Butterfly Effect
Okay, this time I can't excuse myself for not writing for months. I'm sorry you had to wait week after week. Though the good news is, I now only have 2 incomplete stories, so the waiting will take less from now on.
I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Chapter 18: Extreme Weather
DIO's minions had caused enough trouble and delays for the crusaders, who finally, after so much wasted time and interventions, reached Cairo.
Hol Horse provided exceptional usefulness this time. He knew where his former boss' mansion was situated, so the crusaders didn't have to waste time.
Though prior to heading there, they waited to meet up with Marco, who'd finally been discharged from the hospital.
A yellow taxi parked next to a café they were sitting in. They were sitting outside, so there was no need to walk out of the door to meet him.
"He's here."
Opening the door, the Zeppeli stepped out of the cab, head held up high. Upon stepping foot on the pavement, he immediately made eye contact with everyone, wanting them to see something.
"Welcome back, Marco, we've-" Joseph was about to greet him enthusiastically, but was interrupted by a fellow crusaders.
"Look at those scars!" Polnareff exclaimed, pointing at the vertical scars right above and right below his eyes. "Are your eyes alright?"
"Haha, slow down, Polnareff." Marco laughed, waving his hand back and forth like a paper fan. "I was treated by the doctors of the Speedwagon Foundation, my eyes are just fine."
"Well, that's good to hear." the frenchman said, rubbing the back of his head. As a greeting, they quickly shook hands.
"As I was saying…" the old Joestar started again, shooting a glance at Polnareff who sheepishly flinched, "we've missed you, Marco."
"Likewise, Uncle Joseph." the Zeppeli greeted back, then moving forward for a light hug.
"Good to see you back." Avdol also greeted, smirking faintly and shaking his hand.
"That's right, it's nice to have you back." Kakyoin waited his turn before also shaking hands.
"Appreciate it, you two." Marco smiled at them.
Next, without saying anything but nevertheless happily, him and his father embraced each other.
"…"
"Nothing from you, eh, Jotaro?" the Zeppeli then jokingly asked, looking at Jotaro after releasing himself from the embrace with his old man.
"Could have stayed gone forever." the young Joestar sarcastically remarked, performing a handshake and moving his shoulder forward so that both their shoulders touched.
"Missed you too, Jotaro."
So after an while of separation due to injury, the crusaders were complete again. Everyone was together for the final and most important stage of their mission.
Having been away for quite some time, Marco listened to what his partners went through without him.
"Well done, Hol Horse, you've really surprised me." he praised the cowboy after hearing about his victory against [Anubis]. The gunslinger couldn't help but grin, appreciating the respect.
"What a battle, father, Uncle Joseph. Amazing." he spoke, surprised and impressed about how well the two old men fought against Mariah.
"That's tough." he commented, nodding in empathy at the trio of Polnareff, Avdol and Kakyoin after hearing about their battle. His nod was returned.
Now that everything that happened in the Zeppeli's absence had been mentioned, they were able to start planning their next step.
And Hol Horse played a key part in that.
"I know where DIO's mansion is, I can get you there, but we can't go in yet." the cowboy told, a trace of hesitation in his voice and eyes.
The crusaders figured there would be more enemies in that location. After all, the big boss was supposed to be there.
"Why's that?" Joseph wanted to know, addressing the issue. He was sure the gunslinger would provide clearer information with that.
In a frightened manner, Hol Horse shuddered. "You see, the guard of DIO's mansion is fucking scary… It'll literally make you shiver!"
"'It'?" the egyptian observed, raising his brow. "You're saying the guard isn't human?"
"It's not! It's a fucking carnivorous killer bird with a Stand!" the cowboy informed, making a totally scared expression. "And when I mean killer bird, I really mean it! That thing's a psychopath, it has human intellect and loves inflicting cruelty upon its victims!"
All crusaders leaned backwards with their heads. It was a surprising revelation that made them react in disbelief.
"A psychopath bird?!" the frenchman repeated incredulously, squinching up his face.
"Yes! A psychopath bird that not only violently kills everything it deems an enemy to DIO, but also brutally kills other animals for fun! It's seriously messed up!"
As crazy as this sounded, the way the gunslinger was afraid of the bird didn't make it seem like he was lying.
"So then, how should we take out that bird?" Noriaki inquired, trying to find a solution.
"I personally think Avdol is fit for the job." Hol Horse replied, glancing at the egyptian. "His ability should counter the bird's."
"And what ability does the bird have?" Avdol questioned, pressing his fingertips together.
"Ice." the cowboy answered, placing his palms firmly on the table. "It creates spikes of ice to shoot at its enemies. The end result is a lot of blood spraying around."
He quivered a bit when saying the last part.
"Understood." the egyptian said with a nod. "Then I know what to do."
Surprisingly, Marco then suggested himself as a fighting partner. "By the way, I could use that molten ice's water against it. Count me in too."
Thinking he was too quick to consider fighting again, Caesar stood up and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Wait a minute, you just got released from the hospital! I think you should sit this one out."
"Uh, yeah…" the gunslinger agreed in a reserved manner. "Besides, it'll just freeze the water again."
"Then I'll just unfreeze it again." Avdol involved himself anew, defending the Zeppeli's will to fight. "It's that simple."
Lost for words with a deadpan, Hol Horse sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "If you say so…"
Having been silent long enough, Jotaro opened his mouth again. "Then, in another question…"
Noticing the question was directed at him, the cowboy turned his head towards the young Joestar. "Yes?"
"Who'd you say would be ineffective against that bird?" Jotaro wanted to know.
"Good question." the gunslinger muttered, assuming a very rare thinking pose. "For starters… No offense, but I can't see a way Joestar-san's Stand is gonna be useful against the bird."
"None taken." Joseph quickly flicked his hand.
"Also, I'm surprised at how well Zeppeli-san has fared against Stand users without having one, but this one I'm afraid is too much for you." he carefully advised, still trying not to offend anyone.
"If you say so…" Caesar merely shrugged.
"And… Jotaro, Polnareff, I'm sure the bird'll be careful enough not to get within the range of your close-ranged Stands." Hol Horse concluded the list of people he thinks would be a bad match-up against the enemy.
"…"
The young Joestar's eyes were shadowed, but he did not say anything.
