Bearticguy7: Unfortunately, Narancia is still dead. Only the Stone Ocean cast that was directly killed by Pucci has been saved.
Nice Stand though!
Jpx0999: DIO is pretty much the catalyst for all of OG JJBA, but with such a big villain, I don't want him to overstay his welcome and spoil his time in the fic. I have a concrete ending planned for him.
Euphoria: Y2K is a reflection of Kyoka's purpose in this story. The only thing I will say...is that the song was more important than you think.
Guest: KyokusJackusis more of a gag than anything, but I will say that the clues may be hidden under the surface. Thanks a bunch, and I really enjoy your theories!
Monster King: Thanks!
Bread Connoisseur: It was really the most logical way to end it, if I'm being honest.
Kasumi Kenshiro: Well, we're still pretty far off from my Jojolion sequel, and the ending of The Dark Forest arc takes place after the Barge, and Josuke is there to heal Johnny and Ochako, so I've already confirmed his survival.
Dumpstertrashfire123: Kira isn't getting a straight redemption. He will have a role to play in the sequel, but he won't necessarily be trusted...he will have a role in my version of Gappy's origin.
Which will be different from canon.
Delrosario: He probably could use Kyoka's Hamon, but he doesn't know how.
DeathlyJazzHands55: Awesome Stand, might be used soon! Also yeah, with this arc's theme of letting go of the past, it felt proper to give Jolyne closure...and the opportunity to finish the witch herself...
DIO smirked as Crazy Diamond's fist stopped in front of Kyoka's face. "Hesitating, Josuke?"
Josuke was on the verge of tears, bloodied and struggling to stand. He and Jotaro were ambushed by The World as soon as they set foot on the boat. DIO's twisted smirk on Kyoka's face was truly somethingbout of nightmares...
He couldn't raise a hand against his student...he just couldn't.
"You see, this is the Joestar Family's weakness. Your care for the people around you, friends and family...you could never imagine hurting someone you love, isn't that right Jotaro?"
"BASTARD!" Jotaro screamed, Star Platinum moving towards The World.
"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"
A series of strong kicks hit Jotaro in the chest, and he toppled overboard.
"JOTAROOO!" Josuke screamed, and angrily attempted to attack The World, but DIO simply retracted his Stand.
Once more, Josuke held himself back. "STOP DOING THAT! GIVE HER BACK!"
"Awww, are you going to cry?" DIO taunted, the vindictive sneer seeming alien on Kyoka's normally bored-looking face. "It's no use Josuke Higashikata. My plan is already in motion, it would take some kind of miracle to to stop me now. It's useless to try."
Kyoka's fist drove itself into Josuke's stomach, and he couldn't lift a finger. He refused to hurt her, even with their family's worst enemy in her body. DIO had abandoned his Stand, and was now simply attacking with Kyoka.
The cruelty of beating a mentor with his student was tantalizing.
Josuke angrily blocked a punch, determined to at least defend himself, but DIO suddenly trapped him in an armbar.
Crazy Diamond easily broke his arm free, and finally went for a punch.
I punch DIO, and I'll immediately repair it so Kyoka doesn't have to face the consequences. Or maybe I should actually beat her down? Is she still in there? Would she feel it?
I...
The memory of Kyoka smiling at him halted his fist in it's tracks.
SHIT!
"Sentiment...heheheheh..."
Kyoka's fist bashed him in the face.
"It's always sentiment." DIO said with a malicious grin. "Sentiment is what drives the Joestar family. Jonathan and his father, wife...Jotaro his mother. You, your pathetic excuse of an apprentice, your dolt of a grandfather, your whore of a mother, and those idiots you call friends."
All of this was said with his apprentice's voice.
DIOka suddenly dug her fingers into Josuke's pompadour. Josuke's eyes widened as he felt a tug.
"Most of all, your sentiment for this SHITTY, OUTDATED, COWLICK YOU CALL HAIR!"
DIO proceeded to tear Kyoka's fingers through Josuke's prized hair, grinning as Josuke stumbled back, falling against the guardrail.
For the first time in his life...Josuke wasn't angry.
He was devastated.
His long black locks fell around his face as it started to rain. Thunder crashed up in the sky as freezing drops of water thudded on the deck all around them. DIO stood above him, basking in his torment, looking down at him with Kyoka's eyes.
Josuke shakily raised his fists, looking at DIO with nothing short of pure hatred. He was fully crying now, his long, unkempt and unfurled hair making it difficult to see, but the sniffling gave it away.
"Even after all that, you still stand up. Truly...you are Jonathan's descendant." DIO said, grinning. "I basically killed your precious student and used her to torment you, and yet you still have your resolve...unless you have some vain hope that she could be saved?"
Josuke remained deathly silent, glaring at DIO through his hair.
"The silent treatment? Come on, make some pointless declaration...you Joestars always do."
"...you'll lose. Suck a fat one."
"Gladl-"
Josuke suddenly jumped off of the boat, and DIO rushed to the side...only to find that he had vanished.
"Probably punched a hole in the side and repaired it...clever devil. Still, with Jiro acting as my shield, his sentiment will take care of him for me. Now I just have to find Jotaro...because there is no way that man would be defeated so easily."
DIO smirked as he pulled out Kyoka's headphones, and transmitted a message through her speaker bullets. "Move in on the husband and the bird, trap them in you-know-where. You might find Josuke Higashikata running around, but he's in a pretty vulnerable state of mind at the moment."
"Yes Father!"
"Nothing like breaking a Joestar's spirit to start the day." DIO remarked, playfully pulling on one of Kyoka's earphone jacks.
Jolyne snaked her way out of the pipe, reforming her body...
And immediately puked.
Ugh! That was disgusting! These 't been cleaned since the fucking 80s! Still...not the worst place I've been in, it's better than the isolation cells in Green Dolphin.
