A/N: Let's get a few things out of the way before we can begin.
1. If you don't know by the summary, Part 6 does not exist in this universe, the only original character from Stone Ocean present in this story is Jolyne. So Dio never had a diary and whatnot.
2. I know that there are many returning characters from part 3, especially part 4, but this story isn't really about them. You'll see in future chapters that this story will really be about my own original characters and their own Stands, (I've made 20+ original Stands for this fanfiction).
3. This will be updated every Friday with no exceptions. Doesn't matter if it's a holiday or not. So expect a new chapter every Friday without any breaks until the story is finished. If I don't post on a Friday, then assume I'm dead. Or my internet's down. You choose.
4. Lastly, there is a bit of cursing in this fanfiction, but there will be no slurs or f words. Enough rambling, enjoy and feel free to comment, I will respond to all the comments I can, so feel free to ask questions.
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Episode 31: Def Leppard-The Wall Part 3
By 6:30, Tenmei had arrived at the SPW building where Josuke and the others were being held. Binns, Jotaro, and Portobello were already there, along with a dozen other Speedwagon Foundation officers. They were already sitting at a table. There was one empty seat next to Jotaro.
"Sorry, were you all waiting for a long time?" Tenmei asked as he took off and hung his jacket.
"No," Jotaro said, "We just got here five minutes before you."
"Good," Tenmei said as he sat down in the empty seat, "Has anyone noticed anything? Any suspicious people in Morioh? Any airships in the sky? Any signs of attack from The Wall?"
Tenmei was met with several head shakes. "They're biding their time," Binns said, "Who knows when they're gonna strike? Last time, Dianne waited two months. It's only been three weeks. Don't you all think it's a little too early? I think we should close this operation for now."
"You could be completely right," Jotaro said, slouching on his chair, "We could all just be paranoid. The enemy wants us to spend every waking minute anticipating their attack. And when we finally tire ourselves out, then they attack. That is a plausible thing that could happen. But let me ask you this, Binns," Jotaro leaned closer to the Binns, "What if we close the investigation and you're wrong? Then they would infiltrate Morioh and pick us off one by one."
"And what makes you think that these meetings are going to prevent that?" Binns asked, "They could be infiltrating right now and we wouldn't know it. This is all just a waste of time."
"I understand your point of view, Binns," Jotaro said, "But are you saying that the chances of someone spotting them beforehand are zero? Are you declaring that under no circumstance whatsoever they will be spotted? That they will take everything into account and not leave a single track that leads to them? I'm not saying that this is impossible either. They could be just that good. But people make mistakes, and even if they're flawless in their plans, they might slip up. Of course, this is just an assumption. We don't know for sure. That's why we hold these meetings because all we can do is assume. Because we don't know a hundred percent that they won't be spotted. We can't be certain. So that's why we're here. For that slim, minuscule chance that they might mess up."
"We can't rely solely on small chances, Mr. Kujo," Binns said, "Surely someone with enough experience as yourself can realize that."
"Hold that thought, Burns!" Portobello said.
"It's Binns!"
Portobello ignored him and crawled onto the table before walking to a Speedwagon Foundation officer farthest from him.
"What is he doing?!" Binns yelled, "Get him down from there!"
"No," Jotaro said, "I want to know what Portobello Belle is thinking."
"Me too," Tenmei said, "That man truly interests me. Anything he says is either truly intriguing or truly idiotic. You can never know with him."
"Your face," Portobello said as he pointed at the SPW foundation officer. "I haven't seen it before. Who are you?"
"What are you talking about?" The SPW officer said, "I've always been here."
"No, I don't think so," Portobello said adamantly, "This is the first time I've seen you. You just lied to me. Why would you lie?" Portobello looked back at everyone else, "Come on, don't tell me I'm not the only one who hasn't noticed!"
"Come to think of it," Tenmei said, "I don't think I recognize you. What's your name, officer?"
"Elliot," the SPW officer said.
"Elliot," Tenmei repeated, "I don't remember having an Elliot among our ranks. Is that your first name or your last name?"
"First name," Elliot said.
"What's your last name, Elliot?" Tenmei asked.
"Collen. My name is Elliot Collen."
