Edit: I originally wanted this to be two separate chapters, but after realizing it was a bit too short, I decided to make it one, focusing on both JoJo and Anne's group. Anyway, on with the show.
Hot Pants said as she looked out at the night sky, "You know, we may be on a Stand, but there's something about watching the scenery fly by as you're sitting in a train quite peaceful."
"It is," said Joan Jett. She looked around. The rest of the group had fallen asleep and she and Hot Pants were left awake to stand watch. The train Stand hadn't tried to kill them and instead provided them with their needs, including food, sleeping bags and even a bathroom. Johan thought the food was poisoned, but after Grime volunteered to test it and discovered it was okay to eat, they dug in.
"So, what's your story?" Joan Jett asked Hot Pants.
"Hmm?"
"I'd like to get to know you. You know. See if you have a tragic backstory?"
"You don't see me prodding into your personal life, do you?"
"Fair point. Sorry I asked."
"It all happened when I was young."
"Oh, you're just gonna tell it anyway?"
When I was a young girl, I would often go into the nearby woods near my old village with my younger brother to collect nuts. One day, while out nut collecting, we were attacked by a giant snake which cornered us into a rock crevice we attempted to hide in. There was no way out, so I..."
"Let me guess," said Joan Jett. "You ditched your brother?"
Hot Pants replied darkly, "No. I pushed him right into the snake's coils." Joan Jett's eyes widened. "Yeah. I knew that would be your reaction. When I went back home, I told my parents what happened to my brother, but left out the details of what really happened. I've been living with the guilt ever since. Even after I became a bounty hunter for hire, I could never escape from it."
Joan Jett stared in silence. Then she said, "Wow, that's..."
Hot Pants looked out the window. "I fear Sasha is going to make the same mistake I made."
"Why do you think that," Joan Jett asked. "Did something happen?"
Hot Pants looked at her, then said, "I can't say it. I'm sworn to secrecy. Grime too."
Well, that got Joan Jett suspicious. "Now I REALLY want to know. What are Sasha and Grime up to?"
Before Hot Pants could respond, they heard footsteps approaching. "Everyone up!" shouted Joan Jett. "Someone's coming!" The rest of the group immediately got up and got into a battle pose, but they relaxed a little when they saw the young frog in the overalls and engineer hat, who was poking his head out from behind a seat.
"Oh, it's just Jones," said Hop Pop. He and his grandkids plopped onto their faces. "You woke me up for nothing," he muffled.
"He's been popping in and out a lot, hasn't he," said Grime. "Keeping his distance from us."
"He's been here for a while," said Johan. "And all of a sudden, a human, a couple of newts, a toad and a family of frogs show up. Of course he'd be shy." He held his hand out. "Come on out. We're not gonna hurt you."
Jones slowly came out of hiding and approached them. "Hi," he said timidly.
"What are you doing here?" asked Sprig.
"Just...watching."
"That's boring," said Polly. "Wouldn't you rather do something fun? Like bashing moles with a mace, snail racing, or doing spit challenges?"
"Or maybe you would like to go exploring the woods, playing sneak attack," asked Sprig.
Jones stared at them. Polly nervously chuckled and said, "Uh...I think we're losing him."
"Or maybe you're overwhelming him with all your questions," said Hop Pop. "He doesn't even know your names." He approached the boy and held out his hand. "Hi, my name is Hopediah Plantar, but you can call me Hop Pop." Jones stared at him. "Uh...these are my grandkids, Sprig and Polly."
Jones looked at the two young frogs. "Hi. I'm Jones."
"So," asked Sprig. "What do you do for fun?"
"The train provides its passengers with everything as you've seen," said Jones. "It's also given me games to play." A game board that resembled a chess board appeared next to him. "Anyone want to play flipwart?"
"Isn't that that game Marcy always plays," asked Sprig.
"Not many people are good at this game," said Hop Pop. "In fact, King Andrias is an unbeatable champion! Well, was, until Marcy came into the picture."
