Chapter 6: Fireworks Spectacular
Steven was worried.
At first, Steven could not have been happier. After he had left the barn, he had been stuffing his cheeseburger backpack with as many drinks, some money Pearl had left for him to take, and as many snacks as he could fit into his bag. It was then he had decided to text Peridot, who was still out shopping, about their change of plans. She had almost immediately responded, clearly just as excited as Steven.
However, as he had been packing, he received another text message from the green Gem. And this one was vastly different from the last one.
STEVEN, I MIGHT BE A LITTLE LATE. I'M INVESTIGATING SOMETHING IMPORTANT.
That message made Steven uneasy. He did not know why, but when he finished reading that message, a coldness wrapped around his body. Peridot's text did not seem to be anything too worrisome, but the feeling of dread that was slowly rising in his stomach made Steven bite his lower lip. For some reason, Steven was beginning to imagine that Peridot might have been in some kind of trouble.
He shook his head to rid himself of such ridiculous thoughts. Peridot was out shopping, what kind of trouble could she possibly get into? She had probably just seen some kind of tool or maybe a new plushy that had caught her eye. Even though there was an unknown Gem monster still on the loose, the chances of Peridot encountering it were slim to none.
And if she really did see something dangerous, she would have told him and he and Lapis would have rushed to help her. So, Steven read the text as Peridot just saying she was caught up in something, and might not be able to meet up with him and Lapis on time. Which wasn't a very big deal, since there was still time before they had to leave. So, he put his phone away, went upstairs and turned on his GameCube and waited for Peridot to arrive from her trip to his town.
An hour passed, and Steven stopped playing his video games, climbing down from his bed and walking towards the window near the entrance to his house. Peridot still wasn't back yet, and the sky was beginning to darken. Peridot knew what time all three of them had to leave by, so she should have been back to the beach house by now. No matter what she had seen, Peridot would never willingly miss out on something both she and Steven had planned out.
He checked his phone again, not seeing any new messages. Peridot should have texted him earlier if she was going to be this late. So why hadn't she sent him even one message?
The only reason Steven could think of was that she couldn't text him.
He didn't know when, but he realized his breathing had become rather labored. His throat felt dry as he rushed to the nearest Warp Pad. He thought that maybe Peridot had gone straight to the barn instead of his home, that maybe she was just talking with Lapis and waiting for Steven to get there.
But when he arrived at the barn with only Lapis present, he knew something was wrong.
Dread slithered in his stomach as he almost shouted at Lapis, asking her if Peridot had contacted her. When she told him no, she had obviously noticed the fear on his expression and asked what was wrong. He had quickly explained how Peridot sent him a strange and possibly ominous message and how he hadn't heard from her since.
Lapis rarely ever let anyone see her at her most vulnerable; when she was shocked by something or frightened. She could be as stoic as Garnet at times, most of the time her face was morphed in either dry sarcasm or blank and somewhat emotionless gazes. She had suffered through so much pain that she had learned to put up a cold and uncaring front and would rarely let anyone see how she was really feeling about something.
So when Steven saw her eyes widen and saw fear spreading throughout her face, that was enough to confirm his suspicions. Just like him, Lapis realized that something was going on, and that Peridot might be in some kind of trouble.
"Do you have any idea where Peridot could be?" She asked, worry evident in her words as her voice was unusually low.
"She should be in the town," Steven replied, and before he knew it, droplets of water rose from the wet blades of grass that were planted everywhere around him. The tiny drops flew through the air at great speeds before they began to converge on Lapis' back, slowly taking the shape of her water wings.
"Then what are we waiting for?" She said, her eyes narrowing in on the general direction of Beach City. Her lips were a thin line as Steven saw her expression become deadly serious. The son of Rose Quartz quickly jumped onto Lapis' back and once he had securely wrapped his arms around her small neck, her wings began to move. Soon, Steven and Lapis were slowly lifted off the ground before the blue Gem's water wings began to pick up speed, large gales of wind now emitting from each flap as both Gems shot through the air at intense speeds.
And with each flap, Steven could see the outline of his town getting closer. His mouth was now set in a firm frown as his eyes flared with determination. He would not let the fear and anxiousness building inside his chest distract him from finding Peridot.
And if she was in trouble, he and Lapis would save her; because that was what Crystal Gems do.
Don't worry Perdiot, we're coming. He thought as Lapis began to beat her wings with an even greater vigor.
Josuke wondered how one man's luck could get worse and worse with every passing second.
Standing only dozens of feet away from a mobile and deadly bomb on the opposite side of the street, a small part of him was currently in awe at how every other moment he was in this world, something was trying to kill him. Though, that part was smoldered underneath the burning rage within him. Josuke's expression was in a scowl, his teeth bared and both hands clenched into fists. Crazy Diamond mirrored its master's features as it stood a few feet in front of Jouske.
Around him, the fire from the alley right behind Sheer Heart Attack grew, the flames now spreading to the adjacent buildings and slowly moving towards the street. The hundreds of civilians that were once scattered throughout the road were gone, most leaving their cars behind as they ran away. Josuke was thankful for that fact, the last thing he wanted right now was for more people to die because of Kira's bomb.
And right now, I can't afford to take my eyes away from that little tank. He thought as Sheer Heart Attack began to slowly advance forward, the wheels that made up its treads creaking with every turn as it rolled onto the black road from the curb.
"Higashikata, you've been lucky so far,"The gravely and deep baritone voice of the sphere-shaped bomb held such murderous hatred Josuke could feel it down to his nerves. But Josuke would not submit to the metallic bomb as his eyes narrowed at Sheer Heart Attack's words. "Had you faced me from the start, and not Let Me Live, you would have died long ago."Josuke's muscles tensed as Sheer Heart attack continued to move forward.
"And had you just died at the hands of the other bomb, you would have been spared the despair and agony you are about to face." Sheer Heart Attack stopped moving; Josuke continued to stare at the metallic bomb. For several seconds, neither he, Crazy Diamond nor Sheer Heart Attack moved. The crackling of the flames was the only sound echoing through the street. Josuke did not even blink as a purple aura enveloped him and his Stand.
And then, Sheer Heart Attack's tank treads began to move. The treads moved with the speed expected more from a car than from such a small sphere, and after a few more moments of the wheels scorching the road it stood on, the bomb moved.
Its speed was truly incredible, there was no warning as Sheer Heart Attack jumped from its spot on the road and jettisoned through the air, right towards Josuke. The miniature bomb was so fast it looked more like a blue-tinted comet as within seconds it was inches away from hitting Josuke's face.
But Josuke still did not blink, his eyes able to follow Sheer Heart Attack as it got closer and closer to his face. Josuke's expression did not change, mouth still set in a firm frown and his features showed no signs of worry.
Because as fast as Sheer Heart Attack was, Crazy Diamond was still faster.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
With its mighty roar, Crazy Diamond moved right in front of its master in an instant before it threw a bombardment of pink-skinned fists. Its arms were moving so fast they blurred, now looking like a storm of silver crosses and haymaker. Each punch that landed on the tiny bomb's body echoed with a sound that was like steel being slammed by a hammer, the manifestation of Josuke's fighting spirit continued to strike Sheer Heart Attack from every angle and hit every part of its frame. Crazy Diamond attacked with such acceleration it landed hundreds of superhuman hits in just a few seconds.
But even though it was taking such insanely powerful strikes, even though it could do nothing but float in the air as Crazy Diamond continued its onslaught of deadly pink punches that carried the force of a speeding train…Sheer Heart Attack showed no signs of being damaged.
Josuke gnashed his teeth together as he snarled.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond pulled both arms back before delivering a cross to the right side of Sheer Heart Attack's body and then struck the tiny bomb with a blindingly fast uppercut that sent it careening through the air. The bomb was sent spiraling into a parked car two dozen feet away from Josuke, and Sheer Heart Attack pierced through the car's door. A large hole was now present in the vehicle as Josuke took several steps back. He knew what was going to happen.
The car erupted into a fireball of bright red and orange flames. The large explosion easily engulfed the car as well as several other vehicles nearby. The force from the inferno caused the other vehicles to explode, metal and chunks of shrapnel of different shapes and sizes flew into the air. Josuke had his Stand block and deflect any debris that got too close, plumes of fire now swallowing a good portion of the street.
And from the flames, Sheer Heart Attack calmly rolled forward, the columns of intense heat did not even leave a single burn mark on its armor.
"Ow," the metallic bomb said as it exited the plumes of fire and onto a portion of the road that wasn't on fire. "You dumbass, did you really think that would work?"
Josuke said nothing; instead both he and Crazy Diamond continued to glare at Sheer Heart Attack with eyes full of rage. Josuke knew that his attacks would most likely do nothing to the tank-like bomb. Crazy Diamond's strength was staggering, but against Sheer Heart Attack, his Stand's strength was useless. The mobile bomb's durability was astounding, it was practically invincible to physical attacks. While Josuke might be able to injure it slightly with Crazy Diamond strength, he could not defeat it with his Stand's physical prowess alone.
"I was able to take the punches of Jotaro Kujo's Star Platinum," the mobile bomb continued, no longer moving and looking at Josuke with its empty, black voids for eyes. "Your Crazy Diamond is at best as strong as Star Platinum, which means that it can't hurt me any more than Star Platinum could. And that was before I got an upgrade; because now that my master has gotten stronger, my durability is at a level only God could crush!"
Josuke glared at the armor-plated bomb, his hands trembling in barely contained fury. "I can't believe I didn't notice your ego the last time I punched your face in. Seriously, you're almost as conceited as the psychotic bastard you call a master."
Instead of responding right away, Sheer Heart Attack paused and said nothing. Josuke could not tell what the mobile bomb was thinking, the skull that acted as its face showed no emotion. The young Stand User was confused as to why the loud and boisterous bomb stopped talking, but he would not let it show on his expression.
Then, Sheer Heart Attack spoke again. And through its voice, Josuke could tell that if it could, the little metallic bomb would be giving him a smug smirk.
"You punched my face in? Is that how it went? Because, for some reason, I can't exactly remember how you beat me." The way the spherical bomb phrased its words made it clear to Josuke that it was mocking him. "Oh wait, that's right, you didn't beat me. Instead, you had Crazy Diamond send me back to my master's severed hand with its fucking ability." Anger was quickly rising within Sheer Heart Attacks voice as it continued. "Because of your fucking Stand's powers, after you "fixed" my master's hand, you somehow made it so he could never use me again. But now…"
The anger vanished from its words, and then the miniature tank began to laugh. A sickening laugh that ground Josuke's ears, and the laughter only grew louder with each second. The metallic bomb of Killer Queen was almost hysterical, each throaty and coarse chortle Josuke listened to only made his blood boil. His face held berserk gleam, his entire body trembling as Sheer Heart Attack finished its laughter.
"But now, that ability of your Stand is useless against me! There's no hand for you to trap me in this time, Higashikata! Which means there's nothing you can do to defeat me! My master has ascended to levels no other man could reach, and with his new abilities, he has removed all of my past limitations! I no longer get distracted by other meat bags heat signatures, and instead, I am locked on to the shitbag who dared to try and kill Kira Yoshikage!
Josuke was tempted to charge in and shut up the arrogant bomb, but he couldn't give into his anger. He needed to form some kind of plan before he acted, otherwise he would get enveloped in explosion after explosion.
Unfortunately, he could not come up with anything at the moment. And it was clear Sheer Heart Attack was getting close to ending its little speech.
"Now, you fucking misbegotten waste of garbage, why don't you just do me a favor and stand still. At least that way, when your sorry ass is dragged to the depths of the underworld, you can say you died on your feet and not sniveling like a little bitch!
Both Crazy Diamond and Josuke glared at the tiny bomb with primal, raw hatred; both Stand and master could not have looked angrier. But as much as Josuke hated to admit it, Sheer Heart Attack was partially right. The last time he had encountered the tiny bomb, the only reason he was able to beat it with little effort was that its master had decided to chop of his own hand. Back in his world, Killer Queen's heat-seeking bomb was directly connected to its master's hand, so anything that could actually hurt it would by extension hurt Kira's appendage. So, when he and his friends had cornered him for the first time, he had his own Stand cut off his hand, allowing the tiny bomb to run rampant for as long as it liked without hurting its master.
And that had been one of Kira's most fatal mistakes.
After Jotaro had given him a quick synopsis of its powers, Josuke had Crazy Diamond punch the spherical tank and use its powers on the bomb. Sheer Heart Attack was a manifestation of Kira's energy, born from his left hand and so both his hand and the tiny bomb were connected. Crazy Diamond's ability was to revert anything back to a previous state, which was why when Crazy Diamond used its abilities on the bomb, Kira's hand was also enveloped in a yellow aura due to its link with Sheer Heart Attack. The severed hand flew away to go reattach to Kira, to reform back into its original being.
However, Sheer Heart Attack was also caught up in his Stand's power. Since it was born from Kira's fighting spirit, under normal circumstances, Josuke would be unable to revert it back to its former state. But, since he had successfully "fixed" Kira's hand, the connection the appendage had to the tiny bomb allowed him to cheat with his own powers. Essentially, he had been able to abuse the bond Sheer Heart Attack had to Kira's left hand, and because of the connection, it allowed his powers to revert Sheer Heart Attack back into spiritual energy.
And thanks to his slight boost in power, even though it lasted for less than a second, he was able to make it so that Sheer Heart Attack could never take corporeal form again. By reverting it back into a state of energy where not even Kira himself could possible put back together unless he was willing to spend at least a year trying to undo what Josuke did.
Josuke had morphed and changed the energy Kira needed to summon Sheer Heart Attack and had sealed it. But unfortunately, Kira had repaired the little metallic hell spawn thanks to his sudden increase in strength. And without a severed hand to "fix" this time, Josuke would have to think of a new way to beat Sheer Heart Attack.
His eyes looked around the street, the growing pillars of flame enveloped more and more portions of the road and nearby buildings. He needed to find something to help him out, something to give him inspiration for a plan. But there was nothing on the street that could possibly help him defeat the indestructible bomb-.
Suddenly, his eyes moved down towards his feet, and he saw all the ruined and burned car parts that his Stand had deflected. His hand reached down and grabbed one of the parts, a dented and crispy handlebar that looked like it belonged to a-.
His eyes widened as a single idea lit up his mind. There was one thing he could do, one action he had chosen not to use unless he was absolutely desperate. One last trump card that he had saved for when he had no other options.
Gripping the handlebars tightly, he gave a tiny smirk to the tiny bomb across the street. "You know, that's pretty funny."
"What is?" Sheer Heart Attack asked, its voice carrying hints of an anger begging to be released.
"That you called me a piece of garbage when your nothing but a glorified walking tin can. I mean, have you ever seen yourself in a mirror?"
"Say that again you fucking son of a whore." Sheer Heart Attack took a small strode forward, fury evident in every word it spoke. Josuke smirk only grew wider before he continued.
