Chapter 17 – Sky High
"Where is the attack coming from? That's what we need to figure out right now." Norisuke said.
"How do we do that though? We never even saw it take place!" Josuke responded, gripping tighter onto the wall in his frustration, feeling the rough texture of the bricks scrape against his fingers. "I never even saw our opponent."
The alley was totally empty, but for the two of them. There was no sound that seemed out of place. All Josuke could hear was Norisuke's and his own breathing, and the passing cars from the nearby streets.
"Did you feel anything before you fell?" He asked the older man.
"No. My knee just gave out. The attack was too sudden to figure out." Norisuke grunted. "Did you feel anything? Anything at all?"
"No, it was the same with me as it was with you. My eyelids just suddenly stopped responding." Josuke said, through gritted teeth. No matter how hard he thought about it, he just couldn't figure out how their enemy was attacking them.
"I know you don't have much training with your Quirk, but you need to use it." Norisuke said. "You have the Joestar family Quirk. The ripple can manipulate your body. You can use it to fight against this!"
Josuke frowned.
"Not yet. You're right when you say my ripple Quirk is well suited to combat the symptoms of this attack. But, that's all it can do. We shouldn't be focusing on the symptoms, but the root cause instead!" Next to him, Soft and Wet began sending out several bubbles. He couldn't see it, but he felt his command go through. "These attacks aren't enough to defeat us. Our opponent must commit to even more attacks. That's when we'll catch him!"
The bubbles all began to surround him, forming a strange sort of armour. He felt a little bad, he didn't have enough to surround Norisuke with.
"Josuke! What are you doing? How will your bubbles help us?" Norisuke's voice was muted as it came through the layer of soap surrounding Josuke.
"King Nothing. I need you to remember." Movement hit one of the bubbles, and in an instant, the bubble drew it inside. "My hero name is Soft and Wet. Not Josuke."
He inhaled, feeling the power fill his lungs, and then sent the ripple out through his body, lifting his eyelids and clearing his vision. The rest of the bubbles dispersed, and only the one which had caught the attack remained.
Inside it was a strange organism. A white worm-like creature, but much more rigid, and covered in frills which spiralled across its length. It had no eyes, and no mouth.
"Is this the attack? This isn't a Stand, it's a physical organism, right? Could this be the result of someone's Quirk?" Josuke wondered.
"The fact that the two of us were attacked is no coincidence." Norisuke said, fixing his eyes on the organism. "I find it unlikely our assailant is relying on a simple Quirk. No, we have to assume this is the work of a Stand, even if the method itself isn't one. There are Stands like that in this world. Ones that utilise natural phenomena. This is one such Stand."
King Nothing rushed forward, from its master's side, and up to the creature suspended in the bubble. Several puzzle pieces broke off of the Stand, and attached themselves to the outside of the bubble. Josuke let them inside a moment later, and they immediately set to surrounding the organism.
"Okay. I've got the scent now. That was good work. Now we can track the enemy's attacks."
The stray puzzle pieces returned to King Nothing. The Stand reformed, briefly, before breaking apart entirely in a swirl of motion. The puzzle pieces split into several new wholes, all of them copies of the organism trapped in Josuke's bubble.
They began flitting around the alley at incredible speeds, to quick to track.
"King Nothing? What's going on?" Josuke wasn't sure why King Nothing was suddenly going too fast to see.
"The organisms are moving too fast. With my Stand set to follow them at the same speeds, it becomes impossible to follow with the naked eye." Norisuke murmured. "But that's fine for me. I don't need to see my Stand's pieces."
The older man closed his eyes, and adopted a look of intense concentration.
"Sometimes King Nothing will capture a scent and follow it without my knowledge. Usually I don't pay much attention to everything it does… but if I focus, that changes." He said, so quietly Josuke barely caught it. "Our Stands are a part of us. When I really focus… I can feel it. There!"
Norisuke's eyes shot open, and he pointed his hand outwards, firing a fine stream of sticky fluid into the air. The stream crashed into something mid-air, and carried it to the ground. The substance solidified immediately, affixing the organism to the ground.
Norisuke didn't seem to take much pride in the victory, however, judging by his deep frown.
"That's one down, but… I can feel several more around us. And even if we get rid of them all, who's to say our assailant can't simply call forth more."
"Then taking them all down one by one isn't a realistic option. We need to find the enemy." Josuke said in a heavy tone. "We're back at square one."
