Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Wayward Baby

by RobynRider

In the year 2009, Shizuka Joestar begins to have questions about her past. In her search for answers, she finds herself knee deep in a conflict she never bargained for. Secrets are revealed, friends are made, and the fate of the world is at stake. Typical week for a Joestar. -Edited by Pianolote. Originally posted with art and designs on Archive of Our Own. Cover by "tsundenials."

45. Debbie

Ezra's vision was fading in and out as she stared into the beaming sun. It took her a moment, but she quickly realized that she was lying flat on her back. The woman's eyes went wide when she felt her bare face exposed to the elements. She slapped a hand over her mouth and tried to sit up. A groan of agony passed her lips, and she fell back onto the deck with a pained thud!

"Oi! I told you to stay down! Are you even listening to me?" Marina growled.

The silver-haired woman's eyes met Marina's with a desperate look. "Cover my face… Please."

"Lady, you're a real piece of work! You do know you're dying right now? If I hadn't patched you up with my gum, you'd have been shark food for sure!"

"I thank you for that, but I need to cover my face." She panted.

Marina glanced over at the mask as it stewed on the deck. She grabbed the thing and tossed it over to Ezra.

"Real shame our healer had to go and get lanced, huh?" She mumbled.

"I can heal myself. It'll take about ten minutes." Ezra assured her.

"What!? You can heal yourself? That's broken!" Marina shouted incredulously.

"I'd prefer to have avoided it… This is going to take up a lot of energy. Can you go check on the others? I promise I'll be fine." Ezra finished putting her mask back on and fixed her hair.

Marina was in disbelief. She hung her head and chuckled in resignation.

"If I were you, I'd be screaming bloody murder and begging for morphine. You're a weird bitch, Ezra Dawn." She shrugged.

"Thank you. I'll choose to take that as a compliment."

Shizuka swam exhaustedly for the Redneck Yacht Club as her lungs burned with pain. When she got to the yacht, Pa-Pa-Power reached his long arm down and offered it to her. Flower Child grabbed the Stand's boxing glove, and he lifted the girl out of the sea. Shizuka flopped onto the deck and coughed repeatedly. She'd inhaled salt water once or twice during the battle, and it was causing her chest to sting.

"Jesus Christ, Shizuka! That was amazing! You harnessed his power and used it yourself!" Ripley knelt down and propped the girl on her back.

"I didn't remember at first, but I've redirected Hamon before. My Dad taught me when I was really little. Turns out I'm a natural." She smiled weakly.

"Can anybody be a natural? Walking on water seems useful." Pepsi mumbled.

"Uhm… I don't know? I've never actually made any Hamon of my own. That's way harder than just channeling it."

"It could be handy against Blondie though, right?" Ripley raised a brow. "She's using Pillar Man DNA to keep her body young. It's not perfect yet… That's why she needs the feather. Maybe a blast of Hamon could speed up the process and make her old again?"

Perhaps Shizuka was willfully ignoring the obvious, but she just then realized that her father would likely return to his true physical age in a matter of days. She frowned at that, wondering if she knew enough about Tsuru's formula to somehow grant her father immortality? No, that was definitely a slippery slope. She'd have to debate that with herself later. For the time being, Blondie needed to go down.

Marina ran onto the front deck and gasped upon seeing Shizuka.

"Jojo!" She rushed over and collapsed onto her knees, scooping the girl into a tight hug. "You're alright!"

The girl grunted before hugging back. "'Course I'm alright… Were you even worried for a minute?"

"Yes! I was worried sick, you little brat!"

"Did you two get the ship fixed?" Shirlie tilted her head.

Marina hitched her breath when she remembered her initial mission. Things really got out of hand. Before she could say anything, footsteps indicated the arrival of the group's latest member. Ezra limped over to the front deck, leaning most of her weight against the cabin wall as she did so. The woman held a hand to her bloodied stomach as she trudged. A golden light shined brightly underneath her palm. She seemed to be healing herself.

"For the love of- Ezra! I told you to lie down and wait for me to come back." Marina groaned.

"I'm feeling better." The woman mumbled. "How's everyone doing?"

"The hell happened to you?" Pepsi crossed their arms.

"Turns out our enemy had more reach than he let on. I assume we're all partying on the deck because he's been taken care of?"

"Pummeled by Shizuka, just like the last one. She's on a streak!" Shirlie chuckled.

Pa-Pa-Power gave the little girl a firm pat on the head with his boxing glove as if to say, "Good for you! A streak!" She nodded in agreement, fixing her hair after.

"From what I've seen, the yacht's in good shape. The propeller definitely needs replacing, but we should be able to bend the blades back into place for a quick drive. Anyone have a Stand strong enough to bend metal?" Ezra sighed.

Pa-Pa-Power let out a silent gasp, jumping right off the boat in a cannonball pose. Before splashing into the water, he disappeared from view. The poor guy left Shirlie's effective range. He appeared behind her moments after with a pout and a huff.

"Seems like Power wants to volunteer." Shirlie gave him a pat on the peck.

"Get it done." Ezra nodded. "I'm going to finish healing in the cabin… I might take my clothes off, so nobody come in without knocking."

"You got it, boss." Marina gave a dramatic salute.

The woman just groaned, limping away and vanishing inside.

"We hit a little speed bump, but it seems like things are back on track." Shizuka pulled herself up by the railing and admired her city's beauty in the distance. "I'm home."

"Take a deep breath, because that's the last clean air we're breathing for a while." Ripley chuckled, resting both elbows on the rail.

"Hey!" Shizuka protested. "It's only funny when I talk like that. You don't live there."

New York City, The Big Apple! Formerly the nation's capital, New York remains as the largest city in the country by nearly twice the amount as Los Angeles in second place. From the hustle and bustle of Wall Street to the historic landmark of the Statue of Liberty, New York is one of the most important, historic, and monumental cities in the world.

Shizuka peaked through the blinds of her shady motel room, longing to explore her hometown after being away for so long. After a moment, she released the blinds and allowed them to shut once more. The crew were all sitting around the room while they waited for a plan to seemingly pop into existence. There had been a few brief arguments while they got a room, but nobody had any good ideas.

"All I'm saying is, maybe we should find a way to take the fight to her." Marina shrugged.

"We have no idea where she is! She picked the biggest haystack in the country to hide in. We just have to wait for her to make contact." Ripley shook her head.

"How do we know she's even gonna contact us? Didn't she call Shizuka's dad last time?" Shirlie frowned.

Pepsi was deep in thought as they stared at Ezra. They crossed their arms, leaning up a bit and making eye contact with her.

"Did your fortune teller say anything about where Blondie might be?" They asked.

Ezra nodded. "She did, but I'm still trying to come up with a plan."

"Hello, Einstein, that's what we're all doing." Marina quipped. "You wanted to be a part of the dream team, right? That means taking part in our little pow-wows. Let's hear what you've got on your mind."

"My teacher was adamant about Shizuka awakening her Flower Child before facing Blondie. She said that unless Shizuka unlocked her final Stand Ability, victory was impossible."

The girl was still confused by that. What did Flower Child have to do with defeating Blondie? Tsuru's plan was to use The Circle Game. She put more stock into the premunitions of The Circle Game than whatever half-baked fortune teller Ezra might have worked for.

"Should we try to meet up with the others?" Ripley suggested. "They took the turtle. There's a chance they're already here. It seems like Blondie sent most of her mooks after us."

"They still think we're in California. Won't they be mad to find out we didn't listen?" Pepsi said.

"We got here safely and nobody died. They can suck it up." Marina shrugged.

They sat in silence for a moment. Before anyone could suggest another idea, Ripley's burner phone beeped. She grabbed it, flipping the phone open and checking to see who texted her.

"It's an AMBER alert." She mumbled.

AMBER alerts are the United States' emergency announcement system for kidnapped children. It was established in 1996 as a hands-on way to get the community involved in finding abducted children. Every cellphone within the general area of the abduction is texted with information on the child, and local television and radio broadcast details for a few minutes before returning to their regularly scheduled programming.

Marina's phone buzzed a moment later. She quickly fumbled with the device and checked her messages before reading it out loud.

"AMBER Alert in your area. Ten-year-old girl last seen wearing blue sweater with pink hair in the Manhattan area. Abductors drive a tan 2000 Toyota Corolla…" She closed her phone with a frown.

"That's Shizuka." Shirlie mumbled.

Pa-Pa-Power quickly swept Shizuka into his arms and held her close, as if he was worried she'd be abducted right out of thin air.

"That's the wrong car model. Is this meant to be an intimidation strategy?" Ezra rubbed her chin.

"Why did they report her as abducted?" Ripley shook her head. "This doesn't make any sense. It's a message of some sort, but we know she's okay."

