in nature, though they're slightly less reliable and extremely bulky. That's no problem for a foundation with advanced scientific research, though.

Ripley used her Stand to aid in researching a modern Faraday suit while working for the foundation years prior. It was a sleek, ergonomic solution to the impractical suits of the past. It consisted of a mesh tunic of sorts that the user could wear underneath their clothes. Even though it didn't cover the entire body, the suit was perfectly capable of intercepting any current moving inside or along with the wearer's form. The Speedwagon Foundation planned on introducing this magnificent invention to the world within the next few years after all of its patents and legal issues were in order. Blondie must have seen Aura getting a special exception…

This wasn't good. Electric Lady was composed entirely of electricity. Aura was essentially wearing the strongest bug spray in the world, and Ripley was an eager bee trying to get in anyway. She gritted her teeth as sweat ran down her back. The only way to shock Aura would be to get Electric Lady inside Aura's body and bypassing the suit entirely. She'd need to compromise the mesh suit by causing a rupture or hole somewhere along the surface, then enter Aura's blood and fry her insides immediately. The odds of this happening before Aura dispatched her with a variety of paper weapons were incredibly slim. Ripley looked up to the higher level of the fire escape and saw Shirlie weeping over Pepsi's body. There wasn't time for a long, drawn-out battle. Aura had placed her in checkmate before the battle even began. Despite Ripley's desperate attempts to gain the upper hand, her former employer had given Aura the ultimate tool to nullify Electric Lady's offensive capabilities. She never even stood a chance. Everything Aura did was mere theater. The way she pretended to struggle against Ripley was just to bring the woman closer and make her easier to kill… The agent had drained an entire city block of its electricity and had no way to defeat her enemy with it. What could she do? Ripley stared at her young friends up above and felt a fond smile forming across her lips.

Electric Lady lifted its right hand and pointed directly up at the twins. A powerful surge of energy beamed up at Pepsi and immediately seared their bullet wound shut. They'd lose a lot of blood over the last minute or so, but this would help keep them alive a little longer. Shirlie watched as the impact wound was treated with raw energy and held her breath in shock. Next, Electric Lady directed its power at the stray cables from earlier. Despite lacking a power pole to fuel them, Ripley had enough energy to lift the wires off the ground and up to the twins' level. They coiled around Pepsi and Shirlie before gently lifting both teens off the escape and down toward the ground. Aura watched in disbelief as Ripley tried to save her friends.

"You really think that will work? I'll shoot them out of the air with my fighter plane!" She threatened.

"Do that and I'll tear it to shreds with the power lines. Save your plane for me, Aura. I'm getting the kids to safety." Ripley spoke sternly.

Pepsi and Shirlie were placed on the sidewalk outside of the alley. This was enough to snap Shirlie out of it and force the girl to observe her surroundings. She fumbled for her phone and dialed 911. After some ringing and a request for her emergency, Shirlie cried into the phone.

"My twin's been shot! I need an ambulance!"

"Excuse me, did you say your twin has been shot?" The dispatcher asked with concern. "How many gunmen are there? Are you in a safe place?"

"We're safe, the gun is gone! We don't need police, just an ambulance, please!" She shouted.

"...Shirlie," Pepsi grunted from below.

Shirlie's eyes darted down to her twin, her heart breaking when she saw just how pale and strained Pepsi's face was. Mist's shroud had fully faded, and Pepsi was fully perceivable to anyone passing by. Shirlie bit her lip and forced back a couple of sobs as she nodded down at her twin. "Y-Yeah, Pep?"

"Shirlie… I can't see you." They reached their hand up and slapped it against Shirlie's cheek in an attempt to find her face. "Did we lose…?"

The girl didn't even know how to answer that. She choked back even more tears as the dispatcher demanded to know their location. After sobbing the address into the phone, Shirlie let it fall onto the concrete as she held Pepsi close.

"Don't go, Pepsi…" She whispered.

"It's August, right…? Why is it so cold?" Pepsi mumbled with vacant eyes staring into the stars.

This only dragged an even uglier sob from their twin sister. Shirlie held Pepsi against her chest, getting blood all over her shirt as she shook her head repeatedly. "It's not cold, you're just always freezing… That's why you wear sweaters in the summer, you freak." She sniffled.

"Yeah… I just don't regulate temperature well." Pepsi closed their eyes with a tired smile. "I like sweaters though… They hide me better than tee shirts."

"Well, we need to be really visible for the ambulance when they arrive, okay? Just keep talking to me… Everything's going to be fine. It's just a bullet wound. Ripley did something to make it better. The EMTs will take care of you…" Shirlie insisted.

"Shirlie," Pepsi spoke with more sobriety than before. "I think I'm dying."

She was nearly hysterical as she shook her head and sobbed in response. "Fuck that! You're FINE! I can't do this without you, Pepsi, I just can't! So stop being so selfish and keep your goddamn eyes open! They'll have to dig two graves if you give up now!"

A quiet laugh tugged itself from Pepsi's dry throat. "Three… Pa-Pa-Power's gonna need a big one too."

Shirlie just buried her face in Pepsi's neck and held her twin close as they waited for help. Ripley gave them one last fond look before redirecting her attention to Aura.

"You could still try to attack them…" She spoke carefully.

"I won't. Consider it a show of respect… They're done, right? No use wasting resources on them. Are you ready?" Aura lifted her paper gun with her one good hand and pointed it at Ripley.

"As I'll ever be." The agent flexed Electric Lady and lifted herself to her feet.

Aura tried to pull the trigger of her paper gun, but Electric Lady flickered across the small distance between them and slapped the woman's arm to the side. A bullet slammed into the building beside them, causing Aura to snarl. Ripley was about to push forward when she heard the fighter jet roaring behind her. She ducked down behind the railing as a barrage of paper bullets fired against her. The metal bars managed to tank most of the fire, but Ripley felt a few sharp jabs in her back.

Ripley had to deal with a crazy bitch in front of her and a fighter jet circling behind her. She needed to get off of the fire escape, but she highly doubted Aura would allow such a thing. She couldn't levitate with a power cable, it would leave her as a sitting duck as she slowly floated through the air. Despite her boosted strength from siphoning the city's energy, she was rather pressed for options.

"Nice dodge! I doubt it'll make a difference." Aura pulled the trigger once again.

Electric Lady lunged forward and extended its open palm toward the gun. As a paper bullet burst from the chamber and hurdled through the air, it was met with an unbelievable burst of electric energy and seemingly vaporized into thin air. Aura stared in disbelief for a moment as the bullet was reduced to ash. Ripley was heaving as she turned her head to spot the paper jet behind her. She couldn't keep Aura back much longer, but exposing herself would lead to a rather quick demise. This battle needed to end quickly, otherwise, she was screwed.

"Alright then! Let's pick up the pace!" Aura cocked her gun with a smile.

Ripley kicked off of the railing and sprinted right for her opponent. Electric Lady swung its fist at Aura, forcing the woman to duck under it. Aura tried to shove her gun into Ripley's stomach, but the agent was expecting that. Electric Lady slapped Aura's wrist with enough force to disarm her instantly. The paper gun fell off the railing and broke against the asphalt below. A wisp of light flew out of the remains and entered Aura's chest.

"Bitch!" She growled.

Ripley took this opportunity to kick Aura directly in the stomach. The woman stumbled back and grabbed onto the railing for support. Before Ripley could continue the assault, she felt a barrage of tiny bullets enter her back. Ripley shouted in pain, threatening to fall over at any moment. She had to take care of that plane! If she sent Electric Lady after it, there'd be nothing left to protect her on the fire escape. What if Aura pulled out another gun or a paper-knife? An idea began to form in Ripley's mind, but she wasn't in love with it. Still, it might be her only choice.

Aura took a defensive position after being disarmed. She glared at her opponent with dangerous eyes as she tried to pinpoint Ripley's next plan of attack. The moment the agent took a single step, Aura would light her up with the paper jet. If Ripley used Electric Lady to block, Aura would lunge in with the knife hidden in her pants. She licked her lips absentmindedly as she waited for a move to be made.