"Hardly. We can defend ourselves now. That's important."
"But how do we find them?" Josuke wondered. "King Nothing's tracking is limited to those creatures. You still don't have scent of their master, and they'll certainly remain hidden and pick us off from a distance."
"That just means we have to draw them out." Norisuke said. "Consider this part of your training. Ranged Stands always use tactics like this. With a close range Stand like yours, a battle with a ranged Stand will always be about luring the user out."
Josuke's phone vibrated in his pocket, but he didn't pay any attention to it.
"Can we do that?" He wondered. "This ability is incredibly dangerous and hard to counter, but only at range. Why would the Stand user show themselves?"
"I didn't realise it until I set my Stand to track the creatures, but it would appear they're constantly rushing towards us. They're trying to attack most of the time. Why then, have they only managed to affect us twice?"
The older man shot Josuke a wan smile.
"They're far too imprecise. They can't manage critical strikes, even when there are only the two of us here. When we go out into the streets, it will impossible to hit us. The crowds will further confuse their strikes."
"You want to use civilians as shields?" Josuke choked out, his eyebrows so high they nearly met his sailor's hat.
"No, the strikes will be too imprecise to do any real damage to them. Doing any serious harm will be beyond the enemy's capabilities." Norisuke rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, a motion made more awkward by the heavy gauntlet on his hand. "Look, if I thought there was any chance of collateral damage, I wouldn't suggest it."
"…Fine. If you're certain."
"I am." Norisuke fired another stream onto the side of one of the buildings making up the alley. When it solidified into a line, stuck to the wall, he grabbed onto it. With a glance back towards Josuke, he pulled himself up, lifting off of his useless knee.
"Come on, Soft and Wet. We have a villain to draw out." With a kick from his good leg, Norisuke sent himself swinging down the alley on the makeshift rope.
"Right." Josuke chased after him.
In this world, society was built to support those who had been born lucky. Those with strong Quirks were given every advantage, and those with weak ones were left to pick up the slack.
Rikiel had been born unlucky, in a more literal sense than anyone else. His Quirk was strong enough, but it was because of that strength he had no luck. Even a weak Quirk, or being born entirely Quirkless would have been a better lot in life.
He'd never known his father. His recollection of his mother was vague for the most part, and dominated by the smell of disinfectants, and the sight of sterile white walls.
Fahr's Disease is characterised by calcium deposits building up in certain parts of the brain. The calcification has no discernable cause, earning it the moniker 'idiopathic'. The first symptoms are fatigue, diminished hand-eye coordination, and loss of stability. Later, as it progresses, paralysis.
The final result of all degenerative neurological disorders is death.
The condition is usually hereditary. By the late 20th century, fewer than twenty families were diagnosed with it. The figure stayed steady, moving from a low of ten to a high of forty afflicted families over the centuries. To the consternation of the doctors, his mother's family had never suffered from it, not a single case.
Well, while it was usually familial, there were recorded cases of it manifesting seemingly at random, so his mother developing it so suddenly wasn't unheard of. What was unheard of was the rate at which her condition progressed.
It typically took decades to result in death. Those afflicted may still have the chance to live full, healthy lives. Rikiel's mother had died only three years after her diagnosis, while he was still nine years old. To suddenly develop such a rare disorder, and with such aggressive symptoms. What were the odds?
Rikiel walked past a parked car, stumbling slightly as he passed, despite the smooth even surface of the pavement. A bit of debris flew by, hitting the car's side mirror and shattering it.
He never got a driver's license. Whenever he tried to drive, the tires would usually go flat. Once, he managed to nearly complete his driver's test. But it was cut short two minutes before he would have passed, when the traffic lights malfunctioned and he ended up t-boning a sedan. Four people died, but Rikiel walked away without a scratch.
After that incident, he never tried for a license again.
Further along the pavement he was walking on, several goblins swarmed over a group of unlucky pedestrians, hacking at them with dull, crudely-fashioned blades, before running off to find more victims. He couldn't help but examine the gore as he passed by, trying to make sense of the muscles and bones that had been scattered along the ground.
It was sort of like a puzzle. There was an ulna, split in two, but the radial next to it was pristine. The elbow they were attached to had probably been originally connected with the body two feet away, judging by the matching wounds on the bicep.
