Chapter 14: Counterstrike
This situation had just gotten so much shittier.
Josuke was currently thinking that perhaps Kira wasn't the biggest threat in this town. It should be ridiculous to think like that; Kira was one of the strongest Stand Users he knew, the bastard using his Stand's abilities in the most lethal ways possible. Kira could literally explode a man with just a touch. What could be more dangerous than that?
Even with the rain pouring from the sky, he still felt cold sweat descending down his face as he took a step back; Crazy Diamond eyes were just as wide as his own.
Well, he felt it was safe to say that he might have just found something that was an even bigger threat to him than Kira.
He couldn't stop staring, no matter what he tried his eyes couldn't look away from what they saw; he couldn't even blink.
Because he was pretty sure that a giant fucking alien was more of a threat than Kira.
"Ohohohoho!"
That joyful laugh boomed throughout the street, maybe even the town. But even though it was so loud, the laugh wasn't grating; somehow, it was pleasant when it had no right to sound like that. Even though it was in a life and death battle, the giant was laughing like she—because both her voice and appearance were unmistakably female—didn't have a care in the world.
"Oh my, it has been a while hasn't it?"
He could do nothing but stare at the giant's black tuxedo that looked like a second skin and her orange bowtie, just below it was a black star near the center of her chest. He stared at the white, elbow-length gloves that covered two of her four arms; two sprouting from the upper parts of her torso on both sides and another two on the lower parts. And he continued to stare with an open jaw at her reddish-orange skin—what shade exactly he couldn't tell—and her triangle-shaped yellow hair.
"And I'm not just talking about you two fusing and allowing me to take center stage. Oh no, no, no."
The giant placed her lower pair of arms on her hips as she slowly moved the upper pair higher into the air.
"I'm talking about being let out to rumble! To put up my dukes and go berserk; and from the look of things, I'm up against someone with a little more oomph than a few Rubies."
The massive alien suddenly thrust her hands forwards; and it was only now that he noticed that her upper arms also had gloves, just ones that only covered her middle finger and about half of her forearm.
He also saw bright orange gems embedded in the center of her palms.
"I have to say, I almost missed going mano-a-mano with people who could actually make my oh-so-gorgeous assistants sweat; not literally, of course. Because, while I do love to entertain…"
From within the gems, a bright light began to glow. The light quickly grew and enveloped the giant alien's palm before it suddenly vanished and a pair of gauntlets, similar to Garnet's except a dozen times bigger, appeared on her hands. She then slammed her fist together, a smaller boom than before echoed through the street, and her gauntlets became locked together by the knuckles.
"Fighting-!"
With that giddy scream, an arm from her second pair of limbs moved towards her forehead; and it was only now that he realized the oval-shaped orange gem there. Another white glow came from her forehead as her hand now rested on top of her gem, and from within the light, she pulled out the peach-haired alien's blue spear, except it was much bigger than before.
"Is something I undeniably enjoy!"
The tuxedo-clad giant raised her spear before thrusting it down towards her locked gauntlets, and the moment the tip of the spear touch the purple gloves, a light brighter than any he had seen before lit up the rainy street. The blinding glow was so intense he had to bring his arm up to protect his eyes.
Once the light faded, he brought his arm down. And his jaw hit the floor.
Because the massive alien now held a giant war hammer behind her shoulders with two of her hands. It almost looked like a toy, with a long, slender black handle that had a yellow star at the tip and an enormous maroon fist that was twice as big as the alien's head near the top—connected together by some kind of purple rectangle at the tip of the rod.
"Really, I'm a touch miffed you girls don't use me more when you're struggling against Gems like this. I know I'm a showstopper, but I'll always give my wonderful ladies plus small child their time to shine."
The giant pushed up on the round, red and translucent visor on her face, giving her eyes—all four of them—a crimson tint.
…Okay this was just fucking ridiculous!
He continued to stare with an open mouth and wide eyes.
No, seriously, what the hell!? He had fought against a rat, a giant steel tower, a living embodiment of electricity, a tiny army of soldiers, a damn cat monster that could explode people and none of them were anywhere near as ridiculous as a god damn hundred feet tall alien who had an equally massive war hammer!
He could do nothing but watch as the giant's lips moved into a wide smile as she stared down at him.
What in the hell were these aliens' deal! How could they do something like…this! That damn Dragon Ball thought from before was a joke! A giant woman suddenly coming into existence through dancing shouldn't be possible! This was just…just…
Bullshit. Absolute bullshit.
His jaw was still hitting the floor as he stared. Crazy Diamond matched his shocked expression as his Stand floated back to the ground and landed right next to him. The massive alien smile stretched even further as she let out another laugh.
"Ohohoho! Well, I must admit, it's been a while since I've left anyone speechless! Really, it would be very flattering if, oh, well…"
She trailed off. And her smile turned into a large frown; the joy and cheer within her eyes was gone as her expression became grim. The giant's easy-going stance had changed in almost an instant as he saw entire body tense.
"You didn't kill my friend, hurt my home, traumatize my Steven and also kidnap so many innocent people that I have honestly lost count at this point."
The giant slowly moved the war hammer from her shoulders with her upper pair of arms and held it by her side, the orange fist almost touching the ground.
"So, I've just got one question for ya, bub."
The words that left the massive alien's mouth were just as cold the look in her eyes. There was no trace of the cheerful, almost showman-like alien he had seen just a few seconds before. Now, he was staring at a determined, fierce warrior.
"Are you ready to get squashed?"
A warrior that was ready to crush him like a fly.
His lips moved into a deep frown. Crap…how the hell was he going to get out of this?
He took a step back, eyes darting everywhere around the destroyed street, trying to see if there was anything he could use. But so far, he saw nothing that could actually help him. Come on, think! He had to come up with a plan now.
He looked back at the giant and glared at her.
"What the fuck are you!?"
The moment he finished shouting, the alien's four eyes narrowed.
"Firstly, language. I prefer to keep things as child-friendly as I can."
As the giant spoke, her voice becoming even more frigid, he felt immensely glad that the alien was actually responding to him as mind worked at high speeds to try and think of a plan.
"Second, I'm not a what, I'm a who. The lovely Sardonyx is my name, and you best remember that, bub."
Fighting was out; for now, anyway. He needed to regroup and think of a new strategy. But how could he escape? He wasn't sure exactly how strong or fast the giant was, but the fact that she could hold a hammer almost as massive as herself told him just how powerful his new opponent was. So, he needed to find some way to escape quickly, or else the giant would just take a few steps or jumps and cut off his escape before crushing him with her hammer.
His eyes darted around the destroyed street. He saw the fissures made from their fight—they seemed to have gotten even bigger now—and the various pipes that had been unearthed as a result. The buildings that were now covered in holes or were still bathed with small flames both inside or outside them, smoke rising towards the sparking grey clouds.