"You heard me you garbage can on wheels, I just pointed out the obvious." Josuke took a couple of steps forward, Crazy Diamond quickly positioning itself right next to its master as the young Stand user stopped and pointed a thumb at himself. "And if your stupid enough to think that I don't have other ways of kicking your ass, then you're in for a world of pain." Josue could tell that each word he spoke was making the metal bomb madder, he could hear the enraged growls coming from its skull mouth as the wheels of its tank treads slowly came to life. "So why don't you just shut up already and fight, unless of course…" Josuke trailed off, the treads on Sheer Heart Attack now leaving small dents on the street as they only moved faster, yet the bomb remained stationary. But with one more push, the bomb would go ballistic. "You're scared of me?"
And those four words were the last push Sheer Heart Attack needed.
"YOU FUCKING RETARDED BASTARD!"
Sheer Heart Attack took off from its spot on the road like a metallic bird, traveling through the air right towards Josuke. The young Stand User was not nervous in the slightest as his grip on the handlebars tightened.
"Crazy Diamond!" Josuke shouted, his Stand activating its ability and the handlebar became surrounded in a yellow aura. Just as Sheer Heart Attack was about to crash into Josuke, the purple-haired teenager was hoisted off the ground by the handlebars and flying through the air. Josuke's body flew right above Sheer Heart Attack, the bomb just missing his legs as it crashed into the building behind him. An explosion detonated from the wall of the building, plumes of flames burning its surface and sending chunks of debris soaring into the air. Josuke could feel the heat from the large fireball on his skin, but he escaped the flames with only a few burns. He continued to grip onto the flying handlebars, below him on the ground he saw several parts of a vehicle clattering forward, bright yellow energy surrounding the dozens of different types of machinery. The pieces of metal began to take shape near the middle of the street, wheels merging with axles, an engine covered by glossy black metal coating and cylinders rebuilding themselves from their damaged states. The vehicle needed just one more part to be complete as the handlebars Josuke was riding on descended back to the ground.
Josuke had softly landed on the seat of a nearly rebuilt motorcycle, and then the handlebars flew out of his hands before screwing itself into the front of the vehicle, now fully repaired. Josuke had no idea what model it was, only knowing it was jet black and had a windscreen at its face, but that did not matter right now.
What mattered was that this bike was the key to enacting his plan.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Sheer Heart Attack surged out from the now large hole of the building, skidding to a stop on the road as it looked at Josuke with its black sockets for eyes.
"Playing my trump card!" He shouted, a key covered in a yellow aura floated right next to him as Josuke grabbed it out of the air and slammed it into the ignition. The motorcycle roared to life, engine blaring with a deafening vroom and headlights illuminating the dark road.
"What trump card!?"
Josuke's mouth curled into a grin, hands grabbing the twin throttles of the bike and twisting them as hard as he could. The exhaust pipes released a smog of black gas as the engine gave a fearsome roar.
"RUNNING AWAY!" Josuke shouted above the bellows of his bike before it took off. The motorcycle moved like a demonic beast, speeding down the streets so quickly that the surrounding buildings around Josuke became obscure and unfocused. Once he reached the intersection of the road, he turned at even faster speeds, the bike leaning to the left as his body almost touched the road. Crazy Diamond pushed off the streets with both hands just as Josuke would have touched the road, the momentum propelling both himself and the bike back up and into a normal riding position. Josuke was now speeding through a busy road of cars and other bikers as he let out a breath he did not know he was holding.
His trump card had actually worked. He was surprised getting the hell out of dodge was so effective, but at least he could now put some distance between him and the tiny bomb. He just needed some time to think of a counter attack and then-
"GYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
A demented screech interrupted his thoughts. And the scream was heavy with pure rage; Josuke could feel the hatred radiating from the voice as he glanced behind him.
From the junction he had just came from, Sheer Heart Attack raced out and slammed into an oncoming car, knocking the much large vehicle onto its side as sparks and flames erupted from the car. The tiny bomb was moving at great speeds, almost as fast as his bike and it only seemed to move faster with each second. Josuke saw Sheer Heart Attack getting closer, and immediately pushed the bike to its limits, now moving so fast he looked like a black and purple blur. Even though the road was abundant with other cars, Josuke felt like he was alone as Sheer Heart Attack continued to chase him down.
So much for gaining distance. And with that thought, his bike turned and accelerated down another street. Sheer Heart Attack was quick to follow.
Death.
That was the only way to describe what she was facing. A man whose very being was misery and hopelessness incarnate, who could spread despair with just a glance. Someone no one could stand a chance against, the only outcome to facing this man was a slow and painful demise. The Diamonds, the Cluster, everything with some form of power Peridot had faced was no match for this being when it came to the terror they induced in others. Every part of her was openly trembling; she could feel the fear ebbing away at her mind. The menacing gaze the man was giving her only made her think of all the ways she was going to suffer. She knew this man was serious when she said she wasn't going to live, and those words only caused her to realize how much pain she was about to go through. About how she was going…to die.
I'm going to die; my gem is going to shatter into thousands of pieces and then my mind will be just a catacomb of primal instincts!
Peridot had never thought it would have been possible to feel someone murder her without so much as lifting a finger. Even the Diamonds paled in comparison to the sheer killing intent this man seemed to wear like a comfortable cloak.
She had no idea how long she was trembling, her knees starting to ache after staying in such an uncomfortable position for so long, but her body was still shaking just as fiercely as when it had begun.
Then, the man who identified himself as the Kira spoke. "The" because there was no way anything else in existence could possibly be like this man.
"I never would have thought aliens would be so puny; nor would I have believed that with but a few words, they'd be reduced to pathetic sniveling wrecks." She didn't even need to look up to know there'd be a smirk on his lips. Not that she could look up with all the pressure crushing her body; she could almost see the maliciousnes firmly embedded in each word the Kira spoke. Never had she felt such fear and dread like this in her entire life. "The day I first saw you Gems was the first time I had ever seen real aliens, and I thought for one moment that you might be actual threats. But seeing how none of you have yet to grasp what has been happening to this town's people, and seeing you whimpering like a sad little child who's lost her parents…" He trailed off, Peridot could hear the man take small steps forward, and with her eyes still trained to the ground, she knew the Kira was standing right next to her. "I think it's safe to say that you fools will-."
"What do you mean by that?"
She was surprised she had interrupted the Kira, surprised she had even been able to speak coherently despite the nightmarish terror coiling around her throat.
"I'm not sure I understand your question." The dangerous killer was most likely raising one of his eyebrows if the slight hint of confusion in his voice was any indication.
"You said that the Crystal Gems were the first real aliens you have ever seen…but that would mean that you have never been outside this world." Her body was still flooded with dread, still shaking from the overwhelming fear, but she somehow pushed past her despair as her mind began to fill with questions. There was something in the Kira's words, something her analytical brain tried to dissect because that information would greatly help her in her current situation. She forced herself to focus on the statements the Kira had just said and not on the terror sweeping through her body.
She was missing something important, and it greatly irritated her.
"Technically you might be the second aliens I have ever encountered; I never did quite figure out what Mikitaka was." He paused, seeming to contemplate on this "Mikitaka" before he continued. "But you Gems are what I consider to be the textbook definition of extraterrestrial life. And the answer to the second part of your question is a firm no. I doubt any human being on this earth can honestly say they've been to other planets, at least the ones who aren't deluded or crazy."
That last sentence immediately caught Peridot's attention. The fear coursing through her body gave way to an immense feeling of pure shock. The emotions of bewilderment and irritation disappeared because the Kira had just given her the information her mind desperately tried to figure out.
"You said "any human being" but…that would mean…that you're a…" She could not get the words out, her mouth barely capable of moving right now.
"A human?" the absurdly strong being in front of her asked before giving a small chuckle. "Yes, I am."
Her eyes widen with those words, practically bulging out of her sockets, though the Kira could not see it because she was still staring at the floor. The hostility, the absolute mind-melting horror that this man controlled like an obedient pet, the unmitigated malevolence that seemed to make up this man's very being…was a human?!
She would have laughed were she not busy shaking as if her very body was crumbling before her. The shock slowly faded from her body as fear returned with a violent vengeance.
"I suppose I can't blame you for thinking otherwise. You did see me, the real me that is, and seeing someone so cruel and vicious probably made it hard to believe that I could be a human. You should feel proud; even your friends didn't notice the monster walking in their own town." The Kira's voice was packed with faux kindness; Peridot knew that the only reason the man who dripped with murderous intent was even answering her questions was because he believed he could and would kill her at any second. So he was enjoying her attempts at figuring out what he was, and he would enjoy it when all her new knowledge of him vanished along with her life.
"I am aware that from your perspective, humanity seems fragile and weak, that we're so kind and foolish and could be destroyed with but a thought." She could not deny that. She had those same thoughts when she had first arrived on earth, and while her hatred had subsided, she did still believe that human beings, with the exception of Steven and possibly Greg, were a feeble and an unremarkable race. Clearly, she could not have been more wrong. "The truth is, though, humanity is a race that loves death and despair. We thrive off of other people's misery because it makes us feel better that someone else is suffering instead of us. Some of us even take satisfaction in causing other people's sorrow because it gives us a pleasant feeling that spreads to our souls. The only difference between other humans and I is that I act on my urges while others choose to ignore them because they are weak."
Peridot listened to each and every word the Kira said, still unable to even lift her head up as her body continued to quiver. Each word that left from the dangerous man before her was laced with thick malevolence, the Kira doing his best and succeeding in making the green Gem more fearful of him with each passing second. If anyone had told her before she left Homeworld that a human would be more frightful than any of the Diamonds, she would have asked if their gem was cracked because there was no way any human like that existed.
But she had met said human, and every part of her wanted to run away from him, but she couldn't. Her limbs would not obey her, paralyzed by the unimaginable levels of contempt this man was drilling into her very core with just his words. She was going to be killed by this human, she was going to be killed by someone who belonged to a race that should be incapable of such cruelty. This human…
This…Human…
Suddenly, she remembered a very basic fact that she had overlooked due to all the agonizing horror she was going through. If this Kira was human, then that meant he also shared the same weaknesses as the rest of his race. Steven and the other Gems had told her a somewhat detailed summary of human biology, and the green Gem had taken excessive mental notes on their lecture. Human beings were far weaker regarding physical strength than Gems; their bodies were not as durable as any species from Homeworld. All it took to either kill or knock them out was a good hit to certain areas to their bodies. Areas she had memorized.
If I can land a hit before he can react…
Laying beneath the expansive mass of terror that consumed her were the faint embers of hope. This human was powerful, his very presence screeched lethal doses of cold, uncaring malice, but he was still human. They had no special abilities to protect them from deadly attacks, and while the Kira was the most threatening and horrifying person she had ever met, she just needed one chance.
One chance, and she would live and could get to Steven and Lapis and then they would help her deal with the Kira. Maybe she could defeat him by herself here and now, but she needed to move now!
"I've enjoyed our little chat, but I think I'm afraid this is the end." The finality in his voice told Peridot he was about to make his move and when he did, she would be dead.
Come on Peridot, Move!
She pushed aside her fear, the despair coursing through her body vanished as she focused on nothing but winning this battle. She ceased her shaking with nothing but her own willpower as she thought about all of her friends. She would not let this monster win, she would not let him hurt her friends!
She picked her visor off the floor, placed it firmly back on her face, and for the first time picked her head up and glared right into the man's apathetic and nauseating terror-inducing eyes. She could feel a ferocious deamination entering her eyes, a burning conviction welling up inside her chest.
The Kira expression became curious as Peridot quickly shot her tiny arms forward and splayed her fingers.
There was a rattling sound from above as the Kira looked up and saw two very sharp metal hooks hurtling right towards him. Peridot had used her powers to move the hooks from the girders on the room's ceiling and threw them right towards the murderous being in front of her. She had never been happier to have powers over metallic objects as the hooks jettisoned right towards the human, who looked on with a blank expression. The Kira could do nothing but watch as the hooks flew closer, razor-edged tips now inches away from impaling his abdominal area. Her lips morphed into a grin as she realized she had won. She had shown this arrogant, idiotic human why she was a Crystal Gem, and why even Jasper had been defeated by her new abilities!
The hooks were quickly moving closer, centimeters away from impact. Peridot had made sure to aim for an area that was non-lethal because she doubted that Steven would-.
The hooks stopped just before impact, the sharp tips only touching the Kira's stylish shirt.
All of Peridot's confidence was swiftly extinguished. The Kira still had yet to move, eyes moving between the two hooks so close to stabbing him with a nonchalant gleam in his eyes. Peridot was growing exceptionally bewildered as she pulled back both her arms and thrust both hands forward again.
But the hooks did not move, still floating as her powers were obviously still functioning, but for some reason they would not move. It was like they had struck a wall and had gotten stuck in it. But that was impossible since there was literally nothing but air between the hooks and the Kira!
She focused as much as she could on the hooks, sweat now dripping down her forehead as she stretched her arms to their limits. The hooks began to wobble and shake as they levitated, but still would not move an inch forward.
"I see, so you have the power of magnetism at your very fingertips." The Kira said, voice detached of any emotion as his eyes looked from her to the hooks. That look reminded her of the gazes the Diamonds had whenever they were processing new information some lowly grunt had given them. The now frigid human was clearly analyzing this new development in his mind with rapid speed. "Unlike your friends, you don't seem to possess a physical weapon; otherwise, you would have used that to attack me as opposed to these rusty meat hooks. Your abilities also seem to be rather immature, since you only used two hooks to attack me, as opposed to all of them." His eyes moved to all the meat hooks Peridot did not use to attack him before they moved back to the two so close to impaling him. The uncaring monster gave a little flick with his fingers to one of the hooks. "You're like a tiny Magneto, except unlike him, your powers are feeble and incredibly undeveloped."
Peridot did not have time to question who this "Magneto" was or feel angry at the Kira for calling her tiny, because she was soon hit with another wave of terror and cold, suffocating dread. The murderous human was glaring at her, within his eyes was a toxic mixture of disgust and annoyance as Peridot began to shake once again. Why? Why weren't her powers working when she needed them the most? Why were they suddenly betraying her when she was helpless against this unfeeling and frightening human?
And then, just when she thought her situation couldn't get any worse, the hooks began to move again. This would have been a good thing, except the hooks were traveling backward through the air.
Peridot's eyes widened as she let out a grunt, focusing harder than ever before on any object to use her powers on. But no matter how much effort she put to concentrating, the hooks only continued to move, now levitating higher into the air as they slowly shifted and turned positions, the sharp edges now pointing down towards the ground.
And then, the hooks were suddenly propelled through the air at great speeds right towards Peridot. Despite all her concertation, the hooks only continued to jettison with no signs of even remotely slowing down.
Peridot let out a loud scream as she quickly rolled away as fast as her legs would move. Her triangle shaped hair was cut slightly by the two hooks, but she was able to dodge the metallic objects as they hit the floor with enough force to leave deep, elongated cracks on the ground.
Peridot stood up as quickly as she could, eyes wide with shock as she stared at the hooks now stabbing into the ground. Did her powers do that? Did they somehow malfunction so badly they had not only missed their target completely but had actually ended up with green Gem being on the receiving end of her own attack?
