The 32nd chapter and second part of Linkin Park fight is here! Apologies for getting this out nearly a month after the last update; have to change some scenes and polish it.
Let's get on with the fight against Xero, everyone!
Franchouchou and Rianima have gotten used to witnessing and experiencing many strange situations that increases their urge to question the reality they're living in. Even if this applies to the latter group to a lesser extent, considering they have Stands and had many encounters with Stand Users during their own adventures compared to the idol group, them living as zombies under a crazy producer's eye to save Saga has been treated as... mostly normal now. Any outlandish events they have had and will stumble upon will then be treated as normal, as if they expect it to be part of their undead lives.
Still, that doesn't mean they are less likely to question what they are seeing. Finding themselves half deep in the river reaching up to their knees or hips (or nearly reaching shoulders for Lily due to her short height) despite being on dry land literally seconds ago and seeing their opponent standing on the water's surface with ripples emanating under his shoes without difficulty has them doing the questioning again, especially to the more skeptical members. Not even having a Stand could convince them it's all the work of their ability.
Putting his right hand back after removing the zipper using Linkin Park somehow, Xero wiggles his fingers before closing and opening his hand to check if it reconnected properly. Feeling it did, he then looks to the zombies huddled together resisting the river's current. Once more, Franchouchou hide behind Rianima as the guys glare ferociously and vigilantly at him, their Stands or abilities popping out from within them. The girls are not left out to intimidate or make him know how much they hate him, imitating their bodyguards' stances.
Xero remains unfazed. Quickly checking if Linkin Park is floating by his side, he has this to say. "That look in your eyes… Hmm, yes. I recognize those looks you're giving me… To be honest, I expected you would bear those looks that could kill, including Franchouchou, when I decide to stop holding my main ability back. If this was anything butan unfriendly encounter, I would be… glad."
Irked by that word he used to describe his feelings with all the severity of a calm person, Kakyoin responds in kind, "Are you treating this as some kind of game? A fight where you finally show up to kill us after 8 months of threatening our and Franchouchou's lives by sending out enemy Stands? We obviously don't feel the same as you do!"
"You're really messed up in the head if you are 'glad' you pushed us until we nearly have the killing intent to end you first!" Johnny agreed, aiming his spinning nail bullets while something is flickering in his eyes. He would have liked to stay on Slow Dancer for added elevation but he, along with Gyro, didn't want their horses' hooves to get damaged from the river current even if they're zombie animals, so they called them back inside their mind.
"Guess what jackass!" You can count on Saki to say a retort when facing someone who has similar guts to her. "All you did is makin' me and everyone look forward to seein' you get killed by these guys! We're unsure if we can stomach you dying by their hands but, well… when you had threatened us these past 8 months so much that we want to see you dead, you have no one to blame but yourself!"
"Raaauugghhh!" Tae agrees, throwing her arms up.
Having made it clear he will die badly by Rianima's hands so they free themselves from his watchful eye, Franchouchou and Rianima expect he gets scared or feel intimidated after hearing their hateful replies directed to him. Imagine their surprise when Xero makes this unprecedented reply that befuddles them once again. "You are right, miss Saki. I am condemning myself to be killed by your beloved bodyguards and would have been more defensive and cautious around them… except: ｢this is what I wish to have it happen to me｣."
"…What?" Everyone uttered in unison.
"You hear me right everyone," he further stated. "Oh, and yes, I expected those reactions when I partly reveal the ｢reason｣why I'm here fighting you all," he nodded to himself. "But before I can clarify that, let me show you all first… how Linkin Park's ｢main ability｣ works."
! !
They almost forgot Xero said that due to the confusion they got when they found themselves halfway submerged in the river without reason and hearing Xero's bizarre statements. It didn't take long before they realize what will happen next.
"Oh no! Is he… Is he going to…!?"
Ai didn't finish her frantic question when everyone feel the river change directions. But instead of seeing the water flow in the opposite direction where it was flowing from, the river… move sideways.
Particular, the water move away from the center to flow up against the river bank, where it then lifts up high in the air unimpeded of gravity. The flowing water makes a curved shape as it reaches the required height to make sure no traces of water are in the empty river. The curved tips didn't join at the top, so a narrow, long space settles between the tips in the air showing the evening clouded sky.
The zombies are flabbergasted to see the river separating into two sides to form a curving water formation, similar to waves rolling across the sea before crashing when it reaches the shoreline, except they are stationary. With the water separated, they are now standing on the rocky and rugged river bed, wet and feeling cold from standing in the cold river for a minute. For Lily, she breathes a sigh of relief that she isn't nearly submerged in the unexpectedly deep river anymore. Also of note is that no fish or other river lifeforms can be seen on the riverbed or in the water.
Moving her head around her to the rolling water with wide eyes, Junko tries to comprehend the process, if there is any, on how did the river get to move apart from the middle like that. This is unlike anything she's seeing before, and this wouldn't have happen naturally unless it happened on the sea or through a Stand ability. She feels the latter might make sense since it sounds like it is the work of a Stand ability.
"Um… This river splitting up… Is it… Is it his… work?"
She brings up the question doubtfully to her friends as she stares at Xero standing on the riverbed coolly, looking relaxed in spite of the, admittedly, magnificent sight of a flowing water parting sideways to make way for a solid ground for one to stand on. Guessing if it is best to ask him that question, she then asks Xero. "You! You said earlier that you will demonstrate your ability to us. If you're not lying to us then… did you separate the river using your Stand?"
Rianima almost forgot their enemy is present when they're distracted by the parted waters, so they reassume their stances and charge or prepare their Stands for a possible attack from him.
Xero nods in response. "Yes. You are correct."
"R-Really?" said Junko. She goes silent for a few seconds before she adopts a confused expression and asks, "Um, so… what is your ability then? Since you're so willing to tell us your name and your Stand, would it be fine if you can tell us what's your main ability, Xero?"
Gyro narrows his eyes in suspicion to Xero. He is glad he's suspiciously upfront in disclosing his identity, Stand and one of its abilities and acts polite and courteous even when making threats. However, he's guessing his upfront answers might be done, meaning he's not going to directly reveal his main ability in this part of the fight. Along with his groupmates, experience tells him that if they want to know his ability, they have to fight him and figure out how his Stand works.
"I believe that bastard is done being straightforward with his responses, Junko," Gyro gestures her to get behind them for her safety. With his steel balls spinning as closest to the golden ratio as he can, Gyro glares at the zombie's enemy and says, "When we inevitably win this fight, maybe we might learn ｢Linkin Park｣'s ability. That is, if he didn't die once we beat him."
"I-I see. I was hoping he continues being so nice," Junko sounds disappointed. "For some reason, he's not faking it. It felt... natural to see it from him."
"Don't fall to his act!" Johnny warns her, directly aiming his nails to Xero. "He might be so good in faking it that you're almost convinced!"
"The only thing he can convince us that he won't be hounding us anymore is if he stays dead at our hands!" Kakyoin exclaims. "Hierophant Green!"
Obeying his command, Hierophant Green unravels its lower body to have the tendrils go after Xero. Kakyoin thought of using Emerald Splash at first, but he guesses it will be ineffective against him because Linkin Park will deflect it away or back against them, like he did earlier during the start of the fight. He choose to use his Stand's other ability inherent to its appearance: its tendrils.
Watching Hierophant Green's tendrils approach him, Xero remains unfazed to over six of them looking to catch him and tangle him in one place. He could create many rifts and cut them all by closing it quick like a snip of a scissors, but he wants Franchouchou and Rianima to witness Linkin Park's ability in action. Also, they already know his weakness to the sub-ability, so he needs to be… creative.
With his hand outstretched, Xero shouts his Stand's name. "Linkin Park! Stop Hierophant Green's strings!"
"GUNIGUNI!"
Hearing Linkin Park's other cry prompts the groups to stay on their toes, with Kakyoin looking at the two intently to see what they will do after launching the tendrils as a ploy again to see what their main ability does. "Brace yourselves! They're going to do something!"
True to his words, Xero did something to protect himself against the strings… by playing fire with fire. Or water.
The tendrils are close to catching or even stabbing Xero when liquid tentacles emerge from the curved walls of the water to ensnare the strings.
"Wha!?" Kakyoin lets out in surprise after seeing Hierophant Green's long-range attack got stopped through employing the same attack except through water. Before he and everyone can say more or remark on it, more tentacles appear to grab Rianima. They did it so quickly because they are near their positions, so they are unable to react in time and find themselves held in the tentacles' grip, unable to move their arms and legs because of how tight the tentacles' hold on them. Oh, their Stands are not left out too, costing them their advantage.
