Love Live! Bizarre Adventure Project: Starlight Crusaders
Chapter 10: Death 13 (Part 2)
Last time on Love Live! Bizarre Adventure Project!
Maki Nishikino here, and I think I'm going insane. The words "BABY STAND" were carved to my arm, which could only mean that the baby we took with us is a Stand user!
Do I really have the heart to attack a baby? Or can I neutralize him safely? That's if he really is a Stand user.
Despite being stranded in the middle of nowhere, Honoka and crew made the best of things. Eli cooked some food by the fire, while Nozomi, Honoka and Maki ate theirs.
A bit of a distance from the fire, Umi drank some of her coffee, then made a comment on her current location.
"So this is northern Aomori... over 600 kilometers from Tokyo." Then she looked up to the sky. "It's been about a week since we began our journey. We have plenty of time left, but we should hurry." The bluenette walked back to the others. She first paid attention to the troubled redhead.
"Maki..."
When Umi took a seat, Nozomi spoke to her. "Umicchi, what do you think is up with Maki-chan? First she nearly kills us in her sleep on the plane, now this. She even went after the baby." Maki facepalmed as she heard the purple-haired girl talking about her.
"Something's just not right." Added Eli. "If you ask me, she's at her wit's end. Do you think she'll be able to keep going from here?"
Mannish Boy peeked out of his basket and lightly cackled at Maki. "For a second there, I thought she actually figured me out... But now Nishikino's half-doubting herself. To top things off, we're in the middle of nowhere. All I have to do is wait until they fall asleep. If there's no one to wake them up..."
Eli was almost done cooking some food for Mannish Boy, which crossed Honoka's notice. "Something smells good. What kind of food is that?"
"Baby food." Said the blonde. "It's a concoction of milk, egg yolks, bananas, and bread all stewed together." Eli scooped some of the food out with a spoon. "So, you wanna taste?"
Honoka nodded, then Eli spoonfed her. She chewed it a little, then was amazed at the taste. "Wow! This is flat-out amazing! Give me more!" Honoka took the pot then ate more of Mannish Boy's food.
"Easy now! There won't be any left for the baby!" Said Eli as Mannish Boy glared at the ginger.
"Incompetent bitch! How dare you eat my food!? I'm wasting away over here! Hurry up and feed me, dammit!"
The baby looked to his other side and saw something on his basket! He knew what it was, and it scared him! "A-A hornet!" The hornet crawled inside the basket and slowly pursued Mannish Boy! "Blast it!" And then it charged at him!
Thankfully, Mannish Boy was smart enough to defend himself. He took the safety pin from his diaper and impaled the hornet with it!
"That was a close one..." He looked behind himself and saw that Maki caught him defending himself! She could not believe what she saw!
"C-Crap baskets! Nishikino was watching."
"He killed the hornet." Maki realized those words carved to her arm weren't lying. "Th-That baby really is..."
"Sh-Shit!" Mannish Boy was not sure how he was going to get away with this!
Meanwhile, Honoka ended up eating all of Mannish Boy's food.
"That's it!" Said Eli.
Maki called the two girls' attentions. "Honoka, Eli, did you see that!? That baby's not normal!" She pointed to Mannish Boy's basket. "He just killed a hornet! He stabbed it! The boy skewered it with his own safety pin!"
Everyone was thoroughly confused by what Maki just told them. "Maki-chan, hold on. What are you talking about?" Asked Honoka.
Maki repeated herself. "I'm saying that baby's not a baby! He's not even a year old, yet he knew what a hornet is... And he killed it with those tiny hands of his!"
"A hornet?" Asked Honoka. She ran to Mannish Boy and picked him up. "Where is it?"
Honoka searched the boy while Maki searched the basket. "It's in here! There should be an impaled hornet in here!" But somehow Maki couldn't find it. "I-It's gone?"
While Maki had no idea how the hornet Mannish Boy just killed disappeared, the other girls were now suspicious of her.
"I swear it's true!" Then she tried to grab the boy out of Honoka's arms. "He hid it somewhere! Check his clothes!"
Honoka backed off. "We got it, Maki-chan! Knock it off! That's enough!"
"Honoka!" The redhead whined.
"Like I said, you're clearly exhausted. Get some rest, and we'll talk about it in the morning." Then Honoka walked away. Maki looked at Nozomi, Eli and Umi, the three of which were disappointed in her.