No, that couldn't possibly be it. How powers were working fine when she had first launched the hooks, but the moment they were inches away from the Kira….something happened to the two hooks she was controlling. It was like they had gained some form of sentience, able to resist her abilities of polarity and rebel against her.
No, It was more accurate to say that the hooks had seemed to be… grabbed by something and then thrown right at her.
"Having some performance issues?" The falsely sweet voice with undertones of smugness brought her back to reality as she looked up at the Kira. His lips were in a small smile, expression full of fake sympathy and tinges of well-justified superiority. "Is there anything else you'd like to try?"
She suddenly felt very cold, like she had entered a chamber where the temperature was below zero. Peridot was once again consumed by a terror; a corrupt fear filling her stomach as she felt herself tremble. Her body was once again crushed under the weight of all the homicidal desires the man was leaking from within himself. Dread engulfed Peridot and drowned her deeper and deeper into its dark shadows. And the Kira's smile grew a tiny amount as she knew he was reveling in her despair.
What was she supposed to do? Her last gamble had failed spectacularly and had only succeeded in prolonging the inevitable. There was nothing else she could do to the being with eyes of pure menace, who had yet to kill her only because he still found her amusing. Like a Diamond seeing a Pearl desperately begging her master not to throw her away as they listened to the Pearl's entire rant, for one moment seeming to consider the servants pleads, before crushing the Pearl's hopes with a snap of their fingers.
The being who demanded awe and fear in front of the little Gem was done playing with her. With no other options, no friends to back her up, there was no hope for Peridot. Her friends would never see her again, perhaps wondering what had happened to her before reaching the awful conclusion. That she had died, and then they would most likely be devastated by anguish and grief. Maybe not all of them would have this reaction, but some of them most certainly would. Her friends would never again-
Wait, that was it!
In the midst of all the vivid terror and crushing fright that the Kira caused with just his words and glances, she had forgotten about the plan she had before she entered the room! She was outmatched, that much was painfully obvious, so her only hope was calling for backup. If she could contact her friends and survived long enough against the Kira, there was still a chance! She just had to contact Steven with her tablet and then-!
She paused, her fingers grasping at nothing but air as she felt her mind shut down from another surge of limb pulverizing fear. Where was her tablet? She just had it! She must have dropped at some point and hadn't realized it because she was busy trying to keep her physical form from dissipating!
Her eyes quickly scanned every inch of the room and she found her tablet within five seconds.
About eight feet away from the Kira. It was roughly the same distance away from Peridot as well, lying there on the dirty floor face down without knowing the turmoil its owner was going through.
Steven had once told her that in times of extreme stress and fear, humans would often feel their hearts stop beating. While she had no heart, at least in the physical sense, she had a feeling this would be what humans go through. A bitter, pulsating coldness spread throughout her body as fear began to swirl and twist her chest in a vicious grasp. She could do nothing but stare at her tablet in muted horror.
"Oh, don't tell me your thinking about grabbing this, are you?" The Kira pointed at the tablet with one finger before his brows furrowed together. The temperature in the room seemed to match the frigid storm going on in her body as the Kira's eyes seemed to ignite with fire. A dark, horrible fire made of a deep hatred and smoldering anger. "Perhaps, you wish to contact your friends with this little device?"
Though he phrased his words like a question, it was clear by his tone that he knew that was Peridot's intention. Tangible malevolence emanated from the terrifying being in front of her. It was cold and absolutely murderous, the Kira wanting to do nothing except tear Peridot limb from limb. She could feel horror grab every part of her body, trying to drag her down into new levels of terror.
But she wouldn't give in.
The fear was overwhelming, but somehow she shook off the almost corporeal horror grabbing her as her body burned with fiery conviction. She was terrified, scared out of her mind, but she needed to be strong. She needed to stop shaking or else she really would die.
"Let me give you a warning. If you grab that tablet…" The Kira slowly raised his left arm, elbow jutting out to the left as his hand was mere inches away from his face.
He then slowly raised his left thumb.
"Then by the time I bring my thumb down, your death certificate will be signed."
The frozen yet somehow living murderous intent that leaked from each and every syllable the Kira spoke was enough to make Peridot sweat. Her hands shook as she could feel the hatred take form into something monstrous, something beyond words that only had the desire to kill anything that disgusted it.
She clenched her hands into fists, arms still shaking, teeth grit as she stared at the tablet. Her decision was already made.
With a bellowing war cry, Peridot charged right towards her tablet, moving faster than she ever had run before. The Kira did not even bother to run, choosing instead to watch with blank purple voids for eyes.
Peridot was almost within reach of her tablet within a few seconds, fingers stretching to grab it as she felt hope build up with her. A beaming smile soon found its way onto her lips as she finally caught the edges of her wonderful device.
And then the Kira brought his thumb down. There was an audible click.
And the most agonizing pain Peridot had ever felt consumed her as she screamed.
The Kira only smiled in response.
Josuke was hit with a faint sense of Déjá Vu as he once again found himself chased by something that could move as fast as the motorcycle he was riding on.
The only difference this time was that last time, he was chased by Highway Star, a Stand that while dangerous, was still nothing like the enemy he was facing now.
Because last time, he didn't have to worry about Highway Star blowing him into bloody chunks of flesh if he got caught.
Racing down the busy streets of New Jersey with his newly stole- acquired bike at speeds well beyond the speed limit was far from easy. Josuke had to weave through multiple vehicles in order not to crash into them at ridiculously fast speeds, sharp and powerful gales of wind colliding against his face. Since he did not have a helmet, the wind made it hard to keep his eyes open, which made it that much harder to see. The darkening skies did nothing to help his eyesight, but thankfully he had a way to solve this issue. Crazy Diamond's eyesight was not at all troubled by the wind or darkness, so Josuke channeled his energy and his eyes turned a different shade of blue; his Stand's vision had become his own as he continued to accelerate down the roads, eyesight now better than ever. The winds still bothered him though, and he was starting to feel his face get cut from some very intense gusts.
And Sheer Heart Attack was still hot on his tail. Through the collected cacophony of his own engine along with the other vehicle's driving by him, he could still hear the tiny bomb's screams.
"Get back here you inbred child of a fucking rat!"
He would give the bomb this; its insults were rather creative.
Sheer Heart Attack was speeding down the busy road, its metallic body swerving left and right over the white lanes of the street, wheels moving faster and faster by the second. The metallic bomb raced through the busy traffic, its tiny frame able to go under the cars and come out from underneath them with ease. Any time it could not go underneath a car, it would simply slam into the vehicle's wheels and send the car flying to the side, the vehicles landing with thunderous booms as they hit the sidewalks and sometimes nearby buildings.
Sheer Heart Attack wasn't kidding when it said it got an upgrade.
Josuke went in-between the car lanes, bike almost touching two cars that were on both of his sides, as he revved up the throttle. The motorcycle's engine gave a metallic roar as Josuke accelerated down the road, passing the cars boxing him in as he sped right through a red light and over a crosswalk. He made sure to avoid the people trying to cross the streets, and while they were angry for nearly getting run over, they were otherwise fine.
But Sheer Heart Attack had no qualms about hurting innocent people. The small bomb ran right through the crowd of pedestrians, severed legs flying into the air as blood cascaded down the now horrified citizens. Josuke saw the looks of pain and shock on their faces, heard their screams, and his features burned with a white-hot animosity. He was so tempted to turn the bike around and charge right at the no good-.
Josuke, there may be times when you're fighting an enemy they do something truly horrendous. You might feel angrier than you have ever felt before, but in those moments, you can not succumb to your rage. In those situations, you have to keep a cool head no matter what.
Jotaro's voice broke him out of his fury. The master of Crazy Diamond realized he was almost about to do something that would only end up with himself dead. His anger had been becoming more and more venomous with each passing day he spent in this world, and it was turning him into some mindless beast. It was a little frightening to him; he had never thought his anger could become so scorching that it made him lose all sense of rationality. He was honestly shocked that a majority of himself was so eager to give in to his hatred.
Calm down Josuke. You can't help anyone if you're dead. He needed a plan, or else he'd never defeat Sheer Heart Attack. He looked at the speedometer on the bike and saw he was going at eighty miles an hour. Glancing behind him, he saw Sheer Heart Attack coming out from underneath a taxi and getting closer to Josuke. Right now, the mobile bomb was about twenty-five feet away, but Josuke could tell it was closing the distance with each second that passed.
Josuke saw his options as he analyzed his situation, the winds causing his jacket to billow. He needed to find some method to hurt Sheer Heart Attack.
And the only way to do find that method was to experiment on the spherical-shaped bomb.
Seeing an intersection coming up, Josuke twisted the throttle with his hands as hard as he could. The black motorcycle once again sped up, the winds intensifying as the intersection came up fast. Just as Josuke arrived at the corner with his bike doing ninety miles, he had Crazy Diamond grab the windscreen of the bike and at the same time stretch its other arm and dig its fingers through a lamppost located on the curb right next to him. Just as he began to shift his bike to the right and turn, Crazy Diamond began to tug on the windscreen, pink muscles bulging through silver plating. Even though Josuke had started to turn, at the speed he was going he would crash into a car before he had a chance to pivot fully.
Which was where Crazy Diamond came in, fingers making even bigger holes in the lamppost as sparks began to fly. Just as Josuke passed the corner and went into the intersection, his bike on a collision course with a blue SUV, the humanoid Stand pulled on the windscreen with all its strength and chucked Josuke and the motorcycle to the right.
"DORA!"
The Stand user now found himself flying down a narrow road, his bike no longer on the ground as it soared into the air. The added momentum from Crazy Diamond swinging its body around the lamppost as well as its already great strength was enough to send its master flying.
He had essentially used his Stand to slingshot him so that way, he didn't have to slow down and risk getting obliterated.
Josuke flew through the air for about five seconds before he landed back on the road, now on a narrow street with no cars currently traveling down the black pavement.
Perfect.
From the corner of his eye Josuke saw Sheer Heart Attack turn from the junction and into the narrow street. But as the tiny bomb rounded the corner, it had to slow down or else it wouldn't make the turn into the mouth of the street. Josuke had seen Sheer Heart Attack make similar sharp turns like this before, and he knew that within a few seconds the bomb would be rocketing down the streets at speeds regular people would have trouble keeping track of.
But those few seconds of slow movement were all he needed.
"DORARARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond fist moved so rapidly it was like the Stand had multiple pairs of arms. Punches with the power to break buildings hit the street at speeds no one could hope to follow. Chunks of black concrete detonated into the air; deep, long and wide cracks now opened in the street as Crazy Diamond let loose another salvo of hypersonic punches at the hunks of debris while they were still in midair.
Josuke's Stand did this all while he was moving at ninety-five miles an hour and in just a second.
The hunks of earth were careened through the air and headed right for Sheer Heart Attack. But the metallic bomb's only response was to accelerate forward towards the chunks of road. The dozens of pieces of debris collided with the insanely fast and highly explosive bomb, each chunk shattering into a fine cloud of dust. After every piece of road hit Sheer Heart Attack at full force, there was a cloud of smoke and ash spreading throughout the street.
And from the smog Sheer Heart Attack came rocketing out, not even one scratch present on its teal plates.
"How idiotic can you get!? Did you think those kinds of shitty attacks would be enough to stop me!?"The booming voice of the tank-like bomb roared over Josuke's bikes engines, each word it spoke full of furious scorn.
Of course I knew that attack wouldn't work. Josuke thought as a bright yellow aura surrounded him and Crazy Diamond.
He knew a couple of bricks made of cement would do nothing to Sheer Heart Attack, which was why he had another goal in mind. When Crazy Diamond blitzed the street, its punches had dug straight through the concrete, exposing long black power cables that ran underneath the road. His Stand had destroyed the thick cords, pieces of them flying out from the concrete and landing above ground on the street.
And Sheer Heart Attack missed how the scattered and severed cables that were now littering the street started to glow yellow.
In an instant, just as Sheer Heart Attack traveled over a large crack in the street, the cables floated off the ground and suddenly jettisoned through the air. Multiple cables converged on Sheer Heart Attack, the cords coiling around the tiny bomb like jet black cobras.
"What the hell!?"
The cords surrounded by yellow energy were able to slow down the metallic bomb, scorch marks now adorning the street as the cords brought the bomb to a full stop. The black cables continued to move on their own, an unseen force pulling them as they continued to hold onto Sheer Heart Attack, the bomb now being dragged backward. The ends of the cords pointed away from Sheer Heart Attack with their jagged and severed tips towards the large crack in the street, several cables converging and crawling underneath the crevice. The bomb tried to move forward even with the cords still wrapped around its frame, wheels accelerating so fast smoke began to steam from the ground.
Josuke had brought his bike to a stop near the end of the street, another intersection not too far away from him. The reason why he had stopped was that he needed to concentrate intently on his powers. Because he knew this wasn't going to be easy.
"You might as well stop struggling!" He shouted, the yellow aura around him growing, whirling and extending higher into the air. "When my Crazy Diamond sets out to fix something, nothing can stop it!"
Sheer Heart Attack ignored Josuke as it continued to pick up speed, actually able to move forward a few feet even as the yellow aura grew bigger on the cords. However, from underneath the crack, a massive wire surrounded with a bright yellow aura slowly rose into the air, its head bent like a snake. Without warning, the cord pulled itself back before it snapped like a whip, racing through the air and wrapping itself around Sheer Heart Attack's tiny frame.
"You son of-!" It never finished as it suddenly was lifted right of its wheels and into the air, the other cords wrapped around its body slowly combined with the already vast and immense whip-like cord, growing longer with each thick wire that fused with it. The massive cable dragged Sheer Heart Attack back down to the ground; right through the large crack in the road.
Josuke grinned as he could imagine Sheer Heart Attack struggling against the cable wrapping around its body before they tied it down. Crazy Diamond's secondary ability to control where an object reformed had never been more helpful.
Once he felt the cables had been almost fully reverted to their original state, with the new addition of a mobile bomb now wrapped tightly along with them, his grin morphed into a smirk. One last black cable covered in a yellow aura floated down towards the crack before vanishing from view. Josuke hoped what was about to happen next would be painful for the arrogant bomb.
"Let's see if you can handle thousands of volts being shoved right up your ass!" He shouted, and at first, nothing happened.
Until giant sparks of blue electricity ignited from within the crack. The darkened sky was suddenly lit with intense lights as Josuke could hear Sheer Heart Attack scream. Not from anger like from before, but from an agonizing, burning pain as God knows how many volts of electricity zapped its metallic body. Lights from buildings fluctuated as the sparks grew bigger, a dark blue glow partially blinding Josuke as Sheer Heart Attack's scream grew louder, the purple haired teen surprised his ears weren't bleeding by now.
And then, the sparks stopped, as did the screaming, the lights from nearby buildings turned off but did not turn on again.
The only sound Josuke heard was the noise of cars zooming behind him as they traveled down one of the roads of the intersection. He had hoped that had been enough to take out the bomb, but he had a feeling that Sheer Heart Attack might still be active. It was a gut feeling he had developed after fighting in so many Stand battles.
