Salutations. I've altered the way I do perspective shifts which I will attempt to standardize going forward. If it hasn't already happened, I plan to go back to previous chapters and make adjustments.

x.X.x =Typical perspective shift from one character to another.

x-Past-x = The perspective here is showing a past event (Possibly through the eyes of a character)

x-Dream-x = This is a dream sequence. Someone is dreaming.

(Meanwhile)

Josuke watched from behind the open door as Fran, the pudgy fellow he who's neck he had nearly broken enacted his plan.

"There's been a meeting called on the brig. Captain's orders."

"Tell that cunt I don't take orders from the help," A man with dark skin sneered back. He was one of two people who had been assigned to watch over the hostages.

"Tell him yerself, you fuck," Fran yelled back. It was a calculated jibe.

"What the hell did you say to me you short fat prick? I'll mess you up!"

Acting the coward well (perhaps because it was true), Fran made as if to run out the doorway, only slowing down as he passed by Josuke. The man he had insulted wasn't far behind, and the moment he passed through the door, Crazy Diamond gave him a well-placed strike to the temple, shaking his brain, and causing instant unconsciousness.

At this point, there was no need to hide. Josuke casually walked into the boiler room, while C.D. tore a small hunk of iron from the hatch frame, quickly rolling the ore into a ball with its invisible hand.

"W-Who the hell are you?!" the other gangster yelled as he reached for his firearm.

The children they were guarding, all kids Josuke knew personally, gave out muffled cries as they spotted him walk through the door, their mouths having been taped shut.

Before the guard could even begin firing at him, C.D. flicked the hunk of iron it had torn toward the man's gun, hitting the weapon with such force that it went flying just as Josuke closed the distance between them, nailing the man in the gut with such a powerful punch that his eyes rolled back into his head as darkness overtook his vision. Josuke didn't even bother catching him as he fell prone onto the floor.

Wasting no time, Josuke rushed to the kids, gently tearing off the duct tape across their mouths while Crazy Diamon effortlessly used its strength to pinch apart the ropes that had tied the children to the engine room's piping. He was immediately waylayed by the children who grasped onto him for dear life, his familiar person a sense of relief and overwhelming comfort.

"H-Hey, guys! Calm down, I'm right here-"

"We knew you'd come!"

"I was so scared!"

"Ms.A said you'd come for us!"

That last line immediately caught Josuke's attention. "Coco, where is she, did they put her in another cabin?"

"She's not…with us," Moss said, downtrodden, "That guy, Muska. He put us here with bombs to threaten her. She and Leez are in the other ship…I-I'm sorry," he said, tears filling his eyes, "I-I really wanted to save us…"

Josuke put a comforting hand on the young man's pompadour before gently ruffling the boy's hair. "It's all right. I'm here now," he said with a calm smile that masked his own inner turmoil. I guess Sen was right.

Coco's cloth, still somewhat under the effects of C.D's restoration, slowly floated toward the Moss's pocket.

Spotting the floating fabric, Kenny nudged Jin who took out a similar, if larger, rag from his coat pocket, which began to float toward Josuke's piece, becoming one as stitch after stitch repaired themselves in the air.

Josuke realized that Coco must have torn the pieces in such as way as to ensure the clue she had left would lead him not to her, but to her students. Even kidnapped, she had been thinking of their well-being.

I can't let her sacrifice be in vain, Josuke realized. "Everyone, dry your tears. We're getting out of here."

x-Past-x

(Seven Years Ago…)

Muska waited on a makeshift bench a few feet from the Canyon. Most parents didn't want their children anywhere near Junkanyon on account of a multitude of good reasons such as the risk of falling, the innumerable sharp implements, or the general danger of the area. Muska and Mikkelo had no such parents.

Six years ago, their mother, a woman named Angela, a drunken whore whose best years had been far far behind her, had finally overdosed and died, leaving her twin sons all alone in the world. Alone….save for her.

Coco was what gave their lives meaning. She had spoken with her grandmother, getting strings pulled so that they wouldn't be evicted from their home. She had even gone so far as to arrange something of an education for them, an extreme privilege considering most parents preferred their children immediately begin working as soon as possible.

Was it any surprise that over the years, childhood friendship would blossom into adolescent infatuation, or that that amorous curiosity would, in turn, transform into love?

Muska wanted to be with her, protect her, be her shield and sword. Her light in her darkest moments. So why was it…why was it that he had seen THAT!?

After a few minutes, Muska heard the footsteps and familiar heavy breathing of his brother, out of breath from having run up the hill.

"*huff**huff*...Muska! Thank god you're ok! We've been all over town looking for you."

"I was busy."

"You didn't *huff*...You didn't let me or anyone else know….Four days…Where've you been?"

"Oh here and there. Just finished up my business on the Pier. I'll be shipping out end of the Month?"

"...So you're really gonna do it? Join a mob?"

"Only path left for me now, I think," Muska said with a faux smile.

"That's not true. Granny's already said you could work in the budget office. You're good with numbers, Muska. You won't make as much sure, but you'll be here, with us."

Muska's smile fell almost into a scowl. Us, what did he mean by us?! "You think?"

"Of course! I know Coco wouldn't want you going off to who knows where. You know people like us are the first to die, Mu. They don't care about us, and without a way to call, how would we know if anything happened to you?"

"Heh…Maybe you're right."

"That's what I wanna hear, bro," Mikkelo said elated, " Think it over an-"

"Maybe I'll finally confess to Coco."

Silence. Why did Mikkelo look so confused and caught off guard? But Muska knew the answer because he had seen it.

"Why so silent, Mick? You're the one who's always told me I needed a backbone. Don't you think I should go for it?"

"Muska…I,"

"I mean you've always encouraged me to lay my feelings out. I thought you'd be happy for me."

"Muska…I and Coco, we've been-"

"Seeing each other. I figured."

"You…figured?"

"I mean what else should I assume when I walk past her house and see you two on the fucking sofa with your tongue down her fucking throat!"

Too stunned to immediately speak, realization suddenly seemed to dawn on Mikkelo's face, "Four days ago…So you saw us, and that's when you disappeared. Muska I… it's not like we didn't want to tell you, we were just waiting for the right time."

"To tell me that you two were fucking?"

"What? No!...we decided to wait until we were married. Muska, look, I'm sorry you found out that wah blahblah blah blah blah baaalah blah? Blah-blah? Blah-blah?

Married! They were getting married?! But…but that wasn't how things were supposed to go. He and Coco were supposed to be a couple. Mikkelo would be his best man, and eventually, the best uncle a man could have asked for. Why was this happening? What was this shit running down his eyes and cheeks? His vision was getting blurry.

Am I crying, Muska mused. I think I am, but why? Oh right. My brothers getting married. I should be happy, right?

Right? Right? right? …right… Right!

why me… right… Aren't I happy for him

right!? Haha! Riiiiight! but I loved her

Rightyohhhhh! too sloowwww

Rightright he has your face

why would you do this too me…

"Bla-blah?" A noise said.

Who was that sound? What was speaking to him?

