Lamp Entertainment presents…

It was early in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. Buck was walking through the forest in the outskirts of town. He was taking deep breaths, feeling the cool morning air filling his lungs. He smiled to himself, feeling fully at peace with the world around him.

In the distance, he heard a few birds singing a serenade to the new day.

Buck grabbed a knife from his pocket. Without even a moment of hesitation, he made a small cut in his wrist. It stung at first, but the pain quickly faded, drifting away with a light breeze. He let a few drops of blood fall to the ground where it lied for a few seconds, mixed with fresh dew before it sank into the earth. He hummed along with the birds' song as he wrapped his wound with a small piece of cloth.

Suddenly, the birds' serene singing stopped. A black object arose from the ground, sprouting like a plant from the seed of death Buck had left. It was a black doorway made from cracked stone and doors of dark wood. A foreboding message was carved into the rock above the doors.

Buck turned around and started walking back towards the city, whistling on a new melody. He had a new idea for a song…

Chapter 16: Welcome to Beach City, Act 1

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Beach City, the beach house…

It was a beautiful morning, tranquil and peaceful. The rising sun greeted the town beneath it with a warm smile. There wasn't even a hint of bad weather in sight. Days like this were what made Beach City such an attractive target for vacationers. A stranger looking in from a distance would see the delightful weather, stunning beach and inviting town. They wouldn't see the cold shadow hanging over it. A shadow courtesy of a pillar man named Santana.

Steven could feel it, like a heavy blanket of darkness lying over the town, suffocating it. There was a tension in the air, like electricity before a thunderstorm. He felt the anxiousness and fear in the people around him like it was his own. Maybe it was.

Everyone was gathered inside Steven's now very cramped living room. Well, everyone except Doctor Maheswaran; Steven had given her a ride on Lion to the hospital she worked at. It was far away enough for her to be safe. She was a bit reluctant to leave her daughter behind at first, but Connie insisted she stay with the Crystal Gems. Doctor Maheswaran eventually relented, though she made sure every single gem promised they wouldn't let any harm come to Connie. The gems very wisely agreed.

Steven felt a bit conflicted. On one hand, he kinda wished Connie had gone with her mom. He didn't want her to get hurt and Santana sounded really dangerous. On the other hand… he did feel a bit better having her by his side. Doctor Maheswaran didn't ask him to, but he made a silent promise to protect Connie as well. After all, if he couldn't even protect his friends, then what good was his shield?

After he got back from his short trip to the hospital, he and Connie started making some breakfast. Normally, that would be fun. Not so much today. It was like the pillar man could suck all the joy and life out of them just by being too close.

"As a lifelong optimist, I always like to start the day off with some good news," Joseph spoke up, addressing everyone in the room. "I just called Jotaro, my grandson. He's on his way here with… some other stand users he's gathered. They should be here within an hour or so. Probably less, knowing how that man drives. I told him that I was here in Beach City and I made sure to warn him about you," he said and nodded towards the gems. "No offense, but you are rather… unusual-looking by human standards."

"None taken," Garnet said. "I understand. We don't want any unnecessary misunderstandings."

"No we don't," Joseph chuckled. "Oh dear, I remember when I and Cesar first met you… that did not end well for us."

"No it didn't," Garnet said simply. Steven felt tempted to ask what it was that happened when Joseph and the gems first met but chose to let Garnet continue talking. "Those are good news though," she said. "We have some good news of our own."

"Yes," Pearl said. "While we were patrolling the city last night, we found Lapis!" she said and gestured towards the gem in question.

"Hey," Lapis said and waved as if everyone there hadn't already realized she was present. Of course, that was one of the first things Steven had noticed when he woke up. He remembered seeing Lapis in his dream. It… hadn't exactly sounded pleasant. But looking at her now… she seemed so relaxed. As if nothing had happened. He would have to talk to her later.

"Unfortunately… or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, we didn't find any traces of the pillar man," Pearl continued her report. "As a matter of fact, we didn't find anything weird at all."

"And that's like, whatsitcalled… a statistical aberration when it comes to this place," Amethyst said. Peridot nodded, approving of Amethyst's mostly correct use of mathematical terms. "I mean, when is it ever not something weird going on here?