She wiped her mouth and observed the area, getting to her feet.
Now...plan of action. My husband is nowhere to be found, but knowing him...he definitely survived the fall. They were spouting off warnings to Tokoyami too...he's alright.
Do I try to find them, or Kyoka first? All three are in trouble...wait...
Jolyne raised her head, her eyes widening.
This feeling from my birthmark...Dad...Uncle Josuke...they're both here! Dammit, they're going to walk straight into a trap!
Four paths, all of them could take a turn for the worse if I skip out on them. FUCK! How can I help in four places at once?!
Jolyne looked at herself in an old mirror. She had emerged from a toilet in an old men's bathroom near the cafeteria, and it showed. There were some nasty, bloody wounds around her neck, burns from Y2K. Her ponytail had come undone, and her eye was in the process of swelling shut.
"Damn...Y2K, you hit hard for a glorified PC."
Jolyne exited the bathroom, and found a sight she wasn't expecting.
Ash? It...looks like a bomb went off over here.
Jolyne examined the ash, rubbing it between her fingers, and sniffed it. "Fresh, the explosion was recent. Why were things exploding down here?" She asked herself, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
That's when she heard it.
"Tokage...she tricked meeee...she thinks she can just blow me up huh? I'll show her I can cook, I can cook way better than anyone! I'll get her to taste my food." A voice with an obviously fake Italian accent was muttering, and a large twisted figure lumbered past the door frame, causing Jolyne to hide herself.
Tokage? Isn't she Kyoka's rival? I remember hearing Johnny brag about how Kyoka kicked her ass in...unless...an ALIAS! Kyoka's soul must be somewhere in this area! It looks like finding Kyoka has to be my first course of action, since she's here somewhere.
I hope she's doing alright, horror-related stuff always got under her skin.
She would have to place her faith in the others.
Jolyne snuck around the corner, watching as what appeared to be a monstrous chef with a hole in his chest lumbered around the corner. Obviously, with a wound like that...the thing in question was some type of ghost.
Still, ghosts could be dangerous, and Jolyne was already beat up. If she could avoid a fight, she should. She waited until Chef Boyardee had disappeared around a corner, and began spreading her string in several directions.
I hope you're around here to see it, Kyoka. I need to see you again...the REAL you.
Tokoyami was nursing his stab wound, downtrodden and alone in a haunted boat. While he was by no means afraid, he was disheartened.
To think...such a horrible thing could happen to my classmate. It's...like I've been thrust into a whole new world, where we're all on a tightrope towards our future...but one misstep and we could fall off into tragedy...
How on Earth did they manage to keep their balance for this long? When the others found out about all this...about One For All, our classmates being targeted by several enemies...did they feel this way too?
We've been classmates for quite a while, and only now have I seen the true nature of what my friends have been dealing with. I...am rather frightened by all of this.
Tokoyami leaned against a support beam, and closed his eyes, recalling his conversation with Kyoka on the way up. How she was worried she wouldn't even get to see the age of 17...
What if she didn't? What if they couldn't get her body back?
He shuddered at the thought of the despair Kyoka must be feeling at the moment, but nonetheless kept trekking. He peered around a corner, and his eyes widened as a hand reached right for him.
"DAR-"
"SSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Diver Down clamped a hand around Tokoyami's beak, and a bloodied Narciso ducked around a corner as mettalic footsteps stomped towards them. A robotic looking man appeared in the hallway, his shimmering green eyes scanning the area.
Y2K slowly lumbered down the hallway, pausing once by the corner they were hiding behind, before continuing towards his destination.
Narciso waited for Y2K to get out of earshot before letting go. "What the hell were you thinking you dumbass?! Calling out an attack like that, he could've heard you!"
"Don't just grab people." Tokoyami said, annoyed. "Where's Jolyne?"
"...captured by the enemy, although knowing her, she probably found some clever way to escape. Our priority is finding her."
"Don't you think we should focus on saving Jiro? She's in a worse-"
"Jolyne first." Narciso cut Tokoyami off. "I know you're worried for your classmate, but Jolyne comes first. Not just because she's my wife and I would sacrifice anything and everything for her, but because if anyone has a plan to save Kyoko, it would be her."
"I see...you know her first name ends with an 'a', right?"
"No it doesn't, Jolyne said it was Kyoko."
"...if finding Jolyne is our goal, we should get to it before whoever that was comes back."
Narciso glared at the doorway with disdain. "He's the one who hurt Jolyne...I heard her screaming before I lost consciousness. If there is anyone dying on this boat...it will be him."
Tokoyami shuddered, recognizing the murderous intent in the man's voice. Narciso, while ultimately an ally, did have a criminal record, and he was not afraid to mutilate or murder an enemy. Honestly, if it weren't for his more selfless and slightly kinder nature, he would've been a villain.
In fact, he would've gone right back to Green Dolphin if the Speedwagon Foundation hadn't worked it's magic.
Honestly...I think we should be glad such a dangerous man is on our side...
"DIO has taken over Jiro's body, so if I can see her, it's an enemy. If only you can, it's a friend." Tokoyami said, and Narciso narrowed his eyes, taking in the information.
"Jolyne loves that girl-"
*crunch*
"I'm afraid, you'll have to do a lot more than hide behind a doorway to evade me." Y2K said, reentering the hallway. "Back when I was first incarcerated, I absorbed an X-RAY machine from the Medical Ward. I could see you."
"Why don't you come over here so we can settle this, Tin Man?" Narciso snarled. "I'll send you back to Oz in PIECES."
"Well, he did kill Pinocchio, be careful Y2K." Another voice came from the opposite end of the hallway. "He'll rip out your heart, if you still have one."