Polnareff just sat there with his arms crossed, a little disappointed that he supposedly wouldn't be much help.
"Which means, Avdol, Marco, myself and also you, are the 4 people fitting to take on the guard bird?" the redhead figured, taking a direct look at the cowboy.
'Oh crap!' the gunslinger thought, clenching his teeth behind his closed lips. He forgot to exclude himself. Too late now, he'd look really bad if he tried to sit out.
"That's right…" he barely smirked, looking out of place on that poker face.
Now the fighters had been decided.
"Good, if that's everything, how about we get going?" the egyptian asked, clapping once before talking.
"Yes, let's get going." the Zeppeli agreed, standing up from his chair.
Shortly afterwards, everyone else got to their feet.
"You lead the way, Hol Horse." the old Joestar reminded, causing the cowboy to sweat a bead. If he was the one walking in front, he'd be the first target.
"O- of course, as promised…"
With that, they made their way towards DIO's mansion.
XXXXXXXXXX
After some walking, the crusaders arrived at their spot of interest. They halted at a place where they could see it, the tall and wide mansion with multiple round towers, like a small castle, but outside of its guard bird's range. A tall and wide wall encased the property, with many palm trees visible between the outer wall and the building itself. Other than those palms, nothing else behind the walls but before the residence could be seen, because the gate at the entrance was closed.
And they wouldn't get past those gates unless they killed its protector.
"DIO sure is making well for himself." Polnareff commented, secretly liking the design of his mansion.
"Definitely stolen from its original owner after killing him or her, just like everything else in his possession." Joseph remarked with an undertone of hatred. "What we need to is stealing his life. So let's get going already, Hol Horse."
The old Joestar wasn't intending to hide his impatience in the slightest. He put additional pressure onto the cowboy.
"Not this way!" the gunslinger warned, refusing to go further like this. "We can't just walk on like before, we're about to enter its range!"
"Didn't we agree about just fighting him then?" Marco asked, not sure why Hol Horse was making such a fuss now.
"It's… not about that!" the cowboy corrected, trying to hold his voice down. "If we want to get closer, we have to watch our every angle! All blind spots, all directions. That bird is fast and has eyes sharper than its claws, it could quickly attack us from any direction and disappear out of our sight before we can react!"
He truly was scared shitless, the gunslinger. He feared he could die today, perhaps to that carnivorous bird.
Seeing how distress Hol Horse was, Jotaro took the supposed danger seriously.
"Alright, some of us will watch above and behind. Remember, some of us have an extra pair of eyes." the young Joestar assured, referring to the humanoid Stands. "So get us there."
Not really reassured by Jotaro's words, the sweating cowboy gulped. "O- okay, b- but be serious about the watching, alright?"
"Of course, it's not just you who's in danger, it's all of us." the young Joestar reminded, his eyes ordering the gunslinger to move his ass for good.
"F- fine, c- come." Hol Horse stuttered, then proceeding from their current position in silence.
Not 10 steps ahead, the crusaders witnessed the appearance of the guard bird, sitting atop the property's gate. It was a dark brown predatory bird, wearing a red scarf and a golden helmet with colorful feathers of another bird species sticking out atop. One glance and they could tell it wasn't normal.
"T- th- that's it, the bird…" the cowboy whispered loudly enough to be audible to all crusaders. "DIO's pet… Its name is Pet Shop."
"Oh, a falcon." the cherry boy observed, identifying the species.
"A domestic bird." Avdol added, speaking in the same neutral manner.
"It's not the time for shit like this, you smartasses!" the gunslinger ranted, annoyed at the calmness of his partners. "It could attack anytime!"
"Like… now?" Caesar wondered, pointing at Pet shop. While pointing, his finger moved exactly as the falcon did.
"Look, it's flying above us!" the frenchman called, watching as the bird took off from the gate, flying in the air towards the crusaders, and then flying circles above them.
As Pet Shop flew in circles tens of meters above them, something white and shiny started forming underneath it.
"Hey, what's this?" Jotaro questioned, slowly concerned as that thing started growing and growing. The other crusaders shared the concern.
"Oh shit, it's crazy!" Hol Horse then screamed in panic, his danger senses fully kicking in. "It's planning on crushing us all!"
Withing only 10 seconds, the ice Pet Shop produced grew from an ice cube to an iceberg Tens of meters wide. A huge iceberg found in polar waters was about to drop down in a big city next to a desert.
"Everyone, stay together! Let's crush this thing by combining our powers!" the young Joestar powerfully urged, summoning his Stand.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
All the others too manifested their Stands, trying to crush the danger above.
[Silver Chariot] sliced a section of the iceberg into pieces, then hitting away the smaller pieces with its rapier.
[Hierophant Green] unleashed a massive amount of emeralds, whittling a portion of the massive ice into small pieces.
[Magician's Red] used a wide-area flame of the highest possible temperature to melt a sizeable chunk, supported by [Mental Overdrive] redirecting the resulting water away from them.
Despite not having a Stand, the old Zeppeli also tried his best to defend against the massive ice, using Bubble Cutter to slice away some of the ice. It didn't amount to much, but one had to do anything to survive.
"Come on, just a little more!"
It took much effort, but the crusaders prevailed in the end against the lump of frozen water. Their hearts were beating as hard as [Star Platinum]'s fists were pounding the ice.
"We did it!"
But the joy didn't even last for a second. The moment they were able to see the sky again, they spotted the next iceberg ready to drop.
"OH SHIT!" the wide-eyed Joseph yelled, afraid they had to change tactics. If they stayed there, even if they managed to crush the new iceberg also, it would turn into a battle of attrition.
"Fuck, another one?!" the cowboy shouted in terror, even more scared than before.
Similarly, the rest of the crusaders too weren't delighted at all about dealing with the same thing again.
"This is a joke!" Polnareff exclaimed in disbelief, his widened eyes flickering.
Thinking quickly, Jotaro gave instructions again.
"Quick! Get together in 2 groups of 4 and run away!"
As not to be alone and more vulnerable against Pet Shop after running away from under the second iceberg, the crusaders split up into 2 groups. One consisted of Marco, Avdol, Kakyoin and Hol Horse, the attacking party, the other consisted of the rest, the defending party.
Hightailing out of that position, the crusaders barely escaped the falling colossus.