And then Maki had a realization.
While Maki was presumably spiraling into insanity, Honoka made more food for Mannish Boy. She blew on the spoon to cool it down.
"Okay, open wiide! It's dewicious!"
Mannish Boy couldn't eat because he already stuffed something in his mouth. He tried to swat the spoon away.
"Uh oh? What's the matter? You were hungry a minute ago. Did you lose that big appetite?" Honoka asked as she tried feeding the boy again. "Say 'ah.'"
"S-Stop it! I can't eat right now, you idiot!"
Then Maki swatted the spoon out of Honoka's hand. "Honoka! I'm not imagining things! I don't know where he hid the scorpion, but I'm sure he's the Stand user! And there's something I have that will prove it to you!" Then she pulled her sleeve up to reveal the carvings on her arm. "Look at these cuts! Read what it says! It's a warning! It must've happened to me while I was sleeping!"
Honoka, Nozomi, Eli and Umi could not believe their eyes as Honoka exclaimed "Oh, my God!"
"Maki, you didn't do that to yourself, did you?" Asked Umi.
"M-Maki, it's finally happened..." Said Eli.
Nozomi had nothing to say, but Honoka repeated herself. "Oh, my God!"
Mannish Boy mocked the redhead. "You colossal buffoon! Didn't you realize if you showed them the cuts on your arm, they'd think you were crazy!?"
Maki was unsure if she'd finally convinced the others or not. "Did I just make things worse? It looks like... I have no other choice!"
"It's time for a little force!" Then she summoned her Stand! "Psychic Fire!" Mannish Boy shook at Maki actually attacking him instead of trying to convince the others that he's a Stand user!
But before Maki could hit him, Eli used her own Stand, Soldier Game, to hit Maki in the head.
"It's no use. She has completely lost her mind." Said the blonde.
As Maki slowly lost her conscience, she spoke her final words in her mind. "This can't be happening. I'm certain of what I saw, Umi... His Stand was the one we fought in our dreams, Eli. We can't fall asleep, Honoka. Believe me, Nozomi. Everyone... If we fall asleep, we'll be killed. Please, you guys. You have to believe me..."
And then she dropped to the ground.
Mannish Boy cheered for his soon-to-be victory. "Yes! My secret is still safe! You girls lose! Your petty mistrust just cost you your lives! Victory is mine, fools!"
Honoka put the basket down and gently tucked Mannish Boy in it.
"I can't believe it... Does this mean Maki can't fight or travel with us anymore?" Asked Eli.
"We'll discuss it in the morning." Said Honoka. "Time to sleep."
Honoka and the others walked away from Mannish Boy. "Eli-chan, give me a hand moving Maki-chan."
"Sure thing."
"Umi-chan, Nozomi-chan, you bring the sleeping bags."
"Right." Said the two.
Mannish Boy leaned to the side of his basket and finally spat the hornet out of his mouth.
Honoka heard Mannish Boy, but she wasn't sure what it was. "You say something?"
"No. She's just really heavy." Said Eli.
"I see." Replied Honoka.
"I'm gonna slice every one of you up and scatter your remains all over the plains!"
Not much later, the five girls were fast asleep.
Umi found herself in a place unknown, and so did Honoka, Nozomi and Eli! Their sleeping bags were sat in the middle of a teacup ride!
"Why are we sitting around in the middle of an amusement park, like a bunch of idiots?" Asked the ginger.
The blonde exclaimed "That's right! Th-This is..." She remembered the danger Maki was warning her and the others about. "Honoka! Umi! Nozomi! Be on your guard! My memory's coming back. W-We're in a dream world. A horrible one... We've entered a world of nightmares!"
Honoka was relieved. "Oh, so it's just a dream. You had me worried there." Then she bundled herself back up in her sleeping bag.
Honoka's obliviousness reminded Eli of when Maki tried to warn her of the danger. "Don't make the same mistake I did! Listen! Maki was telling us the truth! Baby. Stand. We're in enemy territory. I didn't believe it either, but that baby is a Stand user!"
Outside Dream Land, Mannish Boy ate his food, now that Eli wasn't asleep to take it from him. "There's no one left to wake you from your slumber now. Which means, they can't escape Death 13! I'll finally finish you all!"
The four girls got out of their sleeping bags and inspected the territory, while Eli regretted what she just did earlier.
