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Hearts of the Multiverse--Chapter Twenty: Father of Mine

It had been a week since Luke, William (and Agatha by extension), Rose, Max, Edward, Markus, Connor, and Lt. Anderson had joined them. Luckily, Miss Lilith Clawthorne and Gale had figured out a spell that made it possible to add more rooms to the shrine without altering its physical structure. They were like dimensional rooms open only to the people who lived in them.

He had roommates now: Miles, Giorno, Zuko, William, Danny, Yugi, and Arven. And it was nice to have his own space, or at least, an eighth of a space. It was alright; the room was huge. Whatever Miss Clawthorne and Gale had also designed each of their parts of their room to their tastes. For example, lots of wolf plushies and wallpaper in his corner. Danny’s room was decorated with glow-in-the-dark moons, stars, and planets. There were posters of people in weird helmets and suits standing on the moon. Miles’s corner had cartoon posters and a few collectible figurines Hunter assumed he had before he came here. Zuko’s room had a few small dragon statues made of jade. There were maps detailing both Tokyo and his home in the Fire Nation. Arven’s room was lined by recipes and pictures of himself with Mabosstiff. He seemed happier in those pictures. There were a couple of pictures with him and Flap in his own corner; he understood the importance of having those memories with him. William’s corner had a bunch of movies and Broadway posters, books, and figurines lining his shelves and walls. He seemed to be big into older movies and shows, especially if they featured magic. He and Luz were probably going to get along. Giorno’s room was regal: nice pillows, blankets, and wallpaper. The wallpaper itself was black while most of the bedding was varied purple hues. He had a few paintings hanging on his wall; they all looked pretty old. Yugi’s space was decorated in old Egyptian mythology (he had explained it to both Hunter and Arven who were unfamiliar with the history). He had several puzzles and games they’d been putting to use over the past couple of days.

Ever since the meeting last week, Kaiba wasn’t openly antagonistic to anyone. Although, he never seemed too antagonistic to Jotaro, Zuko, Arven, or himself. Had it been that night they’d tried to help him? Hunter didn’t know. He’d even tried at an apology to Katara. It was a start.

Today he was practicing a rune Gale had been teaching. Hunter still wasn’t sure how a normal human was able to practice magic without the Titan’s language. Gale insisted there was a goddess who helped channel magic, but he always skimmed over their questions when they tried to ask more about her. Sokka, Zuko, and Suki were offering combat and sword training, but he didn’t need that. He’d had plenty of physical training during his time in the Emperor’s Coven. While the trio’s training was likely not as heinous as Belos’s training, he’d rather train with his weaker element. He needed to get better at magic, now that he had it. He owed Flap that much.

Tracing the rune was easy, but evoking the magic was another story. He’d tried this one rune over ten times now; it was supposed to make him invisible. However, he was still very much visible. He shut his eyes and tried again.

“Evanesco!”

Peeking his eyes open, he saw that he was still visible. He groaned and laid his head down on the desk in front of him.

“Working with magic takes a while,” William spoke up. “You’ve got to know what you want to do and commit to it.”

“I know what I want to do,” Hunter snapped. He lifted his head up, aware that he was frustrated and taking it out on the wrong person. “Sorry. I just want to get better at this.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” William said with a small smile. “I mean, I do, too. Magic is hard to master, but I think with the right amount of focus and emotion put behind the spell.”

He stood up, closing the book in his hands. “Maybe you should take a break, both of you.”

Giorno glanced up from his book and shook his head. “I need to figure this out. There are so many ways this could end badly. I can’t let that happen.”

After he said that, Miles walked into the room, causing Giorno to casually put it down into a bag he kept on him. Miles raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything about it.

“It’s chaos out there,” Miles said. “Adora challenged Sokka to a friendly duel, and he didn’t know she’s basically trained her whole life to be able to fight with—whatever. How’s it going in here?”

“Terrible,” Hunter answered. “Magic shouldn’t be this hard. Luz was able to do more by now—why can’t I?”

“How much practice did she have to get so good? Also, didn’t the Owl Lady teach her?” Miles asked.