Some part of his mind had always been fascinated by anatomy, and medical phenomena in general. Was it related to his mother? Well, he preferred not to think about that.
Someone with a beaver mutation Quirk rushed past him, shoving her key into the door of a car. Her hands were shaking. A tremor in the metacarpals translated to similar tremors in the phalanges, and her motions became imprecise. Her buck teeth chattered. Her flat tail kept thwacking a staccato beat against the pavement as she looked behind herself, checking on a group of zombies slowly shuffling after her.
The key scratched the area around the lock a couple of times, before finally inserting itself in. She wasted no time in wrenching the door open and throwing herself inside, pulling the door closed behind her. She put the key into the ignition and turned. As Rikiel watched on, it spluttered and stalled. She screamed as the horde began walked up to the car and began banging on the doors and windows.
Rikiel walked on, wobbling slightly as he put his awkward legs back into motion. The chaos was concerning. He didn't wish for this much collateral damage, but he had no control over another person's Stand. The strife he was responsible for was limited solely to the misfortune that occurred in his immediate surroundings. But in a disaster zone, his Quirk became all the more horrifying. This had to be finished quickly.
His primary focus right now had to be the Stand users. Whitesnake had sent him and his brothers on a mission, and the priest had given him his life back after he showed Rikiel his Stand. He would not fail.
Another explosion rocked the side of a building, sending debris flying through the air. Josuke gaped at the robot who'd caused it, a humanoid construct with rockets in its arms. Earlier, when he'd punched it, it had just turned into paper, absorbing the blow. When it reverted back, the robot was completely undamaged.
All around them, the streets were in chaos. Fantastical creatures ran amok, attacking people indiscriminately. The carnage was terrible, and Josuke could barely keep his mind on the mission. He wanted to help out desperately, to stop the rampaging monsters.
With Norisuke's knee still out of sorts, and them no longer being in an alley where Norisuke's Quirk could fashion makeshift ropes, their mobility was limited.
If Josuke rushed off on his own, their opponent might kill the older man, and then him. If he stood by, he was condemning people to death, but if he went to their aid, he'd be playing right into their opponent's hands. He was damned if he did, and if he didn't.
"Do we stop this? Or focus on our opponent? Damn it, I have no idea what we should do!" Josuke grit his teeth.
"Listen, Soft and Wet. The job of a hero is to do both." His mentor responded. "We fight villains and save people. The test of a true hero is whether or not they can do both at once."
On the other side of the street, a giant red beast in a loincloth and helmet brandished a nodachi against a pair of young men, who were begging for their lives. Norisuke fired a jet of fluid at the monster, sticking its arm against the wall and holding it place. The two men wasted no time in running for their lives.
"Attacks don't work on these things. They just turn into paper. But it appears we can affect them in other ways." Norisuke observed.
Two race cars zipped across the road, one red and the other blue. Their license plated read 'NUM1' and 'NUM2' respectively.
"Wait, are those- I recognise those cars!" Norisuke said, confused. "They're from that racing game I got Joshu. What the hell?"
"I think we have bigger problems than a street race." Josuke said. "The city is under attack from… something strange. Could this be our enemy's true power?"
Norisuke rubbed his chin. "I don't think so, honestly. It just doesn't seem to line up with what was hitting us earlier. This method is way different."
"There's no way this is a coincidence, though!" Josuke protested.
"No, there isn't. I don't think the attack is coming from one person. I think it's a group of Stand users."
"Damn! They must be affiliated with Stain, and the League. That's why they're here."
"Agreed. We've found ourselves in the centre of the League's next attack. But they made a mistake." Norisuke noted.
Josuke slowly straightened up as the realisation hit him. He was glad to see they were on the same wavelength.
"Yeah. With multiple enemies out here on the offensive… we stand a better chance of gaining information."
"In order to gain this information, wouldn't you first have to defeat your opponent?" A new voice called out from behind them.
They turned to see a man in a cow-patterned outfit, with pink dreadlocks coming out from his scalp. He swayed slightly as he stood there, looking at them.
A familiar hiss signalled the robot was about to attack again. An explosion hit a building in between the two of them, flinging rocks and dust all around them, but the newcomer didn't flinch.
"I take it you're one of the Stand users responsible for this." Norisuke said.
The man raised his arm, showing them a green, lizard-like Stand attached to his arm.
"My villain name is Sky High. My Stand- of the same name, naturally- allows me to control the rods. I believe you captured a couple before fleeing the alley."