"Fuck, almost got hit!" the cowboy yelled, being the last one of this group to get away.
"Damn, I didn't imagine this to be so dangerous." the Zeppeli remarked, all relaxation gone from his face.
"Yeah, likewise." the egyptian commented, wiping away some sweat off his tense face. "We shouldn't let that bird get such an opportunity again."
Slightly turning his head, Noriaki suddenly spotted Pet Shop in his field of vision. Alarmed, he quickly raised his voice and pointed at the direction. "Everyone, look! It's coming at us!"
At extremely high speeds, faster than normal falcons, the guard bird approached the crusaders like a missile, getting dangerously close.
Panicking completely, the gunslinger shot 5 rounds at Pet Shop, intending to pump it full of Stand lead. "Aaaah! Don't come close! Die! Die!"
From 2 directions, high-speed objects were about to collide. The bullets would've won and killed the bird, had said bird not evaded skywards by 90°, 0.1 seconds before impact.
"What the-" Hol Horse couldn't believe how fast the falcon maneuvered away, saving itself. He was so close to hitting it.
"It evaded?!" the redhead let out in shock, his head faintly jerking backwards.
"Unbelievable…" Marco said motionlessly, his mouth a bit open.
"Tch!" But still, the cowboy wasn't willing to give up only after that. He directed his bullets upwards, making them chase the guard bird.
Into the sky, Pet Shop and the projectiles played chase. Though as the distance between the Stand parts and the Stand user became greater, the bullets would continuously lose speed and power, forcing the gunslinger to withdraw the projectiles.
"Urgh, dammit!" Hol Horse cursed, stomping on the ground.
"It got away." Avdol observed as the bird became only a point in the blue sky. "But it's going to come back right away, no?"
It didn't make much sense to him, nor did it to the cherry boy. "It has to…"
"My, I don't know if that move was cowardly or smart." the Zeppeli mumbled, placing his hand pensively below his chin. "But it's a terrifyingly fast bird for sure."
A few moments later, the falcon reappeared, this time on a downwards flight.
"I'm not gonna let you get away this time…" the cowboy lowly snarled, narrowing his eyes with determination at the enemy.
Locking on with his eyes, he again pulled the trigger 5 times, sending a volley of bullets after the guard bird.
Though again, exactly like last time, Pet Shop evaded in the nick of time, taking a turn to the right, which would be to the left for the gunslinger, who was less surprised and more focused than last time.
"Not falling for that again!"
If the bird took a turn, so would the bullets. For a short distance, the falcon flew on. But then it suddenly changed course again, heading skywards for the second time.
"Damn! Is it gonna attempt the same thing again?!" Hol Horse complained, frustrated with the bird.
"…"
His partners wordlessly watched in suspense, thinking how much trouble the guard bird was.
A little late in reaction again, the projectiles were redirected into the new direction.
"Come on, this time…"
The cowboy's bullets were faster, but Pet Shop was simply more agile, able to react fast and move away by 90° easily. So it exited its current path anew, to the right, which was also rightwards from the gunslinger's perspective.
"Aaaaaargh!" Hol Horse was losing his composure, getting angrier.
"Really, we have to deal with this bird somehow." Marco stated, crossing his arms. "This pattern just keeps repeating."
"Agreed. Leave it to me next." the egyptian requested, preparing [Magician's Red].
Unsurprisingly, more like expectedly, at a random time the cowboy couldn't predict, the falcon suddenly took a turn again, leaving the gunslinger's bullets without a target in front before his reaction and correction again.
"This is fucking stupid!" Hol Horse cursed, genuinely angry. His grip around [Emperor] tightened significantly.
"Err, maybe it's time to give it up." Kakyoin attempted to persuade the cowboy, making a gesture with both arms stretched forward with palms upwards, though the right arm only at half length and slightly crooked. "You see, it's pointless."
"Shut up!" the gunslinger barked, not even looking Noriaki in the eyes. "Don't disturb me, I'll get that son of a bitch soon!"
Following that turn from earlier, the guard bird took another way, but for the last time. It was now flying downwards, directly towards Hol Horse himself.
"There you are…"
Their eyes met. Hunter and prey, that's what both of them thought of each other. That moment, the cowboy's eyes were incredibly serious, staring at his opponent with self-confidence. So were Pet Shop's eyes at first, though midway, its eyes became rather mocking, it even seemed to sneer at the gunslinger with its beak.
"What's so funny, asshole?" the pissed off Hol Horse snarled, his eyes narrowing further.
And then it happened again, the bird drastically swerved off the way, leaving the cowboy's projectiles following their own way.
Before the gunslinger could react and adjust his bullets however, he was tackled down from the side, his bullets hitting the ground behind him.
"Oof!" Hol Horse let out in pain after hitting the pavement in a hard way.
"Hnngh!" His side hurt badly, there'd have to be some bruises later. Carefully getting back up to his feet again, his collar was immediately grabbed by the redhead.
"Are you stupid?! How didn't you see that coming?!" The cherry boy was really, really furious.
"…? See what coming?" the cowboy questioned, not liking how his collar was grabbed and he was scolded.
"The bird's path and the trajectory of the bullets behind, can't you put 2 and 2 together?"
"…?" He was completely clueless, visible on his face.
Kakyoin even let go of his collar to facepalm. "You're such an idiot…"
Shaking his head a few times, he then grabbed the gunslinger by his shoulders. "The bird was tricking you into shooting yourself! Was it changing course for the x-th time not a giveaway?!"
Now, Hol Horse wasn't that stupid, at least he believed so. Slapping those hands away, he proceeded to defend himself. "I know that! I just believed I still had enough time to move my bullets away."
"No, you wouldn't have." Noriaki refuted, keeping the stern look on his face. "Because you failed to take something else in account, you narrow-visioned fool."
The cowboy's eyes twitched, he wasn't going to tolerate that tone no longer. "Instead of calling me names, how about naming the problem exactly, Einstein?!"
Explaining the issue would be a piece of cake for the redhead. He didn't falter at all, he rather went into the offensive even more.
"While flying, it was shielding the sun. So when it changed paths, you would've been blended by the sun, unable to see your own bullets. And in that very moment, they'd have put holes in you."
