Before we start, two things I forgot last time:
•Ted is based on Ted Gärdestad, and his stand on the song 'Jag vill ha en egen måne' (I want my own moon).
•Titanium's gem shape and placement were inspired by the Steel Inquisitors from Mistborn, although she only has a spike (gem) through one of her eyes.
I've been feeling a lot more motivated lately. Probably thanks to all the wonderful support I've been getting from my awesome readers! Thank you all. Please enjoy.
xxXXxxxxXXXxxxXXXXxxxxXXXXXxxxxxXXXXXxxxxxXXXXXxxxxXXXXXxxxxXXXXXxxxXXXXX
Lamp Entertainment presents…
The new guests appearing in the sleepy little restaurant had helped breathe new life into the place before it was consumed and left alone in the darkness.
Now, there was a light. A 'light' that was 'human.'
But still, the darkness from outside kept on creeping closer and closer, threatening to engulf and extinguish that light.
Our heroes would fight against it, keep it at bay.
But whilst they looked into the darkness coming from outside, they would miss the darkness already sitting next to them…
Chapter 12: Sweet and the Psycho, Act 2
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk to you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
Empire City, Ted's Moon…
A few minutes later, everyone had settled down with some (admittedly, lukewarm) food. Ted had closed the restaurant, and was currently pottering about, cleaning and preparing for the next day.
Jotaro eyed the strangers in the restaurant. Call him paranoid, but over the years he had found it best to always keep an eye on the people around him. Thugs, thieves, scammers, stand users and rival professors trying to discredit his research had taught him that. No matter where you are, there's always someone who wants to hurt or take advantage of you.
It paid off to be aware of your surroundings.
A lady he didn't know the name off, the one who had already been in the restaurant when they arrived. She was tall and robustly built, with bright pink hair and a pierced lower lip. She was looking at her phone, not paying the other people in the restaurant much attention. Something Jotaro could appreciate.
Outside, a man standing on the other side of the street lit a cigarette. The metropolitan music filled the air and made its way inside the little restaurant.
Then there was Ava Fusilli. Something about her was… off, but Jotaro couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. She was just a woman of average height and build. Platinum blonde hair, Italian accent. She had a weird smile. Strained, with tightly closed lips. At the buffet, she had taken only a plate of rice and was now eating them very slowly, taking only a few grains on a fork and chewing them slowly.
An eating disorder?
She hadn't said much after introducing herself, only smiling that strange smile. Occasionally she threw glances towards Ted or the man that had accompanied her.
Her companion was acting weird too; he looked confused, seemingly looking to Ava for instructions.
Yes, something was definitively up. Jotaro could practically feel it in the air; the feeling of something you can't see or hear yet, but you could still feel moving close to you. Like an insect moving close to you, or a mouse moving inside the wall next to your bed as you were trying to sleep. It was almost like a sixth sense.
Outside, it was getting dark quickly. Too quickly. Empire City was always lit up with bright lights, lampposts and bright flashing neon signs. Yet now… the lights had begun to dim.
Jotaro listened. The sound of the city was a constant. Always there. It was still, but now… quieter. Slowly fading away, as if someone was turning down the volume dial of the world.
Moving slowly, Jotaro reached for a pen in his pocket. Across the table, Josuke was chewing on some bacon and reaching for his phone. Jotaro took a deep breath.
Time stood still.
Star Platinum appeared next to Jotaro, grabbing the pen and a napkin. It swiftly wrote down two words: 'stand user.'
One second had passed.
The mighty stand folded the napkin and hid it in Josuke's hand, making sure it was hidden from view.
Two seconds had passed.
Star Platinum faded from existence and time resumed.
It was always interesting seeing the result of a timestop. Things that had been frozen in place one second suddenly moves again. The shock on people's faces as something changes from one second to the next.
Josuke's eyes widened as he felt the paper in his hand that hadn't been there before. Cautiously, he opened his palm. His eyes went from wide to narrow as he read the message within. He met Jotaro's eyes and gave a small nod. That was the reaction Jotaro had been expecting.
What he wasn't expecting was Ava suddenly cocking her head, listening intently. Her smile became a bit wider. Her lips opened up just a bit, white teeth glimpsed through.
