Chapter 3: Bad News

He really shouldn't be surprised.

Josuke should have seen this coming a mile away. He should have been prepared for this inevitable outcome after everything Josuke had seen the murderer do. He shouldn't be shocked that Kira had been alive in this world for who knows how long, but unfortunately, he was. His eyes were still glued to the piece of Kira's hair piercing the thin brochure, the yellow aura around it slowly fading away. Even after the single strand of hair fell into the floor, Josuke could not look away from the tacky advertisement, standing perfectly still for several minutes.

How the hell does he do it, Josuke thought, his mouth turning into a vicious snarl. His eyes were full of hatred that only grew as the seconds passed. How in the hell does this bastard constantly avoid death! Every single time it looked like the monster known as Kira Yoshikage was finally about to die, the murderer somehow had one more trick up his sleeve that allowed him to escape. And every single time Josuke had failed to stop him, his rage continued to rise at the killer. Why was it so hard to kill this one man? Josuke was honestly starting to believe that crap Kira had said about fate being on his side as the man's luck seemed to be endless.

No, It's not just luck, Josuke thought bitterly. This guy might just be the most dangerous Stand User back in my world, not only because of his powers but because the bastard can adapt to almost anything!

Kira Yoshikage was like a damn chameleon. Changing accordingly to the situation so he would get out fine. Somehow, the man could get stronger after encountering a group of enemies only once. Somehow, even when he was injured and had a clear disadvantage in a fight, the bastard could think of ways to defeat his foes in a matter of seconds and act out these plans with ruthless and calm efficiency. No matter how outmatched Kira Yoshikage was, the serial killer refused to lose and somehow was able to always come out on top.

That damn monster always seemed to be one step ahead of Josuke.

"God damn it!" He shouted, pulling back his arm as he punched the wall in front of him as hard as he could. A scorching pain shot up his arm, but he didn't care, his mind elsewhere as he looked at the floor.

How many people had Kira killed while he was sitting on his ass doing nothing? How many people had died at the murderer's hands for no better reason then the bastard felt like it? How many people did Kira give one last cold, uncaring stare at as he watched them burn? How many innocents had been swallowed by a horribly painful explosion, and the only release from their suffering being when the last embers of their life faded away.

"Even in another world, this bastard is still just as dangerous as he was before," Josuke said, pulling his arm back from the wall as he looked towards the ceiling. If anything, Kira was now an even bigger threat than before.

Stand Users can only be beaten by other Stand Users.

Those were the words Jotaro had told him over and over again, and they could not be truer. Ordinary people could not see Stands; they couldn't even hurt the manifestations of will no matter what methods they tried. But that didn't mean Stands could not harm normal people. Right now, Josuke and Kira might just be the only two Stand users in this entire dimension. And if that were true, that would mean right now, Josuke was the only threat to that monster. Right now that monster had only one person that could actually challenge him as everyone else in this world was most likely helpless against the powers of a Stand.

In Josuke's mind, there was no way any other person existed in this world that could stand up to Kira. Which meant that right now, Josuke Higashikata was the only person who could put an end to the psychotic bastard's life. All his fellow Stand Users were in a place far, far away, so that meant he was the last hope of ending that monster. With no backup and no other allies who could stop Kira, if Josuke failed to end Kira Yoshikage here and now, the murderer would continue to live his horrible life of killing anyone he wanted for as long as the bastard lived.

He couldn't fail like he had done so so many times before.

Immediately, Josuke remembered everyone he had let die. He had thought he had redeemed himself, but with Kira still alive, it meant that he had still not avenged any of his friends. His chest suddenly became heavy as guilt and anger whirled within it, lips turning into a scowl. That damn monster was still wreaking havoc, was still enjoying his "tranquil life," and Josuke could almost hear the voices of his dead friends blaming him for all the pain Kira was most likely inflicting on random innocents.

And they were right; it was his fault. He should have stopped Kira a long time ago, but he didn't.

"I'm sure as hell not failing this time," Josuke said, eyes filled with determination. The remorse flowing through his body kept rising with each moment, but Josuke did not have the time to brood. He had to stop Kira once and for all, so he ignored the regret chipping away at him as he slowly limped towards the stairs as he grabbed the brochure, reading through every piece of information the small pamphlet provided.

It mostly talked about how Beach City was located near a beach...which was rather damn obvious from its name, so Josuke immediately wondered what kind of an idiot made this crap. The only other things it talked about were tourist attractions and the mayor, but upon further skimming, Josuke found the location of this small town.

It was in a state called Delmarva, near the general area of Maryland. The brochure said there were directions on how to get to Beach City on the back, so Josuke flipped the pamphlet and saw there was a map that led from New Jersey all the way to the town marked in a bright yellow star. And surprisingly it was only two hundred miles away by car, which was far admittedly, but Josuke was just glad it wasn't located on the other side of the country. Josuke then stuffed the pamphlet into his left pants pocket.

"Okay," Josuke said, having reached the bottom of the stairs and now limping towards the exit. "This time Kira, you're not getting away. I'm gonna make sure your die once and for all. Even if I have to lose my own damn limbs or even my life, I will kill you." His voice was low and clipped, leaking with enough murderous intent to suffocate the air around him. As he continued to push past his aching muscles, he clenched his right hand into a fist.

Getting back home would have to wait. And he would get back home. Just after this.

Just after he avenged his friends who deserved to rest in peace. Right now, Josuke's fury knew no limits as his eyes coursed with an intense hatred directed towards one, cruel bastard. He exited the building, rain pouring from the sky as his clothes were instantly drenched in water, but Josuke did not care. And when he walked out onto the streets, a few random people noticed the anger burning in Josuke's expression and promptly stayed a hundred feet away from the pompadour teenager.

In his mind, he could see Kira Yoshikage. He could see Kira's smug grin; he could see that bastard's face full of arrogance as Killer Queen stood behind the murderer. Josuke could see the taunting glint in Kira's eyes, bragging to him that the bastard was still alive and that he had yet to stop the murderer.

His mind's image of Kira was essentially giving Josuke a challenge to see if he could stop this monster from hurting anyone else ever again.

"You better prepare yourself, Kira Yoshikage," Josuke said, growling like a beast as he limped down the streets. "Something tells me you know I'm coming, so you better pray to whatever God or Devil a monster like you worships." Despite the fact he was bandaged like a mummy, despite the fact that pain was spreading within Josuke's body and only growing by the second, the fire raging in his eyes just grew stronger.

"Because when I find you..." Josuke trailed off, and a dark purple aura surrounded him as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the rainy city. Crazy Diamond appeared, standing right next to Josuke, and his Stand's expression was one of pure rage.

"My Crazy Diamond's fist are gonna be drowning in blood." Josuke would make sure he avenged his friends and would find a way back home. He was Josuke Higashiakta, and he always found a way to overcome any obstacle in his way, no matter how dangerous or impossible.

So with no real plan, no way of knowing what was waiting for him in Beach City, Josuke limped across the busy streets. The only thought on his mind was of making Kira regret every murderer he had ever committed.

But there was a part of him, amidst all the anger that was rising within his soul, that was brimming with a nauseating fear that would overwhelm Josuke if he even dwelled on it for more than a second. For within Josuke's mind, he thought about what that bastard was doing to the innocent town right now.


Too sweet.

Kira Yoshikage had a habit of waking up rather early. Both because he rarely needed any more than five hours of sleep to feel fully energized and because he liked getting a fresh start to a new day. Once his eyes were open, he did not feel the usual drowsy feeling most people would have when they woke up so he would quickly get out of his slightly dusty bed and head to the bathroom. By some miracle, all the piping and electricity still worked in this house, so his sinks and showers still had running water. After brushing his teeth, he always counted the minutes in his head so he knew if he had done a thorough enough job or not, he would splash hot water on his face to get rid of any dirt that might be there.

He would then iron his blue suit and pants, removing any wrinkles he could see for he always liked to look his best no matter what the situation was. After getting dress and properly fixing his black tie of skulls, he would go downstairs and prepare his breakfast. The kitchen was just as decayed and disgusting looking as the rest of the house, but Kira had cleaned up most of the dust and mold so the only real ugly parts were the sections with decaying wood. Upon opening the fridge, he had made a note to get more food as he turned on the stove.