"Binns, can we get a check on that name?" Tenmei said, "Elliot Collen. I've never seen or heard of him."
"I don't have an Elliot Collen working for me," Binns said, "Who are you?"
"I didn't think you'd be the one to catch on, Portobello Belle," Elliot said, "Of everyone here, I find it ironic that you were the one to find me out."
"He's an enemy!" Tenmei yelled, "We've been infiltrated!"
Everyone stepped away from the table as clay dolls rose from the ground. "I brought some of my friends along, I hope you don't mind!" Portobello said.
The three clay dolls that were hiding under the table the entire time closed around Elliot, cutting away any exits. Just as the three raised their arms to get ready to attack, they stiffened and stopped moving. Portobello felt his movements become more labored as well.
"Portobello!" Tenmei yelled, "What happened? Why aren't you attacking?"
"The truth is," Portobello said, "I can't move. And it doesn't seem like my friends can either."
"What do you mean you can't move?" Jotaro asked, "Is Elliot a Stand user?"
"Indeed I am," Elliot said, "I work for The Wall. Why am I telling you this? Because I'm so confident that I can beat you all. I already killed a Speedwagon Foundation officer and stole his uniform and badge to sneak into this meeting.
"Who are you?!" Portobello asked, "And why can't I move?"
"I just said, I'm with The Wall," Elliot said, "And you can move just fine. It's the air around you that is difficult to move."
"Air," Tenmei muttered, "Is that your ability? To control the air?"
"Not even close," Elliot said, "My Stand can control much more than that."
Suddenly, Portobello could move again. The clay dolls fell to the floor as if they were melting. The ground under Portobello seemed to melt as well, causing him to sink in.
"Jotaro," Tenmei called, "Elliot's range seems to only be about three meters. That's why we're unaffected. What do you think his ability is? It looks to me like he can harden or soften objects."
"I don't think so," Jotaro said, "He said earlier that the air around Portobello was difficult to move. How could he harden air? There's something else to his ability."
"I need blood," Tenmei said, "I need to attack the enemy."
"No need," Jotaro said, "Star Platinum: The World!"
Elliot's head perked up when he heard the word, and for a split second, the ground began to harden again before time was stopped.
"Yare yare daze,"
One second passed.
Star Platinum punched the desk in half, giving Jotaro a direct path toward Elliot and Portobello.
Two seconds passed.
As Jotaro observed the floor, he felt it harder to walk. Almost as if something was pushing against him.
Three seconds had passed.
Jotaro did not sink into the floor like he expected. It seemed as though it had hardened again. The closer he stepped to Elliot, the harder it was to move his body. By the time he reached Portobello, he found it extremely hard to breathe.
Four seconds had passed.
Jotaro was almost completely immobile. He was just over a meter away from Elliot, and couldn't attack him. I can't move. There's nothing I can do. It's almost as if the air itself has been hardened, but that's impossible. You can't change the hardness of air. It seems that this ability is still active during stopped time. Jotaro knew he only had half a second left, so he managed to push Portobello away.
Five seconds passed and time resumed.
Portobello fell back in between the broken desk. Jotaro stood unmoving just over a meter in front of Elliot.
"What the hell happened?" Binns asked.
"Jotaro stopped time," Tenmei said, "What's going on, Jotaro, why haven't you attacked?"
Jotaro could no longer move a muscle in his body. He stood still just behind the equally unmoving clay dolls.
"Something's wrong with Jotaro," Tenmei said, "Binns, use The Space Between!"
Right as Binns activated his Stand and was seconds away from holding his breath, he felt something equivalent to several rocks hit him, and he fell over.
"What was that?" An SPW officer said, "Officer Binns, are you okay?"
The officer ran towards the knocked-out Binns.
"Wait, don't move!" Tenmei yelled, but it was too late. Something shot a hole through the officer's head.
Tenmei sighed solemnly, "Such a waste. But your death won't be in vain." The officer's blood swarmed around Tenmei as Ruby Tuesday appeared beside him. The blood turned into spikes that Ruby Tuesday threw at Elliot without hesitation. As the spikes neared Elliot, they seemed to stop as if they had pierced through a wall. No matter how much the spikes were pushed, it was as if a block of concrete was shielding Elliot.