But there was one building that caught his eye. The building looked like a house, the blue painted walls that made up its face now crumbling bit by bit. And through a cracked window near the bottom, he could see inside the house. With Crazy Diamond's vision, he could see the large living room and rug. The flat-screen TV that hung from one of the walls.
And he saw the large hole on the rightmost wall that led outside and right onto a curb with a manhole cover only a few feet away.
His eyes narrowed.
He found his escape route. All he had to do now was get away from the giant, four-armed alien who looked like she could crush a building with her shoe.
Easy.
"And before I poof ya-."
He saw the massive alien's fingers tighten around her war hammer. He needed to move; now. He had his escape route, now all he had to do was figure out a way to ensure the alien wouldn't crush him before he got to the manhole cover. Throwing another boulder at the giant might not be enough to distract her if she was as fast as he thought she was, so what else could he do?
"-why don't you tell me what exactly you did-."
His eyes once again darted around, and they locked onto one of the massive cracks in the streets. And peeking out from underneath the crack was a large, grey sewer pipe; a sewer pipe that was also littered with cracks, brown liquid spilling from within the chinks and onto the street. And it was almost right underneath the alien.
He looked down at the street. At the running flood of water that was now just a little bit above his ankles.
Okay…he could work with this.
"-to the humans here and maybe I won't-."
In an instant, a purple aura was around him. And in an instant, Crazy Diamond moved, flying towards the ground and plunging one hand into the running water. His Stand then quickly brought its arm up into the air, moving so fast that the water dripping down its fingers was suddenly launched forward, compressing together into a half-crescent blade.
"What the -!?"
He saw the giants four eyes go wide as the arc of pressurized water headed right for the exposed sewer pipe and slamming into one of the cracks near its top. And the moment the water blade crashed into the pipe, the cracks expanded with audible sounds of metal grinding together.
And then, in less than a second, a geyser of brown "water" shot up into the air and hit the massive alien—just as she was looking down—right in her face. The giant woman shouted in both disgust and shock, stepping away from the geyser as her three of her arms—one still holding onto her war hammer—went to her face and attempted to clean her now filthy visor.
"DORA!"
With an echoing shout, Crazy Diamond moved back towards him and grabbed the shoulder of his jacket; his Stand then slammed its legs onto the flooded concrete, and the force from its stomp sent them flying through the air.
Right towards the cracked window he had just been peering through, arms crossed in front of his face. And the moment he crashed through the window, shards of glass erupted everywhere in his sight as he hit the carpeted floor in a tumble. Getting up as quickly as he could, and while holding back a hiss of pain, Crazy Diamond once again grabbed his jacket and slammed its leg onto the floor. The wood shattered on contact beneath the carpet as both he and his Stand were sent flying towards the large hole in the opposite wall.
And as he soared towards the hole, he heard a sound. At first, it was like a pebble bouncing above the ceiling, almost inaudible. But in an instant, the sound became deafening, the pebble now a boulder and crashing down.
He looked up. And in half a second, he watched as the ceiling above him—the ceiling that had been perfectly fine and unblemished—cracked into a thousand pieces of debris. And within the debris, he saw a massive orange fist plummeting right towards him.
His eyes went wide.
"Shi-!"
He didn't finish as the fist just missed him, hitting the spot he had just flown over and slamming into the floor. But the shockwaves from the impact slammed into him midflight and caused him to soar even faster than before as he coughed blood; though, because of his new speed his was able to avoid hitting any of the falling debris. He flew right out of the hole, going right over the curb and manhole, and was about to crash headfirst onto the new street.
But Crazy Diamond acted in an instant, appearing in front of him before grabbing and pulling him into its chest; his Stand taking most of the impact with its back as they crashed onto the street. But he still felt Crazy Diamond's pain as he screamed, his own back erupting with pain, as his Stand disappeared from existence before he skidded along the road.
And when he stopped skidding—jacket soaked with blood and water as he slowly pushed off the ground—he saw the remains of the building he had just been in and the hammer that had crushed it; there was nothing left of the building now, only rubble and a deep, fist-shaped imprint on the curb.
That was…it hadn't even been a few seconds and the giant had not only figured out where he went, but also moved so fast that she crushed a building almost instantly.
He needed to get up, now. He had to get the hell out of here before the tuxedo-clad giant-.
"Gotcha!"
In the time it took him to blink, the massive alien lifted her hammer off of the building's remains. He saw the giant, legs apart and planted firmly in two separate streets, holding her hammer above her head as her four eyes glared at him.
His eyes widened.
Oh, fuck.
With a bellowing war cry, the giant swung her hammer down towards him; the maroon fists came down so quickly that high-speed winds slammed into him.
Within less than a second, he channeled the energy within him, and Crazy Diamond glimmered into existence right next to him. His Stand grabbed him by the back of his jacket and slammed its leg into the concrete.
"DORA!"
Both he and Crazy Diamond were sent flying backward over the road as the rain from above pelted him at high speeds. But despite how much strength Crazy Diamond used, despite how fast both he and his Stand were flying, it wasn't enough to completely avoid the giant's attack.
Because when the alien's massive war hammer crushed the road below it, an explosion of dust erupted throughout the street, followed by intense shockwaves that sent large chunks of the road flying high into the air.
And through the dust, through the shockwaves that slammed into his already injured body, he saw one such chunk—a long piece of a broken pipe shaped like a javelin—heading right for his chest.
Stevonnie watched from the ground as the water claw came down faster by the second; the wind roaring around it as well as the rain that was now free to plummet to the ground. They watched as Lapis continued to scream—hearing so many emotions in their friend's voice.
They watched as Kira's monster moved. It sped through the air towards the ground, thrusting its hand right into the wet mud and dirt. In less than a second, the monster's hand sliced through the ground in a circular motion before it picked up a large, baseball-shaped mound of dirt and grass in its hand. The cat-like monster then pulled its arm back before flinging it overhand, the ball flying from its leather glove and right towards the water claw, just as it was starting to crush the top parts of the trees in its way.
The ball made contact right at the center of the water claws palm, barely causing even a ripple on the claw. And the moment it did, Kira's monster lifted its left thumb up before bringing it down.
And then a massive explosion erupted from the spot the dirtball had hit; there was no sound from the explosion, only plumes of fire and smoke. The explosion wasn't enough to completely consume the giant claw, but it did cause the claw to slow down, gallons worth of water falling from its body and crashing to the ground along with the rain.
"What!?"
They didn't turn around when Lapis shouted, but they could still see her shocked expression. Their eyes were locked onto Kira and the monster as the pink-skinned creature picked up Kira by the front of his jacket before slamming its leg into the ground. The monster had used enough strength in its kick to send the both of them flying forward, getting closer towards the water claw as it approached the ground. But, why would they want to-?
As the smoke and fire began to clear away from the water hand—thick trails of steam now blowing behind it—they saw there was a large hole in the palm of the water hand. And as Kira landed back on the ground, Lapis' water claw finally hit the floor; right on top of the murderer.