Shizuka's eyes widened as she realized the severity of their situation.

"It's not a message for us." She whispered.

Jotaro was taking his shift outside the turtle while the others relaxed. He held it in his lap, resting one hand on the shell while the other supported a cigarette between his lips. His eyes were glazed red with exhaustion as he stared out the window of his hotel room. They'd just arrived in town and needed a minute to recuperate before tracking down Blondie. He had volunteered to watch for any suspicious activity for an hour or two before sleeping in the room's king-sized bed.

He balanced the cigarette between his lips and reached into his coat pocket. Jotaro eyed his throwaway phone carefully for a moment before removing the back panel with a sigh. He carefully inserted the SIM card and closed the panel once more. After turning the phone on, he was greeted with four bars of service. Blondie had contacted them through Joseph's cell phone last time. He was counting on her trying to make contact once again.

After a few minutes, his phone vibrated. His eyes darted toward the screen as he read the message. It was an AMBER alert… The cigarette fell out of his mouth and bounced into his lap. Star Platinum expertly extinguished the burning end before flicking the bud across the room. He needed to tell the others about this immediately.

Blondie had Shizuka.

"What do you mean!?" Marina shouted.

"She's using this as a way to draw me out!" Shizuka explained. "Dad's gonna think I've been captured! That'll let Blondie negotiate with a lot more leverage than before! She'll lead them right into a trap and kill them all because we have the feather! The only way to save them is to prove I'm safe, but we have no way of contacting them!"

"We're ignoring it." Ezra ordered.

Everybody stared at her in shock and disbelief.

"W-what..?" Shizuka asked in a tiny voice.

"Lady, I don't think you get to decide what we do as a group." Marina mumbled uncomfortably.

"My teacher told me that we will fight Blondie tomorrow. If we're going to win, it has to be Saturday." She spoke with certainty.

Marina was about to stand up and give the mysterious woman a piece of her mind, but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Ripley gave her a look of understanding, stepping in front of Marina and crossing her arms.

"Who is your teacher?" She demanded.

Ezra stood there silently.

"If we're supposed to wager our lives and the lives of our friends, I think it's only fair that you tell us right now." Ripley insisted.

"I cannot." Ezra shook her head.

"Why can't you? They can know." Shirlie frowned.

"They cannot." Ezra fired back.

"They? Does that mean Shirlie knows?" Marina spat.

"Only because Pa-Pa-Power found out!" Shirlie defended herself.

"Pa-Pa-Power knows!? Tell us!" Marina glared at him.

Power gasped, letting go of Shizuka and feeling all eyes on him. He panicked, looking around for any tool at his disposal. He usually loved when people looked at him! It was his favorite! Sometimes, he'd stand right in front of non-Stand Users in public and enjoy their eyes on him. This was different, though. He had promised to keep this secret. His eyes darted all around in desperation before finally settling on a nearby lamp. He punched it off of the bedside table and caused it to shatter all over the carpet.

"POWER!" Shirlie shrieked. "The lamp!"

"That was you! He's your Stand!" Marina shouted in irritation.

"How did Power figure out Ezra's secret, and why aren't we allowed to know?" Ripley tried to get the conversation back on track.

Shizuka couldn't get a word in edgewise. She gritted her teeth, crossing her arms and waiting for everybody to stop yelling at each other. Her eyes drifted to the window, and she was shocked to see a human figure standing on the roof across from their motel room. They were masked, though she recognized the hourglass design from Pepsi's description. This was one of Blondie's men. Mortimer was staring through her window.

She held her breath in shock. Nobody else seemed to notice. They were too busy yelling at each other. Mortimer pointed at himself, then at Shizuka. After a moment, he pointed down toward the street. She shook her head, knowing better than to follow an enemy to some unknown location.

Mortimer pointed up at the sky, making a circle with his hand and showing it slowly lower in a curve. Shizuka understood. He wanted her to meet after dark. She bit her lip, glancing over to the group one last time before looking out the window and nodding. He vanished behind a chimney and never returned.

"EVERYONE!" Shirlie screamed at the top of her lungs.

The room fell silent once again.

"T-Thank you! Listen… Being in a big city like this makes me sick, but I'm trying my best. Pa-Pa-Power is stressed too, and none of this is helping! I understand how you all feel. Trust me, I do. I'm feeling all five of you at once! It's a nightmare!" She shouted.

"Shirlie." Pepsi cut in for the first time since the argument began. "Why do we trust this woman?"

The redhead hung her head with a sigh. "Because you already do. I can't explain any more than that. I'm sorry. She told me that it needed to stay a secret… But I trust her with my life, okay? All of you do, even if you don't realize it. If she says we need to wait until tomorrow, then I'm waiting! You guys can run off and pick a fight if you want, but I'm sticking with Ezra."

"I just don't understand." Pepsi admitted. "When on Earth did she earn this much of your trust?"

"I can't answer that either." Shirlie crossed her arms.

Marina let out a loud, dramatic sigh. "Fine. I'll bite. We can ignore the AMBER alert."

"Marina?" Ripley was shocked. "I thought you hated her more than any of us."

"I don't trust her one bit, but she clearly knows a fortune teller. She helped us fight Felix in Vegas, and she knew when to save our lives last night. If this fortune teller thinks we need to wait until tomorrow, I'm game. We have until Sunday to meet Blondie's demands, right?"

"Thank you, Marina." Ezra nodded.

"But listen, lady…" The blonde walked over to Ezra, backing her against the wall without touching her. "I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. If you so much as cough in a way I don't like tonight, I'm sticking you to the wall until morning. Capiche?"

Ezra swallowed, looking at the others over Marina's shoulder for a moment. "I understand the hostility, but I would never do anything to hurt any of you."

"Then we're cool!" Marina delivered a hefty slap to Ezra's back and stepped away.

Shizuka wasn't sold. Ezra's fortune teller was mistaken about the importance of Flower Child in defeating Blondie… What else were they wrong about? Tsuru was the one with the grand plan, not some hack that wouldn't show their face. She bit her lip and glanced out the window. Mortimer was gone, but she knew he'd be back. She would leave after everyone fell asleep. It broke her heart, but she'd rather leave her friends behind than risk their lives in whatever Mortimer was leading her to. Tsuru believed that The Circle Game would be enough to defeat Blondie when wielded by Shizuka and her enhanced Stand Power. If that wasn't enough, at least the others would get to live. This was her fight. She wasn't going to put it on anybody else. She was not Tsuru.

Joseph ground his teeth together as he read the AMBER alert on the screen of Jotaro's phone. He didn't know what to make of it. Everyone sat around the turtle's interior and waited for the man to speak. Joseph never really assumed command, but during their travels he appeared to become the group's natural leader. He was the oldest, perhaps even the wisest, and he had a knack for tricky traveling. It granted them safe passage all the way to New York without incident. Until now…

"It's obviously a trap." He grunted.

"Of course it is. The kids stayed back in California." Polnareff nodded.

"Unless they didn't. It'd be in character for Shizuka to storm out and take the world on her own. That's the reason we're all here." Jotaro crossed his arms. "Maybe they got reckless? How are we supposed to know the others are even alive?"

"My family is the only leverage Dolly has. She wouldn't kill them before the deadline. If I found out she did something like that…" Joseph gnashed his teeth.

"You'd do what? We left the feather with the kids. That's what she really wanted." Josuke bit his lip. "We shouldn't have left them."

"Dolly should have assumed we took the feather!" Joseph argued.

"Then why didn't we run into a single obstacle for the entire trip, Jiji? Face it! We screwed up! We were so concerned about keeping those children safe, and we lost sight of the mission." Jotaro shouted.

Joseph let out a cry of passionate rage, slamming his robotic fist to his side and easily breaking a hole in the flimsy hotel drywall. The man's chest heaved as he wiggled his fingers inside the wall. He clenched the hand, ripping it out of the wall and brushing it off.

"We'll take care of it. She's not dead, and she's not captured." He growled.

"Why can't you just use Hermit Purple?" Josuke asked.

"The Speedwagon Foundation has dozens of highly trained psychics, fortune tellers, shamans and anything else you can think of on hand. Their divination abilities operate on a similar wavelength to my Hermit Purple. The only difference is that mine's fueled by Stand Power, and is much stronger than a normal human's connection to the spirit world. If I take a spirit photo of Shizuka or her friends, I might make a big enough wave and lead Dolly's goons right to her." Joseph explained.

"It sounds like our best option." Josuke sighed. "We can get to her first."

Joseph shrugged in defeat, reaching into his bag and retrieving the polaroid camera he managed to snag at a boutique during their trip. He held the device up and took a deep breath. Then, raising his real hand into the air, he cried out and slammed it down into the camera.

