My Little Pony: Friendship is a Bizarre Adventure
Part 4: ~ Diamond is Charitable
Episode XV: Game of Cat and Mouse, Hello Nurse
Josuke opened the door for Rarity as both combed and brushed their hair, rushing out of the house with schoolbags slung over their shoulders, even toast hung from Rarity's mouth.
Darling, we're going to be late!"
"Don't worry, once we get on the road, I've got a plan that'll surely-"
Both stopped at the sound and sight of car drifting on the road headed right for them. It came to a screeching halt and stopped right in front if them. Inside was Rainbow Dash at the driver's seat and Jotaro in the passenger's seat. She lowered a pair of shades over her eyes.
"Get in kids, we're going hunting."
Josuke blinked with wide eyes before he chuckled.
"H-Hey! It's a bit early for jokes but, thanks for the ride to schoo-"
Rainbow Dash held up a her fake arm. The underside of the forearm cocked like a gun. Josuke jumped with a squeak and ran to the car, shoving the arm out of sight, and glanced around with a pale face.
"W-Whoa, whoa, is your entire arm a firearm!?"
"It's antitank artillery Josuke, get in the car. You too Rarity."
Rarity glanced to the side with a nervous smile.
"I-I'm not so sure I'll be needed for this activity!"
"It's Stand related, and if it's Stand related, then it's related to the Elements of Harmony."
Rarity widened her eyes before she entered the car with Josuke.
"Why didn't you open with that?!"
Rainbow Dash shrugged as Jotaro spoke.
"We recently paid Akira and Octavia a visit. It took some time, due to each side trying to blame the other, but we managed to figure out what happened. For fun, Akira shot the Arrow at a rat by a ravine, but nearly lost it in the process. For whatever reason, the Element flew off the Arrow, maybe the nature of the rat caused it to react. It represents Generosity, and that's one thing rats don't have, not on Earth at least."
Josuke stuck his tongue out.
"A rat!? Like Mickey Mouse™!?"
Rainbow Dash put her hands on the wheel, then appeared in the passenger's seat where Jotaro had been, the two had switched places. She snapped him with a scowl.
"Hey! Warn me when you stop time!"
"You still don't even have a permit, and we nearly died on the way here, I'm driving."
"Tch!"
Rainbow Dash folded her arms and glanced back.
"Yeah well, the rat apparently escaped with it's life, despite being directly impaled by the Arrow. Freaky, huh? For some reason, it nabbed the Element and ran off."
Josuke squirmed in his seat as the car began to move.
"Eugh, why would you say something like... It got away alive?!"
He looked at Rarity, who had a hand up to her throat, and cold sweat down her brow.
"Never in my life would I think I'd find. myself relating to a rat... The poor thing, but does that really mean it developed an ability like ours, can normal animals do such a thing?"
Rainbow Dash nodded.
"It's very possible since they're alive just as much as we are. In fact, if you really think about it, there'd be no reason for them not to gain a Stand. The problem here is determining it's intentions, how dangerous it is, and if we can contain it before any damage is done."
Rarity blinked and rubbed her eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm still not quite used to you like this, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow Dash leaned back in surprise and glared at Rarity.
"W-What's that supposed to mean!?"
Jotaro spoke up as he made a turn.
"That you're usually a brash annoying woman who runs head first into a fight only thinking in the moment which causes you to get yourself in trouble you sometimes can't get yourself out of without help."
Rarity nodded and politely pointed at Jotaro.
"That, yes, I'm used to that Rainbow Dash."
Jotaro looked at Rarity through the rearview mirror.
"Oh she's still like that, trust me."
Rainbow Dash grumbled, then grew a sly smile as she elbowed Jotaro roughly in the side.
"Hey, if you think I haven't changed, then I'll make a bet with you!"
"I didn't say that."
"You may as well have! It's too late to take back your words!"
"... Yare Yare Daze."
Rarity looked to Josuke and saw how uncomfortable he was.
"Darling?"
He glanced at her for a moment, then shook himself out of his daze.
"Huh? What's up?"
"Are you alright?"
"Well... We're going hunting for rats, like some backwater hillbillies you see on those old black and white television shows, and those are archetypes! Really, I guess I'm only going along with it is because Jotaro and Ms. Dash are too, so it feels kinda noble."