The ground shook so violently they could feel it right to their bones. The moment the water claw slammed into the ground, long fissures ran throughout every inch of the wet dirt and grass, reaching all the way into the deep shadows of the forest. And then, not even a second later, the water claw transformed into a massive tidal wave. The wave erupted from the spot the water claw had been and swept over the ground, easily as tall as the trees around them. Their eyes went wide as the wave rapidly approached them, and there was no way they could dodge it in-!
Lapis was suddenly behind them, grabbing them under their armpits as her water wings—formed in an instant—began to flap. After two flaps, they were rocketing upwards into the air at high speeds as rain pelted their skin so hard they had to close their eyes.
But they could still hear the sound of the massive wave swooshing through the ground and trees, even with the rain and thunder echoing in their ears.
"Steve—onnie. Stevonnie, are you okay?"
Slowly, they opened their eyes again. They saw Lapis looking down at them with a concerned expression, hair and clothes soaked from the rain as her wings continued to beat behind her.
"I-."
There was a cracking sound, and then they screamed; they didn't even have to look at their stomach to know that the cracks in their gem had just gotten deeper.
"Stevonnie!"
They were in so much pain that they could barely focus on Lapis' scream as they suddenly found themselves staring at purple. Lapis was gone, and they were now alone, floating in purple clouds; they felt themselves descending further and further into the thick clouds, pushed by some kind of invisible force until their vision went from purple to blue.
And they found themselves staring down at a ground of falling tiles and a pitch-black abyss. They saw Steven and Connie, even from so far up, bleeding onto the tiles even more so than before; they also saw that Steven's body was closer to Connie's, one hand outstretched, but still a few feet away from her. And while they were still alive, they could hear their friends' agony-ridden groans even from where they were, they knew Steven and Connie were even more pain than before. Cracks were spreading to the ground below their friends, and with every second they expanded as more and more tiles fell to the abyss—and somehow, it seemed to be growing.
They looked up. The crack they had seen before was now so large that it all but split the sky in two; with every second, bits of the sky fell into the black abyss—like the bricks from an old building finally succumbing to time and erosion. The purple gas that leaked from the gas was far denser than before, now like smog as it swirled everywhere around them; and the gas combined with the thick purple clouds already present in the air, a circular and twisting wall now heading towards what was left of the tiled ground and closing off any chance of escape.
What…what was happening to them?
Blood from the cracks in their body fell down to the abyss, bright red drop after bright red drop vanishing into a bottomless black.
Something was…hurting them; burning them. And not just them, Steven and Connie to. It wasn't just because they had been exploded, but…something else.
From the corner of their eye, they saw the purple smog once again grow, touching the blue sky as it slowly crept towards them.
Something…something was breaking them from within. And whatever it was, they knew it had to do with this purple gas.
The smog was now right on top of them, and they could do nothing but float; it slowly pulled them away from their inner world and into thick clouds of horrible purple.
It was like…something else was with-.
They saw something.
In the swirling purple, something moved. Not even a few feet away from them, they saw something moving within the smog. It was gone in an instant, but they had still seen it.
They had seen a figured covered in shadows moving.
Their eyes suddenly went wide as their head whipped towards every direction. Their breaths came out in heavy gasps as they continued to search for whatever they just saw. They suddenly realized just how silent it was in the thick clouds of smog.
They were trembling slightly—and not because of their pain.
They suddenly realized just how vulnerable they were here, floating and having no idea what-.
They had no idea how, they had no idea when, but they suddenly felt something gripping the underside of their chin.
It felt like fingers. Gloved fingers. Any breath left within them was gone. And then their head was yanked to the side by the fingers.
And they suddenly found themselves looking at terrifying pink eyes.
They screamed. And in an instant, they were out of the purple smog and back in the rain. But even though they were away from those awful pink eyes, their fear would not stop rising as their scream grew louder.
"Stevonnie!?"
Even with Lapis all but shouting in their ears, they still felt those gloved fingers grabbing them. They still felt trapped by something that wasn't even anywhere near them. They still felt terrified even though there wasn't anything here that should-.
A large orb of water slammed into their face—not hard enough to actually hurt them, but just enough to tilt their head back as they inhaled some of the water, causing them to cough violently.
"Sorry! Just—you're freaking out and I don't know how else to calm you down!"
Water spat from their mouth as they looked up at Lapis, expression embedded with even more worry than a moment ago.
"La…Lapis, something's wrong with me."
Lapis quickly looked them over.
"Yeah, no kidding."
"I don't…my Gem's only gonna get more cracked. And I don't…I can't fix it."
There was another cracking sound, not as loud as the last one but still enough to echo in the middle of the rain. They somehow bit back a scream as they felt more blood leaving their body. Slowly, they looked down and saw their gemstone littered with cracks, even deeper than the ones covering their stomach. They could barely see any parts of their pink Quartz gem without some kind of crack, small or big, on the surface.
"I…Lapis, I don't know what to do."
Their words weren't even louder than a whisper, but the terror they held screamed throughout every inch of their voice. They felt the fear within them consuming every part of their body, getting stronger and stronger with every moment as they trembled in Lapis' grasp.
They could suddenly see Peridot in front of them. They could see her cracked green skin and the horror in her eye; they could feel the heat from the explosion that consumed her.
And then all they could see was a cracked gemstone of what was once a person. Just burnt remains, and nothing more.
"I don't want to die."
Those words just came out of their mouth; it took them a moment to even realize what they had said.
Lapis didn't say anything, she only stared at them with wide eyes. Thunder rumbled in the dark storm clouds, white lights illuminating the sky as sparks jumped. For several moments, Lapis only flapped her wings and said nothing.
Then, they felt the fingers gripping them tighten.
"No…"
Lapis' voice was soft, but they still heard.
"Not you too…"
They heard the worry leaving her words.
"Not you."
They heard how hard her voice had become.
"I can't lose you."
Lapis fingers were all but digging into their skin.
"I won't lose you!"
And any traces of worry in her expression was gone, now nothing but a deadly-serious resolve in her blue eyes as she shouted.
"Not after everything you've done for me!"
Every word Lapis spoke was full of fire; she looked even more determined than when she and Steven tried to rescue Peridot.
"Do you hear me, you're not dying Ste-!"
They didn't hear whatever else Lapis said as lightning erupted from the clouds and struck the ground they had once stood on. Their eyes followed the bolt as a white light flashed over them and Lapis and the entire forest.
And within the white light, they saw something. As the light began to die down, from the ground, something came up. Something that spun through the air so fast the rain whirled off it; something long and sharp.
As more of the light died down, they could see what exactly was spiraling through the air.
And where it was heading.
Their eyes went wide.
"Lapis!"
Lapis' whipped towards them before she quickly followed their gaze.