"Muska! Muska, are you all right?" Mikkelo said shaking his shoulders.

"Why would you…why would you do this to me?" his simple reply.

Guilt wracked Mikkelo's face as he seemed to process Muska's question. "It's not like…she didn't know, Muska."

What was that? Why did he suddenly feel so cold?

"She knew you had a crush on her, but she thought that was all it was."

"But you knew my feelings ran deeper, how I felt about her!" Muska spat. When had he gotten so close to his brother? Their faces were inches apart.

"I did," Mikkelo replied solemnly, "but did you ever consider that I loved her too? That maybe I didn't want to see her with someone else. When she confessed to me I…I thought about saying no. But I didn't want to deny her feelings. No, I didn't want to deny my feelings!"

His brother continued to speak, but Muska couldn't hear him. His words sounded like the white noise of a broken-down television or radio. After a few words, he started crying while he continued to talk.

I'm sorry? No, he wasn't. Who was this man? The man who stared back at him had a similar face, maybe. But it was obstructed by hundreds of black lines. Like a child had angrily scribbled over a face in a photograph.

A few more seconds and Muska felt hands, then arm. The same hands that had shaken him earlier. What was it saying to him? Love you? No, it didn't. Why were those hands wrapped around him? Why was his shirt wet? Was it…crying? Why should it be? It won, and Muska hadn't even realized there had been a race to begin with.

Stop it! Stop it! Stop hugging me. What are you? He needed Mikkelo, his brother always had his back. What was this thing?

Muska reached into his right pocket and slowly felt for and grasped the handle of the handgun he had been given earlier. But why?

Dragging it out of his pocket, he slowly brought it to the ribcage of the thing that was holding him and fired.

*Pow!*

Time seemed to move slowly as the thing fell. Where was his brother when he needed him? It was crying, saying something in its staticy language as tears ran down its face and it coughed up blood. "zzz-hy? zzzz-uska?"

*Pow!**Pow!**Pow!*

It twitched a bit as its eyes glazed over. Guilt immediately washed over Muska's body as he fell to his knees and screamed. Someone had killed his brother.

He needed to get help. He needed to call someone. But why was he covered in blood, and who the fuck was this dead guy with his face? Who had scribbled on his face?

Muska slowly rose from his knees before dragging the body by its feet to the edge of the gorge. As he dropped himself into the canyon dead eyes looked back at himself accusingly.

Hah. Good one bro, Muska thought, Splat!

He needed to get cleaned up and get to bed. Mikkelo wouldn't believe the crazy dream he'd tell when he woke up.

Then tomorrow came, and life passed like a blur. The mafia he had signed on to easily provided him an alibi, not that anyone had truly suspected Mikkelo's best friend, his only family, his brother.

A week later the body was found torn apart by scrap and mangy animals. A few more days passed for the funeral, which Muska arranged. His entire sign-up bonus was spent to give his brother the best send-off in the St. Elna cathedral.

Muska had no issues playing the shocked bereaved brother because it was true. Someone had murdered his Mikkelo, and he still couldn't believe it. That she would so brazenly cry over what remained of his body, dressed all in black.

How could you, Coco? Muska thought as he watched her from afar, weeping over her lover's body. How could you do this to him? To us? I'll forgive you though. Mickey would want me to.

x.X.x

(Back in the present)

"So you killed Mikkelo because you couldn't stand the idea that I wasn't with you. Muska, how could you?"

"I didn't kill him! Weren't you listening, Co? You! You killed him!"

"He was so worried about you," Coco said, tears beginning to fill her eyes, " I was so worried about you…"

"It didn't have to happen. None of this had to happen. Why did you accept his feelings? Why couldn't you accept mine? Why couldn't you have waited for me?!" Muska screamed, his voice almost pleading.

"You're wrong," Coco began, "He never confessed to me. I confessed to him. He accepted my feelings, Muska. I proposed to him!" She spat with venom.

Her confession struck her old friend like a rock through a glass window. Yet there was no satisfaction to be had in watching his face shatter at the revelation. Mikkelo, her precious Micky who dreamed of teaching children, the dream she had continued, was still dead. Killed by the possessive rage of his sibling. Someone she had looked to like a brother of her own. Why had this happened?

"You bitch! You whore!" he spat, tears trailing down his own eyes now, "You…I…You!"

His pistol was shaking but still pointed toward her. Would he shoot? Should she care? Images of Leez, her children, Gran and Sen…and Josuke blurred through her mind. No, she didn't want to die. She wanted to live, together with everyone, with Josuke.

I never really did tell him how I felt, Coco realized. She hoped he knew.

Muska's hand steadied, his finger on the trigger never quite completing its lethal pull. Yet at the same time, was a hair closer each squeeze. Even if she resolved herself to live, could she? With the circumstances as they were, there would have to be some kind of miracle.

Buzzzz! Buzzzz! Buzz!

Coco was just as surprised as Muska to hear the odd alarm chime in from the speakers above.

"Senor Primo! Isa me, A'toni. I bring, how you barbaro say, Stufato? The broccoli and the manzo. Caldo how you like, si!"

Bewildered by the unexpected visit, Muska walked toward his desk, gun, and eyes still trained on Coco.

"I'm busy, Toni," he said pushing a button, "Come by later."

"Non è buono, Primo," the foreigner replied, "the food will cold, seno-"

"I said 'I'm busy,' Toni!" Muska chided, "Leave before you make me slit your throat you Napolion son-of-a-slag!"

There was a few seconds of quiet before the man, this Toni, deigned to reply, his voice straining worry, "Non ti senti bene? I check on you, Primo."

"No! I said-,"

But the cabin hatch opened regardless of anything Muska had been planning on saying, revealing a man in disheveled chef's attire, complete with apron and hat. He was pushing a rather ornate cart covered in a white cloth glistening with silver cutlery and an enormous serving tray, the kind you saw in old cartoons that might reveal an extravagant dish.

Unfortunately, Toni didn't get a chance to show off his work, for as soon as he was no more than two steps into the room, Muska let loose a bullet toward the man's head.

*Pow!*

The chef's hat went flying, but thankfully no gore coated either the walls or hallway.

"Why is no one listening today!?" Muska seethed, "I told you to leave, Toni. You know what, I don't feel like dealing with you right now," he said reaching for his walkie-talkie. "Scotch, Wiskey, are you done with the girl? Get back here now. I need you two to deal with this goddamned chef!"

Silence.

"Scotch, are you there!?" Muska yelled, clearly unused to being ignored.

While all this happened, Coco noticed several odd things happening around her. The chef, Toni, who had ducked the bullet and remained near the door looked unworried. Nervous perhaps, but there was no panic in his eyes as Muska cussed out orders for his death. The second oddity was that the cart he had walked into the cabin with hadn't stopped, instead moving forward, perhaps propelled by the chef's panicked thrust until it slowly sat in the center of the room.

Then all hell broke loose as a gunshot, not from Muska, rang out throughout the cabin.

*Blam!*

In less than a second, Muska went from profaning into his com to clutching his foot in pain. Coco's heart sunk then rose in elation as silverware went flying along with the cart as Sen thrust herself away from her hiding place.

