//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: Du Hast Mich // Story: SuShi's Bizarre Adventure: Nugget Run Horizon // by Jojoleopard //------------------------------// “This is so cool! I’ve never been in a helicopter before! We can see everything!” Prism Dash leaned her head out the side and grinned as the wind whistled through her face. “What are you so excited for? You’ve been in a plane.” Fuchsia grumbled. “Yea, but a plane isn’t a helicopter.” Prism shot her a look. “Fuch this.” Fuchsia shook her head and groaned. “What?” Prism sat back against the back of her seat and furrowed her brow. “It’s different, okay? It’s like sitting in a, I dunno, a car and then a truck. It’s different!” “You tell yourself that…” The goth girl leaned back and draped a towel over her eyes. Summer shook her head and gave Prism a pat on the shoulder before turning her attention to the front of the helicopter. Sweetie Belle sat in front with another woman with red hair and a huge bowtie on top of her head, holding up a bushy ponytail. They had been introduced to her earlier and her name was Apple Bloom. According to Sweetie, she was another member of her little Crusaders party and a co-founder of the Crusaders Foundation, which was where they got the helicopter from. Jojo had asked why they hadn’t just called in the helicopter from the beginning, but Sweetie had assured him that it took time to arrange something like that. That didn’t sit well with Summer, because if their vehicle got destroyed again, it was back to walking for them; they likely wouldn’t get another helicopter for days, and they likely didn’t have much time left before Weather Alternate unearths the Nugget People. They had to get up that mountain as quickly as they could. “Sweetie Belle tells me y’all are some o’ the most capable fighters she’s ever seen,” Apple Bloom said, her voice buzzing into their headsets. “It’s too bad I ain’t got a Stand myself, or I’d be fightin’ out here with y’all.” Apple Bloom was the sister of Applejack, another of Summer’s mother’s late friends and she too had stepped up her game to help others alongside Sweetie Belle after they had lost their sisters. She worked on a farm just outside Canterlot, but with the advancement of technology over the years, she also now oversaw an apple cider brewery, which they made using the apples around the farm. “Wait, you’re the owner of Brew Mah Apples?” Prism pressed her hands against her headset. “I love that apple cider! My mom does too!” “That I knew, Prism.” Apple Bloom chuckled. “I’m surprised she never told you.” “Now it makes me wonder what other secrets she’s got up her sleeves.” Prism rubbed her jaw. “We’ll get to that once we get home. First, we’ve got to stop Weather Alternate once and for all!” Already, Mount Fegel was before them, unobstructed now that they were far from any settlement. The craggy surface spanned high into the sky in front of them, even though they were at least a hundred feet in the air. Its rocks were a dark blue-grey color and they could see a whole lot of people and vehicles down there, some of which left the mountain side with carts of golden nuggets. It seemed the Nugget Run really was booming. “How are we even supposed to find the Nugget People?” Jojo asked, pointing from the top left mountainside to the bottom right. “There could be thousands of caves up here now with all the digging. How do we know where to look?” “It’s got to be somewhere Weather Alternate has its eyes at.” Sweetie Belle mused. “Their base is up here somewhere. Perhaps it's best we first find it.” “Sweetie Belle is right.” Bushido Spirit nodded. “There could be useful information in there.” “Then we first need to find a place to land.” Apple Bloom turned slightly to face the others in the back. “There ain’t much place to land on a mountain. I’m afraid I’m gonna have to land y’all at the bottom.” “Great. More walking…” Fuchsia pulled the towel off her head. “Just kill me. Please…” “Hey, there’s no need for that.” Prism waggled a finger. “At least not yet. Hey, what’s that?” She pointed out the side. Summer turned her eyes to follow her finger, but it didn’t need much more guidance as a ball of blue electricity crashed into the base of their helicopter.  “I’ve lost control!” Apple Bloom tugged at her joystick, but it was unresponsive. “Everyone, brace!” The helicopter spun out of control and out of the air, sailing down towards the bottom, with not even a single alarm going off. The helicopter had lost all power. Summer Shine didn’t even have time to say anything else before the helicopter smashed against the top of a tree. Her head jerked back and she hit it against the seat hard. When Summer opened her eyes again, she realized they were in a forested area and the back of her head throbbed with every movement. “Augh…” she groaned and screwed one eye shut to accommodate her pain. “Wh-what happened?” “It came from the mountain…” Gipsy Dance threw her headset off her head. “It must’ve been Weather Alternate. Is everyone okay?” “Not really…” Jojo pushed a first aid kit off his face. It had given him a bruise on his left cheek. “So much for these things saving lives.” “We’ll need it here.” Sweetie Belle reached a hand out from the front and wiggled her fingers, asking for the medkit. “Apple Bloom’s not doing so good.” “I’ve had worse…” The pilot