“Yeah, I guess I should consider that,” Hunter admitted. “It’s just hard. I mean, it’s been a long year. Everything is so different. I lived my life being told what to do. And now, with everything going on, I feel so underprepared, and I hate it! It feels like I should know what to do, where to go, and how to work for it, but I don’t!”

“Kind of sounds like you’re relying on old tactics that used to work that don’t work so well anymore,” Miles said. “It’s like you said: everything is different. So, you can’t rely on the skills of the person you used to be. You gotta be willing to adapt.”

“I’m adaptable,” Hunter argued.

“Oh yeah?” Danny’s voice interjected. “Think fast!”

Hunter acted instinctively as something white flew in his general direction. He caught and threw back the object with twice as much force. Danny yelled, “whoa!” as a pillow phased right through him.

“Seems like you’ve got a handle on quick-time reactions,” Miles said.

“I guess so,” Hunter said with a shrug. “It’d be nice to get my magic under control—or at least—useable.”

“Maybe you’ve got to find your inner fire,” Zuko suggested.

At that moment, Yugi and Arven walked into the room. Both were covered in flour.

“What happened to you two?” Danny asked.

“Usagi, Josuke, and Okuyasu happened,” Arven grumbled. “I was helping Chibiusa make a pie for one of her friends, and Yugi wanted to help. So, we did that. We baked an apple pie, and those three jerks found it. Needless to say, Chibiusa was upset when we came back to check if the pie had finished cooling. There was a flour war. And now Rei is making all of them clean it up; we didn’t participate.”

“That’s actually kind of hilarious,” Danny said.

“Shame you guys went through all that effort for nothing,” William said.

“It’s a shame Chibiusa’s efforts were wasted,” Arven said, crossing his arms. “If I worked that hard on food for someone I cared about only for some rando to eat it, I’d be super peeved.”

“We can always help her make another one when she comes back from school,” Yugi said.

Zuko stood up. “Actually, I’m going to be busy today. I promised my uncle I’d help him at his shop.”

“You sure about that, Zuko?” Miles asked. “Kind of looks like it’s going to storm out there.”

Peering outside the window, there was, indeed, no sunlight. Dark, finger-like clouds clawed through the sky, as if they’d stolen the sun.

“If it gets too bad, I’ll just stay at the tea shop. It’ll be fine,” Zuko assured him.

William picked up the remote. “Maybe we should at least check the weather first?”

And there was Vox in a human disguise; there was a shorter woman with him with pink hair in tornado twin tails. The black blouse and skirt she wore were fashionable and sparkly.

“What are they up to?” Miles asked with a scowl.

“I’m here with business entrepreneur, model, and influencer, Vel,” Vox said, gesturing to the woman beside him. “So, you want to tell us about your new project?”

“Of course,” the woman, Vel, apparently, said with a huge grin. “As Val’s started making many clubs for more *ahem* mature audiences, I thought I would make a joint for only the most elite, glamourous, and in-the-know kids. We’ve got modern music, mocktails, celebs, you name it. And the entry fee is reasonable, too. First-time entry is completely free. We’ll be opening later this week!” She grinned almost the point of a smirk. “It’ll be a hell of a time. To any of my doubters, well, just come and see.”

“Well, that’s an obvious trap,” Giorno said. “Given what Kakyoin has told us, she’s just as evil as the TV guy and mothman.”

“True,” Miles said. “But what happens to the people who have no clue? She could be trying to steal their souls.”

“It would be a waste of time,” William said. Giorno gave him a soft glare. “Right.”

Miles raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on? Did I miss something?”

Giorno shook his head. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“I thought you said, ‘no more secrets,’” Miles pointed out.

“Miles, trust me on this,” Giorno said. “Everything is fine. I’ve got it under control.”

Miles crossed his arms. “Uh-huh. So, that’s why you always look super tired and spend all night reading. What’s in that book, anyway?”

“It’s none of your concern,” Giorno shot back.

“I don’t buy that.”

“And I have other stuff to do today than bicker with you,” Giorno said, getting up, tucking the book into a bag he slung over his shoulder. “Just, please, stay out of this, Miles.”