The agent heard as the jet approached once again. She took a deep breath and turned her attention to the bigger threat. She faced the jet and prepared to attack it. Aura took the opportunity and sprinted up behind Ripley, slipping the knife out of her pants and driving it into the agent's back. Ripley let out a desperate gasp as the knife pierced her skin. It was as if all the air was vacuumed from her lungs at once. She was lifted onto her toes by the forceful stab before slouching forward. After that, the jet fired its turrets directly into her chest. The agent's body thrashed like a ragdoll as she was fired upon so ruthlessly by the paper contraption. She hung from the knife, barely able to stand.

"Checkmate, Ripley." Aura smirked.

A pained laugh puffed past Ripley's dry lips. "Checkmate…? That implies I'm the king." She mumbled softly. "I'm just a knight, and I'm willing to be traded for my enemy's queen."

"Traded…?" Aura muttered as she slowly realized something was wrong.

She understood Ripley's words just a moment too late. Electric Lady lunged in from behind and drove a metal bar ripped from the fire escape directly against Aura's back. It didn't penetrate her, instead opting to slice a small piece of the weapons-grade mesh suit covering the woman's torso. The Speedwagon Foundation's Faraday suits were top of the line. They wouldn't be fully torn by a broken piece of scrap metal. Ripley didn't need a big tear, though. All she needed was a centimeter or so of trauma on the suit… Electric Lady used all its strength to drag the bar across Aura's back, finally slipping and swinging the weapon against the brick building.

"Neither of us are the king of our teams, Aura… We're just pieces on the board doing our best to win the game. A humble knight taking out the dangerous queen so early in the game is all I can ask for. Let's leave this place together." Ripley spoke with the last of her strength.

All Aura could do was fire the jet even faster. Dozens of paper bullets worked their way into Ripley's chest as Aura cried out in pain. The bar finally cut a small segment of her Faraday suit, rendering it completely useless. Aura's eyes bulged out of her head as she realized just how much trouble she was in.

Electric Lady had used so much of its energy to melt the bar off of the fire escape and pierce the Faraday suit with it. Add Ripley's life-threatening injuries into the equation, and she had very little juice left to attack. She fell onto her knees, leaving Aura standing behind her with the knife. Both women were in rather sorry states, but Ripley was clearly worse for wear. Aura ground her teeth together As she felt the cold night's air against her back. There was a tiny hole in her suit, how could she have let this happen?

Ripley was completely out of electricity. Her Stand lost its physical form and flickered into the night as the metal bar clanked against the floor. Aura stumbled away from the woman with rapid breathing as she tried to assess the situation. Ripley's ears rang and her head throbbed. That crazy bitch had probably killed her. She'd heard the phrase "death by a thousand paper cuts" before, but this was a little on the nose. Those paper bullets weren't too powerful on their own, it was just the sheer volume of them. She closed her eyes and desperately searched for the presence of any electricity in the area. She'd drained every car battery and building within a city block. That seemed to be her limit unless she could ground herself and touch a power pole. When working wirelessly, she simply couldn't reach further than a block. She swayed back and forth as her wounds began to get the better of her. That ringing in her ears shifted into a wail of sorts. She couldn't think clearly enough to identify the source. No, it wasn't until the dark block was lit up by flashing red lights that Ripley realized what she was hearing. An ambulance. They had electricity! Her heart sank when she realized who the ambulance was for. She couldn't jeopardize Pepsi's life just to get one last blow on Aura.

That's when she saw a second one pulling in.

Ripley's eyes fixed on the second ambulance as her vision tried to fade. Her body was betraying her, and she didn't have long to live. That second ambulance could carry her to safety alongside Pepsi. It had all the tools needed to keep her stable until they arrived at a hospital. She had hope for a fleeting moment, but decided to dash it herself. She couldn't use that escape route. Aura might follow them to finish the job. Ripley needed to ensure the safety of those teenagers no matter the cost. She closed her eyes and felt a defeated smile come across her face.

"So that's how it has to be…"

The agent clenched her teeth and let herself go one more time. She released her inhibitions and summoned the electricity from the second ambulance with all of her strength. She believed Jotaro's words. All those years ago, he'd seen it! This was her chance to show everyone just how great Raven Ripley could be! She raised two fingers into the air and channeled the electricity to them like a metal pole. The second ambulance's battery, 12 Volt DC electrical system, and even its 125 Volt AC system were drained in an instant as the energy surged through the air like a beautiful shooting star. Ripley directed her hand toward Aura, and the surge of power wisped behind the woman before driving itself directly into the gap in her suit.

Aura's body convulsed uncontrollably as she was blasted with a high dose of electricity. Her eyes lit up with Stand power as she tried to do something, anything to save herself. The woman was completely at Ripley's mercy as she thrashed around before falling directly onto her face and bruising her tan skin. The agent had lost quite a bit of blood and dedicated most of her control into guiding the electricity. Because of this, she didn't dictate where the power flowed once inside Aura. She just had to trust that it would get the job done. Ripley fell onto her back with a weak smile. She'd done her best, that's all anyone could've asked for.

Her last thoughts before slipping into darkness were about Marina's mannerisms, her laugh, and the blonde's insufferable attitude. She hoped to see her soon...

Shizuka and Marina were running up the street when the power burst. They saw every single streetlight explode before their very eyes, and the street erupted into pandemonium shortly after. None of the crashes were too bad, as it was late at night and traffic was slow. Still, dozens of cars got into rear-end accidents as the lights went off for an entire block. This stopped them both in their tracks for a moment as they tried to make sense of it.

"This has to be Electric Lady," Shizuka muttered. "I've never seen Ripley go this hard before. They must've run into the enemy before we could find them"

"They're in trouble!" Marina frantically looked around for any sign of the battle. "How far away could they really be?"

"We should double back to the hotel and look from there. A fight like this will probably be hard to miss." Shizuka nodded before sprinting down the sidewalk.

The girls arrived on the scene a few minutes later. An ambulance was racing away with blaring sirens as Shizuka and Marina ran up to the alley. There wasn't any sign of a battle happening at the moment, but several sliced electric cables and the smell of burning smoke indicated that something happened there extremely recently. Shizuka stepped into the alley from earlier and looked around as Marina surveyed the sidewalk. She stopped about ten feet into the dark alley before turning back and frowning at the road. With the lights dead like this, Ultra Violet was weak. She couldn't manipulate what little light was present with much precision. Sure, the darkness helped mask her presence, but she couldn't become truly invisible without a little more light to work with. Ironically, she was much harder to find in the daylight. A raindrop plopped against Shizuka's hair as she thought to herself in the alley. She reached up and brushed the water off her head before yet another drop thumped onto her right after. She looked around curiously to see if rain was landing anywhere else. It wasn't…

Shizuka felt a terrible fear run up her spine as she lifted her hand to her eyes and saw that it was smeared with something red. She hadn't just wiped water out of her hair, she'd been cleaning away blood. Her head immediately lifted to find the source. All she had was the moonlight and the faint city glow from a block in any direction, but it was enough to see someone lying on their back upon the fire escape. Shizuka sprinted up the steps as fast as her short legs would take her. She arrived at the same level as the body and clasped both hands over her mouth in shock. It was Ripley, and she was alone.

Tiny bullet holes were riddled throughout the woman's torso as she laid on her bloody back. Shizuka took a step closer before stopping herself. She didn't know if it was safe, not yet. Where was the woman who did this to her friend?

"RIPLEY!" Marina screamed from behind as she reached the top of the steps.

Shizuka had been so caught up in her mind that she didn't notice Marina scaling the steps shortly after her. The girl jumped in fright as she was brought back to reality. Marina sprinted over and collapsed onto the floor. She held Ripley and looked around furiously for someone to beat with her bat. Nothing.

"She has a pulse…Just barely." Marina sighed.

"That must mean she's bait, Marina. Get up right now!" Shizuka ordered.

"Hang on!" Marina waved a dismissive hand.