And that feeling was soon verified when a massive explosion erupted from underneath the road. Plumes of fire erupted into the air as a wide massive crater now formed on the road.
And about two feet away from that crater another explosion detonated from underneath the concrete. Columns of flame shot out from the new crater and into the night sky; and another two feet away from the new pit, another explosion ripped through the street.
And another one soon followed that one. And another one after that.
Josuke eyes widened as he saw eruption after eruption of fiery explosions of bright orange flames head towards him in a straight line. Chunks of black concrete were sent flying through the air as the explosions erupted quicker with each blast, a train made out of plumes of scorching flames heading right towards him at high speeds.
"Oh shit!" Josuke shouted, quickly turning on his motorcycle's engines before he took off like a bullet, the trail of fiery explosions giving him chase. He turned to the left of the intersection, revving the throttles as hard as he could as he weaved in front of cars and accelerated down the wide road as fast as his bike could move.
But the chain of explosions still followed him, cars getting caught up in the eruptions of flames and sent flying high into the air before crashing back down onto the road. Fire enveloped the plummeting vehicles as the explosions grew bigger, Josuke could feel the burning heat as he looked back and saw the trail of eruptions now dangerously close to hitting him.
"HIGASHIKATA!"
From beneath the road, Sheer Heart Attack pierced through solid concrete and lanced through the air right towards Josuke and his speeding bike, its scream coursing with bottomless fury as it was mere inches away from Josuke. The purple haired teen knew what was coming and reacted quickly, ordering his Stand to fly towards the metallic bomb as it pulled back its arm.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond spun in the air and delivered a right hook at speeds that made its fist look like a miniature silver wrecking ball, seeming to move faster than light itself. The punch landed right on the metallic plates that covered Sheer Heart Attack, metal groaning loudly as the incredibly powerful punch sent it careening backward.
However, as it flew back, Sheer Heart Attack was still able to unleash a massive explosion from within its tiny body. Josuke could do nothing as he saw the flames from the explosion rapidly approaching him before he and his bike were completely swallowed in a sea of burning orange.
Peridot had never experienced pain like this.
Never before had the genius gone through such excruciating agony. Never had every fiber of her being wailed from a burning force that caused her to scream. A terrible suffering enveloped her mind as the only thing she could focus on were the monstrous levels of pain running through her body.
"Wha-!?" She couldn't finish as she found even speaking sent fresh ripples of pain throughout her body. She let out a painful yelp as she felt needle-like stabs burning away at her forehead.
The moment she had touched her faithful tablet, an explosion enveloped her entire person, and she was sent flying through the room before crashing into an opposite wall. Somehow she was still able to hold onto to her precious tablet even when she was consumed by bright orange flames. Her small figure had made a sizeable dent in the metallic walls before she fell unceremoniously to the floor. And the pain seemed to rise with each passing second she was on the ground, her limbs feeling like they had been pulverized to dust.
"I warned you." The Kira's voice was able to penetrate her thoughts away from her pain as she remembered what kind of creature she was facing. Slowly, and with great difficulty, she raised her head, and saw the empty expression of the cold monster staring at her sprawled form. "That pain your feeling right now is a result of your foolishness. Though I will admit, you took that bomb better than most."
Peridot slowly sat up on the floor, blazing pain shooting through her body with each tortuous movement she made, and examined the damage done to her body. Dark bruises were scattered about her body, each new welt she saw on her skin seemed to be bigger than the last one. But what got her attention were not the bruises, but something far worse.
Cracks.
Long, horrible, fissures now ran along her body. Some were on her leg, longer cracks ran up her arm, and a particularly deep crack was present on her right hand.
Peridots eyes were wide, her expression growing with horror as she continued to look over herself. A disturbing fear ran through her body, somehow even worse than the terror she had been feeling up to this point. Just when she thought the man could not make her any more petrified, the monster made of nothing but murderous thoughts proved her wrong.
"Ho-How did…" Her voice sounded so different, no longer her usual high pitched falsetto but instead rough and throaty. To her, it was like her voice would cease to function at any moment; and judging from the pain speaking such little words brought to her entire body, she might be right.
"How did I make your little toy explode like that?" The Kira inferred, and Peridot nodded her head. He had no time to attach any explosive to her tablet, but that wasn't the biggest logical inconsistency she was currently dealing with.
"I-I'm a Pe-Peridot…" She said, trying to get the words out of her mouth despite the pain. The Kira raised a brow, his eyes held a curious gleam as he tried to figure out why she was telling him this. "A-A Gem… I'm built to en-endure worse things than explosions...so wh-why am I.." She couldn't finish as she found the pain too much, shutting her mouth as the pain continued to boil inside her. Her forehead felt even worse than the rest of her body somehow, no longer needles but knives of fiery agony pierced her head repeatedly. Something was wrong, but the pain clouded her usually high functioning mind.
The Kira's expression became contemplative, eyes looking towards the ceiling for one second before looking back down at Peridot. "Your race is resilient to explosives? Well, that's good to know for the future. And to answer your question, well…." He walked across the floor, and his nonchalant stride was accompanied by a small grin. "Contrary to what you believe, certain humans can possess abilities that are even greater than the powers you Gems wield. I'll try to dumb it down for you so you can understand what I'm talking about."
He once again stood tall over Peridot, features morphed by arrogance as he continued. "My powers are very dangerous for others. You see, anything I touch with my hands, I can turn that object into a bomb. And I do mean, anything."
Peridots eyes widened at this new piece of information. How could a human possibly possess such abilities? It should be impossible, but Peridot had learned several times in the last ten minutes that sometimes things aren't as impossible as they seem.
"However, my bombs are not like your average bombs; they are far more deadly." The Kira's grin grew just the tiniest fraction bigger as he let out a short chuckle. It was just as disturbing and lifeless as him. "The objects I touch become infused with an explosive energy, and this energy can be transferred to any person who touches the now "charged" object. And when I bring my thumb down, that energy is ignited, causing an explosion that comes from within your body that can be as big or as small as I want it."
For the first time, Peridot truly realized how dangerous this man was. The ability he was describing, it was beyond terrifying. The power to turn anything into a bomb meant that he could turn even the most mundane of objects into a powerful weapon. It also explained why her tablet was not a melted mess, the explosive energy had been transferred to her, and thus her tablet was spared from the blast.
Suddenly, she froze as a stray thought struck her pain ridden body. The Kira had said the explosion had come from within the target…but that meant…
"By your face, I can tell you've realized it." The Kira's voice was cold, his words now held no emotion whatsoever. And to her, the room's temperature seemed to go down to subzero levels. "As I said, my bombs release the explosion from your insides, which means they burn away at whatever you have that counts as organs first before it burst from your very skin and swallows your body in silent flames."
Peridot felt her panic coil around her body so tightly it was like she might be crushed underneath its powerful hold. Her body was essentially a projection made from her gemstone, but she could still feel pain. Her tangible form was essentially a hologram but with mass, and that meant her body was just as real and physical as any other humans.
And what made her tremble so hard, even though each quiver sent fresh splashes of pain throughout her body, was the new information she had just learned. When a Gem's body sustained heavy damage, their consciousness would retreat back to their gemstone. The reason was so that they could rest and heal in their gemstones until they felt ready to come out. A small part of her had clung onto the hope that maybe the Kira did not know about this fact of Gem biology. That maybe he would just leave her thinking that he had killed her after dealing so much pain she was forced to retreat to her gemstone.
But now it did not matter if he knew or not. The Kira had just said he ignited a person's body from within, damaging first every part of their insides before an explosion erupted and consumed them.
And since her physical body was connected to her gemstone, the core of her being, that meant the explosive energy had also been placed inside there. That meant that the Kira had essentially just triggered an explosion from inside her gemstone.
Slowly, and with so much trepidation it oozed out from the cracks in her skin, she turned her head to the wall behind her, ignoring the blazing pain the simple motion caused her. She looked at the reflective surface of the wall and saw the cracks were longer than she thought, some stretching all the way to her back. And in the somewhat distorted reflection, she saw it.
She saw her gemstone, the one right on top of her forehead, the one her visor covered completely… was cracked.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Despite how injured her throat was, she was still able to give let loose a deafening scream. The Kira was no longer at the forefront her mind as she now felt submerged in a sea of fear. Cold horror enveloped her like the cold fingers of one of the Diamonds as she realized how close she was to death. Her entire body went into a constricting panic, shaking greater than ever before. The blazing pain in her forehead rose with each convulsion of her body as she suddenly felt very dizzy. Despair and sickening dread coursed through every part of her body as sweat dripped down her forehead like a waterfall.
Cracks in a Gem's skin were one thing. Cracks in a gemstone were basically a death warrant.
"It seems you've finally grasped how utterly defeated you are." The Kira had crouched down, fingers cupping her cheeks as he forced Peridot to look up at him. He smirked as he saw her eyes slithering with the deepest terror she had ever felt. "Relax, while I may be touching you right now, I still have yet to turn you into a bomb."
The Kira might have expected Peridot to look hopeful at his declaration, but the extreme fear running through her would not allow her expression to hold even the tiniest bit of hope. Instead, a slightly confused frown found its way to her horror-ridden face.
"The truth is, you're the first Crystal Gem I have ever had the pleasure of talking too. Though, my conversational skills are not all that great, so I hope you can bear with me." The Kira's smirk turned into a thin line as his eyes turned to ice. The blank expression returned to his face while his very presence leaked with small tinges of contempt all finely directed right at the small Gem. "I want you to tell me everything of vital importance that relates to your race."
"Wha-…" Peridot tried to get the question out of her mouth, but the pain rose in her throat and seemed to make the burning agony her gemstone was going through even worse.
"It seems like fate wants me to fight against you Gems. And while I abhor fighting, if I do ever get into a battle, I will be victorious." The Kira stated the last part of his sentence as if it were a fact of the universe, arrogance rising in his stoic features. But as quickly as it came, the arrogance in his expression left just as fast. "Recent events in my life have shown me how important it is to know your enemy. So I want you to tell me everything about your race. And then, I want you to tell me everything about your friends, from their strengths to their weaknesses. Because if I do have to fight them, I rather kill them quickly through their weaknesses then have a long dragged out battle."
His eyes glared right into her eyes, purple daggers easily piercing through the inferior Gem's weakened body and shattering what little control she had left over her mind. "Do not think that if you tell me I will let you live. Whether you tell me or not, you shall die here in this room." His voice was a whisper; his words calm and threatening as his grip on Peridot's cracked cheeks tightened. "However, I will promise you that I'll give you a swift death should you cooperate. I do not like to torture, I believe even the most pathetic beings should be allowed a clean death should they choose so."
Something dark and cruel flashed in his eyes for one moment. It was something lifeless yet spiteful, something that wanted to be released and cause pain to anyone it wanted. Something made of murderous desires for one instant gleamed in the Kira's expression. A monster of the most disturbingly ominous tranquility was present in the Kira's face; darkness seemed to warp around its invisible form as if it could control the shadows surrounding it. Whatever it was, Peridot knew it was the most glacial being she had ever seen.
"But don't think that just because I don't like to torture means I won't make you go through hell. If you say no, I will make your last moments so painful that the scars will be transferred with you to the afterlife."
She knew she was dead; she knew there was no way she was getting out of this fight alive. This man would not only kill her, but would scatter her bits to the far corners of this planet and leave her as nothing more than a shell of her former self. Images of the cluster flashed through her mind, the way they all tried desperately to break the earth's crust just so they can attempt to find their shattered Gem pieces. Peridot had never felt so crushed, she had never felt such bottomless despair in her entire life. For one moment, she actually considered telling the Kira what he wanted. She was going to die anyway, so she might as well make her death as painless as possible. At least when she died, she would no longer feel all the terror and fear that made her body tremble.
But then she realized exactly what the Kira was asking for. He was asking her to betray her friends. Lapis, Steven, Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet, this man was asking her to stab them in the back. To tell him their weaknesses so he could...kill them.
Even amidst all the white-hot pain and numbing terror inside her, even though she should be unable to feel anything other than the hopeless void of dread…anger rose in her chest, her mouth curling into a vicious snarl as she clenched her left hand. She could never do that, not again. She could never betray the ones who accepted her despite the fact that she was at times annoying and brash. She would never hurt the ones that treated her like family, the people who she had grown to care deeply for. Steven had taught her how to care for other people, just like he cared for her despite her past and her being a former enemy. To even think about cooperating with this monster would be the same as spitting in the face of the principles Steven held so dearly.
She needed to escape from the Kira and warn her friends of this enormous threat. She needed to find some way out and then contact Steven and Lapis. The excruciating pain bursting within her was wreaking havoc on her limbs, her gemstone still whirling with flaming agony, but she would not give up.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed her tablet was not that far away from her.
"Yo-You…" Peridot let out a raspy cough, ignoring her pain as she tried to get out her sentence. "You're the thing that almost killed Steven's friends, aren't you? You-you're the one we've been looking for this whole time." It was not a large leap in logic to make that assumption. From the Kira's powers, to the deceased human's hand he had carried in his pocket, it made Peridot certain that the "Corrupted Gem" she and the others had been searching for was this human. It was no wonder they couldn't find him; they were looking for something Gem related not some other horrible and sadistic monster.
"Ahh, yes, the "Rogue Gem" you people were looking for. I quite enjoyed the bird-like one asking me if I had seen anything strange. Had I been a different person, I might have laughed at the irony." She had learned through her time with the Diamonds that beings who had vast egos due to their incredible power had a large habit of gloating. The Kira seemed to only do it when he thought victory was certain, but the fact remained he still liked to taunt his opponents with a small smile on his lips. She also noticed he liked to look directly into his opponent's eyes whenever he taunted them, loving the dread pooling in their expression's
Which was why he did not notice her go for her tablet with her left hand. She could not type a message since the tablet was lying flat on its face and therefore could not see the screen. And she did not dare look away from the Kira's gaze; otherwise, he would know immediately something was wrong. So, since she could not type a message to her friends, she did the next best thing.
Peridot's fingers searched for the button to turn on her tablet, the Kira still had his empty eyes trained right on her. Eventually, she found the power button, and pressed it with two digits, holding the circular button for ten seconds before letting go. She had installed a new feature on her tablet recently, designed for situations just like this one. Essentially, she had installed a small chip that would reroute the power of her tablet to send out a wireless signal. The signal had an incredible range, and from here, the devices she needed should easily be able to trace it.
Now, she needed a way to escape the Kira's grasp on her cheeks.
"But I suggest you stop stalling and give me an answer already." The Kira's eyes narrowed as his voice coursed with cruelty, his lips moving into a frown. "And for your sake, I hope you agree and simply choose the less painful route."
She needed to escape the room, she needed a plan but her mind failed to come up with a good one. The stabs of unmitigated torture piercing her gem made it hard to concentrate. She had to come up with something or else-.
Then she remembered how there were metal girders right above the two. She had never used her telekinetic powers over metal on something so large and heavy before, but right now it was either succeed or die trying.