"Then you're not the one responsible for all this chaos?" Josuke asked.
Sky High frowned at that, looking out over the carnage unfolding in the middle of the street.
"No. My only target is the two of you." He rubbed the back of his head, seemingly in thought. "When I was younger, I didn't understand the appeal of All Might. He just punches people, right? What kinda skill is that?"
Josuke paused, staring at the villain in disbelief. What kinda non-sequitur is this? Aren't we in the middle of a fight?
"Anyone lucky enough to be born with a Quirk like that could beat up a few villains. Why did I have to see his face plastered on posters everywhere? Hear his voice in interviews all the time?"
A massive shadow passed overhead. A flying saucer drifted across the sky, almost languidly. The two heroes kept their eyes on Sky High, wary of any move he might try to make, but made no attempt to interrupt his ramblings.
"But now I understand! It was never about beating up villains, or winning fights. It was about his indomitable spirit! The indomitable spirit of humanity!
"That's what drives humanity. All the great achievements throughout history. Apollo Eleven, the eradication of smallpox. It's that spirit which lets people refuse lifeboats on a sinking ship, so that others can survive. It's what lets soldiers fight in wars, throwing their own lives away for what they believe in!" A feral glint shone in the man's eyes, as he took a step forward, teetering perilously with the motion.
He's insane. Josuke realised. Completely insane.
"Is he plastered?" Norisuke wondered in a low murmur, too quiet for the villain to hear.
"I have that same spirit now. I'm going to fight you in the name of it. I'm going to win, because of it." He let out a bitter laugh, at odds with his self-aggrandising speech. "Now that I'm closer to the two of you, my control of the rods is finer. You'll die here."
Norisuke fired a stream of fluid out, coating a rod and bringing down as it moved to attack him. He turned back to the villain, lifting a single eyebrow as he stared him down. Mocking him.
"You can sense my attacks. But your partner can't. And my rods move too fast for you to tell him what direction to defend in." Sky High said.
Josuke's hand began swelling. The stiffness was incredible, he couldn't move a single finger. But the symptom was easy to manage. He simply pushed more of the ripple through it, turning it back to normal.
"My Ripple is perfect counters to your Stand, Sky High." Josuke said. "And you have no defensive ability. Your 'spirit' has only led you to your defeat."
Soft and Wet began spewing out bubbles. A miniature cloud of them drifted towards the villain, who drew back, watching them with a wary eye.
A hiss sounded out. The villain glanced off to the side. It was followed by yet another rocket, slamming into a wall not six feet from where Josuke and Norisuke were standing. The explosion sent tremors through the ground, and Josuke had to crouch low to avoid being thrown off balance.
The dust kicked up by the explosion hung in the air, reducing visibility severely. Josuke could no longer make out Sky High.
"Of all the shitty luck." Norisuke griped, from somewhere next to him. Josuke couldn't see him clearly, despite how close he was. All he saw was a shadow where he knew the man to be kneeling.
Josuke pressed his lips together in a thin line, and brought his bubbles back. He absorbed the dust into them, scrubbing the air clean. His vision was no longer obscured, but it didn't help. In the time it took for them to regain their bearings, Sky High had disappeared.
"He can't have gotten far. Be on the lookout for him." Norisuke said.
"Were you able to get his scent?"
"No. King Nothing was too busy tracking the rods." Norisuke admitted with a frustrated groan.
Josuke kept looking around their perimeter. The villain had to be hiding somewhere nearby, but where?
His arm went limp at the shoulder, and Josuke pulsed his ripple through it, putting it back into working order. Norisuke fired another stream out, disabling a rod that had been about to strike him.
A hiss sounded from the street. Determined not to be caught off guard again, Josuke looked to where the robot was taking aim. A single salaryman was sprinting away, and the robot's arm tracked him.
"Soft and Wet!" Josuke shouted, sending a bubble over to the robot. When it popped on the robot, sparks began shooting out from its neck and head. It swivelled suddenly, and fired the rocket it had primed at the flying saucer overhead, blasting a hole into it while the ship was in the middle of abducting several cars with a levitation ray.
"What was that? Why didn't you just take away its power?" Norisuke questioned, though his light tone indicated he wasn't seeking to criticise.