"What is this ability?!" Tenmei yelled, "I can't touch him. Not even Jotato could touch him in stopped time!"
"Sorry for the wait!" Portobello said, "Say, where do you think I could find sand?"
"Sand?" Tenmei asked, "I don't think we're keeping any spare sand here."
"Do you think it's in the building?"
"No, I said that we're not keeping any sand here."
"No, no, Kakyoin!" Portobello wagged his finger, "Not inside the building. In the building. A part of the building!"
"What?" Tenmei asked, "I'm sure that there's sand in the concrete and screed, but what are you going to do with sand you can't access?"
"You know," Portobello said, "Sometimes I think people underestimate me because I don't have a good memory. And those people can walk away as if nothing happened because chances are, I will forget about them. But the stuff I don't forget," Portobello knocked on his head, "it stays in there."
Expresso Love appeared and touched the floor. Part of it disappeared as cement and sand appeared on the table floating around it.
"Just have to add some more water," Portobello muttered to himself as Expresso Love waved its hands in the air and the water particles in the air appeared as normal water on his table. "Now let's give it a little shake." The table spun rapidly around the Stand. The cement, sand, and water stuck to it but mixed together.
"There we go!" Portobello said, marveling at his new mixture, "Now this will give us a visual representation of the enemy's attack. There seems to be some sort of invisible force attacking us. This should help out."
"Portobello Belle, you genius," Tenmei said as the blood spikes flew back towards Ruby Tuesday, "Why didn't I think of that?" The blood turned back into a liquid, flowing around Tenmei's Stand. "We're doing this together, Portobello!"
Ruby Tuesday threw the blood as Expresso Love through the runny cement. Both liquids stopped a few meters away from Elliot. The liquids spread on what seemed to be an invisible dome perfectly encompassing him. Jotaro and Portobello's clay dolls were trapped inside this dome.
Elliot stood still, unmoving just like the clay dolls and Jotaro. His eyes were the only parts of his body that moved, tracking the cement and blood.
"You seem to have gotten this wrong, my friend, Kakyoin," Portobello said, "I didn't do this just to see his range. I could've used the water vapor in the air to just throw water on him and we'd see this dome just as well. There is another reason why I went through all the trouble to make this cement."
Expresso Love floated up to the cement and touched it, the symbols across its table glowing. The cement hardened and started to sink into the sphere.
"What are you doing?" Tenmei asked.
"I got an idea when I saw your blood spikes stab into the air earlier. The sphere's not invincible, your spikes stabbed through it earlier. In theory, if we use enough force, we can break through it."
The cement hardened into several spikes of concrete. "My Stand allows me to move this however I like," Portobello said as the spikes all formed into one long needle. "If I can slowly get this in. It should reach the enemy."
The concrete needle punctured the orb and slowly made its way toward Elliot. "You see," Portobello said, "The only issue is, the farther in this needle goes, the more force it takes to keep digging it in. It's a shame that Kenna Fletcher isn't here. Our Stands are very similar, you know. Although she can't give life to anything, I can't manipulate kinetic energy like she can. The reason I'm bringing this up is that this would be way easier if her Redbone could just transfer kinetic energy straight to the needle."
Tenmei looked at the other SPW officers, "Try shooting him," he said, "I don't think the bullets will reach him, but I wanna see how far in they go."
The officers aimed their guns at Elliot's unmoving body. The bullets stopped just over two and a half meters away from him.
"It seems that the bullets can break through just under half a meter through." Tenmei said, "but is it safe to assume that whatever this orb is, it gets harder the closer it is to its user?"
Tenmei heard a groan and looked over at Binns. "I need to wake him up! How's that concrete needle, Portobello?"
"It seems to already be one meter inside. Using my ability to change its shape, I can slowly force it through this orb. But your theory about it getting harder the closer it is to the user seems to be correct. I have no doubt I can reach him, but that's going to take several minutes."