So, steeling her resolve, she looked right into Kira's eyes, her expression calm and neutral, saying nothing about the storm of thoughts running through her head.
"You want my answer?" She said as the Kira's own eyes were once again lit with malicious flames.
"Choose carefully now." His voice was low, his words cold and uncaring as they carried a heavy weight of menace. His features gleamed with homicidal urges, like an executioner expecting his prisoner to become disobedient.
Peridot had just remembered an earth expression Amethyst had once taught her. It was an insult of the highest caliber in earth culture, something the purple Gem had said was a phrase so scathing and shocking that any human who heard it would be immediately offended. It was so cruel that not even Amethyst said it that often, and she had warned Peridot in an unusually serious voice to never say those words in front of Steven and especially Pearl.
Now seemed like a good time to use those words.
"My answer…" She trailed off, willing herself to push through the pain as she slowly lifted her right arm. "Is a firm fudge you."
The Kira did not look as offended as she hoped; instead, he raised a brow and slightly quirking his head to the side as if confused. Perhaps her insult had been so cruel the human had no idea how to comprehend it. She did put as much hatred and fury into her words as possible, so that could have been the reason.
And without wasting another second, she opened her palm and pointed it right up towards the girders. She then clutched her hand into a fist, concentrating harder than ever before as the sound of metal groaning from heavy stress resonated in the room. And then, the girders were ripped right from the ceiling and began to plummet right towards the Kira. With the added force of her powers, the girders moved with lightning speed and would hit the Kira right on his head.
And just as the girders were about to crash into the monster, the Kira let go of Peridot and stood up at full height. With an eerily calm expression, he quickly brought his arm above his hand.
And before the girders could reach the Kira, the sides of the large support beams were suddenly dented. They veered off course at an even greater speed than before and crashed into the floor, metal scraping against the cold ground and letting out a screeching noise that was incredibly grating to her ears.
Peridot did not question how the heavy objects were batted away like insects by nothing; because she was busy rolling under the gap between the Kira's legs, tablet grasped tightly against her chest. She knew something like that would not hurt the Kira, which was why she had used the girders as a distraction. Trying not to scream from blazing pain rolling on the ground caused her body, she stood up once she saw she was a safe distance away from the Kira. She heard the sound of the cracks expanding on her skin as she moved, but she tried to focus on running for her life instead of the growing damage to her body.
She quickly made it to the door, sticking out her hand as she swung it to her right. The door mirrored her actions, opening so fast it slammed into the wall. She quickly exited the room before she turned her head to the side and once again thrust her hand out at the door. Clutching her hand as hard as her wounded fingers would allow, she flung her arm to the side as the door quickly moved from the wall back to its hinges.
But just before the door closed, she saw the Kira glaring at her as he took small steps forward.
Knowing that she had only brought herself a few seconds, she continued to run as she flipped her tablet and began to type a message to Steven. She was halfway through the store by now, passing by several display cases as her wide eyes were locked onto the screen.
STEVEN I ACQUIRE IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE! AM CURRENTLY HEAVILY DAMAGED WITH MY GEM CRACKED AND BEING CHASED BY SOMETHING FAR MORE TERRIFYING THEN ANYTHING WE'VE EVER-!
That was as far as she got before two things happened almost simultaneously.
The first was the door to the room flying off its hinges, a huge dent present in the center as the large, metallic door soared through the air and just barely missing her hair. The door continued to careen until it collided with one of the display cases, crushing the glass container at the speed it was going at.
And then the second thing was her tablet being crushed within her fingertips before something slammed into her torso with enough force to lift her off her feet and send her careening through the air. The strength from the blow caused the cracks on her body to grow deeper and longer, searing jolts of pain running rampant on her body as she let out a loud scream. Her body twirled in the air, moving like a miniature green and spiraling missile before she smashed through a glass window and landed in a painful tumble on the outside curb.
Peridot's vision darkened, the pain inside her rising and burning away every inch of her body; for a moment, she thought her body might turn into ash. Her mind and body were screaming at her, her limbs flooding with fresh waves of agony as the world around her continued to grow darker. Her thoughts became foggy, unable to even remember why she was here or what had happened to her. She was so tempted to fade into unconsciousness, to return back into her gemstone and rest.
But then, as if she was slapped hard against her face, her eyes widened as she remembered the state she was in, and how she had to run from a monster made of nothing but cold dread and murderous contempt. The absolute last thing she wanted was to fade back into her gem.
She fought to stay awake, pushing away the darkness from her eyes as she slowly and shakily stood up. Her bruises were now jet black, a particularly large one etched into the center of her torso as she clutched her stomach with one hand. Ever part of her body now had cracks in it, the pain flooding her body was torturous and she could feel her gemstone cracking a little more. She tried to ignore the fear and panic swirling in her chest, but that was all but impossible as she looked into the reflection of one of the mirror shards. The cracks were definitely bigger, and seeing this made her fear double in size, eyes widening further and sweat now pouring down her face. If her gemstone continued to get damaged, at this rate, she would just become another mindless creature who ran on nothing but instincts. Just like all the other Corrupted Gems Steven and the others faced so many times before.
Don't think like that Peridot, right now need to ignore your pain and just get out of here before-!
She never finished her thought, a new current of terror swept over her body as she looked at one of the shards of glass on the floor.
For in the reflection, standing right behind her, was the Kira. His eyes were narrowed, the monster behind her radiating frigid killing intent. Once again, Peridot felt paralyzed by the man's eyes that held only shadows of horror. The monster now patiently waited to end her once and for all.
She couldn't even bring herself to turn around and face him, instead her eyes choose to look at his reflection in the glass shards. For all her bravado and attempts to be brave, she could not ignore the Gem dissolving fear this man caused with just his stare.
"You're really starting to remind me of someone I used to know." The Kira's eyes for a moment rose with deep anger, Peridot not moving an inch before his expression quickly turned emotionless again. "It doesn't matter now, after all…" His bent down as his hands reached for Peridot's shoulder, and while she desperately screamed at her legs to move, she found herself unable to even lift a single finger.
"You're about to join him in whatever counts as-."
Whatever he was about to say he didn't finish as he stopped his arm inches away from Peridot's body. He raised a single eyebrow as eyes scanned the area around him, but why Peridot did not know.
Then suddenly, she heard it. A faint buzzing sound, but not like the wings of an insect. No, this sound was like metal chopping and slicing the air, almost like her-.
She suddenly realized what that sound belonged to, turning around and looking towards the sky as the buzzing noise was soon replaced by the sound of several loud beeps.
And then five beams of green energy fired through the air and headed right for the Kira. The monster reacted quickly, jumping away from Peridot just as the beams of energy hit the spot he had once occupied. The beams cast a bright green glow over the area, and once the shining light faded, Peridot saw the Kira at least fifteen feet away; the curb now had a large black scorch mark adorning its face. Thin columns of smoke rose upwards as the green Gem's lips tugged into a small smile as she saw her saviors.
Wheel sized spheres hovered twenty feet in the air, the top part of their bodies a dark shade of green while the other half was obsidian black. Three green and thin pieces of rebar were planted at the topmost parts of the spheres, helicopter-like blades whirling to keep themselves floating. Near the bottom of the spheres was another green rod, but this one was different. At the mouth of the steel pillar, there was a blue glass-like frame attached to it. Through the frame and the hollow insides of the rebar, she could see a black circular device that was flickering with green electricity installed all the way at the back.
She had forgotten about the signal she had sent to her Attack Drones, the machines Peridot had built from the leftover parts at the barn and were now currently aiming their slim cannons right at the Kira.
"I take it these are your toys?" The Kira asked as Peridot saw his lips move into a thin line.
"Y-Yes they are." She said, pride mustering in her voice despite how painful each syllable was to speak. She knew that even with her drones, they would not stop this monster, but she did not need her machines to do that. All she needed them to do was hold the Kira off until she could find Steven and Lapis. With her tablet destroyed, she would have to meet them in person and tell them of the disturbingly nightmarish and deeply horrifying man she had encountered. Right now, they should be at Funland, and while it was not exactly close to her current location, she should be able to make it.
So, with those thoughts in her mind, she looked towards her five hovering Attack Drones, and gave one simple order.
"Attack Drones, fire at will!" She managed to get out even with the pain, and the tips of the Attack Drones grew a bright green. The Kira ran forward, and then each and every one of her drones fired. Green beams launched from their cannons, laser after laser firing in rapid succession as they hit the Kira. Dozens of beams of pure hot plasma hit their mark and caused plumes of thick smoke to obscure the Kira from sight, but her drones still continued to fire at an even faster rate.
Eventually, her drones stopped firing, needing to take a moment to recharge as a thick smog now covered a good portion of the street. The only sound Peridot could hear was the hovering blades of her drones.
And then, through the smog, a jagged and slim piece of black concrete jettisoned through the smoke and headed right for one of her drones. The knife-like hunk of concrete hit one of her machines in the center, piercing through reinforced metal with ease as her machine now had a long piece of cement lodged in its body.
And then Peridot heard a click, and the drone exploded in a huge blast of scorching flames. Since her other drones were so close to the exploding drone, they too were caught up in the fiery eruption. The one who was at the epicenter of the explosion crashed into the ground, now nothing more than scraps of burnt metal. Two more drones fell into the ground, but they weren't as damaged as the first one since they still were in one piece. However, sparks were flying from deep cuts in their now scorched metallic skin, the blades that allowed them to fly were cut in half. In total, three of her drones were now rendered useless, leaving her with only two left.
And as the smoke cleared, the Kira stood perfectly still, not a single wound on him. The only damage Peridot could see was that his suit and pants had been singed from the Attack Drones beams, holes now scattered throughout his clothing.
"Congratulations, you just made me angry."
And suddenly Peridot found herself being glared at by a creature of pure darkness. She saw all the hatred whirling within the Kira, felt the cold and malevolent fury his gaze emanated, and once again saw a monster of pure corruption form right in the Kira's eyes. A tangible malevolence flooded the area as Peridot had one thought running through her head.
Run.
"Beta, Alpha, fire again!" She shouted at her two remaining drones as she turned on her heels and ran. The pain grew worse with each step she took; Peridot was forced to let out small shouts due to the agony moving just a few feet caused her body, but she did not slow down. If anything she ran even faster down the street.
And as she ran, she heard the Kira scream.
"No matter where you run, I will find you!"
His shout was then followed by the sounds of her drones firing more beams of green plasma. She did not turn around to see if they hit him, nor did she turn around when she heard something crash into the ground.
She just kept running, eye wide with unrelenting fear as she hoped with every fiber of her being she would find Steven.
Kira had just destroyed the last of the flying drones in one more silent explosion, watching as the little alien ran like a scared puppy. He shouldn't have toyed with her so much and just blown her up the moment she entered the meat locker. But he wanted to see that little girl squirm under his gaze; he wanted to enjoy the terror he would cause her and smile as her eyes filled with despair.
He supposed old habits die hard. The fact that she reminded him so much of Shigechi, from the way she trembled to even her physical stature, only increased the urge to torment her.
But it would not matter, he would catch up with her soon enough. This part of town was almost always deserted, and adding in the fact that most of the citizens were probably at the fireworks celebration, the chance of her finding someone to help her were slim.
And if she did, well, they would suffer the same fate.
He ran down the streets as fast as he could, turning with the curving road around the corner. The alien was nowhere in sight unfortunately, the only things he saw were the several stores and alleyways that could be seen from his spot on the road. He let out a grunt of frustration as he tried to figure out the best course of action to take.
She was most likely going to try and get help from her friends, but he doubted she would go to the temple located all the way at the edge of the island. While he did not know much about her alien biology, he felt it was safe to say that with all the cracks and bruises on her skin, she would not be able to move for very long. So that meant she was going to a place where she could meet at least one member of the Crystal Gems. But where was the question.
His eyes moved to his right hand, and he was tempted to call Let Me Live into existence. But there was a problem with using the sentry version of Killer Queen. True, in its gaseous form it could search through the town with great speed, but the problem was it tracked down people by their heat signatures. Since he had yet to see the little alien bleed, it was unlikely that she had any body heat to track. Which would make it even harder for Let Me Live to find her as his gaseous sentry would be wasting precious minutes in attempts to locate the small girl. Not to mention the fact that Let Me Live was far too careless and flashy with its attacks, most likely it would kill anyone even near the alien with its incredibly destructive power and destroy several buildings. That kind of attention-grabbing power would most likely bring the other Gems here, and he did not want to deal with them too. He wanted to only erase the little nuisance that was the green alien, not exterminate an entire clan of migraine-inducing magical women.
He needed to deal with this matter as quietly as possible.
This is incredibly nostalgic. He thought, remembering how Shigechi employed a similar strategy of running away and trying to get help. But just like Shigechi, the little alien would-
He did not have time to finish that thought as he heard the sound of something flying through the air. Expecting another ball-shaped machine, he turned around and was surprised at what he actually saw.
In the distance soaring high in the sky was the faint but unmistakable outline of a small boy riding something a few miles away. The serial killer closed his eyes and when they reopened, they were no longer his usual purple, but instead a dull pink and his pupils had become catlike. His vision now greatly enhanced to the point he could see the smallest details of the insects flying around him, and he saw exactly who was flying over Beach City.
It was Universe, and he was sitting atop a blue skin woman with wings made of water. Both Universe and the woman were looking down at the city below them, searching for something important if their worried expressions were any indicator.
He knew instantly what they were looking for.
Damn. He cursed, wondering if the green alien had somehow managed to contact her friends as well as her drones. But that train of thought was illogical, as they would have shown up along with the drones if she did contact them. No, for some reason, they were looking for the girl even though she had yet to call for help; otherwise, they'd be rushing to her location.
But that fact remained they were looking for her, and since they could see the entire city from the sky, it would only be a matter of time before they find her.
The master of Killer Queen quickly decided he needed to create a very large, a very noticeable distraction right now.
Running back towards the closed butcher's shop, Kira had Killer Queen pick up all the remains of the drones they had destroyed off the street before throwing them right at the store. Each and every scrap of metal flew through the broken window and landed with a loud clunk onto the floor. Kira then ran away from the store and all the way down the street before turning around the bending corner and continuing to run.
And as he ran, he turned and lifted his head before looking at the sky. He then brought his left thumb up quickly and then brought it down.
Though his explosions never made any noise, the large pillars of fire suddenly detonating high into the air was all the confirmation he needed. Bright red and orange flames were visible from over the buildings and he heard a boyish scream of shock.
That should keep them busy.
And as the flames rose higher, Kira Yoshikage was enveloped in a dark purple aura as his mouth morphed into a frown. Nothing was going to stop him from killing the little alien girl who was trying to disrupt his peaceful life.
A ruthless determination entered his eyes, his features becoming cold as his mind became consumed with thoughts of hunting down the green alien.
Josuke's eyes slowly opened, having blacked out for a second after being hit by Sheer Heart Attack's explosion. And when his vision finally cleared his eyes widened at what he saw.