When he finished cooking, he had sat down on the slightly wobbly table covered with a large white cloth, his plate of food in hand. He ate two sunny side eggs, a small bowl of rice, and a blueberry muffin. He did not have any chopsticks handy, so he used a fork instead to eat his meal. Recently he had decided to branch out and try new American cuisine since he figured it would be harder to acquire the ingredients he typically found at home. So currently he was trying a muffin he had bought at a local bakery the day before, still somewhat fresh, and proceeded to chew.

It was decent, but it was far sweeter than he had expected, and Kira did not have a large sweet tooth. But still, it was good enough for him as he finished his breakfast and wiped away the crumbs on his mouth with a napkin.

I suppose I should wake her up now. Kira thought, slowly standing up before walking away from the table. He moved towards the stairs and proceeded to walk up the steps. Once he reached the top, he headed towards a spare bedroom located in a dusty and slightly smelly room.

I hope she had a good rest. When he arrived at the door to the bedroom, he opened the door and stepped into the room as he looked down at the bed that held his lovely companion.

"I believe it's time to wake up now," Kira said, a smile growing on his face as he bent down to pick up the hand of his affection. "I already ate breakfast, but I didn't think I should wake you up just yet since you told me you weren't feeling well."

Kira slowly wrapped his fingers under his beautiful partner's wrist as he picked up her hand from his bed.

And just that.

For the only thing in the room lying on Kira's spare bed was a woman's severed hand. It was cut a few inches below the wrist, the beginning of a long white bone that used to belong to a living human was now visible through a large hole. Bits of charred flesh was located near the end of the hand, the smell wafting into Kira's nose but he had gotten used to it a long time ago. The blood inside the arm had long since dried, now looking like jam, and long streams of the dry and sticky red liquid went down the forearm to the hand's hot pink nails.

"Yes, I am aware this house needs some work, but right now I don't have the money or time to hire anyone to fix this place." He said, talking as if the dismembered hand had asked him a question. "Now then, why don't you come downstairs with me for a little meal?" He asked, the limb swaying back and forth in his grip as he walked out of the room and back downstairs.

He had no idea what the name of the woman whose arm this was had been before he killed her, but he didn't mind. The only thing that caught Kira's eyes about her was her wonderful hands. So when she was alone, he had Killer Queen blow her up, leaving only a single, slightly blood hand which he quickly stuffed into his pocket.

And then he had gone shopping for some tools to try and fix his windows. And after buying them, he calmly walked back home, the corpse's hand still in his left pocket but Kira knew no one would see it. He had spent years learning to blend in with his surroundings, even if he was walking only a few feet behind a random stranger, he or she would not even know Kira was there.

"You know, you're lucky I had stored you away in my room before those kids and that beast showed up yesterday." Kira was now moving along a long, dimly lit hallway as his fingers stroked the palm of the corpse's hand. "It would have gotten messy if they had seen you resting in my bed, but lucky for you, I took care of them." He suddenly laughed a little." No, not in that way. If I killed those three, it would have resulted in more fights later on. That boy was a part of those Crystal Gems, and I rather avoid any confrontation with them."

He stopped walking mid-step, his eyes turning cold as he glared at the lifeless hand.

"No, it's not because they're stronger than me." His voice was as frigid as a suffocating pressure soon filled the hall. Kira had let his hidden hatred out for a moment as he continued. "I have evolved to a point where even Josuke would fall at my knees. The only reason I have not blown up that cliff they live in and watch them die as they scream for mercy is because I want to live in peace. That means no more useless battles, no more having to come up with complex strategies to achieve victory, and most importantly no more killing anyone I do not want to."

Several moments passed, the room getting colder as the seconds ticked by. Then, Kira gave the arm a warm, apologetic smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so serious. I know you meant nothing by it and are just worried, but don't be. With my power, I can live my life as I please with no worries." He continued to walk until he had gone back downstairs and was once again at his dining table, placing the hand on the rectangular table. Pulling out a plate, Kira placed another sunny side egg on top of it before leaving the blue dish in front of the hand. He sat in a chair right across from the dismembered body part.

"Right now, let's just enjoy this moment together, shall we?" An unsettling smile crossed his lips. "Every moment I'm able to freely walk and live the life I wish to live is truly marvelous, and I want to share this experience with you." He reached across the table and stroked the grey hand once more. A moment of silence passed as Kira let out a laugh.

"What happens when Josuke gets here? Well, I think you mean if he gets here." Kira went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "You see, when I first arrived in this world, I had a feeling that Josuke and his Crazy Diamond would sooner or later get here as well. It only made sense, we both went through that tunnel, so I assumed Josuke would arrive in this world at some point, and when he did, he would try and kill me if he discovered I was still alive. And to prepare for such a scenario, I left some," he paused for a moment, eyes glancing at the ceiling as he looked for the right word. "Let's call them traps," he said as he took a sip from his water. "And I placed these traps in the only paths Josuke could take to get to this town."

Once he finished his water, he moved to his chair before sitting down, leaning back into the chair as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "The traps I set for that stubborn teenager are only a sample of my new abilities, so I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't live through them." A deep frown crossed his face; a hint of anger entered Kira's expression as he thought back to his last fight with Josuke. Of how that shitty teen's Stand beat him just slightly behind the threshold of death.

Kira's frown got even deeper.

"But since he's Josuke Higashiakta, he might just pull off a miracle and make it here," Kira held out one hand in front of his face. And then smugness quickly returned to Kira's expression as he grinned, anger long gone. "But it's unlikely he will, and even if he did..." He trailed off as a dark purple aura whirled around his hand, and the menacing pink, leather-clad humanoid that was Killer Queen appeared right next to him, levitating a few feet off the ground. "He still has to deal with Killer Queen and I."

It was then he noticed a rather nasty smell. It was not the smell of burned flesh, which he was slowly growing to like with each new victim, but a more horrible, rotting odor. It was the smell of a body decaying from the inside out. Kira had dealt with this odor so many times before, but it didn't make the smell any less disgusting. His eyes narrowed at the corpse hand in front of him. He walked away from the table towards a cabinet and then pulled out a can of air freshener from a drawer

"I'm truly sorry to say this," Kira sprayed the hand, the smell becoming more tolerable, for now at least. "But I'm afraid I have to break up with you, my little tourist."

While he could not remember the woman's name, he did recall she was a tourist. He had seen her luggage bag and determine from its contents that she was from North Carolina, most likely to visit her family members. Kira himself had never taken a vacation anywhere outside of Morioh, both because he did not see the point in traveling and because he did not want to risk causing an incident in a place he was unfamiliar with. But since he arrived in Beach City, he could see why so many people found vacationing in different locations so appealing. It was quite fun exploring a new place and learning about the family-run stores, the best spots to view the sunset on the beach and even the places where he could get the best and cheapest cleaning supplies.

And he especially liked the fact that this town was full of idiots who did not even notice when ten of their citizens had gone missing. It was just like Morioh, the people here were blind to the fact that something was happening in their town and the chances of these fools realizing what was going on around them were slim to none. Kira loved it when he committed killings so flawlessly that it was as if no heinous act had been done at all. It spoke volumes about how far he had come since he first killed that little girl, Sugimoto Reimi, all those years ago in her house. He went from messy and attention-grabbing slaughters to razor sharp and stealthy killings that no one ever noticed.

Even the supposed "guardians" of this place had no idea as to what was going on in their town. He had seen some of those alien womens' abilities first hand, and it was obvious they were a well-coordinated team. But even so, they were still unaware of what was happening to the town they swore to protect. To him, it showed they were inattentive to the town's people and only focused on the obvious monsters in front of them. They would never expect someone like him, a seemingly normal person, to cause such destruction.

"Well, it makes my life all the more tranquil, so I am thankful for that fact." Kira touched the lifeless hand's nail with a finger that suddenly turned pale pink; Killer Queen slowly brought it's thumb up before bringing it down to his hand. The hand was then swallowed by a small fireball, the explosion only damaging the hand and not the table it was resting on. The hand was nothing more than dust now, absolutely no remains of it left as a small cloud of smoke rose into the air. Kira's small chuckles were the only thing that broke the silence as he stared at the spot where the hand had been.

"And I am thankful for all the joy you brought me, my companion, and I hope you have a wonderful life." Kira walked away from the kitchen and headed for the entrance to his house. " I am now a single man once again, so I think it is only appropriate that I try to find another lovely lady."

Yes, another woman who would hopefully have even better hands than the last one. Another person who Kira would turn to ash except for a single hand, and would then desecrate their memory by using the only part of them still of this world as a way to live out his desires.

It really is a beautiful day, Kira thought as he exited his house. He was smiling, taking in the warm sun above him as he continued down the dirt path to the woods.