"AAHHH! What the hell!?" Narancia exclaimed, feeling himself squeezed tight and unable to move even slightly. While he's held tightly by a tentacle, Aerosmith can be seen within locked in place up in the air thanks to five tentacles holding its wings, tail and body.
"Bbbllrrrbllrrrblrrr!" Mamezuku's words came out burbled because his mouth is covered with water. It's not just his mouth, as his entire body, which is pinned on the ground because the tentacles crashed onto him from above, was covered in water save for his nose.
"Aargh! I can't… move my… arms!" grunted Gyro as he tried wiggling his hand free from a ring of water holding him tight. Aside from that, his neck, torso, and legs are locked within the thick rings, so he falls to the ground when he tries to move.
"Oh no! Magician's Red is weak to water!" Avdol lamented, gritting his teeth to endure the feeling of getting doused by water as the tentacles hold him and Magician's Red tight. "I can't… produce any… flames…!"
"This is… not what we… expect to see…!" Bucciarati grunted, doing his utmost best to resist the tentacles held on him and Sticky Fingers. Compared to others, he's the one who's putting up the most resistance, letting him move around a little. That said, it's still a disadvantage since he cannot retaliate with the tentacles keeping him still.
Seeing their bodyguards incapacitated due to the tentacles coming out of the curved waters makes Ai, Junko and Lily almost panic. They did not expect something like tentacles made out of water could immobilize Rianima and their Stands so easily. It feels like cheating.
"Shit… That Xero bastard must wanted to split the waters and molded them to become like a wall so he can create as much tentacles as he likes," Saki clenched her fist in frustration. Compared to the three, Tae, Yugiri and she remain calm and composed even if they're worried the guys are incapacitated. "We shouldn't have witnessed a scene in awe if our guys would got captured by water and instead, they attacked him."
"Unfortunately, it's too late for that," lamented Yugiri, having her eyes on the gothic man checking if the tentacles have a tight grip on Rianima. "And more worryingly, with all of us vulnerable without them protecting us, Xero is looking at us intently and…"
Xero returns her look with his own, before charging towards them.
"*gasps* He's coming at us!"
If Ai, Junko and Lily aren't panicking more when they witness Rianima immobilized, they should be now upon seeing him running at them fast, the intent clear in his piercing gray eyes.
"Oh no! W-What do we do!? What do we DO!?" Junko exclaimed.
"We have to run from him! We're severely outmatched and defenseless against him!" Ai suggested quickly, ready to get away from him even if it looks futile due to the speed he's traveling.
"Aw hell with that!" Saki raises her fists as she walks to the front. "I want to pound his sorry face for having messed with us when he made his first move against us!"
"RAAAARRRGGGHHHH! ! !" Tae seems to agree, throwing her hands up.
"Don't be reckless you two!" Lily pleaded. "That guy has a Stand! He's gonna beat you two up if you choose to fight him!"
Their little squabble cost them precious time to try to run away from Xero. Thanks to that and his swift running, Linkin Park raises its fist once Xero is close enough and within their range to punch them. "Heads up!"
"Shit! Here he comes!" Saki almost panicked before she spread her arms in front of her bandmates, willing to shield herself from Xero's attacks. Tae imitates her action, apparently having the same thought as Saki's.
"Saki-chan! Tae-chan! No-!" Junko warned them too late as Linkin Park swings its fist to punch the two with brute strength…
However, on a water wall near Franchouchou's left, a projectile is shot from a detached arm emerged from a swirling black hole.
"CHUMIMI~IIIN! ! !"
! !
Because Linkin Park is near it and in motion, it unable to move its fist out of the projectile's way in time, so its hand got hit by the bullet.
"Nnnggh!" Xero grunted in pain as a bullet wound appears on his right hand, blood flowing out from the wound. He believe he can endure the pain, but then something changed in his wound.
"AAAAAGGGHHHH!"
To his confusion and shock, Xero holds his arm in one place with gritted teeth as a swirling hole manifests in his wound. It moves across his arm, creating a trall of wound and blood that ruin the sleeve's fabric, moving all the way to his shoulder until it disappeared.
"Huh? His hand got shot?" Saki inquired in surprise, with the girls sharing her reaction.
"And, and... a hole just... appeared that... hurt his arm more?" They didn't stop him from staggering away from the girls to have Linkin Park survey his injury."…Where did the bullet come from? And who shot him?"
It couldn't be Aerosmith and Hierophant Green who shot Xero's hand since they're entangled. And obviously, it's not the other four too.
"…W-Wait, where's Johnny-san?" Ai realized the jockey is not among the ones who was captured by a tentacle. "I only noticed he's not seen captured or immobilized by these... tentacles like them."
Her question serves to make the others see that, yes, Johnny appears to be gone. Now that Rianima think about it, they didn't hear his distress when they got immobilized and they haven't dwelled on it because they got too surprised with Xero's latest move.
Predictably, Gyro calls out his friend's name. "Johnny? Johnny, where the heck are you? Why aren't you tied up like us?"
"All of you, calm down. I'm right here."
"Huh?"
Hearing Johnny's reply lead them, Xero included, to turn to him coming out from the hole he made with Tusk ACT3. To their surprise and relief, he's the only who isn't immobilized by the river's tentacles. This fact may give him a reason why he's confidently posing with a smirk while lying down.
Everyone is baffled as to how Johnny avoided getting captured. But it's not when he shot and teleported in the hole when tentacles come raging in to his position that Xero and some zombies understand how he did it.
It's Yugiri, along with Gyro and Bucciarati. It gave them an answer to Johnny's whereabouts and where did he had gone when the water tentacles attacked. "Ah! I see! So Johnny-han have avoided getting caught by the water through ｢Tusk｣! I believe he was behind the water's walls when our guardians got caught, and since we didn't see him at all, we and Xero didn't realize he was missing until he shot him!"
"So that's what happened!" exclaimed Gyro, smiling over Johnny's quick action to escape capture and launch a counterattack against Xero. "Just what I expect from my apprentice of the Spin!"
"G-Good thing he acted quickly," added and grunted Avdol, feeling too weak to maintain a proper speech because of how Magician's Red got doused by so much water. "Even Xero himself was fooled and didn't know where he is until he made his move!"
Hearing him and not wanting to let Johnny continue attacking him, Xero sics Linkin Park to him. The jockey, in response, sends out Tusk ACT4 to deflect the Stand's punch. This starts another punching barrage between these two, causing fast shockwaves from the strength of their punches.
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA! ! !"
"TAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMA! ! !"
While this is happening, Johnny shoots himself into a hole to maneuver around the Stands and Xero. Believing he is distracted, Johnny's arm pop out from the hole to shoot two bullets to him. This time however, Xero sees it coming so he evades the bullets. However, that was a trick to have him get into position for four bullets to shoot out from a different spot directly behind him.
It didn't take long before the four spinning nails make contacton his back, pushing him away with blood spewing from his mouth. This also causes him to withdraw Linkin Park at the same time Johnny withdraw Tusk ACT4
"UAAAAGGGGHH! ! !"
"Nice! He got hit!" Saki cheered.
Lying face down on the river bed, Xero struggles to push himself up with his hands. However, he can feel the bullets changing into holes to inflict internal damage to his back and his coat. His eyes widen because Johnny is going to cause fatal damage to his organs, therefore killing him.
No no no! He's… He's doing it wrong! I haven't got to explain what Rianima must do to kill me!
With him distracted from the upcoming amount of pain he will feel, Johnny appears out of the dimensional hole after it moved to the center of the river bed. No sooner after he comes out, he pointed his right hand to his head to blow his head with the remaining two or three bullets. Even with his back turned to him, Xero can sense he's going to inflict a coup de grâce.
"Say your prayers! TUSK!"
"CHUMIMI~IIIN! ! !"
Johnny shoots three bullets aimed at his head, expecting to see blood and little bit of brain guts explode out from his head before lying dead on the riverbed…
…But Xero returns Johnny's determined eyes with his own. Then he raises his hand up.
"Linkin Park! Return the waters back to its normal state and increase the flowing speed to sweep these zombies away with the current!"
Franchouchou and Rianima heard his command of Linkin Park. "Huh?" "Eh? "What?"
"GUNIGUNI!"