Her sister was here, which meant Jojo could be here, Coco realized. But any happiness she had from that realization was cut short when she spotted Muska from the corner of her eye, fighting through his pain to point his pistol toward Sen. Coco's body just moved.

"Sis, we gotta go no-"

Sen didn't finish her sentence as Coco tackled her, their coiled bodies just barely dodging the bullet.

Muska fired several more shots from odd angles on account of his splayed position, none catching either her or her sister. Despite this, Coco was hesitant to immediately get up while there was gunfire. It was the man with the funny accent who came to their rescue.

Coco heard a metallic crash which was followed by a groan of pain from Muska. Daring to look up, she saw Toni immediately rush over to her wasting no time pulling both she and her sister to their feet.

"Fuggire, ladies! We must go, subito!"

Coco didn't argue with the man as they ran out of the room. To her unexpected delight, she was immediately tackled by Leez who had been waiting outside, fingers in her ears, eyes full of tears. The poor girl must have been trying so hard not to scream.

"I was so worried, Ms. A!" Leez said as she buried herself into Coco, hugging her for dear life.

"No chitchat, Amores! Mossa mossa!" Toni reminded as he scooped the girl out of Coco's arms.

He was right. There was no time to waste. They had Leez, but as they ran Coco was suddenly sickened by the thought of what would happen to her other students. Everything had happened so fast with Muska's threats, and then Sen's rescue, that the wellbeing of her hostaged children had been sidelined.

"Sen, I have to go back. He has the others on the other ship!"

"You don't have to worry," Sen replied with a smirk, "Josuke went over there to check for you! We found your red cloth!"

Relief spread throughout Coco's mind and spirit. Jojo was here, which meant everything would be all right. He had found the piece of her skirt she had left behind, which meant it must have led him to her kids. Moss, Jin, Josie, and all the others…

Everyone…will be alright, Coco thought with joy. Then, she fell to the floor and dreamed.

x.X.x

Sen knew something was wrong when Coco dropped to her knees before falling to the floor. Her breathing was erratic and the color of her face was flushed. What was happening?

Glancing to her side, Sen immediately spotted several long sanguine lines of dried blood trailing down her sister's arm. At their source on her shoulder was a small gash, likely from the bullet Coco had saved her from taking. It had grazed her. She must have been so filled up with adrenaline she never noticed the wound.

A'toni who also saw the scar, immediately set down Leez and unfastened his red chef's neckerchief before using it as a makeshift bandage, then checked Coco's forehead.

"Is she alright?" Sen asked.

"I…I do not think so, bambina. But we will not leave her. Child," he said addressing Leez, "You will have to follow as I carry the Ms. Aye. Capisce?"

Leez nodded understandingly.

Sen helped the chef hoist her sister onto his back as they continued their escape. Time was of the essence and they had used much of what they had.

Relief set in when she finally spotted the elevator. They were lucky that A'toni was right about how a paranoid Muska kept this particular floor empty. Doubly so since the elevator could directly transport them to the highest deck. A luxury penthouse floor that would be free from the chaos that would have been happening everywhere else. They just had to hope Josuke got to them on time.

When they finally got into the elevator Sen pushed the gaudy golden triangle sending them to the pleasure deck.

So far so good, she thought somewhat jittery.

When the doors slid open, they were treated to the tacky sight of an all-white room. White furniture, white statues, tiles, mosaics, there were even several large white pillars in the style of ancient Greek architecture, and of all things a white fountain. The whole room screamed 'I am wealthy, look at me!'

Ignoring Muska's trashy taste, A'toni rushed to a couch before gently laying Coco down. She didn't look like she was doing any better. If only Josuke were here to heal the wound.

Yet, should Coco really be doing this bad? She hadn't lost too much blood, and her wound hadn't been especially deep. Why was she still out cold? Sen was beginning to think something much worse was going on. There must have been something funny done to the bullet that grazed her.

Then the most frightening sound Sen had ever heard chimed throughout the deck. The ding of the elevator, now descending.

Since this was a private elevator, accessible only by a few rooms, it became clear to Sen and A'toni who had summoned the lift.

A'toni immediately rushed toward the closed doors and began desperately pushing the upward triangle symbol to summon the elevator back to no avail.

"Hide," he said simply running back toward Coco, "Hand me a pistola."

Sen did as she was asked. It was with the guns they had taken from Muska's henchmen that Sen had shot the deranged lunatic in the foot. Suddenly she couldn't help but to ask a question she had been carrying in the back of her mind.

"Why didn't we kill him when we had the chance?" she asked. When A'toni had laid out his plan to save Coco, he had specifically instructed Sen not to do more than injure Muska. Since they had been running low on time, Sen hadn't thought to question his logic.

"Because," he began, "those who work for the Primo know that, ah….ha piazzato degli esplosivi nella nave. How you say…if heart stop da ship will esplodare! Kaboom!"

Sen got the jist of what A'toni was trying to say. That deranged lunatic wanted to take everyone down with him if he died, a true psychopath to the end.

Suddenly and without warning Sen heard a loud explosion as the entire yacht lurched to the side, throwing and tipping over all manner of statues and and furnishings across the room. The glass walls were no barrier to the sound outside, which to Sen's ears, sounded like the cries of dozens of panicked staff and gang members who didn't know what the hell was going on. Or worse, did. Luckily A'toni's quick hands saved Coco from falling off the sofa while Sen held Leez steady.

"No…no he cannot being dead," Toni said with bated breath, "we did not kill him. Sen, is your friend coming? We are soon being out of the time."

"I-I think so," Sen replied, hoping more than believing, Josuke, where are you?!

Ding—Ding—Ding

Sen watched with bated breath as the lights above the elevator door moved from left to right, each chime indicating that someone…no…that Muska was coming closer.

"Bambinas," A'toni said picking up Coco, "prepare yourselves."

x-Dream-x

Coco picked herself up from her near fall following the earthquake. She had been out hanging laundry when it happened and while it hadn't been especially strong, it probably excited many of the townsfolk the same way it did her.

Morhio was a quaint town on the coastal edge of the United States of Saherta. It had taken every bit of her and Jojo's savings to move out here, and to her chagrin, bribe the right people, but they had finally done it. Achieved their, really her, dream of living a nice quiet life in a small uninteresting town.

That didn't mean she had regrets. Grandmother had refused to leave with them, as had Sen, but occasionally Coco received letters from her sister detailing how life went on and how the Elder Abelnite was likely to outlive them all. She'd like to say she would have liked to visit them again, but Meteor City was no place to raise a child. To accentuate that point to herself, Coco stroked her outstretched abdomen, four months pregnant.

They were lucky they could afford a two-story house on Josuke's policeman's salary, but it was good respectable work that paid well enough even if they couldn't buy everything they wanted. You'd never hear complaints from them, though. Beneath the surface she and her husband were Meteorites. Born tough, made tougher. Besides, she also did work as a substitute teacher while she studied for her teaching degree. The future looked bright.