He was currently flying through the air, portions of his clothes now singed to black strands of fabric and his body adorned with bright red burn marks. His motorcycle was now long gone, the only remains of it were its scorched handlebars in his hands. And Josuke was falling down at rapid speeds towards a road full of speeding cars that would easily run over him.
Shit!
Acting quickly, Josuke channeled the energy flowing within him as a yellow aura surrounded the handlebars. He was getting closer and closer to the road, his body plummeting at high speeds and in mere seconds he would crash and be nothing more than a bloody corpse.
Thankfully his Stand's powers saved him from that fate.
From seemingly nowhere, several different types of machinery began to converge underneath handlebars. Slowly, the parts began to take shape, black metal forming a smooth seat, axels and pipes forming into the intricate infrastructure of the machine and wheels merging with the base of his now completely repaired and brand new bike.
Josuke quickly sat back on top of the black motorcycle just in time as the bike landed on the roof of a large white van. The moment his motorcycle made contact with the van, its momentum from the fall caused it to immediately bounce off the roof and hit the street below. Josuke gripped the throttles as hard as he could before his bike blasted off. Just before another car speeding down the road almost crashed into the young Stand user.
And now that the immediate danger was away, Josuke took in his surroundings. He was racing across a wide, two-laned road divided by a long, silver guardrail that stretched for miles. A short distance in front of him cars were moving just as fast as his bike, which was currently going at sixty miles an hour. Behind him he saw dozens of cars form a small gridlock as apparently the one car that had almost hit Josuke had swerved and crashed into another car. The now immobile cars had created an improv blockade that caused all the vehicles behind them to come to a full stop. No one was injured thankfully, the only things damaged were the two cars that caused the massive traffic jam.
But what made Josuke eyes narrow in suspicion was the noticeable absence of a small metallic bomb. There was no way Sheer Heart Attack thought it had killed him, so where was the mobile bomb? His motorcycle continued to accelerate, gusts of intense wind blowing against his body as he tried to see where the bomb could-.
Suddenly, at least a mile ahead in the opposite lane, Josuke saw a gigantic fireball erupt from underneath several cars. Pillars of scorching flames ignited the night air as the force from the explosion sent the vehicles high into the air. Cars and trucks now covered in flames flew from the opposite lane and headed right towards Josuke.
Seeing massive hunks of flaming metal head towards him at alarming speeds, Josuke responded in the only way he knew how.
By revving up the accelerator and racing right towards the onslaught of metal with a cool and calm gleam in his eyes.
This is no problem.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!
Crazy Diamond materialized right in front of his bike and began to pummel the road, its punches forming a miniature ramp made out of black concrete. Josuke ran right over the ramp and was launched into the air, now flying towards the falling and burning vehicles with dead drivers in their seats. Just as Josuke was about to collide with an SUV consumed by flames, Crazy Diamond appeared right in-between its master and oncoming car before slamming a silver coated right hook into the car. The power from that one punch was enough to send the car flying to the side and away from Josuke.
"DORA!"
Another car quickly followed the previous one, this one was a long semi-truck, its massive silver trailer aimed to slam right into Josuke and his bike. Without even blinking, Josuke had Crazy Diamond throw a barrage of immensely strong jabs, His stand swiftly punching through the metal as both Josuke and his bike soared through the large hole Crazy Diamond had created. Now flying through the interior of the trailer still in motion, the pink-skinned warrior let loose another salvo of extraordinarily fast punches against the wall of the trailer, creating another hole that allowed the high school student to exit the confines of the container.
"DORA!"
Having exited the trailer, Josuke was once again flying through the open night sky. And in front of him, a flaming motorcycle similar to his own jettisoned towards his face; shortly behind the bike were two Chevrolets covered in fire that were also heading right for him. Crazy Diamond grabbed the incoming missile of flames and scorched metal by its face, before pulling the bike over its head and then chucking it straight towards the two Chevrolets with as much strength as it could put into its throw. The bike crashed right onto the two sets of car windows, the added weight and downward force causing the two vehicles to fall short of hitting Josuke as his own bike lightly bounced off the top of the car's roof.
"DORA!"
Josuke Higashikata didn't even break a single sweat during the avalanche of fire-ravaged vehicles.
As he reached the apex of his flight, Josuke soon found himself descending back to the ground. Looking down at the road, he could partially make out something below him. All the cars in front of him had either accelerated further down the road away from the shower of cars or veered off the wide street, so it was easy to make out the lone object left on the deserted road thanks to sharing his Stand's eyesight.
Sheer Heart Attack waited patiently on the ground, and if it could, it would probably be smirking with its skull like jaw.
Of course, Josuke had been expecting this. Which was why Josuke and Crazy Diamond were enveloped in bright yellow energy.
And why the cars and trucks still descending to the ground were also covered in the same aura.
He wasn't sure if the metallic bomb could hear him from so high up, but just in case it could, he snapped his fingers before uttering one word.
"Dora."
Before the vehicles that Crazy Diamond had clobbered were even halfway down to the ground, they stopped in midair for just a few seconds before turning towards the direction of Sheer Heart Attack. Then, as if hurled by an invisible giant, the cars, the truck and the motorcycle all rocket toward Sheer Heart Attack, their metallic faces aimed to crush the tiny bomb.
And then Josuke heard the little bomb shout something at the top of whatever it had that counted for lungs.
"OH, YOU MOTHERFUCK-!"
It never finished as the motorcycle was the first to strike its tiny body, hitting the bomb right on its skull face as the force sent it skidding across the road. The three cars were next, crashing right on top of its tiny body as a small pile-up formed; Sheer Heart Attack was now trapped underneath a haphazardly stacked set of wrecked cars. Finally, the truck came down like a metal meteorite, the plummeting projectile hitting the heap of cars with so much strength it crushed the other vehicles before erupting into a giant fireball. Pillars of smoke and fire rose into the air as Josuke landed a short distance away from the explosion, bringing his bike to a stop as he did so.
Josuke looked at the explosion with narrowed eyes. If that didn't stop Sheer Heart Attack, then he had no clue what will. He doubted he could come up with another trick as destructive as this one. And using the vehicles with their owners' dead bodies inside left him with a nauseating amount of disgust in his stomach. He knew they were already dead and if he hadn't he be joining them soon, but he still felt repulsed at what he had just done.
And then, another explosion erupted from the sea of flames, causing the pillars of orange and red to double in size as the scorched and burnt remains of the truck came flying out; the large hunk of metal crashed right into the divides of the two separate lanes. And from the smoldering waves of flames, Sheer Heart Attack rolled forward.
"Is that the best you got, bitch?"
How durable is this thing! Hatred filled Josuke's eyes as he clenched the throttles of his bike even tighter. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Electrocuting the bomb didn't work nor did giving it a taste of its own medicine, so what other options did he have left? He hadn't truly noticed until the adrenaline in his body began to fade, but the last explosion he was caught in did a number on his body. His head began to throb with unholy pain, he was sure he was beginning to form a concussion, and the rest of his body was screaming from an agonizing fire sweeping over it. The metallic bomb of Killer Queen's explosions were far more dangerous than before, he wasn't sure if he could take another one considering he wasn't even at full health when the fight began.
But how the hell am I supposed to defeat something that can't be hurt! None of his regular attacks would do anything to damage it. Sheer Heart Attack had yet to suffer a single wound while Josuke-.
Suddenly, he stopped as he noticed something about Sheer Heart Attack. Crazy Diamond's vision was still his own, so he could make out even the smallest details of the bomb even from far away. And what he saw made his eyes widen.
For Sheer Heart Attack actually had cracks in its body.
They were incredibly small cracks of course, a person would only notice them if they were holding it near its face, but the fact remained there were actual chinks in its supposedly indestructible armor.
And then Josuke's brain came up with a solution to defeating this bomb as he his mind flashed back to when he was first searching for ways to get to Beach City.
Without another word, the young Stand User turned his bike around, gripping the throttles as hard as humanly possible, before burning rubber and racing towards the opposite lane. Passing through a gap in the dividers, Josuke entered the opposite stretch of road before he sped down the street as fast as his bike could move, weaving and swerving pass cars so quickly he looked like a black bolt of metal and flesh.
Sheer Heart Attack was quick to follow, already closing in on Josuke at high speeds.
"Get back here you little-!"
But Josuke ignored the stream of insults coming out of the tiny bomb's mouth, his mind only focused on refining his plan to ensure it would work.
She was having a really good time.
Connie took another bite out of her caramel coated apple, a treat that had a high chance of causing her some cavities she'd admit, but right now, she didn't care about that and focused only on having fun. Right now, she was only consumed with eager thoughts for the upcoming fireworks, a blissful smile on her face as the stuffed bunny in her arm matched her giddy expression. Steven would love her newly acquired toy; her best friend always had a fondness for overly big and incredibly plushy things.
Walking down one of the wooden lanes of Funland with booths of all sorts of games flanking her on both sides, she could not help but think about what Steven was doing right now. Her curly-haired friend had told her that as much as he wanted to hang out with her, he couldn't come with her to Funland today. Steven told her that since Lapis, another member of the Crystal Gems Connie had yet to meet, had never seen fireworks before, he wanted to show her the spectacle. Unfortunately, Lapis apparently didn't like leaving the barn she lived in, so Steven had to stay there along with Peridot so that he could give Lapis, in his words, "the best fireworks watching experience possible."
While she was a bit disheartened that her friend wouldn't be able to spend time with her today, she didn't disagree with his decision. Steven had told her a bit of his new family member's past, and from the way he explained it to her, it sounded like Lapis was a Gem who suffered from social issues due to a very painful trauma. She of course immediately understood and encouraged Steven to spend time with the newest addition to his family, telling him not to worry about her.
After all, it was in Steven's nature to aid anyone who was in need of a friend. Asking him not to help someone who was distressed or upset was the same as asking a fish to breathe on land, impossible.
It was one of the reasons she liked him so much. As a friend, of course.
She took another bite of her apple, sticky caramel clinging to her teeth as she looked at the people passing by her. She knew some of them, such as Sadie and Lars who were currently attempting to best the rigged, or so she was told, ring toss game. Both of them pulled their hair in frustration as they once again failed to successfully wrap a ring around one of the glass bottles. Other people she didn't know were enjoying a variety of festive games, a family of three lifting their child over their shoulders so that the kid could properly see over the booth's counter.
I'm still surprised mom let me go out by myself. Her mother had not been nearly as overprotective compared to when she and her family first arrived at Beach City, but there were still times when she needlessly fretted over the smallest of details. So, it came as a slight shock that her mom was perfectly fine with her going alone to the amusement park; she herself was occupied with patients at the hospital and her dad was busy with his own job.
Well, that was probably because after training with Pearl in the ways of the sword and going on constant adventures with Steven, she assumed her parents thought she was competent enough to go out on her own.
Her eyes moved towards the sky, which was now almost pitch black, yet the bright lights from the booths and various decorations surrounding the large boardwalk made it seem like it was day. The lights illuminated Funland in an orange hue, and Connie could not help but marvel at all the effort mister Smiley had put into this event. She had always assumed he was a bit of a cheapskate, but seeing this-.
A faint noise caught her ears. It was the flutter of something, not of bird wings, but something far bigger and faster than that. Still looking up towards the sky, Connie could make out the dark shapes of…something flying over Funland. The shapes in the sky perfectly blended in with the darkness of the night sky, and even as she squinted she still couldn't tell what she was looking at.
Suddenly, the shapes in the air were still for a moment, right before they took a nosedive at rather fast speeds. As they continued to descend, the shapes became easier to make out, the lights from Funland pushing away the shadows that obscured their forms as Connie saw…
"Steven?" She said, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, eyebrows rising in confusion.
In the sky, diving through the air on the back of a blue woman, was her best friend. As they grew closer, Connie was able to make out more details of the blue women descending towards her. In addition to her sky-blue skin, she had dark blue hair and equally blue long skirt and top. Connie remembered the descriptions Steven used to describe the latest addition to his growing family, and instantly knew that the blue-haired woman with wings made of water was Lapis Lazuli.
She was greatly surprised at seeing not only her friend but also the woman who Steven should be relaxing at the barn with. Had her friend somehow convinced his new family member to venture outside her comfort zone and come to Funland? If so, she had better do her best to make a good first impression. She didn't want to come on too strong, the last thing she wanted was to stress out Ms. Lazuli, yet she also wanted to make sure she didn't think Connie was uninterested in-.
It was then that she noticed their faces.
As both Steven and Lapis continued to descend, now about twenty feet away from the ground, she noticed Lapis' lips were in a tight and grim frown. But what really got her attention was the expression Steven was making. Gone was the usual cheerful glee that was etched into his eyes.
Instead, the only thing Connie saw in her best friend's eyes was an unsettling fear, his features leaking with worry and anxiety. She had never seen her friend look like that, she had never seen him actually look…scared. Even when he was reliving past memories of hurting so many Gems, Steven wasn't scared. He just felt guilty and sorrowful for the deeds he had done.
But the Steven who jumped of Lapis' back after she landed on the wooden floor of Funland did not have any trace of hurtful misery or shameful guilt.
He was just scared.
"Steven, what's wrong?" She asked, throwing her caramel apple away into a nearby garbage can. It landed with a soft clunk as Steven walked right towards her, the two children now standing only a few feet apart.
"Have you seen Peridot?" He asked, and his voice was full of fright. His eyes held nothing but fear as she saw him sweating. Something was very wrong here.
"No, I thought you and her were gonna watch the fireworks with…" She trailed off eyes looking towards the blue Gem, and she saw said Gem staring at her with hints of curiosity in her expression. She suddenly felt awkward, since she had never actually met Lapis and now she was standing not even ten feet away from her. She had yet to introduce herself, and she'd feel rude if she didn't at least acknowledge her presence.
"Oh, right." Steven quickly realized what was wrong before gesturing towards Lapis. "Connie, meet Lapis Lazuli, Gem who can control water." Steven then gestured back to Connie. "And Lapis, this is my best friend Connie, epic sword wielder." The son of Rose Quartz then looked right into Connie's eyes, his own brown irises held immense terror that struck Connie to her core. She was quickly growing to hate seeing her friend like this. "Peridot was supposed to meet us hours ago at the barn, but she never showed up. Connie, something's going on, and it's bad. Something happened to Peridot and we're not sure where to find her."
She had never heard such gloom emitting from Steven's words before; it was so disturbing to see Steven so worried. "Are you sure she's in trouble?" She began, feeling a touch of nervousness rise inside her chest before she continued. Lapis eyes had narrowed slightly at her, though what she was thinking she couldn't tell, her expression was completely blank. "I mean, if you haven't seen her, then how do you know she's not just busy with something." To her, it sounded like a plausible explanation, but the way Steven shook his head with such certainty made it was clear he thought otherwise.
"Peridot would have at least messaged us that she couldn't come, but besides from one we got earlier today, she hasn't contacted any of us. And she wouldn't miss out on this no matter what, me and her have been planning this for a while now. And…" He didn't finish, glancing away from Connie for a moment, eyes gazing at the floor. The fear in his expressions seemed to grow as Connie bit her lower lip.