No sooner did they hear the glass Stand's other cry did the water return to the ground harshly, on Franchouchou and Rianima still snared in tow.
What follows see the zombies being carried away by the river's current as its speed, ferocity and quite inexplicably, deepness, increases. It's like the river is being filled with more water from somewhere even though they're in a mountain.
Caught by surprise, Franchouchou struggles against the current as they flounder in the water in panic trying to swim to the nearest land. The sensitive members scream and shout in panic, thrashing their limbs about to the point they're going to accidentally detach them. It didn't take long before they are all submerged within the flowing river, unable to resist against the sporadic flow. Panic and desperation fill up their undead brains as the water current threatens to pull the girls away to be swept along the flow but Saki, Ai and Yugiri get their grip on Junko, Tae and Lily so they won't pull away from them, not that it's any better since they're still in the river.
"E-Everyone!" Yugiri shouted to get the girls' attention to her. "We must… get out of the river! I believe it's going to take us… far away if we don't move now!"
"But the river is… too strong for me to… move!" Ai responded, feeling her legs flailing in the water as she keeps her hold on Tae, who is making it hard for her to keep her grip on her because of her erratic floundering. "T-There's no way we'll swim to the river bank due to this… speed!"
With tears in her eyes, Lily cries out in fear and panic, yelling, "W-Where's… Where's Kakyoin-san and everyone? Are they… with us being carried by the… river?"
A tendril binds Lily, Yugiri and Ai on their waists, with the former two strapped in a single tendril. The three feel it immediately as they come to a stop and resurface to catch their breath. The same thing happens to Saki, Junko and Tae except a wire rope is the one who ties them together in one shot.
"Huh? Did something tether us three?" questioned Junko, almost relieved she, Saki and Tae are not getting dragged along by the river flow.
As if to answer her question, a male voice replies to the girls. "Yes. Hold on tight. Kakyoin and I will get you six out of the river."
Franchouchou looks up to see, sure enough, Kakyoin and Mamezuku standing and posing near the river bank. Hierophant Green's arms were stretched and writhing slightly due to the river flow, showing it was Kakyoin who caught Lily, Ai and Yugiri. Likewise, Mamezuku only needs his left arm to catch and tie Saki, Junko and Tae while holding on to Bucciarati and Avdol with his right hand for tether support.
The girls couldn't be any happier to see their bodyguards on the process of rescuing them. With this thought, Saki smiles at the two for being on time to catch them, highlighted by her words. "Hah! Glad to see you show up to save our butts. I knew you guys wouldn't be so easily swept by the river current despite being immobilized by our enemy!"
"We're glad as well Saki, but let's not idle here any longer," replied Kakyoin, instructing Hierophant Green to pull the three out of the river. "We must get to a safe place before Xero shows up! Lift them up, Hierophant Green!"
Kakyoin and Mamezuku pull the girls out of the water with their Stands, doing it so extravagantly and forcefully that they lingered in the air for a moment before falling to their arms to cushion their landing. Once the ropes are removed, Bucciarati and Avdol lead them through the trees. Running along the upward slope, they soon caught up with Narancia, Johnny and Gyro. The zombies are in the same clearing where Franchouchou attempted to capture a baby boar using a trapping pit, waiting for their return. That pit was quickly filled back with soil, dirt and snow to make sure what happened to Sakura didn't happen again.
When the three see them arrive, they quickly get close to them. "Saki, Junko, Bucciarati and everyone! Are you all alright!?"
Bruno quickly replies to placate his concern. "We're fine Narancia. We managed to rescue the girls out of the river and got here without encountering our enemy."
"Yup! All thanks to Cherry Boy and Peel Planter!" Saki added, pointing her thumb to the two with a grateful smile.
"Please drop the nicknames when we're the only ones here Saki," Kakyoin chided her.
"Nice job, you two! Your string abilities came in handy to take the girls to safety!" Gyro pats their shoulders with a smile.
With the zombies assembled in one place far from any treacherous terrain, they swiftly begin talking about what happened down in the river. Since everyone and their clothes are drenched in cold and dripping water, Magician's Red produces a large flame in the center to provide them warmth and dry their attires and hair. This is especially pronounced for Saki, as her upper body is exposed to the elements, making her shiver the entire time until Avdol provided heat to stave off the cold. She almost regrets exposing her upper body to the elements if she knew this fight will happen.
Bucciarati first talks about how Xero divided the river into two and shaped it into curved walls flowing against both riverbanks seemingly without moving his hands to indicate he's the one manipulating the water. "…And he did just that after he said he's gonna show his ｢main ability｣ to us. Separating a body of water is obviously impossible to achieve for an ordinary human…unless you're a Stand User."
Listening closely, Avdol sees no harm in saying what he believes to be Linkin Park's true ability. "Going by what you're saying mister Bucciarati, could it be that Linkin Park's main ability is… to manipulate water?"
Bruno considers Avdol's opinion before he replies back with an unsure look. "It is possible. Maybe Xero brought us to that river so he has a source to draw his power from."
"Are you sure water is his ability?" Lily expressed skepticism after a thought came to her after hearing his statement about Xero bringing them to a river without seemingly moving. "What about him teleporting us to the river? Is that related to his water ability?"
"Weeeell…" Saki rubs her chin with a pensive expression. "Maybe he secretly put a big rift somewhere near us without any of us noticing it?"
"But he has to use his hands to create one," reminded Yugiri. "And we didn't see him and his Stand move their hands. And even if he were to do it, he was ensnared within many ropes thanks to Kakyoin-han and Mamezuku-han. His arms and hands were tied up tight, so how can he teleport us to a river without resorting to using portals?"
"Ah right… I almost forgot he was in that position," Saki conceded.
"I doubt controlling water is his ability," it was Johnny who speaks up. The Joestar who managed to avoid getting captured by Xero's water tentacles thanks to his quick thinking and reflexes has everyone's eyes on him as he states his certain opinion regarding it. "If Linkin Park's main ability is only manipulating water, it sounds like an ordinary ability an average Stand can have. His real ability is stated by him to be on par with D4C and The World, both of which are really strong Stands to fight against. It doesn't make sense for him to reveal controlling water is his ability after he made that boastful comparison. It comes out as an underwhelming reveal."
"Ah!" Everyone perks up after they were reminded of Xero's remarks minutes ago.
"At this point, we still haven't seen enough of Linkin Park's main ability to conclusively guess what it can really do under Xero's command," he continues, seeing his nails are done growing so he stands up and readies his fingers to shoot more nails using Tusk. "However, we must kill him sooner than later before we are subjected to… whatever his ability is. Assuming he's not lying, we could be facing another powerful Stand we may have a slim chance of winning against."
"Well we have to do our best to protect the girls and give everything we got against him!" Kakyoin agreed with a firm nod. Calling out Hierophant Green, the Stand sends out multiple tendrils through the trees around him to create a 20-meter radius web. This requires the Stand to unravel itself fully until it becomes a lot of green tendrils sticking on trunks and branches, which Kakyoin hopes it is potent enough to detect any movements and shoot out emeralds from any directions between the dense trees.
"Laying a trap for the codardo, huh? I'll have Aerosmith survey the air above us and the remaining spaces Kakyoin can't reach!" Narancia follows suit by sending Aerosmith up in the air where it flies around slowly in a circle while bringing out the radar for tracking of carbon dioxide within their vicinity.
"…A what?" Ai blinks twice.
"It means coward in Italian." Bruno translates it to them. "And quite fittingly so. There's no way he's done with us because of what happened to us earlier…"
"I doubt he wouldn't," Avdol concurred. Magician's Red cups its hands to produce a small flame that is soon molded into a familiar omnidirectional structure with flickering flames at the ends. "Even if he was shot many times by Johnny, that is not enough to stop him. As such, we must be prepared to attack if he shows up."
"Sorry I didn't kill him quickly," sighed Johnny, now sitting on Slow Dancer to aid him in elevation, which Gyro imitated with Valkyrie. "I was hiding myself from his sight and planned to shoot him many times covertly to weaken him until he succumbs to his injuries. Oh, and sorry for not telling you where I was after the water immobilized you six. Have to… keep quiet to surprise him."
"Hey don't worry Johnny!" Gyro pats his right shoulder. "He got lucky thanks to his as-of-yet unknown ability. We will get him for sure once he shows up."
"And when he does, two of us must prioritize the girls' safety," Mamezuku advised, moving close to them as his left hand unravels with Doggy Style by his side. "Seeing all of you might be able to overwhelm Xero with your long-range abilities, that leaves me and Bruno to guard the girls."
