> SuShi's Bizarre Adventure: Darkness Manifest
>  by Jojoleopard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: The Mysterious Girl
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feet splashed into muddy puddles as a figure ran along through the jungle brush, doing her best to avoid running into trees or fallen logs. The rain was pouring heavily above and the grey sky roared like a gigantic beast as lightning flashed across it in jagged shapes, almost like the sky itself was tearing apart. With each patter of footsteps came the ragged breath of the girl with black hair as she occasionally turned her head back as though she was being followed.

Seeing no one gave her a small sense of reprieve, but it would do nothing for her stormy heart, for nothing would calm her more than to escape this wretched island. Her white shirt caught on a dead branch and her left sleeve was torn off, left fluttering in the wind as she pressed on, not wanting to stop even for one second.

“Boat… boat…” she said to herself. Her voice was high-pitched, gentle and whispery, but full of urgency. She had only read about these vehicles in books, but if she wanted to get out of here, she was going to have to try.

The rain and wind whipped around her face, making it harder for her to see as she fought to wipe hair and droplets from it. She only had on a long sleeved white shirt and long white pants, and they both had numbers on them that read, ‘010’. They did nothing to protect her from the cold, but no matter what, she knew she had to get away from this place.

As she ran, the mud under her foot gave way and she lost her balance, sending her falling off the side of the path down a small hill. The girl bumped into rocks and broken bark, tearing off fabric and skin before coming to a halt against a tree, knocking the wind from her chest.

With her vision blurry, the girl slowly pushed herself back on her feet, feeling numb all over her body. She felt as though her legs could give way beneath her anytime, but she also knew she was almost to the docks.

The girl stumbled her way down the rest of the hill, then pushed through thickets and brambles to get to the edge of the jungle. Her pace had slowed considerably and she was now running on reserve fuel, but still she pushed her legs to walk, to see this journey to the end.

“I cannot go back…” she said, followed by a few gasps of pain as she held one hand to her abdomen. Everything inside hurt; she must’ve broken a few bones from the impact. “I have to… escape.”

As she pushed her way through branch after branch, bush after bush, she eventually found herself staring at an endless expanse of a turbulent ocean before her, thick with fog and filled with crashing waves. She pushed her toes under the sand beneath her feet as she scanned the beach for the docks that would take her away. It was coarse and rough, nothing like what she was expecting when she had first read about them in her books.

Just as she spotted the metallic structure to her east that contained an assortment of various boats and ships, there was a crackle behind her and a bolt of yellow lightning struck her in the shoulder, knocking her to the sand.

No… They caught up.

The girl raised her head, feeling the pain in her arm begin to spread across her body. Smoke puffed off her blackened shoulder from where the bolt had struck her. Fighting against it, she crawled, dragging herself through the sand as she willed her feet to get up, to run, to not stop until she was safe away from here.

“Subterra Shiver, return immediately!” a loud voice boomed behind her, coming from the hill she had fallen from. This was followed by the crackling of more lightning as the clouds above swirled in like a vortex.

But the girl would not, she would never go back. Crawling on, Subterra used the corners of a boulder jutting out of the ground to support herself as she got back on her feet. About halfway, she had almost fallen back to the ground again, but two grey tentacles with purple patterns emerged from her back, attaching themselves to the top of the rock to pull her the rest of the way up. 

“Keep moving, Subterra. Stop, and they will take you.”

“I know.” She nodded and lumbered on, looking back as an electrical form made itself known in the sky, an arm raised towards the clouds as lightning zapped around it.

The docks had a metallic staircase leading up to its platform from the sand, allowing Subterra’s tentacles to haul her up as she did her best to follow with her legs. Another bolt of lightning struck almost too close to home, slamming into the concrete wall by her head, but Subterra stopped herself from looking back and she went on, reaching the top of the staircase as she broke into a limping run, heading for the shed where all the boats were stored.

A crackling of thunder burst in the sky above her before a figure clad in electricity descended down in front of her position, crashing into the plastic carbon plating, denting them on impact.

“And where do you think you’re going, Subterra Shiver?” The figure stood up taller than her, its single eye tracking her movement as she inched herself to the side of the dock’s platform.

“I’m not staying here any longer! You can’t keep me!” she yelled at it.

“But this is for the better good, don’t you see?” The lightning figure shook its head, then seemed to look past Subterra. “I see.”

She turned around as another figure joined them. Subterra knew her well and what she saw sent shivers down her back. A woman in a white slim outfit with blue stripes loosely attached to her body slowly stalked onto the deck, her arms behind her back. She had long purple and pink hair and it swayed behind her like an impending pendulum as her orange pupils pierced the air between them, almost like they could see right through her soul. She too, walked with a limp and like she had just taken a beating, but Subterra knew it was from injuries she sustained years ago. She wasn't in top shape, but she still made her way all the way here to stop her.

“All I do here, Subterra, is for the eventual betterment of this world,” she said. Her voice was soft and silky, almost making Subterra want to close her eyes. “You do not see it now. They did not see it then, but I still hold true to what I have to do. I do not wish harm upon you or anyone else, but I will do what is necessary.”

“Y-You’re crazy. I can’t be a part of this any longer!” Subterra stepped back, but then remembered the lightning figure was still behind her and stopped in her tracks. “There’s a reason no one supports you.”

One of the woman’s eyes twitched, but she placed two fingers below it and it soon ceased. She placed her other hand on a dragon-shaped lapel by her right breast, stroking it tenderly. “You disappoint me, Subterra. Unfortunately, you are necessary to my plan. I will need you to come back with me.”

Subterra grinded her teeth together. She wasn’t going back. She couldn’t. She would not stomach another day here.

“Now, Subterra.”

She stretched one arm out and her tentacles brandished themselves again, reaching for the woman, but everything in front of her slowed down drastically and she could see the air bending before her as the woman stepped out of her path, curving to her left.

“No… TWI, you can’t do this!” Subterra pleaded, her voice slowed. “I won’t!”

“I’m not asking, Subterra.” TWI stopped beside her and leaned close. “The world is resistant to change, even if it will heal it. I’ve spent years watching it here from the shadows as it continues its descent to destruction. If I sit back and let it be, it will not live to see another century.”

She tried to swing a tentacle at her, but it was slow to change its course and TWI called out her Stand to push her down to the ground.

Subterra knew this Stand well. She had seen TWI use it countless times. Strange World was a Stand to be feared, even amongst the others she had recruited over her years. Subterra had seen it, the strange geode shaped into an arrowhead. That was how TWI gifted her followers their powers.

TWI’s Stand stood behind her now, its silver armor gleaming under the thunderstorm above. It had a long appendage coming out the back of its head, which now coiled around its master, pointing its sharpened tip over Subterra’s head.

“Please, come back. There’s much to be done, Subterra,” TWI said. “We can’t do this without you.”

Subterra looked at her crazed eyes. She knew there was truth and good will behind them, but then there was also madness. She was not going back. Not again. She had to get away, no matter what.

Darkness formed around her as she lay on the ground, something she had never experienced before. TWI and the lightning Stand took a step away from it, but in a split second, it spread across the deck, coating them in darkness.

“Subterra!” TWI’s voice called out from within.

The girl wasted no time in choosing one of the boats and hopped into the one closest to her, which was a small white vehicle that sat four, two in front and two at the back. She pressed the giant blue button that read ‘power’, waiting as the engine sputtered to life behind her head. A screen by the boat’s wheel blipped to life and a series of icons and controls appeared on its turquoise screen.

Subterra quickly tapped on an icon of a map, then as it appeared, she randomly tapped on one of the many islands around and the boat rumbled before being lowered down an elevator to the water below.

Green lights began to pop up on the controls and around the boat before an alarm went off, signaling the opening of the boat’s gate. The doors to the ocean slid aside, giving Subterra a long view of the stormy seas that awaited her. The boat began to move, its narrow prow cutting through the water with clean efficiency while the engine roared to life.

“Subterra!”

The sudden acceleration almost knocked Subterra over as the boat shot out of the shed and into the open sea, where waves of freezing salty water crashed over the sides and into the boat. Thankfully the vessel’s built-in drainage systems were working strong and there was no risk of water completely filling the boat.

Still, it was far from a smooth journey as the boat was tossed and buffeted by the waves, some of them sending the boat into high dives and steep falls.

Subterra looked back over her shoulder to see how far she had gone from the island, but there was no land in view. It was as if the island had simply vanished off the face of the earth. But here, she would at least be safe for the time being, finally away from the accursed island. Subterra allowed herself to lean back in her seat as adrenaline began to wear away from her body. The pain in her chest and shoulder returned, sending raging signals all the way to her brain.

She groaned and hugged her arms to her abdomen, clutching it tightly as the boat curved around a sizable wave. With nothing more to do except wait, Subterra slumped lower, allowing her eyelids to droop down as her consciousness disappeared into the darkness of her mind.


> Episode 1: Shiver me Timbers, it's Subterra
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing Subterra Shiver saw when she opened her eyes was the brilliant ball of light in the sky high above her, bearing down over her like some kind of vicious deity, slowly preparing her for a meal as she cooked away in her now lifeless boat.

She got up and shook her head, then recoiled as she touched her left arm. Her skin was hot to touch and she realized she must’ve been out here for quite some time to be like this. Jumping out of the boat, she trudged through shallow water, sand rows and rows of trash as she raced for the closest building, which, by the looks of it, was some kind of establishment for drinks.

“What happened?” she asked herself along the way. “Where am I? Why am I here?”

She prodded the side of her head with two fingers, but for some reason, she could recall nothing except for her name: Subterra Shiver.

“I came here by boat…” She looked back at her vehicle and proceeded on. “I didn’t bring any belongings. Did I need something…?”

She winced and clutched at her shoulder. When she looked down, she was shocked to see that her skin had blackened around a crater on her shoulder through a hole in her white shirt. She pressed a finger into it and hissed when it hurt.

People began to watch as she stumbled into the bar, propping herself up against the counter as the bartender eyed her suspiciously. Everyone here smelled of something foreign to her and whatever it was, it burned her nostrils.

“Who are you supposed to be?” the man behind the counter asked her. He had darker skin and a pair of jagged sunglasses.

“I wish I knew…” Subterra groaned and put a fist on the counter. “I can’t remember anything. I don’t know why I’m here.”

“Girl, perhaps you’ve had too much to drink, man. You look young too much to drink.” The man whipped out a cloth and began wiping down one of many empty glass cups. “But you look like you’ve had too much to drink, man.”

“I… I can’t remember.” Subterra shook her head sadly. “Could I ask, where am I?”

“Where you are, man?” He waved a hand towards the beach. “The island of Bora Bora, a popular tourist destination. You must be one too.”

“A… popular tourist destination?”

The man lifted the corner of his mouth. “A tourist, man.”

Subterra could only shrug. Then rubbed at her stomach. Whatever it was, it seemed she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for some time. “What do I do for a glass of water?”

The bartender poured out water from a tap into one of the glasses he was cleaning, then slapped it on the counter in front of Subterra’s face. She grabbed it and quickly downed its contents, never so glad to have water to drink in her life, or at least, she didn’t remember if she ever had been.

“That will be seventeen dollars, man.” He reached a hand out.

“Money?” Subterra felt around her attire, but there was nothing in her pockets. “I don’t… have anything.”

The man sighed and removed the glass from the counter. “If not for the inflation, I would give you more on the house. You’re better off elsewhere, man.”

He waved her off and Subterra slowly got off the stool and slinked out of the shelter, back into the sun as more patrons began eyeing her. “What am I supposed to do now?”

Her stomach still rumbled, but she didn’t have anything to offer anyone for food. She picked at her shirt and grimaced. She didn’t even have anything to get a proper outfit. She was going to have to try something else.

“Why bother with money, Subterra? You can always… just take it all.”

She stopped and glanced around. The voice sounded like it had come right next to her ear, but there was no one that close. “W-Who said that?”

“You might’ve forgotten about me, but your abilities remain, Subterra Shiver.”

She whipped her whole body around so fast that she tumbled to the ground, but still she saw no one close to her.

She planted a hand to the side of her head, then ran a finger down to her right ear. “Are you… inside my head?”

“You could say that.”

Subterra wanted to continue questioning it, but her stomach rumbled again and one of her hands shot to her gut.

“You should find something to eat. But you should also get out of your outfit. You’ll want to blend in better.”

“Clothes, huh?” Subterra pulled at her white shirt.

It was true. Her shirt was in tatters and both it and her pants were stained with dried mud and grass. That was probably why people were giving her such weird looks.

She trudged on through the place, finding out it was some kind of seaside resort for people from all over the world. There was a section of land that had been cleared away for two swimming pools, and there was a cave between the both of them that had a diving board at the top. The pools seemed to be filled with way too many people, but Subterra couldn’t blame them; she wouldn’t want to go swim at the beach either, seeing as it was full of trash. Not only was it disgusting, it smelled terrible too.

There were two lifeguard stations, one facing the beach and one facing the pool, and beside it was a small shack that was selling floats, swimming gear, little statues and…

“Clothes!” Subterra hobbled for the building, wincing each time her bare feet pattered against the hot stony floor.

The clouds overhead were scattered and few in number, allowing the sun’s rays to burn through the sky, heating up everything around her.

Subterra quickly made her way into the little shack, where there were two other people browsing the store’s many treasures.

“But how can I afford these? I don’t have anything,” she whispered to the voice in her head as she took out a sleeveless turquoise vest with a hood. It had luminous light strips on its collars, and an insignia on the chest that looked like stalagmites and stalactites.

“Do you think a place like this has any security?” her voice answered her. “Grab what you want. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.”

Without much more thinking, Subterra squinted her eyes and grabbed a white and purple striped shirt, a pair of pale purple shorts and a black pair of shoes that would be used for walking through water. Then looking around to make sure no one was looking, she darted out and away from the shack, running for a trio of large rocks by the beach shore further north.

Her breath ragged and her heart racing, Subterra Shiver pressed her back to the rocky surface to take a breather, keeping her head slightly tilted past the rocks to see if anyone was coming her way. Once she felt safe enough, she swapped out her clothes before stuffing her old attire under a sizable rock.

“That’s it, Subterra. There was nothing wrong with what you did. Now find some food. You need sustenance.”

“Ouch!” She suddenly pulled her hand out of the water as the tide came in. She looked down at her wrist, which had a small cut along the bone. The salt water must’ve gotten into it, but something about the water felt off. It was as though the concentration of salt was much higher than it was supposed to be.

Screams began making themselves known and Subterra peeked her head out from the rocks to look back at the pools. People were shrieking and clambering out of the pool and there was a lot of thrashing in the waters as they fought to get themselves out as quickly as possible.

“What is happening?” Subterra had a bad feeling about this, but she left her hiding spot to investigate the commotion further.

She could see large splashes coming from the pool area and there were people clambering out of them and a woman started screaming as she threw her hands around her mouth. As Subterra got closer, she could see why.

There was a fairly large man still in the pool, struggling to get to the edge as the color of his face began to change, becoming paler and paler as he swam on.

“Heeh-Help me…!” He sputtered, taking in a mouthful of water.

A woman with short brown hair grabbed a nearby net, holding it by the head as she dangled the pole towards him. He grabbed it and yanked, but he far outweighed her and in his panic to get out, he pulled her back into the pool, head first. Instead of helping her up, the woman shoved her aside in the water, then reached for the edge of the pool, but before his chubby fingers could touch it, he suddenly froze and began floating back, away from the edge.

The woman surfaced, but as his body bumped into her, she gazed into his eyes for a second before screaming her lungs out. “H-He’s dead! He’s dead!”

She just stood there screaming until her voice trailed off and she fell on her back and became unmoving.

“T-The water, it just became so-so… salty…” a woman mumbled as a towel was thrown over her shoulders.

“One of the pipes must’ve burst that leads to the ocean,” another man tried to reason.

But Subterra wasn’t buying it as a mishap. She didn’t know what was going on, but something deep within her was telling her to watch out, to keep alert, that this wasn’t a natural occurrence. Something was happening here and it wasn’t anything good.

“On your toes, Subterra Shiver. The enemy is near.”

“What? What enemy?” she asked the voice in her head.

People began making their way away from the pool, happy to leave their troubles behind, leaving Subterra by herself as she watched her reflection in the churning water. Someone was doing this, she was sure of it, as was the voice in her head, but it said enemy. She couldn’t recall anything since waking up on the beach, but now that she thought about it, her clothes had been in tatters and caked with mud and her body had injuries all over. Perhaps she had been running from something or someone.

“Thought you could get away, did you?”

Subterra jumped, almost falling into the pool and she turned around, spotting a woman with swirly blonde hair that turned orange towards the top, making her look like some sort of strange candle. She wore a bright yellow bikini and had an orange flower attached to her left strap and in one hand, she held a glass of some kind of green beverage.

“Who are you?” Subterra would’ve taken a step back, but that would’ve plunged her right into the pool.

“Who am I? Enough games, Subterra.” She shook her head. “I, Candlewick Dancer, will take you back.”

“I don’t even know who you are,” Subterra said.

“Yeah, right.” Candlewick scoffed. “And I’m the Queen of Scotland.”

A pink and orange shape darted out from Subterra’s left and with a squeal, she ducked back under one of its clawed arms, losing a few strands of hair as the figure splashed into the water. Subterra lifted her arms to shield her face, but as the water touched her arms, it began to sting around her wounds, forcing her back as she yelled out in pain.

“S-Salt!” She stumbled away as the figure rose from the water, its back facing her. It lifted one of its clawed hands and flexed its fingers; Subterra noticed its index and middle fingers had longer claws than its other fingers. “What are you?”

“You really don’t remember any of it, do you?” Candlewick ran a hand under her chin and down her neck. “No matter. I’m here to take you back, Subterra. TWI needs you.”

That name sent shivers down Subterra’s neck, but it was only a bodily response. She couldn’t remember who TWI was or why she wanted her, but she knew enough to know that going back wasn’t an option.

“If you don’t come with me, Subterra, there’s going to be a lot more salt in your wounds…” Candlewick pointed at the pool as she swirled her drink in her other hand. “My Stand, Dead Sea, is able to turn any body of liquid within a twenty meter radius into saltwater. Really salty water. So salty that swimming in it for more than fifteen seconds would cause your heart to give out and your body to shrivel up.”

“Stand?” Subterra repeated as Candlewick’s Dead Sea turned its head to face her.

“Your fighting spirit, an extension of your will.” Candlewick walked closer, shaking her hips wildly. Then she planted a hand on her neck and held her glass to her cheek. “Which you will face if you do not come back with me now.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Subterra said defiantly. “Even if you do have some kind of a weird salt ghost power. You can tell this TWI that if she wants people to go with her, she should be more friendly!”

Subterra tried to get away, but Candlewick Dancer intercepted her and grabbed her around the left arm. She tried to shake her away, but the woman pulled hard and bent back, spinning as she threw Subterra through the air, sending her flying into the pool beside her Stand with a splash.

Immediately, everything began to sting as the salt water invaded her wounds. It wasn’t unbearable, but it did hurt a lot. Her mouth began to feel furry and as she burst through the surface, something slashed at her face and she fell back into the water, feeling a blaze of pain across her right cheek. The water around her took on a red hue as she broke past the surface again, but there was Candlewick Dancer’s Stand, poised and ready to attack once more.


> Episode 2: The Dead Sea Groans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This wasn’t going to end well, Subterra Shiver realized. She needed some way to stop this madwoman from using her ghost powers, her Stand as she had called it. Dead Sea’s claws didn’t cut very deep, but any broken skin that came into contact with its salt water felt like she was driving a stake through her arteries. She didn’t black out from the pain, but it still hurt like a truck.

“Use me.” The voice was back in her head. “If you do not, you will die. We will both die.”

“Use… you?” Subterra spluttered as she clutched her cheek, fighting desperately to get out of the water as Dead Sea slashed at her elbow, drawing more blood.

“Think you want to protect yourself. To defeat this enemy. You must fight, Subterra. Fight.”

Subterra tried to climb out of the pool, but Dead Sea grabbed her by the foot and dragged her back in, then pressed another hand on top of her back, pinning her underwater.

“It’s no use, you can only spend about ten more seconds in this water.” Candlewick leaned closer to the pool’s edge as she explained. “You will feel weaker, but don’t worry, I won’t let your heart give out. We still need you.”

The girl struggled and tried to free herself, spilling bubbles of air from her mouth as she worked to do what her voice said. Pain arced across her whole body, blinding at the points where it had contact with her open skin. She felt her strength leaving her with each passing second, needing to get back up and breathe, but also from the intensity of the salt in the water. Her heartbeat began to slow and stutter, and that wasn’t a good sign. Subterra shut her eyes and looked deep in herself, finding that will to fight, that will to survive.

Please…

Before it could attack her again, Dead Sea was knocked back through the water, spinning as it righted itself just in time to watch as tentacles hauled Subterra out of the water to the safety of dry land.

“So you remembered your powers, huh?” Candlewick Dancer tossed her glass aside and bent forward one one leg. “But they won’t save you from Dead Sea!”

Her Stand leapt out of the water, reaching both arms forward, but from behind Subterra, a dark shape soared out, flailing its two grey tentacles around. It had a large dark head with spikes adorning it and its body ended in a fishy shape with a tail at the end.

“So this is… this is my Stand. This is you.” Subterra watched it as it screeched at her enemy.

Images of her Stand flashed through her mind, picturing it and her in a dark room with glass panels. The light above flickered and the darkness crept along the walls, almost like it was alive.

“I remember…” She stretched one arm out to her Stand and grabbed her hood collar with her other. “Crafteon.”

“So you remember your Stand now. But what are you going to do against Dead Sea’s attacks with those tentacles?”

Dead Sea ran at them, brandishing its claws. Crafteon glided towards it, tilting its head low as the enemy slashed at it. Its arms got caught in Crafteon’s spikes, and as it raised its head, it deflected them before wrapping its tentacles around Dead Sea’s waist. Crafteon spun in the air, tossing the enemy Stand into a deck chair, breaking it in the middle before doing a spin in the air.

However, Dead Sea looked unfazed and it got up easily, charging for Subterra and Crafteon again. Crafteon weaved away from two of its slashes, then tackled its body against the enemy, lodging one of its spikes into Dead Sea’s shoulder. Candlewick Dancer winced as a wound formed across her own shoulder, and she snarled for Dead Sea to finish the job.

Crafteon lashed a tentacle out at it, knocking it under the chin, but instead of falling back, Dead Sea pressed through the blow, grabbing it around the same tentacle as it cut out with its other hand, tearing two lines of red across Crafteon’s body.

Subterra found the same wounds appearing on herself and she hopped back a few steps as she clutched her chest, trying to stop the bleeding as it began staining her clothes red.

“I’m sending you right back into that pool!” Candlewick yelled as Dead Sea swung Crafteon over its head and towards the water.

But with its tentacles, Crafteon grabbed the ground under Dead Sea’s feet, stopping it from flying back into the salty water, then dashed past it, ramming its head against the back of the enemy Stand’s knees, sending it falling on its back as Subterra retreated away from the pool, heading back down the grassy slope she had come from earlier to investigate the commotion at the pools.

“The enemy is stronger physically, but we can beat it through other means…” Crafteon whispered in Subterra’s head.

“I see it. I know what you can do,” Subterra said to her Stand. “How?”

“I am but a manifestation of your will, Subterra. All that I am is known to you.”

Subterra’s pupils darkened. She did know. She knew exactly what her Stand could do after the brief flashes of her past. “We’ll have to set a trap.”

With a running start, Subterra headed back towards the bar she had stopped at and Candlewick Dancer wasted no time in pursuing her target.

There were still people going about at the resort, with the exception of the pool, seeing as people had died there. The bar had at least four other people there when Subterra brushed past the tables and the bartender, who nearly flipped a glass off the counter.

“Get back here!” Candlewick Dancer had Dead Sea throw one of the tables into the roof, knocking it out of place as she charged after the girl.

Subterra ran and she kept running all the way to the shore where she had stopped her boat earlier. She was careful not to step over any rubbish, with the risk of cutting herself. Saltwater in her wounds wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

Candlewick Dancer slid to a stop at the edge of the beach, kicking sand up into the air as she pointed a finger at Subterra. “Where are you going? This is an island. You’re not getting away from me. Dead Sea, take her!”

Her Stand leapt into the air, bringing one arm back as it brandished all five fingers, but from under Subterra’s feet, darkness crept out like a tidal wave of black sludge, spreading across the sand and trash, consuming everything in sight. Already in the air and flying towards her, Dead Sea was unable to stop itself as it crashed into the darkness, which consumed it as well.

Candlewick Dancer soon found the same darkness around her and no matter which direction she turned, everything was black.

“What is this? Where are you?” She spun around and around.

A prickling feeling began to dawn on Candlewick Dancer, as if she were somewhere very cold. No, this wasn’t cold; it felt like there were thousands of tiny pins poking her skin, just lightly enough to cause discomfort but not enough to really hurt.

The darkness was all-encompassing, and seemed to stretch out in all directions in an endless void. In spite of herself, Candlewick Dancer found herself feeling uneasy. What kind of a Stand power was this? TWI had not given her any details on what Subterra’s Stand was able to do.

A rattling sound jarred Candlewick Dancer out of her thoughts, like the sound of an icemaker amplified tenfold. It almost sounded like something breathing, but that wasn’t possible, was it?

“Where are you, Subterra!? What have you done?”

Candlewick tried to summon her Stand. She could feel its presence, it was out and ready to fight, but she couldn’t see it. Maybe it was so dark that vision wasn’t viable.

There was a thumping coming from somewhere in the darkness, like footsteps slowly walking towards her, footsteps of something incredibly large, something that was giving off an eerie aura that spelt doom for anyone who saw it.

Candlewick had had enough. She turned around and she began running, rushing to get away from this darkness as quickly as she could. “Get away from me! Leave me alone!”

She swatted her arms through the darkness, trying to push it away as she ran, but all of a sudden she was falling, falling deeper and deeper until a splash shook her from her terror. She shook her face free of water and looked around.

“W-What, I’m in the water? The beach?” Candlewick Dancer found herself off a pier, likely the pier people docked at to visit Bora Bora.

A buzzing sound drew her attention to the right and she only had enough time to gasp as a speedboat went right over her.



“We did it…” Subterra clutched at her salty wounds as she watched Candlewick’s body float back up, face down in the seawater.

“Very good, Subterra. You have recalled the powers of my darkness and how they create a primal fear within those who see the darkness,” Crafteon’s voice echoed in her ears as it floated along her legs. “Those inflicted by my power cannot help but panic from the vast unknown it holds.”

“What did she say these things were called, Stands?”

“Yes, I am your Stand. Your fighting spirit, manifested in form. I’m afraid with your loss of memory, your will has been greatly limited.”

“I… I don’t know. What should we do now? People are after me?” Subterra walked away from the beach. By now, people had gathered by the pool again and security was fishing out the two bodies floating in it.

“We need to find someplace to collect ourselves. It will be difficult to battle any more enemies with your mind in such a state, but there is nothing we can do about that for now. Maybe if you calm down, you will remember more.”

She watched one of the security guards asking some of the vacationers questions and that told Subterra that she should get away from here and find some other place to hole up while she tried to recall more of why she was here.

“Why is this… TWI after me? What does she want?” she said to herself as she scurried along the resort, heading for the jungle at the edge of concrete. She had more questions than answers right now, but she was sure she would figure it all out eventually.



A clatter of footsteps rang about a marble hallway as a man in a fancy suit approached a lone woman sitting on a red velvety couch, holding a folded envelope close to his chest. He coughed when he stood beside her, getting her attention.