Beach City was the perfect town for Kira Yoshikage. The perfect place where he could let out his urges without the threat of anyone ever stopping him.

Beach City was his town.


"So...is the point of the device to consume as many coins from you two as possible?"

"No, it's supposed to give you a prize if you can wrap the claw around one of the toys," Steven answered, chuckling as he heard Amethyst let out a small growl of annoyance.

Steven was currently in Funland Arcade, and as the name implied, an arcade located on the boardwalk of Beach City. Inside the arcade, games of all kinds were scattered on the somewhat stained purple floor, and Steven loved almost every one of them. He had been playing a variety of games with both Amethyst and another Gem who was currently staring at the machine in front of her with a curious look in her eyes.

"So, why is Amethyst failing to do so?" A lime green skin woman asked. She had an inverted triangle gemstone on her forehead and wore a sleeveless, green V-neck uniform. Her outfit was mostly light green, with the exception of the cut-off of her neck area as well as the area between her chest and leggings being dark green. Said leggings featured yellow diamond kneepads and were also green, the tips of the stockings a light yellow. Her hair was also triangle shaped, seeming to defy gravity as it pointed upwards in the air. She was around the same height as Steven, but someone might think she was taller because her hair was so big.

A yellow visor covered her eyes, giving her pupils a greenish tint which made her actual eye color hard to determine. Her name was Peridot, a new addition to the Crystal Gems who had at one point been their enemy. But thanks to Steven's optimism and empathy, he was able to turn the former cold and calculating Gem into someone warm, funny, and a little silly.

"It's a really hard game; barely anyone can actually win," Steven answered Peridot with a small grin.

Both Steve and Amethyst had taken Peridot to the boardwalk to show her what Beach City's arcade was all about. So far, they had joyfully shouted when Amethyst had gotten a new high score in Guitar Hero, the Gem declaring herself a rock legend as she gave a mock bow to her "audience." Had laughed to the point of tears as Peridot clumsily tried her best to beat Dance Dance Revolution, the green gem had fallen off the platform so many times she claimed it was a disguised death trap to lure in unsuspecting citizens. And had all cheered when Steven had beaten his own time in Road Destruction Warrior 2.

Even when Peridot had lost spectacularly in some of the games, getting angry and complaining a little bit, Steven could still see the amusement rising in her expression. He was glad Peridot was enjoying herself, and he was having a blast himself. It felt like it had been a while since Steven had actually just relaxed and played some games. He had been fretting about Garnet's prediction, but so far, the Gem's had been handling every threat that has come their way since then. So maybe all the anxiety he had been feeling was for nothing.

But in the back corners of his mind, a part of him told him he shouldn't let his guard down, and a bit of dread filled Steven's stomach as images of Bismuth and Jasper flashed through his mind.

But he ignored those feelings, reasoning with himself he was just being paranoid.

Nothing bad would happen that the Gem's couldn't handle.

"Darn it!" Amethyst sudden shout caused Steven to snap back to reality as he looked at the purple Gem. Currently, the three were playing Skill Crane, but were horribly losing at the deceptively simple looking game. Both Steven and Amethyst had taken turns on trying to get one of the stuffed animals behind the glass casing, but it seemed impossible. Steven and Amethyst had lost count of how many coins they had wasted on this machine, but neither of the two Gems could successfully capture any of the plushies.

It had gotten to the point where Amethyst was sure the game was rigged. But Mr. Smiley, a tall bald man with a mustache, gray shirt with purple circles and bright yellow triangles and mid-thigh length shorts, had assured them that the game wasn't rigged.

Though Steven was sure Mr. Smiley had quickly muttered "anymore" under his breath before he walked off.

"Oh come on!" Amethyst slammed her head against the glass; the reason being that she had successfully grabbed a small elephant plush doll around its cotton stuffed stomach, but when the claw rose up the elephant came loose and fell back into the pit with all the other stuffed toys.

"Amethyst, be careful," Steven said, worry building in his chest as he looked at the Gem. "You remember what happened last time you banged your head there?"

"What happened last time?" Peridot asked.

"Oh, nothing really," Amethyst said with a nonchalant shrug. "I just accidentally broke the glass and it went everywhere...and then that accidentally started a small fire...and then I accidentally made it worse by spreading it." Amethyst rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "It wasn't my best day."

"That much is rather obvious," Peridot said, giving Amethyst a small grin before continuing. "I can't believe you two are being constantly outwitted by this almost primitive technology, and here I thought you two were the experts when it came to these 'arcade games.'"Though her tone was somewhat arrogant, Steven knew Peridot was just trying to be funny. She was still learning about what was considered harmless teasing and what was cruel mockery, but thankfully, she was getting better when it came to social situations.

Unfortunately, there were still moments when the green Gem became haughty and would offend others even though she thought she had done nothing wrong.

"Oh, So I guess you think you can do better?" Amethyst asked with a challenging smirk.

Peridot responded with her own smirk. "Of course I can," she said, adjusting her visor as she did so.

"Okay then," Amethyst chucked two small gold coins at Peridot, who almost dropped them but was able to clumsily catch the small metallic coins. "Take your best shot, Peri," Amethyst moved away from the machine, pointing with her arm to Peridot and then to the machine.

For a second, Peridot looked nervous, but pride soon swelled in her eyes as she marched towards the Skill Crane.

"Allow me to show you how it is done." Peridot inserted the two coins as the bright red clock on the machine counted down from sixty. "I've seen you two play this game so much I know what not to do." Peridot moved the black joystick, the crane moving according to the directions Peridot moved the controller. She maneuvered the claw so it was right above a small plush star, and pressed the red button on top of the joystick. The claw fell through the air, the metallic fingers wrapping around the star's head.

"See, I told you I could do it," just as she said that, the claw slowly rose with the star in its grasp, only to suddenly jerk to the side as the star fell back down.

"What!" Peridot shouted as the claw went back to its starting position. "But that's impossible, I had it right, we all saw it right?" She turned around to see Amethyst with a smug expression and Steven who couldn't help but let out a little sheepish grin.

"We told you," Amethyst and Steven said together as Peridot's eyes grew with anger.

"This stupid machine is clearly incapable of grabbing anything," Peridot said before she growled. "It must be rigged."

"Hey, don't give up now," Steven said encouragingly. "You still have one more try."

Peridot still looked mad, letting out soft growls underneath her breath; but then, her eyes suddenly widened and an almost sinister smile spread across her face. She once again moved the joystick until the claw was over a giant stuffed panda bear. Peridot pressed the red button on the controller and the claw once again descended, grabbing the bear by its stomach. The claw once again rose up, but as it did so the giant bear was slowly slipping from its grasp, and in a few seconds it was barely clinging to its fur. Steven and Amethyst were sure it was going to be another failure.

That is, until the claw suddenly moved on its own, readjusting its grip so it was now tightly grabbing the bear's stomach once again. Steven and Amethyst eyes widened in shock as the claw went over to an opening in the corner and dropped the bear into the hole.

"HA!" Peridot quickly thrust her hand through a black tarp near the bottom of the machine and pulled out the bear, which was almost as tall as her. She wrapped her arms around it as she squealed in delight. She turned towards the two confused Gems behind her as she smiled, wiggling her pinkie and ring finger. The claw behind her suddenly swayed from its starting position as the cable extended downward before quickly retracting.

It did not take long before Steven and Amethyst realized what Peridot had done.

"Metal powers for the win," she said, holding out the panda so it was directly in front of her two friends.

"Oh, that was awesome Peridot!" Steven shouted, pumping his fist into the air as he smiled.

"Heck yeah, it is!" Amethyst also shouted, but suddenly her eyes widened as she slapped a hand against her temple. "GAH! Why didn't we think of using your powers from the beginning?"

"Oh right, we could have done that," Steven said before searching through his pockets. "And we probably still have some coins left if we did."

"Well, look on the bright side," Peridot said as she stared at the soft panda in her arms, eyes filled with joy. "At least we got this adorable piece of textile mixed with cotton, straw, and cheap plastic." Peridot gave the stuffed animal a big hug as Amethyst let out a small laugh.

"Well, I guess your right," the short and long-haired Gem then looked at the sky visible through the large, arch-shaped entrance to the arcade. "Besides, we wouldn't have time anyway, it's getting late and Pearl wanted us to get home early." In her last words, irritation rose in her voice as Amethyst rolled her eyes. Steven guessed Amethyst would have wanted to stay longer, but unfortunately, Pearl's orders had ruined those plans.