"Hmm… that is interesting," Joseph mumbled. "I think that Santana might be laying low for now," he said a bit louder. "He might just be trying to remain hidden while waiting for the right moment to strike."

"What about those stand users that attacked us yesterday?" Connie asked. "Why would he send those and then just stop?"

"A test, perhaps," Joseph said. "To get a measure of what he's up against."

"Makes sense," Peridot said. "After out demonstration of power and intellect, he'd be naturally inclined to avoid direct confrontation."

"Precisely," Joseph said. "Thank you, dear," he added when Connie handed him a cup of coffee.

"Could I get some too?" Lapis suddenly asked, looking unusually interested.

"Uh… sure?" Connie said and poured her a cup as well.

"Thank you," Lapis said with a smile as she took a sip of coffee.

"What?" she said when she realized that everyone aside from Joseph and Lion was staring at her.

"Lapis, when did you start drinking coffee?" Steven asked. He didn't remember Lapis ever having any interest in food or drinks before. Even Peridot was looking surprised by her barn mate's sudden desire for caffeinated beverages.

Lapis shrugged.

"Today," she said. "It smelled nice and I figured that if I'm going to live on Earth, I might as well try everything it has to offer, right?"

"Fair enough," Joseph said. "Coffee is one of humanity's better inventions… But perhaps we should concentrate on Santana for now? Just because he's hiding doesn't mean he's been idle. Steven, you had a dream this night, correct?"

Now it was suddenly Steven's turn to be the center of attention.

"Y-yeah, I did," he said. "It was one of my weird dreams… you know, the psychic ones," he quickly explained to Connie and the gems. "And I saw a bunch of people from Beach City in it…" He took a deep breath. Those blank white eyes… he had an idea of what they meant now. "I think… I think they might be connected to Santana in some way."

"Vampires and pillar men could use these things called 'fleshbuds' to control people," Joseph explained. "They are small parasites made from their own flesh and placed in the victim's head. If the vampire or pillar man is killed before the fleshbud is removed, it will… well, let's just say that the lucky ones die quickly."

A chilly breeze blew through the house at Joseph's last sentence and Steven felt sick to his stomach. He had tried so hard not to think about the possibility…

"Steven…" Garnet said slowly. "Who did you see in your dream?"

"Sadie, Jenny, Sour Cream, Buck and Kiki… Barb, Vidalia, Yellow Tail… and Kevin."

Nine people. That was almost half the town, almost half of all the people Steven knew and was friends with. All of them were under Santana's control. And any or all of them could die.

Amethyst summed it up rather elegantly.

"That's bad," she said. "That's really fu-freaking bad."

"Indeed, but not hopeless," Joseph said. "Santana's caution may very well be his downfall. As long as the sun is up, he's vulnerable. Its rays will turn him into stone, so he'll be unable to do much more than hide during the day."

"Which is why we won't waste any more time," Garnet said. "JoJo is right, our best bet is to strike during daytime. Pearl, Amethyst and I will go visit everyone Steven saw in his dream and remove their fleshbuds. The rest of you stay here and guard the temple. Once the stand users arrive here, we'll meet up with them." She made a dramatic pause. "Then we go hunting."

xxXXxx

On the road…

Jotaro had not been kidding when he said 'seven sharp.'

Josuke yawned and had to resist the urge to take a short nap. He hadn't gotten quite enough sleep. It was enough to last him the day and a couple of fights for sure, but not enough for him to not feel tired when forced to sit in a car for an hour.

Okuyasu and Koichi seemed pretty tired too. Okuyasu was sitting silent and Koichi had his eyes closed. Not sleeping, just resting. The only one who didn't show any signs of tiredness was Jotaro. Then again, trying to read Jotaro was like trying to read a book with blank pages.

"I talked to the Speedwagon Foundation earlier," he said. "They have no idea who Moonstone or Ruby are. The only trace they could find was reports of an unidentified object on the street that disappeared shortly after the explosion."