"Hermit Purple!"

Purple vines shot into every opening of the shattered camera and got to work. After a moment, a single photo slid out of the polaroid's opening. He lifted the picture up to the light and waited for it to finish developing. After about twenty seconds, Joseph's eyes fixed on the finished picture.

The man's face went pale. He nearly dropped the photo, opting to clench it in his fist instead. He hung his head, shaking it slowly as the gravity of the situation set in.

"What is it?" Jotaro demanded.

Joseph lifted the photo and showed it to the rest of the group. Instead of seeing Shizuka, they were greeted with a picture of Blondie sipping wine in a dark room. It appeared to be some kind of church according to the decorations around her. She was staring into the distance, a small grin on her lips as she slowly sipped her drink.

"I don't understand what this means. She might be captured, or she might even be dead… That, or she's about to see Blondie. Their fates are so tangled at the moment that my Hermit Purple grabbed Blondie instead of Shizuka."

The door swung open, startling everyone in the turtle. Jotaro had left Mr. President and swung the hotel room's door against the wall. When the others peeked out to see what he was doing, he gave them a shrug.

"She's in danger. We're leaving right now. Anyone who's too afraid of Blondie can stay behind." With that, he stormed out of the room.

The streets of New York were never dark. It's the city that never sleeps, after all. Still, it was darker than when Shizuka first saw Mortimer lurking on the rooftops. She stepped out of the motel and looked around for any sign of the man. She stood there for about three minutes before giving up. Just as she was about to head inside, she noticed Mortimer standing in the reflection of the motel's door. Shizuka spun around and summoned her Flower Child.

Mortimer raised a dismissive hand.

"I'm not the one who wants a fight, Joestar." He spoke in a gruff, older voice. "You will come with me. Madame is waiting for you."

Without another word, Mortimer began walking down the street. Shizuka felt her stomach drop, but she knew it was too late to back down. She trailed cautiously behind the hooded man as they walked down the dark city streets. She had no idea where he was leading her, but it was clear who was waiting on the other side. Madame Dolly, Blondie… It was finally time. After decades of pain and conflict, Shizuka was about to put an end to the horrible wench once and for all.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the old man guided Shizuka into a church. She looked around with a nervous sigh. Mortimer shut the door instead of following her inside. She walked up to the door but knew better than to force it open. She made her decision. Shizuka had walked into the belly of the beast. It was chilling to think that Blondie lurked somewhere within the church. It was a tall building with a clocktower spanning into the sky. The place seemed nice, though rather abandoned. She could hear the clicking of gears and machinery upstairs. With nowhere else to go, Shizuka walked into the main hall of the church. She saw candles lining symmetrically all the way to the altar at the end of the dirty maroon carpet. The building needed a good vacuuming. This was where Blondie would meet her end?

Her sneakers were quiet against the carpet, but she knew Blondie was aware of her presence. Were all these theatrics just to throw her off guard? No, this seemed too deliberate. Blondie wanted to have a chat before they fought.

There was a sudden click, and soon Shizuka saw a ray of light coming in from behind the altar. Blondie had opened a door. Shizuka hitched her breath as she watched the woman step into view.

Her shadow was visible first, cast against the far wall of the church and overlapping Jesus on the cross as he hung over the priest's chair. Her long legs took great strides as she stepped into view, turning on her heel and smiling across the aisle at Shizuka. The woman strutted right over to the altar, stepping onto the wooden table with no regard for reverence and summoning Rapture.

Now that she was standing in the candlelight, Shizuka could see Blondie in all her glory. The woman was tall, that much could be gleaned from her silhouette. She wore a jet-black dress that went up past her neck, dipping and curving around her chest to allow a thinly veiled look at her rather sizable cleavage. The dress tapered tightly to the body from the stomach to the hips, shimmering and reflecting the candlelight almost like rubber as it hugged her wide waist. She wore a pair of torn leggings underneath the dress. Skin from her thick thighs spilled out of the weak fabric and showed off just a bit of her bare, smooth legs. All of this went down into a pair of black heeled boots that gave her an extra two inches, officially putting her above six feet. She looked like she walked straight out of the eighties in that outfit. Shizuka wondered if that was the last time the woman felt half as beautiful as she did at that moment. Perhaps she was making up for lost trends?

It was impossible to ignore the ominous Stand that coiled around the towering woman. Rapture was enormous, though its size was embellished by the way its massive cloak hung and flowed several feet past where its form ended. The most striking feature of the Stand was its plague doctor mask. It seemed to be a part of the avian Stand's body, complimenting the taloned feet and razor-sharp claws of its hands with a large, curved beak protruding right from the nose. Its eyes were a dark orange, and it seemed to stare into Shizuka's soul even from such a distance. The Stand wore a fine suit underneath the large cloak, but it was hard to see with the way they were both standing.

Blondie held her Stand's beak, leaning her weight against the monster as it curled around her from behind and hovered in the air. Rapture held a golden scepter with a shining amber stone on the tip. Shizuka didn't fully understand how the ability worked. Perhaps the scepter was a part of it?

"Good evening." Blondie's voice dripped with indignation.

Shizuka was just happy that looks couldn't kill, because Blondie's scowl would've gutted her long ago. There was an understanding between their eyes that assured Shizuka of something. Somehow, Blondie knew. She'd assumed ever since Sting mentioned that Hamon might hurt her, but now it was clear.

"You know…" She took a step closer. "How?"

Blondie let out an amused chuckle. "Of your little hat trick? Yes, I found out… I thought you looked familiar back in Washington. After you escaped, I pulled some old personnel files. Low and behold, you looked exactly like Tsuru did as a tiny bab. I had to be sure, so I sent my forensic technicians to find your blood in the halls. There was blood from Marina, Jotaro, Santana… So much blood, Shizuka. However, despite seeing bloody wounds on your neck in the ship hangar, you didn't leave a single drop in the hall… No, all we could find was Tsuru's blood. Tsuru Nishioka? That was impossible. I had to start from scratch. She vanished years ago… I thought she was dead. Turns out, the answer is far more sinister."

Shizuka tried to be brave and stepped even closer to the altar.

"I knew you were a little rat, Tsuru, but this? It's beyond the pale… To revert yourself into a baby girl and infiltrate the only family that could possibly keep you safe from my reach? It's psychotic… I should have known you had it in you." Pearly white teeth flashed past Blondie's blood red smile.

"I'm not Tsuru. I'm my own person… It's not like how you flipped the switch and restored your youth." Shizuka explained.

"Is that so…? What's even the appeal, then? It's like reincarnation. I suppose you were just that afraid of me? You prolonged your life by a decade or so, but you've finally reached the end of the road. You are not getting out of this building alive. I have it surrounded… The only way out of here is oblivion."

Shizuka gritted her teeth and threw a hand up. She pointed angrily at Blondie and shouted, "I'm not afraid of you, Dolly!"

Blondie placed a hand on her chest, quite surprised by the little outburst. "Oh…? Maybe you're telling the truth… Maybe you aren't Tsuru."

Blondie sank through the altar and into the floor like it was water. Shizuka readied her Stand and waited for the woman to appear. Just one touch could kill her… One touch. She remembered the way Josuke's skin boiled and rippled from the inside. Would her death be so kind, or did Blondie have worse in store?

"She let her fear of me rule her." A voice came from directly in front of her.

Shizuka gasped, not understanding how Blondie was above ground. She threw a blanket up into the air, and Shizuka watched as the blanket unfurled above her. It was modified by Rapture to perfectly replicate its background, acting as an invisibility cloak.

Rapture swung its fist and punched Shizuka onto the floor. The girl cried out in pain, slamming her head on the armrest of an oak pew on the way down. She laid on her back, vision blurring as Blondie hovered above her. How did she let the woman get so close? Wasn't The Circle Game supposed to intervene? Did she lose…?

"Maybe you lost what made you worth anything in the first place, Shizuka…" Blondie smiled, running her hand up Rapture's golden scepter. "Without that fear, Tsuru would have been just like everybody else!"

Rapture drove its scepter directly toward the ground in an attempt to impale Shizuka's stomach. She closed her eyes, unable to watch as a seemingly inevitable demise grew near. Before the scepter could touch Shizuka's skin, a purple ring appeared in front of her. The scepter plunged into the ring and kept going well beyond where Shizuka or the floor would have been. A moment later, she felt the scepter pierce something, though Shizuka appeared to be completely unharmed. Blondie's eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what just happened. Before she could, another purple portal appeared about three feet away from her head. Her eyes fired over to scan the new threat, but that only provided her with a front row seat to witness the white porcelain fist flying directly at her.