It was then Steven saw that the sun was setting, and he realized he was a little tired. They had spent nearly all day playing on the boardwalk while Pearl and Garnet checked the warp pads, just on the off chance they had something to do with Garnet's vision. Lapis was relaxing in the barn; she wanted to finish the Camp Pining Hearts season she was on so she could catch up with Peridot. Which meant the three Gems who had no real plans for the day had done basically whatever they wanted. And today had helped ease the troubles Steven had felt.

"Yeah, but today was still a lot of fun, right?" Steven asked the other two Gems.

"I will admit, this day was quite eventful and had it share of positive moments, so overall I am satisfied," Peridot replied, and Amethyst glanced at the triangle shaped hair Gem with a grin.

"You are such a nerd, Peri." She said, before walking towards the exit, Peridot, still holding the large panda, and Steven following behind her. But as they exited Funland and onto the wide boardwalk, Steven heard someone shouting at him.

"Steven!"

Turning around, Steven saw an adult man running towards him. His head was slightly bald, most of his dark brown hair located at the top of his scalp pointed up by some kind of gel. He wore a violet-gray coat with a white collared shirt underneath, grey-brown pants, chocolate colored shoes, and a dark violet tie. This was the elected leader of Beach City, Mayor Dewey, and he was currently weaving through crowds of people towards the three Gems.

"Um, Amethyst," Peridot began as Amethyst turned to look at the green gem. "There is a visually disturbing and sweaty creature heading towards us, should we not get rid of it?"

Amethyst laughed before responding. "Nah, don't worry about that guy Peri, he's just another human, not some monster. Heck, that dude is somehow the mayor of this place.

Peridot looked confused, probably trying to figure out what a 'mayor' was. "...Are all 'mayors' this ugly."

"The ones I've met so far have been."

Before Steven could chastise them for making fun of Mayor Dewey, the political figure was already in front of them. Sweat was glistening down his forehead as he took in deep breaths.

"Steven..." He trailed off, taking in several gasps as he clutched his heart. Eventually, he was able to catch his breath before giving Steven a very shaky smile. "How are you?" He asked.

"Um...fine," He said, wondering why mayor Dewey kept glancing in seemingly every direction.

"That's good," He said, as he let out a nervous laugh. "It's nice to see you and," He paused as he looked towards Amethyst, eyes narrowing in concentration before continuing. "Amethyst, and," once again he paused, this time looking at Peridot. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Peridot." Was the short Gem's quick and curt reply as she narrowed her eyes at Dewey

"Are you Steven's cousin or something?" He asked.

"Well, she's not really family but-." before he could finish, Amethyst suddenly grabbed his arm and walked away from Mayor Dewey.

"I'm really sorry Mr. Dewey, but we seriously got to get back home. So I don't think we can talk right now," Amethyst words were dripping with sarcasm, and one look at her face and Steven could tell she really didn't want to talk to the mayor. Peridot quickly followed, placing her bear under her armpit, but mayor Dewey actually jumped over the three short Gems and landed in front of them, spreading his arms out wide so none of the three Crystal Gems could advance.

"Wait, please!" He shouted, and Amethyst, Steven, and Peridot winced at the sheer volume of his voice. Steven saw that mayor Dewey eyes were wide, practically bulging out of his sockets. Amethyst partially glared at the man, and Peridot looked confused but before anyone of them could respond Dewey spoke again.

"Please! I... I need your help." Steven had never heard the mayor's voice sound so desperate, nor had he ever seen the mayor look so...terrified. He knew Dewey was a bit of a coward, but the fear that was radiating from the mayor being was something different.

Something was wrong.

Amethyst also saw the distress on Dewey's face, and she could also sense something was wrong. Peridot also noticed something was odd. Even with the little interactions she had with other people, the socially awkward green Gem knew this was not normal behavior for any human.

"Hey man," Amethyst said, though this time there was a hint of worry in her voice. "Are you okay? You seem more stressed than usual."

"No, I'm not okay," Dewey began, eyes once again shifting to the people around him. "I haven't been okay since..." He didn't finish, his body starting to shake as he scratched his neck with one hand. "I shouldn't even be talking to anyone about this outside the investigation, but if anyone can help it's you guys."

"Investigation?" Steven asked, raising a brow. "What investigation?"

"The investigation regarding the," He whirled his head in every direction before crouching down so he was at eye-level with the three people in front of him. "Incidents," his voice was a whisper as Steven felt confusion rise within him.

"Incidents?" Peridot asked.

"Yes, you know, the incidents that have been occurring in Beach City," Dewey responded.

"Um, what are you talking about?" Amethyst asked, and somehow the horror on Dewey's face grew larger, eyes widening even further.

"You... You mean you don't know?" Dewey to a shaky step back. "B-But you always know what's happening to Beach City. You're the guardians, and you don't know what's going on?" Dewey's voice broke, covering his face with his hands as his body trembled more violently now. "Oh Lord, they don't know."

"M-Mayor Dewey what's going on?" Steven stuttered slightly, dread beginning to pool in his stomach as he wondered what was causing Bill Dewey such panic. Around him, Both Peridot and Amethyst were now intensely focused on the man in front of them. "Please, tell us what's wrong."

Though his body was still trembling, Mayor Dewey removed his hands from his face, looking around at the people walking past them before he pointed a shaky finger at the railing of the boardwalk that was deserted of any people and far away from the main part of the boardwalk. He then immediately ran towards the wooden barrier, Steven, Amethyst and Peridot quickly following. Once all three arrived at the railing, Mayor Dewey looked over the edge towards the sand below and looked liked he was about to throw up.

"Over the last month people..." He trailed off, hyperventilating as he struggled to continue. " Have gone missing from Beach City."

"Missing!" Steven shouted, shocked, and Mayor Dewey immediately shushed Steven. He turned his head in every direction again, making sure no one heard Steven before continuing.

"Yes, missing," Dewey said in a hushed whisper.

"What do you mean by missing," Peridot asked, genuinely confused as to what the mayor of Beach City was saying. Steven really needed to teach her some of the more dire words in the English language. "Did they just cease to exist?"

"No, what I mean is that no one has seen them for weeks!" Dewey explained hastily, sweat dripping down his forehead like a waterfall. "Several families have reported their own children or other relatives have just vanished into thin air. Most of the families of the people who went missing lived here in Beach City, but there were was one elderly lady who claimed her daughter was supposed to visit her while on vacation, but she never did."

"Oh gosh that's awful," Steven said, his heart swelling with a mixture of worry and a cold fright. How could he have not known about this? How could the Gem's not know that people were going missing in their own town?

"Yeah, that really sucks," Amethyst added, her face swirling with sadness as she glanced at the floor. After a moment, she looked back at Dewey. "How many people have gone missing?"

"At least five people," Dewey responded, and it was clear from his tone that he was taking this whole ordeal quite hard. "And we're still not sure if there are any more people missing."

"Five whole people!" Steven shouted, and was once again hushed by Dewey, and this time the mayor placed a finger roughly against Steven's lips. "Sorry," the teen muttered.

"I take it that so many people 'missing' is a very bad thing?" Peridot asked.

"Yes, it is," Dewey let out a long heavy sigh as he stared at the sand below with a horribly depressed look in his eyes. "The only thing we know is that all the missing people are all woman. We've been investigating this case for a week, but I thought if I asked you guys you would have all the answers."

"Why would you think that?" Peridot said, crossing her arms as she frowned.

"Because you guys always know what's going on when something weird is happening!" Mayor Dewey almost shouted. "I figured this was something magical related because let's face it whenever their's trouble here it's always something magical! Not to mention there hasn't been a single monster attack or giant flaming hand falling from the sky in weeks!" He looked around at the boardwalk, then the people, and then back towards all three Gems. "I mean, when was the last time Beach City was so...peaceful?"

None of the three short Gems could answer that question. True there had been several attack and alien threats, but all those dangers were directed at the Crystal Gems and not the town. Beach City looked to them like it was the same as it always had been.

But it was clear their town was far from fine.

"So I assumed that the universe sent us another magical catastrophe after all this peace, but you're telling me that's not the case? Are you absolutely sure?" He asked, once again looking at the three with desperate eyes.