"Great strategy, all of you," Bruno complimented his men as Sticky Fingers hovers near him and the girls. "Stay vigilant everyone! Xero could very much show up without warning! We can't afford him to surprise us again!"
Silently agreeing with their leader, Rianima waits for their opponent to show up walking between the trees. If he does, he'll fall to their traps and proceed to barrage him with as much attacks as they possibly can. Even if Linkin Park protects him, there is a possibility he could open up blind spots when the Stand deflects their attacks. They must act on it quickly and land a blow to him, and before long, they end up taking his life.
Some of the girls want to say something, but they notice the silence they are in. Not wanting to jeopardize their plan, especially when their lives are at stake here, they wisely say no more.
Junko and Lily are still feeling anxious, their eyes darting left and right to see any signs of the enemy's presence. It appears they are not very subtle with it, so Ai, Saki and Yugiri tries comforting them and easing their worries because they have confidence Rianima can protect them and defeat the man who made their undead lives harder than it is compared to having to hide their identities to the public.
As for Tae, she takes the role of the lookout seriously the most. She can sense the tension from everyone, and she knows they're still in danger zone. As such, she must do her absolute best to support her bandmates and bodyguards. Hopefully, she gets to tear Xero apart for daring to harm her companions.
Everyone stays silent as they wait for Xero to appear. The passing wind breaks the monotonous but tense silence as the Stand Users pay attention to their surroundings. Despite the silence, it feels deafening, not helped by the pervading nervousness in the cold air around them. They must really be careful over Xero, or else he does something that shifts the advantage to him.
After what felt like hour instead of actually waiting for half a minute, they feel rumbling under their feet.
"…Huh? This trembling… Is it an earthquake?!" Junko exclaimed.
Before anyone can respond, a voice is heard, coming in front of them about some meters away. "Not quite, miss Junko."
Hearing Xero's monotone voice is enough to alert everyone, but right out of fantasy story, the trees separate into two sides, intensifying the trembling as a path is made.
"What the? Did I saw those trees move by themselves?!" Ai asked incredulously.
"Y-Yeah… We didn't imagine that to happen." Lily replied unsurely.
Kakyoin notices something about the trees that moved. Specifically, the radius web he made weaving between the trees. "Hm? The web… They didn't move with the trees."
"What?" blurted out Narancia.
"I don't know how to describe it clearly, but…" he squints his eyes to see if the Hierophant Green's web did move with the trees, impossible as it sounds, but he finds that the web didn't move a single inch at all. In fact, they stay suspended in mid-air, as if they're still hanging on or under branches or between trees. "Yes, I'm sure of it! The web didn't change its position!"
They are confused over what Kakyoin is saying. But they didn't get him to clear it up after they all see their opponent standing in the middle of the path, even though he wasn't there before. It's like he… materialized out of thin air.
ドドン
No sooner after he appeared and the trembling stopped, he starts walking leisurely to the zombies. It should be noted Linkin Park is not floating by his side, making his intent unclear. What is clear though is that he's within Rianima's range, and they will be within Linkin Park's range if they don't act now.
"Here he comes! Attack him!" Kakyoin shouted.
And so, with his command, Rianima gives it all they have got to bombard Xero with as many emeralds, fire, bullets, and Spin energy as possible. Their opponent has started walking to them, notably unflappable to the many projectiles coming to him. It's as if he wants to be genuinely besieged by Rianima's attacks and pays no heed to the fact he's about to die. This is what the zombies thought would happen to him, with Saki, Ai, Lily, Kakyoin, Narancia and Gyro believing he is a fool to attempt close contact with them by walking in the projectiles' way.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. More shockingly however, is how Xero is able to stay unharmed in spite of the many projectiles all aimed at him in every direction… because none of them hit him at all.
Specifically, the emeralds, fire, bullets, and steel balls actually ｢phased｣ through him without harm done to Xero, or they ｢swerved｣ around him when they get close. And when they didn't phased or veered off course, Linkin Park's fists appear to deflect the emeralds and bullets without issue.
"HUH!?"
This gratuitous display of defying logic and physics really stunned the gathered zombie audience. Some of them have their jaws hanging down while others blink many times or go wide-eyed. Rianima has constructed a trap to assault Xero without his apparent knowledge and it failed because of him somehow walking through their attacks, like he's a ghost.
At this point, Xero is getting close to them, and not wanting him to attack Franchouchou again, Bucciarati and Mamezuku dashed to him to intercept and block him.
"You're not moving closer! Sticky Fingers!"
"Doggy Style! Ensnare him!"
However, the two failed to land a hit because their Stands also phased through him. Bruno and Rai look at him in surprise and disbelief. "What!?"
Paying no heed to Sticky Fingers and Rai's arm wire phasing through his torso and legs with ripples emanating from where they passed through, Xero looks up and sees he's within the zombies' range. At first, they're worried if he's going to move Rianima out of his way to attack Franchouchou after they somehow failed to stop him from moving close. He's within a few meters for Linkin Park to throw its punches at the girls, so one can't fault them for thinking that's what Xero is about to do.
"Worried I will attack all of you because I moved to you so you are within Linkin Park's range? Well actually… I only walked close to you all because… I want to talk about what Rianima must ｢do｣ to ｢truly defeat me｣."
"…What?"
Franchouchou and Rianima predictably become confused over what he said. Whatever reply they want to say, Xero didn't let them because he addresses something. "This location appears to be a bit cramped and far from where our fight started. So let us go back, shall we? Linkin Park…"
As soon as he calls out his Stand and before Franchouchou and Rianima can see what happened, their visions got swallowed by a gale and blizzard. When they die down, everyone is nowhere to be seen in the clearing, as if they vanished without a trace. Also, the parted trees returned to their position, producing a second trembling that stopped once they settled back while the effects of Rianima's projectiles were cleared off from the ground or grass.
"Ah!"
Kakyoin opens his eyes with a jolt and shout. Feeling himself quivering from cold even though he's not drenched from head to toe, he looks at himself for a moment before he looks for his friends out of worry.
"Guys? Guys! Are you all alright?" Kakyoin exclaimed, his concerned tone becoming relieved and glad upon seeing everyone is behind him, looking without so much as a harm inflicted on them. Like Kakyoin, they are feeling confused but relieved as him because they didn't separate from the sudden blizzard.
What reason? It's about them standing on solid ground, far from the river they suddenly got…teleported onto and. From the way they're looking at each other and their surroundings, they must be having the same thought as Kakyoin's.
Their relief was put aside to address the elephant in the room with this one question: What had just happened?
Flicking his hand while ignoring specks of snow on his clothes, Avdol speaks up, "We're… back here?"
Stomping his right foot to check he's not imagining this, Gyro confirms they're genuinely standing on the ground. "We are. All of these surely can't be… an illusion."
"But that can't be right!" Lily has some doubts, brushing her snow-covered hair off her eyes. "We were in the river earlier struggling against the current when it becomes too strong and fast, before we retreated to a clearing! In fact, now that I said that, I have only realize that our makeup aren't washed off by the river, meaning we are still prone to getting injuries or even killed!"
?!
Lily's right. Their human disguises stayed on their body, which doesn't do much to cover their identities to Xero since he implicitly knew their identities and that they are zombies. Exposing their green, rotting skin and red, piercing eyes to him will not do much to convince him they are humans. If they have any doubts their makeup should have been washed off by the river, their dried clothes and hair that used to be drenched in water until Magician's Red dried them should serve to tell them that yes, they did felt water touching their bodies.
Despite the evidence on contrary, Saki, Ai, Junko, Kakyoin, Narancia, and Johnny are finding it hard to believe. On top of the inexplicable way their makeup staying on their body instead of getting rinsed off, there's the matter of how Xero teleported them back here without so much as a rift made by him and Linkin Park. Again, it's like they got dumped here so suddenly like what happened to the river except less conspicuously.
Amid their growing incertitude, Mamezuku has just realized Franchouchou is missing one member. He brings it up thusly. "Hm, hold on? Where's… Where's Tae-san? Why is she not here with us?"
!
His words causes more panic among the zombies. They look around in search for Tae, baffled she's the one who got missing when they gathered up together the whole time. The high current almost separated everyone from each other but even if they were rescued out of such a chaotic experience, they know for sure Tae was present up until Xero… did something to create a blizzard that blocked their visions briefly to their absolute discomfort.