The fist connected with Blondie's cheek, blasting a gust of air in every direction and blowing Shizuka's hair back from the sheer force of it. She recognized that arm… It was white and smooth, emitting a purple glow with stardust trailing in its wake. This was The Circle Game. Blondie was thrown off her feet and slammed into a row of oak pews about ten feet back. She destroyed one of the lovely benches on impact, cursing under her breath as she stumbled to her feet.

Dolly stared at Shizuka with a new sense of respect. It wasn't for the girl, no. She had a respect for whatever force managed to clock her like that. She rubbed her cheek with a satisfied little hum. It'd been a long time since someone landed a blow on her. The mysterious force broke her cheek and shattered a bit of her skull on impact. She'd even lost a tooth! Luckily, her Pillar Man cells quickly remedied the breakage. She felt her skin shifting around to accommodate the work being done underneath. After some unsettling clicking sounds, her face was good as new.

The little brat had a few tricks up her sleeve. Not only that, but her entire demeanor seemed to have changed since the attack. Shizuka had gotten up as well, standing tall as she glared across the church. Dolly hoped to finish things quickly, but it seemed like she wouldn't get her way. This was Tsuru's final stand, her master plan… Dolly was ready to finish things once and for all. No more sneaky escapes, no more hiding, and no more plans. She was going to destroy Tsuru and Shizuka in one fell swoop because she was strong.

"There was a time when I had respect for you." She called across the church. "Surviving all that time with Dio? It was outstanding… You were just a woman, nothing made you special. It's not like you were born with a superpower or a silver spoon in your mouth. Everything went wrong in your life, yet you emerged victorious every single time. I wanted to give you the peace of mind you deserved, and this is how you repay me?"

Shizuka's eyes seemed devoid of life as she glared at her enemy. Dolly felt an uneasy wind in the air. The church was closed tight, so it had to be supernatural… No matter what new ability Tsuru managed to scrounge up, it was no match for Rapture. Stands were a manifestation of one's will, and nobody was stronger willed than Dolly.

"Tell me…" Shizuka spoke in a deep voice. "You fought Giorno in a church too… Granted, this place is no Notre Dame, but the thematic consistency is impressive. Do you have some kind of fondness for places like this? I never took you for a devout Catholic."

That wasn't a child speaking. Blondie knew who she was listening to. That misplaced arrogance couldn't be missed. Tsuru was speaking through Shizuka. Finally, the adults had the room to themselves. Blondie placed a hand on her chest and pouted her full lips.

"There's just something so dramatic about a good church scene, Tsuru. I can't help myself. I want to spatter blood all over these stained glass windows. Jesus wouldn't mind, would he? There's already so much gore in that book."

"I am not Tsuru," Shizuka's body said sternly. "Tsuru is no more. She and Shizuka are one in the same. One body, one mind, one soul. A reincarnation. You are speaking to The Circle Game, an echo of Tsuru's spirit left behind to protect Shizuka…" Her eyes narrowed. "And to kill you."

"What a shame! I would have loved to speak with her one last time. I suppose I'll have to settle with crushing her new incarnation under my heel!" Blondie's eyes went wild with bloodlust. Her true nature was finally showing after all these years. Her eyes lit up with an amber glow as she licked her crimson lips.

Shizuka assumed a defensive stance as The Circle Game appeared in front of her. The harrowing Stand hovered majestically in a mist of stardust. She didn't approach, opting to let Blondie set the tempo of their battle. That would be the twerp's last mistake. Blondie stepped toward her foe with disdain. She stomped her right heel against a wooden shard from the broken pue, shattering it into even smaller pieces as she grit her teeth. Just as she was about to enter Rapture's effective range and attack, her keen senses alerted her of danger. She winced, spinning her head around and seeing Rapture's own scepter lunging toward her.

"W-What!?" She gasped, but it was too late.

The bottom of Rapture's pointed scepter whizzed out of a portal and stabbed Blondie in the chest. She recognized The Circle Game's stardust blowing out of the opening… How did Shizuka's Stand use Rapture's own strength against her? That's when she remembered her first blow against the child, just before she was knocked away. Her scepter didn't stab Shizuka! Instead, it entered a strange vortex and pierced something inside!

"That's impossible." Her lithe fingers coiled around the scepter as she tried to pull it out of her chest, but she knew it was no use. Rapture was one of the strongest Stands in existence, and Blondie was officially on the receiving end of its attack.

She didn't have dominion over the scepter because this wasn't the Rapture of the present. Blondie was being lanced by her past self. Somehow, Shizuka's Stand displaced her attack throughout space and time. When she felt her scepter stabbing into something, she was feeling the resistance of her own flesh and bones. She had done this to herself!

"Tsuru knew she would never be strong enough to defeat me… So she developed an ability that could use my own power to its benefit?" Blondie's eyelids fluttered as she lost an immense amount of blood from the wound.

The scepter pulled away, vanishing from view and returning to its period in time. Blondie managed to lift Rapture's instrument in the present and saw her own blood dripping from the bottom of its glimmering shaft.

"You…" She snarled.

The woman had lost a great deal of blood during that attack, but she wasn't a mere human. Blondie focused her healing abilities onto her wound, feeling Santana's cells hurrying to mend the hole in her torso. She only used her limited Pillar Man abilities when left with no other options. Until she acquired the feather, Blondie was in an incomplete stage of metamorphosis. If she used too many of her Pillar Man cells for simple tasks like healing, the Hamon in her blood would gain the upper hand and obliterate the monstrous DNA. Despite being more durable than any human, she still had a limit. She could be killed.

Just as she was about to shout something vulgar at Shizuka, five more portals appeared in a circular formation around the woman. She gasped, eyes widening like a startled predator sizing up a new threat. Five identical scepters shot out of the portals and stabbed into Blondie from all sides. Her body bucked and thrashed as it was impaled so brutally by her own ability. A scepter pierced her back and tore its way through her stomach in a gory display while two others stabbed into her arms. This was followed by a scepter brutally piercing each of her legs, rendering her immobile.

All five… That's all five. She thought to herself. They'll pull out in a moment. That's your chance to strike.

A sixth portal appeared in front of Blondie's bound form. She stared it down with a show of grim acceptance before it spat out an additional scepter and slipped it straight through her throat. Blondie's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she was subjected to an inhuman amount of pain. The scepter stabbed through her throat with such ease, she was almost amazed by her own strength. For the first time in her life, Blondie wished she'd shown a bit of restraint. Maybe then her attacks wouldn't be so agonizing to endure.

Six bloody scepters haphazardly hung Blondie in the air as her blood pooled on the church's red velvet carpet below. She was reaching her absolute limit. If she didn't take control, Shizuka would actually kill her.

A series of grotesque gurgling sounds slipped through the hole in her throat, muffled by Rapture's own scepter in the process. After an agonizing pause, the weapons all pulled free at once and vanished into their respective portals. Blondie fell onto all fours, coughing a stream of blood and gore onto the carpet. Her body sparked with energy as Santana's power sealed all six wounds shut. She writhed on the ground, unable to move until the process was complete. This gave Shizuka the perfect opportunity to approach without any fear of a counterattack.

The Circle Game swooped in and cupped Blondie's cheek with one hand. It reeled its other arm back, balling up a fist and revving it up for a painful strike. Blondie saw the attack coming from a mile away, but her body was in no condition to fight back. She was going to be struck again. The glowing Stand jabbed its fist directly into Blondie's stomach, knocking what little air she had right out of her lungs. As the fist dug deeper into the woman's midsection, she felt a strange wind blowing through her hair. It caused a shiver to run down her spine. That's when she heard the singing…

And the seasons... they go round and round…

And the painted ponies go up and down…

Dolly's eyes were bloodshot as she searched for the source of the music. Was she truly losing her mind? What other explanation could there be? Her heart pounded, and for the first time in a very long time, Dolly Harris feared for her life. She was afraid… She was so, so afraid…

We're captive on a carousel of time…

The room disintegrated into stardust. Every pew, every stained glass window, all of it was gone. She floated in an ethereal void as the music grew louder each line.

We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came…

And go round, and round, and round in the circle game…

"Debbie!" A woman shouted from the other room. She seemed distressed. "I need your help!"

Deb gasped. The hair on her neck stood as she looked around her bedroom in a panic. Had she dozed off? That was impossible, she'd been standing up! Still, the feeling was exactly like waking up from a dream that ended with a terrible fall. Her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest as she stood over her sister's crib. Vera was fast asleep, even after her mother shouted across the apartment. Debbie could be thankful for that much.

The young girl slipped out of the bedroom and took great care while closing the door. She walked into her parent's room and found her mother bedridden as always.

"Yes, Momma?" She put on a convincing smile for her sickly mother.