"We've been checking for anything out of the ordinary a lot lately, but we haven't noticed anything," Amethyst answered, and through her one visible eye, Steven could see she felt ashamed for the answer she gave. Amethyst probably thought it sounded weak or maybe stupid since she assumed she should have realized something was happening to her own town sooner. He knew Amethyst was having some confidence issues, even after beating Jasper Steven could still tell Amethyst would still sometimes feel...small. So hearing that people were going missing while she thought she had been doing a good job protecting her town probably made her pride shrink.

And Steven could relate as an intense amount of guilt practically ripped his heart out of his chest. How could he not know about something like this? He visited almost every part of Beach City on a near-daily basis but never realized something this serious was happening in his town. Now, because of his carelessness, people were missing, and they might be hurt or worse.

"Oh no," Dewey gasped. "Now what am I going to do? If you guys don't know, then that means we have absolutely no leads at all to find the missing citizens. My career is over, and there's a very good chance if we don't find them soon they'll end up-."

"Hey!" Amethyst interrupted with a shout, walking up to the mayor. "Don't talk like that, because in case you've forgotten, we're the Crystal Gems." Her voice was stern and passionate. "Whenever there's trouble, we'll be there to help, and that ain't changing anytime soon. We might not have known before, but now that we do know what's going on here, we're gonna try and figure this out. We fight literal monsters on a daily basis, So we'll find these guys no problem." She gave the mayor a big smirk oozing with confidence. Steven was glad that the purple Gem was quick to recover. Before Amethyst might have gotten a bit depressed at anything reminding her of her own flaws, but now she had learned to accept that even with her defects, she was still a strong and reliable person anyone could count on. "So rest easy knowing the Gem Squad is on the case, and we won't even charge you for our time."

"Y-You really think," Dewey stuttered, still looking like he would vomit at any moment. "You really think you can find them?" He finished, wiping the sweat dripping down his face with a handkerchief.

"When was the last time you saw us ever do something and fail?" Amethyst asked, "oh that's right, never. So continue handling things your way, and let us handle things our way."

The panic on Dewey's face decreased, though it was obvious he was still worried. "If you're sure-"

"Heck yeah, we're sure!" Amethyst interrupted, smacking her gem with her hand in a display of pride.

"Then, if you find anything, please immediately call me," Dewey said, his eyes full of worry as they shifted to the people around him. "And remember not to let anyone know about this, we can't risk a panic now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have important matters regarding the investigation to attend to." Mayor Dewey quickly ran off, accidentally tripping over his own feet as he did so. He got up as fast as he could, pretending that did not happen as he continued to run and eventually vanished from Steven's sight as the crowd of people grew larger.

"Come on guys," Amethyst said, her face shifting to a serious expression as she pointed in the general direction of the Crystal Temple. "We got to go tell everyone what's going on."

"Amethyst, Peridot," Steven began as both Gems turned to him. "Do you think this is what Garnet's vision was about?"

Amethyst looked unsure, and so did Peridot, the purple Gem hesitant to respond. "Well, Garnet said something big was coming, and missing people is a big deal, but not like 'all I see is death in my future vision' kind of deal."

"But, I mean, something might have taken these people right?"

"Yeah," Amethyst replied slowly.

"And this thing could be the same thing that Garnet saw in her vision right?" Before Amethyst had a chance to reply, Steven continued. "What if something bad happened to these people? What if something bad is happening to them right now and we can't do anything about it?" Steven then looked to the floor, his eyes wide with a mix of horror and regret as he inhaled a shaky breath. "What if... What if they're already dea-"

"Hey, stop getting all depressed on me!" Amethyst interrupted Steven with a shout, lifting the boy's chin up so he was looking directly at Amethyst. Her eyes were glaring at Steven, upset. "You're Steven Universe, getting sad should not be on your list of things to do. I know this looks bad, but you know we always pull through in the end. So there's no reason to even think like that." Care filled her expression as she gave a small but warm smile. "I don't know how many times we've said this before, but we're the Crystal Gems, and we always save the day."

Steven would not say it out loud, but there was a part of him that doubted those words. Neither he nor the Gems knew such a serious situation was going on in Beach City, and yet they were supposed to find the source of why so many people went missing under their watch? They had failed to even stop whatever was causing this event in the beginning, and fear soon pooled in the bottom of Steven's stomach as he wondered if they could stop whatever was causing this.

But then he remembered who he was, and who the Gem's were. The race of aliens who had always beaten the bad guy no matter what the odds were. The heroes of earth, himself included, who would always help anyone in need, and yet here he was doubting if they could stop this new threat.

It was ridiculous... So why was it he couldn't stop feeling like his heart was getting pierced by fear?

"Yeah, your right Amethyst," Steven said, giving Amethyst his best smile, but his voice was a lot quieter than he liked it to be. Amethyst did not seem to notice as she gave him a small smile.

"Of course she is right," Peridot added as the two Gems looked towards the pointy hair shaped soldier. "You are all incredibly stubborn in protecting this town, and whatever is trying to hurt it will surely rue the day it messed with the Crystal Gems."

Steven and Amethyst were a bit shocked at Peridot' kind words.

"Ahhh, Peri," Amethyst quickly brought Peridot in for a big hug, which surprised the other Gem as she suddenly found herself lifted off the ground. "I didn't know you thought we were that awesome."

"I was simply stating the facts," Peridot said, a small blue blush growing on her face as she adjusted her visor. "It would be illogical not to admit you guys are...pretty cool."

Amethyst let out a big laugh as she put Peridot down, before looking towards the cliff at the edge of town. "Seriously, though," Her voice became firm as her eyes narrowed. "We got to go tell the others now." Amethyst ran towards the direction of the Crystal Temple, Peridot quickly following after her.

And Steven was right behind the two Gems, though his mind was elsewhere. Normally his faith in the Gems was unshakable, always believing them whenever they told him everything would be fine. But lately, their words never seemed to hold that same impact they used to. He found himself questioning the Gems decisions more often, and especially now after hearing such awful news. He always thought the Gems knew everything that was happening in Beach City, and clearly, that was wrong. He always thought after all the time they spent in the small town, after their history-

Steven paused mid-thought, now finding himself reviewing all of the details of the Gems past he had learned, and he realized that he really didn't know any of the Gem's history that well, save for a few details here and there. It was the same thing with his mother, the Gems barely telling him anything about his mom's actions from the past. The more he learned about her, the more he saw all her flaws and all her secrets. And he was starting to learn that the other Gems also had a lot of secrets, and even after all his improvement they told him he had made, they still wouldn't tell him anything. Not even his own father told him much about the Gem's past, and he had married their leader.

It was like they were...ordered not to tell him anything. Like his mother, for some reason, thought it would be best for her own son to know as little as possible about his own heritage or any of the Gems past. Steven knew next to nothing about the Gem's home planet, and if Rose Quartz did tell the other Gems not to tell him and they willingly acted out on this order, to Steven it was like...

It was like they didn't trust him. They didn't trust him to know about his own mother.

In the next moment, he couldn't believe he thought that. Of course, they trusted him. After all, they had been through, they not only trusted him but they loved him. They were a family, and no matter what secrets they kept from him, he would still love them. And no matter what he learned about his mother, he knew who she was. A kind and caring person who had given up her life so Steven could exist.

No matter what, every action Rose Quartz took she did because she loved each and every one of the Crystal Gems.

That's what I thought too.

He heard a voice. Bismuth's voice.

He stopped running, his skin paling as he whipped his head around and expected the rainbow-haired Gem to be standing behind him.

But no one was.

And Steven's felt his blood turn to pure ice. And then he heard Bismuth again.

If I were you, I start wondering what exactly it is they aren't telling you about Rose.

It's getting worse, he thought, trying not to listen to his mind's version of Bismuth. He had been hearing her more and more, but this was the first time the disembodied voice of the blue Gem had said something new. Something she hadn't already said when he had first met her and when she had tried to shatter him.

And even though he knew she wasn't real, even though he knew it was just the result of his psyche playing tricks on him...Bismuth's words were enough to make all the doubt resurface within Steven, spreading throughout his body with a vengeance.

"Hey, Steven hurry up!" Amethyst's voice snapped Steven out of the nightmarish thoughts racing through his head. He turned his head to see Amethyst and Peridot a short distance away on the boardwalk, having stopped running and now looking at Steven. "We can't waste any more time come one!"

"Sorry!" Steven said, and once again started to run. The doubt and fear were still growing, but he chose to ignore his feelings.

There was no way any of the Crystal Gems would lie to him about his mother. There was no chance that the Gems kept his mother's past a secret because she wasn't the woman they all said she was. There had to be reasons why they kept secrets from him.