Shiho Sunfast dropped her magazine and looked up at him, noticing the emblem of a shield on his breast pocket, the emblem of the Crusaders Foundation, a company set up long ago by old friends of her grandmother to help those in need. In this day and age, more than ever, this world needed all the help it could get as it raced towards destruction.

“Miss Sunfast, this is for you.” The man held out the envelope to her.

Shiho grabbed it from him and unfolded it, recognizing the sigil stamped into its top right corner. “From Daring…?”

Daring Do had adventured with her eleven years ago when they fought to save the world from Die Die Riches, an activist group that aimed to eliminate the rich to solve the world’s economical problems. Suffice to say, that had ended up crashing and burning, only for one of Shiho’s allies to rise from the flames like some kind of demented phoenix to continue Die Die Riches’ goal in the name of improving the world. Shiho had dealt her a grievous beating with her Stand before she had been forced to retreat, but with her grandmother, Sunset Shimmer, in tow.

She and her friends had spent the last few years looking for TWI and her grandmother, but somehow, she had eluded them for eleven whole years. She didn’t leave behind any traces to follow.

“What has she got for me after all this time?” Shiho muttered, using her fingernail to open the envelope and take out the contents. While she thought that Daring Do was a bit too theatrical and dramatic for her tastes, Shiho did not deny the adventurer’s skill and experience, not to mention the power of Daring Do’s Stand had helped her out of many a pinch.

The envelope contained a short letter, as well as a small assortment of photographs. Wondering why Daring hadn’t simply used the internet to send this to her, Shiho picked up the letter and began reading.

Shiho,
I hope you’re well. I’m sorry I haven’t had anything for you in so long, but I think I found something you’d want to see. With this letter, I have added photographs taken on the island of Bora Bora, one of the Polynesian islands, by various tourists.

Shiho sifted through five photographs, depicting images of dead people in a swimming pool, one of security standing around looking puzzled, and the rest of a strange girl with black hair being chased by a woman in a yellow bikini from different angles.

Witness accounts say that the water in the pools became incredibly salty. Salty to the point of heart failure for the deceased. And it had all started once that girl began running from the woman. Once they were gone, the water in the pool returned to normal. I cannot be a hundred percent sure, but I think this is the work of an enemy Stand. This could point us to TWI, which could lead to your grandmother.

I am sorry I am unable to come with you, as I’m helping out with a warlord incident in Gambia right now. Things are getting worse in Africa, with more people rising up against their governments. But do not worry for me, I have Yesterday and we hold out for a better future for all. Be careful out there, Shiho.

Your dear friend, Daring Do IV, AKA AKK Yearling.

Shiho put down the letter and got off her couch.

“Good grief,” Shiho said aloud to herself. “Finally, after eleven years, a possible lead on the location of TWI and my granny. I’ll have to investigate this. Rojas, I’ll need a boat.”

As Shiho walked off, she failed to see someone else sitting on a nearby couch, watching her over the edge of her tablet. She got up as Shiho left down one of the halls, straightening her pink suit before following behind her.

“Finally, for my parents, for my aunt, for her boyfriend, and her dog… Your family is going to pay, Shiho Sunfast.”


> Episode 3: Will Your Heart Go On?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shiho Sunfast had always trusted the Crusaders Foundation to get her what she needed when she needed it, but this time, she had to give them credit.

“They really went beyond here.”

As she stood on the docks of Canterlot Harbor, a private boat had rolled around the corner, coming out from one of the many warehouses that dotted the area. It was a pristine white shape under the sunny sky, complete with a visor to shield its pilot and passengers from the wind, along with beige leather seats, two in front and two rows facing each other behind. It sped over almost soundlessly and listening carefully, Shiho knew it was using a prototype transmuted oil engine, something the world had developed in the last eight years to combat the exhaust of regular fuel that was destroying the atmosphere.

Having studied mechanical engineering in college now, she could appreciate the cutting-edge technology that the Crusaders Foundation had used for this boat. With its new fuel injection system, it could easily travel for over a week before needing to refuel. And when it did, all that the boat needed was some water in the tank mixed with the special tablets which were stashed in the front of the boat. Together, the two elements would combine to make a cleaner compound that the boat could use to power its engine, reducing the destruction to the environment.

The name, Brandy 1, was written on the side in luminous blue paint, which reflected the sea. Her Crusaders Foundation representative, Red Rojas, tapped on the boat’s holographic controls, powering it down as it stopped beside her. Rubber grips pushed out of their compartments on the side of the boat, latching it onto the pier as the red haired man got out of the vehicle, adjusting his also red tie as he cleared his throat.

“Your boat for your travels, Miss Sunfast,” he said politely. “The Brandy 1 is capable of speeds up to ninety knots, and has an inbuilt gyroscopic balancing system that makes it nigh impossible to capsize. The hull is made of a highly durable flexisteel that can withstand impacts of up to two G’s, and the navigation system is state of the art, with our satellites providing constant geolocation from anywhere on the planet. It also comes with a collapsible roof in case you want to shelter from the sun or some inclement weather. Also, the Brandy 1 is also armed with flares in case you should get shipwrecked or the like, so that other vessels can see you even in the brightest day or blackest night. In addition, should you find something you can’t outrun, there’s the emergency feature button under the dash, the red one. It’s fingerprint sensitive so nobody but you or your crew can activate it.”

“That’s nice,” Shiho said as she pulled at the collars of her grey jacket. It wasn’t a cold day, so she had her sleeves rolled up, but the winds around the water tickled at her neck. “Is there a cooler on board where I can stash some drinks?”

“You don’t need to trouble yourself with that, Miss Sunfast. Drinks have already been put on board for you. You will find them in a pullout cooler by the wheel.”

“Just what I need.” She nodded at the vehicle’s holographic console. “Thank you, Rojas. I’ll check the systems before I head out to make sure everything is how I like it.”

“Yes, Miss Sunfast. Oh, and good luck.” He waved as he left. “I hope you find your grandmother.”

Shiho looked over at the horizon past the water. “I hope so too, Rojas.”

Left on her own, she took some time to gather her thoughts about the coming adventure. She let herself exhale as she pictured her grandmother, old and wizened.

“That old crone would be eighty-something by now, old as a bat. That TWI better be looking after her health…” Shiho thought about her cigarettes. It had been ten years since she had quit, but occasionally, she would think about the taste of nicotine in her mouth, along with the whiff of smoke she let out when she breathed. “I’ve got to have a clear head when I find TWI so I can beat her to a pulp and rescue my granny.”

Whatever she was planning, wherever she was, it couldn’t be good for the world, even if she tried to convince everyone that it was.

Shiho spat into the water as she watched two cans clink against one of the pier’s beams. “I’ll find you, granny, and I’ll beat you, TWI. Mark my words.”

“Out to kill more people, are you? I couldn’t expect any less from your family.”

Shiho turned around faster than a speeding bullet and her Stand, Curtain Call, appeared behind her, grabbing its purple cloth in both hands. 

Behind her, against a transformer, was a woman in a pink suit and pink heels. She grabbed the corner of her collar, then the bottom of her coat as she bent her left knee slightly. “I’ve been watching you for days, looking for the right time to strike. And now here you are, all alone.”

“Who are you? I don’t have time for this.” Shiho groaned.

“Trust me, you have time.” A blue aura burned up around her. “Shiho Sunfast, granddaughter of Sunset Shimmer, daughter of Summer Shine.”

Shiho rolled her eyes. They never get to the point. “Yes, you know my family, but if you fight me, you’re going to regret it. What do you want?”

Anger burned within the woman’s eyes and she pointed a finger at her. “My name is Flurry Heart. You killed my parents! And my aunt and her boyfriend. Most importantly, you killed my aunt’s precious dog!”

Shiho blinked twice. She knew this story of people coming after her family for the death of a dog, but this was her first time experiencing it. “What have you been smoking? That wasn’t even me, I’ve never met them. And judging by when that all happened, neither have you. At least not your aunt, her boyfriend and their dog.”

“I may not have, but they were family and you took them away from me. I could’ve had more people in my life.” Flurry Heart thumped a fist in her chest. “And I have pictures of that dog. That precious dog, Spike, he was so cute! I could’ve had lots of time cuddling him!”

“Spike again… Always with Spike… Seems I can’t get away from this.” Shiho ran a hand through her purple hair. "You realize dogs don’t live that long anyway, right? You never would’ve met him.”

"Don't you try to talk your way out of this!" Flurry Heart ranted. "With all the advances since then, who says we couldn't have extended Spike's lifespan?"

"Well, we'll never know now, will we?" Shiho said, sounding unimpressed. "It was just a freaking dog who by all accounts was trying to kill someone. Get over it and go home before one of us does something she'll regret."

“I’m not going to regret anything.” Flurry Heart narrowed her raging eyes. “My name is Flurry Heart, and today I’m going to remove one from your family! My Heart Will Go On!”

A blue and green humanoid twirled away from Flurry Heart, spinning on its toes with a mad grin plastered on its face. Its swirly eyes looked back at her each time it spun around and it lifted its arms up, holding them high as it continued spinning on the spot.

Shiho flicked a piece of torn paper from her pocket, throwing it high as Curtain Call wrapped it up in its cloth. When it was removed, the paper had become a metal ball, and it tossed it at the enemy Stand. To a little of her surprise, the enemy did nothing to avoid it, but the metal ball went right into its body, disappearing with a small ripple.

“Thanks for that…” Flurry Heart smirked. “Just wait till you see what else I can do.”

Shiho was about to say something, but something flew past her arm and she looked down to see a bloodstained metal plate fly by towards My Heart Will Go On before entering its body like the ball had done. Inspecting her arm, she noticed it now had a long cut near her elbow, dripping blood on the pier’s surface. There was only one place it could’ve come from.

Turning, Shiho ducked low and rolled as another two plates and a handful of screws flew past her previous position, heading right for My Heart Will Go On.

“You shouldn’t have avoided that. You would’ve been cut right in half and my job would be done.” Flurry Heart clucked and bent low, stretching her arms behind her back. “My Heart Will Go On is able to attract metal to itself. Anything in the path of the incoming metal will get diced, like you!”

Shiho examined her boat, which now had part of its console missing thanks to My Heart Will Go On.

"Good grief. I just got this boat and it's already being trashed." Shiho changed direction and began sprinting towards Flurry Heart  aiming to end the fight quickly so she could get on with her quest.

But she spotted her mistake a second too late as the metal pole with the warning not to swim here curled down, aimed towards the enemy Stand as its base threatened to dislodge. It smashed Shiho in the face and she flipped on her back, scrunching her eyes shut as she fought against the sudden blow.

“I’ve always wondered how Spike’s fur would feel like in my fingers…” She could hear Flurry Heart’s footsteps getting closer. “He and I would’ve been best friends. Friends for life. But you killed all of them. For nothing. For nothing! That’s just pathetic. At least when I kill you today, I have a reason for doing so.”

My Heart Will Go On stopped spinning and leapt at her, dropping through the air with its heel aimed for Shiho’s head. She summoned Curtain Call, which whipped its cloth around, tying it around the enemy’s leg before pulling to the side, sending My Heart Will Go On crashing into the bent pole, bending it further.

Covering the top half of the pole with its cloth, Curtain Call reached into it and removed a baseball bat before swinging it against My Heart Will Go On’s chin. The enemy Stand staggered back a step, but looked unfazed by the blow.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you something important…” Flurry cackled. “The more metal My Heart Will Go On absorbs, the more durable it gets. Keep it coming!”

Her Stand began spinning again and the steel shutters to the first warehouse tore off its hinges, smacking Shiho on the back of the head, knocking her on her face. Her vision blurred and she thought she had passed out for a second, but she was quick to get out of there as more metal began flying out from behind her, making their way towards My Heart Will Go On.

It must’ve been the loss of blood, but her color of vision seemed to have shifted. The blue sky and sea had turned piss yellow and the road and buildings around her had become a pale blue hue; even her purple hair had changed in her eyes, becoming green, while My Heart Will Go On had become yellow and purple instead.

Shiho rolled her way to the boat, then dropped in and out of sight from My Heart Will Go On as it approached the vehicle, maintaining its spin, drawing in all the nearby metal to itself.
 Shiho began pulling out anything she could remove from the boat, covering it with Curtain Call’s cloth before throwing the new shapes at My Heart Will Go On. Gears and plates flew through the air, flowing right into the enemy Stand’s body, disappearing from view.

Flurry Heart bent back with laughter and pointed at Shiho’s rough position on the boat. “You fool! I already told you no metal will be able to harm My Heart Will Go On! I know all about your Curtain Call’s ability to turn objects into other objects. Your favorite objects are metal spikes or metal ball bearings, but news flash, Shiho Sunfast, they’re all metal! And you can forget about wood or plastic damaging my Stand!”

But Shiho didn’t stop. She continuously hurled more metal at My Heart Will Go On, transforming various objects she could grab before having her Stand toss them.

“Because of you, My Heart Will Go On has become tough enough to withstand even one of your punches without feeling a thing!” Flurry began boasting as she thrust both arms down at her side. “If you think you keep feeding it metal, it’ll eventually blow up, then you’re wrong! There’s no limit to how much metal it can absorb! You’ve played the wrong hand and now, revenge will be mine! For my parents! For my aunt and her boyfriend! For my precious dog, Spike, whom I could’ve loved with all my heart!”

“Good grief. I’ve just about had it with these people obsessing over one dog. It wasn’t even that significant,” Shiho said to herself as Flurry Heart continued to rant. “You’re acting like I killed the president or something; hell, I didn’t even kill your dumb dog! You’re about sixty years late!”

Flurry waved a finger through the air. “It doesn’t matter! Your grandmother did it, and so I will kill her granddaughter!”

Shiho sighed, then grabbed the corner of her jacket and stood up. Curtain Call did the same behind her, throwing one last piece at her; it was a red ring that glinted under the sunlight.

“Too bad. I would’ve given you a chance to walk away,” she said. “But your resolve is strong, I’ll give you that. Even though you fight for something totally unnecessary.”

A crooked smile widened across Flurry Heart’s face as she curled a finger towards herself. “I’ll show you how much I’m willing to go through to end you.”

Shiho brushed a hand through her hair and pointed a finger at her. “Big talk for someone who’s about to lose.”

“Oh?” Flurry was intrigued. “How do you plan on doing that? You’ve given My Heart Will Go On plenty of metal to bolster its durability. You can’t stop me now.”

“You didn’t think I was just throwing metal at you because I’m stupid, right?” Shiho said as she shoved a hand in her skirt pocket.

“I assumed you were so.”

Shiho snorted. “I studied mechanical engineering. Surely you knew that from your… extensive research on me to kill me.”

Flurry cut a hand through the air. “Yes, I know all about your profession, but so what?”

“Not very bright, are you?” Shiho shook her head. “Curtain Call had turned all the objects into various pieces of metal before throwing them at your Stand.”

Flurry Heart wasn’t impressed. “Yes, I know that. So what?”

Shiho lifted an eyebrow as the red ring continued to fly towards My Heart Will Go On. “You really didn’t suspect anything, huh?”

Flurry Heart made a suppressed laugh. “I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“I am.” Shiho nodded. “Because of my field, I know how to fix things. I know how to make things. And what I’ve been giving your Stand was pieces of an explosive.”

Realization finally dawned on Flurry Heart and she looked over at her spinning Stand with a face of madness. “Then why hasn’t it detonated, then? You’re bluffing.”

Shiho waved a hand. “You believe what you want. But this fight is over.”

As the red ring was absorbed into My Heart Will Go On, it clicked into place with the rest of the mechanism inside. Shiho held up her hand, which was holding a small device that had a single button in the center.

Flurry Heart pointed at it. “What is that? What are you holding?”

“Do I really need to explain everything to you?” Shiho moved one finger over the button. “This is what will end you.”

“Not yet!” Flurry Heart dropped to a crouch and pointed two fingers at Shiho, one on each hand. “My Heart Will Go On will stop you!”

Her Stand stopped spinning and immediately dashed for her and Curtain Call, reaching both arms out like it was trying to grab her neck, but Shiho’s finger was faster. With the push of the button, My Heart Will Go On’s chest began to glow orange. Its body began to vibrate and waves rippled out from its center before it expanded and burst, disappearing in a ball of orange fire.

“No-no!” Cracks formed along Flurry Heart’s chest, trailing up to her chin. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this! Your family ruined mine! Vengeance was to be mine! Mom, dad. Spike! Spiiiikkeeeee!”

And she joined her Stand in another explosion, finally dying in a conflagration of heat and flame.

Shiho looked down at the remains of Flurry Heart and tossed the detonator down onto the ground. 

“Good grief. When you see your damn dog in hell, tell him he’s still a douche.” She turned her attention back to her boat and groaned. “Now I’ve got to get this working again.”

Shiho didn’t have to feel bad about what she had just done. Flurry Heart’s family had started this almost seventy years ago with her grandmother, with that Twilight and Spike helping an evil principal. Her family had been on the wrong side of things, and now she had been too.

“And now I’ve got to go find my granny as well. The ride never ends, does it?” Shiho took out a stick of fish-flavored gum and put it into her mouth, something she had taken up to avoid smoking. “But rest assured, mom, dad, I will find her. And I’m going to end TWI as well.”


> Episode 4: The Ghost That Carried Us Away
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subterra Shiver didn’t know how many hours she had sat there on the beach that night, gazing out at the waters beyond the shore as it reflected the purplish night sky filled with stars of all shapes and sizes.

Something about the dark intrigued her more than she could understand. Perhaps it had something to do with her stand, Crafteon, or perhaps it was the silence she related with, but whatever it was, the night gave her a sense of calm like no other. But through the calmness of the night, one question continued to tug at her heart.

“What was I before I got here…?” she wondered. “What did I use to do? What do I do now?”

Her Stand appeared beside her, resting its large head against hers. “You make your own path now, Subterra. What would you like to do?”

“That TWI, whoever that is, is after us…” Subterra looked at her hands. They were caked with a light layer of sand, which she began dusting off. “What does she want with me? How did she even find me?”

“Stand masters are drawn to each other, Subterra,” Crafteon whispered. “Surely they will find us again. You will have to be ready.”

“So we can’t just find somewhere to hide, huh?” She got up and dusted her butt. “That woman, Candlewick, she said she was going to take me back. Back to TWI. Why did we even leave? Did she do something to me?”

“I cannot help with lost memories. But do not fret, I am here with you. You are not alone in your predicament.”

Subterra mused over her mysterious beginnings. Running away meant that there was something to fear about TWI. Perhaps she had been some kind of prisoner, snatched away from her family to be some kind of indoctrinated believer, or perhaps she had discovered some malicious secret this TWI was keeping and she escaped to let the world know, only to lose her memories and make her escape pointless.

“I don’t want any of this…” Subterra admitted. “I just want to be left alone. But it can’t be helped… I can’t stop them from coming after me to bring me back.”

“We should focus on accommodation, then. You will need time to rest, to recharge for another day.”

Subterra stuck her lips out and started walking back towards civilization. Perhaps she could get into one of the resort’s rooms with Crafteon’s help. She just had to make sure they were empty so she didn’t have to kick someone out.

A woman in a grey jacket suddenly walked out from between some bushes, waltzing down the small slope towards her. In the darkness, it was hard to make out most of her features, but because of the light strip on her jacket collar, Subterra could see the light bouncing off the bottom of her stern face. Shadows were cast over her cheeks from her neck-length hair, giving her mouth a sort of demented look, so Subterra steeled herself and kept an eye on her movements. Whoever this was, she gave off a familiar vibe, similar to Candlewick Dancer from earlier.

“Subterra Shiver?” The woman flicked on a light on a rectangular device in her hand, a blinding pinpoint in a world of darkness.

Subterra had to lift a hand to shield her eyes. “Who are you?”

“My name isn’t important at the moment, but I have reason to believe you can help me out here.” She walked closer, until Subterra took a few steps away. The woman raised both hands and nodded her head, then flicked her light off. “I’m not here for you. But you have something I need.”

Subterra kept a foot behind her back, ready to go if anything happened, but so far, the woman didn’t look like she was going to attack her. At least for now. “What do you want?”

“I’m looking for my grandmother. Eleven years ago, she was taken away by a powerful monster known as TWI,” she said as she chewed on something in her mouth.

“TWI?” Subterra seemed to relax a bit. “You’re looking for her?”

The woman nodded. “I am. And I take it you know where she is?”

Subterra shook her head. “I’m sorry. I cannot help you. I’ve… somehow lost all my memory. I don’t even remember why I’m here.”

“You… lost your memory?” The woman rubbed her chin. “Tell me what you know.”

“Uh…” Subterra rubbed her head.

She started on how she had woken up on the beach in a boat, then how she had been attacked by Candlewick Dancer and her Dead Sea Stand. She recounted how the strange woman in a bikini had tried to take her back to someone called TWI, someone she had apparently run away from. All this while, the newcomer had listened to her intently, nodding at intervals, her eyes darting up and down Subterra’s smaller frame like she was assessing her, trying to find out her value.

“You came all this way by boat…” She raised an eyebrow in question. “Of course. My earlier assumptions were right. That’s why I couldn’t find TWI all this time. She was out here, hiding amongst the islands where our radio signals from the other side of the world do not reach thanks to the failing ozone layer. But you don’t remember which one?”

Subterra shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything except for my name, Subterra Shiver.”

“And I thought I finally had it…” The woman planted a hand on the top of her head and whirled around. “I’m so close…”

Subterra rubbed an arm. “I’m uh… sorry. That I can’t help you more…”

The woman shook her head and stuck an arm out, which Subterra hesitantly took. “It’s fine. At least I have a big lead now. I know she’s out here. She’s on one of the islands. I’m Shiho, by the way. Shiho Sunfast. Do you have anywhere to go?”

“A-Anywhere to go?”

“If you need a place to stay, I’m sure the Crusaders Foundation can arrange for something.”

“But… TWI. She’s after me,” Subterra said. “If she continues to come after me, I might… put you all in danger.”

“Yes, Stand users do attract other Stand users. I suppose that’s how I found you in the first place.” Shiho nodded.

“You have a Stand too?”

She slipped a hand into her jacket pocket and a pink and purple being appeared behind her, grabbing a purple cloth off its shoulders. “This is Curtain Call. My Stand. It has the ability to turn any object into another singular object.”

“That sounds useful.” Subterra brought Crafteon out. “This is mine, Crafteon. It creates a fearful darkness, I suppose. One you can’t help but run from.”

“Can’t help, huh?” Shiho rubbed at her chin. “Interesting.”

Subterra nodded in acknowledgement as an orange tinge began to spread across the sky. It had seemed that she had sat here much longer than she intended and the sun was already making its way up from beyond the horizon line.

She turned to Shiho, thinking to ask more questions about TWI when her eyes caught something in the bushes Shiho had come from. She spotted a faint red glow from inside and all of a sudden, the entire bush began to shrink, almost like it was being sucked away.

“Behind you!” she called out as Shiho whipped her body around, taking one step back as her Stand materialized.

From the bush came a small shimmering pale form, gliding along the grass like a slug. The grass disappeared in the wake of its trail and its body bubbled and seemed to expand, creating a dark shape in the middle where a multitude of yellow orbs appeared.

Shiho stretched an arm out in front of Subterra and pushed her back. “This has to be the work of an enemy Stand!”

Her Stand, Curtain Call, whipped its cloth out at lightning speed, forming its tip into a razor-thin point. It smashed against the little blob-like Stand, leaving behind an imprint that pulsed out across its body, but otherwise had no detrimental effect on it.

They looked at the edge of Curtain Call’s cloth and it was already starting to smoke, almost like something had burned the ends of it. Meanwhile, the enemy Stand continued to slide forward, eating away at anything in its path.

“Subterra, can your darkness do something about this?” Shiho stepped back to her.

“I’ll try.” Subterra gulped as Crafteon waved its tentacles around.

Darkness began to spread out from under it, crawling towards the enemy Stand like some kind of evil specter, and once it hit it, it spread out like a bubble, consuming the Stand and everything around it within a meter radius. But to her surprise, it did nothing and the Stand slithered out of the darkness, coming right for them.

“Th-That can’t be. Crafteon’s darkness should affect anything, regardless of how brave you are.”

Shiho had Curtain Call hold out its cloth like a matador. “This must be something else. A long range Stand with a single goal in mind. It will not have the emotions of its master.”

She had Curtain Call turn a nearby lamppost into a crowbar and as it approached, Curtain Call grabbed the iron tool and swung it against the enemy Stand. The Stand didn’t react, nor did it leave the ground. Instead, the crowbar bent around it before being absorbed into its body, enlarging it as it continued its advance.

The two women stepped back, moving away from the shore to avoid being cornered as the enemy Stand changed paths, following after them. Crafteon grabbed a few inflatable rafts from a nearby shack, tossing them at the enemy Stand as they retreated back up the hill towards the resort, but like with the crowbar, all they did was help the enemy grow in size. Before, it had been no bigger than a small pot, but now, it was about the size of a beach ball.

“This thing feeds on anything it touches,” Shiho surmised. “We can’t beat it by beating the crap out of it.”

Subterra glanced at the older woman. Even in this predicament, Shiho looked firm and calm. “What do we do?”

“First we need to get some distance between it and us. If possible, we should try to locate the Stand user as well. While only a Stand can hurt a Stand, there’s nothing stopping us from beating the crap out of the user if we can find them,” Shiho instructed. “Come on, this way.”

Shiho dragged Subterra up and past the pools, heading towards the main building as the sun rose higher in the sky, now casting long shadows across the ground at its low angle. She turned back to see the enemy Stand continue to pursue them, gliding up the hill with ease as it sucked up a row of tiles along the ground. All of a sudden, it stopped, turning its entire body to face the pool. Then it tossed itself into the water, diving deeper to the bottom.

Subterra would’ve stood there to watch, but Shiho dragged her on. “Come, we need to find the master.”

Subterra pointed to the pool. “B-But what is it doing? Why did it stop coming after us?”

Shiho grunted. “This Stand mustn't be tracking us based on sight. It must be something else.”

“But if it’s in the pool now and it absorbs it…”

On cue, the Stand burst forth from the pool as the water began to swirl away. The bottom of the pool was now a gaping hole underground and the enemy Stand was now the size of a small car and it continued to grow as it slid out over the pool’s edge, picking up anything in its path, faster than before.

Part of its body bubbled and a tendril shot out with lightning speed, forcing Shiho to tackle Subterra down as it sheared off the top half of an outdoor bar, pulling it back into itself.

“It keeps eating…” Shiho frowned. “We can’t go to the buildings. We have to stay out here.”

“What?” Subterra asked, looking between the Stand and Shiho. “But what about the Stand master?”

“If this thing gets to the building, who knows how powerful it could get.” She stood up and straightened her jacket. “We have to bring it away. Back to the waterfront.”

As the morning light shone in, Subterra and Shiho headed back around, using the remains of the bar as cover as the enemy Stand slid towards them, sprouting more tendrils from its body.

“Goooooooood morning, guests!” Both of them spotted a speaker above one of the poles in the resort spurt to life. “What a lovely morning we have. Cloudy with a chance of activities and with a low chance of rain! Today, we’re pleased to say the yoga instructor has returned from his vacation to Rurutu with exercises beyond your comprehension! He will begin at-”

The Stand’s tendril had stopped before the bar, then in a blink, it swung around itself, spearing through the speaker before grabbing it and pulling it to itself. Another appendage burst forth from its body, heading for the bar. Shiho and Subterra got ready to defend themselves, but instead, it yanked out the entire cooler beside the counter and lifted it into the air.

