Chapter 6: We Caught the Rainbow, Part 2
"It's always so good to see you, my beautiful daughter.", said Jotaro as they hugged tightly.
"You're an amazing father.", replied Jolyne. "It's not like you are unworthy of my time."
"Aww… try not to melt your old man's heart."
"Ha ha ha…It's funny because you don't look old at all."
"…"
"Listen, Dad, I brought some…stowaways on the way here." Jolyne was, of course, referring to everyone that she had met on her road trip. That is, Hermes, Weather, and Emporio; Weather less so than the other two, as Dr. Pucci had introduced him a couple of weeks back. "Do you mind if I bring them in?"
"Not at all.", replied Jotaro.
After everyone came inside and the door was closed, Hermes, Anasui, and Weather shook hands with Jotaro. Emporio just held back tears. Dr. Pucci was the last one to shake hands with Jotaro before everyone left the foyer and ventured further into the expansive Kujo Mansion.
Everyone was now sitting on the couch in one of the many living room areas of the house. As they all enjoyed their beverages, whether it be tea, coffee, or chocolate milk, a very significant conversation began to take rise.
"So, I had this dream last night…", began Jolyne. "It was spectacularly surreal. There were all these Stands, and we were all in prison, and we all died at the end, and it was all one giant mess. Actually, it was more like a memory, kind of like the ones I had when I first met Anasui."
Jotaro was shocked. "Dear God, I have been having the same dream for years, but it was abbreviated, and obviously, from my perspective. In this dream, Dr. Pucci was a man of God, not a man of Science. Also, he followed DIO and stole my memories."
Jolyne snapped her fingers. "That's it. That's the memory."
"Wait a moment," interjected Pucci. "If we all know each other, why am I not getting these memories?"
Emporio felt in his soul that he already knew the answer as to why, but he didn't want to tell anybody yet.
"One of us might have a Stand ability that we don't know about yet.", reasoned Weather. "If I were to point fingers, I would start with the kid in the Baseball outfit."
Emporio rolled his eyes at the sentiment. "Actually, you may be right, Weather. After all, I am the only one to remember killing 'alternate' Pucci as I told you at breakfast. After that, the flow of time surpassed what was created, and so the strands of time unwound, taking everything back here. By that logic, nobody should remember, right? Wrong. I did. Why?"
Dr. Pucci, being an expert on Stands, felt inclined to reply. "You saw all of your friends, everyone who's here right now, die, right? Maybe all of that trauma created a new Stand ability that…gives other people dreams, I guess? I don't know; we never do until it's proven. Thankfully, we can prove it right now."
"Right now?"
"Sure, but we're going to have to go downstairs."
"Downstairs?"
"Yes…downstairs. Dr. Kujo?"
"Follow me, everyone." Jotaro stood up and started walking towards the back, with everyone else following suit.
He led them to what normal people would believe was just a regular wall. Next, he summoned his Stand, Star Platinum, and pushed the wall in, revealing a secret passage. The boulder holding the door closed is about 10,000 kilograms.
In this passage, there was an elevator. It was as large as a room of its own, yet it was a glass elevator. Everyone got in as Jotaro pressed the button that said "8". After this, the doors closed, and the elevator descended at a maximum speed of about 10 miles per hour.
At the bottom, when the doors opened, everyone stepped out to a penthouse-like view of a large atrium area, similar to those that you would find when staying at a "Embassy Suites" hotel. All of the flat-screen TVs were showing various commercials for Speedwagon products that would change the future of mankind, such as cars, medicine, and household products. The many people in lab coats walking around in that "basement" were employees of the Speedwagon Foundation, for this was a secret research facility.
"My office should be this way." said Pucci, pointing to the right of the elevator exit. "Once we find out what's going on, we may be able to use this ability effectively, or partially seal it before it reaches the entire world."
Marco Pucci's office is fairly simple, it is a white room with a glass wall, which acts as a window into the atrium of the Facility, and a glass door. There is a chair that leans back so far that whoever sits in it is lying down when adjusted correctly. His diplomas are hung up on the left wall to the door, and they come from the American University in Cairo. He has a desk, but that should be obvious.
