Lamp Entertainment presents…

Jotaro, Joseph, and Garnet, three of our heroes, headed down to the docks. Supposedly, Santana would be there, waiting for them to deliver the Aja to him.

Garnet was leading the charge, spearheading the small group while the two humans tried to keep up with her.

"I'm willing to bet…. that young man Santana took hostage…" Joseph said between pants. "…was actually a stand user."

"Indeed. And he probably… has a few more trick… up his sleeve," Jotaro said, slightly more strained. He was fit for sure but nowhere near as good of a runner as his grandfather had been in his youth. "He's proven himself… to be a… tricky bastard."

As they got closer to the docks they slowed down their approach to a brisk walk. Jotaro and Joseph had to catch their breaths before the inevitable fight broke out.

Two figures stood on the biggest of the wooden piers. One was tall and clad in thick layers of clothing that covered every part of his body. Santana. The other one was a young man wearing a postman's uniform. Jamie.

"Hey," Jotaro said, drawing Garnet's attention. "Are you worried?"

"No," Garnet answered.

"About Steven and Connie, I mean," Jotaro clarified.

Garnet raised an eyebrow. Not that Jotaro would be able to tell, since her eyes were hidden behind her visor.

A silent moment passed by.

"Of course," she said finally.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'd trust Josuke with my daughter's life," Jotaro said.

It did. Garnet could tell that Jotaro preferred to keep personal matters close to his chest. He was not one to ever let any weakness show. In some ways, it reminded Garnet of herself. So she could understand what those words meant, coming from him.

"Of course you can trust him," Joseph said with a wide smile. "He is my son after all."

It took a second for Garnet to process those words and what they meant.

Wait, wha-?

Chapter 19: Stand Together, Act 3

The frozen hero
Your words are zero
When your dreams had vanished into the dark
Along the go that you don't want to know

At the docks…

Garnet scanned the area to see if she could spot any traps or tricks. She noticed immediately that a lot of the boats normally docked at the piers had been strewn about in the water around the piers. It looked almost as if they had been pushed out into the sea by superhumanly strong arms.

"Santana!" Joseph called out. They had come to a stop right before the large pier. "We have the Aja with us!" he yelled. Joseph Joestar, lying? What new spore of madness was this? "Let the humans you've possessed go and we'll give it to you!"

Santana tilted his head and extended his hand. It was simple a gesture with a simple meaning; 'Give it to me first.' But it also had another meaning.

"That's not him," Joseph said mater-of-factly. "The real Santana is chattier than this. He would've called us out on the bluff."

"Probably another portrait," Jotaro continued. He shook his head and mumbled something that Garnet couldn't quite hear, though she got the meaning of it.

"Then this must be a diversion," Garnet said. "The real Santana is probably trying to break into the temple as we speak." Not that he could ever hope to succeed; only gems could open that door. And even if he somehow managed to get into the temple, he'd be disappointed to find the Aja missing.

"Still, we'd better make sure this said short diversion," Jotaro said. Garnet felt the presence of something invisible moving beside her. "Old man, keep the boy busy while me and Garnet take care of the portr-"

"Ah!" Jamie interrupted Jotaro with a dramatic exclamation. "It would seem as if the clever ruse has been seen through!" he announced loudly. "The enemy saw through our cunning deception! The proud tactician will surely be displeased with this development. Yet still, we came prepared for this possibility."

He clapped his hands and on cue, two more figures started moving on one of the boats.

The first one was… a gem? It looked like a gem, though Garnet didn't recognize it at all. She seemed to have the build of a quartz soldier, although a bit slimmer than most quartzes tended to be. She had grey, metallic skin and short, rainbow-tinted hair. Her gem was placed in her left eye.

The other figure was somehow even more bizarre than the mystery gem.

It was Jamie. A second Jamie, identical to the one standing next to Santana. The grey gem picked up the second Jamie and jumped off the boat, landing on the pier.

"Is that a gem?" Jotaro asked.

"Yes," Garnet said. "Or… I think so. But it doesn't look like any gem I recognize."

"Perhaps…" Joseph said. Out of habit, he tried to stroke the beard his younger body did not have. Instead, he ended up stroking his chin. "Is there any chance this could be the Titanium Quartz that mysterious Moonstone supposedly had on her side?"

"Maybe…" Garnet said. That would explain the metallic grey skin, though it did little to explain what she was doing there, working with Santana.

As it turns out, that question answered itself almost immediately when the grey gem held out her hands and splashes of paint appeared in them. The splashes formed into a pair of thin, sharp swords.

"…or it could just be another portrait," Joseph said. He sighed deeply. "Man, Santana is making sure he gets all the mileage out of Vidalia's stand he can, isn't he?"

Even though this revelation raised even further questions, those questions would have to wait. For now, they had another fight on their hands.

The grey portrait's eye lit up with a cold blue light. It charged forward, both swords ready to cut down anyone too slow to move out of the way.

Garnet took a peek into the future, just a quick glance to find the best counter for this enemy. Or rather, that's what she tried to do.

Instead of the most likely timeline playing put before her mind's eye in an instant too short to measure, she instead saw… everything. Every possible timeline of every possible move the grey portrait could make and every possible counter Garnet could make. Thousands upon thousands of timelines, each iteration differing only in the slightest details flashed before her by the millisecond. She was teetering on the edge of infinity and she was close to falling in…

Something slammed into Garnet and broke the spell. She fell to the ground, just in time to feel the portrait's sword whoosh by over her.

She heard Jotaro grunt and the portrait was lifted into the air by invisible arms. Star Platinum sent it flying a few meters away, where it landed on its feet.

"What happened?" Joseph asked, dragging Garnet back up on her feet. "That thing charged at you and you just froze. You'd've been poofed if Jotaro didn't push you out of the way."

Garnet shook her head and massaged her temples.

"That thing…" she mumbled. "It has future vision too… it overwhelmed me."