Seeing their opportunity, Subterra pulled Shiho’s arm and motioned for them to get away while they could.

“You saw that?” Shiho said as they ran back towards the water. “The speaker. Then the cooler at the bar. It went for those instead of us.”

Subterra thought about it. Then snapped her fingers. “Vibrations! Sound and machinery vibrates. And before that, we were quite still. They would’ve been vibrating more than us. That’s why the Stand changed targets.”

Shiho nodded. “Just what I was thinking- Get down!”

She shoved Subterra down the hill before throwing herself to the side just as one of the Stand’s tentacles sailed over their heads.

Already, it was the size of a pickup truck, and it could move as fast as they could.

“Subterra, distract it. I have a plan.” Shiho crawled for some bushes. “Just don’t get eaten.”

The girl plucked grass from her black hair and got up. “Easier said than done. Crafteon!”

“My darkness is ineffective against this Stand,” it said, but spread out its darkness anyway. “It does not see with its eyes as well.”

“We’ve just got to keep up our vibrations. Umm…” She pointed to the ground.

Crafteon glided low and began drumming its tentacles against the soil to the point where bits of it began bouncing up and down.

The enemy Stand’s own tentacles shot out towards them, sending Subterra rolling back as Crafteon dodged them in the air before sailing back over to her side, continuing to slap the ground around them. The Stand took the bait and followed, sliding down the hill, eating away at loose soil and grass.

“As it continues to absorb everything around itself, it will get faster and stronger,” Crafteon told her as it soared beside its master. “We will not be able to outrun this thing forever.”

Subterra looked behind her, watching the enemy Stand catch up to her as more tentacles sprouted from its gelatinous body, and behind it, she spotted Shiho Sunfast by the docks under the rising sun, putting something metallic together as her Stand began transforming the planks of the boardwalk into metal. She had to buy Shiho more time.

“You got a problem with me, huh?” Subterra called out to the enemy Stand. “Voices are vibrations through the air. Surely you’ll sense that and come over here.”

She bent backwards, dropping on her back as a tentacle shot out in a straight line, grabbing at empty air where she had once been standing. Subterra quickly rolled away as it then lashed down against the sand, smashing it up into the air and all over her body, but it didn’t stop there. With a spin, the tentacle smacked Subterra’s left leg and instantly, she felt a searing burn through her limb, almost as though she had dipped it in a vat of molten acid on steroids. It was the most painful thing she’d ever felt. She dropped to the ground, cradling her injury as Crafteon dragged her away from the next attack, bringing her closer towards Shiho’s position.

The skin around her ankle was gone and below it, it was just smooth red meat, eaten away revealing a little bit of bone as the enemy Stand turned to follow her movement. Crafteon latched on to Subterra’s back and used its tentacles to pull her away from the Stand’s next attack as it flailed two tentacles around itself wildly, trying to catch them. She bent down and picked up a stone, chucking it in its direction, but by now, its tentacles were much too fast and it caught the stone right out of the air, absorbing it into itself.

“Shiho, you better be ready…” Subterra said to herself, unable to distract it any longer.

She could see it now. She was inserting what looked like a propeller into some kind of contraption that somewhat resembled an hourglass in shape.

“Get over here!” Shiho had her Stand pick up the machine, running over towards them. “Duck!”

Without looking, Subterra threw herself down, having Crafteon stop her from falling flat on her face as two tentacles shot over. This time, she had her Stand drag her forward before using its tentacles to spring her back up on her feet, shooting her forward faster than the enemy Stand’s appendages could smash down on the sandy shores.

She ran behind Shiho as Curtain Call dragged the machine out. With a push of a silver button, it began revving, spinning the propeller faster and faster as its entire body began to vibrate. Only now did Subterra realize what Shiho had made. It was some kind of motorboat engine.

Subterra could feel the attention of the Stand divert to the motor and with a mighty throw, Curtain Call tossed it far into the water. As soon as it touched down, it began speeding off in a zig-zag pattern, chugging up water in its wake.

The enemy Stand immediately picked up on the sudden amount of vibration and reached its tentacles out for it, but it proved to be faster and zipped out of its reach. With a bellow, the Stand charged into the water, pulling itself forward in pursuit of the motor.

Shiho gave Subterra a pat on the shoulder, then pointed over to the resort. “Come. It’s time to find that son of a Stand master and end this before the Stand comes back.”


> Episode 5: Come Join the Forest Rangers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I know, I know what was asked of me, but I can’t help it, you know?”

Against the bar, Seacrest Crescent, a follower of the esteemed TWI, swirled the contents of his vodka tonic as the female bartender close by rolled her eyes for the fourth time that morning. She had only just opened when Seacrest walked in. At first, he had been harmless enough, but he already likely had too much to drink and she just wanted him gone.

“My Stand, Seabear, it has a mind of its own,” he continued. “It will continue to attack vibrations. The bigger the better. And it’ll just eat and eat and eat until it’s done. You see where I’m going with this, darling?”

The bartender ignored him for a while, but eventually she heard the tapping on an empty glass on the bartop. She sighed and turned back around. 

“Fill ‘er up,” Seacrest Crescent said, tapping his empty cup.

The female bartender resisted the urge to roll her eyes again and brought over the bottle. This man clearly thought he was someone special, and the bartender had seen her share of tryhards in this establishment. However, drinks were not cheap, and as long as the money kept coming in, she supposed she could put up with this strange man’s antics.

The bartender poured out another drink for Seacrest, who slapped down some money on the table. Sweeping it up, the bartender went back to polishing the mugs behind the bar.

Slouching over the bar, Seacrest drank his beverage slowly, savoring each sip and mouthful. Working with TWI has been one of the best decisions of his life. She seemed to have an unlimited amount of riches, and she generously doled it out to her followers as long as they followed her instructions. Besides, TWI’s end goal was to improve the world, and Seacrest believed she could do it. He remembered reading on the internet about times when the world hadn’t been this garbage, when things were still good, before the dark times had come and swept the planet into a crisis. If anyone could fix the world, TWI could.

At the moment, she was still weakened from an encounter years ago, but soon, she would be back to her full strength and when that happened, she would heal the world. She would bring it peace.

Seacrest could sense his Stand out there, growing larger and more powerful all the time. If it stopped consuming matter for a while, or it was defeated or recalled, it would shrink back to its original size, but nobody had ever beaten him. It was just more convenient to recall Seabear when it wasn’t needed, as its corrosive nature could prove dangerous to people he didn’t want to harm.

Seacrest continued to sip his drink. He would have enjoyed it more if he could drink it under the sun on the beach, but ever since the ozone layer had gone, it was safer to stay indoors and not risk melanoma. “I don’t know how Imbibed Man does it, lying on the beach all day. He should’ve died from radiation by now.”

It was no secret that the world was dying. Years of greed and the need for comfort have brought this planet to the brink, but TWI could solve this all. Seacrest knew it. When she had come to him all those years ago, with money and a plan, he had been more than happy to join her. It was there that she had spiked him with an arrow with a crystalized tip that seemed to have been carved from some kind of jewel. He thought it had all been a trick at first, but it was through that arrow that he soon developed his Stand, Seabear.

With Seabear by his side, he could now do things he normally couldn’t. One of which was to talk to a beautiful woman, like this bartender here. “She’s totally digging me now. Just a few more pushes, a few more drinks, she’ll be right here with me.”

He picked up his glass, putting it to his lips, but instead of the biting liquid flowing down his throat, there was a sharp biting pain on his lower lip instead, forcing him back away from the counter as he threw his glass forward. At the bartender.

“What was that?!” he pressed at his lip, coming away with blood. The bartender flipped wet hair from her face and growled at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Something bit me!”

The bartender threw her towel down, then stomped off to the backroom. Seacrest attempted to follow her, but it was as though a hand grabbed him around the ankle and he fell, smacking his forehead against one of the stools. As his vision spun, he looked down to his leg, trying to see who was doing this to him, but there was nothing there.

“What have I been drinking…?” He let himself wobble a few rounds before smacking a palm against his left eye. “Where are you? Who are you? What do you want?”

He got up, but something bit his left index finger and he looked down, widening his eyes. Around his fingertip, just before the fingernail was a small round creature with four legs and what looked like two arms. It was munching on his skin with its blue mouth, tearing away his flesh like it was paper off a toilet roll. Its body was entirely in green and orange.

“Begone!” He smacked at the creature with his other hand, but no matter how many times he did so, he could not crush it. More appeared from the bottom of his hand and crawled up his arms, biting away at his skin as he got to his feet. “This-This has to be the work of an enemy Stand!”

He attempted to flee, but his foot suddenly detached from the rest of his leg and he tumbled down, crashing so hard that he rocked the two nearest tables, dropping their contents all over himself.

“Wh-What? How?” He looked at where his foot used to be and it was still on the ground behind him, being swarmed by more of those little creatures.

More of them swarmed over him and he squealed as he flailed his arms around, but he was unable to stop them climbing all over him without Seabear here with him.

“Somebody help meeeeeeeeee!” he cried out. Before they swarmed across his face, they just stopped and he could see a pair of turquoise legs appear before him. “W-Who are you?”

He angled his head up. It was a woman with curly pink hair and she had a look of disdain over him, as though she had just stepped in a puddle of mud. “TWI sent you. I want to know where she is.”

She was dressed in a short orange tank top that had what looked like two shiny eyes on it, along with a pair of similarly orange shorts.

Seacrest gulped. “I d-don’t know what you are saying…”

One of the little creatures jumped into his eye, or rather, through his eye. Blood sprayed up into the air and Seacrest screamed as the little creature began eating it from the inside.

“Tell me!” the woman barked again.

“Stop! I’ll tell you anything, just stop!” Seacrest cried out. Almost immediately, the little creatures scuttered off his body, leaving him a wrecked mess lying in his own blood. “TWI is… on an island.”

Seacreast looked left and right as he struggled to flip himself over. By now, Seabear would’ve already been recalled, wherever it was. He would have to worry about securing the girl later. This woman was a more immediate danger, but she was soon going to regret not finishing him off from the beginning.

“Where is she?” she asked again, taking one step closer.

“She’s…” Seacrest suddenly lunged up and thrust one arm forward. “Far away from you, harlot!”

Seabear appeared over his forearm, slithering forward as it flung itself off at her, back to its normal size again, no bigger than an eight ball. Seacrest was about to let out a bark of laughter when his mouth suddenly exploded in a wave of blood. He clutched at his throat, then staggered back as he realized his mistake. Not all of the enemy’s Stand had left him.

“Did you think I wasn’t prepared for this?” The woman shook her head and sidestepped his Stand. “My Stand, Forest Rangers, is capable of tearing you apart limb from limb, given the time. I left a handful in your mouth, ready to take you apart from the neck up if you called back your Stand. If you tell me where TWI is, I’ll make it quick. Otherwise, you can suffer all the way down to hell.”

“W-W-Who are… y-you…” Seacrest gagged, his throat nearly destroyed. He could no longer breathe. “I will… say not-nothi-nothgguagh…”

Just then, there were footsteps and Shiho Sunfast and Subterra Shiver appeared from around the entrance of the bar. The woman spotted them and narrowed her eyes. “You’re too late.”

She kicked a foot down against Seacrest’s chest. He coughed out blood, then dropped his head to one side.

Shiho looked down at the bleeding Seacrest, then back at her. “You must be the Stand master.”

The woman seemed to ignore her and pointed a finger at Subterra. “This girl. This is the one they’re after.”

Shiho put an arm out in front of her and scowled. “Well, you’re not having her.”

“I wasn’t asking.” The woman began glowing green.

Shiho was about to do something, but her feet suddenly lost their grip and she found herself lying on the ground with her face pressed to its concrete surface. Two little creatures waltzed in front of her face, clacking their fingers together as they gave each other a high five.

Curtain Call appeared from within, sending its fist crashing down on top of them, but from the corner of her view, more of the creatures appeared, climbing on top of each other as they pulled tight against one another, forming themselves into something bigger.

Shiho had her Stand smash a fist into the forming shape, but it expanded around its arm, avoiding it before falling down on top of Curtain Call like a wave. In only three seconds, more of the little creatures had arrived, forming together and pulling close to transform themselves into a humanoid orange and green figure with spider-like appendages coming out of its back.

It grabbed Curtain Call around the neck with its bulging biceps and tugged up. Shiho dropped to her knees, trying to breathe, but the enemy Stand held Curtain Call with an almost unbreakable chokehold.

“An enemy Stand!” Subterra warned as more of the smaller creatures made their way towards her and Crafteon.

She tried to run to Shiho’s aid, but the rest of the little critters formed into hands and grabbed both her legs, stopping her in place. Crafteon swiped its tentacles around, knocking them off in places, but more just swarmed in and filled up the space.

“I’m not letting you get away.” The woman lifted a hand at a forty five degree angle, then touched it down to her right knee. “You’re coming with me.”

Subterra shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Crafteon!”

Darkness began to spread from its back, creeping across the floor of the bar towards the enemy and her little Stands. It touched one of them and almost immediately, the woman leapt back a step and clutched at her shoulders, shivering.

“Forest Rangers, back!” she yelled as her Stands scurried away, avoiding the dark.

Subterra quickly changed the darkness’ direction to Shiho and the rest of the enemy Stand, Forest Rangers. As soon as it engulfed them, the woman cried out and pulled an arm back. From within the dark, a multitude of little Forest Rangers swarmed away, coming towards Subterra and Crafteon. She immediately dropped the darkness, allowing Shiho time to breathe as she shook from the experience.

“Are you okay?” Subterra called over to her as she ran to her side.

Shiho rubbed her throat, looking more irritated than ever. “No lasting damage. Come, let’s get to the boat and get out. We don’t need to fight her.”

“Don’t think you’re getting away that easily!” The woman shook off her stun and pointed at them with both hands. Her Stand combined together again, standing behind her with its fists together in front of her chest. “Come join the Forest Rangers.”

Shiho groaned. “Good grief. How about no.”

She pushed Subterra and the two of them fled out of the bar, rushing for the shoreline and the nearby docks where she had stopped the Brandy 1. 

Crafteon began whipping away pursuing Forest Rangers, but a few managed to get up Subterra’s legs and bit into her flesh. She squealed in pain, but Curtain Call managed to pluck them off with incredible accuracy, tossing them aside as they kept running, never once losing speed.

“If we can get to my boat, we can get to one of the other islands, away from this mad woman,” Shiho began explaining as she looked back to make sure she wasn’t following them. She was. “There are thousands of islands out here in the ocean. Thousands to search for TWI, but at least we’ll likely lose her.”

“What do you think she wants?” Subterra couldn’t shake off the feeling that they were missing something. “She killed the other one, the other Stand user.”

Shiho shook her head. “Can’t be anything good. There, my boat’s the first one at the docks.”

The Brandy 1 sat there under the glare of the sun, moving in place on the pristine waves washing ashore. But something was wrong. It was rocking a whole lot more than it was supposed to be when it was tied to the docks.

“Did I leave it untied?” she questioned herself. “But that can’t be. I was sure I tied it down. If it sails away from us now, that would be a real problem.”

And then she saw them. From further away, it had been much too hard to see, but as they got closer, she could see tiny specks of green and orange crawling across the rear of the boat. Bit by bit, the boat began to disappear, starting with the line, followed by the engine and then parts of the leather seats. More of them were jumping off the pier into the water to get to the boat, swimming with their tiny legs, trying to cover the expanse of water quickly.

“They’re taking my boat apart.” Shiho stopped in her tracks. “Our enemy is clever. But not clever enough.”

Subterra looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“I’ll need to construct something to beat this.” Shiho ignored her question, then pointed to the enemy. “Subterra, I need you to get Forest Rangers out here.”

“W-What?”

“No time to explain. Just trust me. I’ll get things ready.” Shiho nodded as Curtain Call whipped its cloth around its head, then grabbed its ends with both hands and squatted low. 

Subterra ran out to meet the charging woman, sliding to a stop as she brought Crafteon out beside her. Its huge head leaned close to hers and it wrapped one tentacle around her shoulders. 

Subterra put both hands on her coat collar and pulled at them sharply, before sliding a finger of one hand out towards the woman. “Crafteon, do your thing.”

The woman stopped before her as her Stand swarmed around her. “You’re coming with me.”

“Not. Yet.” Crafteon was no longer beside Subterra.

The woman looked around, getting herself ready as she tried to locate her Stand. From the corners of her vision, darkness began to build, creeping closer towards her as a pit began to form in her stomach. She eyed Subterra, knowing just how dangerous her Stand’s ability could be.

“Your darkness holds nothing,” she began speaking to Subterra. “It is simply just darkness, but somehow it sends signals to my brain to fear it. Impressive.”

Forest Rangers scattered from her, splitting off into two directions as they curved towards Subterra. Crafteon reappeared, slinking out of the shadows by the water, swatting at one group with its tentacles. Darkness continued to pool in from around it, forcing Forest Rangers away from it.

Subterra turned and ran, keeping a good distance between herself and the attacking swarm. She dodge to the side at one point, just barely avoiding Forest Rangers as it formed into a sickle-like appendage before swiping at her.

She spotted Shiho and Curtain Call taking apart what was left of her boat as her Stand began turning part after part into pieces of glass.

Forest Rangers formed together, returning itself to its humanoid form as it sprinted after her now, easily covering the distance with its powerful legs, at the same time, avoiding Crafteon’s darkness.

Its sudden burst of speed caught Subterra off guard and she could only get her Stand forward about three feet before one of Forest Rangers fists clubbed her in the cheek. She dropped to the ground, her vision spinning as she snorted blood from her left nostril.

She struggled to get up, to crawl away from the approaching Stand as it reached a hand out, but it had been a hard hit and it was almost as though it had stopped her legs from working properly. She needed time to recover from the blow, but as of now, time wasn’t something she had.

“You’re coming with me…” the woman stopped before her head as her Stand reached for Subterra’s coat. “You’re taking me to TWI.”

“You- TWI didn’t send you?” Subterra attempted to crawl to the side of the docks.

“Sent me?” The woman scrunched up her brows. “I have no part with TWI. No longer. She has changed. She was not the ruler she once was since coming to your world. No, I am not with TWI.”

Subterra stopped, confused for a second. This woman was not here to take her back to TWI. Not exactly.

Before more could be said, Curtain Call barreled into Forest Rangers before it could reach Subterra, pushing it off the docks as it swung a big box-like structure made of glass at the Stand. Forest Rangers attempted to spear Curtain Call through the chest with its spiny appendages, but it tucked and rolled over it before slamming the box down on top of the Stand, smashing it hard into the water as they both fell.

“I’ve got you now, woman.” Shiho joined them at the docks, sliding a finger down her coat collar, leaving it hanging off its light strip. “I figured your Stand out. While it can be everywhere at once and incredibly versatile, their tiny bodies make them susceptible to dense environments like the sea, which also makes it harder to maintain its body.” She pointed a finger at the woman as Curtain Call pounded its fists together. “Now without your Stand to back you up, prepare yourself.”

“Shiho, wait…!” Subterra called, but she had already begun.

With a yell, Curtain Call began smashing its fists against the woman’s body, repeatedly pummeling her all over as it yelled. “Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!”

“Shi-Shiho, wait!” Subterra lunged up, sending Crafteon over the older woman’s face, blinding her.

“What are you doing?” Shiho grunted, but stopped Curtain Call as the woman dropped to the ground, bleeding and bruised.

Subterra stretched a hand out. “She’s not with TWI. She wants the same thing.”

“She… what?” Shiho eyed the woman through narrow slits, contemplating her options. “Who are you? What are you after? Speak.”

The woman lifted her head off the ground, panting hard as she wiped blood off the corner of her mouth and the side of her head. “I am… Ocellus, one of the Young Six.”

“The what?” Subterra tilted her head to one side as her mouth hung open in question.

The woman called Ocellus shook her head as she pushed the rest of her body up slowly. “It doesn’t matter. I’m from Equestria, the world mirroring yours, where TWI was from. She had come here many years ago to study this world, explained to her from the notes of her predecessor, Princess Celestia.”

She paused to make sure the other two were still following. To her surprise, they looked like this wasn’t the first time they had heard something this bizarre.

“You don’t seem perturbed by the revelation of different worlds…” Ocellus said.

Shiho shared a look with Subterra, then sighed. “Good grief. I would never be. My grandmother’s from your world. TWI captured her, so I’m looking for her to get her back and stop that madwoman.”

“You have ties to Equestria?” Ocellus put a hand under her chin and wiped more blood from it. “This girl, the one you protect, she’s the only one who can lead me to TWI. You see, my mother is with her. After my friends and I tried to stand up to TWI’s change, my mother was sent after us, putting the rest of my friends in a hospital in your world. I’m the only one able enough to track them down. I have to bring my mother to justice and stop TWI.”

“See?” Subterra waved a hand. “She wants the same thing.”

“Good grief…” Shiho turned her attention to the water, where Forest Rangers was still struggling to maintain its form to break out of the box. It seemed it was only able to take apart organic matter quickly. “Curtain Call, get it off.”

Her Stand complied and lifted the glass container from Ocellus’ Stand. It tossed it on the trash-riddled shore before turning it into a similar-sized rock.

“You… uh, sorry. For attacking you.” Subterra put a hand out to help her up the rest of the way.

“It would be better if you found out who you were attacking before you attack,” Shiho said. “That way, I might not have almost accidentally killed you.”

Ocellus managed a smile. “Please, you wouldn’t be able to if you tried…”

Shiho smiled at the corner of her lips. “We’ll see. Anyway, you’ve destroyed my boat with your Stand.”

“Yeah…” Ocellus grunted. “Sorry about that. I have a little dingy at the other end of the island. That’s how I got here.”

Shiho shook her head as she pulled out her lightphone. “No need. I’ll call in a favor. I’d feel safer in a state-of-the-art boat.”

Subterra watched as she dialed in something as a face appeared on her phone’s projected screen. It was nice to know that these two women were after the same thing, but as her thoughts drifted to TWI, a dark feeling passed over her and she gripped her chest. She still didn’t remember anything before getting here, but it definitely wasn’t anything good. And now she was trying to lead them back to TWI, wherever she was.

Subterra swallowed hard. She just hoped she was doing the right thing here.


> Episode 6: Arrival at Tikehau
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tikehau, another of the islands that consists of French Polynesia, was a popular tourist destination known for its amazing waters and the creatures that live in it. Sadly in this day and age, overfishing has made it more difficult to see fish and other aquatic animals and the chances of anyone sighting one of these majestic creatures has become a rarity.

But it didn’t stop people from their continued effort to fish these waters dry. In a boat just off the edge of the atoll sat a couple of fishermen, lounging on plush leather seats as they eyed the bottom of their bottles and occasionally, their fishing rods, held to the floor with metallic hooks and a round piston, which would help with maintaining control of the rod should something take the bait.

“This blows…” one of them, Rory Reef, said as he tossed his bottle over the side. It landed in the water before being washed up along with more rubbish on the atoll’s shore. “I’m hungry. I need a drink. We’ve been here days now. And we’ve only caught one fish.”

“You’ve had three bottles already. And it hasn’t even been five hours yet,” the other one, Rice Borough said. “I swear, I saw a hammerhead shark earlier, circling the boat.”

Rory turned to face him. “Now you’re the one making stuff up.”

“I’m serious, how can I mistake a hammerhead of all sharks?”

“They’re all gone. The last one was fished up five years back,” Rory continued. “I ain’t seen a shark since.”

“I’m tellin’ you, I saw it!” Rice protested. “I swear on me mum.”

 Rory decided to forget it. “Imagine how these waters used to be fifty years ago. Or even a hundred years ago. Imagine this endless blue, teeming with fish, with sharks, rays, whales.”

“Whales ain’t fish.”

“Same thing. They swim in these waters and we fish ‘em.”

“It’s a pity them blue whales went extinct twenty years ago. I still remember the fish whale meat I’d eaten back in the tavern over on Picadilly.” Rice rubbed his belly. “Never had anything like that before, and I never will again.”

There was a tugging on Rice’s fishing line and Rory stomped his foot before pointing at it. “Oi, you got something!”

“No way!” Rice threw his bottle overboard before grabbing his rod and thumbing the button to reel it back in.

The line came back with no resistance and he soon realized why. He grabbed what was left of it as soon as it exited the water and eyed it curiously. “Where’d the rest of it go?”

His fishing line had been cut somewhere in the middle. It was made of a military grade carbon fiber, something that wouldn’t be cut by a fish or even a coral bed.

“What could’ve done this?” He turned to face Rory, but something was wrong.

Rory was holding his hands to his throat and gasping and red began to run down his arms, staining his blue floral shirt, pooling on the floor along his feet. His eyes went wide and his fingers soon fell off from his hand, cut so cleanly that it looked like they had just decided to jump off his body. He tipped back and fell over the side of the boat, disappearing from view, before the railing he was leaning against slid in half as well, dropping into the water behind him.

“What is that?!” Rice shuffled back till his back was to his own railing. He could still see Rory’s ten fingers on the floor, lifeless among his own blood before a clicking sound could be heard at the top of his boat.

Just over the cabin stood a dark skinned man with a really big mouth, crouching down with his arms on his knees. He had on an unbuttoned red shirt with trumpets printed all over it, a pair of white shorts and green flip flops.

He pushed aside a gnarly head of vibrant blonde hair before clicking his tongue against his teeth. “You fishermen are the reason we don’t got anymore fish here. And still you fish. Madmen, I tell you.”

“Wh-Who are you?” Rice grabbed the railing. His trembling hands shook it all the way to the stern. “I ain’t done nothing.”

“Not today, anyway.” The man hopped down from his perch and walked slowly towards Rice, swinging his arms menacingly as he angled his body back. “All you people do is make the world worse. So I’d like to thank you for being here today. So I can kill you.”

He raised a fist and Rice panicked, throwing himself over the side. He figured if he could swim out to the atoll, perhaps he could just lose him on the other end before finding a boat and getting to another island.

But there was nothing more he could do. There was a swish of water and Rice’s body split into seven pieces before it even hit the water below.



Subterra Shiver leaned on a plush leather seat at the back of the new boat Shiho had called in. Even though the waves rocked around them and the wind whistled through her ears, they did nothing to turn down the heat of the sun from above.

From what she gathered, Shiho had this big company called the Crusaders Foundation helping her out with her search for her grandmother. They would provide her with whatever means they could, and that meant boats out here among the islands.

This one had the name ‘Brandy 2’ painted along the sides, a light blue colored vehicle as opposed to Shiho’s earlier white boat. This one was slightly larger, fit with two powerful motors in the back and a glass panel behind the two front seats, ideal for fish-watching, if there were indeed any fish left in the ocean. Subterra heard they were mostly all gone now thanks to humans, but perhaps a few had evaded capture and would eventually multiply again to fill the ocean.

She could only hope that was the case.

Ocellus sat in the back with her, her eyes trained on the tiny islands in the distance as they rode along the waves.  Shiho sat at the wheel, one hand on the steering apparatus and the other one clenched around a can of beer. She would occasionally take a swig of the alcohol; Subterra remembered that Shiho had told her that the brand of beer she liked best had switched to biodegradable packaging to help save the environment. It was made of some kind of waterproof wafer that could be eaten once she was done with her drink.

“Anything look familiar to you, Subterra?” Shiho called back, breaking Subterra’s attention on the beer can. “According to my map, there are at least six islands in our proximity.”

Subterra shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m not picking out anything familiar.”

“Well, what do you expect her to do?” Ocellus waved a hand. “Do you think she can recognize anything from this distance? You’ve got to get closer.”