"Now, Emporio, I'm going to have to ask you to stay still for just a moment so that I can extract your discs. I promise that I will only make a copy, and not take it.", said Pucci.
"Just so you know, I have two known abilities at the moment. One of them is your brother's. It's complicated, but I used your brother's ability to defeat evil you.", replied Emporio.
Dr. Pucci then extracted one disc from Emporio's head.
"That's strange. You just said you had 'Weather Report', right? I don't see it in there…"
When time returned to the original universe and surpassed the "new universe", the strands of time unwound, causing everything to be put back into place, including Weather's Disc, which went back to him. Nobody on Earth remembers what happened. For all but one, it was just another day.
The previous night, when Emporio seemed to have Weather Report in his head, it was actually Weather himself playing a small prank on Emporio. Thinking about it, it was probably not a good idea.
Either way, Pucci inserted the disc into his computer, as Whitesnake's discs are made to fit easily in DVD and Blu-Ray players.
Emporio was amused, but a little freaked out and scared of the soul that had superseded the man responsible for all of his suffering. First, Father Pucci had killed his mother, and then, he killed his friends, who he had called family. All in all, Emporio Alnino was a victim of about three lifetimes worth of trauma. When he cried at the sight of Jolyne (who had called herself Irene until she could "trust" him), he was crying tears of joy and sadness. He was happy because he knew it was actually them. How? First, he saw Hermes and Anasui's faces, and he knew that if they looked the same, they were the same souls. He didn't know how on Earth he came to this conclusion, just that he did. The Joestar birthmark was just solidification of his mental state for him.
Using special software developed by Whitesnake's abilities, Dr. Pucci was able to examine what a Stand's ability was, among other aspects of a Stand's history with its user.
"Let's see…", he said, beginning to read off of the screen. "'Stand Codename: 'Burning Down the House'. Original User: Emporio Alnino. Ability: Is able to recreate destroyed objects, which effectively become ghost objects. These ghosts give sensations, but not effects in the real world.' Ghost objects…what exactly does that imply?"
"Well," Emporio picked up a pencil. "If you don't mind, for demonstration purposes, I will take this pencil here and snap it in half."
He then did what he said he was going to do, and snapped the pencil in half, breaking it.
"Then," he continued. "I go through this crack in the floorboards and bring it back."
To everyone's astonishment, Emporio vanished through the tiniest crack in the floor, only to emerge with a full version of the pencil that he had previously snapped in half.
"Now, if I try to write my name on this piece of paper, it won't actually show up."
He then picked up a notepad and wrote "Emporio Alnino" on it. After that, he dropped the pencil and his jaw. There was no way that it was possible, but apparently, "Emporio Alnino" was clearly written on the paper.
"What the hell?", he exclaimed. "Has my Stand's ability evolved? Am I seeing things?"
As always, Pucci was always one to explain. "Well, I was just reading, and it seems as if your Stand has evolved in multiple ways. It says here that you have two new abilities, the first being 'Dream Creation'."
"Dream Creation?"
"This ability was born out of a sense of tremendous loss for the user. First, it gives the user a 'dream', which is actually an alternate timeline. This timeline will share the same people, some of the same events, etc., but it will always end with the user overcoming what sent them into said dream. If the user meets new people in the alternate timeline, then those people will become fated to meet each other in the user's original timeline, and they will also get the dreams that the user was given in the form of memories."
"Well, that answers one question; that all really never happened." Emporio took a sip of his chocolate milk. "Thinking about it, I'm not shocked that it was all a dream. The problem is, I got too attached to that dream. I don't even know what my real backstory is. I'm sure that I will learn soon enough. What about the other one? It seems like that is what caused that ghost pencil to become real."
"Apparently, this new ability is the true form of your 'ghost object' ability, and it is listed as 'Interdimensional Access: If any part of the user is caught between two objects, then the user can move to an alternate timeline, universe, or dimension.'"
Everyone in the room gasped. "Oh my God, this could be one of them!", exclaimed Jotaro.
"One of what?", asked the boy.
"Theoretically, there are only two Stands in the multiverse that can move between alternate realities. Even we don't know what they are. This could be the biggest discovery of the entire century!"
