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Chapter 16 - A Most Bizarre Memory (P2)

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I arrived at Green Dolphin Street Prison on November 30 with Mr. Joestar's grandson, Jotaro.

The man was fairly intimidating due to his size and general coldness. He reminded me of Mandy, but he wasn't outright unfeeling. He had piercing eyes, but he had restrained emotions driven by purpose. It wasn't by nature, it was by decision to be strong for others' sake.

Despite what may have felt like a difficult first impression, the man was willing to put his trust upon me. I was not a Stand user like him or anyone at the Prison, but it was good to know Hamon could still give an edge against Stands that weren't too strong to face on a physical combat.

The prison was... unusual. It was originally meant to be a female-only kind of deal, but someone had decided to allow males in it too. I couldn't pinpoint the reasons, only that it was the case from what we could find out about Jolyne's, Jotaro's daughter, situation.

The first thing Jotaro asked was about someone that had potentially framed his daughter. Johngalli A. was a former sniper. An assassin and soldier that was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes in the name of DIO. The name was somewhat of a telling sign and I kept that in mind in the eventuality of facing anyone that knew of it and I couldn't assert the affiliation of.

Despite that flat greeting and topic, the interaction between Jotaro and Jolyne was-

"As if you could ever care about me! Now, now that I am in jail you try and care, but guess what, this is not going to happen! This isn't some sort of 'redemption arc'! You should believe me instead!"

A little tense. And clearly packed with its own share of emotional burden. Part of me wanted to 'tag along' the drama, but I remembered Mr. Joestar's words: these cultists could be one the move to kill both Jotaro and Jolyne, so any piece of information I could find within the Prison.

I felt it as we stepped into it- we were being spied upon. But who? The guards? No. It was someone that was clevely keeping out of sight. The Warden? No, that would be too obvious. Maybe some secretary or even someone that was barely tied to this prison that may hold some trust among those working here.

It was too long of a list to fully deduce what is going on, but I wasn't planning to rush it. An investigation like this was not something that could be solved within a day or two, so I decided to keep my questions limited to just what Jolyne may have picked up from the month of being here.

I was busy listing out the questions when I felt something was getting... colder. My shoulders to be specific. The feeling was soon spreading over my head and- and this wasn't alright. I slowed down my words, looking at the others and seeing them confused about my uneasy look.

Then, without saying a word, I warmed up my left hand with Hamon, a simple exercise I got going before taking part to this job and slapped my cheek. It was painful alright, but it was more than enough to snape me out of the strange feeling. It soon revealed that the reason why I felt weird was not because of some illusion. Some sort of purplish liquid had started to ooze from the ceiling and the ventilation system, part of it staining my upper body and... Jotaro and Jolyne.

The father-daughter duo were slumped over the desk, asleep and clearly forced into that due to the goo. I was told that Stands could have absurd abilities but this one was a deadly surprise. Without hesitation, I walked to the door, pulling it open before rushing back to both Jotaro and Jolyne, carefully and slowly pulling them out of the room.

The liquid suddenly increased in its presence, causing me to hasten my steps to take both out of the room. Once out, I took a moment to 'slap' them awake. Jotaro was the first to awaken, and he was in a tense posture, as if he woke up in a deadly nightmare. Likewise, Jolyne looked around for something.

They had been approached by a Stand, and they could confirm it was Johngalli as the Stand was being used to ricochet bullets from a sniper rifle. It pretty much confirmed my suspicions- whoever was behind this attack had to have a degree of control and favors within the prison to allow an inmate to be in the right position to attack.

Not only that, but I could tell that it wasn't just a single foe we were facing but two at once. While it made sense for a Stand to have multiple abilities, the notion that a small one could produce a dream-like scenario while also providing such an unrelated ability as 'sensorial detection based on wind' felt like a reach.

The three of us moved to try and find some cover. We passed through one of the gated doors as Jotaro's Stand punched the thing open, allowing for Jolyne and I to pass through. Before we could properly leave, footsteps were soon rushing towards us.

Two guards, one with a hat and one without. The former tried to catch us, but the second pulled his gun, a silenced pistol, and shot his comrade in the head. Removing the hat, it was revealed this guy was actually Johngalli. And as we prepared to fight, two things happened.