The girl chewed her tongue up into a gummy blob and ripped the agent's suit jacket open. She popped all of the buttons of Ripley's dress shirt without any hesitation and parted the folds as far as they could go. Marina spat her severed tongue into her cupped hands and spread it out like dough for a moment before pressing it firmly against Ripley's stomach. She rolled the heels of her hands against the substance and formed it into a skin-like mesh over the wounds. It looked a bit like a patchwork, but Ripley wasn't bleeding any more. Marina let out a deep breath and rested her forehead against the woman's chest.

"We need to get her out of here." She mumbled.

Shizuka nodded. "She's lost a lot of blood. The only problem is that we're all still in danger. The enemy could follow us to the hospital."

Marina continued to flatten out the adhesive surface across Ripley's chest as she listened to the girl's concerns. "You're right… One of us needs to hang back and take care of her. Grab my phone, alright? It's in my back pocket. Call an ambulance."

Shizuka bit her lip as she hovered behind Marina. She knew this plan was a bad idea. There were two things that this woman wanted: Shizuka's life, and the feather. Why should Marina risk her own when Blondie didn't even want it? She reached down into the woman's pocket and took her phone. Then, with her tricky fingers and a bit of knowledge from her father, she grabbed something else. The girl stood up and dialed 911.

After identifying their location and being put on hold, Shizuka placed the phone down beside Marina.

"Alright, Jojo. I'll carry her to the street. The two of you will go to the hospital. The twins have got to be somewhere, I'll try to meet up with them." Marina hoisted Ripley up into her arms and carried her bridal style.

The blonde was speaking to thin air, however. When Marina turned her head, there was nobody to be seen. Another vanishing act. The adult cursed under her breath and fumbled through her pockets with one hand. Her stomach sank upon realizing what Shizuka had taken. She mouthed the word, "no" and shook her head. Marina ran down the steps as quickly as she could with a grown woman in tow, fumbling onto the sidewalk and laying Ripley out carefully.

"Jojo!?" She shouted down the alley.

No response, not that she honestly expected one. Marina kicked the street lamp beside her and cursed multiple times in frustration. She ran over to the alley in an attempt to spot the child, but it was far too dark. Even if there were any light, Ultra Violet would keep the girl hidden from view. Marina gritted her teeth and roared in anger.

"JOJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Shizuka stood on the rooftops with the feather in her hand. She stared at it with a mix of curiosity and sadness in her youthful eyes. As she rolled the feather between her fingers, the girl couldn't help but feel nostalgic somehow. She'd never really held this feather, of course. She was likely remembering the experiences of Tsuru. Was there a difference anymore? The life and memories of Tsuru seeped through the cracks of Shizuka's mind and corrupted everything she touched. Names, addresses, song lyrics… All of them easily took their place in Shizuka's head as if they belonged there. Tsuru remembered holding the feather. She held it quite a few times during her research. She'd been part of an elite team of biologists trying to crack the secret to the ultimate being's physiology.

The Pillar Man Kars had ascended beyond the sun and obtained true immortality. Every cell of his body was pure perfection. Even a jet black feather from his enormous wings held untold secrets for mankind. In his battle against Joseph Joestar, Kars launched his feathers as projectiles before transforming them into piranhas to bite and disorient Joseph. One of those feathers was miraculously recovered from the ocean after Joseph's battle. The rest were assumed to perish inside the volcano that Joseph flew his plane into.

Blondie was obsessed with discovering the secret to Kar's immortality. She had been observing the living corpse of Santana for years at that point, but the discovery of Kars's feather was an entirely new frontier. Tsuru knew she couldn't let the madwoman discover the truth. She'd discovered a way to make a human and Pillarman hybrid on her own, but Blondie could never know. It would be the end of the world.

Shizuka's eyes fluttered for a second as she regained her composure. She'd dissociated for a second there. It had been happening more and more. It was one thing to dream about Tsuru's memories, but sometimes it felt like she was actively thinking the woman's thoughts even while she was awake. In her confusion, Shizuka didn't even notice that she wasn't alone on the roof anymore.

Aura stood on the far side of the roof, silhouetted against the bright city behind her. The entire block was still enveloped in darkness from Electric Lady's show and likely wouldn't light up again until some professionals addressed the outage. The adult was shrouded by shadows, unable to be seen in any detail.

"I see you made the right decision!" She called across the roof. "I'm only after one of your lives, after all! Might as well consolidate the targets and let the others escape safely."

Shizuka snarled as she stepped closer. "I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else tonight, lady. Not my friends, and certainly not me."

Aura took a sharp drag of the cool night's air into her lungs. She let it hang inside her for a moment before purring it out with a sigh. A smile came across her pearly white teeth as she glared manically at the child.

"Sorry, kiddo. I am… The others lived because I had a choice in the matter. With you, it's a little different."

Shizuka continued to close the distance between them slowly but surely. "Why's that? What makes me different?"

The woman chuckled and shook her head. "Ask Blondie-if you make it that far. The way I see it, neither of us has a choice in the matter. If I spare you, I'll be killed instantly by my Mother. If you try to show me an ounce of mercy, I'll kill you." She hissed. "We don't want it, but that's just life."

"I refuse to fight someone who doesn't even wanna hurt me." Shizuka clenched her fists and slowed her strut slightly. "You need to cut the umbilical cord already, lady. It's pretty pathetic."

The adult enjoyed a single moment longer of peace before stepping forward. Her head sank, and her expression turned cold once again. "My name is Aura, Shizuka Joestar. It only feels right that you use it."

Shizuka stopped about three meters away from Aura and stared at her cautiously. "Alright then, Aura. I may not have known your name, but I know a lot about your ability. It started to click a few minutes ago."

Aura grinned, taking another step closer. "Really? Do tell…"

"I thought it was bold of you to take on all five of us at once. Suicidal, even! One thing didn't add up, though… Why did you send a tiny little paper airplane to shoot me in my sleep? You could've used anything! The pterodactyl would've worked just fine. It's almost as if you needed all five of us paying attention to your attack to make it stronger." A dangerous glimmer of intellect sparkled across her youthful eyes as she stared her opponent down. "Then, you opted to fight the group of three before chasing down me and Marina. You've been avoiding an intimate fight with me the entire time, even though I'm the only one you need to kill. It's as if you're stronger when more people are watching. Is that right?"

Aura stood there in disbelief. How could the child have figured her out like that? Nobody ever discovered the inner workings of Paper Planes. It just worked! That's all her enemies could figure out before they perished!

"Pretty sharp of you, kid. How the hell did you work that out?"

Shizuka shrugged. "Instead of chasing after us, you send a premade pterodactyl from the roof to fight me and Marina. I didn't understand why you weren't following up with additional paper attacks. You were hanging around Ripley and the twins for their attention, weren't you? When Marina broke the pterodactyl, you were finally able to flee and taunt us yourself. That little wisp of energy that left the pterodactyl went right back to you. It's the reason you can't just spend an entire day making origami monsters to overwhelm us. Your ability is directly linked to the amount of attention you're receiving!"

Aura clenched her teeth, taking several issues with Shizuka's wording. "Attention!? How are you so sure? Maybe it's the amount of eyes viewing me, or I might gather energy from people's souls! How are you positive that I need attention?"

A tiny smile crept onto Shizuka's face as she shrugged. "I mean… look at you. Everything about you is screaming 'Look at me, Mom!' It's not very hard to figure it out… This 'mother' of yours sounds pretty callous. I imagine she doesn't kiss her kids goodnight, right? She's too busy cursing them to death if they even consider leaking information."

How could a petty little brat talk to Aura this way?

"There's only one thing that doesn't make sense to me… The twins were nowhere to be found. I saw an ambulance leaving when we showed up at the alley. Ripley wasn't in it, that means she fought you alone. How'd you get out of a battle with her unscathed if you had so little attention?"

"Unscathed?" Aura laughed, stepping a little closer and revealing herself. She unzipped her jacket and revealed a rather shocking sight.