"I see," Joseph said. "If the both of you can see the future and you try to outmaneuver each other it'd create an infinite loop of endless possibilities. An 'I know that she knows I know' kinda deal."

"Something like that," Garnet said. It was a bit more complicated than that. For instance, the portrait hadn't frozen in place like she did. If she were to guess why, then she'd wager that's because the portrait's future vision was focused more on short-term predictions and only showed one single timeline, as opposed to Garnet's, which showed multiple ones. There was a whole bunch of other factors, most of them including notions of fate and advanced semi-magical quantum mechanical equations.

She looked over at the portrait again, this time without her future vision, though she could still feel her third eye itch. The portrait had switched targets and was fighting Jotaro now, ducking and weaving around invisible punches.

"I'll take care of this thing," he said. "Garnet, you handle the portrait of Santana. Old man, you deal with the boy. Be careful. Something is telling me he's got some kind of trick up his sleeve.

Garnet had to suppress the urge to snicker. Someone was telling Joseph Joestar to watch out for tricks? Now she really had heard it all.

"Right," she said and cracked her knuckles. A pair of heavy gauntlets manifested around her hands ready to crush her opponent into mush. "This shouldn't take too long."

She rushed forward with all the power of a charging rhino and then some. She took a glimpse into the future to try and figure out what the portrait was going to do next. Would it try to dodge? Would it try to make her fall into the water? Would it try to grab her arm? Would it try to counterattack? Or would it… just stand there?

The portrait just stood there when Garnet's fist connected with its stomach. The punch was strong enough to break through concrete and dent steel easily. By all rights, it should have made a large hole right through the portrait. But it didn't.

Instead of the semi-solid of flesh, Garnet's gauntlet met something much softer, more rubber-like. The punch sent the portrait flying about fifteen meters into the air, but it was otherwise unharmed.

"Tsk," Garnet muttered. Of course. Joseph had mentioned something about Santana being able to turn his body soft at some point. Garnet should have taken this into account, but that particular detail had slipped her memory. How sloppy. Between this and the strange grey portrait, this fight was really taking a toll on her confidence.

She jumped into the air, pursuing her enemy. With a powerful kick, she sent the portrait flying back down towards a boat floating on the water. It bounced on the hard deck, like some big, awkward rubber ball. It hopped back up on its feet.

Garnet landed on the boat and was greeted by the portrait punching her in the face. She stumbled backward as a shot of dull pain shot through her nose. A thin crack spread from the edge of her visor.

"Ow," she said flatly. She then punched the portrait in the face. It tried to raise its arms to defend, but Garnet was too fast. And even if it had the time to defend, it wouldn't make much difference. Her fist slammed into the portrait's face with all the force of a small car going at a not inconsiderable speed. The sunglasses it was wearing were crushed into dust and the portrait was slammed into the cabin wall, leaving a deep dent. The portrait bounced off the wall, flying right back toward Garnet. She casually smacked it aside with the back of her gauntlet. It tumbled to the side, hitting the railing and nearly falling overboard.

"Tsk, tsk," Garnet muttered. Even that much wasn't enough to really damage the portrait. Punching its head felt like punching a stress ball, and it was about as productive. She also noticed that some parts of the portrait's face were now exposed, but it wasn't reacting to the gazing sun. So it didn't have the real Santana's weakness to sunlight. How convenient.

So how to beat it? She could probably just keep punching it until poofed back into paint. But that'd take a while and she wanted to go help Jotaro and Joseph. Maybe she could try to tear it apart? Or maybe impale it on something?

The portrait hurried back up on its feet as Garnet was slowly approaching it. Its dead eyes looked around, it too considering its next move. You could almost see the tiny little gears working frantically, trying to figure out some way to win.

Garnet was mildly surprised when instead of trying to attack her again (which would have been pretty useless), it instead did the slightly more intelligent thing and ran. Or rather, jumped.

The portrait leaped into the air and landed on another boat floating about ten meters away. Garnet was hot on its tail, mere seconds behind it. She landed on the deck, ready to pummel the portrait into paste. But before she could do that, the portrait jumped ship again, to the next boat. Garnet grit her teeth and jumped after it once again.

This time, they landed on a small, old-school wooden sailboat. It looked like it might've belonged to a merry band of pirates in a bygone era of dreams and fairy tales. Even its name, Going Merry, was cute and inviting. That did not stop Garnet from ripping its mast off.

Again, just as Garnet landed on the boat, the portrait continued running and leaped over to the next boat in line. Garnet, in turn, was quickly running out of patience. It'd be one thing if the portrait had just been a tough opponent. But no, instead it insisted on wasting her time. So rather than continue chasing the portrait, she broke off the mast of the sailboat as easily as you might snap a straw of hey.

"Huah!" She threw the mast like a giant spear. It hit the portrait in mid-air and sent it crashing down on the deck of the next boat. Unfortunately, a boat mast was not a spear and it didn't do much damage to the portrait's rubbery body. But it did pin it to the deck for a few seconds, which was all Garnet needed to catch up.

She landed right in front of the portrait as it was trying to lift the mast off itself. Garnet grabbed the mast with one hand and tossed it aside like it was nothing. She then grabbed the portrait's head between her gauntlets and started squeezing, trying to pop it. The portrait grabbed her wrists, trying to pull her hands away. It wasn't a contest the portrait could really hope to win, but it did buy it a second to slip its head out from between her gauntlets.

It ducked down and delivered an uppercut straight to her chin. It then swiftly kicked her in the stomach. None of its attacks did that much to hurt Garnet, but it did make her take a step or two backward.

The portrait turned tail and continued to run away.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Garnet muttered. "Annoying thing." Once again, she leaped into the air towards the next boat, relentlessly pursuing the portrait. She took another quick look into the future, This time, it was a lot clearer what was going on. The portrait had realized it couldn't beat her in a straight fight, so it was trying to distract her by leading her on this wild chase. However, it wasn't very creative. It only ever jumped to the closest boat. The pattern was clear and Garnet's future vision showed her the path to a quick and easy victory with a ninety percent certainty.