"That thing operates with some sort of Identify Foe Friendly protocol. By taking away power to its processor, I caused its IFF to malfunction. On the occasions when it does fire at a living target, it will aim for the other monsters." Josuke scoffed, narrowing his eyes as he looked at one of those very creatures running along the road. "We might only be able to affect them, and not physically damage them, but it's as I suspected. They can damage each other. What's better? A defeated foe, or an enemy working for your own benefit?"
"Clever. We'll make a hero out of you yet." Norisuke said, flashing him a small smile.
"So, that's how your Stand fights. Its bubbles pop on something, and in doing so, perform the action of 'taking something away'." Sky High's voice emanated from behind them. Josuke spun on his heels to face the villain.
"Valuable information. I also assume your Quirk is the very same ripple that the descendants of the Joestar family posses." The villain turned his attention to Norisuke, who glared at him quietly. "Your Stand, on the other hand, let's you track things if you have their 'scent'. That's how you defend against my rods. And you've demonstrated your Quirk enough times for a monkey to figure it out."
"Do you think you'll win just because you've made a few easy observations?" Norisuke growled out. "You still have no way to get past my defence, or inflict permanent harm on Soft and Wet. You don't stand a chance. Surrender, and tell us everything you know about the League of Villains."
"The League? Who cares about those lowlifes?" Sky High let out a quiet laugh. "I only serve Whitesnake. He's the one who showed me my potential, and the importance of an indomitable spirit. Whitesnake is the one with the vision and ability needed to remake this world."
Josuke's eyes lit up, and next to him, Norisuke sucked in a sharp breath, before grinning wide.
"Well, I had no idea we'd get this lucky. Fine, the League is just a means to end. I'd much rather find out everything you know about Whitesnake." Norisuke laughed deeply, the sound coming from his stomach.
Sky High quirked an eyebrow.
"You both use your own Quirks frequently in combat, as complements to your Stands. Yet you think you'll beat me, without even knowing what my Quirk is." The villain pulled several knives out of his pockets, dropping one from a shaky hand as he did so. But he managed to manoeuvre them so that he was pinching the tips of the blades.
There's no way he'll throw those. Josuke thought. He clearly can't manage that much, with the way he's moving.
But Sky High defied expectations when he pitched them all high into the air, wholly lacking any grace or technique.
The blades began raining down directly above them.
Soft and Wet rushed forward, shouting 'Ora Ora Ora' as it punched the blades to the side. Next to him, Norisuke spouted off a fountain of fluid. It was much less focused than his usual streams, something Josuke expected the nozzles in his gauntlets helped control.
The result was the fluid only went a short distance up, before falling back down in a semicircle fashion. It hardened in that position, looking like an umbrella. The knives embedded themselves in the structure.
"That attack was way too precise. Those should have just fallen at random, but instead they all went straight for us." Norisuke muttered. "He mentioned his Quirk. Does it improve his accuracy?"
Josuke didn't respond. He could smell something strange. Something like gasoline. A glance to the cars parked near them showed the problem. One of the knives Soft and Wet had deflected went straight into the side of a car. The fuel tank was ruptured, and leaking gas into the air.
A hissing sound alerted Josuke, and he looked at the robot. It had a rocket primed, and was aiming it directly a stick figure, which happened to be walking straight towards the two of them.
With no time to think, Josuke ran and tackled Norisuke, his momentum carrying them away from the pavement and out into the street, in the direction opposite the damaged vehicle.
It had been just in time. The new explosion, far more massive than any of the others due to the gas leak, rumbled so loud he felt like he'd gone half deaf. A bright fire spread out into the air, above where they were sprawled in the road.
A glance back confirmed it. The portion of the pavement where they'd been standing was scorched black. They'd been nearly taken out, not by the enemy Stand, but by sheer chance.
Josuke lifted himself to his feet, and sent out a line of bubbles towards Sky High. The villain stumbled as he tried to keep his distance from the bubbles. The outcome was clear, the man simply lacked the alacrity to get out of the way. Josuke was sure now. He'd take the villain's sight. With that done, he'd be able to close the distance and put an end to the battle without Sky High being able to fight back.
But his attack was interrupted by the ground shaking. Sky High swayed too hard and fell, crashing into the pavement. With such a quick motion, the bubbles went right over him.
An enormous shadow fell over the street. The source proved to be a massive mech, stomping along with surprising speed. It was an unbelievable sight on its own, but what made it more insane was the pink haired girl standing on its shoulder, her hand on its neck.