How? Did she know….? But there shouldn't be any way for her to tell if time was stopped. Jotaro had made sure Star Platinum wasn't visible and from where she was sitting she shouldn't be able to see the note in Josuke's hand or his subtle expressions.
There was a piece of the puzzle still missing.
「SLAM!」
Everyone in the restaurant nearly jumped right out of their skins at the sudden sound of a glass slamming onto the floor.
Seven heads turned to Ted sitting on the floor with a drinking glass over a spider. A big spider.
"Oh dear," he said. "This is no good." He grabbed a small notebook and ripped off the front page. "Spiders in my restaurant." He carefully shoved the paper under the glass. "I probably should kill it, but I can't stand to hurt anything, even if they're pests. I'll have to call professionals." Ted seemed to be talking more to himself than his guests as he was walking to the door to let the spider out.
Outside, it was dark. Too dark. The man on the other side of the street had nearly vanished in the darkness, only the glow from his cigarette penetrating the shadows.
The pink-haired woman looked around at the others.
"What was that all about?" she asked quietly. "I couldn't see any spider? That glass was empty."
Josuke and Koichi both sat very straight in their chairs, already having figured out what was going on. Okuyasu less so, but even he realized that whatever was happening was not good.
Ava sighed loudly, rolled her eyes and shot pink hair a dirty look. "You know…" she said and stood up, her companion doing the same. "…most people think of spiders as insects. But they're not. They're arachnids. Like scorpions."
「CRASH!」
The tourist stand users stood up in unison, Josuke so violently he knocked over his chair.
Outside, the sound of the city had completely disappeared. Just like that; snuffed out, muted. The darkness was absolute. It even seemed to spread into the restaurant itself, the wall becoming darker.
"H-hey, what's going on?" Pink hair asked nervously. "You guys are acting really freaky."
"This is of no concern to you," Jotaro said. "Leave immediately."
Ava chuckled. "I'm afraid I can't allow that," she said. Then, faster than anyone could react, faster than any human should be able to move, she lunged at pink hair. She grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Leaving witnesses alive really isn't my style."
"Star Platinum: The World!" Time stood still again. Star Platinum grabbed a rifle bullet from Jotaro's pocket, took aim and flicked it towards Ava's wrist. The bullet flew a few meters before slowing down and coming to a halt, just like everything else in Jotaro's stopped time.
One second had passed.
Jotaro examined the rest of the room. Using Star Platinum's superior vision, he could see the traps Ava had spread throughout the restaurant. Strings. Spider's thread, nigh invisible to the naked eye especially in this dim room.
He looked behind him, at Ted. The man was still over by the entrance. Even in frozen time, Jotaro could see that his eyes were empty. Blank. As if a soulless beast had taken him over.
And if he was possessed, then Ava's companion was likely possessed by a fleshbud too. That explained how she could contro…
Jotaro's train of thought arrived at the logical end station. And the result made his blood freeze.
Two seconds had passed. Time resumed as normal. The bullet struck Ava's wrist, blowing right through it. However, instead of screaming in pain and dropping pink hair, Ava looked upon it with an amused expression.
"Impressive," she said. "Jotaro Kujo's legendary timestop ability at work, I assume?" She squeezed harder around pink hair's neck. The wound on her wrist closed itself, healing in only a few seconds. "But I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."
"I-impossible," Josuke stuttered. "She can't be human!"
Ava smiled widely, revealing a set of fangs. "Correct," she said and bit down on pink hair's neck.
xxXXxx
Low Orbit, Onboard a Gem Roaming Eye…
Hayato was nothing if not an eternal pessimist. Still, even he would have to admit that things could have been a lot worse… At least the aliens hadn't probed him. He wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but the other boys had school had thought it was really funny, so Hayato figured it couldn't be too good.
Anyhow, so far, kidnapping had been pretty chill. He got to sit in a corner, try to look small and unthreatening, and the extra-terrestrial abductors left him alone. Well, except for the small red one, Ruby.
She had apparently gotten bored of looking at what Peridot was doing and instead turned her attention towards Hayato, staring at him awkwardly. He had tried to ignore her at first, looking down at the floor and avoiding eye contact, but she persisted. Slowly, she was inching closer.
"Hi," she said.
"…Hi," Hayato answered.
"I'm Ruby. What's your name?"