Greato-daze. If the Speedwagon Foundation couldn't figure out who they were, then chances were nobody could. The SPWF was on par with most intelligence services in the world.

"More importantly, however, I got a call from Joseph Joestar," Jotaro continued. "He's in Beach City."

What?

"Huh? Josuke, your dad is in the place we're going to!" Okuyasu said. "I didn't know he lived there!"

Josuke still wasn't used to hear Mr. Joestar being referred to as his dad. It was just so… weird. It hadn't even been a year since he even learned that he had a father. Still… even though he didn't know him very well, Josuke was not all too happy hearing that he was so close to danger. The man had just become a part of his life, it'd be rude of him to die now.

"He doesn't," Jotaro said. "Apparently he has joined up with the people responsible for guarding the Aja."

"Who?" Josuke asked. If they hadn't trusted the SPWF to guard the stone, then who could they trust? Mysteries upon mysteries were piling up and Josuke was getting very tired of them.

I asked him that very same question," Jotaro said. "He refused to tell me. He said it would be easier to explain in person. However, he did tell me that his allies are 'an odd-looking bunch,' so be ready for that."

"That's good, isn't it?" Koichi said. "We've got some people that can help us find this pillar guy. And I mean… Santana has sent six stand users to attack us already, just on our way here… how many more has he got in Beach City?" Koichi suddenly shivered. "Man, I'm feeling so paranoid today," he muttered. "Ever since I woke up, I've had this feeling that someone's following me."

"Don't dismiss that feeling," Jotaro said. "It's very possible that you're under the effect of a stand. Some stands can act automatically and pursue a target for a long time and over long distances."

"Yeah, I know," Koichi said. "Like Sheer Heart Attack."

"Exactly," Jotaro said. "Most automatic stands have some form of activation condition or 'trigger.' Be sure to keep close to us others and keep your eyes open. Alert us if you think you're under attack."

Koichi nodded… which Jotaro couldn't see since he was in the driver's seat and Koichi was in the backseat.

Josuke however, unrestrained by such limitations such as 'keeping your eyes on the road' could take a good look at his friend. He noticed that Koichi seemed rather unperturbed by the possibility that he was already under the influence of a hostile stand. Perhaps it was less scary to know that you were in danger than the feeling that you might be in danger? Josuke could understand that. He always preferred to know exactly who or what it was he was fighting.

There was the crux of this whole… thing going on. There were so many unknown factors. Mr. Joestar's allies in Beach City, the stand users doubtlessly waiting for them and even Santana himself were unknowns. Then there was Moonstone who seemingly wasn't connected to anyone or anything.

Josuke shivered, suddenly feeling very cold. At first, he thought it might be a metaphorical cold, but… no, this was real cold. He felt like he had just stepped outside in the middle of winter wearing only his summer clothes. He checked the air conditioning, but it was turned off.

What the…?

Josuke looked at the world outside the car, seeing nothing but trees passing by. Things seemed dark… literally! He blinked and rubbed his eyes several times, convinced that what he was seeing was wrong, but no.

It was as if the sun had started to rise, got tired halfway through and decided to go back to bed again. It was steadily becoming dimmer outside, an eerie summer's dusk. Looking up at the sky, Josuke saw dark clouds hanging above them. Clouds he could have sworn hadn't been there mere seconds before.

"Uh… please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this," Okuyasu said hesitantly, he too looking up at the sky.

"No…" Koichi said slowly.

Something was falling from the heavens above. Something white and soft… They all knew what it was, but the sheer impossibility of it stunned them for a moment before Koichi said it out loud, confirming that indeed, they all saw the same thing.

"It's snowing… in the middle of summer!"

To be continued…


Oh man, I have been planning this for a long time.

Buck's stand is… unlike any others, I have made before and it has got me very excited. It's not going to be a battle or a fight in the traditional sense, but more of a… well, you'll see.

Speaking of which… I've got a little surprise for you all. I've actually got three whole acts ready.

That's right, it's time for a JoJo and the Crystal Gems Bomb! You're getting Act 1 today, Act 2 tomorrow, and Act 3 on Friday.

See you guys again tomorrow! Until then, take care of the Planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!