First, the Stand mentioned by Jotaro and Jolyne was hovering over the girl's head and I noticed the goo we ran from manifesting from a ventilation grate just behind us and something was coming out of it! An humanoid, a Stand, and one that was looking right at Jotaro.

For a brief moment, I tried to speak, but something happened and a moment seemed to vanish from my throat, rendering my voice incoherent.

Jotaro moved, pushing Jolyne out of harm's way and using his Stand to deflect the bullets that were bouncing off the flying Stand. But as he did so, the humanoid dashed from the vent and towards him.

"You were a step behind, Jotaro Kujo." It said, its fingers tapping Jotaro's head from behind and causing two discs to come out on the side. "And you, Arthur Endswell, you shouldn't be here."

Turning around to attack me, I prepared my fists, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to matter if this monster's ability is to just take Stands and more through Discs by merely touching its targets. But right as I prepared to fight, a strange chilling feeling erupted from within, the frustration of being unprepared manifesting in the form of...

A sharp attack from my right. A dark cloak manifested as a tendril of darkness rushed to intercept the approaching Stand. The monstrous thing noticed, pulling away, but not fast enough to avoid losing a finger to the sharp counter. Growling, the foe disappeared... but the creature that I felt connected to remained.

It turned to look at me, and I saw a Skull manifest from within the cloak of darkness its body was made mostly of.

I just had the name pending by my tongue, as I knew this one was... it was my Stand. ｢Grave Mistake｣, I decided to call it that. Jolyne recovered and we both had to pull away with Jotaro's unconscious body while the girl used her Stand to deflect the bullets.

We turned the corner, tending to Jotaro's wound as the young Kujo realized that something was wrong with her father. She noticed the slimy humanoid retreating with the two discs, but we couldn't do much to retrieve them. Jolyne was forcefully escorted to her cell, the burden of this massacre of guards (with another one being found dead) was attributed to Johngalli.

While we didn't get the chance to kill him, it's possible that Jotaro's Stand had deflected enough bullets to put him in a critical condition. Enough for the bastard to ultimately bleed out.

Speaking of Jotaro, I quickly contacted the emergency number for the Speedwagon Foundation. The group had some medical squad on the case and they quickly saw for Jotaro's wounds to be treated. The diagnosis was confusing to say the least. Jotaro could no longer breath or function as a normal human being without proper mechanical support. It was as if he was in a coma, yet he was 'awake' as his Stand moved to protect him as I got too close and perceived my own.

I decided against lingering too much early on considering what happened, with the idea that someone in that prison having that sort of control. I ended up intervening from time to time, keeping track of any surprises before things escalated even more and... the Priest of the Prison, Enrico Pucci, involved the sons of the bastard he wanted to vindicate the dream of.

Four sons, each with dangerous Stands that came close to kill us all a few times. It was not a fun adventure for sure, but it allowed me to further develop ｢Grave Mistake｣ and understand its powers. Compared to other Stands, this wasn't the ideal Close-Ranged one as it had a lacking Endurance and its Destructive Power was lacking.

Its ability was that its attacks would not only damage's one body but their souls too. Pucci losing a single finger may not seem much, but the hollow pain of his soul losing a tiny bit of itself in that truly left him frightened of confronting me directly.

Which is why, through the entire effort to track him and kill him, he would rely on others to have me murdered. Funnily enough, it only made it possible for me to help some more where it was possible. I managed to save Foo Fighters, prevent some losses among the guards, but I failed to do something to save Weather Report.

The man that was revealed to be Pucci's brother with his memories deprived by Pucci himself couldn't be saved due to how vicious Pucci was with him. The priest was ruthless and ultimately had him killed. Then Pucci suddenly rushed out of the Prison with us chasing him.

Something had changed- it wasn't a mere case of him running away from us: he was moving to somewhere else he had planned to go beforehand. And while he was a devil in hiding most of his tracks, he couldn't do much when I finally got close enough to where he was going and managed to catch up to him.

And finally, an opportunity came as I arrived to his destination.

Tracking down Pucci to Cape Canaveral was a surprise.

Something something a ritual that could give him something new- another Stand. I wasn't sure if there was a rule that had been broken about it, but I was confident that Mr. Joestar had denied that a man could have another Stand without some major sacrifices being involved. I don't know how Pucci managed to 'change' his Stand, but I had a feeling it was even worse than that nasty ｢Whitesnake｣.