Shiho grumbled, but complied, taking the Brandy 2 towards the closest island. A fairly large wave licked against the boat, splashing up water into Subterra’s face before she ducked back. She wiped what she could away with the back of a hand, but some of it got into her mouth.

“It’s… actually salty,” she said.

“You’ve never been out here, have you?” Ocellus leaned forward, taking her attention away from the sea.

She shrugged. “I can’t… remember anything. I just woke up on Bora Bora and that’s all I recall besides my name, Subterra. I don’t even remember what this TWI looks like.”

“She’s no simple opponent, that I’ll give you,” Shiho said from the front. “I didn’t get the chance to get rid of her the last time and she got away after a tough fight. I won’t be making that mistake again. If not for Spike, I would’ve prevented all this.”

“Spike? Who’s Spike?” Subterra asked.

“Some flipping nobody who put his nose where it didn’t belong,” Shiho snorted. “He had been a friend, just like TWI, but they decided to kill everyone. Apparently he shares his name with some dumb dog who a lot of people have a weird obsession over and have been making attempts on my family because of it. I had to deal with one of these before I left Canterlot.”

“A dog?” Ocellus repeated, looking confused. “Why would people obsess over a dog? Was it a magical dog?”

“Beats me,” Shiho said. “The whole dog thing happened before I was born. Anyway, TWI won’t escape me this time. We’ll find out where she’s hiding and finish her once and for all.”

“Now arriving at Tikehau,” a voice on their boat’s system chimed.

“We’ll look for landmarks.” Shiho turned and rested an arm over the back of her seat as she pressed a button for the boat’s auto-docking function. “Anything that would get you to recognize something, Subterra.”

“What are the chances of TWI being on the first island we decide to look?” Ocellus brought up the fact. “I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

Shiho narrowed her eyes at the approaching island. “Only one way to find out.”

The boat picked up speed, almost flying over the waves as it got closer and closer. The island ahead was an atoll according to the map, a ring of land around a lagoon. Like with Bora Bora, there was a resort along the edge of the trash-filled shore, another reason why fishes had begun dying out. There was more rubbish in the waters than ever before and it didn’t seem like humanitarian efforts were working.

The group stopped the boat alongside a small pier that led to the resort, walking past a sign that read, ‘Welcome to Tikehau’.

“So what’s the plan, Shiho?” Ocellus was the first to jump out of the boat. She grabbed the rope tossed by Shiho and began tying it to its post. “How are we going to find TWI out here?”

Shiho pointed at Subterra, who was still seated in the back. “We’ll have to jog the kid’s memory. I’m sure familiar sights would trigger some sort of remembrance.”

Ocellus lifted an eyebrow. “Are you sure it works like that?”

Shiho took a swig of her flask. “It’ll have to. There’s thousands of islands out here in the ocean. TWI could be on any one.”

“You’re the boss.” Ocellus just shrugged and carried on down the pier.

“Good grief.” Shiho turned to Subterra and motioned with her head to get out. “Go on. See what you can dig up. I’ll finish dealing with the boat.”

Subterra complied and got herself onto the boardwalk. Following behind Ocellus, she noticed the older woman’s back had all kinds of scars running down its length, healed over time, but still visible. Whatever it was she did, hero or something, she must’ve been doing it for a long time now.

The resort began with a stairway leading up a grimy white pathway, making a sharp left to a lobby made out completely of wood.

“How are so many vacation spots still open?” Ocellus asked herself. With the pollution of the oceans and the decaying ozone layer, she didn’t see much of a market left for tropical island getaways.

She knew the state of this world well. That was why TWI had wanted to right it, but Ocellus didn’t agree with the methods she wished to use. Something had changed in her when she came to this world for her first visit, something that made her hard and cruel, and that was something she and her friends could not accept.

“See anything that looks familiar?” Ocellus asked Subterra. “I have to say that this doesn’t look like the lair of a delusional princess. How about you?”

Subterra looked from the woman behind the counter to a pair of people lounging on plush sofas, then to a cluster of trees just beyond the lobby railing. Nothing seemed at all familiar to her.

“This island is a whole ring, anyway,” Ocellus said. “Perhaps if we walk around it, something might seem familiar.”

“If you say so,” Subterra shrugged and followed Ocellus as she went out of the shade. “What about Shiho?”

Ocellus waved a hand and kept going. “She’s resourceful. I’m sure she can find us when she’s done.”

The two women had to walk through shallow water to get to the next part of the atoll, which was mostly just jungle. They kept to the shore, hoping to see any landmarks that would leave a mark on Subterra’s memory, but there was nothing remarkable out here. That was until they got to a rather bizarre sight.

There was a boat beached up on the shore, looking like it had just sailed through a hurricane. It stood at least a storey up and they couldn’t see most of the deck from here, but the damage was evident. Bits of it were broken off, almost like something had cleanly cut them off. The cabin glass had been shattered and its rooftop seemed to be crumpled; they didn’t see any signs of life on it.

“Now what do we have here?” Ocellus approached it slowly.

“Looks like someone was drunk sailing,” Subterra suggested.

Ocellus shook her head. “I don’t think so. Look at the damage. This wasn’t caused by a crash or bad weather. It’s like someone took a huge sword and hacked bits off it.”

Subterra nodded. The railings had been cut into pieces by something really sharp. There was no way it would’ve broken off on impact. She ran a hand along its side. “This hasn’t been here long.”

Ocellus suddenly pulled her back, then threw them both to the ground as something sliced across the air from the hull of the ship, cutting a straight line through it, hitting the sand hard enough to send particles up into the air.

“Why if it isn’t Subterra Shiver! Didn’t expect to see you here!” A dark man walked out of the smashed cabin, brushing his blonde hair out of his face as he flashed them a wide smile. “I’m lying of course. I knew you’d arrive here eventually.”

“Someone you know?” Ocellus looked at her companion.

Subterra shook her head warily.

The man put his hands on the railing and leaned closer. “I would’ve gotten you if not for this tough woman here. But then if I had gotten you, TWI wouldn’t have been pleased. She wants you back, Subterra. And I’m going to bring you back. It’ll be your choice whether you go back in one piece or without your arms and legs. Surfer Blood and I will make sure of that.”

“So another Stand user, huh?” Ocellus got them back on their feet and stood in front of Subterra. “Who are you?”

The man leaned up and straightened his red shirt with trumpet imprints. “I am Doo Doo Doot, one of the many who has gained the truth working for TWI. She has opened our eyes to the state of our world. You don’t see it, but I see a way of saving it. The world’s destruction is not inevitable, you know?”

“Wait, your name’s Doo Doo? For real?” Ocellus repeated. Then she snorted with laughter. “Wow. Your parents must have really hated you to name you that. Why not just call yourself Manure Man and get it over with?”

In spite of the danger and the appearance of this new enemy, Subterra had to agree with Ocellus on this one. She giggled, much to the anger of Doo Doo Doot.

“I’ll have you know I am named after one of the most famous composers in the world!” The man raged at them. “Laugh all you want now. You, pink hair, you’ll be dead before you know it, and I’ll be off to TWI’s island with Subterra.”

"Counter offer," Ocellus replied, dropping all levity and humor. "You tell us where TWI is, and you get to walk away from here in one piece. In case you haven't noticed, we outnumber you two to one."

"Numbers mean nothing to one so skilled as I," Doot sneered back. "My Stand and I are unmatched in battle. You don't stand a chance."

"Last chance, Fertilizer Face," Ocellus replied as she settled into a gunslinger’s stance, both hands hovering above her hips. "Give us TWI's location and we can all leave here unharmed. Unless of course, you want to catch a beating."

Doot scowled and straightened his stance. “TWI found me at my lowest point when I had just flunked out of my musical career. She opened my mind, gave me my Stand abilities with her arrow. And with these abilities, I will now smear you all over the sands to never be found again.”

From within the hull of the ship, rectangular dents made themselves known before the entire thing burst open, revealing a blue and grey Stand flexing its muscular arms and legs. It had tubes running down its body from its head and where its hands would be were two boxy shapes with rectangular slits at the ends. Its featureless face watched them through a red slit and it raised both arms in one swift motion.

Water began pumping through its tubes before its arms reeled back from firing two disc shaped projectiles at them. Ocellus called up Forest Rangers, who attempted to smack the attack away with its left arm, fast enough to hit it out of the air. Ocellus was about to smile when she noticed her Stand’s arm was completely gone, flying away in the air as the disc projectile dissipated against the sand past them, knocking more up into the air.

“You may be fast, but you won’t be as strong as the water Surfer Blood wields!” Doo Doo Doot began laughing, throwing his head back. “At the speed and power it fires its water, nothing, not even the strongest of metals can stand against it. Water gives life to our dying planet, but it can also take it away.”

Ocellus looked down at her bleeding arm and wiped what she could away. If Forest Rangers had been a solid singular Stand, she might’ve just lost her arm right there and then. She had underestimated her enemy here, but as she looked at Subterra, she knew it wasn’t time to give up, not yet. She still had to find her mother and TWI and this pile of Doo Doo wasn’t going to stop her.

-To be Continued...-
> Episode 7: Surf's Up, Surfer Blood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a bright afternoon day when Ocellus and her friends received the news from TWI herself. She had been wheeled over by a royal guard, critically injured atop a wheelchair that was much too small for her long body. It was there that they had learned everything about TWI’s visit to the human world, a world much talked about from her predecessor’s journals. Princess Celestia had talked about a world where only a few would know the magical value of friendship, but many had the potential to learn. But after her adventure there, TWI had a very much different opinion.

“I will right that world. I will,” she told them. “It is corrupt, teetering towards disaster. Only I can set this right.”

She had created a portal back to Equestria through a piece of the actual portal in the human world’s Canterlot and with the best magic in Equestria, she had managed to recover enough to begin her plans again, though still seriously wounded from her battle there against the humans.

“I have been working hard here and I have done much in preparation for my return.” TWI looked at the Young Six. “My friends may be too old to join me, but you six, you have years to go, you have potential to grow stronger. Join my conquest. Equestria has been united by my rule. You see the peace that I have brought. Join me and we will fix the human world, one piece at a time, starting with their world leaders. To solve a problem, we must first deal with the root issues.”

“What? What are you saying, TWI?” Smolder flapped her wings a little harder.

Ocellus blinked hard. “Y-You can’t possibly- you’re not like that, TWI.”

“We’re all about friendship. That’s what you taught us, remember?” Sandbar said. “We can’t just go take over another land.”

Gallus nodded. “You don’t want the griffons to just fly here and take over.”

TWI shook her head. “This is not something I need guidance with. I know what I have to do, but I know it is hard to accept. I will give you time. Once you understand, I’m sure you will join me. For now, I have other matters to tend to, as do you as Equestria’s protectors.”

Ocellus couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. All these years serving Equestria under TWI, she had never once doubted her, but right now, there were plenty of doubts running through her mind.

“Just what will happen to Equestria?” she asked herself as her friends talked amongst themselves. She had a bad feeling about this.



Ocellus had split Forest Rangers up into five swarms, sending them burrowing under the sand as they scattered, making it harder for Surfer Blood to hit them. She made sure to keep Subterra behind her at all times, ready to move them both if the enemy decided to attack them directly. While Crafteon was a Stand with an unfathomable ability, she didn’t see it moving fast enough to reach Surfer Blood before its razor sharp water jets would reach them. At this point in time, they were just too far away and the enemy’s speed outmatched them.

She would have to play this smarter.

A cluster of Forest Rangers erupted from the sand close to Surfer Blood, flinging themselves at it as they formed into a tiny version of Forest Rangers’ complete form. Surfer Blood turned on them, pointed both arms forward as water was pumped down to them. From their nozzles, thin pinpricks of water were fired in a stream, puncturing holes through its body as its momentum was cut short, sending it tumbling back to the sand in pieces as each individual Forest Ranger scattered back under the sand.

One more swarm burst forth next to Surfer Blood’s leg, narrowly missing as it swiped a sickle-like shape at it as Surfer Blood kicked into the air, somersaulting once before firing a blade of water at the third swarm, which ran at it with spidery legs. It avoided one of its water blades, but the second one cut off all the legs on its right side, dropping it to the sand before Surfer Blood punctured it through the head with a beam of water.

Ocellus yelled in pain as blood dripped from her head, covering her left eye as she dropped to a knee.

Doo Doo Doot laughed from his roost, leaning back against the cabin wall. “What are you going to do, man? You’re too slow.” Surfer Blood released a torrent of water from its nozzles, washing away the swarms of Forest Rangers, breaking them apart. “The pressure of Surfer Blood’s water is too great. Your Stand cannot maintain a solid form against me. And as they slow down further in water, you will certainly never beat me!”

Subterra couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. “Crafteon, we need to help.”

Crafteon appeared beside her, flailing its tentacles around. “Surfer Blood’s water jets can reach us faster than my darkness can creep to it. I don’t know what good we’ll do.”

“We have to try. We have to help Ocellus.” Subterra grabbed her under her arms and helped her back up. “I’m not just going to stand here and do nothing, Crafteon.”

Her Stand nodded its large head, then stretched its tentacles out as darkness began to spread from under its tail towards Surfer Blood. Doo Doo Doot put a hand to his mouth and faked a yawn before grinning madly.

Surfer Blood eyed the darkness coming, then pointed its arms at Crafteon and fired off a beam of water like that of a fire hose. Crafteon sailed away in the air, its spreading darkness dissipating for the moment as it tried to avoid the enemy’s attack. Surfer Blood turned and followed, aiming the spray towards it as it stepped towards the sea. As it stood over it, water began flowing into its feet, flowing through tubes that stuck out the back of its soles. As it circulated through its body, the water pressure from its arm cannons began to increase, shearing clean through a rock as Crafteon attempted to hide behind it.

“I told you, there’s nothing we can do against this enemy,” Crafteon told its master.

“Not yet, anyway.” Subterra nodded to Ocellus.

The older woman understood and got her Stand moving again. “The enemy’s attacks may be fast, but it’s still one against two. Or maybe five.”

Forest Rangers reformed themselves into four swarms, and now that Surfer Blood was no longer hosing them down, they were able to cluster back up again, forming four distinct beetle-like creatures on four legs each. One ran to Surfer Blood’s legs, biting it with its mandibles as it sprayed away at Crafteon, spilling blood on the sand.

Doo Doo Doot hopped on one foot and held his injured foot in his hands as he cursed. “Get that Stand!”

Surfer Blood kicked it away, then fired a salvo of water blades at the rest. It sheared one of the Forest Ranger swarms to pieces, but the other three managed to avoid the rest, going off in different directions.

“Surf’s up, bugs!” Doo Doo Doot put both hands to his mouth like he was holding a musical instrument and wiggled his body from left to right. “You’ll never stop me!”

“I won’t be so sure about that.” Ocellus raised the corner of her mouth in a smile.

Doot saw her change of expression and put his hands down, narrowing his eyes. “How do you plan on that?”

Ocellus put her hands on her hips and bent her back to her right. “Did you think you were smashing apart my Stand all this time and making them run for it?”

“Well, yes I-”

Ocellus flicked a finger up, pointing at him. “You forget my Stand exists as tiny little organisms. And each Forest Ranger has the ability to chew through even some of the strongest metals, given the time.”

Doot waved his hand lazily. “I don’t see how that applies. Surfer Blood is still going to tear you to pieces with its high-pressurized water jets.”

His Stand slammed both arms together, then pointed them at Subterra and Ocellus. Water pumped down from its tubes, but they never made it to its arms. Instead, water spouted out from the tubes just above its elbows and back.

Doot did a double take. “Wuh-what?”

Surfer Blood looked down at its arms and it was here that Doot realized what Ocellus was talking about. Along the tubes rested dozens of Forest Rangers, eating away at the tubes or snipping at them with their two-fingered hands.

“Y-Your Stand ate through the water tubes of Surfer Blood!” Doot exclaimed, putting both hands to his blonde head. “Your Stand has been crawling up Surfer Blood each time it broke your Stand up!”

Ocellus nodded, her finger still pointed at him. “Exactly. The game’s up, Doo Doo. Time for you to be flushed down the toilet. Forest Rangers!”

As her Stand formed themselves back into a singular figure, Ocellus looked back at how far she’s come from her days studying in TWI’s school. She used to be a shy one, but after years of being bolstered up by her friends by her side, she was able to break out of her shell, both metaphorically and literally, able to take charge when the going got tough. That was what a protector of Equestria did, anyway. And that was what she had to do now. If TWI was going to lead Equestria down a dangerous path, it was her job to do something about it.

Forest Rangers ran at Surfer Blood, who was now unable to fire back at it.

“No, don’t do it!” Doot pleaded. “TWI only means well for this world!”

Forest Rangers balled both fists and repeatedly slammed them into Surfer Blood’s chest over and over again, hitting it against the hull of the beached ship. With each pound, the hull bent and groaned, sinking under Forest Rangers’ blows. Spinning around, it delivered a final straight kick up into Surfer Blood’s chin, smashing it through the hull as Doo Doo Doot was flung from the deck, falling away into the ocean on the other side.

Forest Rangers spun once, then pressed one arm to the sand as it raised the other one in an ‘L’ shape above its head.

“That takes care of the doo doo.” Ocellus spun around and faced Subterra as Forest Rangers vanished. “You alright?”

Subterra dusted sand from her sleeves and nodded. “That was cool.”

Ocellus chuckled and looked back at the boat. “It was, wasn’t it?” She turned her attention to the lagoon within the atoll and the rubbish floating along its shore. “This place is nice. Or at least, it would be if humans stopped throwing their rubbish everywhere. The sea is nothing like this in Equestria.”

Subterra looked at a plastic bottle washing up and down the water and sighed. “If people don’t do something now… I guess that’s why TWI has a bunch of followers.”

“But odd… That doo doo, he mentioned an arrow…” Ocellus recalled. “I know not all the people of your world are born with Stand power. If she’s able to give them Stands with this arrow, who knows how many Stand users she has on her side.”

Subterra found herself wondering more about her origins. Was she the same? A product of TWI’s arrow? There was only one way to find out at this point, and that was to recollect her memories, starting with investigating the rest of Tikehau.

Ocellus suddenly began waving and Subterra looked up to see Shiho walking over, a grumpy look on her face.

“Took you long enough,” Ocellus told her. “We even dealt with an enemy Stand while you were busy docking that boat of yours.”

“I was getting hustled by some dude hoping to make some quick money.” Shiho pounded her fists together. “Had to show him it was a bad idea. Good grief, you can find these people all over the world…”

Ocellus rolled her eyeballs. “Uh huh. Right. We better get going before another Stand user tracks us down.”

As Ocellus led the way past the destroyed boat, Subterra walked alongside Shiho with news to tell her about TWI and her mysterious arrow.



Clouds swirled in the sky above the island’s peak, curving unnaturally towards the middle as the air around them shimmered and moved like there were mirages in the desert. Because of this, the sky was dark and overcast, preventing light from entering the room of a structure built into the mountain’s surface. A rustic balcony led into a dark room with wooden floorboards that had piles and piles of clothes strewn all over. At the far end was a large bed with four posts that connected with the rocky ceiling and on it sat a woman shrouded in shadows, dressed in only a pair of striped pants. Her back revealed a line of scars, cuts and bruises sustained from her fight with who she used to call her friends all those years ago.

After eleven years, her body still hadn’t fully healed, leaving her vulnerable and weakened. In the end, she had to resort to returning to Equestria to collect allies for her work here in this world. Now with the portal she had created with a piece of Canterlot’s statue, she could come and go as she pleased, but she knew her duty would be to bring peace and order to this world, just like she had done in Equestria.

In her right hand, she clutched an arrow. It had a black shaft and a gold fletching, but what really stood out about it was its head. The arrowhead was made of a brilliant blue crystal, glistening in the faint light as she turned it in her hand. From that, she looked to the side where a tank filled with water sat against the wall across from a doorway. Inside this tank was an old woman with grey hair that was once red and yellow. She was hooked up to tubes and devices, along with a respirator over her mouth that allowed her to breathe.

TWI had been learning from Sunset Shimmer all these years. That was how she got her hands on a Stand geode. It had come straight from the horse’s mouth. Literally.

With the tubes attached to Sunset, TWI could pump in drugs and concoctions, stuff that would dull Sunset’s edge and keep her from using her Stand. In her weakened state, TWI knew she couldn’t afford a fight with Alicorn Fantasy, one of the most powerful Stands she’d ever known. Right now, she was asleep, but TWI would occasionally have conversations about the world and her family.

“I’m not a monster, you know?” She watched Sunset’s still form, then turned her attention back to the arrow. “I’ve given people of your world hope again. Hope for a better future, hope for all, rich or poor, weak or strong. You just don’t see it. Why don’t you see it?”

From Sunset’s information, TWI had found the geode out in the Everfree Forest of this world, near the site of an old cave Sunset had gotten hers from. She had also told her of Cinch, the woman she had defeated so many years ago, doomed to repeat every second for the rest of eternity.

TWI had wanted to go see her for herself, but she didn’t want to risk accidentally releasing her. “Perhaps I will go once I am fully recovered.”

The geode had allowed her to give Stand power to the humans of this world. Though not all of them survive the process, those that did became stronger than ever, able to help her change the world. She has fashioned it into an arrow to better administer it. As long as she kept getting it back, she could use it as many times as she wanted, though she knew it would disappear should it be used on a Stand user, like Sunset had done.

A cold draft blew into the room and for a second, TWI thought she saw Spike, her old friend, standing by the balcony, facing her.

She gripped the arrow tighter, then got off the bed as she placed a hand to her face, looking out between her index and middle fingers. Her orange eyes gleamed in the darkness as she limped out to the balcony overlooking the tumultuous sea. Imbibed Man rested on the beach below, restful as ever as he worked on his tan. TWI let him be, since it was his Stand that kept this island safe.

Her thoughts drifted to Subterra Shiver and her other followers that were searching to bring her back. Subterra was key to her plan. She needed her back, able or not.

“You can come back willingly, Subterra, or by force. One way or another, I will have you again. My followers will find you and they will not stop until you are back here once again.”

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 8: Coarse and Rough
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To their shame, Subterra and the others didn’t find anything that could jog her memory, even after walking around the entire lagoon of Tikehau. They had spotted a diving team that worked to clean out the rubbish around the atoll, but there was nothing else significant here.

Shiho grumbled all the way back to their boat, muttering about how it was a whole waste of a day and how TWI was getting stronger the longer they took.

“Your attitude isn’t helping. Stop being so irritable, Shiho,” Ocellus said as she brushed past her. “Let’s just move on and hope we find TWI on the next island.”

Subterra stopped by Shiho as they watched Ocellus carry on. “I’m sure she doesn’t mean that. She just has a lot going on.”

“Good grief. Don’t we all?” Shiho tugged at her jacket and looked up at the moon in the sky.

Subterra shrugged. “At least the view of the sky is still something.”

Shiho shook her head. “I’d give it another seven or eight years. Pollution’s going to block out the stars even out here.” Then she kept walking.

“What a world we live in.” Crafteon creeped its head close to Subterra’s. “Are you sure it isn’t better to help TWI make the world better?”

“We can’t, not in the way TWI’s going for.” Subterra shook her head. “She wants to kill so many people so she can take control.”

“Is that so bad? According to her, these people are the ones sending the world down to its destruction.”

Subterra kicked at a can on the sand. “According to her. I’m sure there are good people out there too.”

Crafteon’s tentacles lingered on a broken bottle of wine and swept it away. “You can tell yourself that, but the beach here speaks enough. But you’re my Stand master. I respect your wishes.”

“Right. We’re not going to harbor this thought anymore. Let’s get going before TWI sends another Stand master after us…” Subterra ran along to catch up with Shiho and Ocellus.

The three women spent a night at the hotel right at the docks. The room was an open air one, letting the seabreeze in from a balcony overlooking the jungles and the shore. With the world’s temperature heating up over the years, the night breeze was no longer cool, but it was certainly better than the hot wind blowing in the day. Ocellus and Shiho didn’t waste time in drifting away in their sleep, but Subterra found herself lying there for quite some time, staring up at the wooden ceiling above them.

She found the darkness soothing, almost like a calming presence that made her feel like everything would be alright. And perhaps everything would be alright. There would be no way of knowing, and she still didn’t feel easy about leading them back to TWI, the person she had apparently run from. But Shiho needed to find her grandmother and Ocellus her mother. She hadn’t gotten as much details from Ocellus as Shiho, but her mother was working for TWI, who had hospitalized her group of friends. What Ocellus was probably after was revenge, but Subterra didn’t want to accuse her of anything, at least not out loud.

As the waves continued to crash on the shores outside and with her attention on the dark ceiling, Subterra eventually fell asleep, waking up only when a mosquito landed on her face, just under her left eye. She swatted it away, then sat up, finding both Shiho and Ocellus had already roused. Ocellus was standing at the balcony, leaning against the railing as she watched the sun rise. Shiho sat at the other end of the bed, drinking from her flask. Subterra had shared the bed with her last night and Ocellus had taken the couch. According to her, she had slept in worse places, but then again, that sounded like something anyone would say.

“The next island isn’t far,” Shiho said as she slipped her grey coat on. She tossed her lightphone over to Subterra, who caught it after it bounced off her hands twice. It projected a detailed map of their surroundings and it had a red arrow pointing above the next island. “It’s called Rangiroa. It’s another popular diving spot with a bit more to civilization than this dump here.”

“We should grab a bite before heading out.” Ocellus sat on the couch and slipped her ankle-high boots on. “No good going out there with an empty stomach.”

“For once I agree with you.” Shiho nodded as she stood up. “We already paid for breakfast anyway.”

In no time, they were cleaned up and ready to head out, first going back down to the restaurant to get some food. The restaurant was an open air locale consisting of a thatch roof held up by tiki poles. Everything here was dark brown, including the floorboards and the tables, making it a little more difficult to tell the tables from the ground from afar.

Shiho grabbed a few buns and slipped them into her coat pockets, while Subterra got a basketful of eggs in her hoodie. Ocellus didn’t have much room to hide anything, so she slipped a couple of sausages into her shorts. That hadn’t been the best of ideas, especially when she walked by a mother and her little girl. The woman had gone on a huge lecture about being indecent near children. Shiho quickly scurried out of the restaurant, but Subterra, unable to just leave Ocellus to such a fate, sent Crafteon out to knock over a tray of rice.

There was instant mayhem and Ocellus took the chance to slip away from them, holding tightly to the sausages in her shorts as she ran to keep them from falling out.

“I’m never doing that again…” she groaned, her cheeks bright red. “Next time I’m carrying a bag for this.”

“Good grief. Of all places…” Shiho shook her head. “Let’s just get out of here. The faster we find TWI the better.”

Once they were back on the Brandy 2, Tikehau was soon behind them as they sped off to the next closest island. Rangiroa was just east of Tikehau, having a bigger land mass and a larger lagoon. They could see two people wading through water, picking up rubbish with claws coming from backpacks on their shoulders. At least there were still people apart from TWI trying to make a difference.

They found another resort to dock at on the north side of the atoll and this time, not wanting to risk anything, Ocellus and Subterra stayed with Shiho as she docked the boat.

“Anything ringing any bells yet?” Ocellus asked as she tapped a foot against one of the boardwalk’s poles.

Subterra looked at the resort ahead. It looked just like any resort on the last two islands. There wasn’t really anything special about it.

She shook her head. “Sorry. No.”

Shiho frowned and shoved her hands in her coat pockets. “Come on. Let’s get going. We’ve got a bunch to cover.”

As they traversed the atoll looking for anything outstanding through the islands of Polynesia, the three women spent a lot of time walking along the beaches and Subterra did her best to try and jog her lost memories, but unfortunately, after three hours, they hadn’t found anything, just like with the previous island, though there was still much ground to cover here compared to Tikehau.