As she reached the crescendo of her arc through the air, she quickly scanned all the boats strewn about on the water. And wouldn't you know it, there was a boat that had exactly what she needed. All she had to do now was place the portrait in the right position. Easy enough.

She fell towards the boat where the portrait was standing. But instead of landing on it, Garnet kicked the boat hard. Hard enough to send her flying and crashing back on the boat she came from. The poor boat she kicked now had the addition of a large dent in its hull and it was sent slowly drifting further out into the ocean.

The portrait looked around, confused. It took it a few seconds to realize what was going on, and by that time, it was too late to do anything about it.

The portrait was pretty good at jumping, but it had a pretty hard limit around ten meters or so. The boats had been placed on the water with this limit in mind, always a little less than ten meters away from each other. However, now that Garnet had sent the boat it was standing on drifting away, it was suddenly too far away from the next boat it had planned on jumping to. It was not too far for Garnet, however.

Garnet leaped back into the air, headed for the trapped portrait, which stood there, frozen. It was pretty obvious this thing was nowhere near as smart as the original. The real Santana would have probably seen through her plan. It would have realized the trap Garnet had set. Alas, the Santana portrait wasn't the real deal. Just as planned, it saw that while Garnet's kick had sent the boat drifting away from the boat it had originally planned on jumping to, it had also brought it closer to another boat. So, of course, it jumped towards that boat.

Garnet smiled ad raised her gauntlets.

"Fire!" she yelled. The gauntlets shot from her arms like a pair of rockets, leaving only a pair of stumps with her gems on behind. The portrait turned around in mid-air and raised its arms to defend…

…only for the rocket fists to sail past it and hit the boat instead.

「BOOM!」

The gauntlets exploded upon impact, creating a big hole in the hull… as well as setting off the harpoon gun mounted on the boat's bow.

「SPLAT」

The harpoon impaled the portrait with extreme prejudice. It exploded into a cloud of paint before it even had the time to land in the water.

"Tsk tsk," Garnet tutted. "Easy enough. Still annoying." She looked over to the shore, at the fights going on there. It looked like Jotaro might need some help.

xxXXxx

"ORA! ORA! ORA!"

The grey portrait dodged and weaved around Star Platinum's powerful punches easily. There was a strange kind of grace to its movements. A contradictory kind of stiff, yet fluid, quick yet strong motions only attainable by highly skilled and well-trained warriors that have mastered their craft to such a degree that it comes naturally to them.

Jotaro was testing it. His bout with the portrait of Garnet had taught him much about gems. He knew how tough they could be. The way this portrait moved and dodged Star Platinum's attacks easily confirmed that this fight would be a drag as well.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" Star Platinum suddenly started going faster, its fists becoming blurs barely visible to the human eye. However, before any of them could connect, the grey portrait jumped backward, out of his range.

So it really could see the future then? As far as Jotaro could tell, this stand was about on par with Garnet, at least when it came to speed. Her portrait had been able to block a few of Star Platinum's punches, but not a full-on barrage. It seemed like this one's future vision had let it foresee that inevitability and get out of the way.

But could it see through stopped time?

"Star Platinum: The World!"

Time stood still. Everything around Jotaro froze in place. Star Platinum picked up a small pebble from the ground and flicked it at the portrait. The rock came to a stop less than a meter away from the portrait's face.

One second had passed in stopped time.

Jotaro afforded himself the time to take a quick look at what was going on outside his own battle. He saw Garnet and Santana's portrait, both frozen in place in mid-air, jumping between boats. He saw the old man approaching the postman. They didn't seem to be in any immediate danger.

Two seconds had passed in stopped time. Jotaro turned his attention back to his own fight. He studied the grey portrait, curious what would happen next. Then, right before time resumed its normal flow, he noticed something. The portrait's eye had widened, almost as if it was surprised by something…

Time resumed as normal again.

The portrait moved too fast for Jotaro's slow human eyes to fully track its movements. It was nothing more than a grey blur, something that might as well have been his eyes playing a trick on him. Even so, he got the gist of what happened. The portrait had raised its sword to block the pebble he flicked at it. The small rock bounced uselessly off the sword.

"Humph. Yare yare daze," Jotaro muttered to himself. He adjusted his hat. A cool wind coming in from the sea was threatening to pry it off his head. "Seems like it really can see through my stopped time…"

Of course, the pebble hadn't been intended to actually hurt the portrait, just as a test. A test which it passed, unfortunately. The fact that it was able to predict his movements in stopped time could prove problematic as it eliminated one of his biggest advantages.

The portrait stood still, studying him for a few moments. It suddenly dashed forward, its swords ready to slice him down. Once more, it became nothing more than a grey blur before Jotaro's eyes. Only the enhanced eyes of Star Platinum allowed him to read and react in time to block the attacks.

"ORA!" the mighty stand roared as it swung a punch towards the portrait… only for it to dive under its fist. It ducked and lunged forward, swinging one of its swords to the side, around Star Platinum and-

Time stood still.

It took Jotaro a moment to realize he even stopped time. he had done it on pure instinct.

The portrait had managed to stick its sword into his side. The tip of the sword was buried two to three centimeters in his abdomen.

Jotaro gasped in pain and tried to back away… but he was stuck.

An immense chill was spreading from the wound and to the rest of his body. It felt like the snowstorm again but concentrated on the tip of the sword. The cold had frozen the blood in his veins.

Star Platinum broke the sword, letting Jotaro take a few steps back. There was no blood flowing from his wound, only a few small red crystals. It hurt like all hell.

Jotaro felt the strain of time weighing down on him. Two seconds had already passed in time.

Time resumed as normal.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" Star Platinum launched a series of heavy punches, but the portrait jumped back, easily avoiding them.