"…"
With how masterfully the cherry boy pointed out that he didn't take the sun in account, the gunslinger was left speechless. His jaw dropped at the loss of words, the loss of words for the fact that he really was almost tricked by a bird of all things into killing himself.
"I…"
"Get yourself together for now, it's not the time to argue." Avdol then stepped in, trying to stop the argument. "We still need both of you alert, that bird isn't going to stop attacking just because you're busy arguing.
"He's right, you know." the Zeppeli supported him in a casual manner.
"…" Having to agree, Kakyoin turned his palms upwards. "Yeah, you're right…"
Without saying a single word, Hol Horse nodded, agreeing to concentrate on the task at hand. But he couldn't concentrate as he was too lost in thoughts, staring holes into nearby buildings.
Summoning [Magician's Red], the egyptian pulled up his sleeves, then cracked his knuckles. "Alright, leave this one to me."
Patiently waiting until Pet Shop approached the crusaders again, Avdol ordered his Stand to spray flames out of its mouth like a flamethrower.
Just like this, the air around the became hotter, the temperature rising by several degrees.
Up in the air, the bird got the message and rapidly retreated. For fire being the natural enemy of birds.
"Great job, Avdol!" Marco soon praised with a big smirk, knocking his friend on the back. "Sure showed him who's not to mess with."
The falcon really seemed to have gotten the message well, since it stayed very high in the sky for a long time. It just didn't come back down again.
But in turn, that gave the crusaders the feeling something was wrong.
"Wait… It's not going to attempt the thing with the icebergs again, is it?" Noriaki wondered, growing concerned.
"I sure hope not." the egyptian replied, bearing a stern but worried expression. "We're fewer in numbers, so trying to melt the ice will be much harder."
"We can still run away, and it knows this." the Zeppeli reminded, a bit more optimistic. "If it tries crushing us again, we know what to do."
"Let's just wait and see…" the redhead carefully said, uncertain how exactly the guard bird would execute its attack.
So the crusaders were looking at the sky, waiting to see how the attack would be. As expected, there would be icebergs falling, though contrary to their expectations, the attack wasn't anything like last time.
Instead of one humongous iceberg Tens of meters wide, there were, upon first glance, about 50 smaller icebergs, each about 2-3 meters wide. And those were about to cover a huge area, a large section of the street.
"Fuck me…" Seeing as the danger was getting apparent again, the cowboy was forcefully dragged out of his thoughts.
"Tch! Sure used his time usefully." Avdol regrettably remarked, figuring why Pet Shop didn't show himself for a long time.
"Seems like running away is out of the option." Marco stated, worriedly driving his hand through his hairline.
"Shit, it's hitting 2 birds with one stone…" the cherry boy commented with a concerned frown. That bird had made it both hard for them to run away, and hard for them to melt the ice.
Without a warning, Pet Shop then let loose the small icebergs, making it rain massive amounts of ice.
"Oh shit!"
"Fuck!"
The crusaders immediately flocked together, the egyptian rapidly manifesting his Stand. [Magician's Red] formed an umbrella of fire, shielding the crusaders from the cold and deadly rain. The fire was hot and dense enough to instantly evaporate the icebergs.
Under pressure, Avdol clenched his teeth. "This is going to save us for now, but I don't know how long. Curses, it'll become a battle of attrition."
Everyone knew how serious a battle of attrition was. Such battles were literally gambling, like who manages to keep it up longer.
"In that case, let me help you." the Zeppeli offered, summoning his own Stand.
Taking his time, through [Mental Overdrive] Marco continuously gathered little amounts of water, forming a ring around the fire umbrella. He kept it up, enlarging the ring and also reinforcing it with Hamon for solidity.
As a result, the crusaders got themselves a bigger roof over their heads. And because the falcon now had a bigger target, it stopped firing all of its icebergs at the flaming part of their shield, easing the pressure on the egyptian.
"Holding out better?" the Zeppeli asked, his arms up in the air for continuous Hamon flow.
"Indeed… Thanks a lot." Avdol answered, sweating and breathing a bit heavily due to all the single-handed hard work up until the moment.
One useful feature about Marco's part of the roof was that it was transparent, meaning you could see through.
While watching, Kakyoin observed that the guard bird had gotten closer. It was clearly visible to him. Another thing he observed was that the icebergs gradually changed shape, starting to look less like traditional icebergs and more like missiles.
'That bird, it really wants to break us…' Noriaki thought, wanting to put an end to its chaos already.
"Avdol, Marco, I'm gonna take action now." the redhead informed, earning their attention.
"Are you sure? It'll be dangerous." the Zeppeli warned, albeit it was obvious.
"I have a plan, don't worry that much." the cherry boy reassured, nodding.
"Good luck, but come back down here when it gets too dangerous!" the egyptian wished, sending his friend a glance of support.
"You got that." Kakyoin responded with a smile, then turning around to run out in the open.
Noriaki started running, and didn't stop. For his plan to work, he had to be moving all the time.
Taking out [Hierophant Green], he aimed at Pet Shop, all while running.
"Emerald Splash!"
Hundreds of emeralds were shot upwards, disturbing the bird's ice missile attack.
Thanks to its spectacular eyesight, the falcon easily reacted in time, but some of its missiles it was about to fire were ruined. It was forced to also pay some attention to the redhead.
"Hey, I know you can understand human language, so listen closely!" the cherry boy shouted, intentionally provoking the guard bird. "We're going to fight back, and we'll defeat you! And after we're done with you, we'll be coming for your precious master!"
Indeed, it was true Pet Shop understood human language, its intellect was far above that of the rest of his kind. That intellect made him understand human concepts and emotions. The concept of 'provocation' reached it, making it feel the emotion of 'anger'. Coupled with its feral instincts, its 'response', not something uniquely human, would take on a 'sadistic' aspect, making it something of both human and non-human nature.
Creating large spikes of ice, the bird shot them at its running enemy. Those would keep him moving.
"Emerald Splash!"
Kakyoin performed the same move again, but split the firing directions this time, both smashing the ice spikes coming too close to him, and further harassing the falcon.
"You've got to do better than that!" Noriaki yelled, attempting to anger the guard bird even more.
Reacting with range, Pet Shop tripled its ice output meant for the redhead, launching another wave.
Of course, this meant significant reduction of attack power directed at his partners, making them able to relax their defenses and conserve their strength.