Ungalo was smirking, his beady eyes gleaming in delight as he drew his scissors.
"Scissors?"
"What, do you want me to activate my Stand, Big Bad Wolf?" Ungalo sneered, and Narciso's eyes widened, before he adopted a tense expression.
"Oh...it's you. Careful Tokoyami...this guy has a Stand...that could effect the whole world."
"Wait...WHAT?!"
Ungalo gave off a haughty laugh, waving his hand in their faces. "Aww, he doesn't remember Anasui. The only people who remember anything involving the priest and the old timeline were those who knew him, and since he was responsible for my actions that day, no one remembers my Bohemian Rhapsody. Still, I'm not going to just activate it to unleash hell like last time."
"I don't understand, who is this?!" Tokoyami said, his eyes shifting between the two villains.
"He's DIO's son. The only one other than Diego Brando that's still alive. He inherited all of his father's evil...but none of his looks." Narciso responded. "What's your game here?"
"Nothing!" Ungalo said, his eye twitching with annoyance. "I'm just here to dish out some payback for my last defeat. Y2K...care to explain where we are?"
"We are in Death Row, the most haunted place on this boat."
The Detective frowned as rifled through a few papers, Kyoka sitting in the corner behind him, never taking her eyes off of him for a second. "You know, it's hard to work like this."
"..."
"You're being ridiculous Jiro."
"No, I'm really not." Kyoka said with a glare, her lips pressed together as tight as physically possible.
"Could it be that you're projecting the stress from your current predicament onto me?" The Detective got straight to the point. "I have done nothing to indicate I am an enemy to you. In fact, I'm still helping you."
"Buddy, you're a fucking murderer, or at least you used to be. If there is any ghost I fear most, it would be you."
The Detective sighed, taking off his hat. "Josuke didn't spare you any details, did he?"
"Of course he didn't. He fought you when he was my age, he told me everything about that whole summer." Kyoka replied, watching him like a hawk. "Every single disgusting thing you ever did, murdering countless women for kicks, taking over a man's life and ruining a family, need I go on?"
"No, I believe you've made your point clear."
Kyoka continued to stare at the back of Kira's head, just waiting for a skull-plated hand to try and grab at her. She was pushing some buttons now, being careful not to overdo it. She had heard from Koichi that Kira was somewhat easy to provoke, but so far he seemed to take her criticism with a sort of melancholy acceptance.
Kira couldn't stand feeling threatened when he was alive, the fact that I could be onto him should at the very least make him sweat, right? Unless he doesn't take me seriously...
Or...maybe there's a bit more going on here, and I don't have the full story.
"There was one thing I found frustrating."
Kyoka raised an eyebrow at the Detective. "That would be?"
"Why would DIO visit the Barge, kill almost everyone inside...and then leave, without Y2K? Y2K was on this boat this whole time, never left once...so what was the point of the massacre at all? Why leave Y2K here?"
Kyoka blinked, and then realized the Detective had a point. "You're right, that just doesn't add up. Why does he still need the boat? He could've taken Y2K with him at any time...he probably intended to come back...but Jotaro killed his sorry undead ass before he could."
The Detective was about to respond, when something slithered into the room. His attention turned to it, and his eyes widened slightly as a light blue string made its way in. "A Stand ability?"
Kyoka gasped, and reached out for it, clasping it in her hand. "This string, I know it! Jolyne! JOLYNE! SHE'S OKAY!"
Tears of pure relief came out as the string gently wrapped around her hand, and Kyoka finally cracked a smile, overjoyed.
I was so worried when they didn't say your name...you were looking for me.
"Jolyne...you can hear me right?! I'm over by the medical bay!"
The string uncoiled itself from Kyoka's hand and retracted, and her jacks soon picked up the sound of worried sprinting. However...the sprinting soon turned into multiple sets of footsteps, and the next thing she knew...
Jolyne was punched straight through the wall, landing right next to her with a grunt.
"JOLYNE?!"
"*cough* What the fuck?"
A large figure emerged from the hole, it's exposed brain pulsating as it's glassy eyes focused entirely on the fallen Joestar. Drool was pouring from it's toothy mouth, and Kyoka immediately recognized what it was.
"A Nomu?!"
"JO...JO..." The Banshee stammered out, struggling with it's words. "Don't...run..."
Jolyne raised her head, and got to her feet, giving Kyoka a glace. "Kyoka...I...I know what happened. It seems as though DIO didn't want me to find you."
"Don't worry about me, you're the only one that can fight that thing right now, I'll...I'll be fine." Kyoka said, her eyes widening as she processed the state Jolyne was in. "Oh my God...your neck..."
"Kyo...ka?" The Nomu asked, in a roughly female voice. "Ji...JIRO."
The Banshee had a very visible reaction to hearing Kyoka's name, shaking with rage. "JIRO! JIIIROO! KILL JIRO!"
"It appears to have an intense grudge against you Jiro." The Detective noted. "Luckily, it cannot see or harm us."
That voice...it's the one from the recording...why is so fucking familiar?!
"JoJo...JoJo! Jiro...Jiro...kill...ME!" The Banshee snarled, and a sense of clarity came into the Nomu's eyes. "Jiro killed me! That...little BITCH! LOOOK WHAT SHE DID TO ME JOOOJOOO! LOOK AT MEEE!"
Jolyne turned a deathly shade of white, and she began trembling as soon as she realized what was really going on. She took a step back, her lips quivering as she fumbled for anything to say.
"I...was cold...I was in pain...I suffered...and then...I could...breathe...again. Something is wrong with me though...something broke inside of meee. Jolyneee, help mee!" The Banshee wheezed out. "Everything hurts! Everything...is cold! Help Mommy!"
Mommy?
Oh...
OH FUCK NO.
NONONONONO!
