Chapter 4: Let Me Live

Steven had been on many adventures before. Some of them were fun and surreal, the journeys where Steven learned something new about the Gems and their powers. Some of them were intense and frightening, most of these adventures ended up with Steven and The Gems injured after going up against a tough enemy. And some resulted in Steven making new friends, realizing that some of his enemies just needed someone to call a friend and he welcomed them with open arms into his family. Those were the best kind of journeys for Steven, the son of Rose Quartz empathy knew no limits as he always tried to see things from other perspectives, even for corrupted Gems whose minds were shattered.

But it was different this time.

This was the first time an adventure unsettled Steven to his core.

He, Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet were currently in a small house, located near the main streets of the town. Steven was in the home's large living room, head looking under every chair and sofa he could find. Upstairs, Garnet and Pearl were looking through the only bedroom in the house while Amethyst was downstairs searching through one of the bathrooms.

"Have you found anything yet, Amethyst?" He heard Pearl ask.

"Nope!" Amethyst shouted. "Just a lot of candy, and they're pretty good."

"... Do those candies have the word 'soap' written anywhere on them?" Pearl said, and Steven could imagine Pearl narrowing her eyes.

"Let me check...oh yeah, they do." There was a pause, and Steven was sure he heard the sounds of something soft and mushy being chewed on. "I'm still gonna eat them."

"Amethyst, remember why we're here." Came the stern voice of Garnet as Steven looked underneath a painting of fruit. "We can not waste time, not when the mission is this important."

After he, Amethyst, and Peridot had returned and told the other Gems at the temple what had Dewey had told them, they both looked shocked at the news. They were obviously not expecting something like this, and why would they? They had been scanning for anything Gem related or peculiar happening in and outside of the town for weeks now, and ever since Jasper's attack on Steven with the corrupted Gems, they had been guarding over every part Beach City with an intense resolve. They were confident in their abilities to protect their family and home, and since Garnet's future vision event, every one of the Crystal Gems had been stepping up in their duties. Pearl and Garnet had been protecting Beach City with such skill and precision that they were sure they would notice anything dangerous going on in the quiet town the moment anything happened.

So it probably came as a big blow to their pride to know that something had snuck passed them and done something to the people they swore to protect.

Steven, Amethyst, and even Peridot could relate to the other Gems turmoil. But like the strong and determined women Steven had known for years, they pushed aside those feelings to focus on the important matter at hand. Though it stung, every one of the Crystal Gems had to accept the fact they messed up and would have to rectify that mistake.

Steven truly hoped that they could do it. The doubt within him clung to his heart as he could still hear Bismuth's laughs echoing in his psyche.

Pearl had quickly decided they had to investigate this matter immediately. Garnet had agreed, their stoic leader telling Steven to contact Dewey and ask him who was the most recent person to disappear. Scolding himself for not asking such an obvious question sooner, he ran towards to his room and grabbed his cellphone. A quick call to mayor Dewey's personal cell, Steven had acquired that number from after helping Dewey so many times in the past, and he found out the address of the woman who disappeared. Steven also learned her name was Abigail.

Pearl had asked Peridot to stay here, since the other Gems knew the locations better, and had asked her to tell Lapis what they had learned, and also to check around the barn. Though it was unlikely, perhaps there was some clue as to what was happening to the town there, despite how slim the chances were. And with a somewhat formed plan, Steven, Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet raced to the house of one of the missing people.

Surprisingly Lion had decided to accompany the four Gems as they left the temple, the pink beast letting out a small growl as his face turned into a snarl before following the others. Steven could tell Lion's anger wasn't directed at them, but at what specifically, the teen had no idea.

The sun had set by the time they left the beach, and the stars above them twinkled as they provided extra lights for the roads of Beach City in addition to the street lamps. Steven had always found Beach City alluring at night; the town seemed to transform whenever the cover of the night covered the small city.

But right now Steven did not wish to spend any more time on the streets than he had to. After a few more minutes of running, Steven had declared they had finally reached the house. It was a small light blue home in the same beach house design as nearly every house in the city. Dewey had told Steven that the woman who went missing here had disappeared a few weeks ago. The police had thoroughly checked the house but had found nothing to help them in their search for the missing woman.

There was a bit of police tape blocking the door, but Garnet had punched a large hole in the door to allow the Gems to enter...even though Steven had told her the door was unlocked.

It was still cool, though.

Lion had stayed outside, seemingly wanting to guard the Gems just in case something tried to attack them. So the remaining Crystal Gems had searched the house, looking through every inch to see if there was something to tell them what had happened. Pearl used her gem to light up the dark house, since the power had been cut off for the small building, giving Steven and Amethyst flashlights she had found in a closet as the peach-haired Gem and Garnet went upstairs. Amethyst meanwhile had looked through the kitchen, eating some of the slightly expired food in the refrigerator before deciding to check some of the bathrooms.

Which left Steven in his current situation. Searching by himself in a dark room with a flashlight as he tried to find any form of evidence to help him figure out what was happening to the people of Beach City.

"Steven, have you found anything yet?" He heard Pearl shout and the young Gem let out a sigh before responding.

"No Pearl, I've got nothing except a lot of dust!" He shouted back so that Pearl could hear him.

"Be careful not to inhale any of it!" He heard her quickly shout, worry evident in her words and Steven could imagine her nervous face.

"I will!" He responded as he went back to searching. Steven and the others had been searching for at least an hour now, but like the police, they could find nothing. Though they had abilities to help them fight terrifying creatures on a daily basis, but none of those powers were really helpful in this situation.

And Steven was beginning to feel like there was nothing here in this house that could tell them what had happened.

Really glad I'm not hearing Bismuth again, he thought. He didn't think he could handle another 'talk' from his mind's version of Bismuth. The doubt and fear within him were mixing together in his stomach, and it made Steven feel awful. Thankfully, none of the Gems seemed to notice and he was thankful for that fact. He wondered when he had gotten so good at hiding his own emotions-.

He paused as his eyes caught sight of something. On one of the black wooden desk, there was a picture frame that had been that had been pushed flat onto its back. Walking towards the desk, Steven picked up the picture frame and saw the glass covering the frame was cracked, several pieces scattered atop the desk. Inside the brown frame was a picture of a woman with dark yellow hair posing in front of her home. She looked like she was in her late thirties, but what drew Steven's attention was the beaming smile on her face. Steven figured that this must have been Abigail.

She must be a very happy person, Steven thought, seeing the joy practically leaping off Abigail's face. Steven felt the familiar crushing weight of guilt not a second later, his eyes now locked onto the picture. Because he and the Gems had not realized something so obvious, people were being snatched away from their lives by who knows what. He had failed to help people when that were in trouble, the job that should have been so easy to him by this point. Even with all the improvements he thought he had been making, he still couldn't help these missing people. What kind of Crystal Gem was he if-

"Steven, did you find something?" A voice asked from directly behind, and Steven let out a startled yelp as he almost dropped the picture. Turning around, he saw both Garnet and Pearl standing behind him, Pearl's eyes holding a curious gleam.

"I-uh, found this picture." He said shakily, handing over the photo to Garnet as the leader of the Crystal Gems examined the photo. "It's broken, though."

Pearl looked at the photo as well, placing a finger under her chin. "So far this is the only object we have found that's broken, which is strange." She said, taking the picture out of the frame and examining its back.

"Why's it strange?" Steven asked.

"Well, Dewey said that this was the last place Ms. Abigail was seen, correct?" Pearl said, and Steven nodded his head. "Her friends saw her enter her home, but the very next day when her family came to visit her they found no one here, so we can assume she vanished at some point in the night. Since she lives on such a busy street, we can also assume someone would have seen her if she left her house."

"I'm with you so far," Steven said.

"Which means we can theorize that something came and abducted her at some point in the night. But the strange part is..." She turned her head and looked around the house before looking back at Steven. "There are no obvious signs of wreckage one would expect from a struggle, especially if this was something Gem related. The only way anything could have gotten into here was through the open window Garnet and I discovered upstairs in Abigail's room."

Pearl's face became pensive, her eyes narrowing. "Since all the doors and other exits were locked from the inside, we can deduce the fact that the thing that took her went through the window. Yet there's no way whatever took her could carry her out of a window, someone, her neighbors for instance, would have surely noticed a young woman being carried off by some creature even in the dead of night. And how did whatever's causing the disappearances subdue these women so quickly? It's obvious there wasn't much of a fight."

Pearl stared at the picture in her hand. "Something was here, something took this poor woman away, and it's clear that whatever did it is very dangerous and stealthy. If it was able to get past our guard, and the eyes of who knows how many people over the weeks, it's obviously very intelligent and does not want to be caught."

Steven had stars in his eyes as a smile spread throughout his face. "Oh my gosh, Pearl, that was amazing! You're like a real-life Sherlock Holmes!"

Pearl blushed, not expecting the praise as she gave a shy laugh. "Oh, that nothing special Steven. The real Holmes had a far better analytical eye and more refined skills of deduction and-"

"Pearl," Garnet interrupted, her head turning towards the slightly shorter gem. "Take the compliment, it's very accurate." She offered the ivory Gem a small smile and Pearl couldn't help but return it. But it only lasted for a few seconds before her mouth turned into a small frown.

"But we still don't know what caused this or how it took all these women." Pearl began, "we have to do more investigating, so we should probably go check out the other spots where the other women disappeared."

Steven's expression became sorrowful as he was reminded of the gravity of the situation, and by extension his guilty conscious. "Yeah, we should probably do that." After all, they had to find the actual thing that did all of this, and so far they had come up empty-handed.

Steven suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder as he looked up and saw Garnet crouching down to him. "Steven, I know you're worried, but don't be." Garnet's voice was its usual calm tone, but underneath it, there was a touch of care and understanding. "We made a mistake, but we will fix it. Your mother entrusted us to protect Beach City, and we will. Something slipped into our home, but that does not mean we're weak or that we failed. You know how strong we all are, so we shouldn't continue to blame ourselves because we will find whatever did this and make it pay."

Garnets words should have boost Steven's mood, but unfortunately, they also stung so much Steven had trouble not wincing. Garnet had meant to encourage the young teen, but instead, they made Steven's doubts and fears continue to grow within his stomach. How could he not blame himself? She had reminded him of how much he had let down his mother by failing to be strong enough to protect his town, and now people were suffering because of how weak he was. The Gems were strong, yes, but him? He was mediocre at best, nowhere near the level he was supposed to be at by now.

And at the same time, the stoic Gem had made him wonder if Rose really did ask them to protect this town and if she really did care about Beach City. He had no way of knowing since he wasn't there and because his parental figures told him little about his own mom. For all he knew, everything they told him about Rose could be...lies.

This girl has future vision, and yet somehow she can't see you how much you're hurting. She can't even see how you're calling the rest of the Gems out on all their lies, and frankly, it's about time you stopped believing them.

Once again hearing the voice of Bismuth in his head, Steven had a very hard time of not letting the terror whirling within him creep onto his face. When he heard Bismuth, he had realized that if actually listened to the disembodied voice of the battle frenzy Gem, he would be crazy. There was no way this voice in his head could possibly be right.

Garnet didn't mean to upset me, she's just trying to calm me down. Which is what you should be doing right now Universe, not freaking out over things that couldn't be further from the truth. He thought, trying not to get rid of those awful thoughts about his family that loved him to death.

"Steven, is something the matter?" Pearl asked, most likely noticing some of the stress Steven was experiencing. He gave Pearl his best smile, which was somewhat shaky, before speaking.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just a little tired is all. It's been a really long day, you know."