'Okay, this is going good so far.'
With many more spiky projectiles that would be deadly if hit coming flying towards him, escaping them was more difficult. Yet he managed to do well against the attack by only firing against spikes that would hit him, evading the others by running nonstop. And during that process, he wouldn't cease also firing at the enemy Stand user.
"Come at me, come real close!" the cherry boy taunted, making it riskier for himself. "Don't just shoot from back there, come and see if you can kill me from up close!"
Killing, that was what the bird really wanted to do to what it perceived as an upstart and an annoyance. Motivated by its bloodlust, it made a loud and threatening scream fitting for a carnivorous predator.
"SKREEEEEEEEE!"
Like a fighter jet, it shot forward, locking onto the still running Kakyoin. As its arsenal, it now utilized up to 5 times the previous amount of ice. Focusing on the moving enemy, it drastically reduced the share of ice meant to be shot at the crusaders beneath their safety roof.
Noriaki had never been bad at sports, but it was starting to become difficult speeding around now. If not for his Hamon training that greatly increased his stamina, he'd already be standing, out of breath.
'I can't keep this up much longer… Should I stop and fight from a standing position and conserve energy, or should I run underneath our roof again?' he pondered, passively defending himself with [Emerald Splash]. 'If I stand still now, I'll put myself in even greater danger, but if I go back now, they won't recover that much energy. Really, what should I do?'
Difficult to decide, the redhead grit his teeth. 'Both ways aren't appealing, but I have a few seconds to decide, otherwise I'll be forced to stop anyway.'
Literally seconds away from coming to a standstill due to fatigue, the cherry boy had no choice but to abruptly decide. '…You know what, fuck it, I'll do it!'
Slowing down his feet on his own terms, he put more emphasis on defense rather than evasion, strengthening his attack power. [Emerald Splash] now had a greater area of effect, and a greater firing frequency, very much needed to thoroughly crush all the incoming ice spikes before they could touch him.
'…Ironically enough, this is also becoming a battle of attrition.' Kakyoin thought, wondering whether he made the right choice or not, considering both weren't good to him in the first place. 'I wonder if Avdol, Marco and Hol Horse can move towards here if the situation gets out of control…'
The situation would definitely get out of control eventually, there was no mistaking, but whether it'd get out of control sooner or later, that was up to him. For himself and his fellow crusaders, he had no choice but to give his best.
Nerves steeled, Noriaki dared an all-out battle with Pet Shop. Eyeing the bird with a resolute stare, he formally challenged it to attack.
"Kakatte Koi!"
Come!
And the ensuing battle was intense. The falcon took the challenge very seriously, taking out heaviest artillery.
Crystals of opposite nature, namely crystals of pure Stand energy and crystals of real, visible matter clashed, shattering each other and creating clanging sounds. Both sides were unrelenting and unforgiving, intending to annihilate the opponent.
From the sidelines, the crusaders watched their friend battle in awe, feeling the intensity radiating from the redhead's battle. And while they watched him, they saw that he was only looking at the guard bird, completely focused on his enemy.
"Wow, that's seriously intense…" Hol Horse commented, his mouth agape. As a cowboy and gunslinger, he realized not to mess with this shooter.
"How long will he be able to keep this up?" Avdol wondered, concerned about what would happen next. "This power output has to be draining, he might be in real danger soon!"
"That's right…" Marco agreed, seriously watching and silently worrying. "Given his personality, he surely wanted us to recover some energy. So once we think we have to intervene, we should use some of that energy to defend and cover for him, just like he did for us."
"I just hope nothing bad happens to Kakyoin…" the egyptian prayed, though still having trust in his friend.
"Me too, Avdol. But all we can do for now is to preserve our strength, and more importantly, trust."
How far that trust would get them, the results would come out not too far from then.
Back with the cherry boy, the frontal clash was doing okay, neither side showed any superiority. It was an utter stalemate.
Clattering and shattering everywhere, this battle wasn't pleasant for the ears.
Actually, nothing about it was pleasant, especially not how tiring it was to keep up fighting that way. Both sides were reaching their limit on how many new projectiles they could produce.
The 30 seconds the direct rapid-fire duel lasted felt like an eternity due to its intensity and the need to not falter even in the slightest, but despite perceptions, the fighters were able to accurately measure the time. The measuring was done through the rate of energy loss, as they were able to feel how much energy they used up in how much time.
As it had to come, one fighter ran out of energy to keep firing. Needless to say, because this was going to definitely define the winner, the crusaders reacted with surprise.
"Holy…! I didn't expect that!"
"It's over now, isn't it?"
"Kakyoin!"
After all, Pet Shop had started producing and launching ice in loads, way before Kakyoin took out his emeralds.
Though, when the bird stopped firing, for a reason, Noriaki did too.
Albeit visibly tired, breathing heavily and sweating considerably, the redhead still had that iron gaze of resolve in his eyes, not taking them off the falcon.
"Looks like you're out of ice… Truth is, I'm almost out of emeralds as well."
With confusion from the sidelines, the crusaders raised the brows at Kakyoin's behavior. What was the meaning of saying this, they didn't understand.
"Hey, what's he doing?" Hol Horse whispered to Marco, unable to fathom why Noriaki stopped his barrage from crippling the out-of-ammo guard bird.
"Beats me." the Zeppeli simply answered, also having no clue. "Though what I said earlier about trust, still stands for me."
Across them, the redhead pointed at Pet Shop with his left index finger.
"But this has become a duel, right? You understand the concept of duels, right?" he called at the bird barely hovering in the air, flapping its wings with fatigue. "So if you fly away now to regenerate your ice reserves, you're the loser of this battle and a coward. You like that?"
Truly, the cherry boy put the falcon into a difficult position. It knew it had a mission and knew what move was more efficient, but it also had heaps of pride. Pride, that was clawed at already and about to deteriorate even more. To put further salt into the wound, both sides knew that this was an obvious provocation.
"To decide who the winner is, I try to hit you with my final barrage…" Kakyoin challenged, a mocking grin appearing on his face out of the blue, "…And you try to rip my throat or face open with your claws or beak."
"Oi, Kakyoin!" Avdol loudly interjected from the side, not agreeing with this tactic. "Stop it!"