"It's not just her! The enemy! Where is he!?" Narancia reminds everyone, stopping their search for Tae to look at him. "Don't tell me he already left after he did that… trick of his? HEY! Where did you go, you bastardo!? We're not yet done with you! Come out and face us like a man!"
His statement was quickly replied to by their enemy, hearing it behind them for the third time. "No need to shout, Narancia. I am here, so don't imply that I'm a coward since that's grossly inaccurate to my sole motivation for starting this fight."
Fast as they can on their feet, the groups turn around and face Xero down. Again, Linkin Park is nowhere to be seen near him, indicating he must have called it back to him. He may have deprived himself of his main instrument to attack and defend, making him an easy target for Rianima. And yet, his confident stance might say otherwise, indicating he has a trick or plan up his sleeve.
Gritting her teeth in irritation, Saki points one finger at him accusingly and yells out her grievances against him. "Alright smartass! Don't think about hiding yourself from us even for a little while! We have enough of your puzzling tricks, so quit it and face the wrath of their Stands!"
Compelled by her aggressive words, Avdol takes a step forward in his battle stance and Magician's Red comes out roaring in eagerness and anger at Xero. "Before we give you a fate you sorely deserved, since you're so oddly willing to disclose so much about yourself and your Stand, what did you do earlier that you mentioned to be Linkin Park's ｢main ability｣? Even if we witnessed it with our eyes, we're still profoundly confused on how your Stand works."
Worried for their missing member, Junko chimes in with words to remind Xero of what he possibly done. "And Tae-san… You did something to her, didn't you? She's not here with us like Sakura-chan, Kotaro-san and Romero."
After five seconds of silence that the passing wind interrupts, Xero answers with this. "I can sense you're really set on killing me. That's good, that's good. It perfectly aligns with my ｢motivation｣ as to why I commenced this fateful battle. I assure you, it's going to benefit Saga, and also the world too."
Predictably, they are puzzled over his response. Xero sees this, so he comes up with this. "Not to worry, my friends. It's about time I reveal my ｢motivation｣ to you all. Hope you're prepared to accept what I'm about to say, for it is, admittedly… confusing."
"Just tell us already!" Gyro impatiently urged him to answer quick.. "Oh! In case you're delusional, we're not your friends!"
ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ
Ignoring his remark, Xero closes his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. In that duration, he has this look of… acceptance and… tranquility that even for a nonchalant guy as him, isn't seen so normally from him. Either way, they await his response, all the while Rianima watches him closely so he wouldn't dare do any tricks and retaliate immediately if they notice it.
After what seemed like forever, Xero opens his eyes and starts telling them his one motivation he hopes will succeed. "My motive over me confronting you for a fight that decides Saga's fate is… to have you seven Stand Users ｢kill me｣."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"What… What is your motive again?" Kakyoin asked.
"You didn't mishear me, Kakyoin," Xero folds his arms with a stern look. "I want you seven to ｢kill me｣. Wipe me off the face of this prefecture…no. You must wipe me off the face of this ｢reality｣…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"That's it? That's your ｢motive｣?" Bucciarati asks incredulously, wanting to confirm.
Xero nods. "Yes. Sounds simple, right? You thought I had a complicated motive over why I targeted you thirteen. You believe I want to destroy Saga. Or is it me hunting you all so I will personally sent you all back to your grave where you belonged after your untimely deaths? Or perhaps… it's world domination?" He shakes his head to emphasize all those three motives he said to his bewildered audience are not true. "No. They are not the reason why I am here this evening to fight you all. All I want to see from you is to have one of you ｢kill me｣."
Rianima and Franchouchou stare at Xero after revealing his motive. His confusing and strange motive of having his life be snuffed out by Rianima, like he said before he begins explaining… They do not understand it. At all. It's so simple and straightforward that somehow, it sounds deceptively false. In all the times Rianima had faced their final enemy before they fell in defeat, they are so used to have fought enemies with unpleasant motives that hearing their current enemy's motive feels like a whiplash:
For Kakyoin and Avdol, DIO wanted to end the Joestar bloodline so he's free to reign supreme with no opposition in his path to world domination and achieving great power for his time-stopping Stand, ｢The World｣;
For Bucciarati and Narancia, the paranoid Diavolo desires to kill his daughter to erase all traces of his existence to ensure his secrecy as the boss of Passione. Later, he attempted to snatch the arrow to upgrade his time erasing Stand, ｢King Crimson｣, to its Requiem form;
Funny Valentine created the Steel Ball Run race to retrieve the Saints' Corpse and use its esoteric powers and his dimension-hopping Stand, ｢Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap｣ or ｢D4C｣ for short, to bless United States of America, at the expense of other countries. He earned the ire of few enemies, Johnny and Gyro included. And lastly;
While Toru was and remained ambiguous in his motive and presence up until he's forced to come out from hiding, Rai suspected he wants to eliminate humanity as a whole to establish Rock Humans as the dominant race. Related to that, he intends to get the New Locacaca for his own use, possibly through profit while his calamity-inducing Stand ｢Wonder of U｣ keeps him safe from any potential enemies.
Compare all those motives to Xero's, and you will notice how strikingly different it is, providing a contrast.
The group want to ask more out of him, but Xero beats them first since he has more to say about his motive. "Before you all go unleashing your Stands against me, I must make clear first of how you will kill me. You see… it's also ｢out of ordinary｣ in how you usually defeat enemy Stand Users."
"…And what would that be?" Hesitatingly, Ai urges him to answer.
"If you wish to end my life," Linkin Park appears behind Xero. He points his thumb to it as he says, "You must attack my Stand ｢directly｣."
They looked at him again with puzzled looks. "Attack your Stand directly? Why?" demanded Johnny.
"To ensure my total demise, all because ｢I'm not one of those people｣. You are aware Stands are representations of our souls. The common strategy to defeat a Stand User is to target the user themselves, but it is possible to target their Stands, provided they have a humanoid form, and attack them. The damage it receives will reflect to its user, so if you kill the Stand by shooting their head, so to it will happen to their me will not work, but ｢attacking｣ Linkin Park surely will."
His answer just leaves them more and more skeptical. Now there is a specific way Rianima must kill him to ensure his demise? To be fair, it's not entirely impossible, just uncommon to have it happen. But that, along with his motive of wanting to die by their hands to ｢save Saga｣, serves to make them think further away from the idea. It's all too outlandish to execute and made them think about Gyro's words that Xero being delusional to be true.
"He… He has to be making it up!" Narancia insinuated, pointing his finger at Xero. "I don't know what kind of fantasy he cooked up to have him tell us that attacking his Stand in order to kill him, but one thing's for sure… I'm not falling to his BS words!"
"I, for one, can't quite follow Xero's reason and explanation," Yugiri shakes her head while rubbing her temple. "Even if I have gotten used to seeing Stands within my vicinity, I can't bring myself to agree killing his Stand is the only way to kill him."
"Well, if there is a slim chance what he said to us is true, let's not kill him right now because he still hasn't answered Tae's whereabouts, which I believe he did something to her," Pushed by these words, Rai proceeds to ask him. "You there! I'll ask you once… Where is Tae-san?"
"…Do you wish to see more of what I can do with my ability first? It is related to what happened to-"
"Answer us. Now."
Bruno's stern response makes Xero see they are becoming impatient because of their concern to their missing zombie mate. With a shrug, he goes pass the supposed explanation of Linkin Park's ability in lieu of telling where Number Zero has gone. "Very well. If you're looking for Yamada-san, she… didn't leave us actually. And even if she did for reasons only she knows, remember… she will come out from the opposite direction of where she'd gone into."
"We remember," replied Kakyoin with a glare. "So… Where is she?"
Stepping out of the path to the sides, he directs his open hand to the being behind him. "She's actually behind me the entire time."
True to his words, Tae Yamada is behind Xero all along…
…lying and frozen inside an ice, similar to what happened few days earlier. Even worse? Her arms, legs, and head are detached from her torso inside, though thankfully there is no blood present.
"…After I freeze her using Linkin Park." He added for clarification.
! !?
Naturally, the zombies shouted in shock, fear and worry over the state of Franchouchou's Number Zero. But what Xero said next serves to terrify and anger the sensitive members of the groups.
"If you don't want to see Yamada-san die a slow death of hypothermia, kill me first. And just to be clear… Linkin Park's main ability is active, meaning I will use it as my main manner of fighting. Don't expect I'll hold back again even if I want to be killed by any of your hands."