With the loss of the ozone layer, it was getting unbearable to walk about in the hot sun. Subterra had pulled her hood over her head, but it did little to provide her reprieve from the intense heat searing over her skin. Ocellus, having the most skin exposed of the three, found that her skin was already starting to turn red. She touched her arm and Subterra swore she could hear her skin sizzle on contact.

“Good grief, this heat…” Shiho put a hand above her eyes and attempted to look up. “Still nothing, Subterra?”

The younger girl shook her head. “I’m sorry. None of the resorts are getting anything. And everything else is just… coarse and rough sand.”

“It’s irritating, I’ll give you that.” Ocellus looked at the underside of one of her boots.

“And it’s getting everywhere.” Shiho groaned as she gave her foot a shake. “I have plenty of sand in my shoes.”

“Maybe we should get to cover,” Ocellus said, pointing to a cluster of large boulders. “Give our bodies time to cool down.”

“We need to find TWI,” Shiho countered.

Ocellus slapped a hand to her forehead. “Look, we’re not going to find her if we die from melanoma. I’m not asking, Shiho. We’re going to take a break. Come on, Subterra.”

Subterra looked between both of them, then gave Shiho an apologetic look as she followed Ocellus. She wanted a break too.

“Good grief…” Shiho said as she shut her eyes, but she followed along soon after.



“Right there. Right there.” A dark skinned woman in a black bikini with a red floral sash tied around her waist waved a hand as she watched two men finish laying down a banner over the front of a decrepit old building. Two of the planks on its facade were already starting to get loose. “Parfaite. Merci, messieurs.”

She brushed aside her long black hair from her front, tucking it behind her right ear as she took a few steps back to admire their work.

She rested her hands on her hips as she read the words on the banner. “Rangi Church welcomes all. Come seek the presence of God.”

“You think this will be enough, Leilani?” one of her companions, Big Horse Rock, asked as he dusted sand off his shins. “You think they’ll start coming back?”

“We can only hope, Big Horse,” she said. “In times like these, there is no better place to look than the House of God.”

This woman was Leilani Seabell, a native to Rangiroa. She had spent most of her life on this island, especially in the Rangi Church itself. Her father had been the priest here and his father before that. She had left Polynesia many years ago to pursue a different path, one where she had been sure would make a better living than that of a church worker. It was there, all the way in New York that she had realized that path wasn’t for her. She had been led astray by debauchery and money and if she hadn’t set her sights back on God, perhaps she would already be dead at the back of some shady alley.

“And it’s nice to be back here again,” Leilani said.

She couldn’t believe the state of the church when she had returned here. Since her father’s passing, there had been no succession to him and the congregation had started shrinking until only the shell of a building was left.

“Some of the natives won’t be happy to see the church back up again,” her other companion, Rain Bull, said. He was a friend who had followed her over from New York. “Most people don’t have religion these days, with the state the world is in.”

Leilani shook her head and narrowed her bright yellow eyes. “Religion should be the first thing they look towards in this bleak future. Only God can save us now.”

Her dark skin glistening with sweat, Leilani wiped her face with a hand before looking up as high as she could at the near cloudless sky. It had gotten hotter and hotter out here among the islands and in a few more years, she didn’t know if people could still walk around in the open. It felt as though the sun was approaching the planet, ready to swallow them whole.

“All we can do is wait for the second coming now…” Leilani sighed and sat herself down on the church’s front steps.

The wood creaked under her weight, but didn’t break. That was another thing they would have to do in the coming days: refurbish the structure and clean up the inside. Through a hole in the roof, leaves had gotten in and the entire floor was littered with dead and dry leaves, along with weathering from the occasional storm.

If not for the mysterious powers she had been born with, the whole building would’ve already collapsed a year ago. She looked at the shiny pink tendrils curling around the building, holding the rotten planks in place. It was something only she could see, for some reason. Big Horse and Rain Bull could not see them, even if it were in front of their faces.

It was a strange looking thing, resembling a mushroom and a jellyfish at the same time. She had taken to calling it Jellyfish.

“The name isn’t super original, I know,” Leilani said to herself. “But it’s easy to remember. I wonder why my parents were not gifted with such abilities. They surely had stronger faith than I do.”

“With some paint, this building is going to look brand new, Leilani,” Rain Bull said as he finished inspecting its perimeter. “You’ll see. The banner is but the first of many steps to revitalize the church.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “My father would want that. The revival of the congregation here on Rangiroa. I know we would-”

One of Jellyfish’s tentacles started vibrating and Leilani’s attention immediately flicked to the sand ahead. She saw nothing, but something had entered Jellyfish’s radius. When she had used its tentacles to hold the church in place earlier, she had also spread them out across the beach, a natural act for someone like her.

“I’ve had to deal with other people with abilities all these years. Now would be no different and I was right to leave Jellyfish’s tentacles all around the beach. Something is here, something stepped in,” Leilani said, not quite just for herself. “Whatever it is must’ve gotten quite the sting. Jellyfish’s tentacles are able to deliver a brief shock that sears the flesh on contact, leaving it sore and numb for a few hours. But that’s weird, because I still don’t see anything. What triggered my trap?”

“Rain Bull, Big Horse! Be careful.” Leilani quickly shot to her feet, backing up till she was against the church doors. “Jellyfish has picked up something.”

“That strange power of yours?” Big Horse rounded over from the other side of the church. “Is it someone else with powers?”

Rain Bull clutched tighter to the broom in his hands. “It could be more of those atheists. They really don’t want to see the church thrive.”

Leilani pursed her lips. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Well, whatever it is out there, we won’t let them touch the church.” Rain Bull spun the broom, then planted its end down against the sandy ground.

Leilani felt another of Jellyfish’s tentacles vibrate, this time about ten yards closer than before. And it was getting closer still.

“Rain, it’s-!”

She wasn’t fast enough and from under the sand, something burst out, grabbing both of Rain Bull’s legs. He squealed and threw the broom high and he was gone before it could even hit the ground, disappearing into the depths of the sandy beach.

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 9: The Sandy Beach Fossil
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Did you hear that?” Subterra Shiver stopped in her tracks, cupping one hand over an ear.

“What, where?” Ocellus looked around, still leaning against a large crescent-shaped boulder.

“I don’t know. It sounded like a scream.” Subterra put her hand down. “We should go check it out.”

“People die all the time.” Shiho Sunfast put her flask back in her coat. “We’re not living in 2010. Even then, I’m sure people died all the time back then too.”

“But… but…” Subterra shared a look with Crafteon as it appeared beside her. “We can’t just leave them if we know they’re dying.”

“Why not? We don’t know them,” Crafteon said.

“We can’t just… we can’t just leave them.” Subterra stared into her Stand’s purple eyes. All she saw was her own reflection. “If we can do something about it, we should.”

Shiho sighed and closed her eyes for a second. “Fine. If we’re dealing with pirates, they’ll be an easy job anyway.”

“Lead the way, Subterra.” Ocellus gestured with a hand.

Breaking into a sprint, Subterra went in the direction she thought she had heard the scream come from. In another seven feet or so, they heard another scream, this time louder. It was a woman’s scream.

Running up a short slope, the three women soon found themselves overlooking a mostly flat sandy shore that ended in a line of grass further up. There was an old rickety building that looked like it was barely being held together by pink rope. On it read the words, ‘Rangi Church welcomes all. Come seek the presence of God’.

In front of the steps was a woman in a black bikini spinning around as she kept her eyes on the sand. She looked like she was in some kind of trouble. Subterra was just about to run in there when Ocellus’ foot stepped against something rubbery. All of a sudden, a shock passed through her leg and she dropped to her knees, only to cry out in pain more.

“I can’t feel my leg!” she said. “Some kind of current. My leg’s going all numb.”

“I don’t see anything…” Shiho frowned. “Curtain Call.”

Her Stand appeared and thrust a hand under the sand. In a blink, it came up with a pink tendril of sorts and there was a sound of crackling before Curtain Call let go of it as Shiho fell back, looking at her hand.

“It stings. Like a jellyfish.” She tried moving her fingers, but it was like she had lost control of her body. “Careful. I have a feeling the whole ground is trapped.”

Before she could move another muscle, something else burst forth from underneath, grabbing ahold of Curtain Call’s left thigh with its jaw. It was a skeletal creature without legs, whose spine ended in a single spike. It growled as Shiho’s leg spat out blood.

“Crafteon!” Subterra called as her Stand wrapped its tentacles around the creature.

It tried to yank it off Curtain Call, but its jaws had latched on tight and each pull only seemed to make it worse for Shiho. 

With nothing else she could do, Subterra had Crafteon unleash its oppressive darkness, sending it towards the bony Stand and Curtain Call. Darkness enveloped them completely and in only two seconds, Subterra observed that Shiho was no longer in pain and she had taken a few steps back as she clutched at her shoulders tightly. Crafteon released its darkness and dashed forward, lashing out its tentacles, hoping to get the enemy, but all it did was hit the sand.

“Thank you, Subterra. This is the work of an enemy Stand…” Shiho breathed shakily. “Whatever it is, it hides under the sand.”

“Do you think that woman is the master?” Ocellus pointed at the woman standing under the church banner.

“Only one way to find out,” Shiho grunted. Curtain Call picked up a loose piece of wood off the ground and transformed it into a metal spike.

“Wait, you’re not thinking of throwing that at her?” Ocellus had Forest Rangers form up and grab Curtain Call’s arm. “She doesn’t look like she’s after us. She looks like she’s looking for something in the sands. Could be the same as us.”

Without warning, the spine end of the bony Stand shot out of the ground, piercing Shiho through the right shoulder before tunneling back under the sand.

Shiho clutched at her wound and dropped to one knee as Curtain Call tried to toss the spike at it. It hit the sand, but from the side, the enemy Stand leapt out from the ground and grabbed it before disappearing on the other side.

“We need to get high ground!” Ocellus warned and had her Stand form into a slope for her to get up on top of a large boulder. “It senses movement on the sands. Hurry, get up here!”

Subterra grabbed Shiho and pushed her towards Forest Rangers, which began moving her up through its tiny hands. Before Subterra could take two more steps, the sand began moving and something under it began tunneling towards her position.

“Subterra, hand!” Shiho had Curtain Call whip its cloth through the air.

Crafteon’s tentacles emerged from Subterra’s back and grabbed the cloth in midair as Curtain Call gave it a quick tug. The black haired girl soared through the air for a second, feeling as though she could fly just as the enemy Stand burst from the sand, just missing her foot. She landed on the rocks with the others as the enemy Stand burrowed away, vanishing from sight.

“You good?” Shiho gave her a pat on the back.

Subterra straightened herself and her coat. “For now… Just what are we up against?”

“This Stand burrows underground and waits for vibrations we create,” Ocellus speculated. “But those jellyfish things… they don’t seem to be a part of this.”

Shiho looked at her hand. “I still can’t move my fingers. This sting is potent. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage. Get that lady’s attention.”

Subterra began waving both arms at the woman in the bikini. Once she noticed they were trying to communicate with her, she held up a hand.

“It’s you. Be careful, there’s something under the sand!” she yelled over.

A man came out of the church door behind her, looking shell shocked. There was blood trailing down his head and part of his shirt was torn off.

“You have to get on something solid!” Subterra cupped her hands around her mouth. “Your church doesn’t look like it’ll last long!”

“It’s been here for years! It’ll hold!” the man shouted back.

“You have to be careful, most people can’t see this creature under the sand!” the woman added. “I have been bestowed special powers by God that lets me see it, but you might not be able to!”

“Powers by God? What is she going on about?” Shiho raised a hand for a second. “Unless she thinks Stand power is from God. Lady! We have powers too! We can see the Stand under the sand!”

“Stand?”

Shiho blinked. “You… Nevermind. We’ll explain later. Just get on something more solid!”

To prove her point, the church building shook and both of them struggled to maintain their balance.

“It’s somehow avoiding Jellyfish’s tentacles! It must be because it's underground with the tentacles. They’re not hidden from it!” the woman said as she looked around wildly. The tentacles around the building loosened after the next impact and planks began falling off the building’s frame. “No, please. Not the church.”

“You’ve got to get over here!” Subterra waved for them. “Get on the rocks!”

The woman looked between them and the church, but before they could make a choice, the wood under them blew up in splinters, sending them and most of the church raining all over the beach as the bony Stand launched high into the sky, spinning in a spiral. The pink tentacles around the church disappeared as the woman hit the ground. With the last reinforcement of the church gone, the four walls fell apart, dropping to the ground in pieces as the roof fell with a deafening bang.

Shiho took this chance and had Curtain Call toss its spike at the enemy Stand as it was falling back to the ground. The spike went under its rib cage, but speared through its right arm, drawing blood as it tunneled back through the sand.

There was a yelp from somewhere under the sand and from a spot beside the church, the Stand surfaces, glowering at them with its orange eyes as a dog appeared below it. It was a tan bull mastiff with a small sailor’s hat perched over its left ear. It had a pink ribbon under its neck and it growled at them before sinking back under the sand.

Unknown to the team, this dog was Capstan Mastiff, a stray from the country of Ireland. On a desperate search for food, she had accidentally stowed away on plane that took her all the way to Canterlot. It was there that she had crossed paths with TWI, who took pity on her. Back then, her body had been thin and malnourished. All she had eaten for years was the trash humans left on the streets, but trash was never filling, nor was it healthy for her body.

TWI had taken her back to an island, where food had been given to her in the form of steaks and sausages. Another thing gifted to her was through an arrow pierced to her neck. After that, she had developed the power of her Stand, Beach Fossil, a Stand capable of swimming through sand and sensing the vibrations above. Since then, she had been a faithful follower of TWI, doing all she could to take down humanity wherever she could, payback for all the years they mistreated her on the streets. Because of TWI, she had never felt more alive.

“Are you for real… Good grief, not another dog…” Shiho rubbed her temple. “My family has had enough of dogs…”

“A dog’s after us?” Subterra tilted her head slightly. Then she pointed to the woman and man on the sand, still lying flat on their faces. “W-We have to help them. They’re on the sand now, that Stand might get them!”

“We’ll have to distract that thing.” Ocellus breathed and split her Stand up into tiny little Forest Rangers. “I’ll send some of them out onto the Stand towards the shore. That might get you enough time to get them to the rocks.”

“We can’t just use up your Stand like that,” Subterra countered. “Won’t you run out of Forest Rangers?”

Ocellus shook her head, then drew a thumb across her cheek before giving her a thumbs up. “Forest Rangers regenerate given time. By the time I’m down to my last Forest Ranger, I’d be dead anyway.”

“Subterra, you help them. I’ll keep watch with Curtain Call.” Shiho shoved a hand into her pocket, while the other one tapped the side of her head. “That Stand’s not going to survive once I kill it.”

“Uh… ye-yeah.” Subterra didn’t know what to say.

As Forest Rangers flung themselves from the rocks, they began scuttling across the sand in a frenzy, spreading out in an arc away from the woman and man. The enemy Stand sensed their movements and a bulge under the sand could be seen traveling towards them. As it spun, it slashed two Forest Rangers to pieces before charging through a swarm of them.

Cuts appeared along Ocellus’ arms in flashes of red. She winced, but she knew what she had to do. Subterra waited till the bony Stand was far enough before sliding down her rock. She rushed for the others, reaching the woman first as they began to stir. She looked up and took Subterra’s hand as she held it out towards her.

“Thank you. I didn’t expect to see you here again. We’ve never been introduced,” the woman said. “I’m Leilani Seabell.”

“Subterra Shiver. Y-You know me?” Subterra was stunned.

“You were here. You… don’t remember?”

“I… I can’t remember anything.” Subterra shook her head sadly. “I lost my memory.”

She wanted to ask more, to know what this lady had seen, but as the sound of sand shifting close by made itself known, she knew she didn’t have time for this, not now.

“We need to get back on the rocks.” She pointed to where Shiho and Ocellus were. “Can you move?”

“I might have hurt my leg from the fall.” Leilani touched her right ankle. “Big Horse, are you able?”

The man pushed to his elbows and nodded. “I’ll follow. Get her to safety first.”

Subterra nodded as Crafteon’s tentacles sprouted from her shoulders, wrapping around Leilani as she shrieked. “It’s okay. It’s just my Stand, Crafteon.”

“S-Stand?”

“Manifestation of your…” Subterra couldn’t remember the sentence. “I’ll tell you later.”

She began running back to the rocks. Already, she could see the enemy changing directions, attracted to her larger vibrations. It moved fast, tunneling through sand like it was water.

“We’re not going to make it in time,” Leilani said.

There was a thud in the sand and they both turned their heads to see Big Horse throwing wood away from them.

“Go! I’ll distract it!” He waved them on as he picked up another plank to throw.

The Stand changed direction again and lunged out to grab the next plank just as it hit the ground. It grabbed it in its jaws and bit it in half before disappearing back underground.

“Come on, Big Horse!” Leilani called as she and Subterra reached the base of the rocks.

Crafteon let go of her and they began climbing as she waved for Big Horse to get going. The man picked up another plank and chucked it high above the destroyed church, running only when he heard the piece of wood bounce against the debris.

The enemy Stand attacked the church again, and Big Horse took the chance to make a mad sprint for the others. But it didn’t take long for the enemy Stand to tunnel back under and sense his footsteps.

“Big Horse, get on the rocks! This way!” Leilani began waving wildly as the ground behind him began moving.

Big Horse broke into a faster run as he tried to get to the rocks. However, he had been wearing loose-fitting sandals and the harder he ran, the more the footwear slapped against the ground, sending up little puffs of sand.

“He’s not going to make it!” Subterra exclaimed in horror.

Sure enough, not two meters behind Big Horse, a bony spine stuck out like the dorsal fin of a shark, slicing through the sand and hot on Big Horse’s trail.

With one final effort, Big Horse leapt into the air, aiming for the rocks. Subterra used Crafteon to stretch out a tendril to grab the man, but before Crafteon could reach Big Horse, the Stand in the sand emerged and bit into Big Horse’s leg, stopping him in midair before dragging him back down into the ground.

“God, help me!” Big Horse had time to say before he disappeared beneath the surface of the sands, never to be seen again.

“Sweet Celestia,” Ocellus gulped. “What a horrible way to go.”

“And upon this rock I will build my church,” Leilani recalled from the Scripture. “I didn’t think it would be quite this literal.”

The others didn’t even spare her a glance.

“Right,” Shiho said, making sure not to put even one toe over the side of their stony protection. “We need to defeat the enemy Stand before that thing finds another way to kill us.”


“Like by scratching away the rock from below,” Ocellus suggested.

“Don’t give it any ideas,” Shiho growled back. “We can’t stay here indefinitely anyway. I have a pony princess nutjob to hunt down and a granny to rescue. Now, our enemy is a dog. A mangy mutt. It’s not going to be as smart as us. We have to find a way to outwit it.”

“At least we have the high ground. It can’t get us up here,” Ocellus said.

As if the universe had something against them, their rocks shook and began to sink into the ground. A bony spine stuck out from the sand, swimming circles around their safe zone.

Ocellus picked up a rock and threw it as far as she could. It was intercepted seconds after it landed and pulled under.

“Is it just me or is it even faster now?” Ocellus asked aloud.

Shiho grumbled. “It must be its renewed vigor. It knows we’re cornered and it is on the verge of victory.”

“But it’s not, is it?” Subterra spoke up. “On the verge of victory, that is. We can beat it.”

“We can if we can predict where it's going to be.” Leilani crouched down on the edge of her rock. “But without a clear line of sight, we might as well be shooting fish in the ocean. If there was some way we could make it come out…”

The rocks began to sink lower, but without warning, the Stand leapt from the sand, slashing at the rock, just barely missing Leilani’s face, but as its spine curled around, it grabbed her around the waist and it pulled her down. Subterra sent out Crafteon, which grabbed her hand with one tentacle. Curtain Call and Forest Rangers grabbed on to Subterra as she pulled Leilani, keeping her from going into the ground with the enemy Stand, but at the speed the enemy was going it, even two muscular Stands could not keep Subterra on high ground and she was pulled down with Leilani.

Subterra swallowed a mouthful of sand as she landed, but knowledge of her situation got her back on her feet in a blink as she attempted to climb back up the rock. The enemy dived out again at her, swiping a bony paw at her. Crafteon dashed at it, ramming its hard head against the enemy’s arm, but it raised its spine and jabbed forward, catching it through a chink of its hard skull, drawing blood. Subterra staggered back as blood sprayed from a wound on her side.

“Subterra, we will not win by sheer force and will. We need to do something,” Crafteon said as it dipped lower to the ground.

“The enemy thinks it has won bringing us down here…” Subterra clutched her side. “But it’s not over. Not yet. Because I know what to do, Crafteon. By falling down, we’ve made it think it has won. With an injury on us like that, we surely can’t fight back. This Stand knows it and its cockiness is what’s going to help us win.”

Crafteon, its thoughts linked with its master’s, knew exactly what she wanted. “Then let us show it who the victor is.”

It floated higher, then stretched its tentacles out to its sides. Subterra stumbled back, putting her back against the rock as she brought a hand up in front of her face, covering one eye with two fingers. Darkness spread out from Crafteon, heading for a row of trees close to them. In the trees were a whole slew of parakeets, chirping away as they watched the battle from the safety of their perches. As the darkness crept up the trees, the parakeets began to panic and they dived from their homes as one, swooping low and away from the darkness, attempting to escape with everything they had.

Shiho and Ocellus covered their ears as they flew by squawking like it was the end of the world. That was when Subterra let a smile form across her pale face.

Leilani saw her smiling and scratched her head. “How does this help us?”

“I might not have my memory, but I still remember that sand, like water, is dense,” Subterra started. “Sound is more compact under these surfaces as compared to the air. If this enemy senses vibrations, it's going to get one really big vibration.”

As the flock of birds flew over the beach and towards the jungle line, their squawks echoed across empty air and under the sand. There was a shrill cry as both enemy Stand and master burst from the sands, flying into the air as the dog covered its ears with its paws.

“Dogs also have better hearing than humans,” Subterra went on as the dog began running its face against the sand, trying to drown out the sound.

“And we’re not letting it get back underground as well. Jellyfish!” Leilani called out as an orange blob with yellow spots slid its pink tentacles into the sand around its master.

From around the dog, pink tentacles shot out of the sand, wrapping around its forelegs. Instantly, its eyes widened as it barked from the sudden sting. It dropped on its face again, unable to move its forelegs.

“Now’s our chance. Shiho! Ocellus!” Subterra turned to her friends.

Curtain Call and Forest Rangers surged forward, fists ready to strike down their enemies. Ocellus targeted the enemy Stand, while Shiho sent her own Stand at the immobilized dog.

“Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!” Curtain Call bellowed, driving its punches into the dog, each blow sounding like a shotgun blast.

Forest Rangers clubbed the Stand with its own fists, punching it so fast that it began to float off the ground as cracks formed along its bones, which then shattered, blowing its Stand to bits. The dog’s eyes bulged in its sockets as Curtain Call delivered one final uppercut, launching it into one of the many palm trees on the beach. It got stuck up in the center of its leaves, remaining there as the tree swayed from side to side.

“Ahhh…” Shiho sighed as Curtain Call faded away. “Nothing like defeating an enemy to make the day better. That, or an ice cold beer and some katsudon, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Leilani walked forward a few steps, then dropped on her knees as she looked at the state of her church. “It happened. After seventy-seven years… Everything my grandfather and my father gave for this building.”

“It’s alright. You can just rebuild it.” Subterra gave her shoulder a pat.

“Or you can help us stop the ones who did this.” Shiho joined them. “They’re out to change the world. Their leader, TWI, aims to kill her way to become ruler of all to reshape the world as she sees fit.”

“There’s only one being in charge of our world. And that’s God.” Leilani picked up a pile of sand in her hand and rubbed it off her palm with a thumb. “Ça ne peut pas être fait. No one person should be in charge of the whole world. No one can be, not even if they mean well.”

“We can’t do nothing while TWI does what she wants with this world.” Ocellus folded her arms and looked at the horizon. 

“Is she like us, then?” Leilani asked. “Does she have powers given by God?”

“These are called Stands, manifestations of your spirit,” Shiho explained. She was very used to explaining this by now. “Magic spills into your world from another world, Equestria, whenever the portal between worlds opens. Ocellus here is from Equestria.”

“P-Portals? Other worlds? Magic?” Leilani’s eyes became so wide they looked like they would pop out. “No, magic is the devil’s work.”

“Good grief. It’s not what you think.” Shiho shook her head. “Whatever. The point is, TWI is dangerous and she needs to be stopped before she overturns the world. And she has my grandmother. I have to save her.”

Leilani pushed to her feet and once again gazed at the ruins of her church. “The church my father and grandfather worked for all their lives has been destroyed. Perhaps… Perhaps this is a sign from God. To not be so rooted in place, that I’ve spent too much time thinking this church was everything. It isn’t. He’s telling me to go out there, to do His work for the world with the power of His Holy Spirit within me.”

“No, it’s…” Shiho reached a hand out, then she shook her head and pursed her lips. “Sure.”

“Very well. I, Leilani Seabell, will help you stop TWI.” Leilani pulled on one of her bikini straps and her other hand slid against her right thigh as she raised that leg on its toes. “For the glory of God. Jellyfish and I will aid you. What can I do?”

“For starters…” Subterra walked closer to her. “You… remembered me? What else do you know about me?”

“You’ve really lost your memory?” Leilani ran a hand through her black hair. “I’m sorry, you didn’t tell me much. You came seeking directions. You said someone was after you and I offered you shelter here in the Rangi Church. However, you decided to go, because you didn’t want to put us in danger, even when I told you God will protect you.”

Subterra didn’t remember this, but for a second, flashes of something came to her mind. She was inside the rundown church, looking at a rusty cross standing behind the altar. Leilani stood to one side and moonlight shone in through one side of the church. She felt cold and tired and wounded, like she had just faced something, barely winning.

“I… I think… I remember that.” Subterra blinked. “Do you, uh, remember which direction I came from?”

The woman smiled. “You told me you sailed from the north, from an island of storms.”

“Island of storms…” Shiho put a hand to her chin. “There aren’t many islands north. None discovered, anyway.”

“Malden Island, that is the closest north-most island I know,” Leilani said. “I-I can direct you there. I know most of these islands well.”

Subterra nodded and returned the smile. “Thank you, Leilani.”

Ocellus gave her a pat on her shoulder. “I’m sorry about your friends and your church. But rest assured, they’ll be avenged.”

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 10: The Ripple Goes On and On
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malden Island. This triangular atoll is part of the nation of Kiribati and it stands as a sanctuary for wildlife, or at least, what remains of animals today. The waters around it had once been protected to safeguard the marine population, but illegal fishing had decimated their numbers years ago. Birds inhabit the island, along with a few species of crabs and other tiny lifeforms.

In 2076, governments of the world attempted to airlift various endangered animals here, including the elephants, walruses and other types of larger mammals. Unfortunately, poachers had ambushed one of the transports, eliminating the last two elephants of the world just for their tusks. After that, the world thought it would be better to just protect the other endangered animals in their own habitats, doing what they can to keep poachers away. Zimbabwe had become the final sanctuary for the last two lowland gorillas of the world, having built up an impenetrable wall around their enclosure with automated turrets along the perimeter as a poacher deterrent.

“Good grief, you call this the closest island to the north?” Shiho Sunfast looked at the radar on the Brandy 2.

“It’s not that far.” Ocellus sat beside her, leaning her arms against the side and the seat. “It’s barely a mile away.”