"I knocked Maki out! She should already be here!" She ran off to the distance. "We've gotta find her! Where are you, Maki? I've got to make this up to you!"
Nozomi pointed at the blonde. "E-Elicchi, good lord! What is going on with your hair? Did you mess up brushing it?"
Eli looked at a mirror and saw that her ponytail was at least three times longer than usual! Then it grew another three times longer! The newly added hair grabbed to pillars standing next to each other and pulled Eli back!
"Elicchi!" Cried Nozomi.
The gold chains on Umi's trench coat wrapped around her neck! "What?"
Honoka felt something unnatural in her left hand! "M-My... My left hand is-!" Then it comically inflated! "Holy smokes!"
Nozomi's feet grew three times their size! "Huh!?"
A mailbox and a group of flowers laugh at Honoka and crew.
"How are we supposed to fight him? How!? Anything can happen in this world! There are no rules. Nothing makes sense!" He has total control over everything! Wait. I remember there being one rule. If he wants to slice us to pieces, he'll have to use his Stand, and nothing but his Stand!"
Death 13, in the "flesh", slowly approached the four girls. "Lali-ho!" Eli has seen this horror before, but not Honoka, Nozomi or Umi. "Lali-ho!"
Umi knew she had to fight back! "Slight Fever..."
Eli warned the bluenette! "Umi, it's no use! It's impossible to bring our Stands into the dream world!
"...Mystery!"
Despite Eli's warning, Umi was able to summon her Stand!
"T-That's weird... Her Stand manifested." Said the blonde.
However, instead of attacking Death 13, Slight Fever Mystery decided to attack Umi instead!
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA! ORAA!"
Umi was knocked over as her Stand started laughing like a maniac and materialized a frying pan out of thin air! It flattened its own face with said pan!
"Ora?"
Then it slammed itself with the pain again!
"Ora?"
SLAM!
"Oraa?"
SLAM!
Slight Fever Mystery simply blew raspberries.
SLAM!
"Oraa? Ora? Ora?"
Then Slight Fever Mystery spun its head and laughed maniacally again! It later revealed itself to be a doppelgänger Death 13 created!
"Lali-ho! I'm a fake!"
Then that fake of Slight Fever Mystery became a mix of itself, Death 13 and Soldier Game!
"The overwhelming power! The absolute terror! It's so much fun! A Stand is a manifestation of the mind. And what are dreams if not the mind laid bare!? My Death 13 has trapped you in your subconscious, which is why you can't summon your Stands! But..."
Death 13 sliced the fake Slight Fever Mystery's head clean off.
"Had you summoned your Stands before you fell asleep..." The dream Stand pushed the fake's head off its scythe. "...you could have brought them with you, like the clothes you're wearing and your sleeping bags. Death 13 will never be forced to face another Stand! And only a Stand can defeat a Stand, so I'll always come out on top!"
Unknown to Death 13, something approached it from behind.
"Now... How about you give me a scream? One that captures the joy and elation I'm about to feel at my easy victory!"
A white and red tentacle emerged from behind Death 13, which crossed the girls' notice!
"Lali..."
Then a hand grabbed the Stand by a shoulder.
"...ho?"
Psychic Fire revealed itself to Death 13, and spoke the latter's catchphrase. "Lali-ho!"
Death 13 didn't know that the real Psychic Fire is right behind it. "Oh, it's just one of the fakes I made." Death flicks Psychic on the forehead, but it reacts by strangling the former!
"W-What!? I don't get it! This one doesn't seem to be a fake! This is the real Psychic!"
Eli's hair returns to normal! So does Honoka's left hand, Nozomi's feet and Umi's gold chains!
"It's... normal!" Said Honoka.
Eli pointed to the distance. "Look, it's Maki! Maki's right there!"
Maki sat peacefully in one of the ride's teacups. "Did you forget I'd summoned my Psychic by the time I was knocked unconscious? I had it burrow underground to conceal itself. Before I fell asleep, of course."
The choking Death 13 begs Maki to stop. "You can't do this!"
"Now, it's time for your punishment, baby." Mocked the redhead.
Outside Dream Land, Mannish Boy was suffocating, but that was expected given Stands usually reflect damage to their users, and vice versa. "Damn that bitch!"
Death 13 tried to retaliate against Psychic Fire but it was no use! "Let go!" Death's back was a big blind spot and Maki knew damn well about it.