Jones gave him a shocked look. "You guys met King Andrias Leviathan?! No way! Oh, so lucky! I wish I was there. Of course, since I'm stuck here. Hey, you guys want to play with me?"
"Polly and I never played before," admitted Sprig.
"I'll show you," said Jones as he took the game pieces out.
Hop Pop chuckled as he watched the kids play. "Heh, heh. A new friend. At least something good came out of this crazy train Stand experience."
Hot Pants looked at Jones with a suspicious frown. She didn't know why, but something about him seemed familiar.
Meanwhile, Sasha stood guard, watching Anne and Marcy sleeping on the pew-like seats. She looked out the window, watching the nighttime scenery fly by. The sound of movement made her grab one of her swords, only to see it was Anne. "Oh. Sorry, Anne. What are you doing up," she asked as she put the weapon away.
"Couldn't sleep," said Anne as she sat on the seat next to Sasha. "I can't help but feel like we're being watched."
"We're in a Stand vehicle. Of course we're being watched."
Anne looked out the window. "Who would've thought us working together after everything has happened?"
Sasha frowned. "Yeah, unbelievable. Especially since you still don't trust me. Even after I apologized."
Anne looked at her, confused, "What? What do you mean? I trust you."
Sasha replied, "Oh, please. I've been watching you the whole time. You don't trust me at all."
Anne frowned and replied, "Well can you blame me? Oh! Why would I trust you? It wasn't just Toad Tower, Sasha. You've been pushing me around my whole life."
"I know!" Sasha immediately clapped her hands over her mouth. She looked over to Marcy. "Oh, thank frog, she's still asleep." She then said, "Anne, I'm trying to make amends for all that. What's it going to take for you to believe me?"
"I don't know!" Anne clapped her hands over her mouth and looked over to Marcy. She was still sleeping. "Thank frog. Sasha, these things take time. But, maybe I can forgive you in time."
Sasha stared, then nodded in acceptance. "I would too. Go back to sleep, Anne." Anne returned to her sleeping bag and Sasha resumed guard. She thought, "Just you wait Anne. You and JoJo are going to regret fighting back. I'm gonna make things go back to the way they were and you're gonna thank me."
The next morning, Johan's group moved on, walking down the endless line of coaches. "Are we there yet," asked Sprig.
"Nope," said Polly.
Hop Pop looked around. "Where's Jones? I was starting to like that kid."
"He disappeared," said Joan Jett. "He's always doing that."
Suddenly, Grime stopped. Everyone turned to look at him. "What's wrong," Johan asked before he noticed the look of horror on Grime's face.
"He's scared," said Hot Pants. "He's never scared!"
"Hey! I'm not scared," insisted Grime. "It's just..."
"Just what?" asked Johan.
"Hello, gentlemen. I have come to take your lives," said an unfamiliar, older yet high-pitched voice. Everyone turned around and saw what Grime was looking at. It was a portly old green frog wearing a white suit, matching top hat, and a silver ruff collar, and carrying a cane. The smile he was making was disturbing. He raised his cane, revealing it to be a gun, and fired at the group, forcing them to take cover.
"Who is that," asked Johan. "Friend of yours, Grime?"
"Not who. What," said Grime. He yelped as a bullet shot through the seat, barely missing his head. "His name is Le Fou, a serial killer Stand user who killed two thousand amphibians. No one knows his past, he just showed up one day."
"I read about him in the newspaper two years ago," said Hot Pants. "He was too dangerous to be left alive, so King Andrias ordered him to be executed on the spot. But when the army arrived, he slaughtered them all. But then a flock of kill-a-moths arrived, attracted by the smell of blood and he disappeared."
"Great," groaned Johan. "Another psychopath Stand user. Grime, what's its power?"
"According to the police reports, it's called Boy In The Bubble..."
"Ah, ah," said Le Fou. "Why talk when you can show, Grimey?" He jumped and began to bounce around the coach like a rubber ball. Then he launched himself at the group. Johan stepped forward and summoned DARE, who punched the old frog in the gut, only to be bounced back, sending both it and its user flying and crashing into a pew. He groaned and tried to get back up.