"Well, as much as I would like for you to go home and get some rest, we still have to investigate this matter." Pearl said, "and we need as much help as we can get, so I'm glad you're with us for this Steven." She smiled, and Steven took the compliment without taking it as an insult towards his skills. The Gems weren't like that, they honestly believed in him and his strength, and they were happy that Steven had made such strides in his powers.

So Steven should be just as happy, no longer focusing on the voice in his head, his lips curled upward as he gave the two Gems in front of him his best cheerful smile. "Thanks, Pearl."

"Well, I'm just stating all the prowess you've made in your abilities, so no need to thank me." Pearl gave Steven a smile, but it soon faded when she heard the sounds of water splashes coming from the halls. Her eyes narrowed before she took in a long breath. "Amethyst is that you!" Pearl shouted, and a few seconds later the purple Gem responded.

"Yeah!"

"...Are you stuck in the toilet? Again?!" The exasperation in her voice was incredibly thick, the tall Gem's left eye twitching.

"...Yes." Upon hearing her answer, Pearl let out a groan as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "But it's not like last time! I thought there might be something inside here, so I shapeshifted to go inside it. I saw there wasn't anything and came out, but I turned back to soon and well... My legs stuck."

"I swear, Amethyst sometimes I want to..." She trailed off, giving Steven a glance before a large frown spread throughout her face. "I'm not using my spear this time Amethyst!" She shouted before walking into the hall and towards the bathroom. Leaving Steven alone with Garnet.

"We should wait outside," Garnet said as she walked towards the entrance door. "It shouldn't take Pearl to long to get Amethyst out."

"Okay," Steven said as he quickly followed, carefully stepping through the large hole Garnet had made. They waited outside, Lion sitting down next to Steven on the steps to the house, and a few minutes later an irritated Pearl walked out of the house along with a very soaked Amethyst.

"Did you wash your hands like I asked?" Pearl said to Amethyst.

"Yes, for the tenth time I washed my hands," Amethyst replied with a roll of her eyes before looking at the others. "So, where's the next place?" She said, but just as Steven was about to answer, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. It sounded like someone was running right at-.

He suddenly felt someone tackle him to the ground. He heard the Gems shout his name in surprise as the back of his head made contact with the street.

"Ow," Steven groaned, slowly looking up to see what had slammed into him, and he was shocked at what he saw.

For sitting on top of his stomach was a light-skinned boy with a small tuft of blond hair and somewhat chubby face. He had on a white sweater, a deep blue shirt tied around his neck like a cape, and pale red pajamas on his legs. He had no visible ears, but he could hear just as fine as anyone else, and his head was onion-shaped. This was, ironically, Onion, Steven's... Friend? Who took a small amount of joy in getting on Steven's nerves, constantly annoying the young Gem. Even though the small child had never spoken any actual words to Steven, Steven always felt his patience being tested to the max whenever he hung out with Onion.

But now Steven saw something in Onion's eyes that disturbed him. Steven could see desperation within the boy's eyes, and he just now realized how tightly Onion was gripping onto his pink shirt. Onion usually had an unreadable expression, almost as stoic as Garnet at times, but now it was obvious the boy was very frightened by something.

And then Steven remembered the look Dewey had when he first told him about the incidents happening at Beach City. Onion had the exact same expression as Dewey; if anything the boy looked worse than the mayor.

Oh no, Steven thought, hoping that Onion wasn't here for the same reason Dewey had come to talk to him.

"Woah, Onion," He heard Amethyst shout, her and the other Gems quickly running towards Steven's fallen form. "What's the matter?" She asked, seeing the incredibly painful look on Onions face. And it was then the Gems hear more footsteps approaching, turning around and seeing that someone was running up the road that led to the house at high speeds. Steven could see that running up the hill was a young man with platinum blonde hair that pointed upwards and had icy blue eyes. He wore a grayish blue hoodie over a gray shirt with baggy orange pants and seafoam green shoes.

This was Sour Cream, Onion's older half-brother, and his long, angular face held a large amount of worry as sweat dripped from his forehead.

"Onion!" He shouted, finally reaching Onion and the Gems as he stopped running, taking in greedy gasps of air. "You... You can't just sprint off alone in the dark." It was then he notice Steven and his family, and his eyes widened. "Steven! Dude, I need to talk to you like right now!"

"Sour Cream, what's wrong?" He asked, and Onion finally got off Steven and stood beside his brother. Steven slowly got up as Sour Cream finished gasping.

"Dude, you haven't seen our mom have you?" He asked, and fear coiled around Steven's heart.

"Wh-What did you just say," Amethyst asked, and her voice was so meek Steven barely recognized it. Glancing at the purple Gem, he saw that the Gem's only visible eye whirled with icy horror.

"My mom, have you seen her?" Sour Cream said again, looking at the four Gems and one lion in front of him. "I just-I haven't seen her-Onion's been freaking out and so have I and I'm really starting to get worried." Steven could tell, Sour Cream's usual cool demeanor was replaced by wide, nervous eyes and a fearful expression. "So, have you seen her?"

Steven could not speak, his voice trapped underneath his guilt. Dread slithered in his stomach as he hoped he was overthinking it; hoped that Vidalia being missing had nothing to do with whatever was taking away the citizens of Beach City.

"No, we haven't seen her," Garnet said, though her voice was the same monotone as ever, for just a second a frown spread across her face before turning into a thin line.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Pearl asked, her eyes held a calm yet grave gleam.

"I went off to DJ for a rave, and I said goodbye to her before I left the house." Sour Cream answered.

"And when was this?" Pearl said in a hushed voice.

"Like, two hours ago," Sour Cream continued. "She said she was going to stay home and just chill. Yellowtail was out fishing, and Onion was out playing in Funland, but when he got home she was gone." When he finished, Steven saw Amethyst looked like she was close to panicking.

"Maybe she just decided to leave the house without telling you guys." She said, but her expression told Steven she knew that wasn't the case. Even if she didn't want to admit it to herself.

"Look, my mom might seem a little...irresponsible sometimes, but she would never leave without at least giving us a call to tell us where she's going. And she wouldn't just let Onion come home to an empty house." He then gave Onion a little pat on the back, and the pale boy put his hand in his pocket. "And she wouldn't ever leave the house without this, Onion found it on the floor."

Onion took out a small golden ring from his pocket.

"My mom might not look like it, but she's really sentimental about a lot of things. Especially her wedding ring, she doesn't wear it but she does carry it wherever she goes. She would never leave it, under any circumstances."

Sour Cream looked at the Gems in front of him with big, pleading eyes. "Do you guys have any idea what could have happened to her? This is pretty weird, and most of the time whenever something strange goes on here, you guys always seem to have an answer."

Steven felt his heart sink. "Um...Well-"

"I'm sorry Sour Cream, but we really have no idea what has happened to your mother." Pearl interrupted Steven, giving the young teen a small shake of her head. To him, Pearl's expression read as 'we can't let anyone else know what's going on, at least not now.' Which confirmed to Steven that the rest of the Gems were thinking the exact same thing he was.

Vidalia had been taken by whatever was taking the other women of Beach City.

"But that does not mean we won't help you find her," Pearl said, determination filling her eyes as she stuck out her hand. "May I borrow that ring for a moment?" She politely asked. Steven did not know why Pearl needed the ring, but he was too consumed by regret to ask why she wanted it.

"Yeah sure," Sour Cream said as he looked down at his little brother. "Give her the ring little dude."

Onion was hesitant, clearly not comfortable with giving something his mother found so precious. But slowly, he handed the ring over to Sour Cream and then his big brother gave the ring to Pearl.

"Thank you," She said as she walked over to Lion. "Lion, if you please." The pink beast then began to sniff the ring, taking in long inhales with his heart-shaped nose. He understood why Pearl wanted the ring now, Lion's nose was better than any dogs on the planet. Since Vidalia had only just disappeared a few hours ago, Surely he could get a good enough scent and track down Vidalia.

After a few more seconds of sniffing, Lion stopped and looked towards the east, eyes seeming to narrow at one specific location in the distance. Steven couldn't tell what Lion was looking at, but he knew his pet had found Vidalia's scent in that general direction.

Lion suddenly picked up Steven by his shirt with his teeth, placing the young gem on his back and then nudged his head to the east.

"I understand, buddy," Steven looked towards the others. "Lion's got her scent, and I think he knows where she is right now."

"Really!?" Sour Cream shouted, mouth morphing into a relieved smile. Onion looked at Steven with hope gleaming in his eyes.

"Yeah," He answered with a small grin.

"Alright, Steven you and Amethyst take Lion and get to wherever he thinks Vidalia is," Garnet ordered, and Amethyst quickly hopped onto Lion, arms wrapping around Steven's stomach. Her expression was still panicked, but it seemed less so than before. "Lion can travel faster with fewer people, so we'll try to catch up on foot."

"Can we come?" Sour Cream quickly asked Garnet. "Please, we want to make sure our mom's safe."

Onion looked at Garnet with a pleading expression, and Steven could see tears forming on the sides of his eyes.

"Of course," was Garnet's immediate response. Onion and Sour Cream's faces lit up with joy.

"Thank you so much!" He said before he and Onion quickly got on top of Lion's back. Onion whispered something into Sour Cream's ear. "Onion says we owe you guys big time."

"Steven, be careful," Pearl said, worry rising in her expression. "Be on the lookout for...anything."

Steven nodded, pushing aside the dread and regret swelling in his chest as he focused on the mission. Someone was in danger, and it was his job to save her.

"I will Pearl, but don't worry, I think we got this." He said, grinning at Amethyst who in turn gave Steven a small chuckle. Though he could hear worry within her voice.

"Alright Lion, let's go," Steven said, his expression turning deadly serious as Lion's eyes turned white. The pink animal let out a mighty roar, and from his mouth shoot out a large pink ring. The ring flew off like a rocket until it suddenly started to mix with the air, swirling like a whirlpool as the pink energy grew larger by the second. A pink portal soon formed from the ring, the energy coursing inside it made it impossible to see the other side of the portal.

"Whoa," Sour Cream's jaw hung open in astonishment, and Onion looked on with equal amazement.

"Okay little man, let's go." Amethyst's voice was unusually serious, eyes narrowed as she looked into the portal. She must have been really worried about Vidalia, even more so than Steven was.

"Hold on everyone!" And with that, Lion ran into the portal, the world around them changing into a plethora of colors as they seemed to fly through a rift in space and time.

And as they were transported in the bright and colorful portal, Steven tried to assure himself that they would find Vidalia and solve the mystery of the missing women.

Despite the fact a voice that wasn't Bismuth's in the back of his mind told him he was being a fool, he hoped that they would get their answers once they landed on the other side of the portal.


The wild hatred consuming Josuke was enough to make the Stand User let out deep and feral growls.

Crazy Diamond stood right next to him, and just like Josuke, its eyes held enough venom to kill a man a thousand times over. The blackened form of Killer Queen did not move even an inch, merely looking at both Crazy Diamond and Josuke with it's frigid and emotionless expression.

Josuke wanted to wipe that infuriating look off Killer Queen's face with a barrage of Crazy Diamond's punches. He wanted to unleash all the anger boiling within his blood and end the Stand, and by extension, Kira for good this time.

But even with all the rage erupting in his chest, even though he glared at the Stand in front of him with a fiery hatred in his eyes, he did not move from the building.

Because something was very wrong about this situation.