"You know what? Let me try it.", said Emporio, wanting to learn more. "I'm going to go to a world where…all of you are…alien clowns, and then I am going to come back." He then put his finger between the bottom of the glass wall and the carpeted floor and simply willed himself to go to the world that he spoke of.
When he got up, he found himself in an identical office, but surrounded by six very creepy-looking clowns in full makeup and rubber shoes, wanting to "give him a hug." Scared, Emporio screamed and quickly put himself between the couch and the floor, returning to his timeline.
As Emporio breathed heavily, surrounded by his versions of Jotaro, Jolyne, Anasui, Hermes, Weather, and Pucci, he said, "That…was the biggest mistake of my life…but it was also amazing. I feel like I have all the power in the world at my fingertips."
"I think that his Stand should be renamed.", suggested Jotaro. "'Burning Down the House' seems a little tame for a Stand that can transcend realities and time itself.
"You do make a good point, Dr. Kujo.", said Pucci. "Try bringing out the physical form of your Stand, let's see what it looks like. Given that it is so powerful, it should have one, no?"
Emporio was skeptical of his ability to materialize his yet-to-be-renamed Stand, but, as he had done for the past perceived four months, he tried it anyway. As soon as he had willed it, the new form of "Burning Down the House" manifested for the first time.
Its height was about the same as Emporio. It was all blue, with the exception of its eyes and pink lacing, with a very mechanical look. It had the ears of a leporid, a mask covering its mandible, and eyes with no pupils and a cold gaze.
"Very interesting…", remarked Weather, taking a sip of gas station coffee. "I think his Stand should be renamed something along the lines of…maybe 'Filthy Acts at a Reasonable Price?'"
"Good choice, brother, but first, that is not the name of a song, and I feel like all Stands should be named after songs."
"You should feel lucky, kid.", Jotaro interjected. "I wanted to name my Stand 'Ocean Man', but the tarot system still existed, so…I have an idea, how about 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' or 'D4C'?"
"It's a mouthful, but I'll take it.", answered Emporio. "It might be fate that I chose to rename my Stand like this."
"I'm glad you like it.", said Jolyne. "Speaking of liking things, I have an announcement to make."
"If she is pregnant, I will ORA ORA that pink-haired son of a bitch into oblivion.", thought Jotaro.
"So, you know how you saw this Band-Aid on me when I came in?"
"Oh my god! Hopefully, you turned a part of yourself into string and sowed that back together!" Jotaro knew the truth, but he played along for the sake of his daughter.
"There is actually no cut at all, just…this." She swiftly tore off the Band-Aid, revealing her engagement ring.
"Congratulations!" said Jotaro in extreme pride. "I'm glad my little girl has grown up so fast!"
Anasui was confused. This was the first time that he had met Jotaro since their first "meeting her parents" date. In the last "dream" that he had, Jotaro rejected the engagement shortly before he died in the dream and woke up in real life. To be honest, he found his memories of the past to be a little…concerning, to say the least. He was just glad that he met Jolyne at the right time.
"Wait," he said. "I thought you were going to be mad at me!"
"Why would I be mad at someone that my daughter loves and trusts?" Jotaro was laughing and even smiling, something that he didn't usually do unless it was exclusively in front of his daughter. "Jolyne, all I have ever wanted for you was to be happy. These dreams that I have been having night by night…" He paused, beginning to cry at an exponential rate. "They constantly show me the consequences of trying to 'protect' you by leaving you. I've seen it all, and I'm sure you have, too. I want you to know that I would never do that."
Jolyne's heart melted at the notion. "Aww…Dad."
"And as such," continued Jotaro, his face gushing with tears, "I approve of your engagement, and even though I have divorced your mother, I feel like I have more in my heart for the happiness and safety of my beautiful little girl than for anything else on this planet."
As for everyone else, they couldn't look at such a "horrific sight" as said by Hermes. Obviously, she was being sarcastic, as she had developed a special bond with these people and was now testing the ropes of friendship. As for Weather and Whitesnake (the nicknames of the Pucci brothers), they simply looked on in delight as the lovebirds kissed in each other's arms.
Meanwhile, Emporio began to believe that the "dream" that he had and gave to most of the people around him was something that changed their lives for the better.