And now they were both staring at the piece of wood—sharpened to the point where it looked like a javelin—heading right for them.
"Shit!"
Lapis was already moving as she screamed, they could hear her wings beating at high speed as they were suddenly flying to the left, just dodging the javelin-like piece of wood.
But not even a second later, the javelin erupted in a massive explosion. And they watched as orange flames burned their way through the air and right towards Lapis' back.
And then she screamed.
Alright…there were a few hiccups, but ultimately, she'd say that was a successful opening.
Sardonyx waved away the dust blinding her vision with three arms, the last one holding up her hammer as it rested on her left shoulder.
Admittedly, some things had gone awry. She could've done without the "water" hitting her right in her gorgeous face, but sometimes things get messy even in the most polished of performances; though, she was glad it was raining, it helped get rid of any remaining stains on her body. Besides, she was sure that her hammer had to have done some damage to that Gem, and if hurting this bub after everything he did wasn't an accomplishment, well, she'd hang up her tux.
Once the dust finally cleared, she looked down at the street and surveyed the damage her attack had done. And it had done quite a number. There was now a gigantic chasm in the street, almost half as big as the road itself; the underside of the street was now exposed to the world, shattered pipes hanging from the inner walls as the rain descended down the chasm and vanishing from sight.
The buildings weren't in any better shape. When her hammer slammed into the ground, it had yanked out huge chunks of the ground and sent them flying everywhere. And the buildings had caught the brunt of the damage; there were chunks of cement lodged deeply into several different buildings, making them even more unstable than they were before as debris fell every other second.
Yeesh. It was gonna take a bit of elbow grease to patch up this place.
Her four eyes glanced at the rest of the town, seeing the remaining smoke from several buildings still rising into the air. Seeing all of the houses that had been lit on fire and were now horribly burnt. And all the destruction that had been caused in so little time; like one of the battles during the War.
Multi-colored eyes lingered on her wrecked town for a moment before she slowly turned away with a deep frown.
...Okay, a lot of elbow grease. But, right now, she couldn't focus on that.
Her eyes narrowed at the ground as she carefully stepped over a small apartment-building and onto the street with the chasm.
Because right now, she needed to find the bub responsible for all of this; as well as the invisible buddy that tagged along with him.
Finding a wide enough space on the street, she crouched down until she was sitting on her legs—taking her hammer off her shoulder and placing it standing on the street—as her eyes scanned the road.
She didn't know exactly how effective her attack had been, the explosion of dust and concrete had made it impossible to see if she even hit the man head on, but there was no way either he or his invisible friend could've avoided her attack completely. She felt the shockwaves that rocked through the street, and probably parts of the town too, and had seen all the debris that had been launched into the air. She had put every bit of strength she had into her hammer.
So, there was no way anyone could walk away from her attack completely unscratched.
She got onto one knee and peered into one of the buildings, seeing nothing but burnt and damaged furniture. No signs of any people or gemstones anywhere.
Then again, she did still think the bub and his buddy were kicking even after all that. So really, it was hard to say just how effective her opening act had been.
But if the bub was around, she'd give him her a show he'd never forget.
She peered into the building right next to the first one, and she saw the exact same thing. She then turned the upper portion of her torso a full a hundred and eighty degrees; she now stared at the other side of the chasm, where she saw several piles of broken concrete and some flipped cars scattered along the road.
…Maybe the Gem had been sent flying and crashed over there?
With a big twist, her upper-body was once again properly aligned with the rest of her before she stood up, picking up her hammer with two hands and placing it back on her shoulder as she did so. And less than a second later, she jumped through the air, effortlessly making it over the chasm as she landed on the other side of the street.
He felt the road quake, and he had to hold back a scream as his body shook.
Damn it…this…this wasn't good.
In the darkness, Josuke let out very heavy breaths as he continued to clutch his arm.
At this rate…things wouldn't end well; for him, or this town.
As he continued to gasp, trying his best to keep his voice low, he heard the giant footsteps rocking the street; his body trembled even more than before as he had to bite his mouth shut to keep quiet.
Alrighty then, where exactly could this Gem be?
Sardonyx took a few step forward, hammer gripped tightly in her right pair of hands, and looked down at one of the piles of concrete and bricks. With a quick kick to its side, the pile was destroyed, spilling whatever was within it onto the curb behind it. There were only dirt and broken pieces of metal though, no gem whatsoever in sight.
Josuke heard rubble crashing against the street and even more echoing footsteps; and he knew that the giant alien was searching for him now. She didn't know where he was, but that could change very quickly. He needed a plan.
But…wha…what could he do?
He felt dizzy as the darkness around him somehow grew.
Crazy Diamond didn't have the power to match the orange-skinned giant, and with her speed, she could crush him in one blow if he risked getting closer. And…and…
The agonizing burn in his arm only got stronger; as did the dizziness inside his head.
And he'd been injured.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are…"
Sardonyx's voice was a mutter as she slowly walked towards the next pile. Another kick, and once again nothing was revealed but broken cement and the remains of a lamppost. But the bub had to be somewhere; perhaps hiding and waiting to strike or, hopefully, down for the count and poofed back into his Gem. But no matter which option it was, until she found the bub or his Gem, she would keep up her guard.
With a few steps, she was near the center of the road and towering over a sleek, blue car that had its top down; it also was somehow remarkably undamaged, with only a few spots of dirt and chinks here and there. And while there wasn't anything or anyone inside the car, underneath it….
Crazy Diamond had tried to get him out of the path of the javelin-like rubble; his Stand had grabbed and moved him as fast as it could. But while Crazy Diamond had made it so that he wouldn't get stabbed in the chest, he still got hit. Right in his left arm.
Well, through it, anyway.
He could feel the blood that soaked his gloves as he clenched harder at the spot where his flesh had once covered skin. And now there was nothing there but exposed muscles and bits of bone.
Shit…he could barely even feel his right arm anymore. And as more and more blood left his body, headache continuing to get worse, his breathing became erratic.
He was almost certain he was going into shock. If he didn't do anything to stop his bleeding soon, he wouldn't have to worry about fighting against a giant alien.
Because at this rate, he would be dead in twenty minutes.
With a shaky breath leaving his lips, he slowly closed his eyes and focused. It was incredibly hard to channel the energy within him, the pain constantly threatened to break his concentration, but he managed. Slowly, the air glittered—breaking the darkness with bright pink sparks—and Crazy Diamond materialized, floating above him as his Stand stared right into his face.
He needed to fix his arm as quickly as he could and stop the bleeding; no matter what method he had to use.
He took his hand off his wound before bringing it up to his mouth and biting into the leather glove covering it. Taking off the glove with his teeth, he bit down on it as hard. He then braced himself as he slowly spoke.
"Do…it."
His voice was almost inaudible, even quieter than the gasps he was releasing through his glove, but his Stand heard as it quickly ripped off multiple long strands from his jeans and doing the same to his scarf.