"Give up, Death 13! I had Psychic place herself in your blind spot. If you keep up this futile struggling..."
Maki jumped out of the teacup. "I really don't care that you're a baby. I'll snap your neck like a twig!"
"Maki-chan!" Said Honoka as she and the others ran to her. Honoka spoke again. "Maki-chan. We owe you an enormous apology."
Eli is first to apologize. "I thought you had lost your mind! I couldn't take you at your word. You were fighting this battle alone... And for that I'm sorry."
Maki shakes her head. "No, Eli. It couldn't have been helped. I only realized how to bring a Stand into the dream after you struck me with your fist. So in a way, this is all thanks to you."
Maki's words made Eli blush. "R-Really? Now I feel conflicted about the whole thing! That's embarrassing..."
Eli chuckled in her sleep while Mannish Boy's lungs slowly ran out of air.
"He's going easy on me because I'm a baby... Nishikino, that compassion of yours is a fatal flaw! You're all still trapped in my nightmare world!"
In Dream Land, the clouds' movements accelerated!
"Uh oh, what's up with these clouds?" Asked Eli.
"Those clouds... They're changing shape and closing in!" Said Honoka as exactly that happened!
Maki reminded her foe who is the captor. "I'm warning you, don't try anything, Death 13!"
"Maki!" Umi warned her of Death's next move. "You have to get Psychic away from his back!"
The clouds formed an arm that took Death 13's scythe!
"How did?"
The cloud arm slashed at Psychic! "I'll chop you in half!" It made clean halves of both Stands!
"Impossible!" Cried Maki. "How could he do that...? He chopped himself in half..." Psychic Fire fell off Death 13's back, while its user collapsed to the ground.
"Maki!" Cried the four girls.
"Lali-ho!" Death 13 opened its robe to reveal that it doesn't have a complete body! "Haven't you figured it out? Death 13's body is hollow! It has only a head, arms, and scythe!"
Mannish Boy is no longer choking. He mocks the redhead as he's gained the upper hand!
"You gigantic ignoramuses! Let's see. Nishikino's body should also be split in two inside the sleeping bag.
Maki gets off the ground, and it turns out she wasn't split in half in the first place. "Nah, just kidding!"
"Maki!" Cheered the others as Maki brushes her coat.
"You sure you're alright?" Asked Honoka.
"Please take a closer look." Said the redhead. "She wouldn't just cling to its back forever. Surely you know my Psychic's not that careless."
Under Death 13's robe is Psychic Fire, slowly invading the former through its ear canal!
"She's not chopped in half! She's turning into a string... And she's slithering into my ear!"
Psychic unraveled further and forced its way inside Death 13 all over! It's beginning to take control of the latter!
"M-My arm is moving on its own..." Cried the disadvantaged Stand as its scythe was now only three inches away from its head! Psychic Fire is now entirely inside the dream Stand! "She's invading my skull..."
"I told you before before! My Stand was in your blind spot, and your scythe couldn't cut her. Not then, unless you'd like to be destroyed from the inside out..." Maki pulls up her left sleeve. "...how about you heal the cuts on my arm? Anything is possible in a dream, right? Healing a cut should be easy."
"R-Right..." Whimpered Death 13.
The sun rose in the morning. Maki was up early, cooking up some pancakes, sausages, and eggs.
"All right, everyone. Rise and shine!" Said the redhead, intentionally waking everyone up.
"Eli, up and at 'em! There's a nice breakfast for you!"
Eli, Honoka, Umi and Nozomi washed their faces as the former spoke. "I feel like I had a terrible dream..."
"You and me both." The ginger said. "I'm drawing a blank, but I have the feeling it was terrifying."
Eli's eyes widened. "Maki!" She walked over to the redhead, who was peacefully preparing Mannish Boy's breakfast. "A-Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Said Maki.
"W-What? You were acting like a deranged lunatic last night! You even carved letters into your arm..." Eli noticed that the carvings were no longer there. "H-Huh? The cuts are gone?"
Maki stood up and took the food to Mannish Boy. "All right, I think I'll change the baby's diaper now."
"Huh?" Eli was thoroughly confused. She wasn't sure what to think of Maki right now.
Maki gently unfolded the baby's blanket. "Good morning, sleepyhead."
"She seems to be getting along with the baby." Said Nozomi.
"Maybe I just dreamed the whole thing..." Eli added.