Jotaro was breathing a bit more heavily now. The cold wind… even now, as the portrait was standing over six meters away, he could feel the chilly current wash over him. He had thought it came from the sea… but no, it was the portrait. It was sucking up all the heat around it, turning the pleasant summer wind into a harsh winter's howl.

There was a poor little dandelion that had managed to squeeze itself through a crack in the asphalt. It was turned into an ice sculpture and shattered to pieces in a second when the portrait accidentally stepped on it.

The portrait examined its broken sword. The tip that Star Platinum had broken off was still embedded in his flesh. He didn't wanna risk pulling it out while the wound was still frozen around it. The portrait threw the broken blade to the side, where it turned to a puddle of paint on the ground. It then pulled another sword out of its gem.

Jotaro grit his teeth. He was chastising himself internally. He should've known better than to let the portrait dictate the pace of the fight. If he let it attack him, then no matter how he tried to defend himself, it'd be able to see it coming and counter. No, he had to keep it on the defensive. Find some way to push past the future vision.

He rushed forward, Star Platinum in front of him. He saw the portrait's eye become wide again. It raised its arm to defend its face and jumped back again. Too late though.

"Star Platinum: The World!"

Time stood still.

The portrait was frozen in mid-jump. A few more steps to get within range. Then Jotaro let Star Platinum loose.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" Several powerful punches connected with the portrait's chest. He might as well have fired a volley of cannonballs from point-blank range. The force of the stand's punches started pushing the portrait back… right out of Star Platinum's range.

Jotaro cursed and continued running towards the portrait. Had the portrait planned this? Since it was not touching the ground, there was no friction between the portrait and the ground to keep it in place while Star Platinum pummeled it. Thusly, its punches pushed it away a few meters before it came to a stop again in time.

A little over one second had passed in stopped time.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" Star Platinum continued its attack. Its punches were strong enough to tear holes through most humans and crush rocks. This grey portrait proved to be a bit tougher, however. Star Platinum was only leaving a few bruises on its skin.

Jotaro could feel the heat draining slowly from his hands as his stand attacked the portrait.

Two seconds had passed in stopped time.

Time resumed as normal.

Once time was allowed to flow freely once again, the portrait went flying several meters through the air. It landed on its feet on a wooden pier, looking no worse for wear.

Jotaro could imagine the real gem the portrait was based on might snarl or give him an enraged stare. But the grey portrait's expression remained neutral. It was uncanny. He could so easily imagine emotion on its face, yet it just wasn't there.

The beginnings of a plan were starting to form in Jotaro's mind. He had an idea of what to do now.

He ran forward, intent on not giving the portrait the chance to attack him first again. Star Platinum hovered in front of him, ready to attack anything in its way. Of course, based on how things had gone so far, the attacks weren't going to connect. Not that they needed to.

"Star Platinum!" Jotaro yelled. The portrait flinched. At the very last possible moment, it jumped high into the air, performing a backflip that was surprisingly graceful for someone that size and build. "The World!"

Time stood still.

Jotaro felt a slight stab of pain in his chest. A few too many timestops in a short time. No matter. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" Star Platinum punched the empty space where the portrait had stood a second ago. Currently, the portrait was too high into the air for Star Platinum to reach it. If he used Star Finger or leaped after it, he might be able to get some hits in. They'd be negligible though, easily shrugged off by the hardy portrait.

One second had passed in stopped time.

Instead, Jotaro continued moving forward, aiming for the spot where the portrait was going to land, based on the trajectory of its flip. The portrait, of course, already knew exactly where he was going to stand…

Two seconds had passed in stopped time.

Time resumed as normal.

The portrait landed and immediately did another backflip before Star Platinum's fists could reach it.

"ORA!" the mighty stand's hand flew through empty air. Yet, its master was unconcerned. He just kept moving forward.

Based on Jotaro's estimates, the portrait could see about one second or so into the future. It may not sound like a lot, but in a fight, it might as well have been an hour. Furthermore, based on how it appeared to predict his timestops, Jotaro assumed it could perceive everything that happened during them. It made sense, he supposed. Stopped time might feel like two seconds to him, but to everyone else, it was instantaneous.

The ability to peek into the immediate future was a huge advantage in a fight. Despite all of its power, however, it had a few weaknesses. Mainly, it could only see that one second into the future. Any actions or consequences beyond that remained a mystery to the portrait.

Which was why the portrait now found itself balancing precariously on the edge of the wooden pier.

This was his plan. Force the portrait to move out on the pier where its ability to doge was limited. Future vision or no future vision, it wouldn't be able to avoid Star Platinum's next attack. He wouldn't even need to stop time. Either way, he'd destroy it, or it'd fall into the sea and be encased in ice thanks to the cold coming from it.

"Have a nice bath," Jotaro said.

"ORA!" Star Platinum's strong fist was aimed directly at the portrait's face. It dodged and lunged forward. In a desperate move, it tackled Star Platinum and brought its swords around the stand, aimed at Jotaro.

"Ora!" Star Platinum grunted and grabbed the swords before they could stab into its master's chest.

Rather than try to wrestle its swords free, the portrait simply let them go and jumped into the air before Jotaro could do anything to stop it.

It landed behind him and quickly kicked at Jotaro. Star Platinum was able to block the kick with its own body, but Jotaro could still feel the air get pushed out of his lungs. Had that kick hit him, it might've broken his spine or collapsed a lung. He stumbled a bit closer to the edge of the pier. The roles were suddenly reversed, Jotaro standing where the portrait had been standing less than five seconds ago.

The portrait reached towards its gem. A mass of paint formed a new sword.

"ORA!" Star Platinum yelled and lunged forward, its fists flying at super-sonic speeds. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" The portrait was already jumping away, but Jotaro wasn't aiming for it. He was aiming for the planks underneath its feet. In a second, Star Platinum turned the sturdy planks into splinters and sawdust.