And then in an instant, his Stand's hands slammed into his injured arm as he let out a muffled scream.
"AHA!"
With a shout, Sardonyx lifted the car high into the air…and saw absolutely nothing beneath it. Frowning, she turned her head back to the car up and brought it to her face. Her fingers tried to open the trunk, but it was locked—which meant the bub couldn't have gotten in since the trunk locked from the outside. She slowly placed the car back onto the ground and looked around.
Dang it, where could the bub be?
For a moment it felt like Josuke was flying. The pain was gone and he felt his body being lifted up by some unseen force. His eyes started to close, and for a moment he felt like taking a long rest and enjoying his sudden flight.
But then Crazy Diamond slapped him across the cheek, and his eyes widened as he remembered where he was. The flying sensation was gone now and he quickly spat out the leather glove in his mouth, as well as a bit of blood, as he let out several long breaths. He couldn't see that well in the dark, but he did feel the pieces of cloth tied around his arm so tightly that if felt like the knots had been embedded into his skin. And the fact that he could feel and somewhat move his arm again meant that Crazy Diamond had set the bone back into its place.
He slowly turned his head towards his Stand, and then spoke.
"Thanks."
Crazy Diamond gave no response, it only continued to stare at him. He knew his Stand was waiting for more commands from him, but right now, he couldn't think of any.
"Damn it…how can we win?"
There was no response from his Stand.
What could he do? His Stand was weaker than the giant, and the pain, while less than before, made it incredibly hard to keep Crazy Diamond in existence. From just one blow, the alien had heavily injured him; and he hadn't even been hit head-on by the giant's attack.
Shit. This was easier when there was only two aliens to deal with.
It was starting to get uncomfortable laying on the somewhat wet floor, but there wasn't enough space to even sit up so he had no choice but to stay where he was.
What had those two even done? They send something about "fusing," so did that mean they had literally just combined and made a whole new being after doing a damn dance? Were they somehow inside that tuxedo-wearing alien? Was there any chance that they could be separated? Well, even if they could be, it wasn't like he knew of any ways to do-.
Wait a minute.
His eyes went wide. And he slowly moved his good arm towards his right pocket.
…Maybe he could separate the giant.
Once his fingers grasped the object he needed, he pulled his hand out of his pocket.
And in the darkness, Crazy Diamond now floating slightly to the right of him, he stared at the wet, somewhat torn cloth of blue ribbon he had taken from the peach-haired alien.
Sardonyx eyes were narrowed as her head and upper-torso swiveled left and right. The bub was good at hiding, she'd give him that. But there were only so many places he could've gone to.
She walked towards another pile of debris on the curve, hammer still on her shoulder as she gripped the handle tighter. It shouldn't be this hard to find him, the bub had a few seconds to find somewhere to hide at most so his options were limited. He had to be somewhere on the street.
She pulled her leg back and kicked at the pile.
If he wasn't then-.
She hit something, and it went flying out of the pile. It wasn't the gem, but something…familiar.
When it came to beings made of energy, Crazy Diamond could never revert them back into the state of energy they were born from; with the exception of Sheer Heart Attack, but that was due to special circumstances. There was always just this…barrier that his Stand's powers couldn't break no matter how much he focused. What exactly that barrier was, he didn't know; but it was always there. No matter what kind of Stand he fought, there was always something preventing him from using Crazy Diamond's reversion powers on it.
But now…
Josuke stared at the ribbon in his hands. And then his blue eyes slowly moved towards his Stand.
…now, things were different here. Here, there were aliens whose bodies went back into the rocks on their skin. A set of beings who had bodies made of energy that had a multitude of powers, but were also tied to a physical object. They might've been manifestations of energy, but since they had a corporeal base…
Maybe. Just maybe…
Sardonyx didn't quite know what exactly it was she kicked. She just been struck with a feeling—what kind she didn't know, only that it was intense and made her chest feel heavy—that she had seen this object before.
But it was only when the object hit the ground after flying through the air that she recognized it.
Jenny's car.
It was covered in dirt, the front windows had been shattered to pieces, there were dents everywhere—a particularly large one where she had kicked it—but it was unmistakably Jenny's car. She watched as the car skidded on the ground; sparks shot into the air against the rain, metal screeching until the car slowly came to a stop.
She couldn't take her eyes off the car that belonged to her friend. Their friend; who was dead.
Josuke watched as Crazy Diamond took the piece of cloth from his hands. His Stand then folded the ribbon into a ball before clenching it with its fist.
If this didn't work, he might be screwed.
Sardonyx wasn't sure when she had moved, but she was now standing over Jenny's wrecked car. She then slowly bent forward and reached for the car with her four arms.
Their friend was dead.
As gently as she could, she picked up the car with two of her hands.
Their friend was dead.
She brought the car to her face and stared.
How many did this make? How many of their friends' lives had they watch come to an end? If they counted the corrupted Gems, they were sure that number was somewhere in the thousands.
She no longer felt the rain pelting her body; or hear the thunder crackling in the sky. Everything around her began to fade away as she suddenly felt…numb.
A bright yellow aura surrounded Crazy Diamond's fist, fighting against the darkness that surrounded them, and Josuke felt nothing. He didn't feel the energy of another living being; he didn't see an image of the ivory alien in his mind.
The only thing that happened when Crazy Diamond's fist glowed yellow was that he started to feel numb.
He grit his teeth. Shit, his body was getting worse; and Crazy Diamond's ability wasn't working. Was it even possible to separate the giant with his Stand's powers?
It was too soon to give up. He had to try; this might just be his only way to win.
He focused even more on the energy within him, the yellow light growing larger with the second.
What were they even going to say to Jenny's family?
Sardonyx had lost track as to how long she had been holding Jenny's ruined car.
What could they say? What words could possibly be the right ones to let their friend's family know that the girl they had raised with love care was now dead?
The numbness she had been feeling was slowly fading, giving way to something else. Something that made her chest tighten to the point that it felt like it was caving in on itself.
How were they going to tell Steven this? How would he take losing yet another friend right after Peridot? How would he react knowing that…that…
She felt the tears building up in all four of her eyes.
That this was their fault.
Damn it, come on…
Josuke continued to concentrate as the yellow light kept growing, but he still didn't feel or see the ivory alien.
Come on!
He clenched his eyes shut, he curled his hands into fists, despite the pain doing so caused, and grit his teeth as he focused with every fiber of his being.
But there was nothing. No connection had been formed between his Stand and the peach-haired alien.
He snarled, and it was only because he didn't want to risk revealing his location that he didn't scream a curse.
Fuck! God fucking damn it! What the hell was he supposed to do now!?
His chest suddenly felt heavy.
There were no other ways he could beat the giant woman! There were no other options he had left! Damn it!
His heart felt like it was getting clenched by sharp and piercing fingers.