Joan Jett summoned Cherry Bomb and tried to punch Le Fou with the hope that her Stand's knuckle bombs would stick, but to her shock, they bounced off and were sent flying right back at her, exploding upon impact. She fell to the ground, bleeding badly.
Le Fou laughed maniacally. "Can't touch me, can't touch me, can't touch me," he chanted.
"Grime, where's his Stand," asked Johan as he put a hand on the back of his head, feeling some blood. "Why can't we see it?"
"That's the thing. It doesn't have a physical form, and it's impenetrable," said Grime as he grabbed Barrel's Warhammer and went in a defensive stance.
Le Fou giggled fired, but Toxic Avenger appeared and defended its user, melting the bullets with its acid. Grime swung the hammer at the tuxedoed old frog, only to be pushed back by Boy In The Bubble. Le Fou then bounced around and repeatedly kicked Grime in the face, gut, and back and sent him crashing into one of the pews. Johan snuck up behind Le Fou and tried to stab him with the gunblade, only for it to bounce off him. This gave Le Fou the distraction he needed to smack Johan aside with the cane gun and send him crashing next to Joan Jett.
In the process, Johan dropped his phone, and a video of Domino 2 began to play. Something strange happened. Le Fou's wide grin melted away into a look of panic and he started screaming and tried to shoot the phone, only for Sprig to grab it with his tongue. Then he ducked behind the pew his grandfather and sister were hiding. Le Fou screamed, "MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"
"Good thing I grabbed it," said Sprig. "JoJo would have been upset."
Polly looked at Le Fou, who had quickly recovered from his breakdown and was violently firing randomly. "I don't get it," she said. "Why would he go crazy over a phone?"
Sprig looked at the footage of Domino 2 in realization. "It's not the phone." He ran out in the open and made the best Domino 2 impersonation he could make.
Hop Pop and Polly called out, "SPRIG! GET BACK HERE!"
Hearing Sprig meow made Le Fou's eyes bulge out. Memories began to play in his head. Kill-a-moths flying down from the sky...the sound of his mommy and daddy screaming...flesh being ripped off of bone... "EEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Le Fou screamed and charged at Sprig.
"I didn't think this through," said Sprig before the older frog bounced on him and stomped on him, much to Polly and Hop Pop's horror.
Le Fou screamed, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
Hot Pants sprayed Cream Starter's foam in Le Fou's face and grabbed Sprig. Le Fou ripped the flesh off his face, tearing off some skin in the process. Hop Pop attacked with every Ripple attack he could muster, all of them blocked by Le Fou's Boy In The Bubble. Polly, seeing her grandfather about to be attacked, made her own Domino 2 impersonation, making the mad frog turn around and try to shoot her.
SHUNK!
Le Fou stopped and turned around to see Johan stabbing him in the left shoulder with the gunblade. His eyes widened, then he let out a pitiful scream as he fell to the ground, crying like a baby, "It hurts! It hurts! Mama! It hurts, Mama! Help me!"
"Wait, how did that happen?" asked Hot Pants. "His Stand didn't protect him!"
"Don't know, don't care," said Joan Jett.
Grime made a look of disgust. "He's like a child scraping his knee on the playground for the first time. Pathetic."
"Leave me alone, go away," Le Fou shouted as he backed off.
"I don't think so," snapped Hop Pop as he carried his injured grandson. "Not after what you did to Sprig and trying to shoot Polly!"
"Enough," said Johan. "He's not going to hurt us again. Will you?"
Le Fou nodded. "Yes! I'll be a good boy! Just go away!"
"Good. Because if you be a good boy and leave us alone, I'll let you live." Johan turned to the group. "See? Now let's go. We've wasted enough time with him. We'll patch ourselves up in the next coach."
As the group turned to leave, Le Fou stopped crying and began laughing again. "Gonna blow your heads off," he chanted under his breath, growing louder. "Gonna blow your heads off, gonna blow your heads off, gonna blow your heads off, gonna blow your heads off!" He pointed the cane gun at them. "GONNA BLOW YOUR HEADS OFF!"