Kyoka thrust herself in front of the terrified Jolyne out of instinct, but quickly realized it wouldn't do much good. She herself was overcome by terror, terror of the old enemy that had been brought back to menace them once more.
Not to mention she literally couldn't do anything.
I'm on the sidelines...AGAIN! This time...I can't fight her at all. I'm helpless again!
"Susan...you fucking bitch. Why...IS IT ALWAYS YOU?!" Kyoka screamed. "Shigaraki...that crusty little fuck brought her back as a Nomu!"
The memory of Blood on the Dance Floor's wet disgusting mouth biting down on her arm struck Kyoka in an instant, and she bit her tongue to repress it.
Jolyne was at a loss for words, looking at the horrific abomination that was once her mother, a whole well full of emotions and trauma struggling to break to the surface. She had never quite gotten closure with Susan, and there was still a lot on her mind about the whole ordeal.
"I'll love you forever Jolyne."
"Where's Daddy?" A small Jolyne asked.
"Daddy is busy, but don't worry, Mommy's right here."
"That little shit was nothing but trouble from the moment Jotaro squirted him into me!"
"It's okay JoJo, your father might not come to bail you out...I'll do what I can to pay it myself. I love you."
Screaming at her mother's grave...telling her that she'd never have another ounce of love, wondering just how much her life had taken a sudden turn ever since she discovered her mother's true nature, how it conflicted with her memories of the woman who raised her.
The woman who tortured her little brother, and mangled Kyoka's arm.
Who had now returned, and was standing right in front of her, mangled beyond repair, turned into a horrific Frankenstein's monster.
"Jolyne."
Kyoka's voice cut through her thoughts, and she turned to face the ghost of her mother's killer...her brother's one and only, and one of her dearest friends.
"You're stronger than she'll ever be."
Jolyne's eyes widened slightly, Kyoka was giving her an intense, but meaningful look. Kyoka couldn't fight Susan again, she was in no position to. However, she had not lost her spirit, she had not lost her resolve. Right then and there...she was still helping, still fighting in her own way.
By empowering me.
She's right, we've come so far since this horrid clump of dogshit kicked the bucket. We've all taken steps towards the future...
Jolyne raised her arms, taking up a fighting stance, her determination shining through. "I'll help you alright...consider this my last act as your daughter...I'll help you GO STRAIGHT TO HELL, CUMMINGS!"
The Banshee paused, a look of genuine heartbreak coming onto the remains of it's face. "JoJo?"
"I will be shackled by you no longer. Johnny managed to let go of you...and now I will do the same. You were already dead to me long before Kyoka gave you what you deserved, so don't think your crocodile tears will get you anything...that is...if you have tear ducts left."
Susan did, in fact, have them.
The Banshee stood up to it's full height, revealing a large nasty scar across it's chest, and roared into the air. The High-End Nomu furiously spread it's arms, tears welling in it's eyes as it grieved over Jolyne's declaration, and what it perceived to be the ultimate betrayal.
Then, the heartbroken Nomu turned quiet, and said one last thing:
"Then I'll take you with me."
Jolyne, in a letter to Ermes:
So yeah, my brother's girlfriend was bodyjacked, and my evil mom returned as a disgusting Frankenstein thing. Her soul was still inside of her body when she was turned...believe it or not.
Souls are weird you know. Sometimes they manifest as a Stand, sometimes people don't really have one, and sometimes they stick around. Why my mother did is a mystery...Jonathan Joestar, my ancestor, was trapped in his body when DIO was using it, that's why my Uncle Giorno ended up a Joestar rather than a Brando like the rest.
Still, I'm getting off topic...I think the only time we have been this close to losing it all was Pucci...
Ermes, I was seriously scared, more scared than I have ever been in a long time. I mean, you know about all the bullshit with Cummings, you were there in prison with me...you saw how I was when her lies were starting to unfold.
I've come to the conclusion that nobody can escape the past. You've mentioned how Sports Maxx still keeps you up at night...my father still has nightmares about Egypt, Johnny still has his own problems, and me?
We're all Fifty Shades of Fucked Up.
The past is something that nobody can ever truly erase, nor should they. Kyoka was the one who taught me that we should never forget the past, so we can learn from it. To create a brighter future...we must learn to move on.
So I did. For her sake...and for mine.
"ORA!"
The Banshee unhinged it's jaw, and blasted Jolyne with what could only be described as a scream of death. Black energy hit her square in the abdomen, sending ripples across her skin.
Jolyne crashed into the wall, and coughed up a bit of blood, her eye twitching as she struggled to comprehend what hit her.
That wasn't a sound attack, she fired something from her mouth...
The Banshee shrieked again, firing another projectile, and Jolyne frantically dove to the side. She was feeling sick to her stomach, which wasn't a good sign.
"Jolynee, why do you hate mee?" The Nomu whined, swiping at her with a massive fist. "I love yoou!"
"You know damn well why. My brother didn't deserve any of the shit you put him through! You were a monster, and honestly? Becoming a Nomu is actually pretty fitting for you, a monster inside and out!"
Stone Free proceeded to punch straight into the Nomu's chest, it's fist sinking deep within. The old wound on it's chest, caused by the fatal blow dealt to Susan by Kyoka, reopened as a result.
"Your brother is evi-"
"Yare yare dawa, knock it off with that rhetoric already! We both know it's not the truth!"
The Banshee grabbed Stone Free's arm before it could push it's fist in further, and jerked it to the side.
*SNAP!*
Jolyne grimaced in pain as her own arm broke, but kept her composure.
Kyoka, meanwhile, could only watch from the sidelines as the villain she put an end to began pushing Jolyne back. That is...until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"IT'S PIZZA TIME!" Pizza Pete said, his grin spreading wider than humanly possible.