Josuke had thought he knew everything about Killer Queen and its bastard of a master. It was a close range Stand, just like Crazy Diamond, not able to go any more than ten feet away from Kira. Yet, Josuke could not see the psychotic bastard anywhere near Killer Queen, and that immediately made him question where the murderer was. And Killer Queen couldn't change its skin tone from pink to black in any of the past confrontations Josuke had with Kira, so why was it different now?

Something told Josuke that the Killer Queen in front of him was not the same Stand he had fought so many times before. The part of his brain that had been honed after countless battles and intense training had told him not to act, and instead wait and analyze the situation he was in. He was injured, one of his leg still unable to support his weight so that severely weakened his mobility, and in a battle like this that could mean his death. The fury coursing within him was suffocating, but he could not attack, not yet.

Killer Queen hasn't made a single move, so obviously it wants me to get closer. He thought as his mind replayed the bus blowing up, specifically, at the moment he saw Killer Queen throw...some kind of black object from its palm.

It looks like this cat monster's got more powers than last time. Josuke's eyes narrowed as he looked over Killer Queen, hoping there might be a hint as to what kind of new abilities the Stand could have gotten. When he saw nothing, his eyes looked around at the buildings and dark corners surrounding him, trying to find Kira but could find even a hint of the murderer.

So to sum up his situation, Josuke was fighting a Stand whose abilities were a mystery to him, the only thing he knew for sure was that they were deadly and very powerful just like all its other skills. And since Kira was nowhere to be seen, it meant Josuke could not just pummel the Stand user to death and end this fight quickly. He could not waste time trying to find him because if he took his focus away from the new version of Killer Queen, he knew that the Stand would have a much easier time killing Josuke. To top it all off, he was so injured that he could not even walk without limping, and as more of his blood flowed from his previously sealed wounds, he began to feel light headed.

In other words...

This is just great, he thought, coughing out a small glob of blood. To say the chances of him actually living through this encounter were small was enough to make Josuke chuckle, a grim smile sat on his face as he looked at the dark form of Killer Queen.

But then again... His mind trailed off as the smile turned into a thin line, his eyes full of a fierce conviction.

It's not like this is the first time the odds have been against me. He thought, as the purple aura around him whirled like a maelstrom, both he and Crazy Diamond glared at Killer Queen, who still had yet to move from its spot.

Several seconds passed before Killer Queen spoke again in that distorted voice.

"Are you...angry?" Killer Queen's mouth did not move at all, making it even creepier, as it tilted its head at the purple haired high school student. "Surprised? Perhaps even...shocked that I'm still...alive."

The way he put just the tiniest hint of emphasis on 'alive' gave it an undertone of cruel mockery. Josuke was sure that if it were possible, Killer Queen would be smiling at him. The more Kira talked through his Stand, the harder it became to not charge at the black Killer Queen standing in the middle of the street.

"I...admit that I was too..." Killer Queen looked down at its body, raising its arms so that they were right in front of its face. "I never expected...to live... I was sure...that I would die...but instead..."

It spread its arms out wide, two apathetic eyes staring into Josuke's. "I became...so much stronger... Reaching a new plateau...of power..." A pitch black aura surrounded Killer Queen as its unblinking eyes continued to stare. "I have become stronger than you will...ever be...I don't even have to be... in the same city as you...To kill you..."

Josuke knew that when Killer Queen said that the murderer was not here, the Stand wasn't speaking metaphorically. There was not a hint of a lie in the distorted voice of Killer Queen, and Josuke could tell why Kira was telling him such vital information. The murderer must have been certain he would die here, and that infuriated Josuke to no end.

"For you see...Josuke Higashikata..." The energy faded away from Killer Queen, tendrils of black mist seeping from its back. Slowly, Killer Queen raised a hand and the black wisps began to whirl in its palm. More black tendrils of the unknown energy continued to pour into its palm, rotating in it as a ball of blackness began to take form. The orb continued to grow, eventually becoming as wide as Killer Queen's palm before the black mist eventually ceased to circle in its hand, the orb now the size of a large baseball.

Josuke watched this with foreboding curiosity, Crazy Diamond and his own body tensing as they prepared for anything.

"I have attained peace..." Killer Queen pulled back its arm, the orb in its hand started to spin. "And no one will take that away from me!"

Josuke did not expect the anger coming from Killer Queen's voice as it chucked the ball of blackness into the air. It seemed to spin faster now as it headed right towards Josuke in a burst of speed.

With his body as damaged as it was, Josuke knew that he could not run away from the orbs path. So he did the next best thing.

"Crazy Diamond!" He shouted, and the Stand instantly jumped towards the building he was leaning on.

"DORARARARARARARA!" Crazy Diamond let loose a fury of punches at super-sonic speeds, its fist easily destroying the bricks that made up the building's wall. In a second, a large hole was created on the side of the building as Josuke quickly jumped through it, trying to not scream from the pain that ran through his nerves. The moment he was inside the building, the bricks Crazy Diamond had just destroyed were surrounded by a yellow aura as they were lifted into the air. Almost instantly, every brick was once again placed firmly back into the hole, the building once again undamaged and fine.

At least until Josuke heard the sound of the black orb colliding against the wall. He had just enough time to turn around before an explosion rocked the building, the wall blowing up and sending bricks and cement everywhere. The force sent Josuke flying, Crazy Diamond flickering out of existence as he felt the flames from the blast burning his skin before he crashed into something hard and wooden.

But he barely noticed as his body suffered through such blinding agony that Josuke could no longer even scream. Blood was pouring out of his wounds, his left leg screaming as he was sure he shattered whatever bones were left in that limb. More blood spat out from his mouth, Josuke suddenly gasping for air. He wanted to rest, but he couldn't. He wanted to collapse but he wouldn't. He needed to get up now, or else he'd be damning so many people to their deaths.

Somehow he was able to stand back up again, even with the horrible pain stabbing into his body with every twitch he made. He called Crazy Diamond back into reality, the Stand appearing right beside Josuke as it wrapped one of its master's arm around its neck. Josuke noticed how little there was left of the energy that rippled throughout his blood. Usually, his power seemed near bottomless, as vast as the ocean, but now it felt as shallow as a puddle.

He had very little time left to use his Stand, so he had to hurry and end this battle.

He took in his surroundings, the pain dying down slightly as he saw he was in a very cramped apartment living room. He saw that he had crashed into a small wooden table, and noticed that the walls were a dull brown; a sink and fridge were nearby and it looked like nobody was home right now. Josuke was thankful for that fact as he tried to find the nearest exit out of here, but then the sounds of footsteps drew his attention. Slowly, Killer Queen approached the hole it had made, walking on top of the rubble of bricks as it stared down at Josuke. It had positioned itself so it was standing right under the improv entrance it had made before it spoke.

"I have... evolved, Josuke Higashikata." The slow and distorted voice was quickly making Josuke angrier with every word it said. "I have gained new powers... I have transcended in ways you could not imagine...This terrifying being you're facing has immense power and sentience...And it is only a fraction of my new strength..."As the black Killer Queen continued to talk, Josuke tried to find some form of exit and he did. Far back in the corner, there was a door, but he had no idea where it led. There was no way he could reach it with his injuries, which meant the only exit he could hope to escape from was the one being blocked by Killer Queen

"This new Killer Queen...is different from the one...you're used to facing... It is not my original Stand... but is a new bomb I have created...I call this being..." Placing one hand on its left hip, it moved its right leg forward as it shifted its weight to its hind leg before tilting its head to one side. "Killer Queen..."

It lifted its remaining arm and pointed a finger at Josuke.

"LET ME LIVE!"

The moment Killer Queen: Let Me Live completed its pose, Josuke was assaulted by a wave of killing intent. The Stand User's eyes narrowed as he felt crushed under the weight of pure malice, but he refused to let the emotionless Stand see he was affected by its unholy bloodlust.

"Josuke Higashiakta... This time you shall die by my hands!" Its voice was still slow and barely above a whisper, but there was a frantic energy now running within words. "This time... I shall watch you burn... Until there is nothing left... Not even Ash!"

Josuke looked down and saw the remains of the table he had destroyed.

"Never again...will anyone threaten the tranquil life I have craved... I will-"

"Do me a favor and just shut the hell up already!" Josuke screamed, Crazy Diamond reaching down to the floor and with lightning speed grabbed the splintered leg of the table.

"DORA!" Crazy Diamond chucked the leg like it was a javelin, throwing it with pinpoint accuracy as it jettisoned through the air and straight to Let Me Live's head.

Yet the black Stand did not move an inch; instead, it looked on as the wooden leg plunged into its head.

At least, Josuke thought it did.

The wooden leg did hit the new Killer Queen, but instead of lodging itself in the Stand's head, it went right through the Stand and skidded into the streets outside.

The reason why the leg didn't stab Let Me Live? Its head had turned to black mist.

The spot where its head had once been was now empty, dark strands of mist now floating in the air above Let Me Live. Even without a head, the monster still stood tall.

"What the hell?" Josuke thought before his nose was suddenly hit by a foul and toxic smell. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed till now, the odor was so bad he felt like vomiting. It smelled a lot like old, pungent... gas.

His eyes widened in realization as the black wisps started to converge on the spot where the black Killer Queen's head was. The strands of blackness weaved through the air as they began to whirl around its neck. Slowly, the tendrils began to take shape, forming triangle shaped ears which then moved on to make a flat crown before finally swirling one last time to form the face of the black Killer Queen. Cold pink eyes once again gazed at Josuke.

"I see you've realized it... Josuke." It raised its arm, and the tips of its fingers turned into the thin, black tendrils. "That's right... Let Me Live has the power...to create a gas-like substance." The black wisps of mist, no, gas reformed into Let Me Live's fingers as it clenched its hand into a tight fist. "The gas can form into an orb...which explodes on contact... In addtion, Let Me Live can transform its body...into pure gas which means that you..." Even though its tone did not change, even though it was next to impossible to tell through the horribly distorted and slow voice, Josuke could still feel the surge of arrogance that radiated from Let Me Live's words.

"Can't hurt it."

Josuke did not respond at first, simply glaring at the new Killer Queen in front of him with a clenched fist. Crazy Diamond's expression was just as angry as his, even while holding Josuke, his Stand looked ready to leap and rip Let Me Live in two. But Josuke held himself and his Stand back; because now was not the time to do anything foolish. He already had a plan in his mind, but he needed to confirm one thing before he acted it out.

So, with his eyes no longer glaring at the new bomb in front of him, he spoke.

"... Wow, that's really impressive." Josuke said, a tiny smirk crossing his lips. The gaseous sentry did not respond, but Josuke was sure that if it was surprised by his reaction. "Turning into gas to avoid getting your ass handed to you, that sounds like an amazing defense; basically impenetrable."

Josuke then raised a brow at the Let Me Live. "But I just got one question for you."

Let Me Live still did not speak, but Josuke continued regardless.

"...Can you turn into that gas state instantly?"

It was then a yellow aura once again grew around Josuke as he channeled the power rippling inside his soul.

And it was then the remains of the broken table where Crazy Diamonds fingers brushed against glowed yellow.

The new Killer Queen eyes actually widened, it was small and only for a second but Josuke saw the motion, and whipped its head backward. The wooden leg Crazy Diamond had launched was soaring through the air, a yellow aura encasing the splintered wood as it was only a few feet away from stabbing Let Me Lives head.

It dodged, its head jerking to the right and the leg just missing it.

And in that split second, Josuke had one thought in his head.

It evaded it... But it didn't turn into its gas form.

That was all the confirmation Josuke needed.