Rainbow Dash let out a sudden loud grunt.
"Did you stop time, again!? You know what that does to you! Don't strain yourself before we even get to the fight!"
Jotaro only drove as she looked around her seat.
"Where'd I put my lighter, you didn't throw it out, did you?"
"You were the one who said we'd quit."
"If we need my lightning-"
"That's what we got Rarity for."
Rainbow Dash sighed and looked out the window.
"Whatever, Akira shot the rat in an irrigation ditch, apparently they were really bored. You take it from here, Jotaro."
He held up three fingers without taking his eyes off the road.
"While there are thousands of species of rats, only three can live successfully within human civilization."
He took two fingers down.
"And only one of the three can live in waterways. The brown rat. Large ones grow up to be about twenty to thirty centimeters, and weigh a kilogram. They can jump up to two meters, swim well, and live anywhere as well as eat anything."
Josuke rubbed his neck in both awe and disturbance.
"Mr. J-Jotaro, how come you know so much about a rat, I thought you studied marine life!"
"I'm glad you asked. One reason is, it's actually common knowledge due to it being an iconic house pest across the globe, and another..."
He poked Rainbow Dash on the cheek and received a glare for it.
"This one, would've became a successful veterinarian and graduated college, if she only ever studied about anything that was in her majors. I tried to study with and for her."
"Shut up, I studied hard as I could!"
"Comic books and plane magazines don't count. You used your books in class as a pillow and then stacked them into, albeit amazing, book castles at home."
Rainbow Dash stared at Jotaro in momentary silence before her eyes lit up with a bright smile.
"Ha!~ I knew you thought my projects were cool! And you called it amazing!"
"You were amazingly lazy."
"Same difference."
Jotaro pulled the car over near the irrigation ditch. He popped the trunk from the seat as he and Rainbow Dash left the car. The Diamonds followed after them with a deft roll across the ground. They stood up back to back and ready for a fight. Then nearly fell over as they saw Rainbow Dash place thrown away soda cans on a fence.
"What's with that look? We're trying to show you something here, quit playing around."
Rarity tilted her head.
"But, should we not hurry and detain the rodent? It is important that we keep it from harming anyone with it's ability, yes?"
Jotaro took out a small pouch and poured ball bearings into his hand.
"I had originally planned to use simple ball bearings. Like so."
Star Platinum appeared over Jotaro. It flicked the ball at and through the can. Rainbow Dash smirked and took off the glove to her fake hand. She pointed at a can and fired a bullet from it. The can exploded. Jotaro sighed and shook his head.
"Yare Yare... I thought you got that thing uninstalled, or at least filled with rubber bullets."
Rainbow Dash blew the smoke away from hole before it closed.
"Nah, I just got a different model after my last visit. I miss my rocket punch."
"And I don't miss paying for property damage."
She stuck a tongue out him.
"You didn't say that when it came to sabotaging that whaling ship."
Jotaro looked to Rarity.
"That never happened. Rarity, this will be a first for me, but show me your Stand.
She stood there trying to comprehend Jotaro as a person. He was, almost robotic, and at times seemed to know more than he let on. As if he had an answer to everything. She blinked and nodded as her Stand danced out of her body with elegant flair.
[ ~"Darlings, the coup de grâce is saved for the end, but I understand if you just couldn't wait!"~ ]
Rarity proudly gestured to the Stand
"This, is [~Shine On~]! The body you see, sir, is but a near limitless source of a crystalline substance that is indestructible!"
"Unless you're hurt yourself, which then it slowly begins to degrade and crumble with the more damage you take."
"... Pardon?"
Jotaro folded his arms.
"I know what your Stand does. I only asked you bring it out to make small balls. I thought they'd make the perfect bullet, as it can harm both the Stand and the User being made of Stand energy."
He looked back at Rainbow Dash.
"This way, some of us won't have to return to harmful habits."
Rainbow Dash raised a brow at him and placed a hand on her hip.
"This coming from Mr. Fifteen Packs a Day?"
Rarity sighed and snapped her fingers as a box formed full of several tiny pearl spheres. Jotaro took a number of them and handed them to Josuke.
"Here. Do as I did."