He rushed out before Miles could get a word in edgewise. Miles shook his head. “He’s not getting off the hook that easy.”

Miles walked out, probably to follow Giorno. No one did anything to stop him, so were they accomplices to whatever happened?

“I’m…going to head out, too,” Zuko said. “I’ll just…yeah.”

And so that left Arven, Yugi, Danny, Hunter, and William to their own devices. William was the first to speak up, “So, have they told each other that they…?”

Danny shook his head. “And at this rate they probably never will.”

“Well, that’s sad,” Yugi said.

“I think that’s the least of our worries,” Hunter spoke up. “What do you think Vel is planning? Why go through the trouble of making a hangout spot for kids?”

“Miles was probably right,” Yugi said. “She likely wants to steal people’s souls. It’s a divide and conquer scheme. They’ve already got a lot of people covering the park areas. Having people inside the cities is their next move.”

Pretty soon, they’d be surrounded. Every area would be covered in Deathbusters spies and monsters. There wouldn’t be anywhere to hide; not even the shrine would be safe!

Hunter shook his head and took a deep breath, counting down on his fingers like Gus had taught him. Now was not the time to have a panic attack. They could still beat them, right? He stood up. He needed to talk to the others. Maybe they’d have a plan.

“Hey…I’m gonna go talk to my family.”

“And then there were four,” Danny commented.

“Sorry. I just…need to talk to them.”

“It’s okay, Hunter,” Yugi said. “We understand.”

Hunter nodded and sprinted to the main room where Luz, Amity, Gus, Vee, and Willow were already hanging out. Amity had Vel’s ad playing on her scroll.

“This is everywhere on Penstagram,” Amity said, her face scrunching up with worry.

“Don’t worry, sweet potato,” Luz said. “We won’t let anyone get hurt by those creeps.”

Willow was the first to look up and see Hunter. When she did, she ran over to him. Willow was a calming force he desperately needed right now.

“I saw,” Hunter said. “Innocent people might die because of this.”

“We’ve gotta make sure that doesn’t happen,” Luz spoke up. “With all the new magic I’m learning, I should be way more prepared this time to take on those daimon!”

“They’ve got a vampire, three demons, a witch, and two insane inventors on their side. We can’t just rush into a fight,” Gus argued.

“Well, we can’t just do nothing,” Luz argued. “There’s gotta be something! Something we can do to help!”

A thought dawned on Hunter. “What if I’m not the only one here…”

“What do you mean, Hunter?” Willow asked. Her eyes were full of concern.

“What if I’m not the only one here who has a talisman?” Hunter asked. “What if Luz has one? What about Amity? Gus? Vee? Willo—?”

He was cut off when Willow wrapped her arms around him. He felt his face heat up. “It’s alright, Hunter. We’re not going to let those guys steal anyone’s heart. Trust me.”

He stayed in the hug for a moment before breaking away. He did his best to give her a smile. “Th-thanks Willow. It’s…just scary. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, and…I don’t want to get caught again.”

“We won’t let them,” Willow assured him.

Hunter desperately wanted to believe her. However, the low roll of thunder and gray sky did nothing to assuage his worry. And in any case, they still needed to see what Vel was planning with that club. It was going to be dangerous. He wasn’t sure if having the people he cared about most going into a death-trap with him was horrifying or reassuring.

Usagi bounded into the room with Mamoru and those two girls: Haruka and Michiru. Hunter couldn’t say why, but there was something off about those two. Although, he felt like a jerk for being so suspicious over Usagi’s friends. However, Zuko agreed with him. It was like they were always just around the corner. Maybe they were connected with the witches? Alastor?

“Hey guys!” Usagi said with a wave. “What’re you talking about?”

“Oh, that new club that’s opened up,” Gus said casually.

“It looks like a bad idea,” Mamoru commented. “I mean, there weren’t even any limits as to how many people could be in the building at a time. I’m pretty sure that violates basic firecodes.”

“I give it a week,” Haruka said. “Before it’s shut down.”