"And what?" She asked as Steven slowly looked back into her eyes.
"On our way here we saw a big explosion." Lapis was the one who spoke, her face still held no emotion as she finally joined the conversation. Connie's eyes widened at her words. Steven had told her about a Rogue Gem that was so stealthy the other Crystal Gems had yet to catch. A Gem that was so dangerous it could cause massive explosions; the same explosions that Mr. Kofi and Kiki were caught in.
"Do you-." She never finished as Steven quickly interrupted her.
"We think Peridot somehow encountered the Corrupted Gem and that thing's hunting her."
Those words were leaking with hollow despair, and Steven somehow looked even more scared than before. His features were pooling with such agonizing dread that she was sure the son of Rose Quartz might have a panic attack. Slowly moving her gaze away from Steven, she looked at Lapis, and for the first time, she could see actual emotion on her face. There was sorrow wrapping around Lapis' expression as she looked down at the ground.
"We were hoping that she might come here," Lapis said, still not looking up as her bangs cast shadows on her face. "Funland's a lot closer to the town than the barn or the Temple."
Connie immediately racked her brain to see if she had seen even a glance of Peridot since she had first arrived at the amusement park. It was impossible to miss the green-skinned women, everything about Peridot would stand out in an instant even if she had only seen her for one second.
But her mind came up with nothing.
"I'm so sorry, but I haven't seen her," Connie admitted sadly, and Steven looked absolutely devastated as his hand ran through his hair. She could see sparks of anger in Lapis' eyes, one hand clenched into a fist, but along with the anger, there was also remorse spreading throughout her features. Connie tried to think of anything to say, racking her brain for a solution until she found one.
"Have you guys checked every single inch of Funland yet?" She asked, and both tall and short Gem looked at her before shaking their heads. "Then why don't we do that? Just search everywhere and try to see if she's here or at least passed through here. For all we know, She could be looking for us right now."
For the first time since this awful conversation began, Connie saw another emotion besides fear in Steven's face. Hope began to rise in the short Gem's expression, and while it was still smothered by anxiety, it was still there. Lapis' face also looked less sullen, for one moment her deep distress gave way to something brighter. In the next instant, her sorrowful expression returned, but it was not as remorseful as compared to before.
"Yeah, you're right," Steven said before he turned to Lapis. "Lapis, I need you to fly up again and watch Funland from the sky. I know we didn't see anything before, but maybe we missed something." Steven then turned towards Connie. "Me and Connie will search Funland from the ground, and if we don't find anything then…" He trailed off, swallowing audibly before he hesitantly continued. "Then...we meet back here and go look somewhere else."
Connie and Lapis nodded, the latter's wings began to beat rapidly before she took off like a river defying gravity and traveled upwards to the sky. Connie and Steven watched as she soon flew out of sight and began her search.
Connie stared at Steven, who was still looking at the sky with a deeply stressful expression, his right arm openly shaking. Connie could see how troubled her friend was; she could almost feel the stress and fear building inside Steven. Without a moment's hesitation, she placed a hand on his shoulder. Her action seemed to snap him out of his daze as he looked right into her eyes. Her lips quickly moved into a small smile.
"We'll find her Steven, I know we will." Her voice was soft and caring. Each word she spoke held a kindness that showed how much she meant them. With just a few words she was able to soothe the suffocating atmosphere of despair until it completely disappeared.
Those words caused the youngest Gem to relax. Connie herself was surprised at how the tension in his expression faded with just one sentence. She was also surprised at how she knew what to say so easily. Sadness was still prominent in Steven's expression, but it had died down slightly as Steven gave her a tiny smile.
"Yeah, of course we will." He said before grabbing her hand and running down the wooden road. She was about to tell Steven he didn't have to hold her hand, but she stopped herself.
She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, she wanted to keep holding onto to Steven's warm hand.
She had finally made it.
Peridot stood underneath the wide arch that acted as the gateway to Funland, her breaths coming out as pants as she took a moment to regain her strength. She had been running nonstop without taking a single break, never slowing down and only moving faster as she ran so many miles without ever looking back.
She was sure that if she looked back even once, she would see the unfeeling monster standing right behind her.
The pain from her injuries was made so much worse from her running. Twice while she was fleeing she almost collapsed onto the street before getting up as quickly as she could. Her body suffered through burning agony, and her gemstone felt like it would shatter at any minute. The fissures on her body had also grown longer, now deeper and far more elongated than before she had started to run.
But she had arrived at her destination, and the Kira was nowhere in sight. She supposed that even the Kira wouldn't be able to keep up her with her at the speeds she was going. Now, she needed to find one of her friends immediately, preferably Steven; the throbbing and fiery pain in her forehead was rising with each passing second. Steven would be able to heal her in an instant, so all she had to do was try and find her friend. There was a high chance he would be here, as her message from before she engaged the Kira had told him she was just caught up with something important. So, there was a chance he and Lapis had been at Funland the whole time, and right now she hoped from the bottom of her core they were her.
She walked slowly past the wide arch covered in rainbow-colored balloons, her legs begging her to stop but she ignored their pleas. She went down the wooden panels, weaving through crowds of people who looked at her with raised brows. She paid them no mind as her eyes scanned for any sign of her friends, now walking down a large aisle of carnival booths. Still no sign of Steven or Lapis.
Calm down, they'll be here. They have to be here otherwise ll'I eb daed.
She stopped walking, the people around her carefully avoiding hitting her as her expression contorted into one of unimaginable horror. The words in her mind were spoken backward, a dangerous sign that she was getting closer and closer to her gemstone breaking. She brought her arms to her face, and in the next second her appendages seemed to turn to pure static. Her arms were buzzing out of reality, the static obscuring them from sight before her arms repapered.
She needed to find Steven right now!
Running as fast as her horribly damaged body would allow, her head whipped in every direction to find the son of Rose Quartz. The swarms of people around her made it hard for her to see anything pass their tall bodies, but she could-.
Suddenly she stopped moving, the cluster of people faded as a joyous smile crossed her face.
She had found Steven.
Not even three dozen feet away, Steven had his back facing her, next to him was his human friend, Connie, at least she thought that was her name.
She had done it; she had survived and now all she had to do was call out to Steven and it would all be over.
Just as she was about to shout his name, just as the unshed tears of joy were about to fall down her face…she found herself unable to speak a single syllable.
For her throat felt like it was being strangled.
Suddenly feeling an immense and incredibly strong force grab her throat, she was unable to say anything other than incoherent grunts and painful yelps. Gems did not need to breathe, but having some invincible force that was insanely powerful wrap something akin to fingers around her throat was still painful.
And then, she felt her body lifted off her feet and thrown towards a nearby booth. No one noticed for it happened in an instant, not any of the people scattered throughout the boardwalk, and certainly not Steven. To anyone watching it would look like she had just vanished from her spot. She had only careened through the air for a moment before she crashed into the wall of the booth.
Searing pain washed over her like a boiling hot wave, unable to even scream from the sheer agony her body was going through. As she continued to scramble on the floor in torture, she noticed that the both she was in was the same one where she had won her favorite alien plushy. The bottles lined up near a table at the center of the floor were now in shattered pieces after she had crashed into them.
And then she noticed the lights from the outside turn to darkness as someone closed the curtains, preventing anyone from peering inside the booth.
And from the corner emerging from the shadows, each step leaking with horrific killing intent was the Kira. His purple eyes glared at her with glacial malevolence. His features were whirling with so much unrestrained hatred that Peridot was crushed underneath the weight of his presence, unable to move as she stared hopelessly at the superior being's face.
The dark monster she had seen before was present in his eyes again as he slowly moved towards her. And then he stomped his foot into the back of her head.
Peridot's head hit the ground with such force there was an audible cracking sound. The horrible agony that one stomp cause made her vision go completely black for a second. She felt her gemstone crack even more, causing burning throbs of intense pain to shoot through her head. She could not look up for the Kira continued to place his shoe against her head with increasing pressure.
"You know, aside from you there has only ever been one green wearing midget who has made me this furious." His voice was low, so much killing intent in his voice it caused the dread coiling inside her to explode. The Kira took his shoe off of Peridot as she looked into his eyes. Eyes that were once again burning with dark fires of hatred. Peridot began to shake from both pain and the sheer terror within her.
"But unlike him, you won't be as lucky. For you see…" His voice trailed off, and a tangible feeling of venomous anger erupted inside the booth. The Kira's mouth was in a snarl as he glared through Peridot's very core. "I'm about to blow you to Kingdom Come! KILLER QUEEN!"
With those words, the man stuck an odd pose. His knees were now bent as he raised his left hand upwards, one finger pointing to the sky on one side as his other hand was pointed downwards with another digit pointing to the ground. His back was bent backward as the hatred he radiated somehow grew. The fear within Peridot was now absolutely massive, it actually made her entire body fizzle out of existence for one second.
"This finger has the power to blow up entire buildings, able to turn anything I want into a bomb." Contempt twisted and rose within the Kira's face like a whirlwind. His eyes were now nothing but a void. "In your case, that visor of yours will make the perfect bomb."
Peridot could do nothing as the Kira brought his left hand down in a chop, the hand on a collision course with her face. Just as the appendage was mere inches from her face, Peridot had one last thought in her mind.
Everyone, goodbye. She closed her eyes as tears began to stream down her face.
Turning so sharply his leg almost touched the road, Josuke raced down another street on his bike, Sheer Heart Attack about fifteen feet behind him.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond was currently shooting crescent arcs of pressurized liquid right at the tiny bomb. It sliced its fingers against the air so fast that the dripping water on its digits shoot off at high speeds and immediately took the shape of firm and thick arcs. The water Crazy Diamond was using was from assorted bottles of a variety of different drinks Josuke had taken and placed near the seat of his bike. From Gatorade to Pepsi, Crazy Diamond was grabbing the bottles at speeds that even jets paled in comparison too, dabbing its fingers with the assortment of liquids before compressing them into blades of water.
And every single multicolored blade of water hit Sheer Heart Attack head on. And under normal circumstances, those attacks might not have done any damage to the bomb. But Josuke had Crazy Diamond aim at the cracks on the metallic tank, and with stunning accuracy, each arc of compressed water hit the fissures. The cracks grew with each hit his Stand landed, becoming more elongated and deeper with each blade that pierced off more bits of the bomb's armor. Sheer Heart Attack had yet to even notice what Josuke's attacks were doing; instead, only screaming more curses at the young Stand User.
And his attacks weren't only causing the cracks to grow. The water blades were also doing something to would ensure his victory if he could just find-
There it is! Josuke thought, his eyes spotting the building he was looking for to the side of the street he was racing down. He couldn't go to it just yet though, first he had to lose the bomb chasing him.
Revving up the throttle, Josuke's motorcycle sped down the street at even higher speeds, and as he saw an intersection he turned, bike leaning to the right and almost hitting the ground as he entered the new street. He was going so fast that the only way he could make the turn was to drive on the curb, but thankfully this street seemed to be deserted.
Which made what he was about to do a whole lot easier.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond moved faster than anyone's eyes could follow. Its arms were pink and silver forces of destruction, slamming fist after fist into the buildings its master past on. The strength of each punch was enough to not only shake the foundation of each building, but also enough to launch several large chunks of cement into the air. Josuke's bike moved even faster, Crazy Diamond smashing a tempest of crosses and haymakers at the passing buildings, each tower it struck now had large and gaping holes on their surfaces.
And all those chunks of cement and concrete, all those steel support beams and rebars that made up the interiors of the buildings, crashed into a large trail of debris. The massive piles of rocks and cement gathered right behind him, it was so tall and wide that Josuke could no longer see the mouth of the street.
But he could see the explosions erupting into the air on the other side though, hunks of burnt concrete launched through the sky as the pile shook like an earthquake had passed through the area.
Josuke knew that within less than a minute, the pile would be gone and reduced to ash. But he just needed the pile to stall Sheer Heart Attack.
Once he reached the end of the street he turned right at the junction, before making several more turns and eventually reaching the small building he had seen before.
The words "Antarctic Ice-Cream" were written in bright purple words on a black sign near the roof.
Josuke entered the small store and looked around. It looked like a typical ice cream parlor; small tables were located near the smooth glass windows, there was a glass display case showing the variety of different flavors and a long blue counter right next to the case with a cash register on top of it.
But where this shop differed from other ice cream stores was that it made a very unique blend of the frozen treat. Josuke hopped over the counter and looked underneath it. There was an arrangement of mixers, but what really caught Josuke's eye was the large, gray, stainless steel container. It had a round, circular lid about the size of a football that acted as its cover, and when Josuke saw the symbol written on its front he knew this was the object he was looking for.
And just in time to, for an explosion erupted from just outside the windows, causing shards of glass to fly in all directions as the plumes of fire swallowed a large portion of the store. Josuke ducked down behind the counter, able to save himself from the glass as he could feel the heat from the blast of fire. When he stood back up, He saw Sheer Heart Attack jump through the broken windows and land on the black tiled floor of the store.
"No more running, you piece of-!" Josuke did not let it finish as he had Crazy Diamond materialize into existence before it lifted the silver container off the ground. In the time it took Josuke to blink, his Stand had punched a hole into the canister, mist-like gas breaking out of its prison in quick bursts before the pink-skinned warrior grabbed the vessel with both hands and chucked it right at Sheer Heart Attack.
The tiny bomb was able to easily dodge it, tank treads moving to the left at high speeds as the container missed the metallic bomb. The strength Crazy Diamond had put into its throw had caused the container to break in half on impact, white mist consuming the air as an almost colorless water spilled onto the ground.
Of course, Josuke expected that to happen. Which was why a yellow aura soon surrounded the water, mist, and container.
In an instant, the two halves were flying through the air, the water on the floor picking itself up and placing itself back into the two halves of its once whole vessel. The mist soon followed, the containers sucking the gas up like a vacuum as it continued to glide with the wind.
Straight towards Sheer Heart Attack.
The two containers approached Sheer Heart Attack from both sides before they flew towards the other, picking up the tiny bomb as it reformed back into its original shape, not a drop of the water left on the floor. The silver container looked brand new as it landed back on the floor amongst the broken shards of glass.
And within five seconds, the container exploded. The familiar orange and red flames erupted into the air, but this time was different. This time, the flames were smaller, and the plumes of smoke that usually accompany them were noticeably less thick and slimmer. In fact, the white mist that had erupted from the container was more prominent in the store than the smoke, trailing along the ground and spreading into the corners of the shop.
"Dumbass, what was the…point… of…that?" Sheer Heart Attack's words were less loud than before, with each word it spoke its voice seemed to grow weaker, slower even. It sounded like it had something clinging to the back of its throat, if it had one that is. Josuke smirked as he saw what was causing the tiny bomb's slower speech.
Large sheets of ice now covered Sheer Heart Attack's body, half of its skull surrounded by ice. Its tank treads were encased by the frigid ice, looking like frozen waves that trapped its wheels to the spot.
"What…was…in that container?"
Josuke smiled as he calmly jumped over the counter, his Stand floating a few feet behind him.