"Your daddy's gonna be home soon, and he's all out of cigarettes. Take some money out of the jar and go to Michael's. You know how he gets without his tobacco." The woman provided a weak smile in return.

Deb didn't feel comfortable leaving her sister asleep in the apartment without someone to take care of her, but she knew her father would be more dangerous than any intruder if he didn't have his smokes. She retrieved a few coins from the jar on the dresser and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. With that, Debbie grabbed her coat and was on her way. As she walked down the narrow hallway of her apartment complex, the girl turned a corner a little too tightly and bumped right into a large man.

She almost muttered something like, "Sorry, Sir." but she was cut short upon realizing who she'd just run into. Debbie was looking up at her father. She felt her heart stop as a wave of fear washed over her. He seemed so disinterested with his surroundings that he barely noticed the girl before him was his own daughter. When he put two and two together, his anger burned even hotter.

"Deb! Watch where the hell you're going!" He slapped her across the face.

Her father was over 250lbs, and Debbie was only ten-years-old. She was nearly thrown off her feet by the blow, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She stood her ground, tears welling up as she rubbed her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Daddy…" She sniffled.

"Sorry's never helped anyone but politicians! You're a girl right now, Deb, but soon you'll be a woman. Women step to the side of the hall when a man's coming through, understand?"

She could only nod. Anything else might show too much resentment and earn her another beating.

"At least you're quiet. That's more than most can say about their wives." He huffed. "Where the hell are you going, anyway?"

She ground her teeth together. "To get your cigarettes."

He scowled down at her. "What the hell is that face, you little brat? What kind of daughter looks at her father that way?"

The man delivered another brutal slap to Debbie's cheek. This time she fell against the wall and caught herself with both hands. Her father started walking toward the apartment without giving her another look. All he sent his daughter's way was a threat.

"Better be quick getting those cigarettes, or I might use you as an ashtray."

Debbie fought back the tears and trudged down the hall with a swollen red cheek. One of these days, she'd find a way to make him pay for that behavior. If he ever laid a hand on Vera, she might snap. She'd tolerate anything, and her mother was an adult. Vera was barely a year old, though. She deserved better than this family.

And go round, and round, and round in the circle game…

Blondie was thrown back by The Circle Game's punch. She rolled a few times as her body struggled to keep up with the amount of injuries it was accumulating. She managed to summon Rapture and drive its scepter into the ground to stop her in place. She couldn't help but stare at her own Stand's weapon with a hint of fear in her eyes. Tsuru had conditioned her to be afraid of such an intimate part of her power! She wouldn't stand for it. By the time she was through, Shizuka would fear the scepter even more!

What was the meaning of that memory she experienced during the punch? It was only a second, but she felt like it went on for multiple minutes! How did Tsuru know about her childhood trauma? Why was she showing it to her now?

She finished healing her wounds and ran a hand up her body to admire its restored beauty. Sure, there were a few holes in her lovely outfit, but she could always change. Change was her mantra.

Before she did anything of the sort, Blondie had to reassess her situation. Shizuka's hidden Stand Ability was proving itself to be rather dangerous. She needed to come up with a way to fight back. It seemed to be able to displace objects through time and space, but it went even deeper than that. The Circle Game could summon multiple instances of Rapture's scepter at once. It also showed her one of her own memories! If she didn't figure out the secret of Shizuka's Stand, she was going to lose.

Space. She needed to put some space between herself and the enemy. Blondie attempted to sink into the floor, but she only got to her ankles before facing an odd resistance below. She gritted her teeth, forcing the matter to change. It simply wouldn't. Was this part of Shizuka's Stand? She didn't need to go down! Blondie could always use another exit! She ran to the left, driving Rapture's scepter into the stone wall. The stones turned to dust immediately, revealing the outside.

Dolly gasped, unable to move as she took in the sight. The wall didn't lead to the street… It didn't lead anywhere. All she could see was the endless expanse of space. Stardust flowed around the church as it floated in a seeming oblivion. There was no exit. That's why Dolly couldn't go down. There was no "down." The Circle Game isolated the church in some kind of liminal space to prevent Dolly's escape.

She'd never been trapped before, not since she unlocked her Rapture. How could anyone or anything contain her unstoppable ability? What the hell was wrong with Shizuka's unnatural Stand? How did Tsuru make it? Blondie gnashed her teeth together as the fear in her heart bubbled into pure rage. This Stand was beyond Dio's The World, and even Blondie's own Rapture. Somehow, Tsuru managed to discover a way to evolve a Stand and make it even more powerful. She would have had all the time in the world to accomplish such a thing while studying in Dio's mansion. Blondie never should have employed such a dangerous woman. She should have strangled the life out of Tsuru in that hospital bed the moment they met. That wicked woman was a viper in the grass, and she was well on her way to swallowing a lion.

She was so distracted by the boundless stream of space before her that she didn't notice Shizuka approaching from behind. Blondie spun around and tried to attack with Rapture. Just as the Stand's talons were about to claw Shizuka's face off, a portal appeared in front of the child's head.

"Not again, you brat!" She gasped, pulling Rapture's hand back and narrowly avoiding a dangerous addition to Shizuka's arsenal.

Why wasn't the child unleashing thousands of scepters from her portals and finishing Blondie off for good? There must have been some limit to The Circle Game's summoning ability. It would have been easy to pierce her from behind with a scepter, but Shizuka opted for a close-ranged punch instead.

Shizuka was still dangerously close, and Blondie was greatly limited in the ways she could attack the child. Just as it seemed like The Circle Game was preparing for another strike, the older woman knew how to counteract it. Rapture slapped its hand against the wall and turned a small portion of it into a slick sheet of glass. After a moment, a pressure bubbled from within, causing the glass to burst forward in dozens of large shards.

The girl closed her eyes, wincing as the glass pierced her skin. It wasn't the modern kind of glass that shattered into millions of little pieces, either. These shards were long, thick and mean. Blood dripped from the girl as she stumbled back, The Circle Game staring down at her motionlessly. Rapture had an infinite number of ways to attack Shizuka without getting close.

Things were about to get ugly.

Jotaro's dress shoe stomped into a puddle of water as he made his way down the quiet street after dark. Josuke hurried after him with the turtle tucked against his chest. Everyone else was strategizing inside. Josuke was a little worried about Jotaro's behavior. He hadn't said a word since they left the hotel. In fact, he hadn't even said where they were going.

"Uhm, Jotaro?" Josuke raised a brow as he caught up with the towering man.

"Mmm." The man grunted, stomping his way forward.

"I'm obviously ready to throw myself into danger to save Shizuka. She's my baby sister. But…" He looked around, the skyscrapers of New York seeming very foreign to the small-town Japanese man. He lived near a large city, but it was nothing like this. "...where are we going?"

"Blondie was sipping wine in a church, right? I'm walking toward the nearest church." He growled.

"Er! Well, there are hundreds of churches in this city. There are millions of people here." Josuke sighed.

"Hundreds? Maybe thousands. I don't care. The old man should be divining the location with Hermit Purple right now. In the meantime, I can't stand still."

"Joseph's trying! He said that there's a lot of interference right now, something about Blondie putting up protections?"

"Guess I'll start kicking down doors, then." Jotaro huffed.

"Okay, okay! Stop walking." Josuke grabbed the man's arm and dug his feet into the ground. Jotaro resisted for a moment, but he eventually complied. "We can't just storm into churches and rip up the floorboards looking for one woman. Let's use our thinking caps for a second."

Jotaro shrugged. "Well, she's probably not allowed to be wherever she's sipping wine right now."

"Exactly! That means it's an empty church." Josuke nodded. "Lots of churches have services every night. That rules out a bunch right off the bat."

"It's also probably in a bad neighborhood, or at least somewhere Blondie's confident she won't be interrupted." Jotaro nodded.

"I have a contact who moved to New York from Morioh a few years ago. He's with the NYPD these days. I might be able to call him? If he patrols the city, he might know of a few abandoned churches."

"Do it." Jotaro nodded.

Blondie was ready to launch an offensive counter strike. She had Rapture grab multiple shards of wood from the pews from the floor and licked her lips in anticipation.

"I don't need to get close to kill you, Shizuka…"

Without warning, she threw one of the shards of wood. It wasn't wood anymore. Instead, it appeared to be a grenade as it soared through the air. Shizuka's eyes widened, but she didn't have time to retaliate. The grenade landed by her feet and detonated. The girl's body was flung across the room, and Blondie could see a red mist in the air through all of the smoke and debris. Shizuka slid down the far wall of the room, her body mangled by the explosion. Luckily, the child wasn't really conscious. She was being controlled by a Stand that lacked the concepts of pain, horror or trauma. Her body struggled to get up, but it wasn't working. One of her legs appeared to be gone. The body growled, slamming its head against the wall.