“It’s the heat. It makes it feel as though we’ve been traveling for long.” Leilani shielded her eyes with one hand as she looked as high as she could to the sky. “The islands were never this hot, not when I was still a teenager. The world is really changing.”

Subterra pulled her knees up to her chin. Was there even a point to save this world from TWI at this rate? She couldn’t quite answer that, but for now, she knew she had to stop her from killing her way to leadership. That was not the right way, even if Crafteon sometimes said otherwise.

“We should have installed some kind of roof over this boat,” Shiho grumbled. “The sun might just kill us before we get there.”

“Oh, don’t be so overdramatic…” Ocellus blew air from her lips as she slid her body lower down her seat. “We’ll be there soon. It’s just clear sea all the way. Be thankful we’re not in a storm.”

Shiho looked up at the sky. “At least a storm will cover up the sun.”

“Just… Just keep going…” Ocellus was in no mood to let it go back and forth more.

“There. I can see land now.” Leilani stood up and pointed. Her black hair whipped around in the wind, flying all over her face and behind her. “Malden Island. Do you remember being at any animal sanctuary, Subby?”

Subterra didn’t at first realize she was talking to her. “O-Oh, you mean me. No, I have nothing except flashes of your church.”

Leilani’s gaze steeled. “Then perhaps we’ll find something for you there. Trust in God. He will deliver.”

Subterra just nodded and kept her eyes on the approaching island. She had never once thought of the concept of gods, and here Leilani was, so sure that there was indeed one. She found herself wondering why God would let the world run on in its ruined state. Everything was only getting worse and there didn’t seem to be a bright future ahead.

Her thoughts were jarred when the boat suddenly jammed to a stop, lifting its rear a bit, almost tipping Leilani and her out of their seats.

“What the hay, Shiho, what did you crash into?” Ocellus leaned out of the boat to check.

“There’s nothing. There’s nothing there.” Shiho pointed at the screen.

“Well, something clearly is there.” Ocellus waved both hands. “What’s the damage? We better not be swimming to the island.”

Shiho tapped away on her console, bringing up different holographic screens of words and numbers. “The front of the hull is cracked. Nothing serious, but we don’t want to risk hitting something else.”

“It could just be a rock,” Leilani explained. Some rocks reach the surface. We can just go around it.”

“I’m telling you, there’s no rock,” Shiho turned back and hissed. “There’s nothing there at all. It can only mean one thing.”

Subterra didn’t like the way she said that. “Is it another enemy Stand?”

“You guessed right,” a voice said behind them.

Everyone turned around to see a man in a tan-colored fedora standing behind them, equipped with a blue lifevest and white shorts. He had piercings all over his chest, running from his abdomen all the way to his neck. 

He flipped up his shades over his eyes and grinned at them. “Allow me to introduce myself. Will. I. Knoe.”

“Know what?” Leilani asked him.

“No, that’s my name.” The man spun on the spot in a circle, then stuck a leg up against his chest as he thrust a palm out towards them. “I am Will. I. Knoe. And I have no problems with you. I’m only here for the girl. Give her to me and no one has to die out here far from land.”

Subterra looked down at where he was standing. Somehow, his feet were standing atop the water’s surface as though it was concrete.

“Then I’m afraid you’re in for a beating.” Ocellus slid a foot back and bent lower. “You’re not taking anyone.”

The man shook his head and flicked his shades back down. “I was hoping you’d say that. Ripple, let’s take care of business!”

From the other end of the boat, behind everyone, a blue and purple Stand that looked like an olympic swimmer shot out of the water like a drill bit. It spun three times before coming to a stop on the water’s surface without making even one splash.

“Curtain Call.” Shiho immediately sent her Stand out, swinging a punch at it.

Curtain Call’s first attack missed as the enemy Stand bent to one side, but Curtain Call grabbed its cloth in its other hand and flicked it at the enemy, smacking it in the side of the head. Will. I. Knoe flinched to one side, but his Stand was already moving, delivering a powerful blow under Curtain Call’s right arm. There was a blast of air and Curtain Call flew over the boat, crashing into the water to the boat’s left. It swam back up towards the surface, but the enemy’s Stand, Ripple, released three punches against the water’s surface. It created the slightest of ripples, seemingly doing nothing, but when Curtain Call attempted to breach the surface, it bumped its head against it before pressing both hands against it.

“Curtain Call’s trapped!” Ocellus exclaimed as she called out her own Stand between her and the enemy.

Shiho grabbed her throat, unable to breathe, but otherwise didn’t panic. She looked at the others and nodded.

“We’ll have to take care of this…” Ocellus cracked her knuckles and folded one corner of her lip. “Forest Rangers!”

Her Stands formed into a singular form and leapt out of the boat at Ripple, throwing a punch at it all in the same motion. The enemy Stand dodged, but before Forest Rangers could land in the water, Leilani’s Jellyfish had already moved, spreading out its tendrils from a spot on the Brandy 2, leaving a web of orange across the water’s surface that Ripple easily avoided. Forest Rangers expertly landed on one of these such tendrils, using it as balance as it raised both arms to fight.

Leilani saw Subterra looking and gave her the answer. “Jellyfish can decide if a target can step on its tentacles without being stung. I allowed all of you to do so. Your Crafteon can join the fight.”

The black haired girl nodded and sent her Stand out there to help Ocellus.

“Why fight, Subterra?” Will stretched both arms out parallel to the ocean line. “You can’t win. You should know that. You’ve faced Ripple before.”

The girl winced as Ripple danced atop the water’s surface. Something about the way its toes bounced on the water with barely a ripple sent a flash of blue through her mind. A sunny blue sky. The roaring of wind as a fist hit her Stand. Unfortunately, that was all she received.


“You think standing here is going to help you beat me?” Will. I. Knoe spun around and threw both hands forward. “Ripple has amazing footwork. Plus, anything it hits changes density. I could sink your boat right now, but where’s the fun in that?”

“I’ll show you fun.” Ocellus covered one eye with a hand and placed the other one on her neck as she twisted her body to one side. “Forest Rangers!”

Her Stand dropped to all fours, scuttling across Jellyfish’s tentacles as it jabbed its four spider-like appendages at the enemy. Ripple stepped back with each attack, avoiding each one as it shifted its body around expertly like that of a dancer. Forest Rangers reared its body up, punching at it, but Ripple continued to avoid it and Jellyfish’s tentacles at the same time, stepping across the water’s surface with the smallest of ripples.

Crafteon flew to Forest Rangers’ aid, swinging its tentacles around, trying to catch one of Ripple’s appendages as it spread its darkness out from another corner.

With another step, Ripple punched down against a portion of the water, then scooped its hand into it and flung it up at Forest Rangers. Punching the water again, it transformed it into solidified balls, sending them crashing through Ocellus’ Stand as it staggered back and off Jellyfish’s tentacles. Before it could hit the water, Ripple turned the surface back to its original form. Forest Rangers fell into the water and began splitting apart, unable to maintain its form.

“Two down.” Will beckoned for Subterra to continue. “I told you. Come back with me and this doesn’t need to continue. You can’t win, Subterra.”

Subterra looked at her last teammate, Leilani. “That won’t stop me from trying! I’ve got a cause now. And that’s to stop you and TWI and everyone else trying to do what you’re doing!”

“And don’t you see that what we’re doing benefits everyone?” Will shrugged and pointed a finger to the side as he shifted his black-tinted sunglasses down his nose. “It may look wrong, but look past that. In the future, this world will be righted! Imagine a world without the sun scorching over your head like it is now. Imagine a world where people stopped throwing trash into the ocean. Imagine a world where everything wasn’t so expensive! Think, Subterra!” He pressed two fingers to the sides of his head. “TWI knows what’s best for the world!”

TWI knows what’s best for the world!

That resonated in Subterra’s head and she put a hand up to it to steady herself. Crafteon floated over back to her, its large head pressed closed towards her.

“You know it. Do you not?” Crafteon spoke in her head.

Another flash of imagery came to Subterra. It was Will. I. Knoe again, standing before her as she gasped for breath. Ripple pounded its fists together and smiled as it disappeared.

“Not good enough, Subterra. You are meant for greatness. This isn’t it.” White boots walked around her field of vision. Purple fingers ran under her chin and tilted her head up. Now she gazed right into the orange glow of TWI’s eyes as she curled her mouth up into a smile. “The world needs you to be great. It will not go on if we fail. If you fail. You must rise up. Again. Will. I. Knoe is a talented Stand user, but his fear of tigers and lawsuits holds him back. He can be so much more, but he too has yet to realize his true power. Use that against him.”

As TWI limped away, Will spun on the spot and flared both arms out as Ripple appeared in front of him doing the same. “That hurt. But TWI knows what’s best for the world! If change is to happen, then you have to harness your powers and show her what you can do!”

Crafteon attacked, creeping its darkness across the floor, but even as Will’s hairs began to rise, he had Ripple avoid the shadows, dancing its way to Crafteon. Subterra’s Stand flailed its tentacles about, but Ripple grabbed one before pulling it in and smashing it between the eyes with its other fist.

Subterra fell back and hit her head on the floor as TWI walked back into her blurry vision. She ran a soothing hand down her head, then grabbed her by the hair and hauled her back up.

“That was pathetic. Again!” she said.

Each time Subterra attempted to attack, she was put down again and again and again. Ripple was just too fast for her and each time, TWI would get her back on her feet to fight again.

“No… I don’t… I won’t go back to that life again.” Subterra shook her head, returning to the present. “You won’t take me back!”

“You’ve lost every match against Ripple in the past…” Will jumped and kicked his feet together. “And now it’s just you and that big stupid jellyfish. I’ll have you back to TWI in no time.”

“You’re not hurting her.” Subterra threw a hand in front of Leilani, having a new burning desire to protect her friends. Shiho and Ocellus needed her help too and she wasn’t going to let them down, not after everything they’ve done for her. “These people are my friends. And friends protect their friends!”

Crafteon waved its tentacles around, then charged at Ripple. Ripple pounded its fists together and smiled, then followed suit, rushing to meet between the two of them. However, as Ripple struck it with its fist, a cloud of darkness exploded around Crafteon and the approaching darkness made Will recall his Stand, afraid of the shivers it would bring him.

Subterra stared at the cloud of dark, unsure what exactly had happened. She hadn’t asked her Stand to do that, but something felt weird. She could feel a change within the darkness, as though something was solidifying inside.

“Well done, Subterra…” Crafteon said in her head, but something about it was different. It sounded more… feminine. “The time has come.”

Subterra felt a welling of power surge within her soul, like something had touched the strings of her heart and imbued her with strength she never knew she had. Leilani continued to look between her and the cloud of shadows, and Will stood there with his arms folded, leaning back as his Stand did the same closely behind him, waiting for Subterra to make her move.

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 11: The Darkness of Crafteon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Taking your time, aren’t you?” Will. I. Knoe tipped his hat lower as he adjusted his shades. “If you’re not coming out, then I’m going for it!”

Ripple pointed both hands forward, one on top of the other. Rings around its arms began to glow a bright blue and as it pumped both arms forward, energy blazed from them and hit the closest of Jellyfish’s tentacles. The tentacles went slack and dissolved into liquid, merging with the ocean.

Leilani clutched her arm and fell back against her seat as she wailed in pain. It began to bubble and dissolve, turning into liquid. Jellyfish released its net of tentacles and disappeared, giving Ripple a direct line to Subterra and the others, but this time, she was going to protect them.

A hand emerged from the darkness, metallic and sharpened, grabbing Ripple as it attempted to pass. The enemy Stand raised a fist, intent on melting away its sudden captor, but as it swung, the darkness in the air spread out, sending it skating back along the water’s surface in fear of being enveloped by the darkness. As it spread out, it slowly began to thin and instead of the floating Stand with a large head, in its place was now what looked like a mermaid, floating in the air above the water. It now had a more humanoid face on top of its neck, which snarled at the enemy. Instead of hair, it had tentacles trailing back down its neck and its eyes were now on its face, staring and unblinking at Ripple as it waved its arms around as though some unseen current was pulling them.

“What happened? Impossible.” Will took off his hat and wiped the top of his scalp with a cloth. “Stands can’t do that. They can’t change for no reason!”

“What do you know about what Stands can or can’t do?” Ocellus pointed a finger at him.

“I’ll show you! I’ve never been beaten by Subterra before!” Will spun around, then flicked the corners of his opened shirt. “Ripple, take her down.”

Ripple leapt over the boat, aiming a fist for Crafteon’s head, but it glided back, raising both hands as its fingers began moving as though it was casting some kind of ancient magic. Darkness spiraled out from its back, wrapping around Ripple’s arms before tossing it over to the other side of the boat. Will. I. Knoe’s body followed suit, but he slid against the water’s surface and got back up, unharmed.

Ripple got back on its feet and punched at the darkness, but nothing happened and the tendrils remained wrapped around its wrists.

“Darkness has no state,” Subterra explained. “It cannot be solidified and it cannot be liquified. You may have beaten Crafteon before, but now that it is Crafteon ACT2, things are going to be different.”

“I’ll show you different.” Will clapped his hands together. “You haven’t seen everything Ripple can do. I only save this for when I’m certain of my victory. And I am certain now.”

The rings on Ripple’s arms began to glow a bright red and Subterra had Crafteon fling it to the side with its shadowy tendrils. Ripple crashed against the water’s surface, but flipped itself from a roll, getting back on its feet as the water around it began smoking.

As Ripple spread its fingers open, streaks of yellow light shot out towards Crafteon across the water’s surface. They traveled under Crafteon, but because it was floating, nothing happened.

Subterra looked at Will, but he seemed unfazed. He snapped his fingers and flashed her a grin. “Wait for it.”

The water bubbled under Crafteon where the yellow streaks had appeared and suddenly exploded in a flash of energy. Subterra drew back and shrieked as her arms began to boil. Her skin turned red and began bubbling at the spots her Stand had been hit. She pulled back Crafteon, sending it spinning to the opposite end of the boat as she fell back against the side, grabbing her injuries.

“Plasma is another state of matter. In case you didn’t know.” Will drew circles with a finger in the air. “It’s not something I go around showing off, but for you, Subterra, I’m making this exception. TWI didn’t say how I needed to bring you back. As long as I bring you back alive, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Subterra grimaced and gritted her teeth as her Stand floated along beside her.

“Destroy him, Subterra. He is not fit to continue existing.”

Subterra agreed with her Stand. As Ripple pummeled its fists together, generating its arm rings with more energy, Crafteon twisted its arms through the air, creating more shadows between its fingertips.

A searing bolt of plasma shot at Subterra, but she dodged it at the last second and the projectile hit the water, sending up a huge gust of steam and vapor.

"Stay still!" Ripple continued throwing plasma at Subterra and Crafteon. Fortunately the shots were very bright and noticeable, and Subterra was able to evade the next volley. The missed shots also hit the water, hissing and spluttering as more steam filled the air.

Leilani and Ocellus ducked down, just narrowly avoiding one. Subterra dodged another, then saw Shiho underwater, still hammering against the surface trying to get out. She had already been there for four minutes and surely she was running out of air. Whatever she and Crafteon planned, she had to do it now.

“End it…” Crafteon whispered.

As her stand weaved together its shadows, Subterra watched as Ripple pummeled its fists against the water’s surface, turning it into plasma bit by bit. It seemed generating plasma took more time and energy from it, unlike how it could alter something to the other states. With each smash, streaks appeared across the water, boiling and warping the air around it. In a few seconds, it would reach Shiho, and she wouldn’t survive swimming in a sea of plasma. She had to finish this fast.

Crafteon placed the shadows between its two hands and with a push, the shadows expanded forward, flying to Ripple like a fireball.

It kicked up a splash of plasma at it, but the shadows surrounded it anyway, swarming around it like a small tornado.

Will shut his eyes and geared himself for the feeling of dread that followed Crafteon’s shadows, but this time, nothing happened. He blinked and ran his hands down his body before making Ripple leave the shadows.

“Ha! You’re losing your edge, Subterra. I’m not afraid!” He pointed at her. “What are you going to do now?”

Subterra lowered her eyelids and assumed a neutral stance. “Are you sure about that?”

A growl came from the darkness and instantly, Will’s heart dropped in his chest and he eyed it with wary suspicion. “N-No…”

A striped paw emerged from the dark, touching the surface of the water gently as two shining eyes pierced out of the gloom. As it approached, a growl revealed a row of fangs, sharp and bloodstained. A scar ran down the side of its furry face, and Will immediately recalled his childhood.

It had been when he was only seven years old. His father had taken him to a meat shop to get beef after finding a bag of cash just outside their apartment. Back in the day, meat was scarce, because without a job, his father could not keep up with the rising prices of luxuries like meat. It was at this shop that they encountered a tiger that escaped from the zoo.

Like a coward, he had hidden in the darkness under a stained table as the fierce tiger devoured the butcher, two other people and his father, who would do everything he could to make life better for him. After everything his father had done, he could not find it in himself to save him as the tiger ate through his stomach while he was still alive, pleading for Will to save him.

Will remembered the scar on the tiger’s face, an injury it had supposedly received by gamers on a safari. And now it stood there, looking back at him with burning eyes; it had unfinished business with him.

“N-No, you can’t be… you can’t be here…” He backed away as his Stand stood between them, arms raised.

It roared and leapt at Ripple. Will ducked instinctively as his Stand swung a fist at the tiger. It missed as the tiger went low, slashing at Ripple’s abdomen, drawing blood before sinking its fangs into the Stand’s right thigh.

“Aaaaugh!” Will clutched his leg and fell back on the water’s surface as his Stand’s power began to falter.

Leilani’s arm reformed itself, solid once again as the sea around the boat liquified, allowing Shiho to breach the surface with a huge gasp of air.

As Will’s fighting spirit began to fall apart, the plasma that he had created fizzled away, and the water’s surface beneath him no longer remained solid. The Stand user fell into the salty liquid, flailing his hands to try and remain afloat. As he breached the surface, a sudden rush of clarity hit him.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “This is the middle of the ocean! There’s no tigers here.”

Will grinned and summoned forth his Stand, but something else appeared first.

A black-painted speedboat drew up alongside the Brandy 2, crewed entirely by men and women in crisp black suits.

“Are you Will I. Knoe?” One of the people in suits asked formally.

Will’s skin began to crawl as he looked at the people in the black boat. A sprout of unease began to make itself known in his head. “No… I mean, yes, I am.”

The suit who had spoken nodded to his companions. “Mr. Knoe, we are here on behalf of the global government. You’re being audited.” Holding up a roll of paper, the man in the suit unraveled it, revealing a series of class-action lawsuits written on the paper’s surface. “Here’s the date; we’ll see you in court. Fail to comply, and you risk being incarcerated and fined.”

“L-L-La-Lawsuits!” He clutched his head as his eyes grew to the size of baseballs. “N-Not the lawsuits!”

The lawyers suddenly grew claws and their eyes became red burning coals as fangs emerged from their mouths. They snarled at him and jumped at him from different directions.

“N-Not tigermen lawyers! My worst fears!” Will shrieked as he dived under the water’s surface, trying to flee.

But the tiger lawyers dived in after him, and water churned and splashed all around beside the Brandy 2. In only a few seconds, blood bloomed out from the deep, spreading along the surface as Shiho climbed back into the boat.

“Good grief, these TWI followers…” she pushed her hair back out of her face as she removed her outer coat. She put a hand over her eyes and looked up to the sky. “How long have we been out here? The seats are burning.”

“Hey, at least you had a dip in the water.” Ocellus rubbed at her arms, which were starting to glow red. “It’s all thanks to Subterra that you’re even back on the boat.”

Subterra pulled her hood over her head as Crafteon’s darkness returned from underwater, disappearing into its arms. She hadn’t really paid attention to the heat the entire fight, but now that Shiho had mentioned it, she could feel her arms blazing as though someone had lit them on fire.

Ocellus pointed ahead. “The island’s just over there. Step on it and we can get under some trees to cool off.”

“Or…” Leilani adjusted her shoulders till a crack was heard. “We can just go for a swim.”

And she jumped into the water before swimming downwards.

Ocellus and Subterra shared a look before the former shrugged. “I don’t yet know how to swim effectively with this body, but a dip sounds nice.”

And she jumped in after Leilani with a big splash.

Shiho wiped her face again and groaned before starting the boat. “Good grief.”

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 12: Island Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Smolder, you can’t possibly be thinking that!” Yona exclaimed as the orange dragon tugged at the straps of her pack on her shoulder.

“We have to. This isn’t TWI speaking. It isn’t,” she said resolutely. “Something’s… changed. I don’t know what happened to her in the other world, but this is not who she is. What she’s doing isn’t what she stood for. It’s not what we can stand for.”

“I’m with you, Smolder.” Gallus flapped his wings and lifted the corners of his mouth.

“As am I.” Ocellus nodded her head. “It’s not right.”

“We need to remind TWI of what she stood for.” Sandbar pounded a hoof against the ground.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Gallus said and immediately disappeared through TWI’s portal machine.

“No time like now!” Silverstream followed after him without wasting another second.

One by one, each of them entered the portal until only Ocellus was left. She rubbed a hoof against the back of her head as she peered into the swirling vortex before her. TWI had been their great leader and teacher, showing them the magic of Friendship as they took over as Equestria’s protectors. And now here they were, hoping to convince her to stop her conquest of another world.

Even if she meant well for them, even if she wanted to help them, killing all those who stood against her wasn’t the way. She had taught them that there was always a way with friendship. Whatever happened on her journey there had changed her mind, and it was their duty to change it back.

With one last swallow, Ocellus dove in, traversing through a rainbow tunnel as her body began to warp and change, turning into something else. As a changeling, she knew what it was like to turn into something or somepony else, but this was different. It was as though the very fiber of her being was changing, turning her into something that was no longer a changeling.

On the other end of the portal, the first thing Ocellus saw was the school TWI had told them about: Canterlot High School. It stood cold and empty, devoid of life as she looked past other buildings to the moon above. In this world, the sun and moon moved according to some other force instead of the power of princesses. It was hard to believe, but TWI was intelligent. She knew she would find out all she could about this world, even if she planned to kill thousands.

Once she had gotten her bearings of her new body and that of her friends, it wasn’t long before green bolts of energy struck the ground around them, forming dark circles in the stone as a figure from Ocellus’ past dropped down from on top of the school building.

She stood and brushed her teal hair from her dark face, giving them a devious smile as she drew a line down the side of her neck to her left shoulder as she tilted her body to one side. She had on a green and purple top that left her left shoulder and right abdomen bare, and she had on pants that flared out at the bottom, ending in tears that snaked up to just under her knees.

“Chrysalis… what are you doing here?” Sandbar said with a gasp of surprise.

“Excited to see me?” She chuckled. “I know.”

Ocellus stepped forward, putting herself between her friends and the changeling who had once been something more than just a villain. “Mother, you’re not su-supposed to be he-here… You’re supposed to be… how did you escape Tartarus?”

Chrysalis laughed again. “My dear Ocellus. I didn’t. I was just given a deal. Think of it as a way of shortening my term. I do what Princess TWI wants and I don’t have to be in Tartarus for a lifetime.”

“She’s getting the help of these villains now?” Silverstream asked the others.

Ocellus shook her head. “You-You’re lying. TWI would never!”

“On the contrary…” Chrysalis played two fingers through her long straight hair. She had a little crown with a crooked horn perched on top of her head. “And it’s not just me… For reduced sentences, we’ll put up with her demands. For now.”

Smolder pushed past her friends. In this world, she had on a black jacket over an orange tank top and a pink skirt. “We only want to talk to her.”

“Unless you want a beating, you better stand away.” Gallus gripped a fist together. He had on a puffy brown jacket with a white trim. “You can’t possibly stand against the Young Six alone.”

“Firstly, you underestimate my power.” Chrysalis tilted her head down, casting shadows across her eyes. “Since coming to this world, I have become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

“What’s the second thing?” Yona asked. She had a green shoal over a beige dress with red and white diamonds along the ends.

“What?” Chrysalis said flatly.

“You said firstly. It’s usually followed by something else.”

“I don’t care.” Chrysalis balled a fist, then took one step back and put her other arm behind her back. “Princess TWI said to keep anypony away, especially you Young Sixers. She didn’t say how I would do it.”

Smolder took another step forward, but all of a sudden, she was thrown back into the statue behind them, cracking off one of its arms as she rolled to the side. Just to Chrysalis’ right, a faint figure appeared out of thin air, mimicking Chrysalis’ stance. It was some kind of figure clad in a white suit that looked like it was made for low oxygen areas, though there was a single cracked hole in its visor. It had a backpack behind it, fitted with pipes and tubes and along its entire body was what looked like purple eyes staring back at them. Each of them moved individually, looking in every direction at once.

“Why you-!” Sandbar charged at her and her companion.

With a smack, the white figure knocked him aside, then fired a single beam of purple at Yona, sending her crashing back to the ground as a smoldering hole appeared on her shoulder.

“Mother, stop!” Ocellus ran at her, sliding under the next punch by Chrysalis’ ally. She grabbed her mother’s legs, then spun to a stop as she pulled against her knees.

Chrysalis lost her balance and tumbled, but the figure swooped in, catching her as its purple eyes came close to Ocellus’ face. Instantly, her mind was filled with images of tentacles and bizarre colors, followed by fire and destroyed buildings.

The figure grabbed her by her halftop straps and tossed her aside before flying over to deliver a powerful blow to Gallus’ jaw.

Ocellus rolled to a stop and looked back at Chrysalis, but from behind the school building, she spotted something. Whatever it was stood behind the structure, half concealed as it turned its head towards her, millions of red eyes now staring right into her soul. Where its mouth was was instead filled with five or six tentacles, squirming and writhing as it reached a hand out, pointing a finger at her.

“W-What is that?” Ocellus asked aloud as Sandbar helped her up.

“What’s what? Chrysalis’ magical friend?” He pointed at it. “It can’t seem to be hit.”

Ocellus shook her head and pointed at the large tentacled creature. “No, not that. That. The big one. It’s coming right for us!”

“I don’t see anything!” Sandbar looked into the air where Ocellus was gesturing to.

Yona flew by them, only for Sandbar to catch her. One of her eyes was bruised shut and her shoal was in tatters.

Gallus slid to a stop beside them, panting hard. “We’re… not used to these bodies… And we can’t hurt that ghostly thing.”

“Magic isn’t working here!” Silverstream lifted her hands, brushing them together before wiping them against her shimmering sleeves. “We can’t take on threats like we normally do.”

“There has to be some way we can defeat her!” Smolder wiped the corner of her mouth and rubbed her cheek. “We have to plan a surprise attack.”

As her friends leaned in to discuss their plans, Ocellus’ mind went away from their words, instead focused on the large creature coming towards her. For some reason, none of her friends could see it and with each step, it got closer and closer, already reaching out a gnarly hand towards them.

“I have to draw it away…” Ocellus said.

“What?” Smolder asked.

Without another word, Ocellus ran off in a sprint, moving her two legs faster than she had ever done so. She stumbled a few times, still unsure of how to run with them effectively, but it was better than nothing.

As predicted, the creature changed directions, coming after her as Chrysalis laughed behind them. “Fools! You’ll never beat me and my Stand!”

From the side, Smolder smashed a plank of wood into her face, knocking her down, but before she could hit her again, the white figure stopped the plank between them. It swiped it out of Smolder’s hands before shattering it in two and stabbing her in the abdomen with one.