It didn't work. The portrait landed on one of the support pillars the pier was built on. It threw its sword towards Jotaro, who didn't see it coming through the clouds of sawdust.

The sword stabbed into his leg and made him lose balance.

Jotaro staggered and fell into the water beneath. He landed in the cold ocean, spitting out salty seawater. He took a quick breath and dived down under the surface, into the dark liquid shadows beneath the pier.

The portrait threw another sword at him. This one missed by a small margin, ver nearly cutting into his left arm. He saw it dissolve into liquid paint quickly in the water.

Jotaro swam underneath the water, looking up at the surface. He couldn't see much, but Star Platinum's sharp eyes were still able to make out some of the movements on the pier. It looked like the portrait was staring down in the water, unsure of where Jotaro had disappeared to. It wasn't looking at where he currently was or where he was going to be. Perhaps it could only predict the future of things it could directly see. Good to know.

He quickly devised a new plan to deal with the portrait. Thanks to his work as a marine biologist, he did have some diving experience, both with and without equipment. He could hold his breath for two minutes, maybe three in a pinch. That was, if he got the chance to actually prepare himself properly. As it was, he was several meters beneath the surface and the oxygen in his lungs and blood depleting rapidly. He had to get back to the surface and breathe. He also had to not get skewered on one of the portrait's swords the moment he became visible to its future vision.

He readied himself and Star Platinum. The stand grabbed ahold of its master and then…

Time stood still.

Jotaro had never tried to swim through syrup, but he imagined this was what it'd feel like. His movements were even more sluggish and hampered by the water in stopped time. Star Platinum was a bit stronger than him though.

"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!" Star Platinum yelled. It swam as fast as it could, carrying Jotaro back to the surface. He only had a short time if he wanted to take the portrait by surprise.

One second passed in stopped time.

He was getting closer to the surface, only a meter or two left now. His lungs were aching in his chest, begging for a breath.

Two seconds passed in stopped time.

Jotaro finally resurfaced and eagerly drew a fresh breath, filling his lungs with life-giving oxygen. Star Platinum was moving almost on its own. It let go of Jotaro and readied its fists just beneath the water surface.

Two and a half seconds passed in stopped time.

Time resumed as normal.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA !" Star Platinum roared, seemingly growing multiple arms as its punches soared through the air. After each punch, it dipped its fists beneath the water again.

Up on the pier, the portrait's glowing eye became wide and it tried to jump away once again. But it was too late. Several liters of water per second came flying at towards it like a furious rainstorm aimed solely at one person.

The water projectiles Star Platinum flung at the portrait froze the instant they came in contact with its frigid skin. Its movements slowed and within a few seconds, the entire portrait was encased in a thick cocoon of hard ice.

Star Platinum pulled Jotaro back up n the pier. His soaked clothes were dripping and he spat out some salty seawater that had gotten in his mouth. He adjusted his hat; miraculously, it had stayed on his head even as he dove underwater. It was not for nothing that Josuke suspected Jotaro might've glued it to his head.

The icy in front of him creaked and shivered as the trapped portrait within it tried to break free. A few thin cracks started spreading through the ice.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jotaro spotted a red blur flying towards him. Garnet landed on the pier, on the other side of the portrait. Her hands and gauntlets were missing. Her arms now ended in stumps, with one gem at the end of each stump. It looked kinda weird and gross.

"I thought you might need some help, but it looks like you've got this under control," she said. The gems on her arm stumps lit up and formed a new pair of gauntlets on each end. She smirked. "Shall we?"

Jotaro couldn't help but let a small smile escape his lips.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

In an instant, a hundred powerful punches showered over the portrait, easily crushing the ice into snow and leaving deep dents in the portrait.

"ORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"

At the same time, Garnet pummeled the portrait from behind, her gauntlets leaving large craters in the portrait's body.

You almost had to feel bad for the poor soulless creature. Among all of the wrong places you could find yourself in, between Star Platinum's fists and Garnet's gauntlets had to be up there as one of the worst. There was nary a creature on Earth that could survive that.

「SPLAT!」

The portrait exploded into a cascade of grey paint the stained the pier. Large drops landed in the water, forming small puddles floating on atop the surface. Somehow, neither Garnet nor Jotaro got as much as a drop on them.

"Now then, " Jotaro said, wringing some water out of his wet clothes. "Let's go see how the old man is doing."

xxXXxx

How was the old man doing? Well…

After Garnet and Santana's portrait hopped on away, Joseph started approaching the postman Jamie. He was walking slowly and carefully, keeping his sharp eyes open and his mind ready for any tricks. His gut was telling him that Jamie was a stand user and that copy of him had something to do with it. He supposed it could be another one of Vidalia's portraits. That deadpan expression certainly matched the other portraits. If that was the case, then what was it for?

"Ah, what a woman…" Jamie sighed, looking at Garnet pursuing Santana's portrait across several boats. "But alas, as tempting as it is to simply stand here and gaze upon her violent grace, I have other important business to attend to." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together eagerly. He turned to Joseph with a bright glint in his eyes and a shiny smile on his lips. He pulled a homemade booklet from his messenger bag. "I've finally got enough actors to start filming!"

Joseph noticed the air around the large pier they were standing on shimmering, like heatwaves distorting the air subtly. At the same time, his body came to a stop. He was frozen in place and couldn't move a single muscle. He tried to open his mouth to shout, but even that refused to move.

Jamie walked over to the side of the pier. He laid out the booklet on a crate and studied it for a moment. He then took his phone from his pocket and started filming.

"Alright, let's do this," he announced. "I've got a really good feeling about this one. I think this might really be what really sells this movie pitch. We're doing scene number sixty-three, the climactic confrontation between the hero and the villain. Joseph Joestar, you play the role of Dark Fader, the dark general of the evil kingdom hell-bent on taking over the world. Other me, you're playing James Starchild, the chosen hero who's noble and brave, yet naive and inexperienced. I trust you remember your lines?"

"Yes," said the other Jamie.