Though Noriaki paid him no mind, keeping his eyes only on his enemy. Over there, the guard bird seemed to like this proposal. A bloody and painful death, this was what it desired for its annoying and pesky enemy. Licking its beak sadistically, it perfectly showed its cruel and violent nature.
"This is getting out of hand…" Marco sweatdropped, not sure when to intervene.
"Rooting for you, Kak!" the cowboy let know, bearing and awkward and worried expression.
Knowing that the consequence of this duel was definitely result in one death, the duelists gave each other one last death stare, one showing they were prepared to put their life over the line for this. An intense aura radiated off of them, getting stronger until the point where they decided to break the silence and commence the finale.
"SKREEEEEEEEE!"
"KAKATTE KOI!"
Like an entire battalion of miniguns, emeralds were shot through the air, all aiming towards Pet Shop. This version of [Emerald Splash] was powerful enough to mow down entire buildings, and rip apart living organisms if hit.
The bird didn't have it easy. From acceleration to midway flight, it had to be careful not to be gunned down. It was probably the hardest task the falcon had ever performed, but it was dodging every single emerald in midair. That was because the trajectories of the emeralds had a certain pattern, and it was able to read it.
From the initial 10 meter distance, it already crossed 8, enough of a reason for the crusaders to panic.
"Aargh! He's gonna die, isn't he?!" the gunslinger exclaimed in fear, widening his eyes and pressing his teeth together.
Behind his lips, the Zeppeli's teeth too were clenched. 'Oh no! Kakyoin, I trust you for a reason, but act fast! Otherwise it's gonna be too late!'
"Geh!" Sweating like a waterfall, the egyptian was prepared to intervene with [Magician's Red] right there and now. Trust in a friend and fighter, whose abilities and power he acknowledged and respected was one thing, but the danger of him dying when they were so close to meet their main enemy was another.
From just the looks of it, the redhead seemed to be about to take the loss, and pay with his life. The flying and dodging falcon was already brandishing its talons.
Although time was going fast, the cherry boy was reacting and thinking a lot and in detail, in spans of just a few milliseconds even. It was true that the guard bird was getting dangerously close, unharmed even, but that was exactly why he was focusing on the enemy and his plan with every fiber of his body.
Kakyoin didn't initiate the duel without setting up something that would grant him the win. Of course not. The only thing was, that what he set up was difficult to pull off, as it required maximum concentration and the best of timing.
'Just a little more…'
Noriaki knew the further Pet Shop was approaching, the more dangerous it was getting for him. Though despite that, he was going to stick with his plan.
When the bird was only 1 meter away from reaching him, a flash appeared in his eyes. That perfect moment he searched for, he finally figured it out.
"Hamon!"
That's when countless extremely thin, almost invisible strings made out of [Hierophant Green], each attached to the hundreds of thousands of emeralds, tangled with the falcon, catching him by great surprise. And before it could properly react, Hamon already flowed through the strings, paralyzing the guard bird.
*BRRRZ*
It was similar to an electric shock, the Hamon rush. Pet Shop glowed really bright for an instant, its eyes shooting wide open and its feathers becoming stiff like pricks.
"He did it!" Avdol blurted out, overcoming with relief that the redhead overcame what looked to be like a road to death. Standing still and letting the cherry boy handle it himself did pay out in the end.
"Hamon, huh? Real smart, real smart." Marco commended, smirking uncontrollably. The combo of Hamon and Stands, what he invented, proved itself victorious once again.
But before Hol Horse could say his own praises, Kakyoin quickly spoke up to him, in a rush.
"Hol Horse, pay close attention! The paralysis doesn't last long, so shoot the bird in the head RIGHT NOW!"
Almost reflexively, the cowboy tensed up at Noriaki's urgent and loud order. This was a golden opportunity, so he'd not only be in danger again if he didn't take it, but also an idiot.
Manifesting [Emperor] halfway through, the gunslinger fired a single but precise bullet, pushing it through the falcon's brain. Hitting a still target was child's play, but overall, this guard bird had been one of his most difficult enemies to date.
"…Got it."
Coolly spinning the half intangible [Emperor] before withdrawing it, he turned around in a rapid move, pulling his hat down to cast a shadow on his face. When everything was done and finished, Hol Horse managed to look cool.
Complete victory
No injuries, no losses. Pet Shop had been a ridiculously hard and dangerous enemy, though the crusaders defeated it through strategy, determination and resilience. So they had all the right to feel euphoria regarding their outstanding accomplishment.
"Thanks, Hol Horse." the redhead thanked with a smile, placing his arm on the cowboy's shoulder. "You got the kill."
"Ehehe, you're flattering me." the gunslinger giggled in a goofy way, not getting overly cocky. "But seriously, you were the main man of this battle. Without you, we'd have died."
"You could say the same about Avdol and Marco too." the cherry boy argumented, turning his head toward his partners to smile at them too. "Their help was also invaluable."
"I'm just glad we all survived uninjured." the egyptian honestly smiled, shaking hands with everyone.
"My words exactly." the Zeppeli agreed, nodding once. "This was a damn nice group effort."
Pet Shop was not the last remaining enemy on their way, not counting DIO himself. The four were in front of the gates of the enemy base, and would have to fight again very soon. But for just one or two minutes, just the 4 without reuniting with the others, celebrated their victory together.
XXXXXXXXXX
Of course there was room for some smiles and laughs after a won battle, but knowing that the war hadn't been won yet, the crusaders continued their preparations, reuniting all together.
"…So that's how you defeated the bird." Joseph summed up, hearing the story from the crusaders that fought. "Good fight, all of you, getting out with no injuries is astonishing and important."
Nodding, the crusaders affirmed and appreciated the final sentence.
"Looks like Hol Horse was right about the choices." Jotaro commented, smiling very narrowly. "We might rely on you choosing again."
"Yeah, I guess." Hol Horse replied without hesitation. In hindsight, he was glad he fought. Already made him slightly less afraid.
"Give me a fight this time." Polnareff requested in a bossy way, clenching his fist while holding them facing forward, in front of his chest.
"Too early to decide that, Polnareff." Caesar reasoned, weakly pulling the frenchman's top at its back. "We have to know about the next enemies first."
"Speaking of that…" the old Joestar picked up, addressing the cowboy about this, "Who's next? Surely you have an idea, no?"