Josuke was about to call out to Yasuho, until he heard a hissing sound behind him.
Damn IFF! He thought in horror.
A rocket flew by, impacting the mech's arm. Yasuho was flung off, screaming as the momentum of a stampeding giant was harshly interuppted, but she was just able to grab onto some groove in the metal of the mech's back as she fell. It heaved back, flailing as it tried to right itself. Amidst all of the jerky movements, an immense leg flashed out and kicked a nearby car hard. The vehicle went careening through the air, straight towards them. In seconds, he and Norisuke would be a set of limbs and organs strewn across the road.
Josuke slapped himself across the face with one hand, and slammed his other into Norisuke's chest while the man lay prone. His heart was pounding as the car barreled towards them, and his breath was coming out it short, quick bursts. I'm hyperventilating. He realised. Panic filled his body, his veins thrumming, and Josuke screamed as he willed every ounce of his power into his hands.
The car flew harmlessly overhead, maybe a foot off the ground. That was fine, considering Josuke had shrunk the two of them down to a few inches. His arms burned, and he couldn't feel his fingers. Sweat dripped down his brow, stinging his eyes. This was his limit. No, this was past his limit. He'd never used Josefumi's Shrinking to shrink anything so much before, and to use that Quirk on two things? It was too much.
The mech teetered dangerously from all the sudden shocks to its stability, both the rocket hit, and stumbling into the car, as well as its own momentum attempting to continue onwards. It nearly fell. For a moment, Josuke was certain it would, and his heart wrenched, imaging what would happen to Yasuho if she were crushed under its back. He'd never be able to forgive himself.
It managed to arrest its fall, however, by reaching out and dragging several fingers through a building. The crunch of the brick breaking, coupled with the screech that came from the metal fingers sliding along what wasn't immediately broken was ear splitting. But it served the purpose of breaking the machine's momentum, and helping it regain its balance.
The mech continued to thunder on down the road, fading out of sight.
Yasuho… no. I should trust her to see to the rest of this. Right now, my focus needs to be on my own battle. He thought. And my own injuries.
Josuke tried to lift his arm. He was able to raise it as far as his chest before it gave out, and fell back to his side. Norisuke lifted himself back up into a kneeling pose.
The mech's sudden, chaotic appearance and departure left the street in a momentary silence. Even the other strange creatures seemed briefly cowed. But the silence was soon broken by a loud creeeeak emanating from above. Several banging sounds followed.
Josuke looked up, to see the building the mech had broken its fall on shifting. Shattered bricks fell out from the gouges in the wall, several of them lumped together like clay in crude shapes from the sheer force exerted upon them.
A crack appeared. It began at the top of the second highest furrow, and ran up to meet the highest. The largest piece yet broke off from this combination of damage, and began to fall. The section of debris was the size of a grown man. Owing to its starting height, it ended up gaining the most distance from the building as it fell.
Specifically, it fell diagonally, heading straight towards the two heroes. Josuke let loose a strangled gasp.
With their current sizes, it would end up destroying them entirely. And he was out of energy, he no longer had the strength to move his body. Once more, they were in danger of being reduced to a bloody smear on the street.
Norisuke grabbed his arm, and fired a stream of fluid at the undercarriage of a nearby bus which had been abandoned in the middle of the road. He kicked off as it solidified, and they went swinging across the street, before landing somewhat roughly underneath the bus. It offered them protection from the debris, at least.
"What on earth is happening?" Norisuke groaned, slightly out of breath. The older man grimaced as he massaged the wrist he made the newest stream with.
It occurred to Josuke that his mentor must be reaching his limit too. Quirks were physical abilities, and Norisuke had been using his nearly non-stop, in continuously flashy ways. It had to be wearing on him.
Josuke wasn't feeling any better himself. His hair was damp with sweat, stuck to his forehead, and he realised that at some point he'd lost his hat.
"This is absurd..." He hissed out, barely able to fill his lungs before having to expel his breath again. "H-how… the heck..."
Norisuke shook his head. "I don't know. Really, I have no idea. Those events, they weren't the result of either Sky High, or the Stand wreaking havoc in the city. But there was no coincidence."
"Was that… his Q-quirk?" Josuke stammered out through his clenched jaw.
"Yeah. I think so. The knives, the gas, the car being kicked, and the falling debris. Somehow, his Quirk lets him manipulate probability. That's what he was talking about."