"Huh? Oh, I get it! This will increase our effective range by a good few meters! GREAT thinking... But, are you sure I should? I mean, I've got terrible luck with handling balls."
Jotaro stared at Josuke.
"Twenty to thirty meters, with how strange Rarity's Shine ability, it may actually be even further."
The teen groaned under his breath and readied the pearl.
"Here goes! [Crazy Diamond]!"
Crazy Diamond's upper half appeared over Josuke. It bit its lower lip and flicked the pearl. It hit the first can directly with a small hole in the front. It flew off the fence and rolled down the hill. He took another one and shot the last can. It missed, nearly grazing the can, but the pearl expanded with sharp spikes and stabbed into the object. Rarity applauded Josuke.
"GREAT! You did marvelous!"
Jotaro stared.
"Eighty five points, plus bonus for the teamwork."
Rainbow Dash scoffed with a shake of her head.
"Fifty four. Good start, bad finish. Don't worry about it, you'll get better in time!"
Josuke gave a deadpanned expression to Rainbow Dash, but his attention returned to Jotaro, the older nephew gave him a strange look.
"Just one last word of advice to you both. If we miss the rat, it won't give us the chance to hit it again, so make the first one count. Not to make you feel pressured or anything."
Josuke and Rarity gave a shaky nod in silence. They felt the pressure already, but it wouldn't get to them, not now. The group found the ditch and followed after the small river of sewer water. Jotaro stopped and knelt down to the ground.
"Rat tracks. They went this way, or at least a number of them."
Rarity made a face of disgust.
"Why did I have to be dragged out here to the pits! A-Are you sure those are rat tracks?"
Rainbow Dash nodded her head.
"Rats have four front toes, and five on the back, you can even see the tail line from the S shaped trail. From the spacing between paws we can estimate that it's around twenty centimeters."
Among the grass and weeds that grew nearby, Jotaro turned a leaf over to reveal an insect.
"There are ticks here, which mean the rats come through here often. See that drainage pipe? That's probably where the nests are."
Rainbow Dash looked to Josuke.
"Okay, now all we've got to do is set up the trap with the bait. You got the trap, right Josuke?"
"M-Me?"
Rarity gave Rainbow Dash an accusing look.
"You didn't even mention a trap, let alone the bait! Isn't cheese a bit too luxurious for a rat?"
Jotaro then spoke without looking.
"And no, Dash, we can't use Rarity's Shine. Due to it being a Stand ability, simply activating her Stand would tip it off that there are others like it, so it's out the question."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a groan.
"But it'd so much easier!~"
Josuke swatted away at numerous flies and pinched his nose at a pungent scent.
"Ough! What the hell is that!? A-Ah! Everyone! Look at this!"
The group looked in Josuke's direction. A cube of a strange jelly substance. A substance made of rat flesh as corpses and limbs of the rodents stuck out. Several flies ate away at it. Rarity held a hand to her mouth, she wouldn't show weakness now, she had to show that she could handle sudden situations like this. Rainbow Dash then poked it with her fake finger. Blood and viscera poured out like a sickly fountain. Rarity shook her head and gave into her stomach as she puked into the tall grass. Josuke spoke in her stead.
"Oh what the fuck, Ms. Dash!?"
She inspected the substance and wiped it off on the ground.
"It's the meat inside the rat corpses! As if they melted and fused together while still inside the flesh...! I don't even want to to think what this stuff does if it comes into contact with human flesh."
Jotaro sighed and looked at the drainage pipe.
"Yare Yare Daze. It's a guarantee that there's more cubes like this further down. We'll have to hunt with the intent to kill then. However, these pipes go on for some time, and are just too small for us. However... They seem to travel to that farmhouse we saw by the fence."
Rainbow Dash thumbed to herself with a bright smile.
"I got it, leave it to me to scout for ya!"
Jotaro scowled at her.
"Wait Dash. That could be just what they're waiting for. Don't be reckless again."
She blinked at him with surprise before she scowled back.
"Don't dote over me, I've been at this as long as you have."
"That's exactly why I'm telling you take caution. You always just jump in blindly. I'll scout with these binoculars here with everyone staying put so we can plan our next move, efficiently."
Jotaro took the binoculars from his coat and looked ahead to the farmhouse. Rarity held up her own made from the Shining Coat.