"Yes," Joseph said as well. Wait, no! He didn't say that at all! The words just slipped out of his mouth on their own, as if they'd been put there by some invisible hands. What the hell was going on? What was the kid talking about?

A sword in a red sheath suddenly appeared around Joseph's waist, materializing out of thin air. On the other end of the pier, a similar sword in a blue sheath materialized around the Other Jamie's waist as well.

"Perfect," Jamie said. "this is scene sixty-three, take one. And… Action!"

Joseph's body could suddenly move again, except it refused to follow his orders. Instead, it moved all on its own, as if some great puppeteer was tugging at his strings. He felt more words pour out of his mouth.

"James Starchild," he blurted out, forced to by whatever bizarre stand power this was. "I knew you would come here."

"Dark Fader!" the Other Jamie shouted. "I have come to put an end to your evil plans, once and for all!" He drew his sword.

Joseph's hand moved by itself, unsheathing his blood-red sword.

"The power is strong within you," his mouth said, again, without his permission. "But you are not a true knight yet."

The Other Jamie started approaching Joseph. Slowly walking towards him at first, but picking up speed until he started running. At the same time, Joseph felt his own legs start to move. They met in the middle of the pier, their blades clashing against each other. Red and blue sparks flew from them as they ground together. More words were poured into Joseph's mouth.

"Your master Benjamin would be proud," he said. "You have come far. You have already mastered your fear. Now the time has come to unleash your hatred. Your hatred is what will guide your blade to victory. That is the only way you can destroy me.

He pushed back against the Other Jamie, forcing him to defend himself from a flurry of sword swipes.

Just what the hell was going on? Why was he being controlled like this? What were these strange words coming out of his mouth? And why was Jamie filming all of this? Was this supposed to be some kind of movie scene or something?

Joseph lunged forward, making a small cut on the Other Jamie's cheek. Drips of paint leaked from the wound.

…actually, the whole movie scenario kinda made sense. He was being forced to act based on some movie script Jamie had written. Although now that he had figured that out, just how in the world was he supposed to get out of it? No matter how hard he tried to resist, no matter how loudly his brain told his body to stop moving, the invisible control of Jamie's stand was simply too powerful. He was forced to follow the script.

Joseph, or rather, the character he was playing, lunged forward again, stabbing the Other Jamie's arm.

"Gah!" Other Jamie, playing James Starchild yelled and stumbled backward.

"Continuing to fight is useless," Joseph said. "Or do you wish to be destroyed like your master Benjamin?"

Other Jamie leaped forward with a roar and slammed his sword against Joseph's, more sparks flying from the blades. He managed to slip his blade past Joseph's guard and stab into his arm.

"Agh!" Joseph gasped. And this time, it came out like a genuine cry of pain. Because it was. Even though he was playing a character, the pain and the wound was very real. It seemed like Jamie believed that actors should do their own stunts.

Dark Fader responded in force, violently swinging his sword. He beat down on James Starchild's defenses, knocked the sword out of his hands, and…

「Shing!」

"ARGH!" Other Jamie screamed as Dark Fader cut his hand off. The hand fell to the floor and melted into a puddle of paint.

"Don't make me kill you," Dark Fader said. "You have only begun to discover your true potential. I can complete your training and together, we can put an end to this pointless war."

Other Jamie crawled away and Dark Fader slowly approached him.

"I'll never ally with the likes of you!" he spat. "You killed my father!"

He grabbed his dropped sword and got back up on his feet. He rushed forward, his blade aimed for Dark Fader's heart. Joseph's arm raised the sword to try and parry, but he felt slower than before…

The swords clashed for one last time and Joseph gasped as the Other Jamie's sword stabbed into his chest. Right through his heart.

He fell to his knees, dropping the sword.

"Good," his character hissed with his last dying breath. The real Joseph felt his warm blood leaking from the wound in his chest and his breath escaping him. "You have already realized the power of your anger… now you'll become more powerful than I ever was… maybe even more powerful than the Dark King himself…"

He fell to the ground. The immense pain in his chest started to dull as his limbs become cold and stiff. Black dots danced before his eyes as he felt his consciousness slip… as he was dying…

"Cut!"

Joseph inhaled, greedily gulping down precious air like a diver who had finally reached the surface again. He didn't even register fully what had happened at first, he was just ecstatic to still be alive, to feel his lungs draw breath and his heart beat strong still.

As it turned out, he was positioned back where he had been standing right before the scene started. The wound in his chest was healed and so was the cut on his arm. Even the sword was back in its sheath. The Other Jamie was also back in his (its?) original position, his severed hand restored and all. It was like the last few minutes had never happened.

"I gotta say," Jamie, the real one, announced. "And you mustn't take this the wrong way Joseph, but that take was pretty bad. Other me, your performance was pretty stiff too, but I'm willing to let that slide. James Starchild is supposed to be an audience surrogate after all. He doesn't need much personality, as long as the viewer can project themselves onto him. He's more of a moodboard than a man. But Dark Fader is supposed to be intimidating and confident, always in charge, always in power. That wasn't quite the vibe I was getting from you, Joseph. Honestly, you sounded almost confused."

No kidding. Joseph had been so confused the entire time, how could you expect him to act decently?

"Alright, let's try that one again," Jamie said. He readied his phone camera again. "This is scene sixty-three, take two. And… Action!"

Once again, the invisible strings of Jamie's stand took control of Joseph's body, forcing it to act out this weird story. Joseph tried to resist it, mustering all the willpower he could to tell his body to stop, his mouth to shut up.

It didn't work too well.

"James… Starchild," he said, the words forcefully slipped out between clenched teeth. "I knew… that you would… come here."

"Dark Fader!" the Other Jamie shouted. "I have come to put an end to your evil plans once and for all!" He drew his sword as dramatically as possible.

Joseph grabbed his own sword with a hand that was shaking from its owner trying to stop it from moving at all.