Conveniently just after the moment of wholesomeness, the announcement system, which was somehow unheard in the house above, came to life: "DOCTOR KUJO AND DOCTOR PUCCI, PLEASE REPORT TO FIRST FLOOR LABORATORY FOR PLANKTON HUMANIZATION DEMONSTRATION."
"Ah, right." exclaimed Pucci, gathering his belongings. "We had best be off."
"You can wait here, unless you want to come with," Jotaro elaborated, smiling while wiping the tears off of his face. "You know, as an engagement present."
"Guys, how about we watch the demonstration?", said Emporio, knowing everything about what the demonstration was. "It could be fun, and even interesting."
"Sure," said Jolyne, the leader of the group that stayed in Titusville the previous night. "Let's go."
Soon enough, everyone got up, grabbed their things, and headed downstairs, this time using the actual stairs. Jolyne and Weather, wanting to practice using their stands, created a rope to slide down and manipulated the wind to slowly help them descend to the bottom floor, respectively.
The "First Floor Laboratory" was to the right of the elevator on the way off. It, like the rest of the facility, was embroidered in white and glossy material. It consisted of two rooms, the observation room, and the actual laboratory. There was only a pane of glass separating the two, with a speaker on the observer's side for anyone doing the demonstration to give commentary.
Jolyne and co. entered the room and sat down among the press, who consisted of papers, such as the Orlando Sentinel, and television stations, such as WESH. It was 2011, and the world had been used to bizarre happenings like this ever since Italian mob boss Giorno Giovanna revealed himself to the general public as a Stand user and introduced the concept of Stands to the general public. Meanwhile, Jotaro, Dr. Pucci, and for some reason, Weather, entered the laboratory and began the demonstration.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.", said Jotaro. "It is great to have you here today as we take a leap forward in closing the gap between humans and lesser forms of life."
Everyone perked up at such a revolutionary statement.
"As a Ph.D. holder in Marine Biology, I have teamed up with Dr. Marco Pucci, an expert in the fields of Genetics and, more relevantly, Stands, to work on the potential of sea plankton taking control of a human corpse as well as the ability to control the process of homeostasis within said corpse."
Pucci continued the introduction. "We found that we could do this through a Stand that I have taken from one of DIO's followers, which has been codenamed Foo Fighters. Its abilities are water absorption and control of plankton colonies. If a human can control it, then surely a plankton colony will be able to control itself, right? Let's find out."
He then turned his head to Weather. "Domenico, the colony?"
Weather took his bag and pulled out a jar of dirty-looking water, which apparently contained the plankton colony. When Weather was in Port St. Lucie, he conducted the task of taking a colony of plankton from the waters around Green Dolphin Street Prison, which was owned and operated by the Speedwagon Foundation as a prison for malevolent Stand users. It was raining because Weather wanted the plankton to have plenty of water.
Emporio knew that this plankton would become none other than the F.F. that he knew back in the "dream" timeline. He wanted her, like everyone else, alive again, so he started to focus his newly realized memory transplant powers with D4C.
Without further ado, Dr. Pucci inserted the Stand disc into the colony of plankton. Surprisingly, the plankton absorbed the disc as if it were eating it. Within 10 seconds, the plankton began to multiply rapidly as it came free from the jar, transforming itself into a humanoid form.
"As you can see", continued Pucci, "The plankton can handle the Stand 'Foo Fighters'. Now, as for corpse reanimation, we have a rather morbid volunteer, please try not to record any video of this or take any pictures, as it may be disturbing for children." The last sentence was directed at the press, who lowered their cameras as Jotaro unveiled the human corpse, which was a woman, late teens, early twenties, with short, green hair and a gray prison uniform.
"Everyone," said Jotaro, "Meet Atroe. She was a prisoner at the Speedwagon Foundation's Green Dolphin Street Prison who recently tried to escape and was shot down by the guards. We are going to try to-"
At this point, the sentient plankton had already taken control of the prisoner's corpse, which was already looking less…dead.
Unbeknownst to Jolyne, Hermes, Anasui, Jotaro, Weather, Pucci, and the rest of the press, F.F. had experienced a short lifetime's worth of memories within ten seconds. She unstrapped herself from the board that she was on, walked over to Weather, and gave him a very tight hug. Emporio smirked, as he knew that his trick had worked.