Maki lifted Mannish Boy out of his basket. "Well then, did you have a good rest?"
Eli gave up thinking about it. "Oh, never mind!"
Maki unwrapped Mannish Boy's diaper, revealing a very big turd. The boy was furious at her for foiling his plan.
"Everyone's forgotten. A Stand whose very existence is completely forgotten... What a strange creature." Maki lightly glared at the loser of last night's battle.
"But I haven't forgotten anything. I suppose I am the only one who brought her Stand into the dream. Listen, because you're just a baby, I won't eliminate you. I won't even injure you. We'll take you to a nearby town. You need to be returned to your mother. But don't ever come anywhere near us again. If you do, you'll have to be punished."
Maki took the spoon and scooped some of the turd out. "In a manner such as this..."
"Is that my poop?" Asked Mannish Boy as Maki dropped it into his food. Maki stirred it so the poop would mix with said food. Mannish Boy was disgusted beyond belief.
"Oh, Maki-chan. I see you've made some baby food for the little boy!" Said Honoka.
Maki was done changing his diaper as she turned to Honoka. "Yes."
"Good! I'm sure he must be starving by now."
Mannish Boy knew exactly why Maki would put his own shit in his food! "Hey... No, you wouldn't..."
Honoka prepared to feed the boy. "Eat up! These yum-yums are dewicious! Saaaay ah!"
However, Mannish Boy did the best he could to resist! Honoka on the other hand remembered him resisting last night.
"Again? It's as if he doesn't like the stuff... At this rate, I'll have to force-feed him."
"Stop!" Cried Mannish Boy.
Nozomi came to Honoka's aide. "Hey, Honoka-chan. If you force-feed him, he'll hate it even more. In special cases like this..." The purple-haired girl tickled the baby's sides. "Coochie-coochie-coo... Coochie-coochie-coo..."
The feeling was unbearable but even Mannish Boy was surprised he could take it for this long. "Coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie-coo..."
The boy finally burst into laughter, but only for a split second. Honoka finally fed him the food. He swallowed the food, and then he broke into tears.
"I told you it's delicious!" Said Honoka.
Meanwhile, Maki stood in the distance, smug because of her victory and for making Mannish Boy eat his own shit. "Ba-dum-tss."
Stand: Death 13
User: Mannish Boy
Status: RETIRED
Honoka and the others have now crossed to the edge of the Honshu island, and are about to make their way across the Sea of Japan to enter Hokkaido. But!
The girls stand at the beach in northern Honshu. Nozomi had something to say. "Elicchi, I had a very good reason for faking my death the other day."
"And that would be?"
Honoka added from there. "It was partially so the enemy wouldn't find out, but I also had Nozomi-chan do some shopping for me."
"What kind of shopping?" Asked Eli.
Nozomi continued. "It was a very conspicuous acquisition. So I disguised myself as a wealthy businesswoman."
"All right, everyone! Let's climb aboard and head out! It's almost here!" Said the ginger.
"What's almost here?" Asked the blonde. "I don't see anything-"
A submarine emerged from the water! A huge yellow one at that!
"A submarine!? Exclaimed Eli.
"That's right! From here on out, we're riding to Hokkaido in this!" Said Honoka.
"Y-You've gotta be kidding! How'd you afford this!?"
The Sea of Japan, the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean.
Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and the Pacific Ocean. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
"Nozomi-chan, do you know how to steer this thing?" Honoka asked the submarine's pilot.
"It's no problem whatsoever." Said Nozomi.
Eli walked over to them. "And Nozomi-chan's not the only one!"
Umi smiled at her. "At least you won't put us through another crash..." Then she glared at a certain ginger. "...unlike Honoka."
"Umi-chan, have some faith in me!" Honoka pouted.
"So this is a submarine... I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. It's a lot more spacious than I expected." Said Maki.
Eli nodded. "Isn't it? Rich folks use them when they want to get away for a while and explore the sea floor for pleasure." She pointed to a nearby window. "As you can see, it even has windows-"
The blonde was interrupted when Honoka rushed to the window to look through it. "Oooh! Nice!"
"Woah there!" Eli tried to calm her down.
"You know, I've always sort of liked this kind of thing. I've even wished I could ride in one with a cute girl."
Nozomi chuckled. "Your wish has been granted, Honoka-chan. But can you try just this once to take things seriously?"