Still, I could tell that the foolish priest felt confident in launching an attack on Jolyne, Emporio, and Annasui. With Jotaro, Ermes and F.F. on their way to catch up, he had a window of opportunity to deal with half of the group before taking care of the rest.

The moron, however, didn't notice that I was already there. That I had gotten there faster than he could have predicted and decided to strike him down now that his Stand had left to engage in a fight with Jolyne, Annasui and Emporio. Without a Stand, it should have been easy.

Turns out that wasn't the case.

I managed to find a pistol before tracking his hideout, I had a few bullets and it should have been enough to kill him. The building's interior was dark and unused, a warehouse of worthless things left there to rot. I could tell I was getting impatient as I looked for him, but when I found him to the lower grounds of the warehouse, spying upon Jolyne and Annasui facing off his Stand. Taking aim, I shot twice. The bullets seemingly connected- or should have as they just shifted trajectory entirely.

Instead of being stunned by the attack, Pucci calmly turned to stare at me. "Arthur, I thought you would have kept by your friends' side."

"I am aware that I can do more by murdering you here and now, priest," I replied flatly, shifting off the railing and landing to the ground. If bullets couldn't do, then my Stand was. "And this is the end of the line for you."

"Hm, you're not really that proficient with your Stand," He pointed out, and a Green Humanoid, his Stand, was soon to his side. "｢C-Moon｣ is not your average opponent. You shall find your demise today."

"A big claim for someone that had to rely on others to try and do that. Look where it got you, cornered and ready to throw everything for some insane vampire."

The last bit seemed to tick him off. Which was just what I needed. ｢C-Moon｣ was clearly a physical Stand, but where I could tell its abilities was connected to its fists, the way it worked with Pucci felt somewhat different. As it rushed forward to attack me, I used Hamon to spring myself up in the air with a long jump, creating some distance between us.

He glared at me, clearly aware I was not an idiot and already noticed that his Stand was limited by Range. I used one of ｢Grave Mistake｣'s tendrils to latch onto one of the ceiling lamps, thus avoiding landing down to a very 'welcoming' and vicious ｢C-Moon｣.

"You say that I am a coward, but you're the one running, Arthur."

"If you call this running, then it would explan why you're so keen to call all of this a 'plan' of sort. You're not succeeding!"

I retrieved my gun, taking aim at something beside Pucci and shooting once. The man frowned, noticing the trajectory of the bullet was wrong and... saw that the target was the propane tank beside him. He rushed away, but the explosion still caught him to some extent.

His Stand had moved to tank the brunt of that blast, but couldn't exactly remain unharmed against it. As the tendril extended and allowed me to safely reach the ground, I walked up to Pucci and ｢C-Moon｣.

"Pray to you God, Pucci. This is the e- what?!"

To my surprise, he stood up and dusted himself, his body... fine. His Stand was also unscathed by the explosion.

"I admit that would have been deadly had I kept ｢Whitesnake｣. Arthur, you are a smart and good man, but still someone that doesn't understand the [Gravity] of the situation you are in. You're not ready for [Heaven], even though you were touched by [Death] from a young age."

｢C-Moon｣ walked forward, getting within range to attack. This time, I didn't back away, rather deciding to use what I learned from this experience in this very battle. While ｢Grave Mistake｣ was not geared into matching something like ｢C-Moon｣ I still could help it by handling his attacks. Despite his vicious appearance, the Stand's punches were slow enough for me to match up with his speed.

And while I couldn't get it by its fists, I could hit its wrists and change the trajectory of each punch while ｢Grave Mistake｣ sliced at its arms and legs. The more I cut, the more I realized I couldn't exactly cut the entire limbs off because the very thing that deflected the bullets aimed at Pucci was also active on the Stand. And the more I hit into its body, the stronger the push got.

I was getting somewhere, but it was a difficult task. I was blessed with field experience in using Hamon in combat, but I had months, not years, of training to rely on. Ultimately, despite my best efforts, I couldn't dodge it all, and as soon as the attacks got too difficult to predict, one of those passed through and grazed my right arm. The limb was warped slightly, not enough to break it, but enough to cause a distraction and refrain me from blocking attacks coming from that side.

One of those came through, and it was all Pucci needed to pierce into my chest. He was angry, and his Stand was even more furious somehow. It was like it was another being entirely. And yet, as the deadly attack got me to an inch of survival, I didn't relent.