Smolder’s smile quickly faded as she doubled over in pain, gasping for air as she was pushed aside. Sandbar was the next one to launch himself at her and following behind him, Silverstream kicked off his back, flying in with a kick aimed for Chrysalis’ face. The thing called a Stand floated forward, its feet barely over the ground as it smashed a fist into each of their faces faster than they could even fly through the air. Both of their bodies spun back, hitting the ground hard as the Stand kicked them both in the side, sending them sprawling over to Smolder.

“Friendship is stronger than anything…” Gallus raised his arms. “We can do this. TWI taught us that we can achieve anything with friendship.”

Chrysalis waved a finger. “Not today, young one. Today, you’ll learn there’s a new power in town, and that’s Stando Powah.”

“What?”

“Did you not hear what I said?” She scoffed. “I said Stand power.”

“It definitely didn’t sound like that.”

“Speak only when you are spoken to when you are before royalty.” Chrysalis had her Stand throw a punch at him.

Gallus raised both arms to protect himself, but the punch shattered both his arms and threw him back, tearing up more of the dirt as he screwed his eyes shut in agony.

“This day, you’ll learn you can never stand against TWI and our new powers…” Chrysalis’ eyes glowed green as an aura formed across her body.



Ocellus woke with a startle, feeling around her body as the face of the tentacled horror left her mind. She allowed herself to breathe and look out over the flowing sea as the stars of the night sky twinkled towards the horizon.

She had that dream again. One of the many dreams she had been having night after night for months now. The image of the creature would always fade when she awoke, as though her mind was rejecting the thought of something like that existing, but when she was dreaming, it always felt so real, like it could literally walk the space between dream and reality to devour her whole.

Thunder above them rumbled through the air as she pushed herself off her bed of palms. The sky above them was black, concealing the stars directly above the island as rumbling continued.

“Oh, you’re up.” Leilani walked around from behind a palm tree, carrying a pile of wood. She set it down in front of palm branches they had laid across the grass earlier. “This island has changed much over the last few years. There never used to be this many trees here. In fact, there were barely any trees at all.”

“That’s new. You’d think everything in this world was just getting worse.” Ocellus patted the palms beneath her body.

Leilani nodded. “All in the efforts of trying to make this into a sanctuary for all animals. Perhaps if we are lucky, we could find the rare black rhinos of Africa. How are you feeling?”

“Like a rock.” Ocellus spat. “But it’s not going to stop me from getting to TWI.”

“This TWI sounds like a real piece of work, non?” Leilani sat down beside her, leaning back as she looked up at the dark clouds. “We should’ve built a shelter of leaves. So, tell me your story. Why come to… to our world?”

“TWI was my princess. Our great princess who led us to years of peace. A golden age,” Ocellus said, remembering when times were still good. “But everything changed when she came to this world. She returned with a dark need to right your world. To do that, she hired Equestria’s greatest criminals. One of them was… is my mother, Chrysalis. She put my friends in the hospital and I’m all that’s left of Equestria’s defenders to stop TWI’s madness and hopefully return her to normal.”

“May God be with you in your quest, Ocellus.” Leilani smiled and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “I know we can still turn this turmoil around. God isn’t going to let the world go up in flames.”

“Right…” Ocellus gave her a weird look. “We might not have gods where we’re from, but it’s good you have something to give you hope.”

There was a streak of lightning across the sky, followed by a boom of thunder.

“We really should’ve constructed a shelter.” Leilani looked over to the ocean where Subterra was sitting by the water, looking out at the sea. Shiho was busy strolling up and down the shore, looking at something on her lightphone. “Do you think she’ll remember something here? Subterra, I mean.”

Ocellus pictured Subterra’s Stand in her head. It had changed form, turning into something more humanoid. Whatever it had been, Subterra’s spirit had strengthened. Perhaps it was because she remembered more of her life before losing her memory. There was no real way of knowing and Ocellus hadn’t been in this world long enough to understand the full extent of Stand power.

“She’ll have to. There are so many islands out here. Who knows which ones she had been to before.”

“Once she remembers the way back, we’ll have our shot at taking TWI down and rescuing my grandmother.” Shiho walked over, pocketing her phone. “I spotted a couple of tigers. We should continue to keep watch into the night. I’m not ending up as animal food after everything we’ve had to get through to get here.”

Thunder above rumbled again.

“And we need some shelter or this storm’s gonna be all over us…” Shiho grumbled. “Good grief, as if things couldn’t get any worse.”

Lightning crashed into the ground almost too close to their position, shearing a tree in half as a flock of parrots took to the air, squawking in fear. Ocellus had jumped back, frightened by the sudden encroachment of danger.

“There has to be a cave here somewhere that we can wait in.” Ocellus looked up at the rumbling sky. A streak of orange passed through one of the clouds. An odd color for lightning. “This storm’s getting out of hand.”

“I second that.” Subterra was by their side now, ducking a little as the next bout of lightning blazed the sky overhead. “But this… something is wrong. Something is familiar about this storm.”

She didn’t know what it was, but the hairs on her neck rose up and her skin felt like it was bubbling beneath them. A memory pushed at her head, trying to surface, but it was as though Subterra was trying to catch it with her bare hands instead of a fishing rod. It constantly slipped away just as something familiar was about to return.

“Watch the skies, Subterra. You must feel it as I do,” Crafteon appeared by her side. “We have company.”

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 13: I of the Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thunder and lightning broke the clouds above and one snaked its way through the skies towards them, buzzing with power as it glowed from orange to white-blue near its tip. 

Leilani dived to the side, but called up Jellyfish as it stretched its tentacles over the group, wrapping them into a shield-like structure just as the lightning hit. The shock boomed across the expanse, then dissipated through Jellyfish’s tentacles as the ground underneath it tore apart, shattering like glass.

Leilani winced and grabbed her arms, but remained standing. Smoke wafted off her skin and parts of it had cracked.

“What was that? The lightning’s attacking us now?” Ocellus watched as the clouds above reflected the orange glow of the lightning. 

“Subterra Shiver,” a voice boomed among the clouds. “You return.”

Pain immediately coursed through her mind and Subterra grabbed her head as she fought to keep herself from falling flat on the ground. Everything spun around her as her mind processed the voice she had just heard.

“I know this voice. I know it…” she said to herself. “But where have I heard it?”

Visions of a boat came to mind, followed by lightning and destruction of a forested area.

“You remember, Subterra. You have faced this before.” Crafteon’s face appeared in front of hers. “This time, you will end him.”

“Subterra, what is it? Who is doing this?” Ocellus asked her, holding an arm under her to support her.

“Enemy… Stand master,” Subterra said as she regained strength in her legs. “I of the Storm.”

She remembered that name well. He was one of TWI’s hunters, other people she had turned that would scout others to join her cause, or bring those who attempted escape back to her. 

“His name is Sejnnd E. Beaches. He’s from a faraway land of the north. We need to get under cover quickly,” Subterra urged the others. “This Stand can-”

A bolt of lightning came arcing out towards them, striking the ground and calcifying the dirt beneath into a crater.

“Do that?” Ocellus finished.

“We already knew it can use lightning. It’s been doing it all night.” Shiho narrowed her eyes as Curtain Call faded in next to her, clutching the cloth around its shoulders with both hands. “But I’ll show it a thing or two. I’ve had enough with enemy Stand users.”

“What do you plan on doing?” Ocellus challenged. “If you run in there hoping to beat him up, you’re gonna end up zapped.”

Leilani held up a hand. “Jellyfish can absorb quite a bit of electricity from its attacks. I could get you closer, but there’s only so much I can take.”

A group of lizards scurried under their feet, hoping to find cover from the brewing storm.

Above, the clouds parted slightly and they caught sight of a being enveloped in electricity, arms outstretched. It had a single large eye in the center of its head and underneath it, a smile too wide with satisfaction.

“Come back now and I won’t have to use I of the Storm to destroy your friends,” it said as the eye flipped back, along with part of its head. Inside the Stand’s head was that of a bald man with two nose rings, one on each nostril. “All of you know not what you fight against! You fight for the destruction of our world, you hope to see its end sooner than later!”

“That’s because TWI wants to destroy everything as we know it.” Subterra pointed a finger at him. “I can’t be a part of it.”

“Our world’s leaders are the reason everything is headed for destruction! It is because of them that people all over the world suffer. The poor who can’t afford a thing, the animals who are losing their homes to human density, the air destroyed by continuous pollution, there will be no end until the leaders of the world change. And only Princess TWI can do this!”

“Good grief, he’s a nutcase.” Shiho drank from her flask. “Look, even I know you can’t just kill the one’s in charge, even if they’re pricks. There are other ways to do this.”

Sejnnd scoffed and closed his Stand’s face back over his. “What, like how your precious Crusaders Foundation and Weather Alternate are doing? Those fools back in Berlin were one of the reasons our world has been going downhill. Wake up! The people in power are just playing antics on us, and I’ve, no, we’ve had enough!”

“You wake up!” Ocellus swung an arm through the air before balling her hand into a fist. “This is not the way!”

“It is the only way! TWI is the only hope our world has for a brighter future! Even dunderheads like yourselves can see that the state of affairs cannot continue like this!”

A metal spike flew through the air and I of the Storm dodged to the side before grabbing it midair, stopping it in place. Curtain Call was already readying a second spike, turned from a rock on the ground.

“You throw metal at me?” I of the Storm laughed.

From the sky, lightning shot down, hitting Curtain Call’s latest spike. The blast of electricity sent the Stand flying back into a fern, while Shiho slid along the grass and back down to the beach.

“He’s too high up. Forest Rangers can’t reach him.” Ocellus began looking around for anything they could use.

“I will bring you back to TWI, Subterra Shiver!” Sejnnd shouted down, his voice barely audible above the growing thunderstorm. “And together we will make a better world for everyone!”

“Everyone, or just people who you think deserve it?” Subterra shouted back. “What about a better world for the people you plan on killing? Don’t they deserve a better tomorrow too?” 

“People who don’t want to save this world have no place in TWI’s world!” He pointed a finger down at them. Above, the clouds swirled into a vortex. “If you were not important, I’d kill you here right now. But because TWI wants you alive, I will settle for your friends.”

Lightning shot down from the swirling vortex, tearing up the ground around Subterra and the others as two deer ran by, rushing for the other side of the island. Ocellus called up Forest Rangers, which began tunneling through the ground as they worked to give them some shelter from I of the Storm’s attacks. Leilani had Jellyfish raise up its tentacles in a net, forming an umbrella-shaped shield over their heads as Ocellus worked.

With nothing else she could do, Subterra had Crafteon spread its darkness up, hoping to at least block his view. It would never reach him, but it was better than nothing.

More lightning zapped through Crafteon’s shadows, aimlessly striking the area around them. Those that got close were absorbed by Jellyfish’s tentacles, but with the storm above them stronger than ever, I of the Storm had more firepower than Jellyfish could take and it started to show as Leilani fought to remain standing on her two feet with each strike.

With none of their Stands capable of flight or range like I of the Storm and Sejnnd, there was no real way of reaching him up in the sky.

“We need to move. We can’t stay here!” Subterra waved to the others.

“When lightning strikes, the air gets superheated to hotter than the surface of the sun,” Ocellus said. “I’d prefer not to take a direct hit from this Stand, if it packs that kind of power. Not all of us have Stands like Leilani.”

“I don’t think… I can hold it much longer.” Leilani rubbed her arms; her skin was already getting flaky and charred. “We need a way to get him down here.”

Shiho got back up, her jacket torn and blackened around the edges. She struggled to get on her feet, but she did so nonetheless. “I’ll get him down. Curtain Call has the precision of a baseball pitcher. Just keep him looking at you.”

“Just… no metal. I thought you were smarter than that.” Ocellus looked like she was ready to push a palm into her own face. “You’re lucky to have survived that.”

“I’ve survived worse.” Shiho cracked a kink in her shoulder and growled. “Subterra, keep your shadows up.”

“But how will you see where he is?” the younger girl asked.

“Because I have eyes on him.” Ocellus nodded before smiling. “When Shiho threw the spike earlier, she made sure the fool would catch it. Forest Rangers is already up there with him, watching his every move. There are not enough of them up there to take him on, but I’ve got his position.”

“And that’s more than enough for me.” Shiho cracked her knuckles and her shoulders, then motioned with her head to Curtain Call.

Her Stand swiped its cloth over a pile of rocks and when it passed, each one was now a bowling ball of a different color.

“Where is he?” Shiho asked as Curtain Call picked up its first bowling ball.

Her Stand pulled its right arm back behind its head, holding the ball on its palm while its other hand pointed forward with all five fingers, keeping it in a straight line from its shoulder. It tucked one leg behind its body, then bent forward on the other.

Lightning continued piercing the shadowy veil above them, and with the next strike, Leilani could no longer keep Jellyfish up and she released its tentacle net, dropping to the ground panting as her arms smoked from the continuous strikes.

Ocellus picked her up and moved them back as she spied through the eyes of her Stand. “Ten degrees to your left.”

Shiho shoved her hands in her coat pockets and nodded. With a powerful yell, Curtain Call took a step forward and let the ball loose, sending it through the air so fast that it looked like space was bending around its launching point. It passed through Crafteon’s shadows in a blink and lightning stopped raining down.

“Nice try, but you won’t be able to hit me!” They heard from Sejnnd on the other side. “The game’s up. I will have Subterra back for Princess TWI!”

“He can keep trying, but we’ve got your back, Subterra.” Ocellus gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Twenty-six degrees right. Two up.”

This time, Curtain Call picked up two bowling balls, one blue and one yellow. The Stand let them fly, aiming one a little more to the right. But it didn’t stop there, it kept picking up ball after ball and Ocellus started pointing and giving her Sejnnd’s location through Forest Rangers. Unfortunately, he was just as fast, constantly avoiding each projectile as his Stand’s smile widened. Electricity coursed through its fingers and it began catching the bowling balls and tossing them back down after charging them with power.

“It’s not working!” Subterra squeaked as a ball landed close to her feet, sending a quick jolt through her toes.

“It will.” Shiho nodded, unfazed by the enemy’s skill. “There’s more to this than just chucking balls at him. I’ve been preparing something else.”

As balls rained down around them, Curtain Call had gotten to work again, turning sticks and stones into rope. As it tied the rope to the rest of its bowling balls, Forest Rangers formed into its singular body and began swatting returning balls away from them.

“Because there are some of them on I of the Storm,” Ocellus began explaining. “I can see on the other side of Crafteon’s shadows. As I of the Storm returns them to us, I can see exactly where they’re coming from. I’ll keep us protected for now. Hurry it up, Shiho!”

“Don’t rush me.” Shiho scowled, but Curtain Call held up part of the rope in its hand. “It’s done, anyway. Time to bring this sorry sack down.”

“Neigh!” Curtain Call yelled as it spun around and released its payload into the air.

All the bowling balls followed, joined together with rope and as they sailed through the darkness, Sejnnd saw it coming and pointed down at it. “I of the Storm’s eyesight is second to none! I thought you would have learnt that by now!”

He caught the first bowling ball, but the momentum of the rest swung around him, spreading the rope out to reveal a whole network of rope between each bowling ball. The net enclosed around him and the combined weight began to pull him down from the sky as two bowling balls clashed against his privates.

“Oohhh!” Sejnnd bent down and gasped.

Once he was low enough, Subterra was able to have Crafteon’s shadows sneak up and grab him, yanking him down further. It was there that the shadows morphed, utilizing Crafteon’s ACT2 ability. Before Sejnnd’s very eyes, the shadows took on a human shape and soon, a bald man with a large belly stood before him, standing at least a whole meter higher than him. The only clothing he had on him was a ragged pair of brown shorts.

“N-Nei, Pappa.” I of the Storm’s face folded away, revealing Sejnnd’s own terrified face.

“You saving the animals again.” He brought out a broken piece of bone and prodded his gums with it. “Both you and your brother, you take after your mother. That is why I had to eat her. Now it seems I must eat you too.”

“Nei, nei! Stay away from me!” Sejnnd’s Stand dissipated and he began crawling back on his bottom. “Don’t touch me!”

But the large man did not heed his words and grabbed both his arms, pulling him off the ground easily.

“You’re not real! You can’t hurt me. I have a Stand now!” Sejnnd punched him in the gut, but his father didn’t even flinch. Instead, he pulled one arm to the side and bit down, splashing blood up into the air above them. “G-G-Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Tasty meat…” the man grinned.

With a yank, he threw Sejnnd clear across the space, sending him tumbling down the grassland and sand into the flowing water. 

Sejnnd inhaled a mouthful of water and began coughing, partially because the water was invading his lungs and partially because the water tasted foul from all the pollutants and chemicals in it.

“What was that?” he choked out, ejecting seawater as he did so. “My father’s been dead for years! How did…” Sejnnd’s face paled. “It must be the power of an enemy Stand. But it can’t be Sunfast’s or that green woman’s…” His face grew even paler as something occurred to him. “Unless one of their Stands changed somehow. I must get this information back to TWI before-”

“Before what?” someone said just behind him.

He turned just in time to see a purple fist plow into I of the Storm’s single eye, launching it back from the shore to a deeper part of the water, submerging him for a second as he kicked his feet up, pushing himself to the surface.

Shiho Sunfast stood before him with Curtain Call behind her back, its fist still smoking from where it had punched his Stand and by extension, his face.

“I’m not afraid of you. Feel the full force of I of the Storm’s ultimate power!” He raised both arms at his sides, ready to call down the fury of the sky.

“Not if I have something to say about that.” Shiho narrowed her eyes. “Curtain Call!”

Shiho’s Stand roared and dashed forward, covering the space between them faster than Sejnnd anticipated. It threw a stake of wood through his right shoulder, spraying blood behind him as he was knocked off balance. As he was falling towards the water and gasping from the sudden blow of pain, Curtain Call was already on him, delivering punch after punch to his body and his Stand as he was falling.

“Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!”

“Aaaaaaagh!” As his body was propelled further into the ocean, Sejnnd began to sink down, struggling already to keep his eyes open. He reached a hand up, but darkness closed in around him as his body hit the bottom.

I failed you, Princess TWI…

“Shiho, you did it!” Leilani and the others ran over as the woman sat herself down on the shore, letting the water wash over her bottom as the tide came and went.

“About time too.” Shiho looked out at the storm above. It was still thundering, but at least the lightning wasn’t trying to kill them now. She put a hand in her coat, looking for her flask, but then she realized there was a hole at the bottom and her flask was gone. “Good grief. Good thing I always carry spare clothes for emergencies.”

“We still best get out of the open.” Ocellus looked up. “I of the Storm was only channeling the lightning from above. It’s still a rather dangerous threat.”

“Right.” Shiho sighed and got up. “Subterra, does this island jog your memory?”

“Actually…” the girl looked down at nothing in particular. “I think… I think I remember. I remember where TWI’s island is.”

From the encounter with I of the Storm, Subterra remembered months of sparring with him and some of the others. She remembered the big open rooms TWI had put her in to test her might, she remembered her bedroom, small and cold, devoid of anyone else, she remembered the beach and the guardian of the island, and most importantly, she remembered how to get there.

She looked back up at the others. “I need a map.”



TWI’s console by her bedside has begun beeping rapidly as she sat there watching the dark skies outside her room. She knew this sound well. Three short bursts of beeps, followed by a single longer one. This meant there was news from outside her island. Good news, she hoped.

Her Stand, Strange World, appeared by the bedside table and pressed the button. Immediately, the beeping stopped, replaced by ragged breathing and growling.

“Speak,” TWI said and waited.

“They killed him. They killed my brother.”

TWI said nothing. This single line told her all she needed to know. Subterra and her allies were still at large.

“I underestimated her.” TWI put a hand against her face. “And I am disappointed. I thought perhaps she would know better, know what was better for this wretched world. Where are they now, Djirt?”

“They are still on Malden Island,” the voice answered. “I need to kill them. I need to avenge my brother.”

“See that you do, Djirt. But not Subterra. You know I need her. If she is returned to me dead, you will be joining her, is that understood?”

There was more breathing on the other end, followed by the clearing of one’s throat. “Yes, princess. I will only make sure her friends die most horribly.”

TWI nodded as her Stand deactivated the device. Thunder rumbled in the sky and her attention returned to the open doors to her balcony. A figure now stood there, hiding in the shadows of her room.

“What is it?” TWI asked, turning her attention from him.

“TWI, is this really how we envisioned things to go?” He took two steps closer.

She grabbed the end of her sheets and squeezed. “It is what it has to be. The world resists our change, but one day they will see the light. They will see the goodness of our actions. They will see I had no choice.”

“I still stand with you, TWI. I always will.” He put a hand on his chest. “But I know you have doubts. Doubts about turning against those who trusted you, about the goal you have at the end.”

“I don’t. I have no doubts. What I’m doing… it’ll change the world.” TWI looked at one hand and curled her fingers inward. Her Stand, standing by the bed, did the same.

“But are you sure-”

“I don’t need this now, Spike. Please.” TWI looked up, but the figure was no longer there. “I know what must be done. And for that, I need Subterra Shiver. I trust my hunters. They’ll find her. They’ll bring her back and they’ll eliminate anyone who stands in my way.”
 
Strange World lifted a hand and smashed it down on top of the bedside table, shearing it in half.

“Anyone.”

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 14: The Madman
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subterra Shiver was the first to poke her head out of the cave when she noticed the thunderclouds had moved eastward, freeing the skies above them from their destructive power. Sun rays shone down, lighting the grasslands before them in patches, working to break through the remaining clouds.

Birdsong could be heard from somewhere outside as creatures returned outdoors once more. Leilani joined her, walking out and leaning against the rocky wall as she smiled at the morning light.

“Ah, God’s creation. Beautiful as ever,” she said as she brushed a hand through her black hair. “What are your thoughts, Subterra?”

The girl looked over the land as a squirrel ran by, throwing itself up a tree. “All I’ve known before this was the island TWI kept me on. Day after day, she tested me, trained me to use my Stand’s powers, to learn, to adapt, and whenever I was unable, I was beaten down by those she set against me.”

“What could she have possibly wanted with you?”

Subterra shook her head. “She never told me. But I could tell she needed me. That’s why she’s trying to capture me again.”

“We’ll stop her, Subterra. We will.” Leilani gave her a firm tap on the shoulder. “No one person should have control of the entire world. Only God can do it.”

“I might not believe what you believe, but I’ll agree with you there.” Shiho walked to the cave entrance, carrying her coat behind her back. “The world is not meant to be ruled by one person. TWI’s going down. And I’m saving my grandmother. The old geezer has to be in her eighties now. TWI better not be subjecting her to physical abuse.”

“Your grandmother, you mentioned she’s from Equestria,” Ocellus said, plopping herself down on a rock beside them. “What’s her name?”

“I doubt you would know her. Sunset Shimmer,” Shiho responded.

“You’re right. Can’t say I’ve heard the name.” Ocellus shook her head. “She must’ve left a long time ago if she’s in her eighties.”

Shiho sighed and shoved her hands into her coat pockets. “I’m gonna beat the crap out of TWI this time.”

“Didn’t you say you already did that?” Ocellus lifted a hand in question.

“I’m gonna beat the crap out of her a second time.” Shiho kicked a loose pebble away. “I’m gonna finish what I started. I won’t let her get away again.”

“Even if she repents and seeks forgiveness?” Leilani asked.

Shiho looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “No. Not even if she begs me to. Not like she’s going to.”

Leilani shrugged. “You never know. The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

“Good grief, this woman…” Shiho stalked outside the cave. “Hey, which way? Where are we going, Subterra?”

Shiho showed her a map on her lightphone, and Subterra pointed to the island they were on. “Malden Island. That’s here.” She drew a finger across the phone’s projected screen, back down towards the Polynesian islands. “Here, towards Nuku Hiva. This is the rough area.”

“You don’t have the exact coordinates?”

Ocellus slapped Shiho on the shoulder. “What, did you think she would have exactly where TWI is? You can’t be that dense.”

“You… uh, can’t exactly find the island. Not really.” Subterra stopped them before they could carry on. “It’s defended by Imbibed Man. He’s another Stand user TWI turned to her cause.”

Shiho pounded her fists together. “Nothing we can’t punch through.”

But Subterra shook her head. “You won’t be able to punch through this one. His Stand, Ocean Man, it doesn’t have an offensive ability. Instead, it hides TWI’s island. You can’t simply walk onto the island.”

“We’re not walking to it, we’re sailing to it,” Shiho said, unimpressed. “I don’t care how many Stand users TWI has managed to sway to her side. They’re all going to end up face down in the dirt by the time we’re done here.”

Subterra nodded and joined Ocellus and Leilani in picking up their belongings in the cave. The night before, they had grabbed some towels and blankets from the boat, using them to lie on the cave’s cold floor and to warm themselves as well. There had even been a steel pot in the boat’s cabinets that allowed them to cook some frozen rations.

With everything packed, they were bound for TWI’s island. Subterra swallowed hard as she pictured the steely woman in her head. TWI had a goal, a good one at that, but to rebuild the world, she first planned to destroy it, and that wasn’t something anyone should stand for.

“We’ll kill her, Subterra. We’ll end her…” Crafteon whispered in her ears. “Once we return, there will be opposition, but we will stop her.”

“Killing her is the only way forward, huh?” Subterra stuffed some blankets under her arm.

“Yes. Her death will help everyone.”

“Will it really?” Subterra looked over at a centipede scurrying through the cave. “Everything in this world is failing. It’ll only be a matter of time before everything on this planet dies. Perhaps… there are ways to help it that don’t involve killing everyone.”

“I won’t count on it. We should just eliminate her.” Crafteon spun in the air, then splashed through the ground and disappeared.

“Who’re you talking to, Subterra?” Leilani came over with two bottles of water. “Are you praying? Sorry if I’m interrupting if you were indeed doing so.”

“No, not praying…” Subterra sighed. “Leilani… does your Stand ever, you know, talk to you?”

She shook her head. “Jellyfish is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power within me. I thought that was the case for all of us. Perhaps… Perhaps God speaks to you.”

Shiho screamed from outside. All their heads turned in her direction and the three women dropped everything they were holding and rushed out.

Shiho lay at the bottom of a grassy slope, blood pooling around her from a gash in her shoulder. She was breathing hard and her eyes were screwed shut.

“What was that? We’re under attack again?” Ocellus smashed a palm to her forehead. “Do these followers never cease?”

“Where are they?” Leilani placed a hand on the ground. “Jellyfish!”

Her Stand appeared in front of her and reached its tentacles out, sending them underground in a web formation around them.

“Nothing. Nothing is within thirty meters of us.” The dark skinned woman shook her head. “That’s a cut on Shiho’s shoulder. It most likely came from a knife. There’s no way anyone could’ve gotten past thirty meters that quickly.”

“I’ll find them. Forest Rangers!” Ocellus leapt out of the cave’s maw as her Stand scattered from her body, spreading out to the surroundings. She ran for Shiho’s side as her Stand spread out to search for the perpetrator, but to no avail. There was not a human or Stand in sight.

“Shiho, what did this? Who did this to you?” Ocellus placed a hand on her back, trying to stop the wound’s bleeding.

“From… nowhere…” Shiho groaned, still lying on the ground. “Didn’t see it coming…”

Ocellus looked around wildly. “Curtain Call has excellent eyesight and quick hands. There’s no way anyone would’ve been able to surprise it and Shiho like this. Not unless they were really small or… invisible.”

She turned, catching sight of something glinting in the light below her body. It was a puddle of water, leftover from the storm the previous day. In it was a shape, shimmering in the air beside her. It looked humanoid, dressed in what looked like a red cloak. It had purple armor and hair and it brandished a spike in its right hand, holding it above Ocellus’ head.