Honoka noticed Eli watching a circular black and green screen. "What's that?"
"This is a sonar. It uses reflected sound waves to detect underwater objects, like a radar." Answered the blonde.
Honoka was amazed. "Wow..."
"All clear. I'm not picking up anything in our vicinity." Said Nozomi.
Eli further explained the sonar. "With this machine, we can detect anyone trying to attack us from any direction."
Umi added on. "But if someone did attack us in here, we'd have nowhere to run. Don't forget, we are sixty meters below sea level."
12:00 PM
Maki admired the submarine. "It is amazing... But I guess it is a cruiser for the wealthy. It has a refrigerator, coffee maker... It's even equipped with the latest in internet routers."
"Hey, Maki, get me a drink while you're up, will ya? I'm dying of thirst here." Said Eli.
"I'll take one, too." Added Nozomi.
"All right." Answered Maki. "Is cola okay?"
Umi noticed something off about her girlfriend. "Honoka. Why are you just standing there?"
Honoka raised her hand. "Girls, I need you to give me a moment of quiet." She pulled her smartphone out of her pocket. "I just remembered I need to make a phone call."
"A phone call? To where?" Asked Eli.
"Who would you need to call from all the way down here?" Asked Maki.
"Someone important, I assure you." Answered Honoka, who dialed the number. "You might even call it a delicate matter. Again, I need you all to be quiet."
OTONOKIZAKA ACADEMY, TOKYO
During lunch break, Kotori asks Hanayo a question. "Hanayo-chan... Which one should I wear tonight? The sparkly design on my purple dress is much more to my liking, but is it appropriate for such an event? Perhaps a refreshing white would be better... What do you think?"
"Both would look cute on you, Kotori-chan." Said the light brunette as Kotori's phone rang. When the silver-haired girl read "穂乃果ちゃん" on the screen, she answered it as fast as possible.
"Honoka-chan! I haven't heard from you in days! Where are you calling from? You're kinda breaking up."
Honoka had to lie so Kotori wouldn't get jealous of the submarine. "R-Right, sorry... I'm at a hotel. I hate to say it, but... I might not be back for a few weeks."
"A few weeks? But that'll feel like forever!"
"By the way, Kotori-chan. Have you seen Yukiho lately?"
"Yes, I dropped by your place yesterday. She and your dad don't look very good. They try to convince me it's not serious, but I think I might visit them after school."
"No, don't. There's no need for that. I'm positive they'll recover quickly. You're such a worrywart..."
Eli whispered to Umi and Maki. "This is what she meant by 'delicate'?"
Nozomi walked over to the three girls. "Indeed. Kotori-chan is still as effervescent as ever. So Honoka-chan checks in now and again to make sure she doesn't get involved with fighting DIO, that way she's out of danger."
"Are you saying that she...?" Asked Maki.
"I am. She's been told very little of our crusade. We needn't worry her unnecessarily."
"Well, if you say so. By the way, Honoka-chan, I have something I need to ask you. I'm having difficulty deciding between my white dress and my purple one tonight..."
"Is that so? Kotori-chan, I need to call Hanayo-chan."
At Otonokizaka, Kotori was a bit upset that Honoka had to end her call. "What?"
Hanayo was listening to the two of them. "Kotori-chan! Have you considered wearing your blue dress? I think it's in the back of your closet."
Kotori hung up. "You're right. I should look at it tonight." Then she ran back inside.
Hanayo dialed Honoka's number. "Honoka-chan, it's me."
"Where's Kotori-chan?"
"Inside the school. She won't overhear our conversation now."
Inside the submarine, Honoka tells Hanayo where she really is. "Actually, I'm calling from a submarine I had the Speedwagon Foundation buy for me."
"Then I take it you, Umi-chan, Maki-chan and Nozomi-chan are all in one piece?"
"Yes. We even ran into Eli-chan in Morioh. She's been following along ever since. So tell me about my dad and Yukiho. Have you gotten hold of the doctors from the Speedwagon Foundation?"
"Well, actually... The two of them say they have nothing more than a cold. They're quite insistent... But their conditions worsen by the day. Honoka-chan, I think you should defeat DIO as soon as possible before..."
"I know. That's been on hour minds nonstop for a week now. We're putting an end to all this very soon. I want my dad and Yukiho to go back to their normal lives. But I can't risk getting Rin-chan, Kotori-chan or Nico-chan killed. I'll call again soon."