Multiple branches of searing red scarring ran down Aura's neck and chest. They seemed to follow her veins to some degree, and possessed a striking resemblance to a fern on Aura's skin. The irritated skin was almost beautiful, and it seemed impossible that the markings were caused by purely random nature. Shizuka knew what she was looking at, though. Aura had Lichtenberg Figures caused by fractal burning all over her body. These were typically caused by lightning strikes, but a focused attack from Electric Lady might be able to cause a similar effect.

"Wow… You really shouldn't be standing up right now." Shizuka said with genuine concern. "I didn't realize Ripley hit you like that. You could go into cardiac arrest."

"Stop talking to me like I'm a child! You're the child! You don't know anything!" Aura screamed.

"I know a hell of a lot more than you! Where's your PhD in biology?" Shizuka retorted with matching indignation.

"Shut your mouth! Don't talk to me like you understand my family, or my struggles! It's not about goodnight kisses or being shown affection! I have to stay alive in that house! Her Stand kills you if you do anything to betray the family! The second you admit to yourself that you've hurt the unit, you're done for! I'm the only one left after your crew's rampage! All my brothers and sisters are gone! That leaves it all on MY SHOULDERS! My mother is putting it all on me!"

Shizuka considered that for a moment before responding. "Sounds like it's your mother who's betraying the family."

A sickening laugh rolled from Aura's chest as she hung her head. It appeared that she was beyond reach for the time being. She didn't want to settle this with words. "You think this is a checkmate, right? You've got me all alone on the roof with nobody paying attention to me? That's why you're just a stupid, ignorant kid. You don't know the first thing about who I am."

Aura grabbed a device out of her pocket and showed it proudly to Shizuka. It appeared to be an iPod, but it was hard to tell in the darkness.

"I kept this with some other supplies down the road just in case I had to fall back. How lucky am I, right? I never thought Ripley would drain the whole block of power! This little guy was just beyond her reach. Now it's my salvation…" She placed a pair of headphones into each of her ears and closed her eyes.

The moment music started playing in Aura's ears, six wisps of light fired out of her body and into the darkness. One of them circled back into her holster and powered her paper gun. The others seemed to fly off the roof. Shizuka clenched her fists. She wasn't afraid of this woman. She just needed to figure out why Aura was wearing headphones! No matter the reason, tearing them out should be her first priority!

Aura pointed her gun at Shizuka, but the child vanished into thin air. She gritted her teeth and waved the gun around frantically. Ultra Violet appeared at the last possible minute and slapped the gun out of Aura's hand. It reached for the cord connecting the earphones, but Aura jumped back and outside of UV's range.

Shizuka heard the roar of two loud jets tearing through the air. It was still quite dark, but she could make out the shapes of the planes as they circled the roof. Keeping herself invisible was very draining with so little light to work with. She was stretching Ultra Violet to its limit. The planes began firing at Shizuka's general location, and a few stray bullets nicked her arm. She didn't have the power or focus to mask her blood, so Aura could see the red droplets fly through the air clear as day. That marked her precise location, and the firing grew in intensity. Shizuka rolled onto the ground and covered her head. One or two more bullets snagged her, but she wasn't directly hit by any large amount. The paper bullets weren't too threatening in small amounts. She needed to come up with a plan! How was Aura fueling those planes? She only had one opponent! Not only that, but she was grievously wounded from her battle against Ripley! None of it was adding up!

An even louder flying machine could be heard directly above her. Shizuka tilted her head up to see a large paper zeppelin hovering above the roof. Its bottom opened, and the ship dropped a wave of paper bombs directly onto Shizuka. Ultra Violet punched the closest bomb and was blown back by the detonation. Shizuka rolled multiple times as she was thrown across the roof. Her knees were cut, and her sweater was untucked from her skirt. She rolled up her sleeves and felt a bit of blood trailed down her cheek. The roof was Aura's choice. It's where she felt her chances against Shizuka were best. Why was Shizuka fighting on her terms? She released her invisibility to save energy and sprinted toward the roof's exit. Turrets fired inaccurately at her as she swung the door open and ran downstairs.

By the time Shizuka was on the ground level, Aura had already made her way onto the street. She needed to find an arena where planes and zeppelins were useless. Shizuka needed to remove the air from the equation! Fighting inside a building was a bad idea, though. Not only would she be endangering countless innocents, but the bullets and explosions could bring the entire structure down. No, she needed some sort of small, enclosed concrete dome to battle this opponent. A close-quarters arena with low ceilings and little room to move around. Where on Earth was she meant to find such a place in a city she'd never been to?

Her eyes drifted over to a manhole on the dark street.

"Oh." She mumbled.

"Where are you, kid!? Don't make me burn this street down!" Aura shouted.

"Feel free!" Shizuka called from down the street. Ultra Violet had lifted the manhole cover as Shizuka stood beside the opening. She gave the woman a salute. "I'm gonna run away! There's no way I could beat you! Bye bye!" With that, she jumped directly into the sewer.

Shizuka covered the hole on the way down. Most of the lights were out, but she could see a bright glow down the concrete tunnel. Ripley didn't knock out the whole city, after all. Shizuka tried to breathe through her mouth as she sprinted down the stinking sewer and into the light. Finally, she was in her element. The sewer almost smelled like New York City! Not only that, but it was well lit! She could use her powers! All she needed to do was wait for Aura. What could that woman be listening to on her headphones? Shizuka had a moment to think.

If Aura was fueled by attention, how could the iPod power her Stand? Was she listening to a recorded audio track saying positive things about her? That seemed unlikely. Aura didn't read as the type who had a lot of positive people in her life. It couldn't be her own voice either. She wouldn't need an iPod for that, she could just speak to herself out loud. So, what could she be listening to!? Her favorite song? That wasn't attention! What did people listen to on their iPods? Music, podcasts, comedy routines? She couldn't think of a single thing that would power Paper Planes.

The sound of a cover being ripped from its manhole filled the echoing tunnels as Aura made herself an entrance. The woman jumped down into the damp sewer with a scowl. She limped her way over to Shizuka with nothing but disdain on her face. The woman was clearly injured. It was a wonder that she could stand up at all. Was her mother that terrifying? Maybe Aura was right. If she gave up and failed her family, would that count as a betrayal? Shizuka clenched her fists.

"Can you hear me, or is the volume too high?" She called over to Aura.

No response.

"Well, that gives me a lot of options… I really prefer talking my way out of danger…" Shizuka frowned, glancing over her shoulder. She could always employ the Joestar family's secret technique again. Maybe running was her best option? No, she needed to go find her friends at the hospital. She couldn't lead Aura to them. Until she took care of this threat, Shizuka was on her own.

At least she'd picked the ideal arena, right? Aura seemed to prefer wide-open spaces for her Paper Planes. Shizuka thrived in smaller environments. Ultra Violet was a close-ranged combat Stand. She had the advantage. All she had to do was approach and kick Aura's ass!

"I bet you think this was a good idea." Aura spoke a little too loudly over her music. "The sewers, I mean. It's smart, but not smart enough. Do you think there's a single safe place for you within running distance of your hotel? I spent hours rigging every single corner you might run to for safety. There are paper creations all over this part of the city just waiting for my grace to give them life. With all the attention I have right now, I can power even more of them…"

Shizuka frantically searched for any signs of origami creatures, but found none. After a moment, she saw a dozen little wisps of light fire from Aura's body. They all went into the dark drainage pipes around the larger tunnel of the sewer. Shizuka heard footsteps in the water shortly after. The skin on her back crawled as she noticed a low groan coming from the closest drainage hole. Soon, she could see it.

A paper man.

The purely white creature walked toward Shizuka with outstretched arms. It wasn't wearing any clothes, nor did it have any characteristics to speak of. No hair, no scars, no features. It seemed desperate for something, but Shizuka didn't know what. It stumbled through the sewage, falling out of the small passage and onto the wet ground of the main tunnel. Shizuka stepped away and prepared Ultra Violet to dispatch the monstrosity. Could these be the sources of Aura's attention? Artificial men? No, that didn't make sense! Aura gave the paper men life with her power. The attention was coming from whatever she had on her iPod.

"Fine, I'll take care of these freaks first." She grumbled.