"Oh my... The door's cracked open!"
"And there are two cars in the garage. The rat's inside with the residents, it may be too late to save them, but we can still stop the rat from harming anyone else. Let's go."
Josuke leaned back.
"W-Wait, shouldn't we mask our scent, or something?"
Rainbow Dash grabbed Jotaro by the shoulder to hold him back.
"He's right, we oughta make sure we stay undetected."
Jotaro rolled his shoulder to brush Rainbow Dash's hand off as he looked back.
"No need. The rat knows we're here."
"Huh?"
"Rats are like that. In fact, most animals are. In Africa, a gazelle will continue to graze even after seeing a lion in the distance. This is because the gazelle naturally knows the lion's effective striking range. The lion also understands this, yet continues to probe at this range, rather than simply attack. This rat is more intelligent than others. It probably believes humans are stupid, and that our range is pathetic. It doesn't know anything about Stands, so that's our advantage. Dash and I will be using a handful of these bearings. Rarity, it's hard to sense your Stand since it's not powerful, so make only a small amount of bullets for Josuke to fire."
Rarity nodded and squeezed her binoculars into only a small number of pearly ball bearings. Rainbow Dash glared at Jotaro for a moment before she sighed loudly.
"Before we go in! We should probably use our numbers and split up!"
Jotaro turned and opened his mouth.
"Dash, I don't thi-"
She covered his mouth and ignored his blank stare.
"Me and Jotaro will check the upstairs while you two check the first floor. They may have a basement, and we'll have to be careful for the attic. Let's go!"
They all entered the house and immediately split up into groups of two. The front hallway was empty, as was the living room, yet Josuke and Rarity stopped at the kitchen. Rarity looked at the fridge and leaned away from it.
"Ugh, what's that horrid smell...?"
"Shh! Not too loud, we could alert the rat...!"
"But, didn't we already?"
"... Well, I guess, no more than we already have!"
A strange squeak came from the fridge as the door began to open slightly. Rarity backed away and hid behind Josuke, who readied himself with a single ball in hand. Josuke lowered his hand as he gave a cool sigh.
"Rarity, that's just the magnets getting wea-"
He raised his hand as the fridge opened further. At first, both saw the rat that ate away at a piece of meat. Then, they gasped at the sight of the old couple melted and fused alive into a cube of flesh within the refrigerator. Rarity held back a shriek as Josuke held his hand up carefully. He turned and opened his mouth.
"Jota-"
"Darling! It's looking at us!"
"Ah, shit!"
Josuke looked back at the rat. It glared the Diamonds down with a fierce gaze as it ate a piece of meat. Josuke glanced to Rarity and shook his head. She mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.
"But... Darling, what if...?"
Josuke shook his head once again.
"Mr. Jotaro said if we activate our Stands... It'll tip it off. We've got to do what he said, and prod at its range...!"
Josuke inched closer and closer to the rat. Each careful step, but even that wasn't enough as the rat stopped eating. Rarity whined as she looked between the two.
"Hhhhhnn! Josuke, isn't that a clear shot?!"
Josuke shook his head as he continued to aim.
"I can't get a good aim on the body... I don't think I can hit the head anyways."
The rat stared at them for a just a moment longer before it turned away. Josuke knew that this was his last chance.
"[C-Crazy Diamond]!"
Crazy Diamond flashed over Josuke's upper body and flicked the pearl ball. The rat hissed as the ball made direct contact. The shoulder and arm of the rat had been blown away as the pearl ball remained inside the rat. It summoned its Stand. It was a machine resembling a shield with a camera lens in the middle and two supporting legs with a cannon in its back. Rarity gagged and held her nose.
"Augh! You can smell it from here, it's like oil!"
Josuke bit his lip.
"I was hoping that'd kill it, but that definitely did some damage! ... Kinda mechanical looking for a rat though."
Josuke aimed again with another pearl ball, but the rat dove under the table.
"Damn! He's trying to dod-"
Shine On kicked the table over as Rarity leapt to Josuke's side. A gun made of her Shining Coat in hand as she squealed.
"Enough chatter, let's just get rid of it already! Ugh, it's so hideous and disgusting!"