“Hey, were Giorno and Miles mad at each other?” Usagi asked. “Miles was yelling about a book, and Giorno kept insisting it wasn’t a big deal. Did he forget to turn in a library book?”

“I think it’s a bit deeper than that,” Hunter said. “They need to talk and sort things out.”

“Oh?” Michiru asked, raising an eyebrow. “How long have they been together?”

“I don’t know if it’s like that,” Hunter said. “Although…it’d make sense.”

For example, Danny and William’s comments earlier. But he wasn’t going to comment on a plausible relationship that wasn’t his to comment on.

“Guess what?” Usagi chirruped, bringing him out of his thoughts. “We got invited to a fancy party! Miss Lily was told that Mamoru’s friend, Edwards wanted to meet the best and brightest from the new generation!” She leaned in with a grin and whispered. “That means us!”

“Are there going to be a lot of people there?” Vee asked.

“More like a lot of academics in search of a scholarship,” Haruka scoffed. Michiru crossed her arms. “What? It’s true.”

“Edwards is a kind man,” Mamoru said. “He’s incredibly wealthy—a self-made man.”

“A lot of self-made people aren’t really self-made,” Luz muttered.

“Nevertheless,” Michiru continued. “They’re fun parties! You should all go. It kind of looks like you could use it.”

“I’m going,” Usagi said. “It’ll be super fun and…” she glanced to Hunter, her eyes lighting up in recognition of discomfort. “it’ll be safe.”

“True,” Michiru spoke up again. “There will be security guards and a…strange owl-bird-tube-thing posted at the front at all times.”

“Hooty?” Luz asked.

“You know him?” Michiru asked. Her calm and pleasant smile slipped, as one’s calm and pleasant smile does when the mention of Hooty comes up. “Why is he…like that?”

Luz shrugged and laughed.

“I find him strangely endearing.”

The group had failed to notice another lurking in the corner of the room: Kakyoin, Jotaro, Avdol, and Polnareff.

“Kinda stupid for this guy to be throwing a party during the middle of all these attacks,” Jotaro commented.

“I assure you, Edwards is a smart man,” Mamoru cut in sharply. “And the party is perfectly safe.”

“Like how that festival was perfectly safe, right?” Jotaro countered.

“You could’ve just said no,” Michiru reprimanded.

Jotaro looked at her then Haruka and shook his head. “Who said I wasn’t going? Gotta make sure no one gets hurt, after all.”

“How noble,” Haruka said with a snort.

Jotaro glared at her and muttered something under his breath.

“I take it the event is formal attire,” Kakyoin interjected quickly.

“Most assuredly,” Mamoru said.

“Fun,” Jotaro said, leaning back against the wall.

“It could be fun,” Luz said with a half-smile.

Hunter wasn’t so sure. Their hearts were on the line, he didn’t trust Haruka and Michiru, and…Belos was out there…somewhere. What if he was looking for them? What if he found him? What if he found his friends?

Would the people he loved most be safe?

He felt a hand on his shoulder, “Hey kid.”

It was Jotaro. He continued. “Don’t know what you’re thinking, but you look like you’re gonna hurl.” He paused. “You’re gonna be fine. We won’t let that creepy old fuck hurt you.”

Hunter tucked his arms closer into his body. “Th-thanks.”

“Don’t make yourself an easy target,” Jotaro said. “You gotta hit hard, especially if you know a weakness.”

“Um…okay. Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Jotaro is right,” Luz said with a grin. “We’ve got this!”

“Yeah!” Gus agreed. “Belos is going to Belose again!”

While the others laughed, Hunter still couldn’t help but feel uneasy. They had strength in numbers, but their enemies kept coming back with new powers, people, and weapons.

Glancing back to his friends who had gone back to the conversation of the party, he took in how excited everyone seemed to be. Willow and Luz broke from the conversation, looked at him, gave him a weary smile and a thumbs up. They were nervous, too. Scary considering they were two of the most confident people he’d ever known.

If they were having doubts, what did that mean for their future?

…

Miles followed Giorno; he wasn’t going to let him walk away from this. He wanted—no—needed answers. He promised.