KABOOM!
Le Fou screamed even louder as his left arm exploded and he writhed around as blood sprayed everywhere. The group gasped in shock. Everyone except Johan and Joan Jett. "Yeah, I knew you were going to do that," said the former. "Which is why I had Joan Jett put one of Cherry Bomb's sticker bombs on the tip of my gunblade, so that even if you have your Stand protecting you from everything outside, it won't protect you from the explosion inside your body. I wasn't going to take any chances with you."
"B-B-B-But you s-s-s-s-said," babbled Le Fou as he tried to stop the bleeding. "Th-Th-Th-That if I was a g-g-g-g-g-g-g-good boy, you'd let me live!"
"I lied. If there's one thing my dad and I have in common, it's this. We don't spare pieces of shit!"
"Y-YOU'RE SO MEAN!" Le Fou lunged at him, only to receive the beating of a lifetime from DARE.
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA! WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"
With one last "MUDA!", DARE sent the unrecognizable lump of flesh that was once Le Fou flying out the window and he crashed into a tree. Death was instantaneous. Johan dismissed DARE and he collapsed, panting. The group ran to his aid, but he smiled as he asked, "Did you get all that?"
Stand: Boy In The Bubble
User: Le Fou (real name, unknown)
Power: D
Speed: A
Range: N/A
Durability: A
Precision: A
Potential: E
Ability: Has no physical form, but has an impenetrable force field that deflects anything. The shield does have a weakness in that it is made to stop anything moving with a greater-than sound speed, but conversely it will not stop an object moving slower than sound.
Meanwhile, the girls could hear a faint crashing sound. "Sounds like our friends are in trouble," said Anne.
"Then there's no time to lose," said Sasha. "Come on!"
The trio ran down the coaches, only to come to a stop when they saw Valentine sitting in one of the pews. He was fiddling with a heart shaped stone between his fingers. "Valentine!" Sasha rushed forward and tried to attack him with Slash, only for Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap to appear and punch it in the face, sending Sasha flying right back into the arms of her friends. She got up and growled, "Damn you."
Valentine ignored her as he focused on the stone. "They say that Heart is a useless power. How could something like empathy and love compare to the intelligence of Wit, and the physical attributes of Strength? But if ask me, Heart is a great power. The power to read and influence others' emotions, to tell when one is lying or truth telling, to reach out and form bonds with strangers and make them into friends. However..." He crushed the stone between his fingers, but the girls did not flinch. "Heart can also be a weakness. For who knows what dark thoughts lie in a heart? What secrets that one does not want others to know?"
Valentine disappeared and in his place was a pink salamander with darker pink pigtails and wearing a Japanese school girl's sailor suit. "Why don't we find out?" she asked with sadistic glee. Sasha saw the newt's Stand appear, it looked like an amphibian version of an anatomy model, with one half showing the skin and the other half showing the internal organs.
"Look out," shouted Sasha.
Black tendrils shot out of the organic half of the anatomy model and pierced Anne, Sasha, and Marcy's chests. But instead of killing them, they pulled black spheres out. The spheres then twitched and started to grow arms, legs, a body, and a head. The girls gasped as they found themselves looking at monochrome, red-eyed copies of themselves grinning at them.
"This is the power of my Stand, Duality. The power to reach into your hearts and pull out your darkest selves," said the salamander girl. "It doesn't matter how pure-hearted you are, darkness exists in every heart! You're your own worst enemy! Upupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupu!"
The three dark copies approached the girls, weapons at the ready. "Sasha wasn't the only one who had a dark side," said Nega Marcy. She pointed the crossbow at Marcy, who used the Spin to deflect it, but also left her wide open, allowing Nega Marcy to strike her in the face and chase after her.
Sasha gasped as her Nega counterpart let out a yell and charged at her with her swords, but Sasha managed to block them just in time. But Nega Sasha grinned as she summoned her Nega Slash, much to Sasha's shock. "She has her own Stand?!"