"The power… is strong… within you," he hissed. "But you-you are not a true… knight… yet."

"Cut!" Jamie hollered. "Cut, cut, cut!"

Joseph snapped back to his starting position. His body felt a bit more relaxed but still held in place.

"Guys, this just isn't working," Jamie sighed. "Joseph, I'm just not feeling your performance. What's the matter?"

Joseph felt the invisible restraint on his body loosen a bit. He could speak freely now.

"Well, uh…" he stammered. "I… I'm just not feeling the character."

While talking, he tried to summon Hermit Purple. If he could wrap it around Jamie and send some hamon into him, it might destroy the fleshbud in his brain. Unfortunately, Hermit Purple was still locked away within him. He could feel its presence within himself, but it was prevented from surfacing in the real world.

"But why?" Jamie asked. "Why are you not feeling the character? Dark Fader is the intimidating evil general and the Evil King's right-hand man. What is there that's so hard to grasp? Wherefrom comes this difficulty in bringing him to life?"

"Oh, well, it's sorta like… You see, the thing about this character is that he's very, ah…" Joseph stalled while trying to come up with some way out of this. He ransacked that big brain of his for some solution to this impossible puzzle. There must be some loophole to abuse or weakness to exploit, there was always. Resisting of breaking free from the stand's control hadn't worked… but what if…

Joseph got an idea. As far as crazy schemes go, this one was definitely a bit out there, even by his standards. And Joseph was the king of implementing implausible plans. But hey, it was worth a shot.

"…I just think the character is missing something," Joseph said. " I feel like he's got the potential to be so much more than just the evil general, but he's lacking that depth. And without it, he's not really a character, more of a prop. I think that's why I'm having such difficulties."

Jamie's eyes widened. He tapped the script in front of him with a thoughtful expression.

"I see…" he said slowly, considering this new development. As he contemplated the intricacies of the fictional character he had created, he looked remarkably similar to a certain mangaka Joseph knew. That same obsessed, almost manic glint in the eye certain artists or creators might get when they feel especially inspired. "Yes, I think understand what you mean. We need to give Dark Fader some more depth, some more weight to him…"

"I think I have an idea," Joseph said quickly. "How about instead of James killing Dark Fader at the end of the fight, the scene ends with a plot twist instead? And Dark Fader lives to appear in the sequel?"

"Sequel baiting is good," Jamie said. There was a hint of skepticism to his tone, but he looked interested. "What kind of plot twist are you thinking of?"

Joseph smirked.

"A good one," he said. "Just let me try it, alright?"

Jamie hummed, his fingers drumming the script in front of him.

"I suppose… I suppose we could try," he said after a while. "If nothing else, it might make you a bit more comfortable in the role. What exactly is the twist? Wait, no! Don't tell me! I don't wanna hear it! Other me!" he said and pointed at his portrait copy. "Joseph's gonna alter the scene a bit. Just follow along with whatever he does. I wanna get your genuine reaction, got it? I wanna see some emotion!"

The Other Jamie nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"Alright!" Jamie said. He was almost bouncing with excitement as he readied his phone camera again. "This is scene sixty-three, modified version, take one. Aaaaaand… Action!"

This time, the invisible force commandeering Joseph's body was lessened greatly. It was more a suggestion of what to do and say, a guiding tool to build his performance around. And hoo boy, did he have to perform.

"James Starchild," he said, trying to emulate the dark confidence he'd seen so many times before in real villains. "I knew you would come here."

"Dark Fader!" the Other Jamie shouted and drew his sword. "I have come to put an end to your evil plans, once and for all!"

Joseph drew his own blade, the blood-red edge shimmering dangerously in the noon sun.

"The power is strong within you," he said. "But you are not a true knight yet." Joseph had no idea what those terms were meant to mean in this context or what significance they might have in the story Jamie had crafted. But Joseph Joestar was nothing if not an accomplished liar and bullshitter extraordinaire. Pretending to know what he was talking about was basically half of everything he'd ever done. Some improv acting was nothing to the man who had pulled a fast one on the ultimate lifeform.

The Other Jamie ran towards him, blade raised. Their swords clashed and they exchanged a few blows, sparks flying everywhere. After a couple of clashes, their blades locked and the struggle turned into a contest of raw strength. Like any good villain, Joseph continued his monologue.

"Your master Benjamin would be proud," he sneered. "You have come far. You have already mastered your fear. Now the time has come for you to unleash your hatred. Your hatred is what will guide your blade to victory. That is the only way you can destroy me."

He pushed back against the Other Jamie, forcing him to defend himself from a flurry of savage sword swipes. Joseph lunged forward and made a small cut on Other Jamie's cheek. Small droplets of paint leaked from the shallow cut and landed on the pier. The Other Jamie yelped and stumbled backward.

"Continuing to fight is useless," Joseph said. Or do you wish to be destroyed like your master Benjamin?"

The Other Jamie leaped forward with a roar and slammed his sword against Joseph's he managed to slip his blade past Joseph's guard and stab him in the arm.

"Agh!" Joseph gasped. He responded violently, swinging his blade quickly and swiftly, knocking the Other Jamie's sword out of his hand and…

「Shing!」

"ARGH!" the Other Jamie screamed as Joseph cut his hand off. The hand landed on the pier and turned into a puddle of gooey paint. The Other Jamie fell to his knees, clutching his arm stump.

"Don't make me kill you," Joseph said. "You have only begun to realize your true potential. I can complete your training and together, we can put an end to this pointless war."

The Other Jamie crawled away as Joseph started slowly approaching him.

"I'll never ally with the likes of you," he spat. "You killed my father!"

This was it. Joseph's entire plan hinged on this one plot twist he had come up with in a few panicked seconds.

"No, James," he said slowly. "I am your father."

In his peripheral vision, Joseph could see the real Jamie's jaw drop to the floor and his eyes lighting up with stars.