Ultra Violet lunged toward the first paper man with a battle cry. "Hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora!"

Its fists collided with the man's chest dozens of times in rapid succession. Shizuka narrowed her eyes, noticing that these men seemed more durable than the creature from before. Not only that, but she felt a white-hot pain on her knuckles. She glanced down and saw that blood was dripping from her own hands! She shouted in pain and surprise, recalling UV away from the enemy for a moment. After wiping her hands briefly, Shizuka noticed dozens of tiny scrapes all along her knuckles. She knew exactly what they were. Only one type of cut could hurt this much while appearing so miniscule. Paper cuts! Had she been cut while punching the pterodactyl earlier? Marina took care of most of the beating for that one. Bubblegum Bitch's bat was a tool, not an extension of Marina's physical hands. Shizuka didn't have any kind of weapon to strike these things with.

"Dammit…" She sent another barrage of attacks at the foe.

"HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA HORA!" She punched it another dozen times in center mass before connecting UV's fist with the paper man's cheek. "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORA!" She wailed, sending the man flying into the concrete wall behind him.

The paper man cried out in pain as it crashed into the wall. It landed in the puddled waste of the tunnel and wept to itself. Shizuka clenched her jaw as she felt a dozen more scrapes on her fists. Every single punch would hurt her in return. What did it matter? She could handle some bloody knuckles. She'd kill all of these paper creatures! Ultra Violet went in for another swing, but the man rolled out of the way instantly. He wasn't even looking in the Stand's direction. Somehow, he just knew to move. Shizuka pulled back, whipping her hand against the air to soothe the wounds.

"Hmm… He was always good at guessing outcomes." Aura's voice echoed throughout the tunnel.

Shizuka's eyes widened as she stared at the paper creature. It fumbled and struggled to its feet before assuming an inhuman combat position. The way it moved was completely wrong, and the horrific groaning was unsettling to say the least. As she stared at the paper man, she couldn't help but notice something behind its eyes, or perhaps "his" eyes? There was a sharp soul behind them. How could Aura's paper creature have such a weathered and aged set of eyes? She recognized them somehow. Aura's quip about guessing outcomes caused the gears in Shizuka's head to turn at maximum speed. It couldn't be…

She felt like vomiting as the conclusion practically slapped her in the face. Shizuka stumbled back, catching herself against the concrete wall with one of her scraped hands. She panted, trying to keep her composure as she stared at the abomination. Despite every single cell in her body screaming, "No! Don't do it!" she found herself speaking to the paper man.

"F-Felix…?" She whispered. "Felix Felicis?"

The man shrieked in agony as his paper skin rippled with instability. Shizuka had never seen paper move in such a way before. It seemed to have a liquid base underneath the paper covering. Of course, paper and water didn't tend to mesh well. She held a hand over her mouth in disgust, partly with the creature's nature, and partly with herself for finding it so fascinating. Binding living souls to artificial husks and animating them with Stand power? Why didn't she ever think of that?

A crisp slap to her own face managed to snap her out of that Tsuru-driven fantasy. Shizuka was not that awful woman, and she didn't find this interesting. She found it horrifying. This thing was a crime against nature, against humanity!

"What the hell did you do?" She turned her wrath to Aura, demanding answers. Her face contorted in rage when she realized the woman was still wearing earbuds. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM!?" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Aura shook her head, refusing to engage with the question. She just waved her open palm across the sewer tunnel, summoning the others. Shizuka heard a flurry of footsteps peppering their way through the shallow water in the depths of the sewers. She swallowed heavily, glancing over at the Felix husk with a newfound terror. She thought about the white powder that their enemies turned into upon defeat; the absolute horror they experienced as they begged their mother for mercy. What if that powder wasn't a powder at all? What if it was paper? Tiny, shredded pieces of paper by the billions that could form a human shell if necessary; if Aura's Paper Planes willed it?

Four more figures made their way into view and trudged toward Shizuka. She had to deal with five of them? The Highway Lady, Felix Felicis, Estelle, and the drunken twins? At least the woman that attacked Shirlie the day before wasn't reduced to powder. That made one less foe for Shizuka in the present. How could she defeat them? Any attacks to their paper bodies resulted in cuts to her real skin. Ultra Violet didn't have a weapon to attack with, and the sewer was rather spotless where it had no right to be. There weren't any drifting pieces of wood or bricks to grab and use as makeshift weapons. Shizuka walked right into Aura's trap. The madwoman left her most dangerous paper creatures in the very place that Shizuka picked for an advantage! Aura was far more cunning and dangerous than she let on. How was she even standing after Ripley's attack? She could succumb to heart failure at any minute, but she kept on attacking.

"Body." The Highway Lady's husk managed to mumble.

All of the bodies writhed in agreement as they stumbled toward Shizuka. They nodded, grunting and moaning with a desperate need as they cornered her. Shizuka's back pressed against the curved concrete wall of the tunnel. All she could do was fight.

"Hora hora hora hora hora hora!" She unleashed a barrage of attacks against one of the female husks. This quickly resulted in even more pain to her hands. She groaned in anger, resorting to her feet. "Hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora!" She kicked and kicked and kicked at the monsters until it felt like her toes and soles might turn to ribbons. No luck. Her attacks seemed to be able to knock them back, but none of them were showing any signs of damage! They closed in on Shizuka, truly pressing her against the wall.

"A body!" Felix's husk gasped.

"She has a real body!" Estelle grabbed at Shizuka's cheeks with little regard for the girl's comfort.

Shizuka would bite those hands, but she feared the effects the cuts might have on her teeth. She struggled as the paper husks collapsed against her. They all tried to hold her, mumbling incoherently about wanting bodies of their own. The five husks fell to the ground, bringing Shizuka with them. Her face was pressed against the concrete as the husks argued in some primitive screaming about nothing in particular. She clenched her jaw, unable to get them off of her. Ultra Violet pried, punched and shoved to no avail.

"Please!" Shizuka begged, tears welling in her eyes. "Get off of me! Your bodies are gone! Your mother destroyed them!"

This resulted in a symphony of terrified shrieks and wails from the paper husks. They all babbled the word "mother" in varying tones and pitches after Shizuka mentioned the woman. The husks dug into her even further, thinking perhaps they could have a body if they just pressed against her hard enough.

Shizuka's body was rather durable, she'd discovered as much in her battles against Santana, and Casanova's gravity Stand. She could withstand an insane amount of abuse without snapping. Still, the psychological toll this was taking on the child couldn't be understated. She kicked and thrashed in an attempt to break free, but nobody cared. None of the husks minded her cries, perhaps they couldn't even hear them?

"Get off…" Shizuka wept, her face getting scraped as she was pushed against the rough concrete floor. "Please, just get off of me…"

Aura watched from a distance, biting her nails as the paper husks overcame her opponent. She was relieved that Shizuka fell so easily. In all honesty, Aura did fear her. Blondie needed this little girl dead; that had to mean she was special in some way. Aura couldn't rule out the possibility of the child being some kind of powerhouse, though that didn't seem to be the case.

"Dad…" Shizuka closed her eyes, fantasizing about Joseph kicking down a nonexistent door and defeating all of these horrifying monsters. She dreamed about the man from those stories she heard growing up. Joseph Joestar: The man who defeated the ultimate being and saved the world! He dispatched Santana so easily after everyone else failed. She wasn't expecting his rescue then, but she was praying for it now.

"I'm sorry." She whispered into the pavement. "Sorry I ran away… Sorry I worried you and Mom so much. I'm sorry I couldn't stay at the motel in California and let you handle this… You're right, I'm a kid. I'm just a little girl! I shouldn't be here." She whimpered, closing her eyes as tightly as she could. "Nobody's gonna rescue me this time… huh?" The child asked quietly.

Nobody answered.