From the distance she spotted a figure running up the road toward the house, dressed all in blue, his familiar voice calling out her name, "...cooo… Cocooo!"

This man of mine, She thought putting a fist to her hip, always the worrier.

Josuke leaped over the fence effortlessly. Coco took pride in her man's athleticism. She'd never say it to his face, but she took no small joy in seeing the jealous looks other townswomen gave her when they were out together. Jojo was her bue, and she, his woman.

"Are you all right," he said out of breath as he ran up the wooden stairs.

"Of course. You worry too mu-oooh!" she squealed as he placed his hands on her toosh bringing her in close for a kiss.

This man of mine, she thought, letting herself be swept up in his sudden smooch.

Could life get any more perfect?

x.X.x

(Minutes Earlier)

Muska's leg was wracked with pain as he made his way to his desk.

I'll kill them! Every last one! I'll make you watch, Coco! That brat! That fucking cook! Everyone!

Something had snapped in Muska's mind. Nothing was going according to his plan, but that would soon change, it always did in the end.

They were smart not to have killed him.

Four years ago, a captain under his command had decided it was time Muska took an early retirement, whether he wanted to or not. His forces were split in half and Muska ran the true risk of losing it all to the coup save for…that.

Opening a drawer, Muska spotted what he had so desperately been looking for, [Bitches Brew].

Daggertown was far from the only Meteor City district the Staymos family dealt with, and each had their own share of freaks.

The Witch of Redbad, an ancient crone, was said to be able to be able to mix all kinds of poultices and drugs in her "magical" pot and was known to deal with all sorts of people from love-sick girls to gangsters.

Muska never gave such rumors credence, even as a child, but that all changed when a rival family sent a single man high on the stuff on an assassination attempt on the Staymos Don years ago.

The man had taken dozens of bullets and continued to fight desperately, taking utter joy in the pain. He had been able to snap the necks of lesser grunts easily with superhuman strength and tore huge chunks out of concrete walls. He made it deep into Staymos territory before he finally lost enough blood and died. Needless to say, Muska was tasked with finding out as much as he could about the attack, something he traced back to the witch.

Of course, he lied to the Don. It cost him much of what he had been able to accumulate, but he bought out the hag of every vial of whatever she had sold the assassin. Supposedly it wasn't something she could make easily.

Six, now five, vials of a liquid golden godhood. It had ultimately proven the right decision, for when the coup had seemed to be close to actually toppling Muska, one vial used by his formerly most loyal henchmen, Big Tom, had proven the difference in battle.

Muska still remembered the captain. Brought to him broken and crying as he silently ordered Big T to squeeze the man's head like a watermelon. If Muska had had the forethought to give his right had the Bitches Brew earlier, that pompadoured garbage would already have been dead. Lessons learned.

From that past Muska realized that he couldn't trust anyone, least of all his men. Since so much of the Dust trade took place on the high seas, when the Zan-Mari had been completed, he had had explosives strategically set throughout the ship, timed to the beating of his heart via a surgically implanted trigger. If he died, so did his his men. Betrayal wouldn't pay.

Of course, there was the issue of being taken alive, but Muska had contingencies for that as well. Opening a second drawer, he took out an unassuming remote meant for manually detonating each explosive.

Pressing a button on the control panel of his desk, a screen lit up revealing a layout of the yacht. Scrolling through each floor, Muska zeroed in on his personal floor, the very one he was on before focusing in on the elevator. Sure enough, it was moving, and not to any floor that would have led to the main deck. Perhaps there was wisdom in that, his men would have gunned them down.

No, this was a different kind of stupid. Sen and Toni had taken the elevator up to the pleasure room of his mega yacht. A large window-walled room he took whores to. One way up, one way down. If he moved now he could trap and kill the both of them.

Muska took one of the syringes of the Bitches Brew before savagely sticking it into his bicep. He was overcome with pain as he pressed down on the plunger of the injection needle. Whatever this crap was, it burned, but he didn't stop. Slowly, the pain changed into something else. Pleasure.

His hands seemed to take on new mass, growing half a size larger as veins protruded from his fingers and forearms. Muscles in his shoulders and back spasmed as they bulged, and his clothes grew ever so slightly tighter around his body. It felt so fucking good!

"GOD YES!" he screamed to himself, "Fuck yeah!"

Muska couldn't see it, but the veins around his face became more prominent as his skin grew redder, his eyes becoming more bloodshot. The blood leaking out of the gun wound on his leg slowly began to congeal.

He raised a fist for the hell of it before bringing it down on his desk, splitting it in two as wooden chips went flying.

"I'm gonna kill you all, Coco," and almost surprising himself, Muska knew he would. Coco could not be excluded from his wrath. He had given her a chance, and she had spat on him. She had killed his brother, now she had killed herself.

Stomping to a shelf, Muska swatted the furniture away with ease, revealing a hidden compartment of weapons.

What to use? he mused sinisterly.

His fingers would have trouble getting into most handguns. Perhaps the Prist01-Tommy gun? No, too cliché. The Van-Decker nail? No, it pierced well but would overheat too soon for what Muska wanted. Really his own hands were best.

Then he spotted it sitting on the bottom floor of the compartment. The Oden-08 Gatling Gun. Banned by the V5 and more than twenty other nations for its utter brutality in war. Realistically, the 70kg weapon was usable only by a few people in the world capable of even lifting its reinforced steel, but in Muska's arms, it felt no heavier than a sack of groceries.

Syringes in his coat pocket, Muska wrapped the long bandolier connected to the Oden around his shoulders and waist, then wasted no time running toward the elevator. He didn't want his prey getting any ideas about running away.

As he approached the stainless steel entrance to the lift and pushed the down button, summoning the lift, a wicked idea came into his mind.

He reached into his right pocket taking out the same remote he had retrieved earlier before pushing a small white button at the bottom.

Two seconds passed. Then an explosion on the third floor forced the ship to jerk violently almost causing Muska to fall on his ass, but he just laughed maniacally.

Did that scare you, Coco? Do you know? Know that I'm coming for you!

Then an even grander idea came to his mind. Something he had almost forgotten during the chaos.

As the elevator finally descended the stainless steel doors opened. Muska threw away the remote, smiling instead at the thought of the other device for the other bombs not so far away. Tucked safely away in his suit's front pocket.

How could I have forgotten about our date, Co. I promised you fireworks.

x.X.x

A'toni was stunned when the doors finally opened to reveal his former employer, Muska. Or at least someone who looked very much like him. Whatever he had done, the deranged egomaniac looked like he was stuck between being roided out and burning up considering he was nearly as red as a tomato. What the hell was going on?

As he stepped out of the lift and A'toni got a better look at the man his heart immediately panicked, and he screamed, "Il tuffo tuffo!"

That ended up not being wise as Muska immediately pointed the enormous weapon he held in their direction before firing. It was all A'toni could do to grab Coco and duck behind a statue of a naked woman as the Gatling gun fired a torrent of bullets that tore through the furniture and glass walls.

As broken panes of enormous glass shards fell onto the screaming people below, huge gusts of sea wind blew into the deck, whipping everything that hadn't been nailed down.