He was right. Josuke thought. We assumed victory too early, and now look at us.
"How do we handle that?" He asked.
Norisuke shot him a look somewhere between a grin and a grimace. "Violently, of course. Capturing and interrogating him is no longer a priority. Survival is. It's time to use lethal force."
Josuke nodded, and looked around, deep in thought. He couldn't use his physical abilities anymore. Neither his body or Quirks were capable of responding to his commands any more. His only hope was his Stand.
His Stand should have been unstoppable! With his knowledge of anatomy, and his ability to target certain spots, he could've induced so many diseases or weaknesses in his opponents. But he couldn't even permanently harm either of them!
They had disappeared, but Rikiel wasn't nearly fool enough to lower his guard. With all the chaos caused by his Quirk, he'd lost sight of his targets. That made them more dangerous than ever before. He brought his hand up to his mouth, biting at his thumb nail.
What if they launch a sneak attack? They were right, their abilities are too well suited for fighting me. And I don't have enough control over my Quirk! I'm going to lose, they're going to kill me!
Sweat was rolling down his face, and his breathing was so rapid it almost sounded like a machine gun. He bit down further on his fingernail, hitting the skin and drawing blood.
I'm going to fail Whitesnake, and after he gave me my life back!
His internal panic was interrupted by the feeling of pressure on his wrist.
He looked at Sky High, hugging his arm. That's right. He thought, a feeling of serenity moving back through him, washing out the nervousness that had plagued him all his life. I have an indomitable spirit. It'll see me through. That life that Whitesnake gave back...
Stop lying to yourself. They can't take your life away. He reminded himself. Just like Whitesnake wasn't able to give you your life back.
Fahr's Disease was usually hereditary. In the last year, his balance had become increasingly poor, along with his hand-eye coordination. Just his luck, right?
He was so tired.
But he couldn't stop now. He had a debt to repay.
Rikiel closed his eyes, and took control of his rods, sending them out across the street, searching for any sign of his targets. It was a minute before he found them, hiding under a bus. They were bizarrely small.
How did they manage that? Did Soft and Wet take away their height? No, it probably doesn't work like that. It doesn't matter. I just need to end them.
He sent a rod spiralling after them, ready to finish this, but King Nothing fired yet more fluid to ward it off. The volume of the it was reduced, to a comparable level as his size, but it was enough to layer the rod's frill. The rod couldn't compensate for the increase in drag on one side fast enough, and went veering off, smacking into a tire at high speeds.
"Persistent..." He muttered to himself.
He walked over to the bus, rocking back and forth on his unsteady legs, and bent down to look underneath, positioning his head next to one of the tires. The two stared back at him, grim looks on their faces.
"Your Quirk," King Nothing began. "It lets you manipulate probability."
"Not quite how you're thinking." Rikiel rubbed his chin. "Well, I know your abilities. In the interest of fairness, and in honour of the spirit you've shown me… I'll explain.
"My Quirk is called Misfortune. It does alter probability, but it isn't a conscious decision on my part. My Quirk is abnormally passive. Misfortune radiates out from me, increasing the likelihood of something unlucky occurring. If you're within its radius, the chance of some negative event befalling you is drastically improves."
"The entire time we were dealing with you, nothing occurred. Until you threw those knives." King Nothing pointed out.
"That's not quite true, but close enough. Yeah, my Quirk is very passive, but it's still an emission type. I can't turn it off no matter what I do. But I can push more of my energy into it, and in doing so increase its effect exponentially."
Rikiel glared down at his open palm, as if he could see some physical representation of his Misfortune if he looked hard enough. I can make it worse, but never better. It won't turn off. Not until I…well. It won't be long now, at least.
"But now, it's time to talk about you. Soft and Wet, your Quirk lets you fix your body after an attack… but at this size? Your entire body will be affected. Your death will be instantaneous." Rikiel said, in a quiet tone. "You won't have time to heal yourself."
"I'm not going to die here." Soft and Wet responded. His voice was quiet as well, but rather than the grim undertones Rikiel's had, the hero's voice was wrought with exhaustion.
A new rod flew under the bus, aiming straight for Soft and Wet. King Nothing halted its attack the same way as before, with his Quirk's fluid damaging the rod's aerodynamics.
But it was clearly taking its toll. King Nothing gasped in pain. His hand moved to massage his wrist, and he hissed under his breath.