Jotaro wasn't going to show up and punch Aura out of the sewers with a snappy one-liner. Josuke wasn't going to revert these creatures back to paper and treat Shizuka's scrapes and cuts. Joseph wasn't going to luck his way into an unlikely victory and foil Aura's plans. Nobody was coming for her. If Shizuka was going to survive, she needed to use her own strength. Her own strength? Did she mean Ultra Violet, or was there something stronger brewing within? Achtung Baby changed into Ultra Violet during a time of extreme danger. It was a moment when Shizuka needed to defend the adults in her life. Nobody was saving her then, either! Maybe she had even more growing to do? Maybe Ultra Violet was yanked out of the oven early. Was something cooking in her spirit? She felt like there was untapped potential; not whatever Stand was attached to her soul, but something completely of its own. That feeling had a name… With a name, she could find its power. She would harness her own power to defeat Aura and protect her friends.

Beams of light began to pierce through the gaps between limbs as the paper husks relentlessly dogpiled the child. They didn't notice the change, each of them were far too concerned with obtaining a body of their own. Aura noticed the light, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Perhaps it was one last show before Shizuka's song ended? Who didn't want to go out with a bang? The light grew brighter and brighter as the seconds drew on. A high-pitched ringing filled Aura's ears as she listened to her headphones. She covered her eyes with one arm, but it wasn't enough. She had to fully shield both eyes with her hands to withstand the brightness. A blast filled the sewer, and for a moment it was the brightest beacon in the whole city.

All of the paper husks flew away from the child with confused cries. They plopped and toppled into the sewer's puddles. Meanwhile, a bright light continued to emanate from Shizuka. She was lifted onto her feet by an invisible force. Her skin radiated with a golden shine as she hovered an inch off the floor. She stared at Aura with a newfound strength in her eyes. As her feet touched down on the floor, she lowered herself down into a squat. The girl lifted a hand up to support her sunglasses as they rested on top of her head. As Aura's eyes adjusted to the brightness, she noticed an odd figure hovering behind Shizuka. It wasn't Ultra Violet, it looked completely different! What was she looking at?

Shizuka's hair had changed from black and purple to a soft, pastel pink with white highlights. She had a flower crown in her hair underneath the sunglasses, and a soft expression on her childish face. A fully transformed Stand hovered above her, radiating a powerful energy that filled the tunnel. Her Stand was blindingly white. Its skin glowed brightly and was impossible to see with any detail. The body had blue highlights outlining each limb, and a blue dress draping over its youthful body. Large blue fairy wings sprouted from its back, sparkling with a supernatural glow as they waved gently in the air. The Stand had gorgeous long locks of pink hair that spanned down to its knees, curling up into a flower crown of pink roses on top of its head. Vertical lines ran down from its scalp to the chin, going through each of the horizontal slits in place of traditional eyes. The backs of its hands and feet had strange notches, almost resembling the surface of a polished porcelain doll.

"Flower Child." Shizuka mused, glancing up at her new ability. "This is Flower Child."

Aura ground her teeth together in anger. "Paper Husks! Pile on her again! What's wrong with you!" She cast her hand forward to command her forces.

The husks obeyed, sprinting toward Shizuka with piercing cries as they attempted to tackle her. Shizuka stood upright and stared her enemies down with determination. As they tried to pile onto her once again, a streak of light swung through the air and smacked all five paper husks away. They slammed into the walls without any clue of what happened. Shizuka took a step closer to Aura, stomping her sneaker against the murky puddle before her.

Felix's husk tried to attack her once again, but Shizuka was ready. She held her hand open and watched as a blinding light formed the shape of a baseball bat between her fingers. It solidified into a glowing blue object, and Shizuka used it to knock the husk away yet again. She let go of the bat and inspected her hands. There weren't any new cuts on her. Using a weapon worked!

"What the hell is going on!?" Aura cried out, though she couldn't hear Shizuka over her headphones.

The child glared over at the paper husks and knew what she had to do. She stepped closer to Felix's form and directed Flower Child to attack. Beaming threads of light flew out of the fairy Stand's fingers and wrapped around Felix tightly. They solidified, squeezing the paper man as he screamed in confusion. His body thrust against the wall in an attempt to escape the bindings. Shizuka closed her eyes, closing her open palm and directing the strings to follow suit. They squeezed Felix's husk until it popped, destroying the husk and allowing the soul confined within to burst free. The creature popped into a brilliant light that wasn't caused by Flower Child. For a brief moment, Shizuka could see Felix's spirit hovering before her in the tunnel. He had a look of utter calm and acceptance on his face. All he could do was tip his hat to her before rising through the concrete ceiling and disappearing into the heavens.

Now she needed to deal with the others. They didn't seem to be that intimidating anymore. The paper husks were meant to defeat a weaker version of Shizuka's Stand. Ultra Violet could only use its fists and feet to attack, but Flower Child could solidify light itself into a powerful weapon. She turned her attention to the nearest husk and sent out another wave of light strings. They zipped through the air before colliding with an invisible wall. Shizuka gritted her teeth and pulled the light back. It appeared that her physical light couldn't extend further than two meters from her body. So that's the way it had to be? She was unmatched in close-quarters combat, but still didn't have any range to speak of. Shizuka could live with that.

The girl walked over to her paper foes and dispatched them all with ease. Flower Child was a sight to behold in battle. It manipulated light into solid matter with such beauty and precision that Aura almost couldn't look away. Finally, the girl turned her attention to the source of the madness. She strutted over to Aura with a scowl on her face. As she closed the distance, Aura clearly started panicking.

"Don't you dare come any closer, Joestar! I'm not finished yet! I still have so many more plans!" She threatened.

In reality, Aura had used up all of her power to reanimate the paper corpses of her fallen siblings. Even with the power boost from her headphones, she was at her limit. There weren't any other origami creations in the sewers for her to summon. Maybe if she could get back to the ground level she'd be okay, but Shizuka would never let that happen. She stumbled back as the child grew closer and closer. Aura actually fell back and caught herself on her hands, resorting to crawling backwards as she stared at her impending reckoning.

Shizuka finally got close, towering over the woman with dark eyes. Aura clutched her iPod, so Flower Child slapped the hand away and yanked the wire out of the device. Her Stand grabbed the iPod and brought it to the User. Shizuka held the slick black music player in her scraped hands and raised a brow.

"What on Earth were you listening to?" She muttered to herself.

Aura hung her head in utter defeat. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. Shizuka turned on the screen and read the name of the song and artist.

"Tiffany Langley?" The child tilted her head. "That pop star from the nineties?"

"Don't use that name." Aura threatened.

It clicked. Shizuka understood how the music was infusing Aura with power! She was receiving attention. All of the songs were live performance versions and included a roaring audience behind the instruments and vocals. The thunderous applause wasn't for some nebulous artist, it was for Aura. After taking another look at the woman's face, Shizuka could see it! Aura was Tiffany Langley, international pop sensation from the late nineties and early 2000s! Sure, her hair was practically buzzed, and her piercings definitely weren't Disney-friendly, but it was the same woman.

"How could this happen…?" She asked in disbelief. "I mean… This would be like if Hannah Montana tried to murder me in a sewer."

"Life isn't fair, kid… That's how this happened." Aura let her head fall back onto the concrete floor of the tunnel, getting filthy water in her hair. She didn't care anymore. "You win. I don't have anything else up my sleeve. How could I have expected your Stand to evolve in the middle of our battle?"

Shizuka stared at the album cover displayed on the iPod's screen and tried to imagine that bright, spunky teenager with the dark eyes of Aura. It simply couldn't be done. She squatted down and offered the battered woman a hand. Aura opened her eyes and saw the child's gesture. She slapped it away and covered her face with both hands.

"Are you seriously trying to help me up? Are we going to walk out of this sewer as new best friends? Grow the hell up, kid. I lost. Mom's gonna kill me now, just like the others… Nothing I do is ever enough for her."

The kid furrowed her brow, not ready to give up just yet. "Help me understand, then. You don't look like you're biologically related to the other people we've fought so far. Is this some kind of adopted family?"

A sarcastic laugh escaped Aura's lips. "Yeah, some kind of adopted family. It wasn't consensual, if you must know. The Speedwagon Foundation runs a sort of Foster program for supernaturally inclined children. If a kid has an outburst anywhere in the country, the foundation hears about it. They seize the kid and place them into a halfway house full of freaks and psychopaths."