She began to panic. Not because of the sight of a rat, but rather what it had done. She had thought that she and Josuke would be able to save the people of the farm, yet the elderly couple had become complete jelly. She didn't want to believe they had died right in front of her. Like Ryohei, there was nothing she could do for them. Now that she thought about it, was it fear she was feeling anymore? The rat scurried from the table as Josuke turned to the side and shouted.
"Mr. Jotaro! Dash! Where the Hell are you two, the rat's right here!"
Rarity had never fired a gun. She only knew the shape and model of one from Ryohei's gun he'd have on him when he returned from work, as well as the play model he used to prank Josuke. She barely knew how to hold it, yet it was the same man who had taught her about it. It was only one lesson, short and quick.
"Breathe, relax and aim. And then..."
She did as she whispered to herself and aimed at the rat as ran across the room.
"FIRE!"
With a small click and a bullet fired with no recoil. She missed the rat as the bullet ricocheted off the ground, onto a wall, and behind the chair where the rat had hid. Josuke had blinked and missed the entire action.
"O-Oi, Rarity! Don't get so worked up, we can't panic right now!"
Rarity took in a breath with a calm face, a strange feeling came over her as she molded the gun into an armored coat for Josuke.
"I'm not scared, Darling. I haven't felt so calm in quite some time. I got that vermin right where I predicted he'd be."
Josuke began to feel worried for Rarity as she pushed him ahead. He looked over the chair and gasped. The bullet lodged itself into the pearl ball, severing the rat into two pieces.
"W-Whoa!~ When'd you get so accurate?! I thought you missed, but you messed him up like something else! You're so cool!"
Rarity sneered as she whipped her hair back.
"I am the Queen of Finesse.~"
Rainbow Dash ran into the room with a pale face on as Jotaro followed her silently. Josuke pointed to the corpse of the rat proudly.
"You guys won't believe this, Rarity took it out all by herself in style! It was amazing!"
Rarity carelessly fanned herself with a hand.
"Josuke, dear!~ You don't have to praise me so much!"
"Damn right I do! I can really rest easy now, you've gotten much better at this Stand thing than I thought!"
She chuckled in her air of superiority until Rainbow Dash held up her fake arm with a cough. It was melted into a clay like substance, what little fingers were left were bended awkwardly and peeled apart. The damage came down all the way to the elbow.
"There's another rat with a Stand. It did this to my fake arm."
Rarity's eyes flew wide as Josuke paled himself.
"You're kidding me..." "Oh this is so not GREAT..."
Jotaro looked to the rat as he pulled out a cellphone.
"The Stand it had, was it mechanical? Smelled like oil?"
Josuke nodded.
"Yeah! Rarity took it out before it could even attack though. It had this weird lens on the front of it."
Rainbow Dash sucked her teeth.
"Good Grief... Same Stand then. It shoots darts with a poison that causes things to melt. From the looks of my arm, it took a good three shots, so there's no way I'll be using it anytime soon."
Jotaro brought the phone to his ear as he dialed the number.
"Flesh probably melts far easier than metal, so I say about five or six shots should reduce a us to a blob."
Rainbow Dash stared at Josuke with a small growl. He shrank back with a nervous smile.
"Well...?"
"Well what?"
"Oh by Celestia's horn Josuke, my arm! I know I said I wouldn't be using it, but can't [Crazy Diamond] fix this?!"
"Of course it can, I-I just thought you didn't care for it since you said that!"
Jotaro glanced to Rarity.
"See what I've had to work with?"
Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at Jotaro as Josuke fixed the arm. He raised a brow at them both as Rainbow Dash's hand spun around in a full circle independent of the wrist. Josuke raised a brow at them both for a moment.
"Hold on... Did you two not kill your rat?"
Rainbow Dash glared at Josuke for a moment.
"Something you wanna say?"
"N-No ma'am!"
"Good. The rat surprised us and fled. The attack was more of a distraction than an attempt on our lives... But it was just as lethal. Barely audible, faster than a bullet, and being a Stand attack makes it all the more frightening with its accuracy. Even though it used a scope, that rat's something we have to find. Fast."
Jotaro held his head up as he heard someone pick the up from the other side.
"Hello, Speedwagon Foundation? It's-"
Pinkie Pie's voice came on from the other side.
"A no-good deadbeat of a grandson! I've been trying to get ahold of you for the longest time, where have you been?!"