"Is that you, Toni?" Muska asked through the gust, laughing, "I gotta say, I'm glad we get to end things this way. I was getting tired of the shit you cooked anyway."

He accentuated his point by firing at the marble statue A'toni and Coco hid behind. They were lucky the bawdy thing was so thick as Muska'Gatlingng gun worked to make Swiss cheese of the think marble.

Suddenly, nearly drowned out by the droning chings of Muska's weapon, A'toni thought he heard several different gunshots.

*Pow!**Pow!*...*Pow!*

No, he hadn't't been mistaken. Which meant…

"Take this you bastard!" Sen screamed, having risen from her hiding place behind an elevated jacuzzi to fire on their assailant. Several more gunshots went off from her pistol before A'toni heard the familiar empty chinking of a trigger trying to draw out death from an empty load.

Daring to peek up, he saw that Muska looked injured, but nowhere near death, instead a visage of demonic rage and pain painted his face as he turned toward Sen and fired at the hot tub.

"Cocooooo, where are you?" Muska taunted, blood dripping from his mouth, "Didn't I promise you fireworks you stupid bitch!"

He began to rain bullets throughout the deck once again, only barely aiming as he let loose volleys of ammunition into the aluminum roof, tub, glass, and pillars.

"Don't you want to say goodbye to your kids?!"

He didn't seem to know that Coco wasn't responsive.

"Fine….have it your way….just like Mikkelo. This is…because of you."

He pulled a long pen-like device from his front pocket, one with a red button at the top.

Wait! A'toni thought darkly, Didn't the child say there were others on the cargo ship?…Oh no!

But it was too late. Muska pressed down on the trigger, and a half second later a deafening explosion could be heard in the distance as metal and loose shrapnel rained down across the sea.

"NO!" Sen screamed rising from what remained of her hiding place.

"Stop, bambina!"

But she ignored him, choosing to give in to her anger as she skated toward Muska on her strange boots. Her eyes, hellbent on revenge.

A'toni watched in horror as the little spitfire launched herself at the man who had murdered so many. But it was an effort born in futility, for as she neared, Muska used his enormous gun as a makeshift club, swatting the crazed child away as if she were no more than a fly.

"Kill you! I'll kill you, Muska! You bastard!" Sen cried as she tried to pick herself up from the floor, ignoring the shards of glass that stuck in her arms.

As Muska moved to loom over her, A'toni chose that moment to act, rising from his own hiding place with Coco to reveal himself, gun pointed toward his former enslaver.

"Do not move, bastardo!"

Muska merely ignored him, choosing to pick up Sen by her neck.

"I mean it! Ti sparerò!"

"No you won't," Muska replied matter of factly, "I'm sure you haven't forgotten what you learned in orientation. My heart stops, and this ship goes kaboom." To emphasize his supposed invincibility, he lifted Sen by her head, pointing her toward him, daring A'toni to shoot. "Is Coco there? Why hasn't she said anything? I want to show her what I'm about to do to her sister."

Damn it! Damn it! A'toni's mind screamed, Someone…anyone!

Suddenly smoke fizzled around Sen's neck, except that wasn't right. It was wafting from the hand around her neck as Muska howled in pain. A'toni had forgotten the child had many hidden tools on her person. She was using the same hot nails hidden in her gloves that she had used in the kitchen.

"FUCKDAMMIT!" Muska howled before slamming her onto the floor, knocking the breath out of her little body.

A'toni rose then, his handgun once again trained on Muska's back. "Stop, Primo! This time, I will! I will shoot!"

Muska who stood proud and angry over Sen's body, his foot on her neck, never bothered to look in his direction. "No you won't," he replied, "We've been over this. Once I'm done with her, then I'll deal with you."

A'toni knew he might be able to kill him. A well-placed shot to the heart or his head would do it. But to do so would be to condemn them all. The many gangsters who probably deserved to die, the staff, who, like he, had been forced to work for this sociopath. Dare he? Yet to do nothing would be to condemn Sen to death while Leez, who still hid away, watched helplessly. He had to do something…so he fired.

*Pow!*

Muska jerked backward, not quite believing what had happened. That despite the threat of annihilation on the high seas, A'toni had still taken the risk of killing them all. Except that hadn't been what happened. A'toni was not aiming to kill, but rather, to incapacitate. His bullet hadn't pierced vitals, but instead gone into Muska's thigh.

Despite that, Muska never did lift his foot from Sen's neck. Instead, his face took on an almost demonic countenance as veins bulged possibly from a combination of pain and anger. And still, still he continued to ignore A'toni in favor of torturing the girl.

Utterly crazed, Muska held his mini Gatling gun by its barrel group like an enormous mace, lifting it high above his head, ready to bludgeon the child underneath his heel.

Rather than think, A'toni continued to shoot, but it was useless. Muska ignored each bullet like it was no more important than a gnat bite. Then, he swung his weapon down toward Sen's head.

He had failed. They had lost.

I'm so sorry…children.

Then, something that can only be described as a miracle occurred.

There was the sound of some kind of object cutting through the air sharp and fast, and a flash of white and black as something vaguely the size and shape of a young man smashed into Muska, right as his weapon was about to make ground meat of Sen's head.

One moment Muska had been towering over the bambina. The next, he slammed into the wall next to the elevator, leaving an enormous dent in the stainless steel wall.

Where he had been, someone new now stood. He was a young man of an extremely athletic build, easily discernable since his white tank top didn't hide much of his body. His hair was black and styled round and heavy in the front, a classic look called a pompadour. Popular a half-century ago.

This, A'toni realized, this must be the hero Sen had waited for.

For the briefest of moments, their eyes locked, and the boy scowled. Then it dawned on A'toni that the mysterious youth might have confused him for one of Muska's men. Instead, the boy, this Joe, knelt down and placed his hand on the heavily beaten Sen, and to A'toni's surprise, the girl immediately jumped up onto the teenager, tears running down her now unmarred face.

"I-I thought you, and the kids…are you? What about?!" Sen sobbed.

"Don't worry," he replied, "I saved them all. Every one of them is all right because you bought me time. You don't have to worry. I'm here now."

A'toni didn't know this stranger. Yet as he watched the boy comfort the young spitfire, he felt he could believe him.

x.X.x

(Minutes Earlier)

Fran, despite the fact that he worked for the enemy, kept his promise to see Josuke and the children to safety. The skeleton crew on this freighter were too few to really notice their tiny group's presence, and any persons they met on their way up were immediately dealt with in haste by Josuke delivering a swift chop to the neck before any alert could be made.

All in all the rescue was surprisingly peaceable considering the nature of their environment. Even getting to the lifeboat was more a matter of managing the children than a factor of any real stealth. Fran knew a path to a part of the deck largely devoid of gangsters, and despite every reason to signal for help or to betray Josuke, he chose not to. Ultimately, it was the deciding factor in Josuke's decision to spare the man's life.