Again, all eyes landed on the gunslinger. He did have information and was going to share it… but didn't feel so well. Although he did get a boost in confidence and courage after the last fight, it was SLIGHT, a major key word. The following enemies, who were on another level, Hol Horse was scared shit of.
"For one, there has to be at least one of the D'Arby brothers inside." the cowboy informed, gulping a bit.
"And who are they?" Avdol asked, digging for more information.
"What can they do?" Marco added, indirectly pointing at how lacking the short statements of the gunslinger were.
"They aren't physical fighters, but don't be mistaken, that doesn't make them less dangerous or fucked up…" Hol Horse warned, getting the creeps just thinking about them. "They're downright psychopaths, stealing the souls of people who lose against them, and using those souls as collectibles!"
Hearing this piece of information, all crusaders backed away by a few millimeters. Soul manipulation, such abilities would definitely be not to be trifled with. Coupled with said personalities, they didn't look forward to meeting them at all.
"How wretched!" The egyptian became furious at the information that there were people playing with souls like toys. It was very disrespectful to such a spiritual person like him.
"So we got ourselves some really nasty folks." Kakyoin stated, narrowing his gaze. "I'm with Avdol, let's destroy them."
Looking around and seeing how everyone agreed with the two, based on their facial expressions, the old Joestar too gave his input with a nod. "Yes, we can't let that slide, can we? Now let's go."
Already in front of DIO's mansion, they dared going inside, through the gate Pet Shop had been guarding. Now there was no going back for good, for they stepped inside the enemy domain proper.
"Don't forget, he is here, and expecting us." Joseph reminded, bearing a stern face to thoroughly make it clear that it was the endgame. "Entering this manor is going to be a trap, there's no mistaking."
"Our journey has finally reached its end…" Caesar decided to comment, emphasizing the final word.
"My, really dramatic." Marco remarked, bearing a serious expression. "Now it's especially important to stay calm."
Easier said than done, with all that was happening around them. Because suddenly, the doors of DIO's residence also opened. By itself, even.
Naturally, the crusaders were alarmed. "The door is opening! Stay on guard!"
Cautiously, the crusaders sneaked near the opened door. Slowly and nervously, they even dared a peek inside. A hallway, unimaginably long and with countless doors on the sides, lead away from the entrance.
"Look at this hallway, you can't see the other side… It can't be real. This must be some kind of illusion…" Polnareff remarked, feeling great unease.
The old Joestar warned him. "Polnareff, don't go through that door. DIO's got one or two Stand users left for us to fight, didn't Hol Horse say so?"
"Yeah, that's for sure!" the cowboy confirmed, nodding thrice in rapid succession. "The ones remaining are DIO's most capable!"
"Thanks for the compliment, Hol Horse."
"…!"
A male voice came from the other side of the hallway. The voice's owner couldn't be seen, but could be heard.
"Watch out! An enemy Stand user is already around here!" Avdol called, taking out his Stand. The other crusaders followed suit.
"Not yet, I'm still coming."
Few seconds later, a humanoid figure appeared in the distance, drawing closer to them. By the second, more of that person became visible to the crusaders.
First, the fact that the figure was floating. Second, that the person was male. Third, finer details such as light blue attire, light bluish-silver face marks and tall hair.
10 meters in front of the crusaders, this man came to a halt. He even lowered himself, his feet touching the floor. "Good day, Master Joestar. We've been expecting you. I'm the butler of this house." the apparent butler calmly introduced himself.
The frenchman, absolutely mistrustful and bewaring of DIO's servant, reacted with loud hostility, pointing at him. "I don't know who you are! But I know you are no ordinary human, and I'm going to kill you!"
"Polnareff! Don't be rash!" The old Zeppeli had to hold him back again, raising his voice. 'What is it with him?'
"Uncle Joseph, he addressed you directly, so I think you should speak to him." the Zeppeli voiced his opinion, delegating the task of responding to that man.
"Got it, Marco." Joseph nodded, then focusing on the man with the ability to float. "You've been expecting us…? As in, DIO and you?"
"That's right." the mysterious man confirmed, barely smiling politely. "Master DIO had always known you'd come to him, as in his words, so is fate."
"…" the old Joestar narrowed his eyes at the last word. Yes, it was fate, destiny or whatever you could call it, being a Joestar who's heard of the story of Jonathan Joestar by none other than people who lived in that age. His grandmother Erina and Speedwagon, have told him about this fated enmity since his childhood.
"And here you are, directly on his doorstep, after defeating Pet Shop and everyone else." the butler went on, doing his best to appear friendly. "Thanks to all of you, we're short on manpower."
"If you don't back off and tell us where DIO is this instant, your manpower is going to diminish by one again." the young Joestar suddenly entered the discussion, directly threatening the butler while maintaining his composure.
Deciding to provoke Jotaro, the man's smile changed into a sarcastic one. "Ah yes, the famous [Star Platinum] and its violent, blunt approach. We've all heard about it. Really scary to be honest, the sheer physical power."
"You knowing about it makes it all much easier." the young Joestar freely continued, manifesting [Star Platinum] next to himself. "I've already heard from Hol Horse that there definitely is a D'Arby in here, and that he's not a physical fighter. Considering that this was the first name he dropped, and you're the first encounter, I don't think it's a coincidence."
[Star Platinum] first flexed his biceps, then punched in the air hard enough to produce a light shockwave that passed by the butler's face. "Still want to dare?"
"Oh no~, looks like Hol Horse has used his most dangerous weapon, his loose mouth…" the man half-laughed, throwing shade at his former ally turned crusader.
"Fuck you, D'Arby!" the cowboy spat at his former colleague, flipping him off.
Not minding the gunslinger's third finger, D'Arby's manner became much more serious, a sharp contrast to his polite manner in the beginning. His attention was still turned towards Jotaro.
"I do." he merely spoke, his blue eyes as cold as arctic water. "I believe I have the skills to counter your Stand."
As confrontation was imminent, the other crusaders looked at each other.
"Hol Horse, what's your input here?" Noriaki wanted to know, drawing the attention towards the cowboy. "You said he wasn't a physical fighter, but that guy claims he can counter [Star Platinum]. What does he mean by this?"