"See you later. Stay safe, Honoka-chan."
Honoka hangs up the phone.
"I'm sorry you have to do that, Honoka." Said Maki.
"But you can rest easy, 'cause we're right behind you. We'll be in Hokkaido before you know it!" Added Eli.
"We must defeat DIO as soon as we can and save Mr. Kosaka and Yukiho-chan from his curse. I crawled out of hell for this very reason!" Concluded Nozomi.
Honoka turned towards them and gave a warm smile. "Thanks, you guys, really."
Outside the submarine, something approaches it at high speed!
Stand Profile: MANNISH BOY (UPDATED)
Stand Name: Death 13
Namesake: Death Tarot
Type: Close-Range Stand
Appearance/Personality: Death 13 appears as a humanoid cloaked in a dark robe. It wears a smiling jester mask with downwards curved eyes and an eerie smile, as well as metallic gauntlets, shoulder pads, a collar, and a high hat. The face's design takes inspiration from the masks found during the Venetian carnival. Death 13 is armed with a great scythe. Outside of its head and arms, it has no physical body, meaning any attacks aimed at its clothing simply passes through the emptiness under its mantle. Death 13 wears a white mask over dark purple clothes. Its gauntlets are silver and the collar is a dull gold. The scythe's stick is black.
Being an extension of Mannish Boy's consciousness, 13 reflects its user's vulgar and sadistic personality. In the dream world where it is almighty, Death 13 constantly insults and belittles its victims and takes pleasure in torturing them, having at one point made Maki swallow several eyeballs just to horrify her. It has the habit of shouting "Lali-ho." It represents the Tarot Card Death, which represents transformation and change. The stand's name also cites its place as the 13th card of the Major Arcana.
Abilities-
Dream World Control: Death 13 is unique in that it can only exist inside a dream world and thus requires that its victims are asleep. It is incredibly dangerous because it is certain to take people by surprise. It is offset by the fact that the user, a baby at that, is defenseless when everyone is awake and cannot attract suspicion.
This ability comes in two parts. When anything alive (human or otherwise) falls asleep near Mannish Boy, Death 13's User, they are drawn into Death 13's dream world, which appears as a massive carnival, complete with Ferris wheels and roller coasters. Anything in the victims' immediate vicinity, such as the clothing they were wearing when the fell asleep, will be brought into the dream world with them. The most redoubtable property of this dream world is that Stand Users cannot summon their Stand inside the dream world and are defenseless. Death 13 explains that because Stands are made of spiritual energy, during their sleep, their spirits are "off-guard" and cannot defend themselves, thus Users cannot conjure Stands. However, if a Stand User falls asleep (or gets knocked unconscious) with their Stand already active, it will be brought to the dream world with them.
Furthermore, Death 13 has full control over this dream world. It is able to make death machines out of mechanical items, summon objects out of nothing, manipulate Eli's hair or Honoka's hand, basically shaping everything as it sees fit. Although, it can't automatically distinguish whether or not something is from the dream world or the real world. It also lacks awareness of if a Stand User has fallen asleep with their Stand. As such, it believed that Psychic Fire was one of the fake Stands it created to mess with the Kosaka group until it revealed itself to be real. In the dream world, Death 13 is free to torment and kill anyone inside the dream with its scythe. Any injuries the person receives in the dream world are transferred to their body in the real world, including fatal ones. Inversely, it can also heal wounds if coerced, which also transfers into the real world.
No one can willingly wake up from the dream world, even if they injure themselves. However, they can be normally woken up by someone else in the real world and thus saved until the next time the fall asleep. When they wake up, the surviving victims won't be able to remember anything from the dream, though they will still feel the dread they felt from being subjected to Death 13's torment, giving the impression that they simply had a nightmare. However, someone who manages to bring their Stand into the dream world will still remember everything after waking up.
Because people cannot summon their Stands while asleep, Death 13 is basically invincible in the dream, as only a Stand can beat a Stand. However, if circumstances do obligate it to fight a Stand, it remains dangerous because of its mastery over the surrounding world, but it is also very fragile and weak, relying on scythe sweeps to wound. Thus it was easily defeated by Psychic Fire.
Stats -
Power: C
Speed: C
Range: E
Durability: B
Precision: D
Potential: B
Next time on Love Live! Bizarre Adventure Project
Chapter 11: The High Priestess