Crazy Diamond stomped its leg against the floor with enough strength and force to launch both Stand and teenager into the air and hurling towards Let Me Live. The black Killer Queen heard the noise coming from behind him, and turned around to see two of them flying towards it. Crazy Diamond was already inches away, pulling its arms back. Josuke saw the edges of Let Me Live's face starting to turn to black strands of gas.

But Crazy Diamond was faster.

"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"

With its signature roar, Crazy Diamond began its assault. Its arms were a blur, moving at speeds that made its gauntlet fist seem like a barrage of silver missiles. Each punch that landed on Let Me Live had the force of a train, the black Killer Queen's body convulsed and spasmed as the volley of steel smashing fist continued. Crazy Diamond moved even faster, each punch leaving deep and round dents in Ler Me Live's body before his Stand unleashed one last hurricane of a right cross into the center of Let Me Live's face.

"DORA!" Let Me Live was sent flying, blood erupting from new cracks in its body as it was sent careening out of the building and outside. Josuke landed on one leg, Crazy Diamond supporting its master as the gaseous Stand collided with the wall of a building twenty feet away from Josuke.

The glowing wooden leg only now crashed inside the apartment as Josuke voice flared with rage.

"What was that you were saying about not being able to hurt you!" Josuke shouted, Let Me Live falling from the wall it was embedded in as it landed in on its knees onto the curb. The plumes of fire covering the street slightly obscuring the black bomb. "In case you're wondering how I figured out your bullshit, I'll tell you."

Pointing a finger at the crouched form of Let Me Live, Josuke's eyes narrowed. "I knew that you had the ability to touch solid objects, how else could you stop the bus in its tracks like you did? So I figured that if solid objects could touch you, then it was safe to say you could be hurt by them too."

Let Me Live's head looked up at Josuke. "You little-"

"All that was left was to figure out if you could automatically turn to gas without conscious effort." Josuke interrupted, and despite his battered and bloody body, a very taunting smirk spread throughout his face. "Even though the table leg I threw at you missed, Crazy Diamond could still use its powers to launch a sneak attack on you. Though, to be honest, I had a feeling you needed to physically activate your powers since a majority of your abilities need to be activated manually."

Let Me Live stood tall, glaring at the high school student. "If I had to guess, I say it takes about two seconds, no one second, for you to turn your body into gas. And I'm also willing to bet that if you get hurt, it takes even longer for you to turn into gas. Otherwise, you would have turned into gas and escaped in the middle of your beatdown."

"...I forgot...how rage inducing...your cleverness was."

Josuke smirk grew, and Crazy Diamond also smirked. "That's your own damn fault for forgetting that my brain is a terrifying storm of crazy but very effective plans."

A pitch black aura surrounded Let Me Live. Black tendrils sprouted from its back as they converged onto both of its palms. "Of course...you realize I'll never give you... another chance to hit me..." the wisps of the gas whirled in its palms, two orbs as black as the night beginning to form as they began to rotate slowly.

Josuke eyes glared at Let Me Live as his brows furrowed together, all previous mirth gone from his expression and replaced by a vengeful fury; Crazy Diamond's face was just as enraged as his own.

"We'll see about that." Purple aura covered Josuke as the orbs in Kira's hand finished shaping as even more black tendrils seeped from behind it as it marched slowly towards Josuke. The light from the fire illuminated one half of its face but covered the other half in dark shadows.

Josuke knew he was in for yet another the fight for his life; and he sure as hell wasn't about to die today.


He liked nights like this the most.

Nights where the stars sparkled like diamonds, where the temperature was chilly but not freezing. He enjoyed nights where the moonlight flooded the streets, where barely anyone was out and it was just him and the sky above.

Nights like these were lovely to him. And it was on nights like these his urges loved to play, where something deep in his body called to him and almost begged him to kill; to exterminate others in a glorious blaze.

But he did not feel those needs on this night. He did not feel a crushing and heavy weight on his shoulders that whispered into his ear to kill. Firstly, because he had learned how to somewhat control his primal instincts... And secondly, he had already had his fill with murders for the day.

"Here's your order, sir." A teenage girl with curly dark brown hair said. She wore a white apron with a cyan shirt underneath, gray legging with the cuffs rolled up, and black shoes. A beige bandana covered the top of her hair as she placed a paper plate with a steaming pizza on the counter in front of him.

"Thank you very much," Kira said in English with a tiny smile. He took the plate from the counter, paid for the pizza and placed three dollars in the tip jar before walking towards the lone door that led outside.

"Have a wonderful day, sir!" the woman said, waving goodbye as Kira opened the door and exited the pizza shop. He walked a short distance along the boardwalk until he stopped and examined the pizza in his hand.

"Pizza and pineapple... What an odd combination." He muttered in his native tongue, picking up the slice before placing it in his mouth. He chewed for several seconds, letting the flavors swirl in his mouth before finally swallowing. "But it is rather tasty." Western cuisine was peculiar to him, but most of the time he still found it enjoyable. Beach City seemed to have an abundance of rather odd restaurants that specialized in rather strange recipes, such as a restaurant that only sold french fries that was a dozen or so feet away from him, but so far the food the small town had to offer was good.

"Aside from the creatures from another world attacking here, this town seems to have no flaws with it," Kira said as he took another bite of his pizza. Truly, this town might have even been better than Morioh. Living in a town full of fools who were even less attentive to dangers around them than those in Morioh was perfect for Kira. They were probably so ignorant because of the protection and safety the aliens provided. He could understand that since if he had been an ordinary citizen he would have felt safe knowing powerful, "magical" women and one child were guarding his city. And he was thankful for other people's lack of attention, it made committing his crimes easier, after all.

"Though, even if it's easier, I still take all the necessary precautions." He said in between bites, before looking down at his right pocket. "As I'm sure you can attest to that."

Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a severed hand. Blood was dripping from the end that was once connected to a human arm. It had only recently begun to turn from a vibrant pink to a lifeless gray; Kira brought it closer to his face.

"I must say, your hand is one of the finest hands I ever had the pleasure of holding." Kira said, examining every inch of the appendage. "Though, I must express my concerns about the lack of protection your home had."

A smirk crossed Kira's face. A vicious, cruel and sickly twisted smirk that looked positively demonic.

"A tarp for a garage door? Surely you could have thought of something better than that to use?" He received no response, but he let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry you're right, I shouldn't judge your choice of doors." He took another bite of his pizza, a bit of sauce dripping down his lips. "You seem like a very interesting person, if you shooting at me with a shotgun is any indication. I simply can not wait to get to know you better."

He brought the hand and put it right on top of his pizza, running its dead fingers along the cheeses and toppings. "You live here, so tell me, what do you think of this shop?" Several seconds of silence passed before Kira smiled. "I see, you think the pizza here is great as well." He removed the hand from his pizza and took another bite. "I should eat out more? Well, I'm sorry my dear, but I love to cook my own meals. Every now and then I'll go out for food but mostly I eat at home."

Perhaps he should actually learn women's name before he incinerated them? It seemed unfair and insensitive to give every lovely lady he met the same nickname. Then again, most of the hands he acquired, even this interesting one, were still just hands of the dead.

So what would be the point in giving a corpse a name?

Just as he was about to take another bite he felt...a presence.

His eyes brows knitted together as he placed the corpse hand in his pocket. He turned around and looked at the near-empty boardwalk, watching as a car passed by before slowly driving out of sight.

After facing people with extraordinary powers, after fighting for his very life so many times, he had developed a...sixth sense as to when danger was approaching him. He did not know what, but he knew something was coming for him.

And then, about ten feet away from him, a bright pink portal came into existence. It ripped through reality, a small shockwave kicking up dirt and loose garbage. Kira could feel the energy radiating off the portal as he glared at it. He knew what this pink gateway was and who sent it; he had heard that the lion that had attacked him had the ability to travel great distances in an instant. Seeing it in real life, he would admit it was impressive, but he still tore his gaze away from the pink gateway and walked into an alley between the pizza shop and the fry shop. It was rather cramped, but he managed to slip through the tight space and to the other side. He was now facing one of the main town roads.

He peaked his around the corner of the alley and viewed the slightly obscured portal, waiting patiently as Killer Queen materialized and floated right next to him.


Steven held on tight to Lion as the mighty animal jumped from the portal and landed on something wooden. The world no longer a vast array of colors, he could tell he and the others were at...the boardwalk? Yes, this was the boardwalk. He could see Fish Stew Pizza, Beach City Fries and all the other stores he had visited so many times before.

"That was awesome." Turning his head, he saw Sour Cream had a large smile spreading across his face. "Do you guys travel like this all the time?"

"Sometimes. But you be surprised how many times we decide to just run instead of riding the magic lion." Amethyst replied as she hopped off of Lion. Onion also carefully got down and was followed by Sour Cream. Steven was the last one off, giving his Lion a small pat on the nose.

"Good job Lion," he said before looking around and trying to spot Vidalia. But he could not see even a trace of the mother of Onion and Sour Cream.

"Why would mom be at the boardwalk?" Sour Cream said as Onion quickly stood next to his big brother. "Do any of you guys see her?"

"I see nothing," Amethyst said, and Steven could see her one visible eye held concern. "But don't worry, we'll find her dude." Those words were said in an unusually quiet voice, and Steven could empathize with Amethyst. Whatever had taken Vidalia had been able to escape attention and the Gems for weeks, so there was a good chance that whatever was causing the people of Beach City to vanish had already fled.

But they couldn't fail now. Not when it was someone important to Steven and Amethyst whose well-being was at stake.

"Vidalia!" Steven shouted as loudly as he could. "If you can hear me please respond!"

"Mom, Onion and me are here too!" Sour Cream said, and Steven saw fear swelling in Onion's face.

"Vidalia if you're here just answer us!" Amethyst also shouted, eyes darting as she tried to find her friend. "Please be alright." She muttered to herself, but Steven could still hear her.

He felt the same, and the dread he had been feeling all night was slowly rising.

"You can't focus on that right now Steven, Vidalia needs your help!" He thought before he turned towards Lion. "Lion, do you smell Vidalia's scent?"


Kira saw the boy he had met only yesterday leap from the portal while riding on a pink lion. Along with Universe, there was a child with a rather odd shaped head, a teenager with a very angular face and a short, long white-haired woman with lilac skin.

It did not take him long to realize that the woman was a Crystal Gem. In fact, he was sure he had seen her before on the first day he had arrived in this town.

He listened carefully to what they were saying, and apparently they were looking for a woman named...Vidalia.

He carefully put down his plate of pizza before he glanced at the hand in his right pocket, and then he remembered that the hand in his pocket did once belong to a woman named Vidalia.

It looks like they are not as careless as I thought. He thought, wondering if they knew what was happening to the citizens of this town or if they were just helping a friend without realizing they were inadvertently stumbling upon his murders.

Well whatever the answer was, he knew it would be in his best interest to dispose of "Vidalia." Though he had just met his precious companion, it would be foolish to keep her any longer with people actively looking for her. He did not want to hold any evidence of his crimes now that he knew someone was searching for one of his victims.

He had learned from his experiences in Morioh. He knew that when people with strange and incredible powers stumble onto something grave whether on purpose or by accident, a man's life can go from tranquil to hell in just a few weeks. And he refused to let that happen again. There was no reason to fight them, it would be both pointless and annoying, and he already had one man hell bent on ending him. He did not need another annoyance to start a futile battle that would end with their deaths in an attempt to end his tranquil existence.

He would detonate this hand and walk away like nothing had happened.

So with that thought in mind, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the severed appendage, wrapping it in a spare handkerchief he kept in his breast pocket. Killer Queen touched the handkerchief, but just as the humanoid stand was about to bring its finger down on its thumb like a detonator, he heard Universe speak.