Nega Sasha chuckled. "I was born from your heart! Of course I have your Stand! But mine is better!" Nega Slash raised its sword, but Slash blocked it. Nega Sasha grinned and side swiped Sasha, knocking her flat on her back. Sasha rolled out of the way to avoid getting stabbed by her counterpart.
Anne activated her Ripple and her Nega counterpart did the same. "Overdrive!" They both shouted at once, firing a beam of Ripple energy at each other. They collided, making an explosion that sent Anne flying and crashing into one of the Anne grabbed Anne by the shirt and started punching her in the face repeatedly. "Hey," said Anne in between punches. "I don't remember being this strong."
The salamander girl giggled, "Upupupu! That's because the more darkness you have in your heart, the stronger your counterparts are! What's wrong, girls? Are you hiding something?"
Sasha's hair and eyes glowed a brighter pink as she charged up her Calamity powers. "Like hell I am!" She charged at Nega Sasha, who was now powered as well and the two of them clashed their swords. "You're weak, Sasha," hissed the dark counterpart. "You're terrible at making friends, so you do whatever it takes to keep the only ones you have." Sasha gasped. Nega Sasha chuckled and punched her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her and kicking her in the face. "How do you think they will react when they find out about your invasion of Newtopia? They're going to abandon you. Hell, they may even try to kill you, just like what you almost did to Hop Pop and JoJo!"
Sasha let out a growl, charged at her doppelgänger at top speed, and swung the swords wildly while Slash attacked its dark counterpart. "You don't know my friends! You don't know me," she shouted, ignoring the fact that her counterpart seemed to be growing stronger with every strike. Then Nega Sasha held onto one of her own swords by the blade and slammed the crossguard into Sasha's chest, making her fall onto her knees.
"I know. Because...I AM you." Nega Slash appeared and at break neck speed, slashed at Sasha.
Sasha's eyes widened and with a roar, she had Slash stab her doppelgänger's Stand in the head, causing the clone's head to spray blood.
Meanwhile, Marcy was doing her best to dodge her counterpart's boom shrooms while using the Spin combined with her Calamity powers. Nega Marcy countered by using the Spin on the arrowheads and ricocheting them off the walls and at Marcy, who let out a scream as they pierced her flesh. Nega Marcy laughed at her counterpart's pitiful sounds. "Look at you. How can someone so smart be so gullible?"
Marcy tried to escape, but Nega Marcy grabbed her by the cape with her own Calamity powers, quickly dragged her back and punched her in the face. "Why are you even friends with those two? They don't really like you do they?"
Marcy's hair and eyes glowed brighter green as she charged up her powers, creating a bunch of arrows that fired at the doppelgänger, who easily dodged them. "Shut up! They are my friends! Very good friends!"
Nega Marcy giggled as she got up to Marcy, grabbed her by the head and slammed her into one of the pews. "Would a good friend ask to copy your test answers at school? Would a good friend constantly watch over you because they think you're too clumsy to tie your shoes without falling over? Would a good friend fall asleep while watching one of your favorite Japanimation shows at your sleepover?"
"Well, uh..."
Nega Marcy grin went wider when she heard her counterpart's hesitance. "Do you think they'll stay true friends when they find out what you did?" Marcy gasped. "Maybe I should tell them? They'll never want to be your friends if they find out-"
SHUNK!
Marcy immediately shot Nega Marcy in the neck with her crossbow. There was a look of panic on her face. "They can't know. They can't..."
A powered up Anne was busy in a tennis racket fight with her dark counterpart, who was grinning maniacally. "You think you've changed, Anne," Nega Anne asked as she locked blades with her. "You're still the same girl back on Earth! A weak!" Nega Anne clashed swords with her. "Submissive!" Then fired a blast of Ripple energy into her. "Butt kisser!" Then she fired Calamity energy combined with Ripple at her. "In spite of everything, you'll always be Sasha's slave! The troublemaker at school who disappointed her parents and jeopardized her future!"
Enraged, Anne charged her powers up and made quick slashes with her tennis racket, all of them blocked by her doppelgänger. "You're wrong, knock-off me!" She side swiped Nega Anne, then pinned her to the ground. "The Plantars and JoJo taught me to stand up for myself, to make my own decisions, to fess up and learn from my mistakes! And I am not that selfish person anymore!"