He failed! Again! How could he keep failing!?
He felt tears falling from his eyes.
Why was he such a failure who couldn't even protect-!?
Wait a damn minute, was he crying?
His eyes went wide as they shot open. He brought a hand up to his face, the one without the glove on, and touched his skin. And he felt the tears that were still descending down his face.
…What?
He slowly pulled his hand back and stared at the water on the tips of his fingers.
He was…crying. He was…sad.
Even more tears spilled from his eyes with every second.
But…this…didn't feel right.
His body felt cold, like he was suddenly swimming in an ocean at night. His limbs felt heavy, not just from exhaustion, but from the sorrow wrapping around them, dragging him deeper into the ocean. This submerging feeling was familiar…but it was different. It felt…deeper than he was used to; except for when he first discovered he was in a new world and perhaps a few times since then, he had never felt so sad that even moving was suddenly incredibly difficult like it felt right now. And even then, his sorrow never had this…age to it; like an old coat he had worn so many times before it was all but embedded into his skin. Even when he felt like an absolute failure, like he did right now, he didn't feel like he had experienced this misery a thousand times over.
It was like…this sorrow…this agony and despair…
Belonged to someone else.
His eyes widened ever further. He quickly whipped his head towards the ribbon in his Stand's hand.
"Does this mean…"
He spoke those three words in a breathless whisper. He then slowly looked up at his Stand's face.
And his jaw fell to the floor.
Crazy Diamond's abilities had worked. He was one hundred percent certain now. Somehow, his Stand had connected him to the ivory woman on an emotional level. How did he know this?
Because Crazy Diamond was currently crying.
Their fault.
Sardonyx body began to tremble
…What the hell?
Josuke stared at his Stand. His Stand, who was crying; he didn't even know Crazy Diamond could cry.
In the light of his Stand's fist, he saw Crazy Diamond slowly bring a hand underneath its eye—which were still covered in the shadows of its helmet, somehow. When its fingers touched the tears, his Stand pulled its hand back and stared, expression immersed with confusion.
…His Stand didn't even have any liquids inside it, how could it-?
No. Focus.
He shook his head. He had other things to worry about right now. Like making sure he beat the giant woman just outside.
His eyes settled on Crazy Diamond fist as he wiped away the tears on his face, Crazy Diamond quickly doing the same.
He had connected to the peach-haired alien. Now, it was time to see if he could bring her out of the tuxedo-wearing giant.
Their fault.
For a moment, the world around Sardonyx turned orange before just as quickly turning back.
Josuke let out a long breath, and Crazy Diamond clenched its fists even harder than before. He then focused, pushing away any stray thoughts as he concentrated only on the connection he felt. And as he concentrated, the connection grew stronger. Even more anguish and grief—for so many people, of that he was certain—consumed him as tears once again began to brim in his eyes.
But amidst the whirlpool of negative emotions, he felt something else.
Their fault.
Sardonyx hammer fell out of her grasp and crashed onto the street, the ground shaking from the impact as new cracks formed on the concrete.
And once again the world flickered with orange.
It was like Josuke was suddenly in front of a massive wall. Not a wall that stood in place and had solid shape, but one that seemed to shift and swirl, changing and always moving. He was still in the same dark, cramped space—yellow light slowly growing—yet he could feel the wall's presence towering over him like he was just a tiny speck.
And when he closed his eyes, he saw white.
Sardonyx grabbed her shoulders with her four hands as her trembling grew worse.
They kept failing, they kept failing, they. Kept. Failing! Why couldn't they do one thing right!? Why was it that every single time they tried to be better, they—no, she couldn't and would just keep letting down Rose!
As the world around her turned orange again, she saw that a few feet away from her was Pearl. Her elegant friend wasn't facing her; instead, Pearl faced the ground with her hands covering her face. But even with her back turned towards her, she could still see Pearl's tears hitting the orange-tinted floor.
"-earl!?"
Somewhere, a voice rang out. But she couldn't see where it came from.
All she could see right now was Pearl crying her eyes out as a storm of white butterflies fluttered everywhere.
Josuke was floating, somewhere, he didn't know where exactly, as he stared at ethereal, blinding white light—there was nothing else here but the light; no floors, ceilings or any kind of walls. Just a dazzling white that he couldn't take his eyes off of. He didn't know where exactly he was, but at the same time, this place felt familiar; like he had been here so many times before.
And now, staring at the white light, his body no longer cut up or even having a single injury present, made him feel comfortable. Like, this place was where he could…belong.
He wasn't sure how long he stared at the light but he felt like he could do so for days. Honestly, he wouldn't really mind staying here for-.
Something grabbed his shoulder. He blinked several times before shaking his head as he turned around. Floating behind him, Crazy Diamond had its hand on his left shoulder, expression grave as it glanced around. And…did his Stand look different?
He narrowed his eyes. His Stand's body was the same, its headgear and armor was the same, but there was something different about Crazy-.
Wait.
Were his Stand eyes…yellow?
He blinked. It took him a moment, but he realized that yes, his Stand eye color had changed from cobalt blue to lemon yellow.
The same color as the aura that surrounded Crazy Diamond when it activated its reversion abilit-.
His eyes widened. And he once again looked around, this time making sure to fight the comfortable sensation this place radiated. He knew he never canceled his Stand's powers, so did that mean...
"Am I…"
His head slowly turned towards his Stand.
"Are we…inside that alien?"
Crazy Diamond didn't reply. All it did was glance around with its yellow eyes, slowly floating closer to him as it clenched its fists.
Alright. So, right now, considering he couldn't think of any other explanation, it was rather likely that he was somehow inside the very core of ivory woman's body—or one of the aliens, since they had both combined into one person—and was currently looking at the very energy that made up her body.
He let out a long breath.
Okay. Okay. He could handle this. This was raising a lot of questions, but right now, he needed to stay calm and focus. He had been trying to use the connection between himself and the ballerina-like alien to disrupt her "fusion," but it looked like the reverse had happened. But that didn't mean he couldn't find some way-.
He heard something moving through the air behind him; it was easy to hear because of the silence that stretched everywhere. As the sound steadily grew louder, both he and Crazy Diamond turned around and saw something coming from deep within the space of white, there was a…tornado?
Wait, no, that wasn't it. While he was staring at something that moved like the wind and was just as swift, when he narrowed his eyes, he could tell that whatever was coming wasn't just one object. It was more like a spiraling mass; hundreds of…things all swirling in the same pattern and giving it the appearance of a white storm of wind.
He quickly closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Crazy Diamond's vision became his own. With his eyesight greatly enhanced, he could now see just what the mass of white was made of.
Butterflies. Thousands of them.