"We heard enough from your babbling mouth!" Narancia exclaimed as he calls Aerosmith out and he proceeds to fire loads and loads of bullets against him in retaliation. He and Tae may not be on better terms, but he will not use that as reason for not rescuing Tae off Xero's hands. It is a petty reason if he declines. "YOU'RE DEAD! AEROSMITH! ! !"
Aerosmith fired its machine guns to riddle Xero's body with so many holes he can't hope to plug them all without losing so much blood.
"Linkin Park!" In response, Xero commanded his Stand to rapidly punch the bullets, flinging some of them as strays to the ground, air or the trees. It didn't reach to the zombies fortunately. This continues until Linkin Park hit Aerosmith away on its rotary blades, managing to get closer with each bullet diverted which was opposing him from advancing.
"Agghhh!" Li'l Bomber screams in pain, feeling his face get caved in by a fist, making him spew out blood from his mouth and nose.
Linkin Park is not done with him yet because he adds three more punches to Aerosmith's wings and body before sending it back to its user writhing on the ground with hands on his stomach and bruises on his hands.
"Narancia!" Junko crouched to his level, panicking slightly as she thinks on how she try healing and comforting him. Aerosmith stabilizes its balance in the air, but not without some noticeable damage to its hull, wings and body.
Xero's not done attacking yet, as he sees Kakyoin and Johnny in his peripheral vision going around him. He followed their movements in time to see Hierophant Green charging its attack and Johnny taking the first multiple shots with is spinning nail bullets.
"TUSK!"
"EMERALD SPLASH!"
Instead of dodging the projectiles, he remained in his position. Johnny and Kakyoin would have a comment over him willing to take it in (and possibly decided to get killed by them) were it not for the projectiles… stopping in mid-air by an inch from hitting Xero.
"Wha!?" The two couldn't believe their eyes when they saw their attacks just stop ineffectually. If they thought Linkin Park somehow caught the projectiles with its hands, it's not true because the glass Stand was right behind the user during it.
For Xero's part, he's amused of their attempt to sneakily kill him when he wasn't looking. Shaking his head, he says to them, "A bold move, you two. Intending to finish this fight quickly as possible? I'm afraid our fight is only just starting."
Disappointed as they are Xero was unharmed, possibly through his ability, Kakyoin and Johnny let a smile show up on their faces. Because they are counting on him noticing them to distract him from something.
"We agree," Johnny concedes, making Xero look at him in curiosity. "It's not every day Stand fights tend to end so prematurely. Takes out the excitement out of us if it ended abruptly. But just to be clear, Kakyoin and I didn't attack you in hopes of killing you instantly. Rather, it's to distract you."
"Distract me?"
A smirk on his face, before Kakyoin shouts to his companion. "Avdol, now!"
"Huh!?"
Xero immediately notices Tae's frozen body got pulled out of his range thanks to Red Bind. The frozen zombie flies in an arch with Red Bind wrapped around it to not only have its grip tightly, but to prematurely start the melting process. The gravity pulls the ice down to Magician's Red's hands, the weight and impact barely pushing the bird Stand down.
"Ooof! So… heavy…" Avdol said, resisting the cold traveling through his arms. Magician's Red carefully puts down Tae to the ground and it immediately start the melting process.
"Avdol-san, quick!" Lily pleaded, surrounding the frozen Tae with the girls. "Before Tae-san dies from being frozen for a long time!"
"I'm working as fast as possible Lily! Please be patient!"
Not letting this slide, Xero rushed to them, exclaiming, "You're wide open, Avdol. Pay attention." Linkin Park raises its fists to catch him by surprise…
"ARI!"
…but Bucciarati will not let him.
His eyes widen when Sticky Fingers surprises him by coming out of a zipper, which he didn't see until the zipper Stand emerged. Changing directions, Linkin Park deflects the punch. This kick-starts another face-off between two close-range Stands as they exchange punches, kicks, and at one point, a head butt from Linkin Park and knee attack from Sticky Fingers. The attacks become faster with each successive hit, with Bucciarati determined to push Linkin Park and Xero back little by little as he musters ample strength and speed to match the glass Stand's own.
"TAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMATAMA! ! !"
"ARIARIARIARIARIARIARIARI! ! !"
After checking if they're far enough from Avdol and the girls, Sticky Fingers kicks Linkin Park and Xero away on its stomach to disorient them. "Urrgh!"
"You're wide open! Attack him Sticky Fingers!"
Seizing the chance, Sticky Fingers aims its fist to its head or neck to put a zipper and remove it from their body…
…but Linkin Park is quick on the draw, grabbing its fist to stop it. Before Bruno can react, Linkin Park pulls Sticky Fingers close to land a punch to its cheek. Normally, this would send Bruno flying, but to his confusion, it didn't.
But it's not until what happened next that he realizes he's in for an intense pain. And a traumatic trip down memory lane about the last time this happened to him.
No! Not again! Searing pain is creeping across my jaw, like last time!
The fist pushes deep within his face, causing a single tooth to fall off with little blood dripping under its root. "GOAAACCKKK! ! !" At this point, the pain has become so intense, and familiar, as Bruno believes it felt like eternity having a fist and pain jabbing through his cheek and jaw. Stop… Stop it, I'm begging you! I can't… take it… ANYMOOOORE!
Mercifully, Linkin Park ends the slow motion burning punch to his face by spinning around and hurling Bruno to Kakyoin and Johnny, who attempted to interfere Xero until they saw them turn around.
"TAAAAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ! !"
"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH! ! !"
"BUCCIARATI!"
Kakyoin and Johnny are forced to the ground when Bruno collided with them. "Ah!" "Ogh!"
Having catch Bucciarati anyway, Kakyoin sits up and grabs his body, saying, "Bucciarati-san! Are you- Huh?" He's gobsmacked after only taking a look to his paralyzed face and eyes full of PTSD. His body even twitches in pain, as if the pain Linkin Park delivered to him has suddenly become too powerful for him.
"The hell? What on earth happened to him?" Seeing he's unresponsive for the time being, he turns to Xero to ask him what he'd done to him, but not without aiming his nail bullet. "You! What did you do to Bucciarati?"
"I punched him so hard he experienced too much pain to his face," he answers with a look of surprise. "To be honest, I expect he would take Linkin Park's slow but agonizing punch so hard, to the point he's having a… trauma. Hmm, maybe I should've punch him normally instead. I'm regretting doing it to your leader."
"Oh you have plenty of regret to reflect on after I shot your head! TUSK!"
Johnny and Kakyoin fire three nail bullets and emeralds again to Xero. He simply stops them in mid-air again when they're an inch away from hitting him. Not wanting them to keep shooting him, Linkin Park makes short work of the two, knocking the air out of Johnny and uppercutting Kakyoin's throat. "TAMA!"
"UWAAAUGGGHH!"
As Johnny reels from the pain, Kakyoin recovers quickly. Pulling Johnny and Bucciarati aside with Hierophant Green, the same tendrils he used to put his companions to safety chased after Xero, but increasing in numbers for more efficiency in capturing the foe.
"Try dodging these!" boasted Kakyoin.
"I'm happy to try."
Xero runs from the pursuing tendrils, kicking his feet hard and quick towards the trees. Weaving between frost-coated timbers, he disappears deep in the woods with Hierophant Green's tendrils still after him.
"Think you can try escaping out of my Stand's range?" Kakyoin stays determined, watching the wriggling tendrils closely as they weave through and around trees in pursuit of Xero. "I'll just have to increase the speed! Even with your ability to create rifts, Hierophant Green will keep pouring out tendrils until I got a good grip on you!"
And so he waited, standing in one place as Hierophant Green continues its work. In his intent to catch his foe however, he almost forget about one detail Linkin Park made before him and Rianima fight. And that is…
"UUUGH!?"
His confident stance turns into startled one when the tendrils catch him instead. They wrapped around his body tightly, including his arms. Wh-What!? I'm the one whom Hierophant Green caught!? But… But how did-? Ah! That's right! How could I forget that!? Xero, he… he took advantage of this area looping when going through any direction! Dammit! Need to… tell Hierophant Green… to free me!
"You're wide open. Take this!"
"Ah!"
Kakyoin look on Xero and Linkin Park suddenly appearing above him with the Stand's fist raised to strike him and Hierophant Green helplessly, his eyes widening in shock and fear he's reliving the same event he went through when he first attempted to interfere DIO.
"OOOORA!"