groaned as she clutched at her side. Blood seeped through her fingers and her skin had grown paler. “Remember the time we lost control of that nail gun…?” “This doesn’t compare.” Sweetie Belle lifted Apple Bloom’s now stained shirt and pressed a roll of swab on her skin. “You’re in no state to travel.” “Of course the helicopter had to crash…” Fuchsia Blush wormed her way out of the vehicle and dropped to the grassy ground. “Fuch this, everything always has to go wrong.” “On that, I can agree with you, Fuch.” Prism got out herself, nursing a cut on her forehead. “Hey, so what’s the plan now? We should get Apple Bloom to a doctor.” “But a doctor means we’ll have to travel back to Leipzig.” Summer Shine sat herself on the ledge of the helicopter’s bent frame. “We don’t have that kind of time. But we can’t just leave her here as well.” “I could get her back.” Jojo flexed one arm. “Tenacious D can travel faster than fire, as my dad would say. “I’ll make my way back as soon as I can once everything’s okay.” “What a hero.” Prism wrapped an arm around him and grinned. “Hey, you stay safe. Don’t go dying on us out there, you hear?” “I’m coming too.” Sweetie Belle got out carrying Apple Bloom, bandages wrapped around her torso. “She’s my friend. I’m… I’m sorry. I know I said I would protect all of you, but…” “We get it, Sweetie.” Summer put a hand on her arm soothingly. “She’s been one of your lifelong friends. We get it. You’ve done enough, getting us this far. We would’ve never made it all this way if you hadn’t shown up.” “That’s right. You take care of what needs to be taken care of.” Gipsy gave her a firm smile. “It hasn’t been long, but it’s been a good opportunity to travel with you.” “Likewise.” Bushido Spirit pulled his sword from the wreckage and slicked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, maybe we’ll kick Weather Alternate off the mountain by the time you get back to the hospital!” Prism swung a fist sky high. “It won’t be long now.” “Yeah, we just have to climb a mountain…” Fuchsia rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “Real easy…” “Hey. You have me.” Prism prodded a thumb into her own chest. “I’ll get us there and we’ll finish them off and return home stinkin’ rich.” “Thank you. All of you.” Sweetie Belle managed a smile and her Stand appeared beside her. She lowered Apple Bloom and she vanished into REO Speedwagon. “I’ll be as quick as I can. But before I go…” She dug around her pack and removed a few sets of parkas, gloves, boots and even goggles. “You’ll need this where you’re going.” “I don’t.” Prism tilted her chin up smugly. “Coldplay will be able to deal with the cold.” “Then we should head out. Tenacious D!” Jojo put a hand in front of his face, then spun the other one behind his back. His Stand appeared beside him, smoke pouring from its nostrils. “Hey, you make sure you keep an eye out for more Weather Alternate chumps, huh?” Prism walked over and gave him a fist bump on the shoulder. “You make sure you keep an eye out for them,” Jojo repeated back. They both shared a look for a moment. Summer looked between them and lifted an eyebrow. It was a very strange look, but then Prism broke eye contact and slapped Tenacious D on the rump. “Alright, off you guys go. Apple Bloom needs that medical aid.” “Right. Stay safe. All of you.” Sweetie Belle handed Jojo her Stand before disappearing inside. After slinging REO Speedwagon over his shoulders, Jojo pointed forward and Tenacious D growled before speeding off down the road, leaving a trail of fire behind its wheels. Summer watched them go and sent her silent wishes with them. She knew Jojo could deal with Weather Alternate if they went after them, but if everything went well, then they wouldn’t have to. Summer and her group were about to head up Mount Fegel and that meant Weather Alternate would possibly pool all their resources to stopping them here before they could get to their base of operations. “Come on, Sushi. Time we head out.” Prism broke her thoughts and tossed her a parka. “Time to kick some Weather Alternate butt.” —-----JO-JO—--- The walk out of the forest grounds had been easy and without incident. Once they had gone back on the main road, it had only been a half hour’s walk to little camps at the base of the mountain where people from all over the world had pitched up camps and small settlements. There was even a log cabin sitting at the edge of a campfire. Summer didn’t know why anyone bothered constructing one, but at least they were more comfortable than the regular tent. “There’s the path up.” Prism pointed to a winding bend leading up the mountain. A truck was in the process of driving down, marshalled by a man carrying a sack of tools. “I say we just walk on up there and kick Weather Alternate down from the peak.” “We don’t even know where their base is,” Summer said. “And I doubt it’ll just be there for everyone to see. It probably has a secret entrance.” “Secret entrances will have a tell,” Bushido Spirit added, sliding his sword slightly behind himself as they entered into the mini settlement. “They will need to have oxygen. There will be vents leading out from the mountain. That is where we can start.” “You’ve delved into secret hideouts before, Bushido?” Gipsy Dance asked, intrigued. The man nodded. “The Yakuza back home, some of them hide stashes of