"You were one of them? I thought you were famous… Unless you don't want to talk about that." Shizuka mumbled.

Aura's eyes opened, and she stared up at the bright lights hanging from the ceiling. "I was seventeen when I had my breakdown. It didn't have anything to do with my Paper Planes. I'd known about that since I was a little girl. My parents did too. They always threatened to send me away to some horrible place where I'd be poked and dissected by scientists for being a freak. Despite that, they sure were happy to rake in my royalty checks."

"You were a child star." Shizuka nodded. "Used by your parents for millions of dollars, and all it cost was your childhood."

"All it cost was my everything. I was somehow too immature to go out and have friends, but also mature enough to be put in sexualized outfits and paraded around on the cover of magazines for adults to gawk at. I'd sell out stadiums of people screaming my name, but I never got to have a single friend growing up." She sniffled, eyes glistening as she rested on her back.

"I remember your freakout… I was really little, but my parents talked about it. You set your closet on fire." Shizuka nodded in recollection.

Another tragic laugh came from Aura. "Yeah, I figured they couldn't doll me up and send me out into the world to be exploited if all my expensive clothes were ash. Unfortunately, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. My parents ruled me as insane and took away what little freedom I had left… I couldn't do anything anymore, not even perform. I just had to stay at home and cash in the royalty checks from my record label. It drove me up the wall. Eventually, I snapped again… That's when they called the foundation."

"I had no idea the Speedwagon Foundation ran a foster program for gifted kids." Shizuka frowned.

"Well, not many people do! They're really particular about who they accept, after all. Of course, nowadays I know the truth. Dolly was making a small army for herself. She ripped powerful children from their homes and forced them to be loyal to a new mother… My mother. If you betray her, you're done for."

"You're only fighting to save your own life." Shizuka nodded. "So am I. You might've hurt my friends, but… I can blame Blondie for that, not you. You're another victim."

"I am not a victim, Shizuka." Aura spoke sternly. "I hurt people for my family. That's a choice I made. Nobody can redeem me for that."

"Well, I forgive you." Shizuka sighed. "I understand you."

Aura bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. She was enraged, grabbing the knife hidden in her pants and lunging for Shizuka. She had the upper hand, pinning the blade against the child's throat and holding the girl down with a knee to her stomach. Aura hovered over the girl, staring into her eyes as she prepared herself to do it. She hadn't been turned to powder yet because she never gave up! Mother knew she hadn't lost yet! All she had to do was kill Shizuka Joestar and she'd be given some peace and quiet! She could finally just be alone in her basement without anyone else to hurt… That's all Aura wanted.

Shizuka stared up at her attacker with a bit of panic in her eyes. She struggled, but even Flower Child wouldn't be able to manifest fast enough to disarm the woman. All she could do was watch Aura's face contort as the woman battled her inner demons. She didn't speak, opting to wait in silence. Aura's hand trembled, causing the blade to shake against Shizuka's throat. She sniffled, tears dripping onto the girl's cheeks below.

"I can do this." She hissed through gritted teeth. "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"

Shizuka's face turned gentle as she saw how much Aura was hurting. She reached her hand up, passing her neck entirely and resting it on Aura's shoulder instead.

"There's nothing strong about what you're trying to do. It'd be the first truly weak thing you've done all night." She spoke with wisdom beyond her years. Was it really her talking, or the presence within her? "Nobody is dead. Nothing permanent has been done. Just drop the knife."

Aura's hands shook even faster as she sobbed and sniffled. The knife fell out of her grip, clanking against the concrete below. She rolled off of Shizuka, sobbing hysterically into her cupped hands. Shizuka was wary of comforting her just yet. Aura seemed incredibly unstable. She didn't know what to do, though. Neither of them could stay in the sewer. She had to get to her injured friends, but not until Aura was calmed down. She just let the woman cry for a few minutes, not moving a muscle to disturb her.

After quite some time, Aura moved her hands and stared a thousand yards ahead with tired eyes. She sniffled, groaning with exhaustion. There was nothing like the silence after a long cry. It gave a woman perspective. Aura rolled onto her back with a sigh.

"I'm going to be killed any minute now… Mother knows I failed."

Shizuka bit her lip. "Why should you have to die? You didn't do anything wrong."

"We all signed a contract with Mother's Stand when she adopted us. It stated that her ability would punish us for betraying the family. If we did something horrible, it would kill us. Mother views failure as the ultimate betrayal… I'm toast."

"What was the exact wording?" Shizuka raised a brow. "I don't know the details of your mother's Stand, but your wording there was strange. You just have to be true to your family? As long as you don't betray them, you're safe?"

"Well, yeah… But it doesn't matter! I lost! That's a betrayal!"

"Only to your mother! She's not 'the family.' She's a part of it! I think your mother was the one who betrayed your family! She sent all of her children to die for Blondie's mission. All of them are gone, and for what? She sent them to senseless deaths like soldiers. A mother is supposed to protect her children."

Aura was silent. She didn't want to believe Shizuka's words were true. Maybe she wanted to die? Maybe continuing would be harder than just giving up? If she wasn't about to dissolve into white powder, what would she do with her life? She couldn't go back home. Even if Shizuka was right, the betrayal would still be real enough to anger Aura's mother. Their relationship was over.

"They weren't good people." Aura argued weakly.

"Of course they weren't! How could anyone be with an upbringing like that? Your mother is the problem! All of you were doing your best."

"How the hell are you so smart, kid? It feels like I'm talking to a therapist or something. No ten-year-old should be able to argue like this." "Well, I may have some mother issues of my own." The girl laughed nervously. "Don't worry about me. I just want to know that you're done listening to that woman. Live your own life! Never betray your family, but don't let your family members betray you either. That's what your contract meant. Be true to them."

Aura nodded, coughing repeatedly in pain. She looked down at her torso and groaned. Her hands unzipped her jacket and revealed the burning red scars along her skin. "Oh God… Is this permanent?"

Shizuka shook her head. "Fractal burns go away after about twenty-four hours. You should really go to the hospital and get checked out, though."

"I could kill you." Aura whispered. "I could kill all of your friends if you take me to that hospital. How can you be so forgiving of a person like me?"

The girl smiled. "You had the golden opportunity to kill me a minute ago. It would've given you the feather, and Blondie's bounty. You've got no reason to kill my friends. That's why I trust you. At the end of the day, you don't have it in you. You have a kind heart. All of this violence was torn out of you by abuse and hatred."

Aura stared at the ceiling silently for a moment, eventually rolling her head to face the child. "Do you think you'll be able to find the good in Blondie, too? Sometime soon, you're going to have to take a direct approach with your enemies. Nobody's going easy on you from here on out."

"I'll go easy on whoever I can, but I won't let them kill me or my friends. That's the truth I live by." Shizuka crossed her arms.

The woman was losing consciousness fast. Ripley's attacks were finally getting the better of her. Aura felt her vision fading, and keeping her head up was becoming harder by the minute. She couldn't even respond to Shizuka, allowing her head to fall back into the puddle instead. The child sighed, looking at all of the destruction around her. Empty paper husks filled the sewer, but they'd be washed away sooner or later. She needed to haul Aura out of the tunnel and call an ambulance. Then, she'd tend to her friends.

An hour or so later, Shizuka ran into the hospital room that held all of her friends. Marina, Shirlie, Ripley and Pepsi were all there and accounted for. Ripley was lying in a bed, but Pepsi was standing perfectly fine in a blood stained shirt. There was a clear stab-mark in the button up, but the bare skin below was smooth and unharmed. If any nurses came in, they'd make sure MIST shrouded it to keep attention away from them.

"Guys!" Shizuka gasped, running over and struggling over who she should hug first.

"Jojo!" Marina shoved to the front and scooped her into a big hug. "Goddammit, Shizuka, don't go and be the hero like that! The only reason I didn't hunt you down and kick your ass was because of Ripley's condition! Next time you pull something like that, you're done." The blonde sniffled.