"I suppose I should feel sorry for you right now." Blondie purred as she slowly walked across the ruined church. "Your little body is scattered all over the room… You're only a child, yet I don't have an ounce of pity for you. I'm actually enjoying the sight quite a bit."

Rapture was too dangerous for a normal human to fight. Even with Shizuka's enhanced DNA, she was no match for its sheer creativity and power. Fortunately, she had one more trick up her sleeve. One moment, her body was ragged and bloodied. The next, Shizuka seemed to be completely healed.

Blondie's eyes widened in disbelief. That wasn't Pillar Man healing. It was instant. She'd never seen a healing power like that before. There was no flash, no glow, not even a hint of magic to speak of. One moment there were wounds, the very next moment they were all gone. Her eyes couldn't believe it, but it happened anyway.

It was Shizuka's turn for the element of surprise. She leapt up and sprinted over toward Blondie with The Circle Game ready to attack. Blondie panicked, driving her scepter forward and aiming for Shizuka's stomach. She'd stop at the first sight of a portal, but she had to try! Shizuka didn't flinch, driving one foot into the ground and swinging her Stand's fist right at Blondie's face. The scepter stabbed directly through her unconscious form, and The Circle Game successfully punched Blondie once again.

The adult's vision faded for a moment, and she heard that faint singing once more… It sounded even closer this time.

We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came…

Blood. There was so much blood. Debbie felt it trickling down her body as she watched her former attacker lie lifelessly on the floor. He'd… he deserved it! He had tried to take advantage of her. She thought he was different… He told her he was different. Sweet words and expensive drinks lulled Deb into a false sense of security. Next thing she knew, she was being kissed against her will.

She didn't want to hurt him. She begged him to stop, warned him of what could happen… The young woman heaved, agonized sounds of stress and confusion passing through her lungs as she stared at the corpse she created. She was only eighteen… She wasn't ready for a man like him. He didn't let her say no.

He deserved it…

So why was she crying? Why was she sobbing if he deserved it? Tears trailed down her neck and met the blood on her dress as she tried to grapple with what she'd done. It all happened so fast! He didn't stop when she begged him to get off, and suddenly his chest burst open in a bloody, horrifying mess.

He thought she was weak.

That was it. He thought he could take everything he wanted from her without any consequences. A smile crept across her lips as she realized what this meant… She didn't have to be afraid of men anymore. She didn't have to fear walking alone at night, or waiting at the bus stop without any other women around. She didn't have to worry about being alone with men in the workplace, or anywhere else… If anyone ever tried to hurt her, she'd give them the same fate as the fellow decaying before her.

She lifted her blood-stained hands up to her face and stared at them with a newfound appreciation. It was almost like a painting… Why hadn't she realized this sooner? She tried to keep her power hidden away… She wallowed away in the small corner of society that men shoved her into and thought that was all life could be… She didn't have to listen to men. They couldn't control her. They never could. She just needed to be strong enough to do something about it…

But this wasn't the first man you killed, was it?

Deb gasped as the memory was altered. The spell was broken by that voice, and she suddenly remembered that it was all an illusion. She stared at the corpse with a hollow feeling. It didn't excite her like it had back then. She'd killed much bigger, scarier men since… Still, she had a fondness for that lowlife. Without him, she might have never realized her place in the world.

"No, he wasn't." She smiled, her true body appearing over the quivering eighteen-year-old form.

And go round, and round, and round in the circle game…

Blondie's real eyes shot open as she remembered what was happening. The Circle Game was subjecting her to the past again! What was the endgame? How could this be Tsuru's grand plan? She felt her chest heaving uncontrollably as unpleasant memories floated around her mind. She felt rather complicated about these things, and it wasn't like she could go to a therapist and confess to multiple murders.

As she grew cognisant of the world around her, Blondie noticed that Shizuka had tanked a lethal blow from her scepter in order to land that previous attack. The girl pulled herself free from the weapon and healed almost instantly. Blondie scowled as she struggled to understand. It wasn't like her own healing ability. Even Shizuka's clothing was restored! Could it be like Josuke's Crazy Diamond? No, that didn't work on the User. This was something new. Could it be like The Circle Game's primary method of attack? Was Shizuka healing herself by altering the "time" of her own body?

Thirty minutes ago, Dolly would have said such a thing was impossible. Her definition of that word seemed to be changing, though.

Damn time abilities… They were always the most complicated to work around. Blondie didn't falter, though. She would find a way to defeat this brat. There was no such thing as an invincible Stand. Even her Rapture could be bested, as she was learning firsthand. The Circle Game must have had some sort of weakness, something for Blondie to exploit!

The woman's eyes went cold as it hit her. She had been so naive… There was a reason that The Circle Game had been pulling its punches. It could have summoned a million scepters and rendered Blondie an unrecognizable pile of flesh and blood. It could kill her at any moment. She was so taken aback by the nonsensical nature of The Circle Game's ability that she didn't consider its simplicity.

She felt her eyes rolling back in orgasmic bliss as the realization washed over her. Her chest bounced as she laughed uncontrollably. Tears flowed from her eyes as she cupped her face in one hand, unable to believe her situation.

Shizuka's body cautiously watched this behavior as it considered its next move. Blondie glared at the child with a wicked grin.

"What's the matter, girl?" She practically spat the last word. "Why don't you attack me with whatever you've got in those portals? Here!"

Rapture thrust its scepter directly at Shizuka's stomach. The Circle Game caught it with a portal, and soon it stabbed right into Blondie's back. She screamed in amusement at the pain, eyes dilating as she struggled to maintain consciousness. It felt so real, but it wasn't. Five more scepters tore through her body. She didn't care, instead she allowed herself to be thrashed and jerked in every direction by the violent attacks. None of them could wipe the smile from her face. Absolutely none of this was really happening. Even the pain was a figment of The Circle Game's creation!

The scepters eventually pulled out and disappeared. Blondie felt as blood poured from her gaping wounds, but she wasn't worried. There was a reason Shizuka wasn't sending millions of spears out. It's because she couldn't kill Dolly here.

"I think I'm figuring you out, Tsuru." She moaned in pain. "Why don't you hit me again? Do your worst…"

Shizuka's expression was vacant. She stared eerily at the bleeding woman as The Circle Game considered its next move. After a moment, it swung its fist and struck the woman across the face yet again.

Blondie's grin only grew as she was whisked away into the make believe realm of The Circle Game. She heard the singing and gave a passing thought to where she might end up next.

And go round and round and round in the circle game…

Debbie sat cross legged on the floor of her parents' bedroom while her mother cuddled Vera close. The older sister leaned her back against the wall and tried to focus on her book. She was always nervous whenever Mom held the baby. She was so sick these days, and Vera was delicate. The poor girl had been born prematurely and still wasn't the right size even a year later. Sure, Debbie might have been a little too overprotective, but with her father in the picture she had every right to be. She didn't trust her mother to keep Vera safe from him, so she always had to lurk close by whenever the woman held her sister.

The front door slammed open, causing Deb to jump in surprise. Her father never just opened the door. He always treated it like everything else and hit it. She knew the peace was dead for the rest of the night. The girl took one more look at her peaceful mother and baby sister before her dad would inevitably storm in and ruin everything. She heard the refrigerator open and winced in anticipation.

"God-DAMMIT Sophie! What the hell happened to my beer?"

Deb knew it was over. She wouldn't know a moment of calm until morning. The bedroom door flew open and her father stomped in angrily. Sophie held Vera close, almost too sick to deal with her husband's anger.

"You finished it last night, dear. Didn't you say you'd pick up more on the way home from work?"

"The way home from work!? I've gotta pick up my own beer after a hard day at work? I provide everything for this family and you can't even get my fucking beer!? When are you gonna get out of bed and contribute to this goddamn household, Sophie?" He screamed.

Deb stared at the carpet. She didn't want to be noticed… Maybe he'd storm out and go to the store? That was the best case scenario.

"The doctor doesn't know when I'll be better." Sophie frowned. "He doesn't even know what's wrong with me."

"Ooooooh, I'm sure! Guess I'd better call the doctor again and pay him to touch my wife in my own bedroom for the third time! If he can't diagnose you, I shouldn't have to pay him!" The man growled.

"Darling, I'm-"

"Don't darling me, darling." He hissed. "Have you even tried to get up lately? C'mere. Try to stand up."

He stomped over to the bed and began to tug at Sophie. This alerted Deb's protective instincts. She wasn't concerned for her mother. She was worried about Vera. The older woman frowned, resisting her husband as he tried to pull her from the bed.

"Honey, no. I can barely breathe." She gasped.