valuables or secret weapons. In hunting them down, I have learned to pick out a few to make quick work of them.” “You’re quite the hero.” Summer walked alongside him. “How come we’ve never heard of you?” “Humbleness is a virtue, Sushi.” Bushido smiled. “There is no need for fanfare or public awards. I do what I need for the better of people, then I leave before authorities show up. My grandfather taught me that true heroes are the ones rarely seen.” “That explains why no one knows our parents saved the world too.” Prism nudged Summer. “I had wondered why she never had any awards for such a heroic thing. What bigger thing is there than saving the world?” “Well, telling people that they used ghosts made of psychic energy that can’t be seen might be stretching people’s belief a bit far, even if it is true,” Summer told her. “Yeah. Just like how you don’t believe I have a Stand,” Fuchsia mumbled. “Which I totally do.” “You don’t.” Prism pointed at herself. “I have a Stand. And my Stand’s pretty awesome. I haven’t even once seen yours!” “How do you explain me seeing Stands, then?” Then she shook her head and sighed. “Fuch this. Why am I even arguing? It’s pointless. Life is pointless. I just want to be done here and go home.” “What are a bunch of girls like you doing here?” One man with a beard suddenly walked over and stopped in front of them. “This is no place for young ones like you. You can come stay in my tent. It’s warm and I have candy.” Bushido moved himself between his group and the man and narrowed his eyes. “That will not be necessary. And do not do what you would soon regret.” “Tough guy, aren’t you?” The man prodded him in the shoulder. “But I wasn’t asking you. I was asking your girl friends there.” Another man walked up behind them and laughed. “You girls aren’t packing any equipment. You should take up his offer. He has tents. Comfy ones for many people.” Then more and more started showing up and soon, there was a chatter around them, making all their dialogue unintelligible. “Are they serious?” Prism ducked down and tried to find a way out. “This is insane. Who are they trying to kid?” “Well, us, apparently.” Summer pushed one man’s hand away as he reached for her chest. “Okay, enough!” Fuchsia raised her voice louder than anyone had ever heard her. With a shove, she launched one man back into a cluster behind him, knocking them all down. That was enough to get the crowd to silence themselves and back up slowly. Summer had been in awe of what she had just witnessed as well and while her attention was on her friend, she felt a hand touch her chest again and she pushed it away. “Hey!” she growled at the man who had done it. It was a man with a scruffy beard and round spectacles and he was looking at his hand and wiggling his fingers. “Amazing chest you’ve got there,” he said. “Squishy too.” Summer moved her hands in front of her chest, feeling violated. But then something felt odd. She realized that she couldn’t feel the thump of her heartbeat. She moved her hand around, then to her wrist, trying to find it, but it was as though she didn’t have one. There was no pulse. “Hey, what-” She looked back up, but the man with the round glasses was gone, vanishing somewhere past the crowd. “Something wrong, Sushi?” Bushido was beside her, his purple eyes trying to get a read on her. “Yeah, I’m not sure, but…” Summer took his hand and placed it against her chest. The man blushed and took one step back, but didn’t do more. “I can’t feel my heartbeat. It happened after some guy with round glasses touched me.” Bushido relaxed and closed his eyes. Then he opened them again and nodded. “I cannot feel it either. Something is amiss. We are likely dealing with an enemy Stand user.” “Aren’t we always?” Summer grunted. “Wait, does this mean I don’t have any circulation?” And then she swayed and collapsed, but Bushido caught her in time, preventing her from hitting the ground. “I feel a little faint…” Summer’s eyes struggled to stay open. Seeing the commotion, Prism and Gipsy ran over, while Fuchsia continued giving the other miners dirty looks as she pounded her fists together. “Someone stopped her heartbeat,” Bushido explained. “This is the work of an enemy Stand. Stay with her. I will find whoever did this.” Summer opened her mouth, but nothing came out. “Do not worry. I will find the enemy. And I will regain the functions of your heart.” Bushido put a hand against her cheek and shared a look with her. “A normal human can go about ten minutes after their heart stops. Do you think you can find them before then?” Gipsy worriedly looked at him. Bushido’s face morphed into a steely gaze and he stood back up. “There is no other choice. I will have to. Summer reached a hand up for him, and though he wanted to stay by her side, he had to go to save her. “Do not worry, Sushi. You have me. I’ll find this enemy and I will end them in the name of justice. I will be back before ten minutes is up and you’ll be alright again.” Bushido broke off into a run. Summer had pointed towards the east and this enemy would not have gone far if he was planning to kill all of them. He would be back again when the opportunity came, so he just needed to keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals, but he only had ten minutes. He was not going to fail, not for Summer, not for his grandfather.