"Lion, do you smell Vidalia's scent anywhere?"

Wait...Smell?


Lion began to sniff the ground as the others looked on. His pink friend continued to inhale through it nose before he suddenly paused. Lion's eyes narrowed as it lifted its head and turned towards an alley between Fish Stew Pizza and Beach Citywalk Fries.

"Do you smell Vidalia's scent coming from there, Lion?" Steven asked, pointing a finger at the alley.

Lion gave no verbal response; instead, he just continued to look at the alley with narrowed brown eyes. Steven raised an eyebrow at Lions lack of reply before stepping towards the alley.

"Vidalia, are you down there!" Steven shouted, but once again he did not hear any form of response, just the gentle and refreshing ocean breeze blowing through the night.

"V, are you-!" Amethyst ran forward, intent on going down the alley, but Lion immediately jumped in front of her path. Amethyst halted, almost bumping into Lion before looking up at the massive beast.

"Hey, what's the big ide-." She didn't finish as Lion suddenly started growling very loudly. Steven could feel the anger dripping from Lion's face as his growls grew louder, his trusty pet jumping in front of him.

It was almost like Lion was guarding Steven from…something. His growls only grew in intensity as he shifted into a lunging stance, as if anticipating an attack.

"Lion," Steven began, moving towards Lions side. "Is there someone down there?" Lion turned its head towards Steven, his face still contorted into a vicious snarl, but the pink animal nodded. "Is it...something dangerous?"

Lion gave a low roar, and as Steven looked at the alley once again, the shadows now looked very threating, seeming to glare at Steven from their covers of darkness.

But Steven was not afraid.

"Hey!" Steven shouted, his expression becoming serious as his eyebrows furrowed together. It was the same brave face he always wore whenever he was about to face a corrupted Gem. It was the face of a Gem who would not be frightened or stopped by anything when he had to help his friends and family. "If someone's there, come out now! I'm serious, just come out or else Amethyst and me are going to go in their ready to kick all kinds of butt!"

Once again there was no response.

"Lion, can you guard Sour Cream and Onion?" Steven glanced at his trusted pet, who gave a nod before quickly moving to the two regular humans.

"Hey man, what's going on?" Sour Cream asked. "Is our mom here or did Lion find someone else?" Onion looked just the tiniest bit nervous as he glanced from his big brother to the members of the Crystal Gems.

"Don't worry," Amethyst said, giving the two a big smile before walking towards Steven. "There's just something we got to check out down here, and there's a good chance this thing's related to your mom somehow." Once she reached Steven, her lips moved into a deep frown as she whispered to him.

"Steven, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked.

"That whatever's been taking people from their homes is right down this alley?" Steven whispered back.

"Yep," Amethyst replied grimly, moving one hand towards the gem on her chest as it began to glow a bright purple. The light obscured her hand and parts of her torso, and from within the purple hue, Amethyst hand came out holding a whip. It was segmented into three dark violet tails with spiked balls at the end of each tail. Multiple shards of amethyst gems were embedded into the main lash and the pommel was made from a whole gem of amethyst.

The light faded as Amethyst gripped her weapon tightly.

"Steven If there is some kind of monster down this alley, be ready for anything," Amethyst said as Steven nodded his head.

"Gotcha Amethyst." Steven closed his eyes and in his mind, he formed the outline of something round. A luminesce pink glow came from beneath Steven's shirt that covered his body. He reached his hand inside the warm and comforting light he had felt so many times before and an object began to form on his arm. It was pink, almost translucent shield with a spiral of light pink rose thorns that lead to the center of his weapon. The edges of the shield were blue, and in the heart of his shield aside from the spiral was a rose shaped emblem.

With his mother's old shield in one hand, Steven gave one last glance at Amethyst before the two Gems proceeded to walk down the alley.


Kira was considering his options.

When he heard Universe talk to his pet beast, he immediately realized he had a problem on his hands. He could blow up the woman of his affection to ashes, but her scent would still linger, and the lion's nose seemed to be as effective as a bloodhound's. He had nothing on hand to help him get rid of the scent, so he had thought about running away. The problem was that even if he did run, they could still track him and just make a portal and this time he might not have enough time to hide from sight.

I could come out and pretend I don't know anything. He thought, but immediately saw the flaws in this course of action. If he did walk down this alley towards the group, he would have to explain why the woman's scent was coming from him. He did not know much about how smells were transferred, but he knew that spending hours with a corpse hand was bound to drench a man in its scent. And with the way the lion had begun to growl, he couldn't just say he had passed by his companion on the streets. There was no possible way they would believe the pink beast was snarling so much and had tracked him down with its nose simply because he talked to the blonde haired woman for a moment.

Which led him to his next thought.

I could just kill them all.

Yes, it would be very easy to have Killer Queen use its powers to blow up each and every person on this boardwalk. He could take them all out and watch as they slowly burned away, watching their bodies disintegrate in a silent explosion.

It would not take long to kill them, and it might be worth it if he could get rid of the annoying pest hounding him.

The issue was that if he did kill these fools than the other 'protectors' of this town would most likely take over the mission their comrades had failed to complete. Which would lead to more fights and more headaches, and more problems Kira did not want to waste his time on. And then he had to add in Josuke who was still on his way here since Kira had received no word from his other bombs if they had killed teenager yet. Battling a powerful Stand user, one who would be able to actually fight Kira back, on top of aliens would give him the worst migraine of his life.

Even after he killed all of them, he doubted he would sleep well on that night. Especially if he had to use some of his new and far more lethal abilities. He could already imagine the complications using those powers would have on his body.

Good God, why was it so hard to live a tranquil life?

He heard Universe shout, ordering whoever he thought was hiding in the darkness to come out.

What to do, what to do….

He couldn't run away, and he did not want to fight anyone unless there were no other options. But now it looked like he would be forced into another irritating duel against a group of nosey brats he wanted no part of.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. He then adjusted his suit, carefully pressing away any wrinkles, pushed himself off the corner he was leaning on and was about to walk down the alley. About to kill these fools as quickly as he could.

But that was when an idea struck him.

True, he could not run away now, but if something were to happen that drew their attention away from him, he could escape with no problem.

And he had just the plan to do that.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter, giving the small coin to Killer Queen. He heard footsteps coming down the alley, and his mouth set into a firm frown. He was not sure if this would kill them or not, but he hoped his attack wouldn't end them.

Otherwise, he might just have to go on a killing spree.

"Killer Queen," he whispered, and the Stand moved through the air ever so slowly until it was right in front of the alley's exit.

Without another word, his Stand flicked the coin.


Steven and Amethyst were halfway down the alley, the two Gems sticking close together as their weapons were held out in front of them.

And as they were traveling down the shadowy passage, Steven was suddenly hit with a horrible sense of foreboding that pooled in his stomach. It was worse than before, for some reason it felt like something bad was about to happen right. Now. He did not have Garnet's ability to see the future, but sometimes, during fights, a voice from the center of his mind would scream at him to move away from something dangerous. Images of his fights with the Rubies, Jasper and especially Bismuth played in his mind as he remembered the instances where the attacks landed and how his body was in so much pain afterward.

Pearl had said these were his battle instincts that were slowly but surely developing as he gained more experience. She said he should trust them, as most of the time they predicted when something dangerous was about to happen.

And right now, those immature instincts were roaring at Steven to move.

"Amethyst something's not-." He never finished as he saw something move through the air. It was something small and round, but he did not have enough time to examine the object before it flew past him. It collided with the building's wall a few feet to the right of him, a tiny clink sound echoing when it made contact.

And then his world was ravaged by fire.


Josuke thought he was an expert when it came to pain.

After suffering at the hands of so many different Stand users, after getting beaten down so many times in the past and forcing himself to stand while choking on blood, he figured he knew what pain was.

He was wrong. He was so wrong.

Every single time he moved, it felt like he was being stabbed in every part of his body. The wounds adorning his body made every breath he sucked in torture, his throat spasming with pain with every inhale. Every dodge and leap he made to avoid Let Me Live's attacks sent his muscles into a fiery agony, he was honestly surprised his legs were still connected to his body.

And every time his heart beat against his chest, it was a welcomed reminder that he was still alive, but also a horrible indication that he would have to endure more pain.

But it would be worth it once Crazy Diamond wrapped its muscular fingers around the black Killer Queen's neck.

To say this battle had been destructive was more than just an understatement. The streets had large craters in them, pillars of flames had begun to swallow the bottom parts of the buildings around him. Said apartments also had large and gaping holes in them, small infernos now scattered on the outside parts of the concrete homes. Debris off all forms laid in the streets, as more chunks of buildings fell onto the road. Josuke thought it was a miracle no one had come out yet to see what the hell was going on.

"Die..."

Two dozen feet away, black gas finished swirling in Let Me Live's palm before it threw two more orbs straight towards Josuke.

Gritting his teeth, Josuke had Crazy Diamonds punch the street, several wedges of black concrete exploded into the air as a large pile of dust was kicked up.

"DORA!" Crazy Diamond launched a raid of punches at the blocks of concrete while they were still in midair flight, sending the hunks of earth careening towards the spheres of gaseous energy. They collided with the orbs and an explosion rocked the area. Plumes of fire erupted into the air as Josuke had to use Crazy Diamond to shield himself from the aggressive winds from the powerful detonation. A cloud of smoke obscured Let Me Live from sight.

Damn it! Where the hell-! His thoughts were interrupted when another black orb burst through the smoke. Seeing how close it was, Josuke rolled out of the way just before it hit him, the orb crashing against another building far away from him as the explosion sent shockwaves through the streets. The high school student quickly got up, body roaring from its continued torment, and tried to find Let Me Live now that the smoke had cleared somewhat.

"Up here…"

Josuke eyes widened as he heard the distorted voice, his head whipping up to see black tendrils of gas swirling above him. The strands of the mist like gas soon took the shape of the black Killer Queen, in one of its palms the deadly spinning orb.

Just as Let Me Live pulled its arm back, Crazy Diamond ran its fingers along its master's bloody face, wet blood now dripping down its digits. Moving at speeds too fast to follow, Crazy Diamond raised its arm before bringing it down and slicing at the air in front of it. It moved so quickly that the blood on its fingers was launched off its appendages, compressing and taking the form of a red crescent-shaped blade that headed straight for Let Me Live.

The arc of blood moved at great speeds before slicing Let Me Live in half, cutting the gaseous sentry straight through its gut. Unfortunately for Josuke, the black Killer Queen had more than enough time to transform its stomach into its gas state. Wisps of black energy were already sewing Let Me Live back together as it chucked the orb down at Josuke.

Shit! Thinking fast, Josuke remembered there were still bits of concrete lodged in his back from one of Let Me Live's earlier attacks. A bright yellow aura soon enveloped the Stand User and Crazy Diamond as their bodies were lifted off their feet and sent flying backward. The orb crashed against the spot Josuke had once stood on, the explosion that followed decimated the road as another silent fireball detonated into the night. Josuke and Crazy Diamond had thankfully gotten out of the explosion's range, the pompadour teen slowly descending towards a large crater as the concrete lodged in his back flew from his body and back to its home.

Once his feet were on the ground, Josuke coughed up blood, thick patches of the red liquid escaping his mouth as he did not stop gasping for several seconds. His vision flickered with black spots as he struggled to get up, using Crazy Diamond for support as he shifted all his weight onto his right leg.

Fuck, it's getting harder to stay conscious. He thought as Let Me live slowly approached Josuke.