Much to his relief, a spinning ball aimed against them halts their attacks. Linkin Park swats the ball back to Gyro's hands, who throws a second ball with his signature shout. It swats that one too, only for the ball to return to the cowboy's hands before throwing the first one again.
"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!" Gyro keeps shouting, Valkyrie drawing him close to Xero to lessen the throwing range and forcing him to increase the punching speed. "GET! AWAY! FROM! KAK! KYO! IIIIIN! ! !"
That duration of Xero deflecting the steel balls earn Kakyoin ample time to untie himself before he sends the tendrils to Xero. "Hey! You're wide open! Hierophant Green!"
"Hmph."
Having no choice but to retreat, Xero and Linkin Park vanish after last deflecting Gyro's steel balls to avoid Hierophant Green's tendrils. This move surprises both since he never showed signs that he can do the vanishing act.
"Oi! That prick! Where did he go!?" asked Gyro, whipping his head as he directs Valkyrie to move in one place to check their surroundings. Kakyoin does the same too until his eyes lock on Peel Planter elongating his untangled arms.
It's actually on time he cast his eyes on him, as Rai shouts to get their attention, including the recovered Johnny and Bruno and the approaching Avdol, who is done thawing Tae out of the ice and is currently being tended by Franchouchou (she sneezes many times as a result of being stuck in the ice for so long).
"FURANSHUUSHUU!" bellowed Tae.
"I got him Gyro-sensei! I bind my wires around his wrist!" Mamezuku announced, directing Rianima's eyes to Xero resisting the wire's pull. He looks slightly annoyed that it happened to him again.
"Didn't you do that earlier? He's gonna repeat the same move!" reminded Narancia, recovering from a beating he received by Linkin Park.
Sure enough, Linkin Park pulls Mamezuku towards them by pulling his wire arm, intending to punch him again when he's close. Readying its fist, they wait to reenact their attack…
…But Mamezuku is keen on not getting punched again, for he has a plan.
"As expected, you pulled me to Linkin Park's range," Rai monologues. "I exactly predicted you wouldn't hesitate to grab and pull my wire wrapped around your wrist. Thought I'm a fool to repeat my move in order to let me get close to you? Perhaps… but you fell for my trap!"
"Trap?" Xero widens his eyes subtly. Then he sees it. "Wha!?"
Mamezuku's other arm has been transformed into a spinning drill aimed against Xero, having done so before he wrapped his wrist using his left wire arm. The drill itself makes a noise appropriate for the form, made possible by the Spin.
Gyro looks impressed to see Rai turn his entire arm into a handmade drill brimming with Spin energy. "Nyohohoho! We sure taught him well, right Johnny? He's taking the Spin technique into a different direction than I expect!"
Johnny nods with a smile, commenting, "Well, we shall see if Rai can get a direct hit on him after we got puny hits against Xero."
Franchouchou comes closer to watch Mamezuku about to drill through Xero's body with a determined expression. Saki, Lily, Yugiri and Tae look impressed and eager to watch their enemy finally got hit properly while Junko and Ai have reservations about seeing him torn apart with blood and muscles flying out of him. They try not thinking that nauseous thought for their own good.
Seeing he'll unable to escape through a rift or use Linkin Park's main ability to get him out of Rai's attack in time, Xero shifts his posture to elude the spinning drill, barely touching his cravat and coat. Xero is about to snap the wire off his wrist when he feels himself being pulled strongly. He realizes what is happening next when his feet gets off the ground with him flying towards Mamezuku, who plants his feet firmly on the ground to support him when he pulls the wire arm like Xero did. Effectively, the roles are reversed, with Rai being the one who pulls Xero close to him.
"Not so fast! I'm not done yet!"
Perceiving the wire is pulling faster than he expects it, meaning he's going to be torn apart by the drill, Xero yells out, "Linkin Park! Hold me!"
His left arm jerks in Mamezuku's direction when Xero abruptly stops in mid-air after Linkin Park holds his shoulder by wrapping its arms around his armpit. It feels uncomfortable and a little painful but at least Xero is not going to be pulled to the drill anymore.
Keeping the hold on its user tight, Xero observes Mamezuku's eyes widening in surprise he chose to have his Stand hold him in mid-air. Honestly, he thought he would retaliate by kicking or punching the drill away before attacking him when he gets close. Then again, he doesn't want that to happen, so he doesn't mind it.
"Interesting. Using your Stand to stop yourself from getting pulled by Doggy Style… A good strategy," he commented, sounding a little impressed or amused. "No matter. If you don't want to get ruptured by my spinning drill, then how would you like if I tighten the hold on your wrist until it blocks your blood vessels or pulling it out of you painfully? Your choice."
Xero grits his teeth as the wire is pulling and tightening its grip. The color on his hand loses its tan color and becomes blue, and he believes he can feel it getting numb quickly than he thought it will. Not good! Rai is gonna tear my arm off if tightening my wrist didn't get to me first! My left hand is still free so… I must use the rift to escape. Linkin Park better work fast if it doesn't me to be killed gruesomely.
Unfortunately, Xero didn't get to execute his plan when a punch that came from an open zipper situated on a tree's bark hit his wrist. "ARI!"
"Ugh!?"
To his disbelief, his left hand got severed again, falling in the air before Sticky Fingers fully emerges out of the zipper to utterly slice it to pieces. "ARIARIARIARIARIARIARI!"
"Nnnngh!" Xero grunted, definitely feeling each punch hitting his detached hand. "Why you…!" He intends to retaliate against Bucciarati glaring at him with stern eyes, having traveled underground before he emerges out of the tree with Sticky Fingers.
"Emerald Splash!"
"Cross Fire Hurricane!"
"Aerosmith!"
! !
Quickly as he can, Xero stops the emeralds, flames and bullets from hitting Linkin Park for the third time. The projectiles hit what seems to be an invisible barrier, completely shielding Linkin Park's back.
Stomping his foot, Narancia angrily says, "Oh c'mon! He's still able to do that?! How the hell is he blocking our projectiles? And what's actually hitting it?"
While irritated their attacks failed, Kakyoin takes this chance to squint his eyes to inspect the emeralds left hanging in mid-air somehow. At the same time, Avdol believes that for all the mileage Xero has in controlling Linkin Park, indicating experience, they have yet to know how his ability works. He decides to bring this up and remind them. "You know, we still do not know what Linkin Park can do. We know Xero can create rifts using his and Linkin Park's hands, but he refers to it as his ｢sub-ability｣. If he calls it that, it begs the question of what his ｢main ability｣is."
"Who cares?" Johnny rears Slow Dancer, making the horse neigh dramatically before he and Gyro, riding on his Valkyrie, rush past everyone as he says more, "Not sure if he's actually using it earlier or currently but we can't let him have the chance to use his ability to his full extent! It's time we kill this bastard!"
"That's true," Bucciarati nods in agreement, returning to everyone's side after neutralizing Xero's left hand. "He has overstayed his welcome long enough. It's about time we kill him before he can do further harm to us and Franchouchou."
"Um, what are Johnny-san and Gyro-san going to do to help you defeat him?" asked Junko.
Yugiri perks up. "I think I know. They're going to use the ｢Golden Spin｣and apply it to their Stands."
"Ah, that's right!" Lily exclaimed. "They need their horses to gallop on their natural pace to transfer energy to the stirrups, of which the two have their feet in to let it flow through their body and eventually, their hands!"
"Uhhhhh, I don't get it." Saki said, scratching her head for her complicated answer.
"Me either…" Ai agreed.
"Well regardless…" Sticky Fingers ram its fists against the invisible shield Xero set up behind him. "Now's the time to defeat Xero! Franchouchou, step back so you don't get hit by us! And the rest, surround him on all sides and use your strongest moves! He will not escape, so give it your all!"
"Right!" "You got it!" Roger!" Kakyoin, Avdol and Narancia move to surround Xero before dispatching their Stands, with Hierophant Green producing tendrils around the enemy to shoot out an omnidirectional Emerald Splash, Magician's Red forming five ankhs around its torso and Aerosmith flying directly above Xero to drop the bomb on his head.
Meanwhile, Johnny and Gyro came running in the scene, their horses running on their natural pace. This ends up producing rich Spin energy transferring from the stirrups through their legs, eventually making it to their hands. Both jockeys have their attacks ready to shoot out against Xero, being careful they don't target Mamezuku. For Gyro, he's feeling giddy he can finally show his own Stand that can only appear when applying the Super Spin to his steel balls. He hasn't named his Stand since it appeared before he died, but now, he already has one: ｢Ball Breaker｣.