"It's fine," Tenmei said as he arrived at Binns, "The user can't move either. He's not immune to his own ability. He can't undo the sphere just yet or Jotaro will be released. And now that Jotaro knows how his Stand works, I doubt he'll fall for the same trick twice. The second Jotaro gets free, this battle will have already been won. That's why the enemy hasn't undone his ability. The question is, what is he hoping to achieve? Is he buying time for someone else? That's the most likely scenario. The sooner we can get Jotaro free, the better. You guys," Tenmei looked over at the other SPW officers, "Keep your guns aimed at Elliot Collen. If he chooses to undo his ability, you have permission to shoot him dead. I'll doubt he'll tell us anything if we interrogate him."
Tenmei disregarded the dead SPW officer, who had been killed by something bursting through his head, as he looked down at Binns. "Come on!" he said, "Wake up! You and Jotaro are our most useful allies! The enemy incapacitated you both. I need you awake, Binns!"
"I've made it in a meter and a half," Portobello said, "Maybe we won't need him after all."
"I'm not doubting your abilities, Portobello. I know you can get through. But you said it's going to take a few more minutes, right?"
"As I said, this sphere's center gets harder. It'll take about twice as long before it reaches the enemy. So I'll estimate about five minutes."
"Five minutes," Tenmei repeated, "That's too long. Elliot Collen is waiting on someone. I suspect that another member of The Wall is already on his way here. Keep going though, Portobello, just in case. I need to wake up Binns!" Tenmei turned back to the unconscious officer, "Come on Binns, damn it! People are dying!"
Tenmei heard something shoot through the air and instinctively created a wall behind him using the dead SPW officer's blood. A hole punctured through the wall, just barely missing Tenmei's head.
"What the hell was that?!"
"A part of the sphere broke off and shot at you it seems," Portobello said, "I'm not positive. The blood was still on the sphere so I definitely saw it break off. But after that, the blood fell off of that piece and it became invisible. I think that's what was shot at you."
Tenmei looked down at Binns and the dead SPW officer, "Is that what did this to you? If it was strong enough to break through this officer's head, then why did Binns survive the attack? It would've been beneficial for the enemy if Binns had died. So why…?" Tenmei touched the back of Binns' head and felt something wet. He looked at his hand. It was bloody. Tenmei flipped Binns around and saw a gash going up the back of his head.
"It scraped him," Tenmei muttered, "He didn't die because Elliot didn't want to kill him, he only wanted to knock him out. Whatever was shot at him scraped the back of his head. I don't think it's lethal. But if he bleeds out too much, he could die. Did the enemy know I could stop his bleeding? Elliot Collen knows my Stand ability. Was he confident that I wouldn't let Binns die?"
Tenmei used Ruby Tuesday to block any more blood from exiting Binns' body. He then looked back at Portobello. "Do you think we'll get through faster if I apply force as well?"
"Your Stand can't change the shape of the concrete," Portobello said, "Only I can do this."
"No, no, I meant pushing," Tenmei said. The dead SPW officer's blood flowed behind the spike and began to push it farther in.
"We can maybe get through a minute faster like this," Portobello said, "Normally this concrete would break if so much force was applied to it, but I can prevent that with my Stand ability."
"Let's do this!" Tenmei yelled, "We'll crack through this sphere and kill this new Stand user!"
The blood push mixed with the cement spike sped up the process to an unbelievable amount. Elliot looked with worry as the spike entered within one meter of him. Tenmei and Portobello kept driving it in, and when the spike reached less than half a meter away, Elliot knew he had to leave. But how could he exit the sphere without having Jotaro and the clay dolls escaping?
"One more push!" Portobello yelled, "I can feel it! We need one more push!"
"Get ready to shoot!" Tenmei said as he looked at the SPW officers, "If this cement spike doesn't pierce the user, then shoot him! Don't hesitate. Let's do this, Portobello!"
Tenmei and Portobello put all their strength into the next push, determined to drive the spike through Elliot. Right as the spike was about to stab through Elliot's head, the sphere burst loudly, broke apart into hundreds of pieces, and shot out in every direction. Tenmei was able to shield himself using blood while the clay dolls instinctively leaped in front of Portobello and blocked the attack. The other SPW officers weren't so lucky, for the bullet-sized pieces of the sphere that were shot out went straight through all their bodies, killing them instantly.