They were his family and he trusted them completely.

But despite his thoughts, he could still hear Bismuth let out a haunting laugh that echoed throughout his subconscious.

He knew wasn't getting any sleep tonight.


Josuke was used to riding on buses, but he was never would have thought the people on board could be so...quiet.

He had calmed down enough after exiting the building to realize he needed to find some mode of transportation to get to Beach City. So after asking around for a bit, the day quickly becoming night as the rain eventually stopped, he found out there was a bus that headed in the general direction of Beach City. And with stolen money that Crazy Diamond had lifted from unsuspecting strangers, who could not see or hear his Stand, he had gotten on a dark blue bus and paid an old man in a typical American bus driver uniform as he sat down on a dirty brown seat. He had to be careful not to sit on a lone piece of gum, and once he had sat down he had noticed how quiet everyone was being.

Back home, no one ever actually talked on the buses, after all, why would a bunch of strangers start talking with one another for no reason? But this silence was different. This silence was a hollow, echoing quiet that could be disturbed with just the slightest breeze. Everyone around him in the surrounding seats was either looking into the strange rectangular devices or looking out the window towards the dark skies above them.

It made him a little uneasy, but he tried to focus on the task at hand.

He took out a more advanced map of New Jersey as well as a copy of every schedule for every bus that ran through the city. Once the bus reached its last stop, near the borders of New Jersey, He would have to get off it and get on a bus that would take him to Philadelphia. And then from there, he would have to travel to Baltimore and finally get on one last bus that would take him to Beach City. It would take a few days, though, as by the time he arrived in the cities he would have to wait for the specific buses to take him to his destination.

And in that time, Kira would probably kill more people as Josuke was forced to wait for a God damn bus.

He had thought about stealing someone's car or even motorcycle, but ultimately the logical side of his brain was able to overcome the fiery anger within him. He did not know anything about this country, least of all the roads, and even if he got a map of the country he doubted he could learn every road and every exit within a short period of time. Add in the fact that Josuke was still injured, his left leg still unable to support his weight as the rest of his body shouted at Josuke to stop, he had to conserve as much energy as possible before he confronted Kira.

No, he had to take the buses and rest so when he arrived in Beach City, he could properly kick Kira and Killer Queen's asses.

Still, that monster is most likely blowing up people at this very moment. The thought angered him, but he knew right now he could do nothing now. He was letting innocent people die once again because of his mistakes.

Brooding isn't going to do you any good now Josuke, he thought. Right now the only thing he could do was wait impatiently for the bus to get to his stop which should be about another twenty minutes.

Looking around him, he realized that most of the other passengers had gotten off by this point, now only three other people including the bus driver were still here. Turning his head towards the window, he saw that the streets they were passing now were more deserted, having not seen a single person wandering through the roads as they went deeper into the city. The bus turned into a narrow street as Josuke let his mind wander.

Must be getting closer to the last stop, he thought as he wished he had a watch or something to let him know what time it was. Then again, it wasn't like knowing the time would-

Suddenly the bus came to a screeching stop. Josuke had not buckled himself into the seat, so his head smashed against the seat in front of him as he screamed in pain.

"Son of a-!" He didn't finish, both because he did not want to draw unnecessary attention to himself and because he was busy dealing with a head-splitting pain running through his body.

What the hell was that? He thought, looking around and seeing the other passengers also looked surprised at the sudden stop. Looking towards the front of the bus, he saw the driver was also confused. Squinting his eyes, Josuke saw that the driver was not hitting the break at all, yet for some reason, the bus would not move. The driver pushed down on the accelerator, and though Josuke could hear the tires thrashing against the tight road, the bus would not move.

It was like the vehicle had crashed into something heavy and anchored deeply in the black street.

And that was when Josuke saw something moving in the corner of his eye.

Turning his head towards the window behind him, he saw something moving outside. For just a moment, he saw something that looked like black mist blowing in the wind just outside the bus. The mist soon traveled forward, circling the bus and eventually out of Josuke's sight. No one else seemed to notice the mist but him.

Oh Shit, he thought, as the familiar feeling of anxiety rose in his stomach. After months of battling Stand's, after training with Jotaro and all his other friends, he had learned one thing, one valuable life lesson that had saved his life countless of times before.

If he ever sees or encounters something remotely strange, there was a good chance someone was trying to kill him.

He heard the doors open and whipped his head to see the bus driver walking down the steps to exit the bus. Josuke immediately knew this was a bad idea and would have shouted at the man to stop.

Where it not for the fact the man's body exploded in a brilliant ball of fire the moment his foot took a single step outside, the force sending what was left of his body flying back to his seat. There was no noise from the detonation of flames, but the power of the explosion was enough to send shockwaves rumbling through the bus as Josuke found his body crashing against the window as he shouted in pain.

"Shit!" He screamed as he fell onto the dirty bus floor. His body was once again convulsing with a searing pain, blood pooling in his lips as he slowly got up. Smoke started to fill the bus as Josuke saw the bus driver's blood now painted along the walls of the vehicle. His skin, or what was left of it, was now burned to a crisp, the horrible smell of burning flesh inescapable. His leg was now nothing more than ash, and his arm was horribly mangled, only a part of his body due to the thin strands of muscle still holding it together as his eyes were now staring at the ceiling, never again to be closed.

And as the other two passengers screamed and looked on with wide, fearful eyes, Josuke turned his head to the right. This was where he had last seen the black ashes of mist, and his instincts told him something was there.

And he was right.

Something was there.

He could not see what exactly, the shadows of the night covered whatever being was standing a distance away from the bus. But what he could tell was that the being had something forming in the center of his palm.

And then it threw the creation circling in his hand towards the bus, and Josuke saw the black object traveling through the air at dangerous speeds.

With no time to help the other passengers, Josuke called upon his Stand, the light purple aura growing around his body as Crazy Diamond quickly appeared right next to Josuke. Without even looking at Josuke, Crazy Diamond acted.

"DORA!" His Stand dug its gauntlet covered hands through the floor like it was made of butter and ripped out a large chunk of metal about a head taller than Josuke. Crazy Diamond quickly raised the scrap of metal in front of it and Josuke, using it as an improv shield just as the black mass collided with the bus.

And the bus erupted into an enormous fireball. Josuke found his body careening through a window, glass digging into his skin as the explosion sent him tumbling painfully onto the ground. His body skidded on the streets until he collided against the base of one of the buildings, coughing a thick glob of blood when he crashed.

God damn it that hurts! He thought. His wounds had reopened now, a bit of blood spilling into his outfit as a searing pain shot through his nerves. His muscles roared as a the pain made it hard to breathe.

But Josuke could not lay on the cold pavement. Because he knew if he did, then he was going to die.

He got up as fast as he could, putting most of his weight on his right leg as he leaned on the building behind him for support. The bus in front of him was covered in flames, the passengers that were with him were most likely dead if the lack of screams were any indication. As he watched the fire grow bigger, an intense fury that helped block out his pain spread throughout his body.

He had failed to save more lives, once again unable to protect the people who were right in front of him.

And he knew who was responsible for this.

Another explosion erupted against the bus, just like before it was deadly quiet as the vehicle was broken into several large heaps of metal. Smoke spread throughout the road as Josuke could see a figure walking through the black fumes.

And even with smoke making only its outline visible, Josuke knew what it was.

The figure strolled through the fire and smoke on the streets, its triangle shaped ears atop a flat head made Josuke's anger triple. As it walked out of the smoke, the first thing Josuke saw was the familiar leather gloves with the skull emblem, and the energy around him began to ripple as he clenched his fists. Crazy Diamond's face was etched with rage as it scowled.

The figure was now out of the smoke and standing in front of the flames, and Josuke glared at the cat-like being in front of him. And that thing looked at Josuke with the same emotionless gaze it always held.

But it looked...different now. Instead of its usual pale pink colors, its skin was now pitch black, only a shade lighter than its gloves and belt. Josuke wondered why it looked so different now, but in the next moment, he could no longer think.

Becuase he heard his voice.

"Hello..." The voice sounded a pitch lower, and a bit warped like there was more than one person talking. But to Josuke, he could only hear the voice of the man who wreaked havoc on Morioh.

"Josuke... Higashikata."

Pissed did not even begin to describe the wrath burning in his soul.

"KIRAAAAAAAAAA!" The purple energy around Josuke extended towards the sky as both Stand and master's faces blazed with fury.

Killer Queen only looked on with two, cold pink eyes.