"Hayato."
"Hai-ah-toh," she tasted the word. "That's a weird name. What's your job?"
"Um… I don't have a job," Hayato said.
"You don't?" Ruby sounded surprised. "Then… what do you do?"
"I'm a child, I go to school," Hayato said.
Ruby tilted her head. "Are you an off-color?"
"I-I don't understand what you mean." Hayato said. "Sorry," he added. According to Moonstone, she had an 'explosive temper,' so it was probably a good idea to keep her in a good mood.
Speak of the devil, and she'll butt into the conversation.
"Organics aren't like us, To… Ruby," Moonstone said. She didn't even bother turning around to face them. "They don't have predetermined purposes or jobs like us." She stared off into the distance, looking at a point beyond the confines of the spaceship.
"Perhaps that is why organic civilizations are so ineffective? Because they lack a higher order and objective. Any collaborative efforts turn into a mishmash of individuals working for their own endgames in a chaotic mess."
"You're one to talk," Titanium remarked. "You're a tactical adviser trying to take on the Crystal Gems with a failed experiment and two off-colors. What was it you said about 'chaotic mess?'"
Moonstone glared at Titanium. "I'm working with what I've got. And if Josuke Higashikata really can do what I've been told he can do, we may not even have to fight the Crystal Gems." She threw a small blue crystal ball into the air and caught it again. "Besides, aren't you forgetting someone?"
Titanium flinched and glanced to her side.
"Oh yeah, your 'invisible friend.'" she said. "What exactly is she going to do? Put on a light show?"
"We'll see. Peridot, how's it going? Are you getting anything out of Hayato's communication device?"
"Oh, um, well, I…" Peridot was taken off-guard. "It's definitely a communication device… short range, connects to the satellite network around the planet using radio waves…"
"Good. Can you track it?" Moonstone asked.
"I mean… I could track a signal through the network to a receiver on the other end, but…"
"But what?"
"I, ah…. I can't unlock it," Peridot admitted. "I have tried everything, but the security is too tight. It seems to be based on some kind of biometric signature. It won't even register my touch stumps." She demonstrated the futility by tapping the phone a few times.
Hayato would have laughed if not for the fact that, you know, hostile aliens. Her fancy floating fingers were made of metal. They didn't work on the touch screen. These high-tech beings from another world, capable of faster than light travel… stumped by cellphone touch screens. What's next, a computer virus written on a laptop?
Titanium rolled her eye and snatched the phone from Peridot. She handed it back to Hayato. "Unlock this. Contact this 'Josuke Higashikata,'" she told him.
…
"And what if I refuse?"
Hayato was shaking, but his resolve was firm! He was scared but he was not going to let his friends be hurt! Not if he could do anything about it… even if it meant he'd lose his own life.
Titanium fixed him with a cold stare. She towered over him, an enormous cold pillar. "Are you sure you want to do that? Cause if you refuse, then…"
"In that case…" Moonstone interrupted. She was calmly observing the young human. "In that case, we go back."
Hayato and Titanium both blinked in disbelief. What was the blue lady saying?
Moonstone threw her ball into the air again, catching it on its way down. Up, down, catch. Up, down, catch. "You're the type who would rather die than let your enemy win, correct Hayato? You would let yourself come to harm if it meant protecting Josuke Higashikata, right?"
Hayato didn't say anything, only trying to muster as much fiery determination he could and channel it into his stare.
Moonstone sighed. "Realize that it doesn't matter to us how we find Josuke Higashikata, just that we find him," she said. "That human I talked to earlier. She knew who Josuke Higashikata was. She is related to him in some way, correct?"
Hayato's heart sank in his chest as he realized where she was going with this.
"Even though she didn't know anything about stands, she definitely knew the person. So it would stand to reason that she would have contact information on Josuke Higashikata as well. Am I correct?"
Yes. Yes, she was correct.
"It's up to you, Hayato," Moonstone said. "I have a mission. A very important mission. And I will do everything in my power to see it through. I would prefer if it didn't involve hurting any humans, but if it can't be avoided…"
It was a lose-lose situation. Either way, they would find Josuke. The only difference was, in one scenario, Tomoko would at least be safe.
Hayato lightly pressed his thumb against the 'home' button on his phone. It read his fingerprint and unlocked itself.