The woman turned quickly to her side, calling out some of Forest Rangers as she transformed them into a larger arm, swiping it across the space where the figure was, but when her arm passed by, there was no one there.

“W-What?” She looked back down at the puddle, but to her astonishment, the figure was still there, holding its knife high. “How is it-”

Before she could even move, the figure plunged its knife into her left shoulder. Even though she could see nothing there, a hole opened across her shoulder and blood sprayed out as she was sent to the ground from the impact. Ocellus grabbed her wound, wincing as pain surged down through her body from her shoulder.

“W-Water, it’s in the water!” Ocellus cried out to Leilani and Subterra as they exited the cave. “Stay away from it!”

Subterra stopped in her tracks, watching the puddle beside Shiho and Ocellus. “Could she mean that they were attacked from that little puddle there? I didn’t see anything.”

“Neither did I or Jellyfish,” Leilani said. “There is some foul power at work here. May the Lord see us through this battle.”

“This is the work of an enemy Stand,” Subterra deduced. She quickly summoned Crafteon and had it sweep its tail through the earth, spraying the puddle with dirt and sand. The sediment absorbed the water, leaving only a damp patch. “There. No more puddle.” 

“It can’t be that simple…” Leilani said slowly. She approached the damp spot with Jellyfish at her side, ready to lash out should an enemy Stand present itself. When nothing did, she picked up a nearby stick and poked the spot a few times. “Could it?”

“Maybe TWI’s running out of Stand users to throw at us,” Subterra suggested. 

“Maybe…” Leilani sounded less convinced. “Or perhaps there is more going on here than we think.”

“It has to be a Stand. But they’re out of Jellyfish’s range?” Subterra mused, taking in the facts. “But where could they be hiding?”

The two of them looked around. There was something they were missing, something that could be the difference between life or death here. The puddle had been covered, but Subterra couldn’t shake the feeling that it would be over just like this. Of all the Stand users she knew TWI to have, she didn’t know anyone that had powers like this. It seemed TWI had more secret Stand users up her sleeve than she first thought.

“Be careful, Subterra.” Leilani took a step forward. “Whoever this is, they’re outside thirty meters. They could attack from far away.”

“The ocean. That’s the next nearest source of water.” Subterra pointed ahead. “We shouldn’t set foot there.”

“But we have to help Ocellus and Shiho.” Leilani folded her arms. “Jellyfish still senses nothing. Go. I can watch for him.”

Subterra nodded and called out Crafteon. Her Stand spun in the air, then sent out two tendrils of shadows from its arms, each one wrapping around one of Shiho’s and Ocellus’ legs.

“Quickly, get them over here.” Subterra prodded her Stand.

“There’s more to this, Subterra. You must look harder. Sometimes the enemy is right there, even if they are not in front of you,” Crafteon said.

As their bodies dragged across the soft ground, soil was parted, revealing deeper reserves of water from the storm. Almost immediately, a cut formed across Shiho’s leg and severed the shadowy tendril pulling her in. Blood sprayed across the rocks as Crafteon immediately released its darkness around Shiho and Ocellus, hoping to catch the enemy.

Subterra felt nothing from anyone else within, except for Shiho and Ocellus shivering from the fear Crafteon’s darkness brought. Whatever this enemy Stand was, it wasn’t being affected with her Stand ability. Instead, she had Crafteon release its darkness and continue dragging her friends to safety.

And that’s when she saw it. Within the blood that had spilled from Shiho’s leg, she spotted a figure with what looked like hair or a hood covering its head. The lower half of its head was covered by a tattered scarf that hung down its right arm and in its hand was a large knife that looked like a spike. It stalked closer towards Shiho, but Subterra had Crafteon pull harder as it slashed its knife. Nothing happened outside the pool of blood, but when the Stand’s blade crossed Shiho’s leg within the pool, a cut formed across Shiho’s ankle, spraying more blood into the air as she got closer towards Subterra.

“Subterra, you’re giving her more room to reach you…!” Ocellus said as she tried to push herself up. “All you’re doing is extend the blood trail. Don’t worry about us. Stop the enemy first!”

Subterra stopped. She knew the enemy would continue to attack her downed friends, but if she helped them, all she was doing was bringing the enemy to them. There had to be something else she could do.

Suddenly, there was a buzz. Something was vibrating from the cave, from their pile of belongings.

“I’ll go see what that is.” Leilani was quick to move. In no time, she found it was Shiho’s lightphone, vibrating from a call from an unknown number. Leilani accepted the call and held the device up. “Maybe we can get some help. Hello?”

“None of you are leaving alive.” There was no face on the screen. Instead, there was only static. “I’ll get you for what you did to my brother. Even Subterra Shiver. TWI wants you back alive, but I don’t care about what she wants. You took my brother from me and for that, you’ll pay with your life!”

“Subterra, who is this?” Leilani turned to Subterra.

Subterra recognized something in his accent. It was one she heard a lot of whenever TWI made her train. He had the same accent as Sejnnd’s.

“Sejnnd’s brother,” Subterra said. “I’ve seen him before, standing on the side, but I’ve never faced him in battle.”

“I hear Subterra over there.” The voice chuckled. “Yes, you’ve never had the pleasure, but today, it will be your first and last time against me, Djirt E. Beaches and my powerful Stand, Madman Across the Water.”

Leilani nodded, not wanting to say anything else for the moment. She understood revenge; it was only human nature to want it, even though her own faith was based on forgiveness. But it seemed that in order to proceed on their quest to stop TWI, they would have to face this new challenger and his mysterious Stand as well. Just another Stand user on their way to saving their world.

“You’ll never win. We’ll stop you. And we’ll stop TWI and anyone else who wishes ill of this world,” Leilani said to the phone. “God is with us. You can do nothing against his will.”

“Ah, a woman of faith. We shall see how long that lasts when my Stand is cutting you into pieces. Will you still hang on to your God then? Hee hee, I’m eager to see.”

“You underestimate my will in God.” Leilani frowned at the screen. She didn’t even know if he could see her.

“And you underestimate my Stand. Madman Across the Water is going to destroy you.”

The lightphone’s screen disappeared as Djirt ended the call. Both Subterra and Leilani shared a look before red slashed across Leilani’s arm, making her drop the phone. It was then that both Subterra and Leilani understood something about the Stand they were facing. They caught the faintest glimpse of the cloaked figure and its blade, standing against the phone’s screen before darting away.

“It’s not just the water…” Leilani breathed. “It’s using reflective surfaces.”

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 15: Across the Water
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“He has to be close. Close enough to keep an eye on us.” Subterra put her back to Leilani’s as they looked around the cave. The first thing to do was to block off any reflective surfaces they could find. “Thankfully, the rain stayed outside, so all the puddles are out there. But we need to do something before he can attack Ocellus and Shiho again.”

“So if we stay in here and wait, they’re goners. But if we go out there, he’s going to get us. Parfaite…” Leilani bunched up a fist. “And because his Madman Across the Water is not really out here in our world, there’s nothing Jellyfish can do about it.”

“Neither can Crafteon.” Subterra shook her head. “There has to be another way we can beat this…”

“The only way to best him is to find him…” Leilani looked around the outside of the cave. Shiho and Ocellus still lay on the sand, bleeding into the little puddles of water around them. “Their blood gives Madman Across the Water more room to move around. We can’t go there.”

“But a Stand this strong… He has to be nearby.” Subterra ran a finger along her jawline. “He must be hiding somewhere on this island.”

She looked back to her friends out there again and grimaced. Ocellus did tell her they had to stop the enemy first, but if they couldn’t figure it out, they would be dead and Djirt would still be out there.

Leilani sensed her thoughts and nodded. “I know. We have to save them. We’ll deal with the enemy after we get them to safety.”

“If the enemy is using reflective surfaces, then we need to pass by as few of them as possible, Or cover them up with something,” Subterra suggested. “Get them with Jellyfish. I’ll have Crafteon cover the sand around them.”

Subterra ran forward as Jellyfish stretched its tentacles out in all directions, sending two of them to grab Ocellus’ and Shiho’s legs. Crafteon began flipping up sand with its tail, covering the blood falling from the two women as more of Jellyfish’s tentacles zapped at their wounds, cauterizing them to stop their bleeding. Crafteon had just finished covering more of their blood when Subterra felt pain welt across her back. She dropped to the ground, gritting her teeth together as blood sprayed out from a vertical line on her back. She looked up to see that Crafteon was doing the same, having been attacked from blood on one of the rocks outside. She spotted Madman Across the Water waving at her from the splatter of blood before raising its knife again.

“The rocks! The blood on the rocks is vertical, that means… Madman can see us in the cave from this angle…!” Subterra explained. “He was playing with us all this time. We can’t stay in the cave!”

“The boat. We know where to go.” Leilani pointed to the ocean. “I say we just go. We don’t need to stay and fight.”

“Are you sure?” Subterra was skeptical.

“Sometimes you have to turn the other cheek,” Leilani said, getting ready to move. “Besides, if we stay here, we will almost certainly die. We can’t defend against the Stand’s attacks.”

Subterra nodded. As much as she wanted to stand and fight, she didn’t see how they could hit something within a reflection. “Let’s go.”

As they saw the Stand approaching them with its knife raised, Leilani wasted no time and grabbed her two downed companions with Jellyfish, wrapping them close on her back as she made a dash for the cave entrance. Subterra did what she could and kicked up sand against the bloodied rocks as she ran, hoping to at least muddy up the blood’s reflective surface.

She must’ve missed a spot, because as she passed the entrance to the cave, pain shot across her shoulder and a gash made itself known, going down her back.

“Aaagh!” Subterra cried out, but didn’t let it stop her as Crafteon grabbed her around the waist and threw her forward, helping her catch up with Leilani.

Even though she was a lithe, skinny woman, Leilani handled herself well with two people on her back; she never missed a step all the way to the boat, getting to it far before Subterra could.

“Start the boat!” Subterra called out. “I’ll catch up!”

Leilani began fiddling with the boat’s console as Subterra mustered up her strength to sprint on towards her. She caught flashes of Madman Across the Water appearing in each puddle leftover from the storm as she ran through the muddy soil towards the sands. She saw it catch up to her as it swung its knife at her ankles, but Subterra hopped up, pulling her legs high, just avoiding the attack before reaching the beach.

“I’ve got it. Let’s go!” Leilani waved to her as the boat’s engine rumbled to life.

Subterra got to the boat with no other altercation and as soon as her foot touched the inside of the boat, Leilani sped them off, the vessel’s prow slicing through the choppy waters away from Malden Island as quickly as its advanced engine could propel it.

Thunder rolled in the distance, closer than Subterra would have liked, but at least they were far enough for safer waters and safer travels. Right now, getting far away from Madman was their first priority.

“He must have an effective range.” Subterra moved to the seat beside Leilani to explain. “Once we’re out of it, he can no longer attack us.”

They sailed over two big waves before crashing back down on smooth water, trailing away to the south as they moved towards their destination.

Only when Malden Island was but a tiny speck did Subterra lean back and sigh. “We should be good now. There’s no way he can catch up.”

“What a powerful Stand…” Leilani shook her head. “If your TWI is master over him, she must have a stronger Stand.”

Now that was a Stand Subterra had faced before. She knew TWI only used the bare minimum of her power, but even then, she could never best her Strange World.

All of a sudden, the boat shook. At first, Subterra thought they might’ve run into a rock under the surface, but then it happened again from the opposite side and a thin and precise tear formed across the hull, letting water pour into the boat’s interior.

“That’s- he’s still after us!” Leilani exclaimed, looking back at the damage. 

“How is that possible? There’s no way he could keep up-” Subterra stopped herself. “Unless… Of course. He had to have a way to get to the island. If we can’t see him, he must be following us underwater somewhere.”

“His range must be even further than Jellyfish.” Leilani sucked air. “I still don’t know where he is. There must be a way to find him.”

Another tear formed across the boat, this time on Subterra’s left, letting a stream of water pour into her lap. In the shimmering surface, she could see it, the enemy Stand. It had its blade held up, giving her a wave with its other hand. And then it stabbed down.

Subterra brought up Crafteon just in the nick of time as her Stand yanked her away with its shadowy tendrils just as a hole appeared in the plush seat she had just been in. She looked around. There was no way they could beat a Stand they couldn’t touch and there wasn’t much room in the boat for them to maneuver.

“Coming out to sea might’ve been a worse idea than staying on the island!” Subterra’s eyes darted around, looking for anything that could help them. “All around us is endless water. Its reflective surface will give Djirt enough room to attack us. Unless…” She looked up. “Of course. Leilani, we need to change course!”

“What? Where are we going?”

Subterra pointed to the roiling dark clouds in the distance. “There!”

The native woman turned the boat, steering it over to the storm as the boat fought against the water pouring into it. Subterra did what she could, scooping water out with a bucket, but between trying to save the boat and avoiding Madman Across the Water’s attacks, she wasn’t getting water out fast enough. She could only hope that Leilani would get them there before they went under. The water got choppier the closer they got as the waves picked up in intensity and size, but with that, the attacks became less frequent.

“It’s working. It’s working!” Subterra cheered.

She had to hold on to the seat in front of her as they went over a wave. Crafteon grabbed Shiho and Ocellus and kept them from flying off as well, but as a wave washed over them, Shiho sputtered to life and wiped her face.

“Good grief, what’s going on?” she attempted to stand, only to sit back down from the pain in her back.

“It was the only way to stop Djirt,” Subterra began. “Madman Across the Water uses reflections to attack us. If the water becomes turbulent like in this storm, it becomes harder for it to maintain a line of sight to us. And with the waters like this, I’m sure Djirt will have to surface somewhere!”

And then she spotted it, behind their boat at least forty-seven meters away, a black shape breached the water’s surface, along with a metallic object with three propellers attached to it. Just then, a wave washed over the boat and the shape, throwing the metal object into the air as Djirt went back under. Shiho called forth Curtain Call, which threw punch after punch at the encroaching wave, smashing it to pieces before it could engulf them.

“I’m turning us around now.” Leilani spun the wheel, now moving them all away from the storm. 

Shiho bent over one side and Curtain Call grabbed the hood of Djirt’s diving suit as they went by, dragging him through the water as the boat sped along. The speed they were traveling at washed the mask from Djirt’s face and he began sputtering as he fought for breath.

“St-sta-staup! I need… I can’t b-bre-breathe!” he gasped as water filled his lungs. “I yi-yield! Stop!”

Curtain Call pulled him up till he was face to face with Shiho. His short purple hair was a mess and his eyes were blood red. “Not so tough now, are you?”

Djirt coughed and panted. “Wh-wh-what are you going to do to me? Are you going to do the ‘neigh’ thing?”

A crack formed at the side of Shiho’s mouth. “I’m thinking of something better.”

Curtain Call roared and tossed him ahead of the boat, sending his body sailing far in the distance before he splashed through the water.”

“Arm one.” Shiho was beside Leilani, pointing at the holographic console.

“Got it.” Leilani pushed a square button as their boat rocked from another big wave.

Beneath the waterline, the hull of the boat opened a slot and a pointed cylinder nosed its way forward.

A targeting reticule appeared on the dashboard of the ship as the vessel’s sensors locked onto the shape and heat signature of Djirt’s body out in the ocean ahead.

“Enemy Stand user, meet top of the range naval ordnance.” Shiho’s face was a savage grin as the targeting system blinked green. “Fire!”

The torpedo launched from its silo, flying through water as it homed in on the struggling human as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth in a silent gasp of bubbles as the torpedo slammed into his chest. The explosion that followed erupted from the water, rocking the boat as it sped past, finally exiting the range of the storm.

“Another one bites the dust… Good grief.” Shiho sat back down beside Leilani and ran a hand over her face.

“They never stop coming,” Leilani said as they left the dark clouds behind. They were drenched from the storm, not to mention the water still pouring in from the hull. “But at least God is with us. He will never forsake us.”

“Whatever.” Shiho shook her head and pulled out her lightphone to check its compass. “We’re heading east now. We need to get to Nuku Hiva before TWI sends another goonie to attack us. From there, we’ll figure out how to find this TWIsland.”

“TWIsland. Nice.” Ocellus cracked a smile as she got up, then winced. “We’re gonna need to get patched up… That Stand really did a number on us.”

Shiho took a swig from her flask, then planted a foot on one of the seats and looked beyond the horizon. “We’re close now. We’re close to ending this once and for all. My grandmother better still be alive or I’m going to beat TWI into oblivion, then go there and beat her up again.”

Subterra had no doubt they would make it to the island. Each of them had a resolve of steel and a goal they would do anything to accomplish, but when she thought about herself, she didn’t exactly know what her goal was. She was leading them back to TWI’s island to defeat her, but that wasn’t her own goal. Whatever life she had come from before TWI abducted her, she still couldn’t remember, but perhaps after they finished this, she could find out and get back to it.

- To be Continued...-
> Episode 16: Pop Rock, Crocodile Rock
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trip to Nuku Hiva brought Subterra and the others back to daylight as they changed time zones once again. The waters were choppy and slightly murky, owing to the years of illegal dumping. It was bad enough that the oceans were overfished, but the pollution was sure to kill even more lifeforms along the way.

“Not a single fish in sight…” Leilani shook her head sadly as she piloted the Brandy 2 along, crashing through another wave. “One day, I pray we will right this world and return it to the way it was envisioned upon creation. A world of green, a world of peace, a world of worship.”

Ocellus waved a hand. “You know what? That sounds better than anything your world is going through right now.”

“Is yours like how Leilani said, Ocellus?” Subterra asked, pulling up her legs to her chest on the seat.

Ocellus’ face got darker. “It was. It was beautiful. I’m sure it still is, but with TWI becoming corrupted after visiting your world, I fear ours might soon fall into neglect.”

“Are you saying our world is at fault?” Leilani looked back slightly.

“Well… I don’t mean to be that bad, but yes. Since coming here, TWI has become obsessed with righting your world. Compared to Equestria, everything in this world is on the brink of destruction. You can’t deny that.”

“If you’re so sure our world’s going to end, then why aren’t you helping your princess?” Shiho leaned closer to her. “Why are you on our side?”

Ocellus sighed and ran a hand through her pink hair. “TWI hasn’t been the same, not since you beat her the last time. It’s as though she’s someone else now. She’s been overcome with the need to change your world, even if that means first sending it into turmoil. That’s not something I can stand behind. If it’s sense we need to beat into her, then that’s what’s gonna happen.”

“If we could talk her out of it, if we could end this without killing her…” Subterra gulped. “W-Would you do it?”

“Death is the only way, Subterra.” Crafteon looked into her eyes as it materialized by her side. “The penalty for all she’s done is too high. Her penance must be served.”

“If she could become the princess she once was…” Ocellus said. “Then it’s worth a shot.”

“No, no no no.” Shiho took her foot off the chair and sat back down. “I’m beating her to a pulp. She’s not coming back from this. Not again.”

“God gives everyone a second chance. To repent. To come back to him,” Leilani started. “Even someone like TWI deserves one.”

“You tell yourselves that.” Shiho leaned against the side and put her feet up on the chair across from her.

In two more hours, Nuku Hiva came into sight, its peaks standing high in the sky as their boat thundered on, smashing through wave after wave. Leilani spun the wheel and slowed their speed, gently easing them to a stop a little away from the shore.

“So, what are we looking for here?” Shiho scooted herself off the boat, splashing into the water with a grunt as she had Curtain Call drag the boat towards the sand.

“We need to determine where the island is from here. We need to find the Charter.” Subterra Shiver looked around, then pointed to the mountains. “Maybe if we get high enough.”

“What’s this charter?” Ocellus asked as she slipped out of the boat once it hit the shore.

“It’s how we get through Ocean Man’s illusion,” Subterra continued. “It shifts from time to time, but if we can get it, we can get to the island.”

Subterra could picture the large Imbibed Man, lying on the beach with his belly facing up. That’s all she ever saw him do in her time out of the labs. She didn’t know how he kept himself from burning to a crisp, but she had speculated it had something to do with the sand. Perhaps he had covered his body with a thin layer of sand to act as a barrier of sorts, or perhaps he just stayed safe with Ocean Man’s ability to hide the island.

Leilani pointed to a cluster of dome-shaped structures atop the slopes overlooking the water or the forests. “These observation domes will be good places to start. They were built about seven years ago to attract more tourists for money.”

“It’s always about the money. I guess that explains all this.” Shiho scowled at a series of crumpled soda cans and wrappers on the sand around them. “People all over the world have stopped caring.”

“Indeed they have…” Leilani said sadly. “Our planet does not deserve this.”

“The faster we solve this TWIssue, the faster we can get back to protecting the world.” Shiho shoved ahead and pointed to one of the domes as she shoved her other hand in her pocket. “Let’s start with this one. It has a good view of the south.”

Subterra followed along behind the three women, watching the sun’s reflection off the dome’s metallic surface and its multitude of windows. Each dome consisted of a metal frame shaped like a spider’s web, holding all the glass panels in place. In the very top was some sort of round orb that could turn all around. She guessed it was some kind of camera for a better view all around.

The trek up the first hill proved exhausting as it was quite a steep incline. Even with steps built into the dirt, Subterra found it hard to follow along, but she had Crafteon help halfway through with its tentacles, pulling herself along.

“The end of the world approaches, Subterra. What will you do at the very end of it?” the Stand whispered. “TWI is only the beginning. You cannot stop what is to come.”

“I’ve got to do what I can to save it,” Subterra said. Every time she talked to Crafteon, she made sure to keep her voice low. She didn’t want the others to think she was mad.

“If that is your idea, then why are you not with TWI? She’s attempting to save the world, no matter the cost.”

“I… because…” She shook her head. “It’s wrong. To kill people like that.”

“You’ve been killing TWI’s followers. You all have. What makes you any different? This is what you are, Subterra. You and TWI are not so different. You just need to embrace that and nobody can stop you.”

“I… I shouldn’t…” Subterra muttered.

“As your memory returns, so does my power, and our reason for existence… We can do it, Subterra. You just need to open your mind.” Crafteon drifted behind her and faded as they arrived at the top of the hill, leaving Subterra to her thoughts.

“So, let’s be having a look at these observatories then,” Shiho said, wiping a few drops of sweat off her head. “What I wouldn’t do for an ice cold beer right now…”

“We can get one if you really want it in any of the observation domes.” Leilani pointed, then moved her finger over to the next dome and then the next one as well. “Each dome has a special themed restaurant or cafe for hungry guests.”

“Is that so?” Shiho nodded with approval. She led the group over to the nearest dome and went inside.

Once they entered the observatory dome, the group’s attention was caught by a sort of convenience shop and cafe combination that was just inside. There were cold drinks being served, with a handful of tourists taking a break here. The theme for this cafe seemed to be red pandas. There were statues of red pandas by the cafe’s counter and entrance, along with a big face of one above it, with the name, ‘The Red Panda’.

“Really creative…” Shiho rolled her eyes.

“Incredible that the tourism industry is still working even with the planet in such dire straits,” Ocellus mused. “I’m not sure what that says about humans in these times. Probably nothing good.”

“Even though they should be working towards making the world more sustainable, people just want money, no matter the circumstances…” Shiho groused. “An island like this, reduced to nothing more than a money making scheme.”

“At least the scenery from here is still something.” Ocellus looked out through the dome’s windows, overlooking the forests and the ocean below.

Shiho went straight for the cafe, stopping for nothing else as she found a table closest to the entrance. It only had two seats, so Subterra opted to explore the dome’s perimeter to see what she could find out in the ocean, with Leilani deciding to follow suit.

“Only fifteen bucks for a beer?” Shiho leaned back in her plush leather seat after ordering. “It’s amazing how water is more expensive now.”

“When your world is on the brink of expanding its resources, I’m sure that’s how it’ll be.” Ocellus eyed her. “I guess that’s why TWI is devoting Equestria’s resources here. To support your dying world.”

“Having doubts now, Ocellus?” Shiho cracked open an eye.

The Equestrian shook her head. “What TWI is doing may be just, but her methods are not. She has to be stopped. This isn’t the way. Releasing my mother and Equestria’s other criminals from their eternal prison certainly isn’t the way.”

Shiho sighed. “I had once considered her a friend. Her and her little friend, Spike. They traveled alongside me to stop another organization from annihilating the world’s leaders. I never would’ve thought they would turn against us to pursue the exact same goal.”

“It is a pity, what happened to Spike…” Ocellus said. “I had known them for years. I would still hope that we could talk some sense into TWI.”

“Nope.” Shiho sat up quickly. “She’s gonna get the biggest beating of her life for taking my grandmother.”

“Goodness exists in all of us, Shiho. Even TWI. She’s just… she’s just lost her way. She has to be reminded of it again.”

“And if doing so lets her get away again?”

“Then we’ll find her again. We will, Shiho.”

Shiho pulled at her strands of red hair. “I’ve spent eleven years searching for her. It was only because of Subterra’s escape that we’re even this close. We can’t risk letting her run.”

Ocellus was about to add on more, but a waiter appeared beside them, carrying their drinks on a platter.

“An ice beer for this fine lady.” He placed Shiho’s bottle before her, then a glass cup with yellow liquid before Ocellus. He had a thick french accent, but judging from his dark skin and dreadlocks that reached his lower back, Shiho could only assume he was from somewhere in the caribbean. “And a lemon brandy for this fine lady. Enjoy.”

They both nodded their thanks as he walked away, all smiles.

“TWI still has good in her. I know it,” Ocellus continued. “I think we can stop her from herself.”

“But she will not stop herself…” Shiho grumbled and placed her bottle against her lips, taking a sip. The cool liquid flowed down her throat, making her feel so much better about coming out to this island. “This only ends one way. Either she dies, or we all do.”

Ocellus leaned back in thought. Shiho had her mindset, and so did she. It seemed there was no turning either of them. Suddenly, Shiho clutched at her stomach and doubled over. Blood dripped down the corner of her mouth and her skin slowly started forming red splotches underneath.

“Shiho, what happened?” Ocellus stood up, knocking over her chair.

“Something… in my body…” she grimaced. “It has to be… enemy Stand.”

“Again? Forest Rangers!” Ocellus’ Stand split off four of itself from her main Stand, sending them into Shiho’s mouth as they moved through her body, looking for what caused her injuries. “Your vessels are ruptured. It’s as though… something blew them up.”

The inside of Shiho’s body was like that of a serious car accident. Dozens of blood vessels flailed around in empty space, severed part way as blood poured out of them and into her body. Ocellus sent more Forest Rangers in, each of them grabbing two ends of the vessels as they tried to link them back together to prevent too much blood loss.

“I can keep you from bleeding out, but we need to find whoever is responsible and how they did it.” Ocellus scanned the crowds.

By now, they had caught the attention of about half the cafe’s patrons, some of whom had whipped out their phones to video Shiho’s plight. 

Ocellus ignored the other people and looked around to see where an enemy Stand might have attacked from. However, she saw nothing that looked like a Stand at all.

“Where could…?” Ocellus’s eyes landed on Shiho’s beer, then her lemon brandy, which she had not yet drunk from. “Wait a second…”

A Forest Ranger dived into the water and though it was invisible to the human eye, Ocellus’ Forest Rangers were far from human. Through the eyes of the Forest Ranger, Ocellus found little specks of white crystals, almost like that of salt, floating around in her beverage. 

The Forest Ranger brought a piece of the crystal up to the surface. Ocellus wasn’t familiar with the drink recipes of this world, but she was fairly certain that salt was not an ingredient in a sweet drink. This was something else. And she was quite sure it was what caused Shiho’s blood vessels to rupture.

“Now we just need to find out who did this… But where do we begin?” She eyed the crowd. It could’ve been anyone out there.

- To be Continued...-