The Detective hummed as he walked straight through the rampaging Banshee, thinking to himself as he pulled out a ghost planner book. Ignoring Kyoka's scream of terror, and Pizza Pete's psychotic laughter, he began flipping through the evidence he had collected while he was staking out the boat.
So...why would DIO keep Y2K on the boat?
There had to be something about it's history that he was missing.
The Barge had a total of 56 executions, several of them by electric chair, not to mention the several suicides near Y2K's cell...this whole place reeks of death and despair. Why on Earth would DIO need it though? Why keep the boat intact? Why leave it here to fester and rot?
It was a backup plan of his, right? It came second to the one with Enrico Pucci...
The calamity?
"WILL YOU QUIT WRITING IN THAT THING AND FUCKING HELP ME?!" Kyoka screamed, running past him while Pizza Pete chased her with a pizza cutter.
"No. Not when I've almost cracked it! If you could keep your yelling to a minimum for a moment, it would be greatly appreciated." The Detective responded.
The calamity! This is a place of misfortune and misery...MISFORTUNE! Bringing such a place towards an ongoing calamity would undoubtedly strengthen it! That's why he left Y2K here, to guard it! That's why he still needs the boat itself!
The Barge is DIO's final touch to the disaster occurring in the mainland, it will add to the calamity, the tortured souls on this boat could end up being released, Y2K will unleash an EMP to knock out most of Japan...
It will be an apocalyptic scenario.
Kyoka had said that DIO did not pull out any stops, and it would appear that she was correct.
"JOLYYYNE!"
The Banshee screamed out in anguish, clawing in a desperate attempt to grab hold of her daughter, but Jolyne hit her mother in the face with a roundhouse.
"Stop talking and die already, you old hag!"
Instead, the Banshee's skin began turning a dark shade of grey, and it's eyes went completely white. Wings sprouted from it's back, and it flew towards Jolyne in a rage, slamming her against the wall.
"UGH!"
Great...she flies now.
Stone Free, however, had already unfurled a number of strings, and a few of them unscrewed a rusty vent cover from the ceiling. With a yank, she pulled it into the back of Susan's skull...but the metal simply bent around her head.
Kicking out, she separated herself from her mother and used Stone Free to pull herself down the hallway.
A Nomu...a High End too. She's going to regenerate no matter how hard I hit her, and she has a body to rival All Might's. Stone Free can keep up in terms of strength...
It looks like a hit to the skull is my best chance.
Once more, Jolyne felt sick to her stomach, and the Banshee grew slightly bigger. Jolyne observed this, narrowing her eyes.
That scream she hit me with. It did something to me, and it's making her stronger.
"You remember...when I stole a car...and you tried to call Dad, but he was leaving for Tokyo? You remember that?"
The Banshee paused, and then slowly nodded, drool pouring out of it's mouth.
"How did it feel, lying right to my face? You looked at me with so much love back then...I thought the world of you...and you were lying to me."
The Nomu couldn't make any expressions, but it had ceased it's attack.
Good...get closer.
"Johnny..."
"Don't pull that bullshit. You never truly believed Johnny was evil, you were just making up some fucking excuse for how you treated him. To justify it. Am I wrong?"
"..."
"You were Quirkless before you got Blood on the Dance Floor, you were mistreated, and you had a miscarriage on top of it. The only time you ever felt special was when you married Dad, but he wasn't around...so you needed to feel bigger than somebody. My brother was born with his Stand, so you naturally bullied him instead of me, when I got mine in prison."
"..."
"You were JEALOUS OF YOUR OWN SON!"
The Banshee snarled, Jolyne had struck gold.
"Don't you feel shame? Then again there probably isn't much left of you, only a few fleeting memories and your black heart. In another life...I would've felt bad for you." Jolyne said, all the while trying to discern what the Banshee did to her. "I would've helped you...because you were my mother, and there was a time where I truly loved you...but you've proven yourself beyond any hope of redemption."
Stone Free's fist suddenly struck her dead mother's head from the side, causing blood to spurt out of her exposed brain.
"No matter how bad you had it, you're still a steaming pile of shit!"
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"
Stone Free bashed the Banshee several times in the face, sending the High End Nomu reeling, shrieking in pain as pieces of brain matter flew everywhere.
This undead freak still has my mother's memories, so using her past against it was enough to get it to hesitate. Jolynethought, the sickness in her stomach worsening. That wasn't enough to kill it though. It took Endeavor using his ultimate move to finish one of these off.
This feeling...that energy...
The Banshee unhinged it's jaw once more, and let out a large shriek.
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
This time, Jolyne saw the attack.
Those are hands! Shadow hands! With a loud scream designed to disorient the victim so they'd be blind to the real danger!
An Emitter class Quirk, shadow hands that steal vitality from their intended target. It's sole purpose is to benefit it's user with the energy stolen from others. With a voice projection Quirk, it is designed to mimic the omen of death told by a Banshee's scream.
Jolyne managed to dodge the hands, now wise to the trick, and spat out some saliva.
I'm already exhausted from my fight with Y2K, and my time in the cell. I can't take too many hits from that, or I might just die!
*Jolyne's Letter*
I did research on her, you know.
After she died...I tried to make sense of the whole thing. Cummings never abused me...at least that's what I thought. She never hit me or anything, but she did manipulate me.
My mother was a Narcissist, genuinely. In retrospect...she had all the signs...
Lack of empathy.
Some weird sense of self-importance.
Textbook manipulation.
She tried so hard to justify herself, she invented narrative after narrative to make herself look like the good guy. She was incapable of taking accountability.
A desire to prove herself superior to her own son, because he was born with powers, while she was not.
She had a golden child...and a scapegoat child. Narcissists sometimes see themselves in a certain child, and since I was also born Quirkless...she deflected all blame, all punishment, onto Johnny.