"It looks like…you're at your limit…" The black Killer Queen let out a chuckle that sounded like nails scratching on glass. "I never thought I see the day…when Josuke Higashikata ran out of stamina…"

"I've still got plenty of juice left in me to kick your ass!" Josue shouted back, his voice burning with fury. But as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that was a lie. The power inside him was almost gone, and the strain of keeping Crazy Diamond in reality was growing by the minute.

But he would not give up now.

"Even you must know how false that statement is… I can see you're struggling to stay conscious….and soon, you shall fall, and I will never again have to worry… about another Stand User ever again."

Josuke's eyes glared daggers at the new Killer Queen; his expression held nothing but animosity. All he needed was one chance. One moment to unload every bit of power still left inside him, and storm Let Me Live with a volley of Crazy Diamond fists. All he needed was one moment to catch it off guard, and this fight would be over.

He just needed a plan to do so.

"And It seems like you have yet to realize…that you have already lost…" The gaseous version of Killer Queen looked around the fiery streets and buildings. "You haven't realized Let Me Live's final ability…and because of that you have lost."

"And what the hell is its last power?" Josuke's voice showed no emotions, but he did feel a small amount of worry as he wondered what Let Me Live was about to do.

"Let Me Live's has spheres that explode on contact… But that's not the only thing they can do…" Let Me Live's body slowly dissolved into black strands of gas, the wisps of blackness moving further down the streets and away from Josuke.

What the hell is this thing planning? Josuke thought as the tendrils soon began to reform about hundred feet away from the young Stand user. Once the black strands finished whirling into the body of Let Me Live, it spoke again.

"Wherever those bombs detonate, they leave behind… particles…" Let Me Live curled its hand into a fist. "These particles are rather special…. Because Let Me Live has the power…" The black Killer Queen brought its thumb up.

"To ignite them..."

It brought its thumb down to its hand.

And a crater located about two dozen feet to Josuke's right erupted into a silent explosion. Josuke's head whipped towards the dent in the ground as plumes of fire erupted upwards into the air, and he could feel the heat from where he was standing.

And his stomach seemed to sink into a pond of ice cold water. His eyes widened in horror as he slowly looked around the battlefield. They zoomed in on every hole Let Me Live had made into the surrounding buildings and every crater scattered about the road.

Let Me Live had turned this entire area into a minefield, and he realized this far too late.

"Since Let Me Live has left so many particles behind… It cannot control where the next explosion will occur…but it does not matter…"

It slowly raised his thumb, and Josuke knew he had to move now.

"Because this is the end for you…. Josuke!" And the sentient bomb brought its thumb down.

Josuke reacted without a thought.

"Crazy Diamond!" Without giving another word, the bubblegum pink Stand ran with its master around its shoulder before slamming its leg hard against the road. Both Josuke and Crazy Diamond were sent hurling through the air as a large explosion detonated a short distance behind them. Josuke's back was singed and he bit his tongue to prevent himself from screaming as both he and Crazy Diamond flew through the air.

Let Me Live brought its thumb down to its hand again.

They landed on a street curb, both Crazy Diamond and Josuke rolling before quickly getting up as Jouske ignored the fiery pain coursing through him. And right as they landed, the top portion of the building right next to Josuke blew up in a large inferno. Boulders of debris covered in flames came down to the Stand user, traveling so fast Josuke did not have the time to dodge.

"Damn it!" He shouted before Crazy Diamond moved in a burst of speed and floated towards the boulders just as they were inches away from its master.

"DORARARARARA!" It punched all the boulders within seconds, striking with a barrage of insanely fast crosses and monstrous haymakers. The chunks of debris broke into hundreds of pieces, no longer a threat to Josuke, but the pebbles did pelt his skin which stung slightly.

Glancing around, the purple haired teen saw there were the remnants of a car door located a few feet away from him, and he also saw more destroyed car parts located near Let Me Live.

Not wasting another moment, Crazy Diamond flew towards the car door and grabbed it before returning to Josuke. A bright yellow aura surrounded the door as the Stand wrapped its master's arms around its neck before the door went flying through the air at break-neck speeds towards the black Killer Queen, taking both of them along with it.

In response to this, Let Me Live brought its thumb down. Over and over again with no signs of stopping.

Explosion after explosion wrecked the streets, massive plumes of fire sprouted from craters and buildings as chunks of concrete were sent flying through the air. It was like Josuke was being bombed by fighter jets, several times he made Crazy Diamond shift the door he was riding out of the way from flaming debris almost crushing him. The silent explosions continued to erupt in scorching blasts of red and orange, some dangerously close to Josuke as he could feel his skin get burnt more than once as he continued to soar through the air. Another explosion erupted from a crater a dozen feet in front of his path, the young Stand User traveling through the plume of heat as he saw he was quickly approaching Let Me Live.

"When you get to hell.."

He ignored the words that came out of Let Me Live's mouth, focusing on avoiding the growing amount of explosions and debris attacking him. More craters and buildings were swallowed by flames, the streets now looked like a scene from a war zone.

"Tell your friends…"

Almost there! Josuke thought as he moved to the left to dodge another explosion. Let Me Live was only twenty feet away now, and he felt his anger triple as he got closer. He just needed to get close and make sure Let Me Live couldn't transform into its gas state and then-

Josuke never finished that thought.

For right underneath him, an explosion burst into existence. And because it did not make a sound, he could hear the distorted voice of Let Me Live clearly.

"Kira sent you…"

A pain unlike any he had ever felt before burned his nerves. He could not scream, he could not even move, all he could do was endure as his body was consumed by raging flames. Though in the next second, Josuke did not feel anything.

His vision had gone completely black.


It watched as the fool's body was launched by the explosion, the door he had held onto flying through the air as the yellow aura disappeared. The fool was sent careening towards a shop of some kind as he crashed through the windows.

Let Me Live was embodied with parts of its masters' will, so it could talk just like Kira Yoshikage. It could also think like the serial killer, able to conceive plans and actions as if Kira was the one giving them. And it could even feel the same emotions that Kira Yoshikage would feel in any situation, though it would never show on its emotionless face.

So seeing Josuke Higashikata being blasted away by one its bigger explosions sent the most sadistic form of satisfaction spiraling through its body.

It would have smiled if it could.

Focusing its power, Let Me Live's body slowly turned into thick tendrils of black gas. The gas born from its energy slithered through the air, traveling through the haze of fire and smoke that covered the streets before reaching the broken windows. The wisps of black vapor whirled in front of the store, once again taking the shape of the dark Killer Queen.

Looking through the broken glass, he noticed the store was some form of small grocery store, and on the floor it saw the man who had given its master so much trouble.

And seeing Josuke Higashikata made Let Me Live chuckle.

The man who had given its master so much trouble had crashed into a stand of assorted snacks, his body splayed awkwardly atop the dirty floor. Blood was pooling around his body, a thick puddle of red liquid already forming on the floor that only grew with each passing second. The fool's outfit was drenched in his own blood, his uniform was singed and torn and its dark purple color scheme was unrecognizable under the blood. Bits of his face along with the skin that Let Me Live could see was horribly burned, deep red marks adoring the Stand users body as Let Me Live could see the bloody flesh underneath the burn marks.

Let Me Live had the additional ability to "see" a person's body temperature, able to track down anyone by the heat flowing through their veins. A person's body heat looked like a bright orange light resting within a person's body, but in Higashiakta's case the light was almost gone. Through its eyes, it could see that the Master of Crazy Diamond's heart had stopped pumping blood, causing his body to grow colder by the second.

But the thing that stood out the most to Let Me Live was Higashikata's eyes. Eyes that once held a red-hot determination, eyes that held an unwavering will to fight, eyes that shined with righteousness and passion…were now as lifeless as Let Me Live's own eyes.

Hollow blue eyes stared at the roof of the store, never blinking or showing that same fire its master had seen so many times before.

There was no mistake.

Josuke Higashikata was dead.

And that one thought made it chuckle yet again. It continued to let out deep, horribly malicious and sinister laughs that were never quite loud, but they still echoed throughout the deserted store. Its distorted chortles showed the demon lurking in its mind.

"You have no idea how long… I have waited for this moment…" Let Me Live jumped through the broken window. "To see you lying on the ground as nothing more than a corpse… I have dreamt of all the things I would do; all the things I would say to your lifeless husk…"

Let Me Live slowly walked towards the fallen Stand User. Once it arrived at Josuke's body, it towered over the corpse of Higashikata before extending its arm towards the dead teen.

"But now that the moment is here…I see now that there is nothing left to be said…Your pathetic existence isn't even worth…wasting another breath on…"

It grabbed Josuke by the side of his jacket, lifting him up with ease as his head jerked forwards. His eyes, shadowed by his burned and ridiculous hair, were now gazing at the floor covered with his blood as Let Me Live looked at the corpse.

"But I will admit…you have been the biggest nuisance I have ever encountered… Including you're dead friends….and everyone I have ever blown up…"

It let loose another low chuckle, as it pulled its remaining arm back. It hand was flat, gloved fingers stretched to their fullest as they now looked like dark black knives. Its master would want the teenager's corpse to be completely maimed, making it unrecognizable to anyone as to what the dead body had once looked like. An explosion would not do; it would lack the satisfying feeling of personally mutilating the bastard who had given its master hell.

"So know this, Josuke Higashiakta…You were my greatest enemy…and my most enjoyable kill to date…"

It threw its arm forward, aiming to plunge its fingers right through the Josuke Highashikata's jugular.


Steven barely had enough time to react.

Just as the flames were about to engulf him and Amethyst, Steven had immediately focused all his thoughts on his shield, needing it now more than ever to protect himself and Amethyst. In almost an instant, his shield had tripled in size, the magenta weapon now stretched all the way to the walls of the alley. The flames had just missed Steven and Amethyst, the large shield protecting the two gems from the scorching wisps of fire.

It did not, however, protect them from the shockwaves.

The power and force from the explosion had been enough to send Steven and Amethyst flying. Amethyst vanished from his sight as he saw her land somewhere far out on the beach behind him. Steven continued to careen through the air, his shield fading from existence as he crashed into a wooden bench. Splinters of wood were sent twirling into the air as his head was lit up with intense pain.

Okay, that really hurts, he thought as he groaned. He placed a hand on his forehead and massaged it to try and relieve the pain in his head. His vision was cloudy, but he could make out three shadowy shapes, one big, one small, and a fluffy shape, standing over him.

He could hear the shapes saying something, but he could only make out bits and pieces of their words through his headache. Eventually, his vision cleared and he realized the shapes were Sour Cream, Lion and Onion.

"Steven, dude, are you alright!" He was finally able to hear Sour Cream's voice, and immediately recognized the worry rapidly growing in his words; right next to Sour Cream, Onion had been shaking him in an attempt to snap him out of his daze. Lion was gently nudging its head under Steven's neck in order to support the Gem into a sitting position.

"I'm fine guys," Steven said with a groan, slowly getting up.

"That's great," Sour Cream smiled, but it was short-lived as a very panic-stricken expression crossed his face. "But Fish Stew Pizza's on fire!"

"What!?" Steven shouted, his eyes widening with horror. He looked past Sour Cream and Onion and saw that Fish Stew Pizza was in fact a blaze. Plumes of fire were surrounding the building, the columns of flames only growing with each second. Right next to it, Beach City Fries had also been caught in the explosion, but somehow there were only small pillars of flames licking the side of the building.

And it was then Steven remembered Kofi, the owner of the restaurant, had decided to extend the work hours for his beloved store.

"Oh my gosh, is anyone still in there!" Steven shouted as he turned to Onion and Sour Cream.