"No…" the Other Jamie whispered. "No… that's not true! That's impossible!" he cried. You could almost forget that it was just a soulless portrait and not a real person whose whole world had just been turned upside down.

"Search your heart," Joseph said. "You will know it to be true."

"NOOOO!" the Other Jamie wailed in agony. "NO!"

"James Starchild, you can defeat the Dark King," Joseph said. He walked slowly towards the Other Jamie, who was dragging himself away. "It is in the prophecy. It is your fate. Ally with me, and we can lord over this world as father and son."

The Other Jamie reached the edge of the pier. He looked down at the cold water beneath.

"Follow me," Joseph said and reached out to the Other Jamie with his free hand. "It is your only choice."

The Other Jamie looked defiantly at Joseph.

"Never," he hissed and threw himself off the pier and into the sea below.

"Cut," Jamie said. He was wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye. "Thank you."

Joseph felt the invisible restraints on him disappear fully. The air around the makeshift stage shimmered as the stand ability was retracted. Beneath the old wooden planks of the pier, the portrait of Jamie was slowly dissolving into a slick of paint floating on the water.

Jamie clapped his hands.

"Bravo!" he said. "Bravo! Oh, that was magnificent! What a brilliant idea, Mr. Joestar!" He sniveled and wiped away another tear. "Oh, thank you so much, Joseph!"

Joseph flashed the young man a smile and walked up to him.

"Hey, no big deal," he said. He put his hand on Jamie's shoulder. "I was just trying to do what felt right for the character, you know."

"I do," Jamie said. "And it was an absolutely genius move." He held his phone tight like it was the most precious object in the world. "This… this is my future." More tears started welling up in his eyes. "Finally! I finally have something I can send to the studio! Oh, I just know they'll love this! They have to!"

"I'm sure they will," Joseph said. He took a deep breath. A trained eye might've been able to spot a faint yellow aura surrounding his body and how it flowed into Jamie. A small hiss came from somewhere underneath Jamie's hat.

Jamie blinked a few times, looking confused. Then his knees gave out underneath him and he fell to the floor, unconscious. Joseph caught his phone before it could drop between the planks and into the water.

"Well, that was weird," Joseph mumbled. He put Jamie's phone in his bag. "But I like you, you got some real passion kid." He made a mental note to check if he knew anyone who worked in the film industry that might be interested in Jamie's script.

He massaged his arm, channeling some healing hamon into the wound the portrait had given him. The bleeding stopped and the pain started fading away. He looked back toward land and saw both Garnet and Jotaro come running.

"Sorry folks, the show's over!" he yelled with a small smile. "Come back tomorro-"

He interrupted himself when he realized that they weren't looking at him. It was always hard to tell where Garnet was looking, but he could clearly track Jotaro's gaze. It was locked at some point above Joseph.

He turned around and looked up into the air.

At first, he didn't recognize who it was and thought it was another enemy. Then he realized it was Lapis Lazuli in new clothes, some kind of sailor suit with enough golden pins to put both Jotaro and Josuke to shame.

Then he saw Peridot and Koichi, both trapped inside bubbles of water. He felt the blue gem's cold, detached stare looking down on him.

And he realized that this was a new enemy after all.

xxXXxx

Moviestar
Mid-range bound type stand

User: Jamie the postman.

Appearance: Moviestar does not have a physical body, but is bound to whatever area the user makes his "scene." The props Moviestar manifest appear to be normal objects that can be seen and interacted with by non-stand users.

Powers and Abilities
•Moviestar's main ability is to create the perfect scene. In order to accomplish this, several criteria have to be met before the stand's ability can activate.
•Scripting-The user needs to have a physical script ready for a certain scene before it can be enacted with Moviestar.
•Actors-The user needs to gather a group of actors covering all the relevant roles for the scene they want to enact. Moviestar is not very picky with what constitutes as an actor. After all, anyone with the passion can become an actor, including humans, gems, animals, and even living portraits created by Vidalia's Michelangelo. Moviestar will even grant these actors the ability to speak if they couldn't before.
•For the Audience-Lastly, Moviestar requires either a camera to record the scene, or a live audience to witness the scene. After all, what good is art that no one gets to enjoy?
•Set the Stage-Once all requirements have been met, Moviestar activates. It creates a set by encapsulating a certain area in its power. The size of the stage can vary depending on need, but can't be much bigger than ten x five x five meters big. The user takes the role of director and is the only one that can move and act freely on stage. The actors cannot leave the stage, nor can anyone enter from outside.
•Action!-Once the user gives the command, the scene starts playing. The actors within are forced to act out the script the user has written. Any props the actors need will manifest for them.
•Cut!-The actors will continue to act out the script until the user yells "Cut!" What happens next depends on whether the user was happy with the take or not.
•Let's Try That Again-If the user is unhappy with the take, they can choose to reshoot it. In that case, the stage resets to how it was before the take started. This includes damages to props, the environment, and the actors.
•Thank You-If the user is happy with the take, they will thank the actors and the take ends. Moviestar's ability retracts. Any damages inflicted to the environment and actors do not reset. Their sacrifice for their art is truly admirable.

Stats
Destructive Power: N/A
Speed: None
Range: B (covers a volume of about 250m^3)
Durability: N/A
Precision: A
Development Potential: A

To be continued…


Author's Notes

Well, uh… hi again. I'm doing well, thanks for asking. Just been… not feeling like doing much of anything for the last few weeks… months.

Jamie's stand is named after the song Moviestar by Harpo.

I shamelessly stole the "more of a moodboard than a man" line from a Quinn Curio video essay on Harry Potter. Which one? I'm not gonna tell; you'll simply have to watch them all if you wanna hear the original line in context.

Speaking of funny sentences, I was really proud of myself for stringing together "implementing implausible plans." I get to have way too much fun sometimes.

Act 4 should be a fun chapter. It involves, Pearl, Amethyst, Okuyasu, some cats, spinning balls, and FIRE! What can wrong?

Until next time, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!