When they got to the lifeboat and eventually touched water, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

No alerts had been sounded, and it seemed with the bulk of the children safe, Josuke could now focus on saving Leez, Coco, and Sen. He just had one last thing he had to do, which was driving their getaway a sufficient distance away from the Cargo ship and Yacht. It wouldn't have been wise to keep the children within range of gunfire.

It was a choice that would save their lives.

Within a minute of driving the boat back toward the direction of Meteor City, an explosion came from the center of the freighter, the shockwave rocking their boat so hard Josuke feared one of the children might fall off the side.

"Crazy Diamond!" Josuke commanded.

C.D. materialized at the center of the ship, catching each child who might have gone overboard, while Josuke worked to stabilize the lifeboat. It was a close thing, but working in tandem with his Stand saved everyone from capsizing, but not from the rain of metal and fire that the explosion had thrown into the air.

Breathing deeply, Josuke charged the Hamon in his body, forcing it to flow through his blood and bones as C.D. floated above his shoulder. As the first of the metal came down, Crazy Diamond pulverized the large chunks of the hull that threatened to fall near, sending it safely to either side of their boat.

Any smaller pieces were dealt with by Josuke himself, as his strengthened skin and enhanced hands allowed him to swat away pieces of railing, pipe, and all manner of debris that had once been the cargo freighter.

Josuke's eyes, honed not just by his breathing, but by years of combat long forgotten, hyperanalized every detail of every moment he worked to keep them alive. Each second was like a minute unto itself.

To the eyes of Fran and the children, though, Josuke was like an electrified superhuman. His form and strikes, a blur of motion and speed made all the more amazing from the orange bits of electricity that seemed to fly off his body.

Eventually the last of the wreckage fell into the ocean, and the cargo ship, it's center compromised, slowly began to bisect from its center into the sea.

"Moss," Josuke said.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I've got to go now. Can I count on you to keep everyone safe?"

"O-Of course! It's a promise between men!"

"Fran," Josuke continued.

"Y-Yeah? I-I did my part! Y-You're not gonna throw-"

"Thanks," Josuke said simply, cutting the gangster off. And with that, Josuke jumped off the lifeboat, before invisible hands threw him into the sky, to the awe of those behind him.

It took only a second for Josuke to orient himself in the air. The Zan-Mari hadn't put much distance between itself and the corpse of its sister ship. Josuke might have wondered for a second where he needed to go. He might have used Coco's skirt to find her, but it was ultimately a non-issue. The great gaping hole atop the great glass room on top of the yacht served to tell Josuke exactly where he needed to be.

Striding across the air toward the pleasure deck, Josuke saw the familiar form and dark green hair of the man he had met the previous night. The man who had worked to make his life hell, who had made all their lives hell in a single day. Muska.

But there was something wrong. From this distance, the man looked different. Warped. And at his feet, was the unmistakable azalean pink hair of Sen.

Josuke breathed once again. Solar energy resonated in his body, but this time he concentrated the power into his feet. Crazy Diamond, mind linked to its master, knew the exact second of the exact moment to place its hands together.

Actions harmonized, C.D.'s hands caught Josuke's Hamon charged heel, before using its mighty strength to launch its master forward like a missile.

Josuke flew so fast toward Muska, that he himself almost lost control, but was barely able to shift his weight onto his shoulder as he rammed himself into his leek-haired enemy, the impact sending the bastard crashing into the wall of his ship. If that didn't kill him, Josuke wasn't sure what would.

Under his feet, where Muska had just been, was Sen, looking far worse for wear than she had been when he had left her. Behind a sofa and statue of a naked woman was, for some reason, a chef whose face Josuke was sure he had seen before. Now wasn't the time to assess the situation though.

Picking up Sen, Crazy Diamond restored her to her previous condition, her bruises and cuts healing away as he picked her up.

Her eyes no longer looking almost glazed, Sen began to cry as she kicked his shin."I-I thought you, and the kids…are you? What about?!"

"Don't worry," Josuke replied, patting her head, "I saved them all. Every one of them is all right because you bought me time. You don't have to worry. I'm here now."

Comforting Sen, and having thrashed Muska, Josuke realized he had almost forgotten something important.

"Where's Coco?!"

"*sniff* S-She's-"

"She is here, Signore-" the familiar blond chef cut in. In his arms was Coco, asleep. Josuke immediately rushed toward her, the chef relinquishing her without a fight.

She was pale. Not quite cold to the touch, but feeling her pulse, Josuke could tell it was erratic and growing weaker. A bullet wound on her shoulder indicated blood loss. Using C.D., Josuke immediately healed the wound. Now they had to get her to a hospital. They needed to get her home.

"I'm guessing from the fact that you hid her, that you're a friend?" Josuke asked.

"He is," Sen cut in, Leez in tow.

"Si, Signore. But we must be with the going. Dobbiamo affrettarci!"

"Right," Josuke acknowledged, "I'll hold onto Coco while you and Sen and Leez grab ahold of-"

Josuke summoned Crazy Diamond within a hair's breadth of an enormous gun being chucked in his direction. His Stand's back acting as an invisible impenetrable wall to the mass of iron and steel.

He felt his own back tingle. There had been real force behind that throw.

Turning toward the source of the projectile, Josuke saw the man he thought he had brought down standing back on his feet. No, not really a man. Not anymore.

In his thighs were several vials of a glowing golden liquid he had injected into himself.

Josuke had seen that glow before. From Granny and some of the other elders. From some of the people from different districts whom civilians either spoke of cautiously or reverently. People with an aura. Dangerous people.

Now, it was wafting off of Muska, almost burning. Like the crazed man had poured a foreign oil on himself with his own soul as kindling.

His skin was red, almost like blood. His eyes were white and void of emotion, and his pupils had grown dim.

The man Josuke had met at the Abelnite household had been six feet tall, this man was easily nine, with muscle caked to his body every inch of the way up. A monster. He looked like an oni.

"M-Mine," Muska grunted. "Can't…have…her!"

Josuke realized the man who had orchestrated all this suffering might not have been all there anymore. "Hold on to her," he said, gently placing Coco back into the chef's arms.

Josuke cracked his knuckles as he stepped toward Muska, or whatever the hell the man was now. "Sen, Leez. You two make sure you keep your distance. I'm ending this."

x-Dream-x

Coco finished packing the lunch she had prepared for Jodan when she heard the front door slam shut. The only one who did that was Jodan, who tended to leave for school early, perhaps in an attempt to avoid his mother.

Was she that overbearing? What had happened to her son? Where had this distance between them come from?

He used to be such a polite boy. Well mannered and always greeting her with a smile. He was the absolute sunshine of her life. Then high school started and it seemed that bit by bit, the bundle of joy she had raised slowly became more and more…well…thugish.

Running out of the kitchen in her apron, Coco spotted Jodan about to hop the fence where dozens of schoolgirls waited for him on the other side.

"Jodan! Oh, Jordan!" she called out, causing him to stop. "You almost forgot your lunch, Jodan-"

"I heard you the first time, you stupid bitch!" He yelled.

Her Jodan had a way with words, but deep down Coco knew her son was just being rebellious.

"Okaaaay," she replied with a smile as she tried to hand her son his lunch pail.