Cummings was a manipulative narcissist, she knew exactly what to say in order to make you believe her...or to bring you down. It is no wonder why when Blood on the Dance Floor manifested, it utilized the power of her words.
Her narcissism was challenged once her lies started unraveling, and it turned into something FAR worse. She went from a piece of shit to a fucking monster.
Sometimes...I still mourn the woman I thought I knew...because now I know that she truly never existed. All she was...was a fucking parasite.
Kyoka rushed into the kitchen, and attempted to grab one of the knives, only for her hand to go right through it.
"Fuck me sideways..."
"HEE HEE HEE HEE! I CAN SMEEELLL YOU!" Pizza Pete called from the cafeteria, and Kyoka gritted her teeth in dismay.
I need to think of something, fast! Would my jacks be able to hurt him? Can I even hurt him?! I need to breathe in order to use Hamon, and ghosts don't do that!
Think Kyoka, think! There's a psychotic cannibal ghost after you, how can you outsmart him?
Kyoka blinked.
"Wait a minute..."
The musician seemed to notice her environment for the first time, and she began to smirk as a plan formed in the back of her mind.
Pizza Pete burst into the kitchen, holding a heated frying pan and a couple of rusted forks. His eyes had rolled all the way back in his head, and his chest wound was gushing at this point. He began to cackle, searching the area for his quarry.
"Pulling another disappearing act? Good! Petey loves to play hide and seek!"
The demented chef began searching the kitchen, his heavy footsteps echoing on the old floor.
"It appears as though...you'll be staying for dinner after all!"
Pizza Pete threw a knife in the crack of the kitchen doorway, sealing the exit. If Kyoka even attempted to exit the kitchen, the knife would either keep the door shut, or alert Pete to her prescence.
He opened a rotting cupboard, and pulled out the most ancient tomato known to man.
A ghost tomato. A fucking ghost tomato.
"Wheeeeen the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie,
That's amore!"
*CHOP!*
Pete violently chopped into the ghost tomato, his expression turning deadly for the briefest of moments, before resuming his creepy smile.
"When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine,
That's amore!"
*SLAM!*
He had seen a shape dart from the corner of his eye, and had punched a cupboard in an attempt to get Kyoka, but there was no one there. The splintered rotten wood crumbled away, leaving Pete in silence.
Then he continued to prepare the pizza and the singing.
"Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling,
And you'll sing "Vita bella",
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay,
Like a gay tarantella."
Another ounce of movement caused him to pause, but he continued to cook, turning on the oven...revealing himself to be a Poltergeist in the process.
"When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasul,
That's amore!"
He took out a bag of mostly ghost cheese, and began kneading dough that looked more like mummified flesh.
Pete grinned when he heard a stifled gag.
"When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet,
You're in looooove!
When you walk in a dream but you know you're not,
Dreaming signore."
More movement caused Pizza Pete to look at the cupboard he just destroyed, and saw a small note scribbled in the ghost dough:
-:-
I hope your food is better than your singing.
-:-
Pete's left eye twitched, and he began singing slightly louder.
"Scuzzi me, but you see, back in old Napoli,
That's AMORE!"
*SWISH!*
He swiped at the air behind him with a pizza cutter, having seen Kyoka casually leaning on the counter, only to hit nothing but air once more.
"You're very good at this! You can't hide from ol' Petey forever though...hee hee heee!"
Suddenly, several mutilated corpses dressed in waiter outfits rose up from the ground while Pete was cackling.
"WHEEEEEEN THEEEE moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie,
That's amore!"
Now he had a fucking chorus.
"When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine,
That's amore!"
One of the waiters was suddenly ripped under the counter, and an audible cry was heard before it was abruptly silenced. Kyoka was stealthily picking off the chorus before they could find her.
"Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling,
And you'll sing "Vita bella!"
Another dead waiter went down. Pete was dancing along to the tune, keeping a subtle eye on the commotion. A jack had shot up from a vent, and had yanked one of the waiters into it. Since they were all ghosts here, Kyoka was able to fight back, and was doing so effectively.
It didn't matter, as long as he could keep the...toppings...for the pizza in the room with him. He had a feeling her jacks could make a substitute for spaghetti noodles.
Humming, he took an old pit he was boiling sea water in, and proceeded to pour it down the vent.
"Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay,
Like a gay tarantella!"
"Lucky Fella!" Pete exclaimed, patting himself on the back and grinning as he heard a yelp.
Then he thought twice, and realized it wasn't Kyoka's voice, but rather one of his "waiters" (victims). She had used him as a shield.
"When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasul,
That's amore-WAAAAUGH!"
The last waiter went down, and there was finally silence. Pete chuckled, taking a large kitchen knife from the cupboard, and began inching his way towards the area where the waiters were being taken out. He found his former victims on the floor, no sign of Kyoka.
"All of you are useless. I give you one job, and Tokage takes you out! Oh well...you'll find that I am not so easy to catch off guard...I have your scent! I-"
*jab*
"YAAAAAAAAAAAGH! MAMMA MIAAAAAA!" Pete screamed as two earphone jacks went directly into his eyes. One of the waiters rolled over, revealing a certain purplette underneath.
"I hid myself under your goons, hope you don't mind."
"IMMA GONNA KILL YOU!"
"We're both ghosts, that won't work."
Pizza Pete began blindly swinging the knife around, screaming a series of Italian-sounding gibberish, but Kyoka simply dodged the blinded poltergeist.
"Besides...I was just waiting for you to use your poltergeist shit to turn the oven on."
Kyoka pulled out a small lighter, grinning.
"Glad I saw the Detective holding this first, so I knew I could too. You must not be a very good chef if you don't care about basic kitchen safety...the kitchen is the most hazardous part of the household!"