To Be Continued~


Side Story: The Laments of a Punk.

What the hell's up with all this rain?

It seemed to rain every day now; people walked around the streets of Morioh under umbrellas and thick raincoats. The sky hadn't let up even for a moment, water falling down so hard the streets were partially flooded.

Yet despite the massive downpour, Okuyasu Nijimura was out without an umbrella or any kind of jacket to protect him from the rain. Instead, he sat alone on a bench a few blocks away from his house. He looked down at the wet ground below him, for how long he did not know, as his clothes were getting wetter by the second.

But he didn't care about that.

"Twenty feet..." He thought, still slouching as he brought his right hand up to his face. "No... maybe ten feet away..."

Okuyasu was never a man to dwell on thoughts. Partially because he never liked thinking too much about any one thing, and also because he liked to focus on what was in front of him. But there were times when his mind would be haunted by one thought, unable to shake it no matter what he tried. When his brother died, for months whenever he wasn't hanging out with Josuke or Koichi, his mind would be consumed by thoughts of Keicho Nijimura. For so long, whenever he went home to the monstrous form of his father, he would just sit on his bed and...stare at the opposite wall as he tried to tell himself his bro was gone, and no amount of denial was going to change that.

And the pain he was feeling right now might have been even worse than the pain he felt when his older brother died.

He did not cry, he did not shout, he did not do anything to let out the grief building within his chest. He just walked along the streets near his house for hours on end. And he hadn't talked to any of his friends for a while, despite their efforts to reach out to him.

Even if they tried to help him, he knew they couldn't.

How could they help him deal with the loss of his best friend when it was his fault? When he was literally right in front of Josuke, when he wasn't even ten feet away and when he could have done something to save him, he didn't and now his bro was...

Motherfucker, he thought as he let out yet another sigh. The rain had thoroughly drenched every part of his body now, getting colder by the moment, but he did not care.

If anything he was glad he was cold, it took away his focus from the bottomless pit of despair in his stomach.

It was then he felt the rain stop, which confused him because there was no way such heavy rain could just stop in a second. Looking up, he saw that there was a white sleeved covered arm holding an umbrella right above him. Slowly his eyes followed the arm and saw who was holding the umbrella.

He was a tall man, over six feet tall, his muscles were bulging even underneath a black turtleneck shirt with a golden palm emblem on the neck. He wore a long, white, lapelless trench coat that reached all the way to his shins and had on equally white, wide-legged pants. Two black belts were wrapped around his waist and the cuffs of his coat were a light purple with medium sized yellow triangles. A white visored cap with a row of black Venus symbols with an arrow at the bottom of each cross and another golden palm emblem sat on his black-haired head.

Light blue eyes were staring at Okuyasu as the punk instantly recognized the man.

"Mr. Jotaro," Okuyasu said, raising an eyebrow at the muscular twenty-eight-year-old. This was Jotaro Kujo, one of the strongest Stand Users in the world, and a man Okuyasu and practically every Stand User in Morioh respected.

"...You need an Umbrella?" Jotaro asked, and Okuyasu saw he was holding another umbrella over his own head. Okuyassu sat back on the bench as he looked towards the umbrella over his head.

"...Sure," he took the black umbrella out of Jotaro's hand and held it in his own. He would be lying if he said the coldness spreading throughout his body wasn't getting just a little rough to deal with.

It was then Okuyasu noticed something clinging to the back of Jotaro's leg. Looking closer, he saw it was a little girl with twin buns on the side of her head. She wore a black dress that showed her shoulders, light green spiderweb lines were etched into the front and back of her outfit. Pink butterfly emblems were scattered on her dress and pink shorts, some placed on the spider-webs and two were placed on both of her hair buns. She had dark black boots and had dark black hair, the front of her hair was dyed a dirty yellow, while the back of her hair was tied in a small braid.

Turquoise eyes peeked from behind Jotaro's leg, staring at Okuyasu. The punk could see she was holding a tiny pink umbrella in one of her hands.

"Mr. Jotaro," Okuyasu pointed at the girl clinging to the marine biologist leg, raising a brow. "There some little girl following you."

Jotaro did not respond at first, simply adjusting his cap as he glanced at the girl grabbing his leg. "Jolyne," he said, and with just that word the girl let go of his leg and stepped in front of Jotaro. There was a hint of nervousness in her face, but she still stared right into Okuyasu's brown eyes.

"Okuyasu," Okuyasu looked up towards Jotaro. "This is my daughter, Jolyne Kujo."

"..." Okuyasu said nothing, simply looking from Jotaro to Jolyne. "This is your daughter?" Okuyasu eventually asked.

"Yes," was the single curt reply Okuyasu got.

"I see." He nodded.

Had Okuyasu not been consumed by sorrow and grief, he might have shouted 'holy shit' at the top of his lungs as his widened in shock. But since he was still incredibly sullen, he did not say that.

Instead, he just thought that.

HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! Though his expression was neutral, on the inside Okuyasu was having trouble not dropping his jaw.

Jotaro Kujo, the man who never showed any emotion whatsoever, the man whose face was constantly in a deep frown, the man who beat the ever loving crap out of so many people and should not be allowed anywhere near children had a daughter?!

No, more important than that, if he had a daughter did that mean...he was MARRIED?!

A quick glance and Okuyasu did, in fact, see a ring on Jotaro's finger; Okuyasu was sure Jotaro's fingers had been barren until right now, and seeing the ring blew the teen's mind.

How did this man, who had the emotional capacity of a rock, who was still awesome and sometimes wise, have a wife? What kind of a woman could get Jotaro Kujo, the man who was basically the real-life Kenshiro, to start a family? What kind of goddess could smite this stone-cold badass? Whoever she was, Okuyasu assumed she was both the most beautiful and most frightening woman of all time.

And it was at this point that Okuyasu realized he had been blankly staring at Jolyne while he had his mental tirade.

Coughing into his fist, Okuyasu gave Joylene a small, shaky smile. "Nice to meet ya, Jolyne."

Jolyne did not return his greeting, instead glaring cutely at the man in front of her. "Daddy, I don't trust this sketchy looking dummy."

Okuyasu was not offended by that, he was used to being seen as a threat because of his looks, but he was surprised by the ferocity in Jolyne's words. Had she not had such a cute voice, Okuyasu was sure he be a bit scared by the intensity of her expression

"Jolyne," Jotaro said, and Jolyne's expression shifted to one of nervousness as she looked towards her father. "What did we say about insulting people."

"... That if you insult someone, you better make sure it's cool and short?" She answered, giving Jotaro a shaky smile as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"And?" Jotaro said, and Jolyne shyly looked down to the curb

"... And you should only insult someone if they deserve it, not to people you don't know." She looked back to Okuyasu, giving him a short bow. "I'm sorry for talking trash to you sir."

"Um, it's fine Jolyne," Okuyasu replied. "In fact, I think more girls should be like you, spunky and adorable."

Jolyne gave Okuyasu a big smile at his words, but Jotaro looked at his daughter with a frown.

"You still can't insult random strangers, Jolyne." Jolyne pouted at Jotaro's words as the intimidating man looked at Okuyasu. "Okuyasu's a good friend of your dad's, so I like for you two to get along."

Okuyasu was a bit surprised hearing Jotaro call him a friend. "I have to talk to him about some important stuff, so you can do whatever you want so long as you stay within my sight."

"Can I go play in that big puddle over there?" She asked, pointing to a large puddle of rain water right across the street on the opposite curb.

"Sure."

"Yaaaaay!" She shouted, looking both ways before crossing the street and jumping into the large puddle. Jotaro sat down next to Okuyasu and the two sat in silence on the bench. A few minutes passed, neither said a word as Jotaro stared at his daughter playing while Okuyasu was again slouched forward, letting his sorrow consume his mind again. Eventually, though, the curiosity growing inside Okuyasu surpassed his sorrow as he looked towards Jotaro.

"I didn't know you had a daughter, Mr. Jotaro.." He said.

"Jolyne stayed at home with her mother while I went to Morioh. But since I ended up staying here longer than I imagined and my wife became busy with work, Jolyne was sent here to stay with me." He gave Okuyasu a glance. "Is it that surprising I have a kid?" He asked.

"Yes," Okuyasu said without thinking, and upon realizing what he said he quickly amended that statement. "Er, I mean, you don't look like someone who would...settle down and have a family."