Well, the things he saw were shaped like butterflies. From their tiny wings to their slim bodies, they almost looked exactly like normal butterflies, with one exception. The "butterflies" were made entirely of light—with each flap of their wings, they gleamed and made the air shimmer with an almost spiritual glow. It wasn't quite the same light that surrounded him—the light that made up the butterflies was…sharper, less bright and more solid—but he knew it was similar. He didn't know how he knew this, but something was telling him that these butterflies, while related to the whatever energy was surrounding him, wasn't exactly the same as-.
His eyes widened as he realized the butterflies were flying right towards him. Shit! He needed to move before-!
Almost instantly, the storm of butterflies was only a few feet away from him. They had been so far below him only seconds before, but their speed had greatly increased in a second.
And now there was no time to dodge. Crazy Diamond quickly moved right in front of him, crossing its arms as it stood to protect him.
And then he saw nothing but fluttering wings of light.
Sardonyx was weeping, a glow starting to emerge from her forehead as she felt her body grow numb. Around her, the white butterflies soared in the orange streets and sky; no matter where she looked, all she could see were fluttering lights of white.
But even with the butterflies flying around her, she could still make out Pearl sobbing only a few feet away.
"Pearl!?"
Somewhere, that voice from before shouted again, this time even louder. But she could barely hear what is said as thoughts that she knew weren't her own ran rampant in her head, shouting the same things over and over again.
And as more butterflies emerged into existence, some started to swarm at one spot high above her in the sky.
When the butterflies hit Josuke, both he and his Stand didn't feel any pain. The butterflies themselves were lighter than air, and when they actually made contact with his or Crazy Diamond's skin, he didn't even feel a prick from the impact; the butterflies then shook from their crash, slightly disorganized now before continuing to fly on their path. Once the swirling white mass of insect-like creatures moved passed him, he stood still.
And once again, he felt thick tears descending down his face. Because while the butterflies didn't even leave a scratch, what they carried was worse than any physical blow.
Why can't I protect anyone!?
Why can't I be better!?
Why am I like this!?
I'm less than nothing!
She was wrong about me!
He was completely right!
He felt like he was drowning as he felt the memories from every word suddenly blaring throughout his head. When the butterflies hit him, he could hear nothing but an anguish-filled voice that was not his own screaming within his head; and the voice just kept repeating the similar things a hundred times over in his head, each time revisiting horrible memories that flashed within his mind so quickly he could barely make them out.
He didn't know when—or why—but at some point, he had placed both of his hands over his mouth as his body trembled, heart all but exploding in his chest. The grief he had just felt was some of the most intense emotion he had ever felt in his life.
Pearl, the woman these emotions belonged to, the butterflies all but screamed that as well as her name, was currently going through her own personal Hell. Because she had once again failed to save someone she cared for. Because Kira was still alive and had killed one of the people close to her.
Because of him, an innocent woman was experiencing the worst feelings known to man. Because he couldn't fucking do his job, someone else had died. He was a failure. An absolute pathetic excuse for a man who shouldn't even be alive to-!
He didn't know when, but his Stand had grabbed him by the arms and was shaking him with vigor. There were tears descending down his Stand's face, but its eyes still had the same steely resolve as always. The resolve that was born from his own fighting spirit.
The resolve to never give up.
He blinked. And then, he clenched his eyes shut and shook his head, wiping away at the tears with his jacket's sleeve.
"Right. Right."
He let out several shaky breaths as he forced himself to get his shaking under control.
"Almost forgot."
He sniffled slightly as his heart beats began to go back to normal.
"We have to win."
His voice was full of sorrow as he spoke, but with every word, it slowly faded. As he finished wiping away at his eyes, he looked back at his Stand and saw it was doing the same.
"We have to stop Kira."
His Stand's face was now void of any tears as it stared at him with a determined expression; just like he knew his own was.
"And to do that, we have to fight these women."
Because of his failures, he had caused Pearl so much grief—and most likely, her friends as well. He didn't want to fight, especially after feeling every horrible emotion Pearl was feeling that was his fault, but words wouldn't work to convince them he wasn't the enemy.
So, he had to beat them; it would be an even shittier thing to do now that he knew the pain Pearl was suffering through, but there were no other options. And to beat them, he first had to beat this giant Fusion.
Slowly, he looked up. The white tornado of butterflies that passed him were still flying up, still so close together and still so perfectly synched with each other's movements. With every second, the butterflies sped up as their formations seemed to get even tighter.
And…he didn't know why, but something was telling him that these butterflies could help. That somehow, they held the key to getting Pearl out of her Fusion and-.
The thousands of butterflies had suddenly gone rigidly still, their intense fluttering abruptly stopping. And once again, somehow, he knew why they had stopped. There was something within his chest, an instinct that hadn't been there seconds before, whispering to him that these butterflies were…waiting for-.
The ethereal white lights around him changed. Before, the lights surrounding him had no form; they were just…there, like the air, as they bathed the space they occupied with their glow. But now, he saw the lights start to become more solid, like the butterflies above him. The white lights suddenly had a definable shape, gaining the lines of a three-dimensional object, and he now found himself staring at walls made of light; when he looked down, he even saw that there was floor of equally white light far down below.
And then, the lights instantly became blue as an orange beacon erupted above him.
The light around Sardonyx grew stronger as she collapsed to her knees, fingers now digging deeply into the skin of her forearms.
First Peridot, now Jenny! Who was next!? Whose life was her own ineptitude going to cost next!?
More and more butterflies were appearing everywhere, and with just a blink, about a hundred would flutter right around her face before flying off who knows where. And through the clouds of fluttering wings, she could see the orange sky above. And the hundreds of butterflies that were forming a large, white ball of light.
Everything she did was just useless!
The ball got bigger, hundreds of butterflies traveling up into in spirals of pure white to join with it.
"Pearl!?"
She couldn't even do one thing right!
The ball got even bigger, as did the glow quickly surrounding her body.
"PEARL!?"
Why…what did Rose ever see in me!?
The ball of butterflies started to take shape into something else.
The once white lights were now a deep shade of blue that boxed him in from all sides. The comforting sensation this space had once radiated was replaced by a cold sorrow that pierced the air and made it ice-cold. And high above, there was now a massive oval ceiling of pure orange light. Beacons of orange came from the ceiling and shimmered along with the cold glow of the blue walls.
But Josuke only continued to stare at the crowd of butterflies that had stopped moving a few dozen feet away from the orange ceiling. Because he now knew for certain they were waiting for something. Crazy Diamond's eyes became his own as he waited for the creatures of light to make their move.
Several seconds passed, and nothing happened. He could feel the air grow colder as the sorrow now radiating everywhere began to grip him. But he only focused on the butterflies, ignoring the sadness and waiting for-.
One of the butterflies moved. From the tip of the butterflies' formation, one began to flutter its wings towards the orange light. And after several flaps, it touched the ceiling.
And then, it's body began to shimmer. With Crazy Diamond's vision, he could see the butterflies' body actually deconstruct bit by bit, vanishing into the oval-shaped orange light. But even as they began to disappear, its light did not dimmer, it only got even brighter as a white light erupted within the world of orange and blue.