Jotaro sighed as he lowered his head as Pinkie's upper body appeared from a hole created by Candy Shop. She still held the phone up to her ear as Jotaro didn't bother to look in her direction.
"Hunting. Rats with Stands. What did you need from me?"
"Just that! The news I've got for you and Dashie is that there are three rats!"
Everyone grew silent at that moment. Pinkie Pie then called out to them.
"Hello? Helloooo?~ Is this one of those moments where we're supposed to process how dangerous the situation is?"
Jotaro tipped his hat and shook his head.
"Yare Yare... Are you sure it's not more?"
"Positive about this as I'm positive you need a better wardrobe! The Speedwagon Foundation used truth serum on Akira, and Octavia confirmed it voluntarily! You guys sound like you got this!"
"We do. Thanks Grandma."
He hung up and sighed with Pinkie Pie slipping back into the hole. It vanished as he put up the cellphone.
"Grandma will have the sewer system between rural and residential districts stopped. We'll also have snipers restricting the rats movements, so we'll be searching the field."
Josuke and Dash shouted at Jotaro.
"W- Are you serious, Mr. Jotaro?!
"Even with extra help, how are we gonna find two damn rats in a place this big! They could've even burrowed underground by now, and we only saw two so far!"
Jotaro stepped outside and looked around the farm. He made his way over to a garden of vegetables and pulled back on a leaf. The vegetable had numerous bite marks and rat droppings right by it.
"These droppings are from our rat. That's why the droppings are so close."
Rarity smiled with Josuke as Rainbow Dash merely grunted.
"This is perfect, Jotaro!"
"Yeah! We'll find this rat in no time!"
Jotaro took the lead as the others followed him. He and Rainbow Dash continued through a shallow pond, as the rat tracks lead straight through. Rarity and Josuke glanced at each other in discomfort.
"Da-Darling, these are Corinthian leather, you really don't expect to ruin it in this... Do you?"
"No way! These are Bally shoes and Mr. Junko socks, expensive stuff! I basically spent my who month budget on them! Hold on, I'm gonna carry us..."
Josuke took off his shoes and socks up as rolled up his pants. Rarity took the footwear for him and hopped into his arms. They smiled victoriously as Josuke walked through the murky water. He nearly fell over from the deceptive surface.
"Ha! We're absolute geniuses, Josuke!"
"This really is a GREAT idea! This water is deeper than it looks!"
"I'd say our GREATest one yet!"
Jotaro looked down with slight interest and stopped for a moment. Rainbow Dash looked down after him.
"Oh! I should've seen this."
"Yikes, good thing we've got on full pants, socks and shoes or else we'd have leeches to worry about."
Rainbow Dash turned to Josuke and Rarity who were both shocked. Josuke jumped and slipped into the muddy pond as both of them shrieked.
"GAH! DAMN THESE FUCKIN' RATS!" "THERE'S ALREADY A LEECH ON MY THIGH!"
Rainbow Dash shouted at them.
"Oi! Shut up, you'll alert the rats!"
Jotaro sighed with a silent shake of his head. The group stopped suddenly as Jotaro paled.
"Oh no... Everyone, get together!"
Josuke and Rarity raised their brows, but were both pulled by Rainbow Dash, her and Jotaro's back to their own.
"Wh-!?" "What's the meaning of this?!"
There was a hill in front of both sides. Steep, thick with tall grass and rocks, Josuke had only glanced away before he saw some the grass rustle.
"O-Oi, what's going on? Tell us!"
Rainbow Dash spat to the side.
"These are some scary rats. Which side are they gonna come from?"
Jotaro glanced around carefully.
"Either side or by one, we need to be careful. Josuke, Rarity, neither of you let your guard down... The rat tracks stopped at this spot. They're hiding here."
Rarity gasped as she coated everyone within her Shine. The Stars had their backs to the Diamonds as each duo stared at the adjacent cliff. Rarity then saw a tussle of tall grass by her side rustle and began to reach out.
"I-I think I found one of them right h- AH!"
Rather a rat, her fingers had been caught in a rat trap. Before she could even complain, two darts flew right for her. Jotaro's eyes darted to her, not wasting a single moment to stop time.
"[Star Platinum: The World]!"