Once they're in a right distance, Johnny shoots out his Super Spin-imbued nails and Gyro throws a single steel ball. Mid-flight, they turn into Tusk ACT4 and Ball Breaker, all brimming with Spin energy appearing as electric sparks.
Being the last Stand to be properly shown, Ball Breaker manifests as a relatively small lime-colored Stand, reaching the size of steel balls it originated from. Vaguely humanoid with a hunched back and hoof-like feet having several pink circles embedded on its outer armor over its featureless face, arms, shoulders, waist and legs, net-like patterns of a darker color on arms and legs' exposed skin, and red zigzagging triangles over its upper body, knees and feet, its most noticeable feature is a large brim encircling around the back of its head, ending it two semicircles at the front.
"TOTAL ABSOLUTE…! GOLDEN SPIN ENERGYYYYY! !" Johnny and Gyro shouted in unison as their Stands charge towards Xero, rushing pass Mamezuku.
Seeing he won't yield to having his wrist fully crushed, Mamezuku decides to lengthen his drill arm, a feature made possibly thanks to Doggy Style. "If you won't go near me, fine. Extending the drill will break you apart to pieces. Thinking you can survive our attacks? Most likely not."
One by one, Rianima launches their most powerful attacks.
"Now, die! 5-meter Radius! EMERALD SPLASH! ! !"
"Cross Fire…! Hurricane…! SPECIIIIAAALLLL! ! !"
"BURN IN HELL! AEROSMITH!"
Franchouchou cheers for their bodyguards' impending victory, with Saki, Tae, and Lily being the loudest. With no way of escaping out of Rianima's combined attacks, Xero and Linkin Park are going to lose badly…
Unbeknownst to them, Xero shakes his head with a smile. In fact, he is not scared of his impending death at all.
He looks up with unwavering gaze, as he shouts, "…｢Linkin Park｣!"
…
…
…
"Huh!?"
It happened literally in the blink of an eye. Franchouchou and Rianima watched meticulously as multiple emeralds, flaming ankhs, Aerosmith's bomb, Tusk ACT4, Ball Breaker and the steel ball, and lastly, Mamezuku's arm drill are only an inch away from hitting him. From the look of it, the projectiles don't stop mid-air like earlier, meaning Linkin Park didn't activate its main ability…whatever it is.
They would have witnessed Xero get hit, burned, obliterated or torn apart. In fact, that should happen. There's no way he will survive their strongest attacks coming at him from all sides.
So imagine their great shock and disbelief when Rianima's attacks…didn't hit Xero and Linkin Park at all. Or it's more accurately to say that their attacks… disappear.
There's no other way to describe what became of Rianima's attacks, other than they vanished without leaving any traces. In fact, everyone's Stands are also gone too, though the group can feel their Stands within their mind, indicating they must have returned to them but without any prompting from them.
Either way, that isn't enough to erase the amount of shock, disbelief or puzzlement they're currently feeling as they see Linkin Park lets Xero go before it holds the injured wrist. Once released, Xero rotates his hand without feeling intense pain. The Stand next picks up the hand, which was previously torn to pieces with zippers, and puts it back firmly. Somehow, it successfully reconnected without issue or pain.
ドドドドドドドド
Once his hands are restored, Xero scours his stunned audience, with Johnny, Gyro (who stopped Slow Dancer and Valkyrie) and Mamezuku on this side and the rest of the zombies on the other. Fixing his cravat, he clears his throat before he decides to explain what really happened. "Quite a surprise, right? I was cornered up here, and you seven execute your respective attacks against me, hoping your overkill attacks will mark the end of our fight, with me dead with or without my body. You're surely asking, 'what has happened?' 'How did this guy negate our attacks?'"
He stops for a moment to see if they want to say something. But seeing they're too stunned to speak up, he continues. "To be honest, I want to reveal how I escaped from your hold against me as I await to be killed with my life flashing before my eyes. But… I become impatient. And a little frustrated. You want to know why? It's because you prioritize targeting ｢me｣ instead of ｢Linkin Park｣…"
An air of uncertainty manifests in the cold air as Xero and Linkin Park regard the stunned and mystified zombies with irritation and slight anger.
To be continued
Stand Analysis:
Ball Breaker (User: Gyro Zeppeli)
Destructive Power: A
Speed: A
Range: D
Stamina: B
Precision: C
Developmental Potential: B
The culmination of Gyro's Spin technique achieved through amassing a superior version of the Golden Spin via riding a horse galloping at its most natural speed. When the imbued steel ball is thrown through the Zeppeli Family's throwing technique, a visualization of Spin energy appears from the hurled steel ball as a "Stand".
Embodying infinite amount of Super Spin energy collected by a steel ball, Ball Breaker is capable of miraculous feats triumphing many powers, both weak and strong. While currently little is known about its full capabilities, the one time Gyro achieved his Stand gives him the power to cause dramatic aging to a target when Ball Breaker touches them.
Current Status/Whereabouts of the characters:
Franchouchou sans Sakura and Kotaro - Still involved in the fight between Rianima and Xero
Rianima - Still fighting Xero and Linkin Park
Xero - Somehow escaped enscathed from the zombies' simultaneous attacks
Sakura, Kotaro and Romero - Not found yet
Unknown character - Midway in the mountain hike
Finished!
Few interesting developments have arose in this fight pertaining to the mysterious Xero and his glass-like Stand Linkin Park. Turns out he doesn't have a grandiose goal in mind like destroying Saga or achieving world domination; he actually wants to be killed by our zombie Stand Users to, in his words, save Saga. But in order to fully kill him, they must attack Linkin Park instead of Xero. He didn't clarified more as to why they must attack his Stand only because he expects they would do that without questions asked. It is because of this notion that when Rianima put him in his most vulnerable state yet, their attacks vanished without reason, possibly done by Linkin Park's main ability.
A reason will be revealed soon as to why Xero wants to be killed and why they must target Linkin Park specifically to achieve that.
Speaking of the Stand, I think I shall say something about the main antagonist's Stand since this is the first original Stand to be revealed in the story. As you may have guessed and following the tradition of Stands being named after music bands, albums or songs, Linkin Park is named after the rock band of the same name formed in 1996. During writing for the early chapters, I have already named Xero's Stand after the rock band and has stuck with it ever since. In fact, for most of the fanfic's run, I've been listening to their songs and found myself relating with their themes and lyrics, as well as the kickass melody and vocals done by the late Chester Bennington (R.I.P.) and Mike Shinoda.
Relatedly, I also listened to another rock band almost back-to-back. Their songs bear similarities with Linkin Park's own music, so it didn't take long for me to like the band. I'm not disclosing what band it is, but the name of one of the original Stands created for this story is titled after its most famous hit song and derived its ability from its name alone. It's similar to Crawling being Linkin Park's recognizable song.
Anyway, going back to the main topic, you all witnessed Xero and Linkin Park's might as their as-of-yet unknown main ability puts Franchouchou and Rianima on edge. Some odd phenomena occured in the course of the fight, like Xero splitting the river like Moses did to the River of Nile, him staying unharmed because Rianima's attacks somehow went through him or suddenly vanished by shouting his Stand, creating a gust of blizzard to obscure their visions and teleport them back to the starting point, freezing Tae after supposedly separating them during the blizzard, and a few more. Going by Xero's claim that Linkin Park has activated its main ability, these actions seem unrelated and different, almost haphazardly so. The sub ability of forming rifts in the air through their hands only is easy to understand but them manipulating water and negating someone's attacks doesn't make sense and correlate with the glass Stand at all. As such, currently, Linkin Park's true ability is unknown, like all the JoJo main villain Stands are.
However, all of that shown in the fight as part of Xero's moveset will make sense when the question of what their main ability is is answered. From what I can say as I think over to the chapters planning, I believe it will be not be long before Linkin Park's ability is revealed. You just have to wait for a while, unlike how Diavolo explains King Crimson and how its time erasure works as soon as they appeared.
Oh, and if you're starting to get frustrated Xero is staying calm and composed even if he's getting hit by Rianima's attacks, you don't have to wait long before you see Xero gets knock down a peg in the next chapter. In fact, that will also reveal his and Linkin Park's biggest weakness to counterbalance their powerful ability.
Well then, time for me to finish this traditional author's notes.
See you next chapter, everyone! Please leave a review if you want! Stay safe and healthy out there and have a good day/night!