Momentarily putting on a smile again, D'Arby cut short the questioning, waving his hands preventively. "No need for an explanation, you'll get to see it immediately."
The next moment, the butler took out his Stand. With the summoning also came some smoke, adding a mysterious and somewhat threatening feel to the reveal. It was a humanoid Stand with an asymmetrical head, pale gray in color with pink hearts plastered all over its body. All hearts placed on limbs had stripes going horizontally behind them, forming a ring-like pattern. On its head, placed where the cheeks would be, the initials 'T D' were written in pink.
"[Atum] here" D'Arby spoke, naming his Stand, "predicts that [Star Platinum] will first attack with its left arm."
"…"
He said that, before the purple Stand made its first move. Before the duel even commenced. Such words caused the crusaders to blink incredulously.
"Is that guy serious?" Polnareff asked, almost blowing air through his nose. Such a seemingly empty statement was almost laughable to him. "Jotaro, just deck this clown!"
Initially hesitating due to how baffled he was about the sudden proclamation, the young Joestar paid that no longer any mind, just going for the punch. A punch with [Star Platinum]'s right, with more than enough power to deck a supposedly physically weak Stand.
"ORA!"
What happened next, was unexpected and shocking.
Like in slow motion, as if to demonstrate this move, [Atum] dodged around the purple Stand's fist like a ghost. Cool, but ice cold and frightening.
Everyone's eyes save for the old Zeppeli's instantly shot wide open in disbelief.
'What?! It… It dodged?!' The old Joestar couldn't believe his eyes.
'W… What the…?' The young Zeppeli was considerably taken aback. 'That Stand dodged Jotaro's [Star Platinum]?!'
'It can't be…' The egyptian began sweating, even as a Stand expert this was too surprising. [Star Platinum] was supposed to be one of the fastest Stands in existence.
'Such incredible speed!' the frenchman thought, thinking that even his [Silver Chariot] would have great difficulties.
Though Jotaro, who got to behold the evasion from the front row, saw things more clearly.
'No… It wasn't speed… It didn't dodge because of its speed… It dodged before I even attacked, meaning… It knew I would attack with the right arm!'
And the realization left his mind boggled. 'He bet on my left so I punched with the opposite arm… But he knew I'd come from the right! How… Why…?'
When [Atum] finished swerving to the left with style, it grabbed the purple Stand's still outstretched arm by the wrist. And that with a strong grip, considering the pure physical strength of the latter.
"Whoops, that was a bit of bad luck right there." the butler casually joked, unfazed about being in [Star Platinum]'s range. "As your prize for refuting my prediction, I'll take you to a wonderful world."
Suddenly, a circular black void appeared beneath the feet of D'Arby and Jotaro, pulling them inside like a swamp. And by that point, it was too late for the young Joestar to set himself free by himself.
"What the… A pit?!"
"Damn it!" Avdol cursed, beginning to sweat even harder. "This hallway was a trap to pull us in!"
Joseph and Kakyoin, while taken aback, couldn't just let Jotaro disappear mysteriously like that. They manifested their Stands to help. "Jotaro!"
"[Hermit Purple]!"
"[Hierophant Green]!"
The Stands and the young Joestar's extending arms reached each other. "Jotaro's falling in! Pull him out!" the old Joestar pushed, clenching his teeth in struggle.
But Noriaki and Joseph didn't expect the butler to come out of the pit's surface and grab their hands. "I guess I have no choice… join us!" He literally took them by surprise, dragging them with him.
"Wh-"
"Agh!"
This was the point where the crusaders' alarms really went off.
"Oh, hell no!" Marco lowly hissed, starting to scowl hard. "As if I'd let you!"
Thinking that way simultaneously, the Zeppelis took action rapidly, and jumped into the void head-first.
D'Arby and his void were literally shady, so they couldn't just leave their friends alone.
"Avdol, look! The Zeppelis are going in too!" Polnareff called, wanting to follow suit.
"Hey, wait! We can't just all go in there!" Avdol reasoned, holding back his friend. "This was a trap, remember!"
"Avdoooool! Can you hear meeeeee?!"
Through the black pit, which incidentally was getting smaller and closing, the old Joestar's voice still reached them.
"It's Joestar-san's voice! He's saying something as he falls!" the egyptian pointed out the obvious.
"If you don't hear from us in 15 minutes, torch the mansion! You got that, Avdoooool?"
That was the last thing they heard. After that, the void closed, and the floor became white and normal again.
"Joestar-san!"
The crusaders with a clear and known location were now less than half of what they used to be. In enemy territory!
"Fuck! What a bad situation!" Hol Horse complained, his body tensing up and heart rate climbing. He thought he was damn right fearing the D'Arby brothers.
"No shit!" the frenchman cursed, stomping the ground. He was both highly frustrated and agitated. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
Two pairs of eyes looking at him, it was the egyptian's job to diffuse some of the tension. Though he was feeling uneasy as well. "We were told what to do by Joestar-san, so I guess there's no other choice than to stick to that…"
"N- No objections here…" the cowboy stammered, his knees shaking. "B- But first, c- can we retreat from the door?"
"…I suppose so." Avdol said, unable to accuse the gunslinger of cowardice.
Their options heavily limited, the crusaders carefully walked back into the garden, hoping for the best. What the rest of their group was doing, they had no clue, but they wished for them to solve their problem as soon, safe and sound as possible.
Ngl, even if I say sorry for the late update, it wouldn't excuse said late update at all. But such is university life, some of you may experience the same thing. Speaking honestly, it's not easy to write a lot with the little time you have, but you gotta do what you gotta do. For people who write fanfics as a hobby, it's the will to not disappoint their readers by dropping the story that keeps them going. And that's why I'll keep writing till the bitter end.
Regarding my writing choices this chapter, you have obviously noticed how overpowered of an enemy Pet Shop was. I have buffed it to make it more terrifying than in canon, taking the JoJo Heritage For The Future game as an inspiration, where Pet Shop is so busted, he's unplayable and banned in tournaments. Besides that, I felt like its potential was greater than what was shown in the short fight it had with Iggy. [Horus] was able to create huge amounts of ice underwater, which makes it really damn powerful.
Next chapter is going to be about the D'Arby brothers, both of them. That's all I'm going to reveal for now, so look forward to it, I'll give my best.
Feel free to rate and review if you like to.