"Before I answer that question, let me tell you this world is really advanced." He said, scratching the back of his neck with a carefree air hanging around him. "I mean it still sucks being here, but I have to admit technology has come a long way since 1999. Seriously, the internet evolving to the point where you can access data from across the planet, video games looking like real life and hell, this place is actually getting close to building sentient robots. This world's technology is frightening, the threat of the Terminators rising against mankind is almost a damn reality."
Josuke chuckled as he began to walk towards the bomb.
"But no matter how advanced the future is, some things never change. Tourist traps being one of them. And while I was researching ways to get to Beach City, I ended up finding out some information about some famous places here. Most of it was pretty boring, but one of the spots I remember was this little store here. See, this store makes a unique brand of ice-cream with a certain ingredient. An ingredient I don't think a lot of people back in our world used that much. I can't really blame them, though. I mean…"
Josuke trailed off, his eyes looking towards one of the broken pieces of the container. On its face were the letters LN2.
"I don't think a lot of people had the bright idea to use liquid nitrogen in cooking." Josuke finished, his smirk turning into a wide smile.
"Liquid…nitrogen..." Sheer Heart Attack slowly stated, its body shaking against the ice trapping it in an attempt to break free, but to no avail. "You fucking… smug ass… I'll just blow this ice-."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Josuke said, his eyes gleaming with mock urgency as he held up a hand. "See, I don't think you notice, but after you got crushed underneath all those cars from before, cracks formed in your armor." Josuke did not wait for a response as he continued. "And after I saw that, I remembered a basic science lesson even an elementary school student would know. Remember how I had Crazy Diamond attack you with those blades of water? Well, in addition to making sure you stayed in place when after I threw the liquid nitrogen, since then it could go even deeper into your body due to the cracks, it also let me fill your inside with water."
His smile gained a predatory edge before he continued. "Now, when water freezes it expands. But metal? Well, metal doesn't expand, so that means all that frozen soda inside you is growing bigger and bigger, until eventually-."
Right on time, one of the side plates of Sheer Heart Attack armor came flying off, spiraling through the air as it lodged itself into the wall.
"There's no more room for the water to grow, so it just makes some more room. It literally burst from within your tiny metal gears. So if you explode again, well…it might not end well for you since your armors so weak now."
"You…" Sheer Heart Attack's voice was laced with so much contempt its anger from before seemed like a mild spark of irritation. That one word leaked with so much fury Josuke honestly thought it might just melt the ice encasing the bomb. But there was something else within the massive outrage. He could hear red-hot pain that was most likely running rampant on Sheer Heart Attack's body underneath all of the anger. "You…"
Josuke enjoyed the rage emitting from the little bomb, crouching down and looking right at its half-frozen face.
"Relax, Relax, I would never let you go through something so painful." A purple aura surrounded Josuke as Crazy Diamond cracked its knuckles. "No, Instead…"
His features were crackling with vindictive glee; he seemed like a predator who had just caught its prey.
"I'm just gonna end your suffering now."
And Crazy Diamond destroyed the bomb.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond seemed to grow a thousand pairs of arms in an instant, pounding away at the metallic bomb at speeds that redefined what it meant to be fast. Each fist that hit the bomb packed enough force to cause deep dents in its teal plated armor, the bomb screaming like a demented banshee with each attack that landed. Throwing crosses so fast its arms looked more like miniature trains of pink and silver, each punch that descended on Sheer Heart Attack made a sound similar to machine gun fire echo throughout the ice cream parlor. The barrage of swift and furious punches easily demolished the ice covering the metallic bomb, sending bits of its metal armor flying in all direction as his Stand moved even faster with each passing second. A gale of fierce winds was sweeping through the store due to the insane velocity his stand was moving. And Sheer Heart Attack continued to let out the most agonizing scream Josuke had ever heard a man make, and for one moment something cruel entered his expression. Something made of only hatred.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond pulled its arm back and threw one last punch at speeds that made intense gales swirl around its fist before the most destructive cross known to man hit Sheer Heart Attack right in the center of its skull face. The blow sent the bomb straight to the floor, easily piercing the tiles as a hole so deep Josuke could not see the end of it formed on the ground.
And though he could not see the bomb anymore, he did see several wisps of black dust rise from the hole.
"When you see your master again, tell him I said you're next." And with that, Josuke walked out of the ice cream store and back out into the streets. He noticed that this time the injuries he had gotten from this fight were not nearly as bad as the ones from his last one. His body still felt like someone has just put a hot iron in every spot imaginable, but he could still walk and stay conscious.
Beach City, here I come.
And with that thought, Josuke walked towards his parked motorcycle, which had miraculously survived the explosion from before with only a few scorch marks, sat on the seat, and drove off.
[Sheer Heart Attack]
[The Second Bomb]
[Status: Retired]
"GAH!"
The moment she heard the Kira scream, she thought that would be the last thing she'd ever hear. It only took her a moment to realize that one, his hand had yet to make contact with her. And the second thing was that the Kira scream had been one of intense pain.
Peridot's eyes shot open as she saw the Kira step backward, holding his hand that for some reason was now covered in deep gashes. Blood dripped from his hand as she saw him gnash his teeth together, a bit of sweat rolling down his forehead.
And she realized that, as he was busy cradling his hand, this was her only chance to escape.
Without wasting another second, she stood up and jumped through the curtains, the lights from the outside temporally blinding her as she landed painfully on the ground.
And then she shouted as loudly as her voice would allow.
"STEVEN!"
Lapis had been flying for a while now, deep blue eyes looking at Funland from the sky as she tried to find her friend. She tired her best to ignore the worry rising inside her chest, but her thoughts were still ravaged by fear and dread. She had never thought she could ever be so distraught over someone else who wasn't Steven, but her little green friend had somehow managed to do just that. Somehow she had become one of the few people she cared about.
And when she heard a familiar voice shout with despair twisting her every word, it shocked her right to her core.
"STEVEN!"
Connie had been searching with Steven for about fifteen minutes now. They had asked dozens of people if they had seen Peridot, but none of them did. It was starting to look like that maybe Peridot was not here after all.
And the worse part was seeing Steven suffering each time someone said no. Seeing her friend's expression course with dread was hard to watch. Each second that passed Steven seemed to become more fearful; she could see the cold despair spreading throughout his features.
And she knew that unless Peridot was quickly found, Steven might just-.
"STEVEN!"
That voice was instantly recognizable. It was unmistakably Peridot's, maybe a bit rougher than usual, but it was still her voice. But what caught her attention was the pure terror evident in that one word. She could practically feel it, and could not even begin to imagine what on earth was causing the Gem to feel such fear.
Slowly, she turned her head towards Steven.
She had to be here. She just had to.
So far he and Connie had found no sign of Peridot, and no one else had seen her either. His thoughts were consumed by images of Peridot running. All he could see was her scared, terrified face as she begged for help. Fear coiled around his heart as he continued to search with Connie. He was sure Peridot was in trouble, and he needed to find her right-.
"STEVEN!"
That scream was filled with such much horror and despair Steven felt his heart stop. That voice, that was usually so peppy and so vibrant, was suddenly made of nothing but terror.
That voice belonged to Peridot.
He immediately ran towards the direction the voice came from. He heard Connie shout something at him, but he didn't hear her.
Right now, all he could hear was Peridot shouting his name.
Every single time.
Ever since Shigechi, every time Kira was about to end a nuisance to his life, someone or something always came in at the last second to save his victim.
So when his hand exploded in bright red bursts of blood and the little alien had taken that as her cue to jump out of the booth, he was more annoyed than surprised by this sudden reversal.
He had placed his bleeding hand in his jacket pocket before he walked outside through a door in the back of the booth. He was now facing the other side of the booth, entering another area of the amusement park as he continued to walk past more carnival games and crowds of people.
"STEVEN!"
That voice should have made him furious at losing another victim due to convenient circumstances. He should have been angry that the little alien had escaped him; he should have heard nothing but the dark shadows in his mind screaming at him to go back and kill the girl.
But he wasn't angry. Mildly irritated, but not angry
Because she hadn't escaped him.
Just before she had fully exited the booth, Killer Queen had touched her leg.
Her body was still phasing in and out of reality, her consciousness slipping into a black abyss that got closer and closer. She could actually hear her gemstone cracking, the agony in her forehead somehow reaching new levels of torture as she tried desperately to stand up. Darkness was slowly overtaking her vision, and for all she knew the Kira would jump out from the booth at any moment and kill her.
She had to move, she had to get away from the slowly growing crowd of people or else they might get hurt too. She had to find-!
"Peridot!"
That voice made her eyes widen. That voice somehow gave her the strength to push past her pain and stand up, slowly weaving through the worried crowd gathered around her.
And then she saw him again.
Steven was running down the boardwalk, his earth friend Connie quickly flowing him. And from the dark skies Lapis had swooped down and underneath the bright light of the boardwalk a few feet behind the running Steven before she saw her. Her expression was similar to Steven's and Connie's, wide-eyed and shocked. A mixture fear and intense worry.
But despite her friends' expressions she could not help but smile. She had lived, she had survived the Kira and with Steven's help, she'd be good as new. She ran as fast as her legs would allow, already quickly closing the distance between them; even though her body was in such agony.
A broad smile was plastered on her face as she finally felt safe after the nightmare she had just gone through.
The only reason he was irritated was because she had drawn a crowd. Kira could hear the murmurs of the crowd gathering on the other side and heard the prepubescent boy shout his latest victims name at the top of his lungs. While he would have preferred to kill her in a more private location, that option was no longer viable.
His only regret was that he wouldn't get to see her expression before she bit the dust. He always liked seeing the last looks any of his victims gave him before they turned into nothing but ash. He was sure her expression would have been delightful.
Oh well…
"I told you already," Kira slowly brought his right arm up and held it near his sides. Behind him, Killer Queen mirrored his action as both he and his Stand lifted their right thumbs. "The moment you choose to confront me was the moment your fate was sealed."
And with that last low and unfeeling whisper, Kira brought his thumb down. There was an audible click that resounded through the area.
He wondered what he should make for dinner.
He had never seen the green Gem look so injured before. He had never seen any Gem have so many cracks on their skin, not even Amethyst when she had accidentally injured her gemstone. It was a horrifying sight to see her in such an awful state; to see her so injured and hurt, to see just how much pain she had gone through just by looking at her eyes.
It physically hurt Steven to see Peridot like this as his heart slammed against his ribs.
He immediately licked his hands, his healing saliva dripping off his fingers as he got closer. Connie and Lapis right behind him.
Peridot had a smile on her face, tears welling up in her eyes.
"STEVEN!" She shouted her voice distorted and rough as the tears poured down her face. "LAP-."
She never finished.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Steven.
Orange fire erupted from within the cracks of Peridot's skin, her expression going from one of joy to one of pure agony. The flames continued to grow, the cracks now deep gashes as her body literally crumbled. Arms, fingers, neck, legs and every other piece of her body broke, now nothing more than little pieces of something that was once a person before the plumes of fire completely swallowed them. The explosion that had come from within Peridot had grown to enormous heights in less than a second, easily dwarfing the nearby booths and people as the scorching heat from the blast burned Steven severely.
All while Steven watched from point-blank range as his friend exploded. All while the boy's eyes widened and unrelenting horror screamed throughout his expression.
And then the force of the explosion sent him, Lapis and Connie careening through the air. The son of Rose Quartz crashed into a garbage can, spilling its contents onto the floor as he moaned from the pain shooting up his spine. He could hear people screaming, he could see them running as he slowly opened his eyes.
But his thoughts were not on the possibly hurt people; instead, they were only on how he had just seen one of his family blow up.
He ran, pushing through the screaming and panic crowd back towards where Peridot once stood. The pillars of flames now occupied the spot his friend once occupied, but within the flames, he saw something.
Without a single thought for his safety, he rushed through the flames, the fire burning his skin and singing his clothing before he grabbed the object and ran back the way he came.
Once he was outside the flames, he collapsed to his knees as he stared at the object in his hand.
Peridot's gem.
Once a sparkling green peridot, now broken into several pieces of black and burned rock.
At some point, Connie and Lapis stood over him. Connie had her hands over her mouth, eyes wide with shock. Lapis eyes just stared at the Gem that had been once her friend, not even blinking or moving; her expression was completely blank as she just stared with an open mouth.
Tears were falling down his eyes, his breaths coming out in sobbing hiccups as he raised his shaking hand covered in his healing spit and brought it down to Peridot's gem.
It didn't even twitch, still just burnt pieces of a once wonderful person.
Memories flashed through his mind of the Gem. Times where she had been an enemy, moments where she had been happy and laughing along with him and Amethyst. Her learning to care about the earth, her standing up for it against Yellow Diamond. Her smiling when she had finally made friends with Lapis even though she kept coldly rejecting her. Her just.. being Peridot. A caring Gem who he had come to love like the rest of his family.
And now she was dead.
The flashes of past memories continued. The pain within him growing so much he felt his heart shatter just like her gemstone as tears continued to fall down his face, right onto the broken pieces of Peridot.
Connie was also crying, uncontrollable tears descending down her face as she crouched down and hugged Steven tightly. Lapis' control of her emotions finally broke as she also began to cry, the anguish on her expression may have been even greater than Steven's own. She tried to wipe away the tears, but they just kept falling until eventually, she collapsed to her knees. Her hands covered her face but behind them the tears still continued to fall, her entire body shaking as Steven continued to cry with his best friend's arms around him.
All three of them continued to weep, the flames from the explosions continuing to spread as the screams of the people began to fade away.
And then, the fireworks started.
[Peridot]
[Member of the Crystal Gems, Beloved Genius, Loyal Friend, and Kind Soul]
[Status:… Shattered]
To Be Continued~
And that is a wrap! This chapter is now my longest chapter yet, and let me tell you it was difficult to write. There are some scenes I tried my best to write, and hopefully, you all like them. And now with the addition of this chapter, Gems Are Unbreakable has now crossed the 100,000 word threshold! This is a big milestone for any of my stories, and I just want to once again say thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed, and shown their love for this story.
Also, I like to address some things. I have gotten some questions sent to me from various people about how Kira has become so powerful while Josuke is still the same, or if Kira still has Bites The Dust. While I can't give an answer to these questions now, I want to assure you guys that they will be answered in later chapters.
But their one question I can answer. Some people have asked me when Josuke will finally meet the Gems. To that, I will say our pompadour Jojo shall meet the Crystal Gems in about two or three chapters. I still have some things to plan out, but it should be at the very most three maybe four chapters until Josuke meets the Crystal Gems.
Also, I don't usually do musical recommendations, but I would suggest you guys listen to Jojo's Bizzare Adventure OST: Irreversible Sadness from the moment Kira reveals Killer Queen touched Peridot to the end of the chapter.
In addition, I just like to say that in the next chapter Josuke most likely won't appear at all. I want to deal with the fallout of Peridot's demise and how the Gems are reacting to it. I especially want to focus on Steven's reaction.
And as usual, 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. Peace!