Pucci's own frustration left him more damaged than possible, ｢C-Moon｣'s stretched was soon bleeding over me as numerous tendrils slammed harshly against it. Some were pushed back instantly, but some were able to keep up with the push and cause the priest to scream in pain and anger.

Then, ｢C-Moon｣ pulled his damaged arm out of me, snarling as I stared at him with a cheeky look.

"Don't, he is going to perish soon and our plans have yet to be completed," Pucci told his Stand, once more cementing that it wasn't the normal kind of Stand. "Understand you died for a great reason, Arthur."

"I-I died so I can then beat the crap out of you once you die too."

I thought it was it, I thought that death was coming as my body got colder, my eyes failed to keep open and soon I... was unable to keep conscious. I passed out and died.

...

But my story didn't end there. Grim's magic and all of that. I somewhat recovered. The large gaping hole in my chest fixed as two holes, back and front, in my clothes survived to prove what had almost murdered me. But while a resurrection was a miracle, the humanoid shape in front of me was even more prominent. Important, powerful and telling. It gave me knowledge, awareness and worry.

Pucci's plan was provided through the fragmented state of its awareness. The husk of a deceased Stand stolen by my own and turned its true form. ｢Grave Mistake｣ was still its name, but now its powers had improved significantly. And with minutes have passed and time getting tight on the plan to stop Pucci, I easily found the offer to help from this Stand very appropriate.

"｢Grave Mistake: The World｣!"

Time stopped as I commanded, but it was just a few seconds to rush out of the destroyed warehouse and jump onto the rooftops around. I saw Pucci's goal as the broken and bruised priest was carried towards a flying shuttle. I bolted, time stopping against- this time I could tell it was Mr. Kujo as he used the weaker version of the original ｢The World｣ to try and kill the bastard. He missed with the harpoon and Pucci got so close to greatness but-

"｢Grave Mistake: The World｣!"

Pucci's joy was cut short as he noticed something now standing between him and greatness. Me.

"I-I killed you!" Pucci exclaimed angrily, a murderous glare aimed at me as I stared down at him with the coldest look possible.

"You did. And I refused to die to someone like you. Your plan to achieve ｢Made in Heaven｣ is now no longer viable to you."

｢C-Moon｣ punches came through in an effort to push me back, but the Stand was caught off-guard by the new muscular frame of ｢Grave Mistake｣. A single punch to the skull was all it was needed to send them both rushing to the ground. A large blast ensued at the impact.

Jumping off the shuttle, I got to where Pucci was, his body dying and his spirit crushed by my interruption. He couldn't make it, he knew that. His hope had been destroyed. But rather than end it there, I knew something else had to be done to prevent this from happening again.

My Stand had three abilities- two of which were 'stolen', one that was still the same but upgraded. Rather than just damage a Soul, ｢Grave Mistake｣ could now tear those apart.

｢Grave Mistake｣'s hands picked the edges of Pucci's body, retrieving a silver-like essence that was kept mid-air and...

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAAAAAH!"

Pucci's soul was shredded into nothingness, denying him a chance to eventually return somehow through magical resurrection.

I drew a sigh of relief, the worst now over as-

"Arthur! You are alive!" Emporio running up to me for a hug was expected-

"ARTHUR, YOU BASTAAAARD!" Annasui tackling us both on the ground was a bit more surprising. Not as much as F.F. joining the cuddle pile, Ermes giggling at the situation I was stuck in, Jolyne huffing and lecturing me for almost dying on them and... Mr. Kujo giving me an annoyed look that questioned me what had just happened.

And despite how tired I felt, I could only say one thing.

The world was safe for good, and that's all it matters to me.

The memory was soon over, leaving the various Hell Overlords to stare at one another due to what had just been shown to them.

Meanwhile Michael's thumbs were tapping together as he calmly looked at all of them, amusement pouring at the unease flashed by HIM and some others.

"Any questions?"

AN

Ikra raises a hands. "Did Arthur fuck the Plankton girl and the muscular dark-skinned mommy?"

Next time... HIM faces the ultimate bout of revenge possible.

REVIEW Q&A!

Coldblue2015:
1) To some extent;
2) Yes-ish;
3) Answer is in this chapter;
4) In the previous chapter Joseph activated Arthur's Hamon to save him;