Please say no, please say no, please say no, PLEASE SAY NO!

"Kofi and Kiki got caught up in that blast bro!" Sour cream shouted, fear consuming his every word.

Steven felt his breath hitch in his throat and his heartbeat slowing down as he stared at the flaming pizza restaurant. Kiki and Kofi were still in their… they were hurt, and if someone didn't do something they might-

No.

He was a Gem, and he would save them!

A determination unlike any Steven had felt before entered his body as his eyes narrowed. Without wasting another moment, he broke away from the group and ran straight towards the burning building.

"Steven!" He heard Sour Cream shout behind him.

"Find Amethyst! Make sure she's not hurt!" He shouted, not even turning around to face them as he reached the entrance of Fish Stew Pizza. Steven could see the flames inside swallowing up the chairs and tables as his rose quartz Gem glowed bright magenta; from within the light, his shield appeared as he placed it on his forearm and then held the shield out in front of him before charging into the building.

The heat that assaulted him when he entered might have been just as scorching as the lava in Bismuth's forge. Pitch black smoke whirled inside the flaming building, making it very hard to see even a foot in front of him. When Steven burst through the door, his shield was able to protect most of his body from the fire, but wisps of flames still burned his back as well as his clothes.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!" Steven shouted, his head whipping in every direction in an attempt to find his two friends. The flames only grew with each moment he searched, sweat dripping down his forehead as he heard the sound creaking wood above him. Looking up, he saw one of the wooden rafters above him cracking, right before it split in half and fell right towards Steven.

Reacting quickly, Steven brought his shield up above his head. The rafter collided with his weapon, the moment it made contact with his shield it shattered into mini blocks of wood.

"Kiki! Kofi! Where are you!" He shouted, trying to clear away the smoke in front of him as he let out tiny coughs. And suddenly, Steven heard a tiny groan of pain through the crackling flames and rushed towards the area he thought it came from.

Pushing aside more fallen rafters and several burnt tables with his shield, Steven had found his friends. Both Kofi and Kiki were trapped under small chunks of concrete, most likely from the ceiling and it was obvious they had been knocked out. Quickly lifting the debris of his friends with ease, Steven saw that their bodies were burnt and bleeding, but how badly he could not tell through all the smog.

"Don't worry guys, I'll heal you right up as soon as we get out of here." Steven said, carefully placing both Kiki and Kofi's arms around his neck. He couldn't risk valuable time on healing them, especially when the flames were spreading and swallowing more and more of the store.

Suddenly, he heard a low growl and saw Lion had somehow sneaked behind him. The tips of its mane had small embers on it, but otherwise, he was fine. It lowered its head so that its eyes were eye level with Steven's, nudging its head towards Kofi and Kiki and then to its back.

"I owe you one buddy," Steven said with a small smile, instantly getting what his guardian pet wanted him to do. He placed Kiki and Kofi's unconscious forms on Lion's back before quickly hopping onto the pink animal's back as well. The moment he had secured himself and his two passengers, he gave Lion one order.

"Let's get out of here!" He shouted, and Lion took off like a bolt of pink lightning. The animal guardian leapt through the flames before running towards the door. The door flew open the moment Lion made contact as the two humans, Gem, and animal landed a short distance away from the burning building onto the boardwalk.

Not wasting another second, Steven pulled Kofi and Kiki off Lion's back and placed them down gently on the wooden path. Now that they were out of the burning building, Steven could see that Kiki and Kofi had deep red burns on their faces and arms, both of their clothes ripped and burned. Blood dripped from fresh gashes scattered about their bodies, and he noticed that one of Kiki's arms was bent at a funny angle.

Seeing his friends so injured made him nauseous. It was hard to believe that the two people he knew with the most energy and excitement were reduced to such states.

"Healing powers, don't fail me now." He muttered, pushing aside his nausea as he licked both his hands. Seeing he had enough spit on both hands, he immediately touched the center of Kiki and Kofi's faces with his palms.

The effect was almost instant, Kofi and Kiki's skin instantly weaving back together over their wounds. Soon the gashes were completely sewed up, with the only traces of them having been there tiny cuts that were barely visible. The bruises faded, Kiki's arm was set back into place, and their burns went from bright red and large to small and light pink.

They weren't completely healed, but now their injuries were far less severe than before. Steven let out a sigh of relief as he wiped the sweat forming on his brow.

"Steven!" Turning around, Steven saw Amethyst running towards him with Onion and Sour Cream nowhere in sight. She was the first to reach him, quickly grabbing both his arms as she looked him over. "Are you okay!?" She then looked down at Kofi and Kiki. "Are they okay!?"

"Yeah, I'm good Amethyst," Steven replied. "And Kofi and Kiki are too. They got hurt, but I was able to heal them with my powers."

"I'm so sorry little man, I should have been there helping you." She said, her expression becoming regretful. "You shouldn't have been in there alone. I should have known something like this was gonna happen and not walked down that-"

"Amethyst, you're starting to sound like Pearl." Steven interrupted, and the moment those words left his lips, Amethyst stopped dead in her tracks as her cheeks turned a darker shade of purple. He let out a little chuckle, knowing that she both hated and became embarrassed whenever she acted like the Pearl.

"Neither of us knew this would happen, and like I said, I'm fine." He gave her a big smile that he had been told was both cute and reassuring. "I had it covered, and it wasn't like I was alone, I had Lion." Said lion gave a short affirmative roar. "I was…a little scared but I still got Kofi and Kiki out of the building." He then put his hand on her shoulder as his lips turned into a thin frown. "So don't blame yourself, there was no way you could have known a gigantic explosion was gonna send us flying."

Amethyst looked from Steven to Lion, and then to the two humans on the floor. She didn't say anything for several seconds, and then a big smile grew on her lips and she hugged Steven. Steven was glad he was able to stop Amethyst from beating herself up again. She didn't deserve that.

"You know, you're getting really amazing at this whole saving people deal." She said, and Steven let those words sink in. He had to admit, saving Kofi and Keki had to prove he had made improvements. So the doubts and dread he had been feeling all day long about his ability as a fighter had been wrong. Saving these his friends lives had to show that he was a skilled Crystal Gem.

You saved these two, but what about the next guys who get caught up in danger.

Bismuth's voice again, but this time Steven was able to not let her words have such a bad effect on his emotions. His confidence had greatly improved in the span of a few minutes, and nothing was going to ruin it. The most he felt was a slight rise in doubt but he pushed those feelings to the side.

Right now, he was just gonna enjoy Amethyst's hug.

"Thanks, Amethyst." He hugged her back, and the purple Gem let out a big laugh.

"Pearl's gonna flip when I tell her you went into a burning building by yourself." She said, and it was then Steven heard more footsteps coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw Onion and Sour Cream quickly approaching him.

"Steven, Amethyst, are you guys alright!? Are Kiki and Kofi hurt!?" Sour Cream shouted as he joined the two Gems.

"Yeah, we're fine Sour Cream." He then looked down towards Kiki and Kofi. "And they got a little hurt, but I was able to help them out before things got too serious."

"That's the best news I've heard all day." Sour Cream said, giving a big relieved grin to the two Gems. However, Onion began to pat on his pants, the older teen crouching down as Onion whispered something into his ear. "Oh, right."

"What's wrong?" Amethyst asked.

"It's just, Onion said we still have no idea where out mom went." At the reminder of Vidalia, Steven and Amethyst eyes widened slightly as they remembered why they came out here in the first place.

"Oh, yeah," Steven stared at the boardwalk, sadness growing in his eyes. They still had yet to find Vidalia, and it was clear their only lead had just disappeared.

"Darn it!" Amethyst muttered bitterly, her expression now dejected. Steven could see a touch of anger in her eyes as she frowned

"And also… What the heck caused that explosion?" Sour Cream asked, and that was a very good question. Both Steven and Amethyst looked at each other with raised brows, as it was clear that wasn't a normal explosion, there was no way Kofi had anything in his pizza store that could cause such a massive blast. The only answer that made sense to Steven was that it was some kind of Corrupted Gem. And this left Steven wondering what kind of Gem monster could make explosions out of thin air?

"I have no idea," Steven answered honestly.

"Well, whatever caused this obviously just tried to wipe us out." Amethyst said before turning to the still burning pizza shop. Her eyes narrowed as her voice gained a sharp edge to it. "And now it just made things personal."

Steven began to hear sirens in the distance, most likely from the fire department. Whatever did this was still out there, and it was probably the same thing that had kidnapped Vidalia.

There was the familiar feeling of fear building up inside Steven's chest, for just a moment his mind flashed back to his fight with Bismuth, but this time those thoughts and feelings were overshadowed not by confidence, but by a burning resolve that had settled into Steven's heart.

He was going to find whatever did this to his friends and the citizens of Beach City, and he and the Gems were going to stop it.


Let Me Live's fingers were inches away from stabbing into Josuke's throat. But just as they were about to reach the young Stand User, Crazy Diamond materialized into existence right beside its master, the air glimmering pink.

"DORA!" The muscular Stand flew towards Let Me Live, spinning in midair before launching a right hook that plowed right into the side of the Black Killer Queen's face. Cracks formed on Let Me Lives head before a fountain of blood erupted into the air. The gaseous sentry was sent careening to the side, crashing into an aisle of assorted food before landing face first on the ground.

"What!?" Let Me Live shouted, shakily rising to its feet as it turned and glared at the pink Stand. "Crazy Diamond…how are you-."

"I'm pretty sure I already told you this before," a shaky and hoarse sounding voice interrupted the walking bomb. Let Me Live looked towards the side, and what it saw made its eyes widened.

For leaning against the wall next to the broken windows was the bloody and horribly burned form of Josuke Higashikata. One hand was placed under the side of his chin while the other hand was stuffed in his now blackened jacket pocket; his left leg wrapped around his right ankle even with a fiery pain shooting up his body from just standing. And even though blood dripped down his body like a waterfall, even though his clothes and skin had been shredded and set on fire, his eyes still gleamed with determination. A determination of a man who would stop at nothing to defeat the monster who had hurt so many without a thought or care.

His eyes held a conviction only Josuke Higashikata had.

"But I ain't dying until I give you the ass-kicking you deserve." He finished, spitting a thick dribble of blood onto the floor.

"How are you alive!" Let Me live screamed in its warped voice. "I saw your heart had stopped pumping blood…I saw your body growing as cold as a corpse!"

"As I thought, you can sense a person's body temperature, just like Sheer Heart Attack." Josuke began, his eyes narrowing at the cracking form of Let Me Live. "How else could you have known I was on that bus? You recognized my body heat and attacked just like that."

"DORA!" Crazy Diamond once again rushed Let Me Live, this time striking with a swift and furious kick to the black Killer Queens sides, sending it flying through the air before its body crashed against the wall, now only a few feet to the right of Josuke. Josuke spared Let Me Live a sideways glance as he stretched his neck.

"You really messed up my body with that last attack, even now it's taking everything I got to keep Crazy Diamond in existence." He nudged his head toward his Stand, who crossed its arm as it floated near its master. Let Me Live was bleeding heavily, the crack spreading across his body and growing. Even though he was incredibly injured, Josuke's attacks were only growing in strength not diminishing as he poured every ounce of energy left inside him to his Stand.

"So I knew this was my last chance to win, and I needed to get the drop on you; otherwise, you just turn into the gas state. But since I knew you could sense body heat, how do I overcome that? The answer was simple."

Josuke took out the hand in his pocket, ignoring how heavy and hard it was to move the appendage, and pointed at his heart.