And then, slowly, the light vanished. The butterfly was gone, and the rest of the butterflies still stood still.
But then two more floated towards the orange ceiling. And three more after that. And even more after that.
He watched as more white lights shined within the now enclosed space and more butterflies vanished; just before new butterflies took almost the exact same spot on the orange light and the process repeated. And as he stared, he felt something within his chest start to rise. It was the same instinct that had told him the butterflies were waiting for something; the instinct he knew he hadn't had before but somehow gained.
And it was telling him that the orange light could lead him right to Pearl. That it was connected to Pearl's very Gem.
He slowly turned his head towards his Stand, staring right into its now yellow eyes before looking down at its hands. He then turned back to the massive crowd of butterflies that led straight to the orange light. And then he spoke in a low, practically inaudible voice.
"Let's do this."
This was gonna suck, in more than one ways, but he needed to do this.
He looked back at his Stand, and nodded his head. Crazy Diamond then grabbed by the back of his jacket with one arm.
And then his Stand pulled its arm back, fingers tightening around his jacket, and hurled him like a baseball up towards the butterflies.
"DORA!"
"Pearl, please-!"
Sardonyx knew she should care about what the voice was saying, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't. She could only stare at the swarms of butterflies and the ball of white light that was slowly morphing into something.
He was right. Steven couldn't have been more right about her!
As those thoughts that belonged to her friend continued to shout in her mind, she saw multiple spirals of white butterflies extending from the massive ball's sides. And then spirals started to change color.
They started to turn pink.
Josuke was flying through the air uncontrollably, his body spinning in every direction. He quickly called Crazy Diamond and had it right himself, now standing upright as his momentum continued to send him higher into the air.
And now that he wasn't flailing uncontrollably, he could see he was only a few feet away from crashing into the tightly gathered mass of butterflies.
He let out a breath and braced himself, Crazy Diamond suddenly right in front of him with its arms crossed.
And then they both crashed right through the swarms of butterflies. And as he flew through the mass of white with no resistance, the butterflies hitting his and Crazy Diamond's skin but not dying from the high-speed impact, he saw the orange light of the ceiling getting stronger.
All while he was again felt grief consume him like a tsunami as an anguished-ridden voice screamed in his head.
I was never good enough!
Never strong enough!
There were tears in his eyes now. And the light grew brighter.
Why was I made to be so pathetic!?
Why couldn't I just be useful for once!?
He felt like his heart had been pierced by damn icicles as his breathing grew erratic. He felt like his own body was about crumble away from the sheer amount of despair within it, but he grit his teeth and focused only on getting away from these damn butterflies.
The orange light was not so strong that it was getting hard to see; he had to shift to Crazy Diamond's vision just to keep his eyes open.
I know what's wrong with me, but I can't fix it!
He could see the very end of the butterflies now.
I'm nothing!
Nothing!
NOTHING!
AM I EVEN DIFFERENT THAN THE PEARL THAT SERVED—!
He jettisoned right out of the swarm of butterflies and he felt like he could breathe again. The sorrow and despair faded away as he rapidly approached the orange light.
And then he slammed face first into what felt like a God damn steel wall.
Sardonyx numbly watched as the butterflies flying became hasty, less organized and far more hectic as more and more were illuminated into existence.
And as the spirals on the ball of butterflies finished their transformation, now no longer butterflies and instead very curly pink hair.
Pathetic! That was all she was! That was all she was ever meant to be!
The ball's face started to shift and shimmer, losing its white light as dull-peach skin emerged to take its place.
The glow on her body was practically covering every inch of her.
She couldn't ever be the person she wanted to be! She was just…broken!
Half of the ball's white light was gone now as more skin appeared, and slowly, eyes, nose, and lips began to form, and she started to see a face. A familiar, agonizing face that seemed to make even more butterflies appear.
She was just…toxic and-.
The voice from before rang out again. But this time it sounded…different.
"Take a moment, remind yourself..."
The voice now sounded…softer; even though it was loud, there was no way she could mistake the way the voice carefully, kindly, in fact, spoke each word.
"To take a moment and find yourself…"
This was…familiar. These words were…comforting.
"Take a moment and ask yourself…"
She saw that Pearl had stopped trembling.
"If this is how we fall apart?"
The words—no, lyrics were slower than she had heard before, but they were still the same. They were what she—not just Pearl, but also herself—repeated when she had bad days.
"Things that you said…"
They always made her feel…warm. They reminded her what it meant to be a show-stopping Fusion. To not to let her sadness or fear distract her from doing her duties and what she loved. After all, what kind of MC would she be if in the middle of a performance she burst out crying?
"Are suddenly swarming..."
There had been days—during the war and after Rose left them—when it was hard to be happy. When it was hard to even think about anything other than sorrow. But she always persevered. She never focused on the things that were beyond her control and instead, focused on what she could do right now that would make her smile. And most of the time, what made her smile was just listening to the sweet laughs her friends made as they watched her perform.
"It's okay…It's okay…"
She would never let pesky little things like despair and hopelessness make her stop being the lovely Sardonyx.
At some point, the butterflies had disappeared. At some point, the numbness and glow had stopped gripping her body.
And at some point, Garnet—who had always been there—was hugging Pearl right below her feet as the world started to fade back from orange to the grey of the rain clouds.
Okay…he should've thought this through more.
Josuke coughed as he slowly removed his head from the orange light—which was a lot more solid then he first thought. The butterflies were gone now, and he also noticed that orange light was beginning to fade away. His eyes widened as he quickly pressed his hands firmly of what was left of the light.
But, he had expected something like this to happen. Which was why Crazy Diamond's arms were already overlaid with his own.
He took a deep breath, and focused.
His palms grew bright yellow. And at first nothing happened.
But then the blue walls around him began to wave and twist like grass in a storm.
The orange light began to expand until it was three times bigger than before.
And in an instant, everything suddenly turned into some shade of yellow similar to the one that surrounded him.
And then he vanished.
"I..I'm so sorry."
Sardonyx stared at the still crying Pearl with a sympathetic expression. Really, the poor girl blamed herself way too much for things. It was why she wasn't too peeved when she found out what Pearl was doing in order to get Garnet to fuse with her. Her friend always thought she wasn't glorious when she was probably one of the strongest people she knew.
Almost every bit of the orange glint was gone now, the only places left was where she and the rest of the Gems stood.
"I…I didn't-."
And then…something went wrong. She kinda felt it before it actually happened.
The orange glow had almost instantly returned.
Pearl and Garnet broke away from the hug as they stared.
And then from within Pearl oval-shaped Gem, bright yellow sparks began to emerge.
"Wha-what the-!?"
Pearl never finished as a column of bright yellow shot from her Gem and crashed into the orange sky.
To Be Continued~