"Gimme the kid. Here. Give her to me." He took Vera in one hand, cradling her against his chest as he used the other to yank Sophie toward the edge of the bed.

"Stop it!" She said with what little sternness she could muster.

"You stop it! Stop being a goddamn leech and stand up!" He growled.

The baby was crying at this point. She began to squirm around in her father's grip. He paid her no mind though and continued to abuse his sick wife. Deb didn't know what to do. She was too afraid of her father to approach and pull Vera out of his arms, but the baby wasn't safe in such a loose hold! Sophie continued to refuse her husband's wishes.

"Let me go! I can't get up!" She whined.

Deb bit her lip and watched the situation unfold before her. She only saw one outcome. "Mom, get up!" She urged the woman along. "Just get up, please!"

Sophie looked betrayed as her own daughter joined in on the yelling. The look of genuine shock and disappointment would likely haunt Debbie for the rest of her life. It froze the girl in her tracks for a moment, petrifying her with shame. The father wasn't slowing down, though. He pulled even harder, successfully uprooting Sophie and dragging her over to the edge of the bed.

"Get the fuck up now, Sophie!" He screamed.

He bent down in an attempt to pull Sophie even further. As he shifted his weight, Vera was extremely close to falling from his hand. Sophie continued to struggle, slapping her husband's hand away and giving him a good shove. This caused him to stumble back, his face twisting into a blind rage as he was treated in such a way. He stomped toward the bed, grabbing Sophie's arm and pulling with all his strength. This caused the mother to swing off the bed. She grabbed onto him for support, causing the man to lose his footing. He started to fall, and in the confusion, Vera was no longer in his grip.

Time felt like it stopped for Deb as she watched her baby sister in the air. She was too far away… There was nothing she could do. Who could be to blame for Vera's death? Sophie, and her inability to stand? Perhaps it was her father and his unfettered temper? Maybe one could blame gravity for delivering the child heartlessly to her demise? Deb didn't care. She knew one thing to be certain. It wasn't her fault. She'd spent every waking hour of her life keeping that girl safe from her father, and for what? Nobody had ever watched a child closer… Nobody had ever loved a child so dearly.

It felt like the world was crumbling all around Deb as she stood in the doorway of her parents' bedroom. The family was one child smaller than it was just a minute ago. It wasn't until she looked down at the carpet and noticed dozens of little wet spots that Deb even realized she was crying. She couldn't hear a thing… Between the awful, piercing cries of her mother and the angry, guilty shouts of her father there was nothing she wanted to hear in the bedroom. Her ears rang as all the noise in the apartment faded into a pointless whine. One thing was certain… There wasn't a baby crying. Such a staple of the apartment for the better part of a year had been Vera's incessant cries… They would never happen again. She'd cried her last tear. It was over.

The vision of Vera lying lifelessly on the carpet stayed frozen for quite some time… Eventually, Blondie realized where she was. She wasn't Debbie, not anymore. This was The Circle Game's ability once again. The sight of her dead sister stayed before her, though. She looked around, wondering if Shizuka was watching close by.

"Do you plan on leaving me here all night?"

"You did nothing to help her."

Dolly's hands began to tremble.

"Nothing at all. You just stood there."

She felt her jaw flexing uncontrollably in anger. Her hands curled and uncurled repeatedly as she searched for a way to channel her anger.

"She could still be alive today. She was ten years younger than you."

"HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Dolly screamed at the top of her lungs, summoning Rapture in the dreamworld and digging its talons into the air before her. She grinned as they dug into something solid. This wasn't real. This scene had finished long ago. It was all a story being displayed by The Circle Game's power. The Stand needed to force physical contact to initiate the visions! That's why they only happened when it delivered a solid blow to Blondie's body. That meant they were still standing in the church… If she focused hard enough, she could grab The Circle Game with her Stand.

"Got you…" She growled.

The Circle Game's head slowly appeared in the room as Rapture's talons sank into its glowing flesh. Blondie had her adult body once more, and she licked her crimson lips in anticipation for what came next.

"You think that showing me these memories will weaken me? That's your goal, right? You can't kill me in the church, can you? Even the church is your imagination! That's why there's no outside! You don't have me in some alternate reality! You have me trapped in a vision! We're layers deep now! It's all to weaken my psyche and win, ISN'T IT!?" She rolled into another burst of uncontrollable laughter.

"It'll never work, Tsuru! Why don't you play the rest of the story? Why don't you see what happened after Vera's death?"

The Circle Game struggled against Rapture's strength. That wasn't very accurate, though. The will of Tsuru's spirit was being overwhelmed by the will of Blondie's. The Stands were just a visual representation of it. She was correct in saying that none of this was real. Blondie was overpowering The Circle Game and gaining control.

"Play the rest!" She ordered.

The Stand's eyes went dark before bursting with an amber glow. Rapture had fully overpowered its will.

And go round and round and round in the circle game...

Who was to blame? Debbie kept asking herself that question as the world spun around her at a million miles an hour. The apartment seemed like a blurry haze through her tears. She'd truly dissociated from her situation. Sophie? Her father? Gravity? Who was to blame? Sophie? Her father? Gravity?

Sophie?

Her father?

Gravity?

Sophie?

Her father?

Gravity?

Sophie.

Her father

Gravity

None of these answers satisfied her. Yes, her father was a wicked and abusive man. She'd always feared that he would kill Vera. Despite that, Deb couldn't find it within herself to pin him with the sole blame in this situation. Sophie had been wrestling and fighting with him while he held Vera so precariously in the air. How could a mother be so thoughtless? Not only that, but the situation wouldn't have happened at all if Sophie had just gotten well faster. Why was she so goddamn sick? Why couldn't she be like the rest of the mothers and walk with her daughter to the store? Why couldn't she do the laundry, or sweep the floor? Why did Deb get beaten by her father because the counters were messy when that should have been her mother's job? She hated her father, of course. She fucking hated him. But as she dwelled on the subject, it became clear that Deb hated her mother too. She hated her for being weak. Why was Sophie so weak?

Sophie.

Her father.

Both of them were abusive in their own ways! Sure, her dad struck her and belittled her, but her mother put such an undue burden onto the girl! Deb almost felt like a mother and she was only ten-years-old! She assumed all of the "mom duties" of the apartment and still had to work her actual job to boot! It wasn't like she got to spend any of that money, either. She sewed in order to buy things for Vera. Her father drank and smoked all of his paychecks away, after all.

Sophie.

Her father.

He was weak too! He was controlled by his vices, unable to go a single evening without drinking himself into a coma! The entire house smelled like cigarettes, and Deb could never manage to wash it out of her hair! He gave into every single impulse that came to his mind. Whether it was hitting his wife or losing the rent in a pool game, he always seemed to think about ten minutes after he acted. Even though he was strong enough to put Deb into an early grave, he was still so weak.

Sophie.

Her father.

Gravity?

No… Gravity wasn't to blame here. It was just doing what gravity has always done. Deb wouldn't be that irrational. There was a third party to blame, and she certainly didn't need to point any fingers at gravity. She knew it to be true… Deep in her heart, Deb already had the answer. The three people to blame for her baby sister's death.

Sophie.

Her father.

...and Vera.

Maybe if Vera had been born on time she wouldn't have been so tiny? Maybe she could've survived such a simple fall? If she hadn't been so weak, Deb would have been able to rest every now and then. Instead, the older sister had to obsess over keeping the baby safe. She'd worry about her while working, showering, or doing anything else. Vera was the center of Debbie's universe, and now she was dead. Because she was weak.

Weak.

Weak.

Weak.

She hated all three of them. Debbie couldn't even comprehend how much she hated her family. They were all worthless and weak in their own rights. Every one of them disappointed her. She couldn't count on them in a pinch, and she certainly didn't look to them for love or compassion. All three of them were leeches. They sucked at her veins until there was nothing left to give. Cigarettes, bedpans, bottles… All of them needed things from her. When would enough be enough?

A dark aura began to form around the child as she stared into oblivion. The cloud spun slowly around Debbie, coiling like a spring from head to toe. She was confused, heartbroken and so many other things. Debbie didn't know much. She wasn't educated, and her parents didn't exactly take the time to pass on generational wisdom either. There was one thing she did know, something that burned in her heart.

She wasn't weak.

No, Debbie was far from it. She was stronger than the rest of her family. She was powerful enough to withstand it all. That's why everyone came to her with their petty needs. Cigarettes, bedpans and bottles! Why couldn't they get those things for themselves? She thought it was because they were lazy, but now she knew the truth. They were weak. They were dependent. They were below her.