Then she struck the dark counterpart with a loud crack. The dark double let out a chuckle. "Are you sure? Can you still trust Sasha and Marcy after what they've done to you?" And with that, she passed on.
All three girls panted as they stood over their counterparts' bodies. Sasha said, "That's that."
"Actually, that was half time," said the salamander girl. The dark counterparts' bodies twitched and began to move towards one another. Then they began to merge, grow in size and become a giant monstrous amalgamation of all three girls. The salamander girl laughed. "You want that thing to die? How about killing yourselves! As long as darkness exists in your hearts, Duality will keep resurrecting your counterparts again and again!"
The girls readied their weapons. "What's the plan, Sasha," Marcy asked.
Sasha trembled as she held the swords. "I...I don't know."
Anne looked at the amalgamation as it raised its fists. "I have an idea, but it's kinda crazy and stupid. Very, very, VERY stupid."
"What is it?" asked Marcy.
"We do nothing."
Sasha and Marcy looked at Anne like she had grown a second head. "WHAT?!" they shouted.
"You're right, that IS stupid," snapped Sasha.
"Anne, I know you've had some crazy ideas, but this," said Marcy.
"Sasha, you asked me to trust you," said Anne. "How can I do that if you won't do the same?"
Sasha and Marcy looked at each other, then nodded. "What do you want us to do?" the former asked.
"Take my hands, close your eyes, breathe slowly and think happy thoughts."
Sasha and Marcy did what she said and thought happy thoughts. Them meeting each other for the first time...them getting into all kinds of trouble together...them meeting JoJo and learning about Stands...Anne and JoJo meeting the Plantars and getting into all kinds of adventures...Sasha training with Grime, Percy and Braddock...Marcy reading all kinds of books with King Andrias...
"It's over," said Anne. "We've won."
The amalgamation shouted, "WHAT?!"
"You were born from the negative emotions in our hearts, but we've overcome them. Therefore, you don't exist."
"FOOL! WE ARE REAL! NOW FEEL THE REALITY OF YOUR TORMENT!"
"Anne..."
"Don't let up, Sasha. Keep thinking happy thoughts."
The girls did not move as the amalgamation slammed its fists on the girls, only to let out a scream it as it was sucked into their bodies. Then that was it. It was gone. The salamander girl groaned, "Aww, I wanted it to last longer! No matter! I can have Duality bring them back again and..."
"Stand down, Junko," said Valentine as he appeared behind her. "They passed the test."
"What?! No they didn't! They still have darkness in their hearts! The point of this test was to keep fighting their darkness until they've conquered it!"
"And they have. In their own way."
"No they haven't! Their darkness still exists! They'll just come back and-" The salamander known as Junko didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as Valentine summoned D4C and pushed Duality along with its owner out the window, shocking the girls.
"I just wanted to get it over with," he said. "You passed that's all that matters. The Trial of Strength awaits. By the way, she was right. You may have conquered your inner darkness, but it's still in your hearts, waiting to make a comeback." And with that, he sank beneath the floor.
The girls, exhausted, sat on one of the pews. "Guys, can I tell you something," asked Marcy. They both looked at her. "Before we arrived in Amphibia, I did something really bad, and...I'm not sure how to explain it to you."
"Why?" asked Sasha.
"I'm afraid that if I do, you'll never want to be my friends again. I don't know what to say or how."
Anne put a hand on her shoulder. "Whatever you did, you can tell us any time you want. Probably not right now, when we're on a life and death situation."
"Besides, compared to what I did to Anne and JoJo," said Sasha. "It couldn't be all that bad."
Marcy looked away. "Yeah..."
To be continued ➟
Stand: Duality
User: Junko
Power: E
Speed: C
Range: A
Durability: C
Precision: A
Potential: E
Ability: Takes out a person's negative emotions and gives them form. The stronger the negativity is, the stronger the clones become. The only way to overcome the dark clones is to find balance in one's heart.