Moonstone nodded and leaned back in her chair. She threw her ball into the air again. "Peridot, prepare to track Josuke Higashikata's communicator."
"Sorry Josuke," Hayato whispered as he tapped 'Contacts' and scrolled down to Josuke's number. He tapped 'Call.'
xxXXxx
A disgusting sound of teeth tearing through flesh. A sickening sound that stays in your ears and follows you around.
The vampire Ava slurped on Pink hair's blood. Her throat squeezed tightly, the poor woman couldn't even scream in pain, only croak meekly.
"Crazy Diamond!"
Josuke wasted no time leaping into action, rushing forward to help.
"DORA!"
His stand delivered a punch to Ava's face. The attack was enough to send her flying several meters back, dropping Pink hair in the process. Josuke caught the girl in his arms. A golden aura surrounded her and Ava was forced to vomit back up the stolen blood. The blood flew from her mouth, right back into the wound, which closed itself.
"I really think you should leave. Right now," Josuke told her. He stared the vampire in front of him. She was already back on her feet. A punch strong enough to dislocate most professional boxers' jaws barely faced her.
Josuke took a step forward. "We'll handle this." Behind him, Crazy Diamond hovered, ready to deliver its next attack. And this time, it would do more than just send the monster flying.
"Josuke, wait," Jotaro said. "You're forgetting something."
The pompadour teen stopped. "What?"
"The fleshbuds. Remember what happened to Okuyasu's dad. I don't think you want that to be the fate of these poor men."
Ted and Ava's companion still hadn't moved. They seemed to be waiting for orders.
Ava laughed. "That's right. You better be careful not to kill me, because then…"
"Five minutes," Jotaro interrupted her. He walked up to his uncle, intent on taking his place as the vampire's challenger. "Josuke, you take care of Ted. Okuyasu, Koichi, you handle him." He nodded towards the man in the ugly smiley beanie.
He grabbed his phone from his pocket and set a timer.
"You have five minutes. Then she dies."
xxXXxx
Star Platinum: The World
Close-range power type stand. Usually referred to as just Star Platinum.
User: Jotaro Kujo
Description: A tall muscular humanoid with long hair and an overall wild and imposing appearance.
Powers and Abilities
•Superior Strength-SP is really strong
•Super Speed-SP is exceptionally fast.
•Enhanced Eyesight-SP possess eyesight sharper than an eagle! It can see several kilometers away and notice the finest of details invisible to most.
•Star Finger-SP forcefully extends its index and middle up to two meters in order to hit enemies normally outside of its range.
•Timestop-Star Platinum: The World's ultimate ability! When activated, time is completely frozen, excluding only SP: TW and its user. From the perspective of the user, the timestop lasts for circa two seconds.
Stats:
Destructive Power: A
Speed: A
Range: D (two meters)
Durability: A
Precision: A
Development Potential: C
XXxxXXXxxxxXXXxxxXXXXxxxXXXXXxxxXXXXXxxxXXXXxxxxXXXXxxxXXXXxxxxXXXXxxxxXXXXXxxxxXXXXxxxXXXXxxxXXXXxxxxXXXXXxXxxxxXXxxXXxXXXxXxXxXxXxxXXxxXXxxXXXxxxXXXXxxxXXXxxXXXXXX
Remember that bacon. It's going to be important later.
This chapter went through a couple of rewrites, specifically the first part. The original drafts featured a lot more awkward smalltalk, but I ended up cutting all that out. I've been trying to move the story along just a bit faster.
However, I had to sacrifice one of my favorite sentences; "Okuyasu was trying to figure out what part of a 'Flying Jacob' you're supposed to eat first."
I could ramble on forever about everything that went into writing this chapter. For example, Ava eating rice in a weird way is a reference to one story from One Thousand and One Nights. Or the rewrite I did to Moonstone's little speech in order to not make her a hypocrite. Or how English is really confusing. 'Lamppost' is one word, but 'volume dial' is two? The heck?
But I know no one is interested in that, so I won't. I'll just start working on the next chapter. Lots of action incoming! Will five minutes be enough to remove all the fleshbuds? We'll see in the next chapter of JoJo and the Crystal Gems: Sweet and the Psycho, Act 3!
So until next time, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!