"Is everyone okay?" Tenmei checked as he lowered his blood shield.
"I'm fine!" Portobello said before looking at his mangled clay dolls, "But my best friends are dead! Something shot into them dozens of times! No! My friends! How could this happen?! I guess other people died too, but that's not important."
"Other people?" Tenmei looked from Portobello to the eleven dead SPW officers. "Damn it! I can't believe I let so many people die! This can't be happening!"
"Kakyoin!" Jotaro said as he stepped away from Elliot. "I've figured out the enemy's ability!"
"Really? What is it?"
"He can change density. He can choose to harden it or soften it. It's like what happened with Portobello earlier when he sunk into the ground. Elliot Collen made the density of things around him softer. He activated his ability right before I stopped time. He began to harden the density around him. I don't think he can harden the density of something and soften the density of another thing at the same time. Plus, you and Portobello found out that the hardened air density was in the shape of a sphere. This leads me to believe that everything within a sphere with a three-meter radius around Elliot is affected. I don't think he has a choice."
"But then how did he do that?" Tenmei pointed at the dead SPW officers.
"I'm not exactly sure," Jotaro said, "But it looks like he shot out extremely dense air as if they were bullets. Elliot may be able to shoot out tiny bullet-sized pieces of his sphere. That's how he injured Binns and killed the first SPW officer. He undid the sphere to save himself, but also used it as an attack to prevent himself from being shot to death."
"Damn you, Jotaro," Elliot said with a smile, "You saw through my Stand ability. Did you manage to figure all that out while you were trapped around dense air? That's quite impressive." Something humanoid began to appear next to Elliot, "My Stand's name is Def Leppard. It can harden or soften the density of anything encompassing it and shoot it out. All I have to do is take care of you three. If I can defeat all three of you, then The Wall's victory will be certain. You three are strong Stand users, and your defeats will gravely impact your friends."
"You've already killed twelve innocent people, bastard!" Tenmei yelled, "You've done quite enough!"
"Not enough, it seems," Elliot said, "But it's a good thing my work here is just about done."
"What does he mean by that?" Portobello asked, "Are you saying that you've already figured out a way to defeat us?"
"No," Elliot said, "That's not what I meant." The door to the room opened, and David Gil Moure stepped in, holding his polaroid, "So sorry to interrupt, but it seems that Elliot here has been quite busy. I came here at 7:45 sharp, just like we agreed. Beedul encountered his targets a little earlier than anticipated so I was almost late, but I made it." David aimed his polaroid at Tenmei, Jotaro, and Portobello.
"Look out, he's going to attack!" Tenmei yelled. David took the picture, making sure to get Binns in frame as well. "Anyways, I'm off," he said as he put the picture of Tenmei and the others, and the picture he had taken earlier of June and Ally into a photo album, "I have to get to Vitas by 8:00. He should already be engaged in battle Joanne Jones and Kenna Fletcher by now. Beedul's just outside the building. His Stand is already attached to Ally Clayton's shadow and she's on her way here with June Eaden. It would be best if you made your way towards him." Before anyone could stop him, David disappeared.
"Well, it seems things are going according to plan!" Elliot said, "I hope you don't mind if I soften things up a bit." The ground and wall next to Elliot began to soften so much that it tore apart, sending everyone falling out of the building.
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A/N: And that's chapter 31! We got introduced to the third member of The Wall, Elliot Collen, and his Stand, Def Leppard. Def Leppard is a rock band, and Elliot Collen is named after two of its members, Joe Elliot, and Phil Collen. Def Leppard's ability is an interesting one, it can increase or decrease the density of objects within a three-meter sphere around the user. I also find it comical how Portobello was the one to spot Elliot. None of the others noticed him until Portobello pointed it out. Also, isn't it interesting that Elliot specifically chose not to kill Binns? Why would he have done that? come to think of it, the only ones Elliot didn't kill are Jotaro, Tenmei, Portobello, and Binns. Is this plot armor, or is there a reason for all this? (Spoiler alert, there is a reason for all this). But to find out what that reason is, you'll have to wait. So see you all next week for Episode 32: Pyromania-The Wall Part 4.