Rarity fell back with a gasp and a great stinging sensation in her cheek. She brought a hand up to it to see that a piece of it was missing.
"N-No! How could this have happened?! I'M GOING TO SKIN THOSE RODENTS FOR THIS!"
Josuke looked back as he saw Jotaro standing over them both.
"Yare Yare... Things just got real complicated."
"Wh-When'd you stop time!? I-I've never seen you do it before so, this is a shock!"
"The real shock is in the rats we're fighting... It seems one of them are on our side."
Everyone looked to Jotaro shocked before another dart flew at Rarity, but it was intercepted by one similar like it, both hitting and melting a nearby boulder. Jotaro merely glanced to the phenomenon.
"See that? I'm not sure if they're fighting for who eats us, or if one of them actually is defending us, two darts flew near Rarity in a similar fashion within the frozen time. It just so happened that one ricocheted into her cheek."
Rarity glared at Josuke silently. He blinked at her before catching the hint and healed her.
"T-Then, what do we do now? I can't believe we've gotten cornered by a couple of rats... Like rats!"
Rainbow Dash then nudged Rarity.
"I have an idea. Take the Shine off of me for a hot second, I think we can assume they're targeting her cause they understand her ability."
'Ah, but won't you be vulnerable to their attacks?"
"That's the plan."
Jotaro put a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder as he shook his head.
"Not happening. I'll do it. I'm not sure if you can activate a Rainboom fast enough to deflect the darts."
Rainbow Dash gawked at Jotaro before she shoved the hand away.
"Now's not the time for that! We're a team right? Rarity! Take the Shine off of us both! Any objections, Jotaro?"
Another dart flew by Rarity, but Josuke used Crazy Diamond to deflect it. The dart bounced off of the fist, yet the poison stained the surface. Josuke scowled at both of the Stars.
"Now's not the time for this spousal bullshit you've been having for the past hour!"
Rarity groaned herself as she waved her hand at them, the shining coat slipping off of them both and slithering her way.
"You two have been in situations like this before, right? Well then, show us how it's done already! I just want to go home! ... Wait, Jotaro what're you doing?"
Jotaro began to walk up one of the cliffs, surprising Rainbow Dash herself.
"I'm using myself as bait so you two can spot one of the rats. Rarity, you can make just about anything, so make some binoculars and sniper rounds and hand them to Josuke. We're ending this chapter now."
Rarity wanted a fast ending, but she hadn't anticipated anyone to pull something so risky so quick, this had caught her off guard and nearly had her fumbling about with her own glossy substance. Her Stand leaned out by her side and began to help her, both murmuring under their breaths as Josuke anxiously glanced between the cliffs. Rainbow Dash rushed after Jotaro to pull him back, but her eyes widened from a glint up the cliff.
"A-Ah! [Seraphim]!"
Without a moment to lose, her Stand shot forth and emitted a powerful Sonic Rainboom from it's body, rendering everyone but herself weak.
"There! The rat's by that rock!"
She sprinted ahead with a smug grin on her face. As she leapt to the side of the rock, Star Seraphim appeared by her side ready to stomp the rat into the ground.
"You're dead meat this ti-"
In a split moment, Jotaro was in front of her, a pained grunt from him as he fell back into her. His right arm and chest began to melt away.
"Wh-... What just happened?!"
"I told you to stop being so reckless... But."
Star Platinum held up the crushed corpse of the rat, the Stand it had also began to fall in on itself before breaking away.
"We managed to get one... There's only one real issue now. Your Rainboom. I'm used to it, so I was able to get over the effects faster than other would... But Rarity."
Both the Stars looked down with pale faces. Josuke shrieked as Rarity fell over with a blank expression, half of her body melted away, and nearly all of Shine On's crystal substance gone. Only cracked ad worn rounds and an unfinished pair of binoculars in his hand.
"S-Shit! SHIT! W-What do I do! ... I-I thought this thing was on our side!"