Kyoka chucked the lighter towards the gas stove, and took cover behind a counter.
Pizza Pete proceeded to swing his knife directly into a blast of flame, which also blew the door to the kitchen wide open. Taking her chance, she bolted towards it and slammed it shut.
"AAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE! IT BURNS! AAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
Through the dusty window in the door, Kyoka watched the demonic chef start to crumble away, the fire demolishing his manifestation and turning it into ash. His mustache and yellow laughing grin being the last thing she ever saw of him.
The waiters all got to their feet in the fire, their wounds healing, and Kyoka watched as they were washed with a golden light...finally finding peace now that their tormentor was ashes.
"Fatti cuocere all'inferno, douchebag."
The Banshee staggered back as Stone Free pummeled it, holes being punched through it's body. Blood splattered everywhere, from both mother and daughter, as the two fought for dominance.
The Nomu let out another scream, grabbing ahold of Stone Free's arm and flapping it's wings to the side, slamming through a wall, sending dust and debris flying. Jolyne was tossed into a cell block, and stood up, panting as she fought to regain her energy.
I'm losing stamina, and she's only gaining it. I think she might actually be worse than the Nomu that Endeavor fought...if he had fought her instead, he wouldn't have had enough energy to pull of that Prominence Burn.
She regenerates...and steals your energy while she does it. The longer you fight her, the stronger she gets, by leeching off of you.
Just like how she was when she was alive. A fucking leech.
Jolyne spat out blood, and began formulating a plan.
"ORA!"
Another blow to the head, and this time a shell emerged to protect it just in time. Just like the wings, Susan's body had mutated to defend her.
My theory was correct.
It's Death Scream steals stamina, and uses that stamina to trigger an Adaptation Quirk. Her body will change and grow stronger, but it needs stamina to do it. So it steals the stamina from the victim.
If she gets tired, her mutations will weaken, and she'll be vulnerable.
Jolyne barely managed to dodge a shadow hand, fighting through her exhaustion. She stumbled, catching a prison bar to prevent herself from falling, and threw her head backwards just as the Banshee's fist grew larger, and slammed into the cell door.
The creature's chest and abdominal region began to swell.
Oh...
She adapted the scream!
Jolyne let out a yell as a wave of inky black death washed over the entire area.
"It's a US Government conspiracy!" Ungalo said, grinning as he twirled his scissors around his finger. "The Barge was top secret! Sure, they sent criminals here, but they also imprisoned those who they deemed too dangerous for society, no matter how innocent they were."
If Y2K was bothered by this, he didn't show it. His face remained in it's neutral state, robotic, doll-like.
"Poor Tommy Boy here used to have a normal life, just like all the other mindless brainwashed fucks in this world. One encounter with All For One later...he's a fucking tool. I mean, look at him! Is he blinking? I don't think he's blinking!"
Y2K then blinked.
"Oh sure, blink out of spite."
"It is simply a bodily function to keep my eyes moistened, you were just looking at me when I wasn-"
"-I bet you must think you're the good guy, don't you Bird Boy? Falco, can I call you Falco?" Ungalo asked, interrupting Y2K and pointing the scissors at Tokoyami. "The truth is, YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM!"
"Seeking to help others is not a problem-" Tokoyami began, but was cut off.
"Ah ah ah! NOPE! WRONG! Heroes are pro-establishment, pro-government! HEROES SENT INNOCENT PEOPLE TO THIS BOAT!" Ungalo ranted, his beady eyes budging in frantic excitement. "You can convince yourself that you're the good guy all you want, but the truth is that you're only going to be serving the establishment! Unless of course...Father takes over and rewrites the status quo!"
"I would never send an innocent person here!" Tokoyami retorted, sending a fierce glare Ungalo's way. "Even if what you say is true, your father is probably planning far worse."
"You ever hear of the SCP Foundation? This whole operation was kinda like that!"
"Is he even listening to us?" Tokoyami asked.
"No...no I'm pretty sure he's high." Narciso responded.
"AM I WRONG THOUGH?! AM I WRONG?!" Ungalo waved his arms in the air, angrily stomping his foot. "This world is nothing but garbage, 'heroes' are garbage! There is nothing that isn't tainted! Which...is why I'm going to enjoy this."
Y2K lifted a hand, and the metal door closed behind him, the metal pressing together and groaning, twisting into something that can no longer be opened.
"We're sealing you in here, with the people who were wronged by this pathetic society you're trying to protect!" Ungalo said, backing towards the other door with a DIO-esque grin on his face. "Poetic justice, the murderer and the delusional dreamer...and victims of the establishment ready to tear the both of you apart-"
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Y2K had suddenly pushed Ungalo out of the way, as a massive wave of black inky shadow hands punched through the wall, ripping through the metal. Ungalo stared in shock as Y2K, Thomas Praxton, took the hit without hesitation.
When the dust settled...
There was a massive hole through the side of the entire boat.
Thinking fast, Narciso grabbed Tokoyami and sprinted through the hole, seizing the opportunity to escape the death trap. He heard Ungalo give a half-hearted shout in response, but he didn't care.
Something powerful was on this boat...and it unleashed it's power for a reason.
DIO let out a gasp as the entire Barge rocked back and forth, grabbing onto the rail.
"What in the Hell? The Banshee...Jolyne Kujo must have given her mother quite the challenge... damn it all, she damaged the boat!"
Smoke was billowing out of the lower levels, and the remains of the Banshee's massive scream were fading into the ocean. Water was already pooling into the hole in the side of the boat, and DIO gritted Kyoka's teeth.
The Barge was going to sink...and it appeared as though there was now a fire.
As long as we get to land, we can still pull this off. I'll have Y2K try to repair the leakage...I say we have about a few hours at most. Susan...as always...has proven to be a hindrance to all parties.