"I just stopped my own heart."

For one moment, Let Me Live's expression no longer held its usual stoic features, but instead, its face was the textbook definition of shock.

"WHAT!?"

Josuke would remember that expression for the rest of his life. He gave Let Me Live the biggest shit eating grin he could muster, even though smiling was rather painful in his current state.

"You heard me, motherfucker."

Yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt stopping his own heart with his Stand was the craziest and most reckless plan he had ever thought of. But as he was bleeding on the floor, as his entire body screamed at him to just stop and accept his loss if only to rest, he realized that he was not willing to die to the murderer known as Kira Yoshikage anytime soon. He remembered all his friends and the innocent people the monster had killed, and all his friends and family who were waiting for him in Morioh. With those thoughts in mind, he knew he had to survive this fight. So pushing past the haze growing in his mind, pushing past pain that should have killed him ten times over, he summoned every ounce of will left in him in order to stay alive.

And then he formulated a plan in his diminishing consciousness. He called upon the power inside him, somehow still not gone yet, and summoned Crazy Diamond's arm. The limb of his Stand overlapped with his own and slowly the arm moved from its position and phased right through his chest. Praying to every God imaginable, Josuke had Crazy Diamond grab his heart, the beats of his organ almost instantly slowed down until finally, they stopped.

And then he could feel his mind drifting to a state that was eerily similar to sleep, and felt the pain slowly fading from his body. He senses began to numb, his vision started to go black once again as his breathing all but stopped. The energy that was still inside him began to vanish, like the last embers of a once bright fire. For a few indescribable moments, He could barely even remember what he was doing or who he even was. But just as his vision was about to go completely black, he saw something pick him up. He could not make out what exactly picked him up, but he did see one thing about the unknown entity lifting him up.

He saw two cold pink eyes glaring at him.

And that was enough to send a raging inferno through his body. A primal fury ran through his very soul as he remembered what that face meant to Josuke.

It was the face of the man who needed to get the ever-loving shit kicked out of him.

He used what little willpower was still left in his soul and within his body he called upon Crazy Diamond's arm, his vision almost completely black by now and his life seemed to be snatched away by death itself. He then had the phantom limb slam a gauntlet-covered fist into his heart.

The blackness cleared away in an instant, his eyes shot open as his heart began to make up for lost time. The energy that was all but gone a moment before seemed to be restored as Josuke felt a new ocean of power rippling inside him. Whether he really did have that much energy left to burn or if he was delirious from all the blood loss did not matter as Josuke still summoned Crazy Diamond had had it punch that smug-ass Stand right in the face.

Yeah, I'm never doing something that asinine ever again. He thought, his eyes not looking away from the black Killer Queens crouched form.

"You truly are… The most unpredictable Stand User in existence…" Let Me Live chuckled, the right side of its face now had a thick stream of blood running down to its neck. From the way its body was shaking, Josuke could tell that his last two hits had done a number on the sentient bomb, most likely rendering it unable to turn into its gas state. "But even though you beat Let Me Live… Don't think this is all I am now capable of… I have evolved, and if by some miracle you make it to Beach City…then you shall suffer the most painful death imaginable…"

Josuke did not say a word throughout Let Me Live's speech, simply listening as he pushed off the wall and walked over to the bomb sentry still on the ground.

It would be cruel to not listen to someone's last words.

"You know, I'm almost thankful you attacked me." Josuke started, Crazy Diamond walking right next to its master. He did not limp, even though it sent nerve burning pain throughout his body, he walked as if his left leg wasn't completely shattered. "See, ever since I've got to this dimension, my experiences here have been rather shitty. Finding out you can't go home, that you somehow traveled to a world a lot like your own except not, and that the murderer you thought you killed is still up to his old tricks has been a little stress-inducing."

He stood tall and proud over Let Me Live.

"I've been progressively getting madder and madder with each God damn minute I've been here." An all-consuming fury entered Josuke's eyes. "And lately it's been building up, to the point where I'm having trouble thinking straight, and sometimes I've even imagined just letting it all out on some poor sap who looked at me funny."

A purple aura once again came to life around Josuke.

"Now, that shit can't possibly be healthy, so I've been trying to figure out some way to let out all this anger without hurting anyone who doesn't' deserve it. But unfortunately, I couldn't come up with any methods. That is of course…until you showed up."

A savage smile crossed Josuke's face, Crazy Diamond smirked as the Stand User's expression now coursed with predatory glee. Let Me Live's expression was still emotionless, but he could see the tiniest undertone of fear beneath its pink eyes.

"So for volunteering to help me with my anger issues, I just want to say from the bottom of my heart..."

He cracked his knuckles.

"Thank You."

And Crazy Diamond became a hurricane of power.

"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"

With such swiftness that no one could follow, Crazy Diamond unleashed hell. Fist attacked every inch of Let Me Live's body, deep cracks now ran through its skin as bright red blood was launched in every direction. Crazy Diamond's punches only became stronger, with each hit that landed a sound that was similar to boulders being crushed echoed throughout the store. His Stand began to move faster, its arms pink and silver comets as they continued to smash every bit of strength it had right into Let Me Live's body.

"DORA!"

In the midst of its barrage, Crazy Diamond threw an unbelievably fast uppercut. The punch landed right under Let Me Live's chin as the black Killer Queen was sent flying upwards. The Stand hit the ceiling with such force the entire foundation shook before ricocheting right back towards Crazy Diamond.

"DORA!"

Crazy Diamond gave Let Me Live another blindingly fast uppercut, the wind swirling around its fist like a miniature typhoon as the Stand hit the gaseous bomb right on the side of its face just as it came within range. An entire patch of black skin was sent flying through the air as Let Me Live face exploded in blood, and the black Killer Queen was sent careening right back to the ceiling.

"This is just a preview of what's to come, KIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The fury coursing throughout each word Josuke screamed was far hotter than any explosion Let Me Live had pelted him with.

Let Me Live once again crashed into the ceiling, the roof breaking into a thousand pieces of concrete and bricks as the building shook like an earthquake had passed through the area.

And Let Me Live was sent ricocheting off the remains of the roof right back towards Josuke and Crazy Diamond.

"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARRARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!""

Crazy Diamond arms seemed to multiply with each second, raining down punches at speeds that would put fighter jets to shame. Each fist made the walking bomb erupt in blood, every part of its body was now covered in cracks as large dents formed on its skin. Every single jab hit with strength that would shatter entire buildings, and every single cross grew stronger the more Crazy Diamond continued its never-ending storm of attacks. Crazy Diamond's heavy and destructive haymakers and hooks were moving at sonic speeds, the force from each blow that landed caused large gales of winds to sweep through the store. The Stand looked like an absolute demon with its victim's blood covering every inch of its body, shouting its battle cry at the top of its lungs.

"DORA!"

Pulling its arm back for one last punch, Josuke channeled every scrap of fighting spirit still left in him to Crazy Diamond. And the pink-skinned warrior launched what had to be the fastest cross known to man and Stand as a sonic boom erupted from the velocity of its fist. The punch landed right in the center of Let Me Live's face as the black bomb was sent careening. It spiraled through the air before destroying the wall of the store and continued to fly, until it crashed through the wall of another building.

Josuke saw through the hole he had just created that the black Killer Queen was slowly dissolving. Not to gas, but to dust as the gaseous sentry turned into a thick, ash-like substance. Eventually, Killer Queen: Let Me Live was nothing more than fine black powder.

"You're turns coming up soon, Kira." Josuke said as his Stand faded from existence. He walked towards the exit of the store, going outside and back into the flame ridden streets. He took in a breath of the smoke that came from the pillars of flames scattered throughout the road.

I...I have to get patched up, or else there's a good chance I…might…

Before he could finish that thought, Josuke finally lost the battle against his exhaustion and collapsed onto the ground. His vision faded to blackness yet again as the last thing he felt before unconsciousness took him were his own heartbeats slowing down.

[Killer Queen: Let Me Live]

[The Fourth Bomb]

[Status: Retired]


Another fire truck passed him, the wind blowing from behind the speeding vehicle and brushing against Kira's face.

This town's response time's to fire is a bit shabby. It had been at least six minutes since he blew up that store, and it was only just now he saw any signs of help approaching the boardwalk. Even someone like him could tell they needed to work on their speed.

"It's a shame I had to get rid of my companion so fast," he said, walking to a nearby garbage can and discarding the remains of his food into a trash bin. "Though, it's not like I can't get another one."

He wondered if the boy and the purple woman had lived through his explosion. He had a feeling they would, since he had learned through experience that self-righteous idiots are surprisingly durable.

"Which is all the better, because right now if those people are kept alive, I will not have to worry about anyone trying to fight me for a while." The serial killer said as he continued to walk along the near-empty streets of Beach City and back towards his house. He should probably think about buying a car sooner or later, since walking about two hours from the town back to his home was rather tedious.

And it was at this moment Kira was overcome with a sudden dizziness, a pain ringing throughout his head. He placed a palm on his temples to try and alleviate some of his pain, but the nausea-inducing sensation only seemed to grow.

And then, blood sprouted from his right hand and into the night air. Deep and long gashes sliced into his hand, the cuts causing blood to drip from his palm onto the curb he was walking on.

"Ow," Kira said, gritting his teeth as he brought his palm closer to his eyes.

"Josuke was not holding back anything against Let Me Live I see," he said as the memories of the sentry version of Killer Queen flooded his head. In his mind, he could see Josuke, his eyes flooded with a bottomless determination and a blazing fury.

Seeing that face always made anger rise in his chest.

"He's in New Jersey right now," Kira muttered, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a napkin. He slowly wrapped it around his hand to make a bandage. He would have to properly treat it when he got home, but for now, the napkin would do.

"If he traveled non-stop from New Jersey to here, he might get here in about two weeks. But since he's now gravely injured, he'll have to rest." If Kira had to guess, he'd say he had at least somewhere between three to four weeks before Josuke actually got here.

That is of course, if he can survive my other trap.

He looked down towards his left hand, and grinned before he continued to walk.

"Right now, I have to be a bit more careful than usual." He said to himself, "Josuke's is one thing, but I do not want to have to fight a bunch of weak aliens. I can practically feel the irritation of having to fight not only a Stand User, but a child with 'magical' abilities."

Still, it would be best to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Perhaps come up with ways to quickly deal with any annoyance that tries to end him. His new abilities could easily kill them in one fell swoop, but he did not want to use them if he did not have too.

"Killer Queen should be able to handle anything that comes to us without having to use those specific powers." He said, as yet another fire truck passed him.

In his mind, he was already thinking of strategies and plans to deal with each and every possible opponent he might face. In his mind, he could hear the screams of every fool who dared to oppose him as he watched them swallowed by an explosion.

I will be fine. No one can defeat me, not now…

He saw a woman across the street from him. She was tall, white and had long blonde hair, and he could see no one else on the streets. His eyes looked towards her hands, beautiful, small hands that were some of the best Kira had ever seen. A smile that leaked cruelty spread throughout his face.

Not when I have ascended.

To Be Continued~

And that's it for now folks! This chapter is now my longest one ever written, so I hope the wait was worth it! In the next chapter, there might not be as much action but it will set up a big event for the following one.

Also, I just like to give a big thank you to everyone who has, favorited, followed, and especially reviewed this story! I really appreciate everyone who's showed their love for this story, and I'm glad you all enjoy it. This is now my most popular story. Now, while this story may have only twenty reviews as of the last chapter, I hope that we can get it two hundred reviews someday! So once again, thank you all who have read my story, and hope you continue to read it to the end.

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