For just a second, a ghost of a smile graced Jotaro's lips. "Well, sometimes life takes you on a bizarre adventure, and at the end..." He looked towards his daughter, who was giggling like crazy. "You get a prize you never once considered an option."

His smile quickly vanished as he turned towards Okuyasu. "That aside, I did come here to talk to you."

Right. Jotaro did say that he had something important to tell him...could it be?

"Is it about Josuke?" Okuyasu asked, a faint glimmer of hope in his voice, but Jotaro's cold eye all but crushed that hope.

"Sorry but," he let out a long sigh before continuing. "The Speedwagon Foundation still hasn't found anything, the lead we had just lead to another dead end."

"...Oh, okay," Okuyasu said, looking at the ground once again. The grief within him grew as he let out a sigh. "Damn it."

It had been several weeks since Josuke Higashikata had entered that mysterious crack in the streets and vanished from Morioh along with Kira. Every Stand User in the town had seen the incredible light that came from the crack, and once it faded everyone had wondered what the hell had happened. Jotaro, Koichi, and Rohan ran towards the street where his best friend once was, and while he was too shocked to explain anything, Hayato had told them what happened.

Immediately after that, Everyone searched every inch of the town for Josuke, eliciting the help of every one of his bro's friends to aid in their search. But even with every Stand User in Morioh helping them, they could not find Josuke Higashikata. After hours of searching, they all came to the same conclusion.

Josuke was no longer in Morioh.

Everyone had gone to the Reimi Sugimoto, the ghost girl who could feel if a person soul had moved on to the next world if they were killed by Kira. While she had said she hadn't felt either Josuke's or Kira's soul pass, that did nothing to ease their worry. Days seemed to pass in seconds as they tried every method they could think of to locate Josuke. They tried Yuya Fungami's Stand, Highway Star, to track down Josuke's scent, but the purple Stand could not get a clear direction as to where Josuke went. Okuyasu had asked Mikitaka Hazekura, the alien he and Josuke had met, to see if he had any tools or abilities to help locate his bro. Unfortunately, the alien answered that he had nothing that would aid in the search for Josuke, but he would do whatever he could do to help find his friend.

Jotaro and the Speedwagon Foundation had done the most in the search for Josuke. They used every resource they had, thinking that the crack might have transported them to some place in the world. They had followed every lead they could get their hands on, but after weeks of searching they had made no progress.

Okuyasu had started to think Josuke was dead. That he had died along with Kira in that crack, that he had died to protect his home.

And Okuyasu had been blaming himself ever since that God-awful day.

"We're still looking," Jotaro continued, but Okuyasu wasn't looking at him and instead at the ground. "Josuke has to be somewhere, and we will find him.

"... I'm pretty sure he's dead." Okuyasu said, glancing at Jotaro to see his reaction. Jotaro did not say a word; he did not try to convince Okuyasu otherwise and instead waited with a calm expression for Okuyasu to continue.

"Everyone's saying that someone like Josuke couldn't have died like that, all I've been hearing is how he was the strongest guy they know and that he can't be dead but... how the fuck does strength help you when you're facing death." He let out a long sigh. "Josuke's like my brother in a lot of ways; both of those guys were so strong, both of them could take on the world and might even win if they did. But they're still human. They could still die. No matter how strong you are, you're not immortal and you can die in almost any way. So whenever I hear my friends say that because Josuke is so strong he can't have died in such a lame way... I feel like he's been killed right in front of me and my heart feels like it got stabbed by a big, rusty knife"

Clenching his fist, Okuyasu's body trembled. "I thought Keicho was the strongest guy out there, I thought he was invincible and wouldn't lose to anybody. But not only did he lose to somebody, despite how strong he was, my big bro still died. He died... protecting my sorry ass."

He was snarling, his eyes full of anger. He felt his blood beginning to boil. "And then Josuke gets sucked up into that crack, with me right there but once again powerless to help him, and I... I think history repeats itself and once again someone I care about is killed and taken straight to hell!" He slammed his free hand against the bench, actually able to leave a dent in the wood. He dropped the umbrella as it rolled on the ground, letting the rain pelt him once more.

"Mr. Jotaro, have you ever felt helpless?" Okuyasu asked, but he had a feeling the answer would be no. "Have you ever felt like that no matter how much power a man has, he can't stop death from taking his family away? That no matter how strong your friends are, they can't cheat death? That you can't stop something that's impossible to stop."

Okuyasu stopped talking, simply looking at nothing, his rage lessened with each passing second. Sorrow soon took over his body as he let out yet another depressed sigh. He was sure Jotaro by this point was about to-.

"Kakyoin."

"Huh?" Okuyasu said, looking up at the hulk of a man. "Who's that?"

"That is the name my friend who died helping me defeat Dio, a blonde asshole with an incredibly strong Stand." Okuyasu had heard bits and pieces of Jotaro's past exploits, most of those details came from Joseph Joestar, and this was the first time he had heard the name Kakyoin. "He was a good friend, made weird sounds whenever he ate cherries and was a strong Stand User. But he still died.

Okuyasu was listening intently, Jotaro staring into his eyes as he continued. "I also knew a man named Avdol, a fortune teller who sucked at poker but was a man I could always rely on. He died from one of the blonde asshole's minions. And then there was Iggy, a shitty dog who was just a pain in the ass to deal with, but somehow became a loyal friend near the end of our journey. His corpse was so mangled it barely even resembled a dog."

Jotaro stood up, also dropping his umbrella as he gazed at the sky. "I learned about their deaths in the midst of battling Dio, so at the time I couldn't really focus on them. During our fight, Dio had drained all the blood from my gramps, becoming stronger than ever but I was still able to kick his ass. Afterward, I was in an ambulance with my dying gramps and then it hit me."

He let out a sigh as he adjusted his cap. "Most of my friends were now dead, gone for good and I was right there and couldn't do anything about it. For the first time in my life, I felt... Sorrow. A deep and crushing sorrow over the fact that some of the greatest men I ever knew were killed because a blond vampire had a god complex. And my own grandfather looked like he was about to meet the same fate as my other friends. And do you know what I thought at that moment?" He asked, and Okuyasu shook his head to the side.

"I thought, 'like hell I'm gonna someone else die on my watch.' So giving death the biggest piss off I could muster, I revived my gramps even though everyone told me it was impossible."

Jotaro's eyes held a fiery determination, and Okuyasu gulped at the look he was receiving. "Okuyasu, it's true that sometimes life can be cruel and hurt those who mean something to you. But sometimes, a powerful man can change what is known as impossible and perform a miracle. And that is who Josuke Higashiakta is, and that is what your friends mean when they say he is strong. Josuke is a man whose power comes from the bonds of his friends. He is a man who can always defy seemingly unstoppable forces and a man who can pull off a miracle when all hope is lost."

Jotaro turned away from Okuyasu, picked up his umbrella and walked across the street. "And that's why I'm confident he will definitely return to Morioh. Because that asshole has the power to beat death a hundred times over."

Jotaro walked towards his daughter before giving Okuyasu one last glance. "So I think you should stop moping around and help find that purple haired bastard. It wasn't your fault, and Josuke wouldn't want you blaming yourself over this."

Jotaro then walked off with his daughter, who was still giggling like the child she was. Okuyasu let those words sink in, the rain still going strong as he felt his socks fill with water.

And then, for the first time in weeks, Okuyasu felt the grief in his heart almost completely vanish. He had been blaming himself for weeks on end, telling himself that it was his fault Josuke vanished and most likely died. No one else had convinced him otherwise until right now.

Jotaro Kujo really was one hell of a man.

He's right, Okuyasu thought as he grabbed the umbrella on the floor. Josuke can't be dead because he's got real strength. Either he'll get back on his own or we'll find him and bring him back ourselves.

His lips moved into a small grin as he held the umbrella overhead as he walked back home.

"Josuke, wherever you are, you better not give up and get your ass back to Morioh soon."


And that's a wrap! This chapter is my longest one so far and I must admit it was fun to write. For anyone wondering what the black Killer Queen is and what are its powers, those questions shall be answered in the next chapter. And said chapter will have action in it, as well as more dark moments with Kira.

In addition to the main story, I would like people's thought on the side story I included. I have never done something like this before and would like to know what you guys thought of it.

For anyone wondering where this chapter takes place in the Steven Universe canon, it's after "Buddy's Book" but before "Mindful Education"

If anyone has any thoughts, suggestions, or predictions on where this story is heading, don't be afraid to say so in the reviews. This is The Black Mage of Phantasm signing off. Peace!