"You can't keep protecting yourselves. You've reached your limit. This war of attrition… is mine to win." I hold the grand spirit of human endeavours. Like All Might. Like Apollo Eleven. I will win.
"You helped teach me this yourself, Sky High." Soft and Wet said. "Allow me to return the favour. Never assume a victory."
A bubble drifted into view from behind the tire Rikiel had his head next to. How long was that there? He let me monologue. Rikiel thought with a grimace. He tried to pull back, but his balance was off, and he stumbled a bit, halting the motion for a precious second.
It popped against the side, and a hole appeared in the tire.
The pressurised air burst out in a jet, aimed straight for Rikiel. The force of it tore a hole straight through his cheek. His mouth filled with blood and shredded skin as he instinctively leapt away, clutching a hand to the side of cheek. He cried out for a moment before gagging on the pieces of his own face.
"That wath thkillfully done." He lisped under his breath, before spitting the gore out onto the ground.
The Stand, Soft and Wet, appeared in front of him. Unlike its master, it was normal sized. It wasted no time, throwing a punch his way with a shout of 'Ora'.
He staggered back, barely avoiding the blow.
Rikiel panted. The fatigue was setting in. His limbs felt numb. Just a few seconds ago, I was confident in my victory. How did it turn around so quickly?
A bubble floated on top of Soft and Wet's fist, a dark brown liquid held inside.
Gasoline. He realised. From the bus.
One blow from that, and he'd be dead. The old anxiety twisted in his gut. Had he come so far, just to fail? Was he going to fail Whitesnake so completely?
Blood trickled down his jaw as his heart pounded. Would this really be the end?
"No!" Rikiel shouted, his voice full of conviction, surprising even himself.
No. Whether it's the end or not… I have that spirit. Like All Might. Like Apollo Eleven. The same as soldiers who die for what they believe in, right or wrong. That spirit can be one of sacrifice too, if it must be. He closed his eyes.
When you weigh how little I have left to sacrifice against the possibility of victory, of repaying my debt to Whitesnake… that's a bargain.
That's right. I've been lying to myself. Whitesnake didn't give me my life back. He helped me live for the first time, even if it was only a little while. That's why I owe him such a debt. Rikiel opened his eyes once more, and pressed what remained of his lips flat against each other.
Soft and Wet's fist came hurtling towards him, but it felt like it was in slow motion.
Rikiel could feel one of his rods. It wasn't close enough to reach the heroes before explosive blow would land, but if he could block the attack for a second, it would be enough. He could kill Soft and Wet, and then, with only a tracking Stand and a worn out Quirk, King Nothing would be at his mercy. He just had to block for a moment.
He threw his arm up, aiming to smash his wrist against Soft and Wet's forearm, and divert its punch from it course. Only a Stand could harm another Stand, so his own wrist wouldn't alter the attack in any way. But Sky High, as physically weak as it was, was still a Stand. Attached to his wrist, it would be able to impact Soft and Wet.
"I'm Apollo Eleven!" Rikiel shouted, throwing his arm towards the Stand.
And then he swayed. Symptoms include loss of fine motor controls, and impaired hand-eye coordination.
He misjudged the distance, and his wrist hit empty air. The Stand's forearm slammed into his own, shattering his radial bone. The fist flew towards his face, the explosive bubble front and centre.
Just my luck.
Josuke looked out at the body laying on the pavement. It was immense, compared to their current diminutive statures. A large scorch mark covered the upper half. Well, what remained of the upper half.
"Dammit." He muttered to himself. "He's dead, and we couldn't get any information from him at all."
"There's still a chance." Norisuke said, coming up behind him. His phone was out. "There are clearly other Stand-using villains in the city right now. We just need to track them down."
He turned on his phone, and began scrolling through the Hero Network.
"Purple Haze and Manual are the primary heroes dealing with the strange creatures running around." The man noted. Then he started mumbling. "Where is Haato, she's barely said anything since she mentioned finding a weird hole just before everything went crazy."
A ping sounded out.
"A new message! From Haato, no less. Let's see..." Norisuke opened it up and began reading. His face went pale, and he turned with a quick, jerky motion to look at Josuke.
"It's Joshu! They got into a fight with a villain, and Joshu, he- I have to find them!" King Nothing materialised in its humanoid form, and plucked Norisuke up off the ground with two of its fingers before it went bounding off.