DIO winced in pain, rubbing Kyoka's ear with a look of disdain on her face.
I was also not aware that Jiro's body was in the process of changing...although this is only an annoyance, considering it will wither away in a few hours.
It served it's purpose anyway.
Looking at the damage once more, the fire spreading, it sent chills down DIO's spine. It was all too reminiscent of his final fight with Jonathan Joestar.
Jotaro grunted as he peered into the smoking hole in the side of the boat, and found a large Nomu standing in the center of it, panting as smoke emanated from it's body. It's wings flapped irritatingly, and a bone shell around it's head snapped it's pointy teeth.
Then...the wings fell off, and so did the shell.
Blood on the Dance Floor flickered to life behind it, fading in and out as it snarled. Jotaro's eyes widened in shock as the Nomu slowly turned towards him, the Stand grinning.
The Nomu had tears running down it's face, tears of a mother who had just murdered her own daughter...
At least, that's what she thought.
The floor beneath her began to shift, tiles going this way and that, and began moving backwards. The Banshee attempted to move forward, back the floor was moving it back.
From beneath the floor, Jolyne began to speak.
"Reawakening your Stand is a shock, I guess that means that your soul is still in there. Good, I want to look you in the eye."
Jolyne's head emerged from the ground, glaring at the Nomu as she began to explain.
"You still have my stamina you see, so I had to figure out a way to tire you out. I only pretended to stumble earlier, so I could make a hole in the floor while you weren't looking."
Stone Free's strings had been tied together, and around pieces of the floor, and were now rotating in a circle.
"You like the makeshift treadmill? Good! I'll speed it up then!"
The pieces of the floor moved faster and faster, and Blood on the Dance Floor attempted to claw at them to sever the string, with no luck. The Banshee tripped, slamming it's face into the rotating floor, and did a frontward somersault...
Right into Star Platinum's grip.
"...of all the situations I thought I'd find you in...it had to be her. Jolyne, are-"
"I'm fine, tired as hell, but I'm feeling pretty damn good...thanks for coming for me." Jolyne said with a smile, emerging from the floor and recalling Stone Free to reassemble beside her. "It's nice to have a real parent here to help make things right."
Jotaro raised his eyebrows, and then gave his daughter a smirk.
"You know I'd come running any time you need me."
Kyoka had wandered into the room at this point, in an argument with the Detective, only to find the Banshee, more specifically Blood on the Dance Floor, staring right at her with a look of pure hatred.
The purplette blinked, and then slowly raised up her middle finger, a grin forming on her face.
Jolyne looked back at Kyoka, and then at her mother. "I could give you several 'fuck yous' from all over the world for what you did to us...but I think a good old fashioned Kujo beatdown will have to suffice. Stay in the ground this time...or better yet...the ocean."
Star Platinum and Stone Free both raised their fists...
The Banshee made one last attempt to scream, but it had lost it's Quirks upon Susan's reawakening.
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"
Each punch was everything they had, for every time she had hurled abuse Johnny's, or anyone else's way.
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!
OOORAAAAAAAH!"
With a final punch, Susan's bloody remains were thrown into the ocean...
Jolyne stared at the ocean, her father by her side, as a weight was lifted from her shoulders. For the first time in months, she felt like she was truly on the right path. The anchor holding her down had been cut, and unlike Susan, who was sinking to the murky abyss that was the past, never to be seen again...
Jolyne had broken to the surface, with her father, brother, future-sister-in-law, and her husband all reaching for her hand. She was no longer drowning, no longer being burdened by her mother's actions.
She was now finally free from that stone ocean, and was swimming towards the future.
"Josuke was...what?" Kyoka asked softly, her eyes wide with horror.
"Beaten, humiliated...his hair ruined, and as of right now missing in action." Jotaro said, grimly hanging his head. "He couldn't raise a finger against you...well, your body anyway."
Kyoka was frozen for a few seconds, her normally pale face turning red with fury. Without another word, she screamed at the top of her lungs, and punched the wall as hard as she could.
"Kyoka...easy..." Jolyne attempted to calm her friend down, but Kyoka wasn't having it.
"EASY?! He...this is my fault! Josuke wouldn't have been...he wouldn't..."
"Why the hell would it be your fault?" Jotaro asked.
"I fell for DIO's trap! I just had to investigate, I had to stick my nose into this mess because I heard my name on a fucking recording, and I played right into his hands! If I hadn't been such an idiot..."
"DIO is one of the craftiest bastards out there." Jotaro responded, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I was only a year older than you when I fought him last...and it was a desperate struggle for survival. I didn't overpower him...and I barely outsmarted him. In fact...the only reason I won...was because he had gotten too cocky."
"In other words...I don't even stand a chance."
"Kyoka-"
"I...I need some time to be alone." Kyoka muttered, and retreated around a corner, sitting down and holding her knees to her chest.
"Nice going Dad, you made her feel so much better."
The Detective hummed to himself, watching Kyoka carefully. Her body posture, her eyes...they told him all he needed to know about the situation.
The news of her mentor's defeat at her own hands...had dealt a blow that would be hard to recover from. Despite the damage to the boat, DIO was still on top...and she was still below him...he was still ten steps ahead, and she had barely taken one.
Kyoka Jiro was losing hope.
I'm back!
I was taking a bit of a break, and I ended up writing this long ass chapter to make up for it. In other news...my Diego Brando spinoff, A Legacy to Build, may be in the process of being handed over to another author.
With the main story, and my crossover with DeathlyJazzHands55's story called A Dynamite to Laserbeam (READ IT), I haven't found the time for Diego's group.
The story will still come from my account, but an IRL friend of mine will be the author. This is subject to change, and it might not end up happening, but I'm not giving up on it!