"Cheh! Forget it. I'll eat at school."

"But Jodan, I made your favorite and-"

"I said I'll eat at school you stu-"

*Crack!*

Suddenly Jodan went flying ten feet away as he was struck in the face. In the spot next to where he had been, wearing his blue police uniform, was her husband, Josuke.

"Maybe you think you're too good for your mother's cooking, but I'll be glad to force-feed you another knuckle sandwich if you take that tone with her again, boy."

"Kyaaaaaa!" The girls cried.

"Oh my God!" a girl said.

"Do you, like, see the way Mr. Abelnite hit his son!"

"Abuse! Like, totally parental abuse!"

Having had enough, Coco watched her husband turn toward her son's fan club and yell, "Would you chatty geese shut yer yaps and take a hike!"

"...Okaaaay," they replied demurely, before walking on the path to school.

Turning back toward their son, both she and Josuke were taken aback to see Jodan already far in the distance, pail in hand.

"That kid," Josuke mumbled to himself, "Where did I go wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Jojo. He's just… rebellious, is all."

"I wish I could remember when I was his age. I wonder if I was ever like that with my mother."

Coco wrapped her hands around her husband's waist, "Oh, I remember quite the troublemaker when we were young, my Badland Beast."

"Meteor City… it feels like a lifetime away."

"It does, doesn't it…" Coco replied. She felt she was forgetting something important. Something she had to tell Josuke.

x.X.x

Josuke walked toward the hulking red giant that Muska had become in hopes that doing so would place the man-thing's attention on himself, not that there was any real worry that he would get past him. And for the most part, it worked.

As Josuke sauntered toward him, Muska charged savagely forward, his face a mask of animalistic malice. Like he wanted blood. Like he wanted to taste Josuke's blood.

Any mortal man might have risked their life in letting something like Muska get his hand on their person, but Josuke wasn't just any mortal man. As the goliath drew closer, his fingers aimed at Josuke's neck, Josuke quickly ducked before using his Hamon-charged legs to shift to Muska's left.

One. Two. Three quick jabs were thrown into Muska's ribs.

Josuke was sure he heard, or at least felt, bone crack, but to his surprise, Muska seemed to shrug off each blow, Whatever he had done to create that aura around himself, it had made the man not only stronger but much much more durable.

There was no point in fighting him. For all that he had done, Josuke had to kill this man.

"Josuke!" Sen called out, "You have to be careful! If he dies, a trigger on his heart will set off explosives he put on this ship!"

"He did what!" Josuke exclaimed, whilst dodging Muska's grabs and strikes.

"It is true, Singore Joe! It is how he stop the betray!"

This crazy son of a bitch was holding everyone hostage, Josuke realized.

While he didn't like the idea of not killing the man, he wouldn't condemn everyone on the yacht to die. Not before those who were innocent could be saved. Not before those who were guilty could be punished. If he had to incapacitate Muska, he would.

Crazy Diamond reigned a flurry of restrained punches into the bastard's gut.

As Muska grabbed at his torso in pain, Josuke was quick to throw several punches at his temple and jaw, rocking the man's skull so as to finally knock him out. He was careful not to use Hamon, though, as there was real danger enhancing his strikes in such a fashion would actually kill the villain.

After several blows, Muska fell down, tongue lolling out. It was over now, wasn't it?

Josuke turned toward Coco and the others. It was time to go home.

x.X.x

Darkness overtook Muska's vision, nearly engulfing his psyche and mind. He couldn't fall asleep. Not now, when he was so close.

It burned. His very life was burning. The Bitches Brew had given him power, but not enough.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

The boy! Why couldn't he kill the boy!

Coco. He would give anything for Coco. She was his by rights.

His life. His humanity. His soul. Every future moment for just one more second with…her.

Something inside him understood what this meant. The brew, which had mixed with his blood, understood. And so it burned it all. His life. His humanity. His soul. His everything.

x.X.x

As he walked away, Josuke felt something ominous behind him and made to turn back. But before he could see what had happened, he felt an enormous darkened hand grab his foot before the world swirled ablur as he was swung like a baton through the air.

It had been so sudden that Josuke took real damage as he was beaten through a marble column.

Despite this, Josuke's body was naturally extremely durable, and the strike didn't knock him out, even though his head did spin.

Immediately Crazy Diamond chopped at his assailant's wrist, but the momentum of the swing launched Josuke thirty feet away.

As he tried to find his bearings and get up, Muska, like some sort of demonic gorilla, jumped above his body, before attempting to use newly engorged fists to smash Josuke into a pulp.

C.D. however was immediately there to not only block the blows but to catch each fist, giving Josuke time to move to safety.

This crazy bastard, Josuke thought, wiping blood from his lip while getting a better look at his opponent.

He wasn't a man anymore. Nothing about what Josuke saw in Muska could be called human. His skin had darkened from red to almost black. He had become larger if that was even possible, and small stunted horns jutted out from his forehead. His teeth looked bestial, and a reddish saliva permeated and dripped from a demonic smile on his face.

It was the aura that really took Josuke by surprise. It looked almost smokey like it was burning his life away.

Without really understanding it, Josuke realized Muska must have traded his life away for this power.

All this for me, huh? "Fine. I also wanted to settle things between us," spotting Sen and Leez behind a massive pillar, an idea formed in Josuke's mind. "Sen, get her away from there. I have an idea."

Sen moved to obey, grabbing Leez by the arm as they ran to the far end of the once opulent room.

Muska dove toward Josuke then, his arms now almost claw-like and swift despite their size. In fact, he was faster all around despite his hulking frame.

Josuke dodged each strike easily despite this and made use of Crazy Diamond's power and speed to sneak in a flurry of hits through the many openings in his guard.

The problem wasn't killing Muska, it was putting the man down without blowing up the ship. The way Josuke saw it, with the man's life burning before his eyes, he was now fighting on a timer. There was only one way to deal with Muska now.

Dodging each blow Oni-Muska threw, Josuke delivered Hamon-enhanced strikes to the demon's ribs, while C.D. landed back-breaking kicks to his shin and thighs. Their movements attuned, Stand and Stand-user juggled their opponent, restraining themselves just enough to allow him the ability to lash out in Josuke's direction. A direction that was always conveniently toward the enormous column.

When Josuke's back was finally against the pillar, he put his plan into action.

Hamon was diverted toward his feet, and in a flash, he was at Muska's back, where he delivered a powerful jab at the confused giant.

As Muska turned back, his full form facing away from the marble behind him, Josuke unleashed the unrestrained might of his and Crazy Diamond's fury.

"Doraaaaaararararararararararara!"

Josuke threw dozens, perhaps hundreds of Hamon-charged punches into Muska's gut, driving the villain into white stone, while C.D. threw thousands of uncountable punches not only into Muska but the marble around him.

Over and over, punches both visible and invisible broke and repaired bone with psychokinetic power reforming and healing flesh and stone. Break and repair, heal then destroy, slowly flesh healed with ruble into one and the same.