Debbie walked over to her parents as they bickered and grieved beside the bed. Vera was gone, but they continued to dwell over her body like it meant something. Debbie had already moved on. She was better than them, stronger than them. Her mother turned to face her, tears flowing freely from her tired eyes. Deb's eyes were empty as Sophie leaned in for a hug. The child accepted it, closing her eyes and feeling the dark aura growing stronger around her.

She placed her hands on either side of her mother, burying her face in the woman's torso briefly. Not even this hug made her feel anything. A loving, grieving hug from her sobbing mother, and she felt nothing at all... She'd lost all love and affection for the woman. Sophie didn't serve any use for her anymore.

Away with her.

The woman went stiff at first. It wasn't until Debbie pulled away that Sophie's balance gave way. She fell onto her back, still as a statue. The woman had looked pale for months, but there wasn't even the slightest hint of life or color to her skin anymore. Debbie's father stared at the corpse in shock. His weak mind couldn't comprehend Debbie's actions anymore… She had surpassed him, and he'd spend the rest of his life wondering when it happened.

"What… What the fuck..? Sophie!? Are you okay? Sophie!" He shouted down at her.

"She's gone, Dad." Debbie spoke in a calm, level tone.

"Gone!? What the fuck are you saying, you brat? Your sister's not waking up! We need to get her to a doctor."

"She's gone too." Debbie shrugged.

"Stop saying that!" He went to slap her, but his hand was stopped inches before her cheek.

Debbie watched in fascination as a black, taloned hand faded into view before her. At the moment, she could only see a lone hand that vanished at the wrist… Still, it seemed to be enough to stop a man as weak as her father. She stared into his eyes, gripping his hand with her invisible force. There wasn't a trace of empathy in her gaze.

"They're both dead, Dad. They were weak, and now they're gone. You're going to call the police and say that she fell and died while holding Vera. Neither of us had anything to do with it." Her inflection grew darker as she went on.

"How're you doing that?" The anger was gone from his voice by that point. All that remained was fear.

She smiled.

"Because I'm strong, Dad. Stronger than you. I still need you to go to work, though. I can't make enough money on my own, and an orphanage doesn't sound fun either. That's why you're alive. Okay? Go to work, and you'll stay alive."

Tears welled up in the man's eyes. Debbie had never seen her father cry before. It was refreshing.

"If they're weak, and that's why they're dead… D-Does that mean I'm strong?" He asked with a whimper.

"NO!" She clenched the dark fist around her father's hand and dug those talons deep into his flesh. He bled profusely, but wouldn't die. There would be no more dying for the time being. "Don't ever say that again, Dad. You might be the weakest of all. You're alive because you work. Don't get it twisted. If you get it twisted, I'll get a new dad. Okay?" She tilted her head, staring daggers into him.

"O-Okay, Debbie... " He sniffled.

"Good…" Debbie grinned, licking her lips.

The little girl slowly transformed back into the fully matured Blondie as the vision came to an end. She once again had The Circle Game in her grip, staring into its eyes as she towered over it victoriously.

"You see? This isn't a traumatic memory for me, Tsuru… This was the greatest day of my life. It's the day Blondie was born… The day I got my Rapture! Your strategy was solid, and your execution was flawless, but it would never work on a woman like me. I don't have a tragic backstory for you to exploit. You've lost."

The Circle Game struggled to raise its glowing hand. The Stand tried to swat at Blondie, but the woman caught it with her own physical fingers. "In this world, I can touch your Stand… I can do anything. Before I end this little dream world of yours, why don't I borrow a strategy from your book? Tell me, Tsuru… Is there anything you'd like to forget?"

The Circle Game began to thrash uncontrollably in Blondie's grip as the echo of Tsuru panicked. Blondie licked her lips, leaning closer to her prey. She took control of The Circle Game's world and forced it to reflect her will. She had the ability to change anything she wanted. Why would that be limited to the physical world? As the apartment vanished, the scene was replaced with something a little more familiar. The new scene was somehow even more grim than the one they left behind. Of course, Tsuru would recognize it.

Hakone, Japan, 1964. Tsuru's living room… It was the night she lost her family.

"I find this grotesque… But, in a sense, this is exactly what you tried to do to me. It's a good thing you have Shizuka knocked out and tucked away, Tsusu… She doesn't need to see this."

What unfolded next was nothing short of hellish. Even Blondie struggled to listen to the screams. She wasn't proud to admit that she even averted her eyes several times during the display. The Circle Game was a continuation of Tsuru's soul… A shade of sorts that echoed her fighting spirit. The real woman might be long gone, but a part of her was there with Dolly in that moment. A part of her was reliving the worst night of her life.

The Stand's struggles only grew worse. Blondie looked around and noticed that the visuals were beginning to flicker and glitch. Soon enough, the walls literally melted with color as the world outside the window disappeared. The Circle Game was losing even more control. Soon, it wouldn't be able to maintain the world of illusions. Blondie held the Stand and weathered the storm. The world fell apart all around her. She watched as the ceiling collapsed, and soon the house was gone. All that remained were the screams. Tsuru would never be rid of those screams. Blondie had read her therapist's notes, after all. She knew everything about the woman.

The woman grinned as she heard a familiar singing in the distance. It was weak, but still audible. Perhaps this was the last time the mysterious vocalist would ever perform the lovely song. She'd let it play to its completion…

And go round and round and round… in the circle game.

Waking up in the real world felt like lifting one's head out of a tub of ice water. Blondie gasped for air, unable to process her surroundings for a minute. The last few times hadn't been as dramatic for a good reason. She hadn't really been waking up during any of those visions! She looked around and tried to piece it all together. She was back in the church, though the hole she blew into the wall was absent. All of her blood was gone from the carpet, too. There were no signs of her grenade's explosion to boot. A sickly grin crawled onto Blondie's face as she concluded what she'd been suspecting for some time.

That entire battle had taken place within The Circle Game.

From the moment the Stand punched her in the face for the very first time, everything else was a facade. It was impressive, without a doubt, but nothing more dangerous than a movie screen. That's why Shizuka seemed invincible. That's why she wasn't summoning millions of lances and killing Blondie instantly. That wouldn't make for a good movie! And that's all it was…

The real Shizuka was lying unconscious on the floor. Blondie chuckled to herself as she waltzed over to the sleeping girl. The Circle Game had been destroyed. Blondie had entered its mind and utterly defeated it. The echo of Tsuru was exposed to her trauma and couldn't overcome it. Blondie clicked her tongue in disappointment.

"Tsuru, that was always your downfall… Our experiences defined both our lives, but for very different reasons… You spent your whole life running away from that night, but I spent my whole life chasing the high of that experience. I've never been happier than the night I killed my mother."

Shizuka was silent. She'd sustained too much spiritual damage for the time being. Blondie sighed, reaching down and lifting the girl into the air with one of Rapture's hands. She stared at the sleeping child without any mercy. This was her enemy. This had to be done.

"Shizuka, Shizuka, Shizuka… If you really are a reincarnation of Tsuru, then you might have had a chance against me." She licked her lips. "You shouldn't have let your past self lead you blindly through the dark. Tsuru could never beat me. What compelled you to think she'd get it right this time?"

Rapture took its free hand and balled it into a fist. Without another word, it plunged that fist directly through Shizuka's chest and impaled her on its arm. Rapture held Shizuka high into the air, the colored light from the church's stained glass windows painting the girl's lifeless face blue as she hung there. A bit of blood had spattered onto Blondie's face. She lifted her real hand and wiped it off with a bit of distaste on her expression.

"If only you'd played along, there would absolutely have been a place for you both in my new world… I have a million negative things to say about you, but I won't deny one respect..."

She dangled Shizuka's corpse in the air, smirking as she noticed that the girl was hovering right in front of the crucifix on the far side of the church. The way she held her, it almost looked like Shizuka was hanging from the cross. Blondie chuckled at the display. Poetic? Certainly, but it wasn't prophetic. There were no more surprise resurrections in this story. It was time for Blondie to enact the Rapture.

"...you're strong." She whispered to the corpse, ripping her arm from Shizuka and allowing the girl to topple onto the carpet.

The woman leaned down and placed her finger against Shizuka's neck. No pulse, and her skin was getting colder… It wasn't much of a surprise. She could see where the girl's heart was supposed to be in her enormous chest cavity. Still, one could never be too careful.

Blondie stepped over the girl's body and made her way to the church's exit. She pushed the door open, clearing her throat and snapping her fingers. Mortimer appeared a moment later with a tall glass of wine for her. She grinned, taking it and allowing herself a long, deep sip of the drink.

"Madame…" Mortimer asked quietly. "Is it finished?"

She continued to sip the wine, not finishing until the entire glass was empty. Blondie threw the empty glass against the floor and dusted her hands off with a sigh.

"Yes. Shizuka Joestar is dead."

To be Continued...