Josuke began to take a few breaths and calm himself down. He had to focus. If he was hit, even with a single dart, it'd all be over. He raised the binoculars up with one hand as he used Crazy Diamond to ready the worn bullet. Rarity was at the edge herself, focusing all her might on the shapes of the items she gave Josuke, the other rounds dwindling away as she began to focus on the one round in Josuke's hand. Josuke began to do something he hadn't done in a long time. Pray. He wasn't sure to who or what, but he needed help. Any kind of sign, a miracle even. Just as he was sure this was the end, a violet glimmer of light shone through a small bush, and through the binoculars he found the rat. The Element of Harmony, Generosity, seemingly fused to the body of the rat. It had nearly faded of any and all color until now, and Josuke wouldn't squander it. The rat readied it's Stand, taking aim at Josuke, but faltered at the teenager's grin.
"Heh. I caught you asshole. From us to you, so choke on it!"
With a flick, Crazy Diamond fired Shine On's special crystal round, piercing the Stand and flying through the Stand User as both had been blown to pieces. Josuke fist pumped the air as Crazy Diamond immediately began to heal Rarity.
"Bullseye! Call me Josuke Higashikata, the guy turns his pressure into goddamn reassurance!"
Rainbow Dash let out a contented sigh herself before raising a brow at Jotaro. He chuckled and shook his head.
"What's so funny?"
"You sound like you didn't have too much faith in him."
"W-Well... So he's a little better at this than I thought!"
"They both are... Hey, do me a favor and help me over there. We need to get that Element before something else takes it away."
After Josuke healed Jotaro, the group all ran over to the rat's corpse. As they neared it, it began to shine brilliantly, Rarity's eyes began to well up.
"Finally, after all this time I'll- UGH!"
From the remains of the rat erupted a horrid creature. An insectoid being that stood on hind legs, hissing at them before zipping off at an alarming speed, flying off with tattered wings with the Element in it's grasp. Everyone simply stared at it vanish into the evening sky. Then, all eyes moved to Jotaro. He merely stared back with a blink.
"... What? You expected me to stop time after everything today?"
The eyes moved to Rainbow Dash.
"H-Hey! I know I messed up already, but don't pin this one on me!"
And finally the eyes moved to Josuke.
"... I didn't think rats grew bugs inside of it! W-What the Hell was that?!"
Before anyone could even respond, Rarity broke into a loud sob.
"WE WERE SO CLOSE! SO! SO CLOSE! AAAAAAH!"
She threw herself into Josuke who only hugged her with a nod.
"Me too... But, that had to be a Stand, right?"
Rainbow Dash scratched her head as she looked in the sky.
"It did seem pretty familiar..."
Jotaro tipped his cap.
"We'll have to look further into this... What an annoying day."
Jotaro dropped Josuke and Rarity off by the bus station. Rarity had finally calmed down after the promise of ice cream, to which Josuke himself was willing to partake in even considering his mother's wrath, but they were stopped by Koichi and Senset.
"J-Josuke! Rarity!" "You guys, you'll never believe this!"
Josuke sighed with tired eyes.
"Look, I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait tomor-"
Senset pulled Josuke down to eye level by his collar with a serious expression in her eyes.
"There's a murderer in town and we met the ghosts of a few of his victims."
Josuke could only blink before Rarity pulled him back with a skeptical face.
"Is this another one of your attempts of gaining wealth? You could just, ask, Okuyasu for a loan. I know you both are already rich."
Koichi spoke up, nearly yelling.
"S-She's being serious, and so am I! It's awful! We have to go on a search or something!"
Josuke couldn't help but groan.
"We just missed Jotaro and Dashie... I'll see what we can get tomorrow, but it's already pretty late. If it's really a killer than, we oughta be careful about it."
Senset and Koichi glanced at each other.
"B-But..."
"It's really messed up! Can't we at least... I don't know."
Rarity began to strut away with her head held high.
"I for one will get to the bottom of this! But we can't work efficiently without-"
Josuke pulled her back from being ran over in the street.
"Oi! Watch where you're going!"
"Aah! I-I was... Hehehe!"
The car had stopped and the window was down, the driver was a young man, average looking at best with wavy blonde hair. A face anyone could forget. He glanced to the kids before rolling the window up and driving off. He glanced into his rearview mirror at his beloved sister, an ugly insectoid creature in her lap as she inspected the Element of Harmony in her hands.
"It's beautiful, and you were just born? I'll give you a name... You're a special one. I'll name you, Thorax."
The girl smiled as she looked back at the group of Stand User's in the distance. It was nice to see familiar faces every now and again, she thought.