To the horror of those who witnessed it, Josuke was fusing Muska, blood and bone, into the veiny warped marble itself. Creating some sort of…living statue.

For all that you tried to do to me….For all that you've done to them! To Daggertown! To the kids! To Coco! "Doryaaaaaaaa!"

x.X.x

It didn't hurt, Muska realized as the last bit of his awareness was worn away.

Slowly bits of his skin and bone were being forcibly mixed with the pillar behind him, but whether it was the burning of the brew that never really left, or whatever his foe was doing to his body, somehow the pain seemed to become as nothing in his mind.

Instead, Muska's last thoughts drifted toward a memory of a time not so long ago, yet an eternity away from him now.

"What do you guys wanna be?" Coco had asked as she passed him the bottle of cola they were sharing. They were children and had just skipped class.

"Well I want to be a teacher," Mikkelo cut in jovially. Yes…his brother had wanted to teach…and he…

"I want…to help people," Muska replied, "I think…I'd like to be a doctor."

"Oh! I can be your nurse then!" Coco added.

He had blushed then, hadn't he?

"As long as we're all together," Mikkelo said.

All together…, Muska thought, as stone covered his eyes and mouth. I wish I could..all…back…

Those were his last lucid thoughts as the once-living man, became a living statue.

[The Lord of Zan-Mari: Recovered by Daggertown residents following the Staymos Incident, as it came to be known. This mysterious work of art depicts a demonic figure, both seemingly enraged and saddened in a hunk of marble. Whether it was finished by its carver is unknown, and experts say its look of pain as it seems to struggle from the stone serves to enhance its artistic expression. Adorning the central square of Daggertown, a popular legend would sprout from the locals saying that if lovers meet in front of it, rarely, the statue will weep. It has since become a central fixture of the district, with sweethearts from all across Meteor City meeting there in hopes of happy marriages.]

x.X.x

Josuke walked away from his work. As he looked toward Sen, Leez, and the chef, he realized there was abject fear in their eyes. Stepping toward them, he was surprised to see them step back.

Catching herself, Sen shook herself from her stupor before rushing toward him, arms outstretched, "You did it, Dumbass!"

"Right," he replied, "everyone, whatever you think about what I just did, we have to go. Let's get going."

Sen was quick to jump onto his back, but Josuke corrected her. Holding his hands out for Coco, he instructed the Chef, who informed him his name was A'toni, to grab onto his shoulders, while Sen and Leez grabbed onto his. They didn't need to worry about falling if they took it slow since Crazy Diamond could always catch or balance them. They just needed to hold on tightly.

Doing as he ordered, Josuke wasted no more time getting everyone to safety. But in his heart was fear, because there was a problem. He was no expert, but Coco was growing paler and paler, her pulse becoming faint. As soon as he dropped everyone off on the lifeboat, he'd sprint back toward Daggertown to get Coco the help she so desperately needed.

She just….she just needed to hang on.

x-Dream-x

They were on a hill, just her and Josuke, her handsome man. The breeze that whipped throughout the valley on their hike was cold, but not unbearable. In fact, Coco was starting to feel it less and less.

She would never say it but Josuke had aged remarkably well throughout the years. Having retired with honors, Coco looked back on their lives with pride.

Now in their silver years, each was hoping for a long retirement. She had almost wanted to keep teaching, but being here, beside her husband, she realized spending every moment with the one she loved was the most important thing she could do.

"We should see about meeting with Sen when we can," she said.

Josuke chuckled at the suggestion, "You think that little imp ever learned to calm down."

"Oh Jojo, it's been years. The letter we got says she's doing fine. I could have sworn…I could have sworn I heard her voice…"

"You sound sad,"

"I am not…I mean…I…We…lived good lives, didn't we? You and I?"

He brought her into an unexpected embrace.

So warm, she thought. Like the Sun. "I feel like, in all this time we've been together. I never got the chance to tell you something. Something important."

"You can always tell me now, you know."

"Can I?"

"Of course. You can tell me anything."

"Promise me then," she pleaded, "promise me you'll feel the same."

"Babe," he said holding her tighter, "I already do."

A tear fell down from her face then. "Ok, well…I…I-"

x.X.x

"I…love you, Josuke," Coco said weakly.

They were in the lifeboat, surrounded by her students and Sen, Fran and A'toni a respectful distance away.

"I-I love you too, Coco! So just….just stay with me, please!"

She smiled then, but her eyes remained closed.

"Please, Coco! I love you, so just stay with me and don't go!" Josuke pleaded. "There's so much I need to tell you!"

Crazy Diamond's restoration reverberated throughout her body seeking to restore what could not be fixed.

The shell casing of the Blue-35 that had poisoned her had been left in Muska's private cabin. No doctor in Meteor City had the expertise to treat her. While no one had understood it at the time, the scar she received saving her sister had spelled the slow end of Coco Abelnite, beloved granddaughter, sister, and teacher to so many. Only her desire to rescue her children, and reunite with her precious someone had allowed her to last as long as she had

As horns sounded in the distance signaling the coming of help, the residents of Daggertown having finally rallied themselves in hopes of saving their progeny, Coco died in the arms of the one she loved most, surrounded by those who loved her most, under the orange sky so common in Meteor City.

x.X.x

Author's Note: Hello everyone. Seeing as there was some confusion on some of the other forums I posted this, let me take a minute to quickly explain how Coco died. The Blue-35 that was previously mentioned was lethal. Since she was scratched with the bullet saving Sen, blood loss along with the toxin worked to slowly kill her. Since the pistol Muska used was left in his cabin, no shell casing or bullet could be used by Josuke to summon the poison from her body. And even if it had been brought up with Muska, no one who was awake would have known about the poison. I tried writing this death with an eye toward reminding everyone that both in JJBA and HxH, lives are sometimes lost more as a factor of circumstance, despite our favorite characters doing all in their power to save a life. But I'll keep the rest of my thoughts on this to myself.

Wow. What a chapter, right? I've been thinking about expounding on it here, but I've also been thinking I'd like to do a giant informational in which, like those old Manga, you hear from the author their personal thoughts, ideas, and inspirations of their work. Maybe that's the best place to talk about this. Really, I don't know if a few hundred words can do justice to what I feel writing this, much less Coco's death. I killed her. My daughter so to speak.

This doesn't quite mark the end of the Meteorigins Arc, as I've come to name it. Be sure to tune in to a much more somber chapter next time where we cover the fallout of everything, and yes, Josuke leaving Meteor City. After all, there's nothing keeping him there…not anymore. Not totally sad though, let us remember that with an end, often comes a beginning.

I find myself finishing this behemoth wondering if I got lazy somewhere. Should I have written more or less on some parts? Was the death rushed? What about the final battle with Muska? Will people like it? Hate it?

It doesn't matter anymore, I suppose. I've written what I've written. By the time you see or read this, I'll have edited this all once more before posting. I've had enough criticism thrown at me to know there are times to reflect and times to ignore, and that dwelling on what people might think or not think is the most poisonous thing a person who writes can do.

Take it as it is, I guess. That's what I plan to do.

Mero out.

Ciao!