Shizuka hugged her back, letting out a sheepish little, "Sorry…"

Marina glanced down and noticed the pink in Shizuka's hair. "Did you go to the salon? What happened to your hair…?"

The child just groaned. "I'll explain it in the morning, okay?"

"Works for me… I'm completely spent." Marina shrugged.

She pulled free and noticed that Ripley was awake. "I don't understand… You were in critical condition! I thought…" She trailed off.

"I was a goner." Ripley nodded. "They were almost ready to pronounce me dead in transit, but I pulled through."

"Still! You shouldn't be awake! You should be down for a couple of weeks!"

Marina placed a hand on Shizuka's shoulder from behind. "Jojo, someone came to help." She explained.

"Help!?" Shizuka raised her brow. "You mean… Help, help? A Stand User?"

"She said you know her. You met in Las Vegas?" Pepsi muttered. "She healed my gunshot wound like it was nothing."

"She did? I don't remember meeting anyone like that." Shizuka frowned.

"I healed your friends for a reason, Shizuka Joestar." A soft voice spoke from outside the room.

Shizuka turned to see a familiar face enter the hospital room. Perhaps a familiar mask would be a better way to put it. She was in utter shock. Shizuka barely remembered meeting this woman! It all happened in such a blur. She certainly never planned on meeting her again.

"Ezra Dawn?" She asked in disbelief.

Indeed, the lithe silver-haired woman leaned against the doorway. A skintight black mask stretched from the inside of her shirt up above the bridge of her nose. She had been the one who helped Shizuka against Felix Felicius all that time ago. She knew that Shizuka was trying to save an old woman's life somehow. How had the girl nearly forgotten such a thing?

"Yes." Ezra nodded. "It's good to see you again, but I need to know. Did you succeed? Did you awaken your ability?"

Shizuka struggled to process that question. It had been one hell of a night. "My ability? You mean Flower Child? Y-Yeah… How'd you know about that."

Ezra seemed visibly relieved. She leaned further against the doorframe and crossed her arms. "Okay. That's all I needed to know. Shizuka, I was sent here by a dear friend to help your cause. I used my ability to heal your injured friends, but I couldn't help in your battle against that woman. You needed to be pushed to your limits."

"Oi, you didn't mention that part!" Marina growled. "You mean to tell me Shizuka was dying somewhere without us? What kind of bitch lets a child get pushed to her limits? Whatever that means!"

Ezra raised a dismissive hand to Marina. "I study under a skilled fortune teller. In exchange for her teachings, she sends me on errands from time to time. That's all you need to know."

"Errands?" Marina tilted her head. "This wasn't picking up milk! It was a child's life on the line! What kind of convenient excuse is that, anyway? You're training with a fortune teller? Is that some bullshit way to explain how you're always around? What if you're working with the enemy? That could explain how you know everything, and I don't even have to believe in fortune tellers for that one!"

"I know it must be frustrating, Marina." Ezra stood upright. "The truth is, I'm withholding a lot from you all. I promise, it's for the best. The less you know, the less Blondie can find out. I was sent to Las Vegas to rescue you and Shizuka from Felix Felicis's powers of fate. My teacher noticed an abnormality of that size from miles away. From there, I trailed you carefully. Unfortunately, I lost you in Colorado. My teacher couldn't determine your location. Your destinies seemed to have been completely derailed. She didn't see it coming."

"That was the D'Arby family." Shizuka nodded. "We didn't expect it either… You've been following us this whole time? Why didn't you try to help a little more?"

"I helped in every way I could. My teacher was very clear that you needed to awaken your Flower Child. Your chances of defeating Blondie were zero without that ability."

"Still, you could have told us!" Ripley spat. "We were worried sick about her! I promised her father I'd keep her safe."

"Who gives you the authority to wager a girl's life on some fortune anyway?" Pepsi mumbled from the corner with crossed arms.

Everyone seemed to be piling onto Ezra with well-placed skepticism. It was a little too convenient, her showing up and healing everyone right at the eleventh hour. Was there really nothing she could do to help before Flower Child developed? Shizuka frowned, unsure what to make of it all. Marina, Pepsi and Ripley all voiced their concerns, but there was one more person she wanted to hear from.

"What do you think, Shirlie…?" She broke the awkward silence.

All eyes went to the redhead as she tried to put her emotions into words. Shirlie was still rather shaken from the night's events, and Power was nowhere to be seen. He must have hidden inside Shirlie, which was very unlike him. Shirlie stammered for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Nothing Ezra's said makes any sense. The story just doesn't add up, and I can tell she's lying about a lot of important details." She explained slowly. "But… When I observe her with Power's empathy ability, she looks like one of the kindest, purest, most noble souls I've ever seen. I'm a really good judge of character. When we first met Blondie, I knew there was a sinister woman behind her benevolent persona… This isn't like that. Whoever Ezra really is, I trust that person. You can't fake the energy of your soul."

Ezra lowered her head with a sigh. "Thank you, Shirlie. That means more than you know."

Pepsi stepped forward with a shrug. "Well, I trust her too. Nobody's ever managed to trick Shirlie's sixth sense before. I guess I'm sold."

"I've got no shortage of evil jerks trying to kill me, so I really don't wanna look this gift horse in the mouth." Shizuka admitted.

Ripley and Marina exchanged glances for a moment before conceding.

"Alright, fine! She can sit at the cool kid's table. But if I get so much as a bad feeling about her, she's gonna stick to a brick wall for a few days while we finish this adventure." Marina growled.

"I'll keep that in mind." Ezra nodded.

"So what now?" Shizuka looked around the room. "Are we staying here for the night?"

"Ripley needs one more treatment from my ability before she goes anywhere. It's extremely uncomfortable, especially with so many tiny holes like she has. We need to stay put for at least five hours. I recommend everyone pull up a chair and try to get some sleep. We'll leave for New York in the morning."

"Wait, you're coming with us?" Shizuka asked in disbelief.

"I am. This next challenge is too much for you to face alone. My teacher told me to assist you, and that's what I'm going to do."

"What'd you say about looking a gift horse in the mouth, Jojo?" Marina grabbed a chair and slung her tired body into it. "I'm completely spent. Wake me up when the world starts ending."

The twins found a place to settle in as well, leaving Shizuka and Ezra standing. She looked over to the silver-haired woman with a bit of caution. Ezra said her piece, and Shirlie vouched for her, but this all seemed a little too good to be true. Why was this woman willing to battle Blondie just because her teacher told her to…? What good would she even be against Blondie or her Stand Users? They didn't even know what Ezra was capable of. Shizuka had expected to arrive and find multiple friends dead, but they were all present and accounted for. She should be grateful, so why was she so hesitant to trust her? There was this odd familiarity in Ezra that she couldn't place. It was like a song that you've only heard once before, and you constantly mistake it for other melodies on the radio. This continued to nag at Shizuka's mind as she sat in a big chair and closed her eyes. Eventually, the fatigue won. She sank into unconsciousness. What a long night.

Shizuka felt a sudden dropping sensation, forcing her eyes open with a gasp. She wasn't in the hospital anymore. The girl was confused for a moment. She didn't know where she was. It appeared to be a city street. Upon having a closer look, she noticed about seven strange police cars down the block. They seemed retro, and the text was written in Japanese. She felt someone walking up behind her. Shizuka didn't even need to look, she was more than familiar with the woman's presence. It was Tsuru. The woman stepped right up next to Shizuka and stared at the police cars. They were in a memory. This time, they'd gone much further back than the eighties.

"Shizuka." Tsuru spoke in a serious tone. "Tomorrow, it all ends. You're going to encounter Dolly, and you're going to win."

The child just nodded. "Why am I here, then…? Wouldn't we be better off if I had a full night's sleep?"

Tsuru stared grimly at the house as several stretchers were carried out of the front door. Multiple bodies were removed from the home. Shizuka noticed this a few moments later. What on Earth was Tsuru remembering?

"You left your home weeks ago in search of answers, right? It's time I gave them to you. I'm going to tell you everything; how you came to be, and what happened to me all those years ago. It's time you knew the truth."

To be Continued...