They were walking down the streets aligned with several shops, restaurants, and arcades. Giorno was surprisingly able to outpace him. At one point, he lost sight of him entirely. He took a deep breath and refrained from screaming in the middle of the street.

What was that book? Why was he guarding it so much? Why was he keeping secrets? Would this…would this be like it was with Gwen all over again? He couldn’t take that kind of emotional betrayal again. As it was, he was ready to snap. There was already so much going on; if Giorno betrayed him, he wasn’t sure what he’d do next.

“Hey!”

Miles froze dead in his tracks for just a second. He knew that voice instantly. The rapid footsteps behind him kicked his own legs into gear. He glanced behind to see Miguel O’Hara pushing past people; his eyes were dead set on Miles. Crap!

“Stop! Stop him!”

Miles pushed forward, ignoring the concerned and confused looks of passersby. He kept running until he saw another figure, waiting patiently up ahead: the vampire, Morlun. Ahead and behind were death, and he couldn’t use his webbing, not while he was in civilian clothing. Morlun grinned, the corners of his mouth like the crypt-keeper.

Was he going to die here?

Someone quickly dragged him backwards into the shop on their right. It was completely dark inside. What kind of place was this? How would they be safe in—?

The front door clicked and then disappeared entirely.

“Fuck,” he heard Giorno murmur.

“Giorno?” Miles questioned. “What’s going on? Where are we? Why did you run away?”

Giorno glanced away. “I’m not sure where we are, but Morlun is out there.”

“Yeah, and Miguel.”

“So, that’s what he looks like,” Giorno noted. He paused. “I’m sorry.”

“Dude, just tell me what’s going on! I might be able to help you!”

Giorno shook his head. “It would be better if you weren’t involved. Please, Miles, I need you to stay out of this.”

“Why?”

“Because you two are facing a very…grave future,” a voice above, maybe through an intercom spoke up.

“Who are you?” Miles asked.

“I am merely an entity who seeks to bring enlightenment to your situation,” the voice explained. “Perhaps once this tour is over, we can all be friends.”

“Unlikely,” Giorno said.

“We’ll see. Now, one at a time,” the voice instructed.

Miles wasn’t sure what he meant by that until a wall popped up, separating him and Giorno. “H-Hey!”

“Miles?” Giorno’s muffled voice questioned from the other side of the wall. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Miles assured him. He stared up at the ceiling. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

“Please move forward,” a familiar voice instructed. It was that ghost-man hybrid. This must be Alastor’s doing! “Move forward and all will be revealed, especially little secrets someone may be hiding.”

It was quiet for a moment before he heard Giorno speak up again, his voice harsh and like a bee’s sting. “Leave him out of this. I’m warning you.”

“Your powers are spiritual-based,” the ghost-man drawled. “I’m not frightened by a child who has yet to comprehend the full extent of harm he can inflict on others.”

“Giorno,” Miles tried softly. “Let’s just get through this. I promise, whatever it is, I’m right here, alright?”

“Miles…you don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“And whose fault is that?” Miles asked. When Giorno went quiet again, Miles sighed. “Look, it doesn’t matter what happens here. We’re friends, and I’m not just going to abandon you, leave you to Morlun, or let you make a deal with some devil. I’m with you all the way. Now, let’s just go ahead and get this over with.”

“…alright.”

Miles tried to clear his mind. Giorno obviously knew more than he was letting on; he and William both had been acting weird. And now he was supposed to find out what exactly was being kept from him. Plus, Alastor was involved, so that was always fun.

A light shined ahead. It was an old-timey projection screen. Miles walked toward it as it began to play:

Morlun flung him across the room, his body landed next to someone else. Through a blurred lens he saw blond hair and a bloodied purple outfit. Miles saw that his video image was bleeding from his right arm, stomach, and from a few cuts on his face. Whatever happened before must’ve been brutal.

He feebly grabbed the person beside him. “G-Giorno…no…please don’t be…”

Giorno’s eyes were wide open as they had been when he’d sacrificed himself when Alastor cornered them. His body looked bruised, battered, and possibly more than Miles appeared to be. But…he couldn’t be.

“It’s your turn, now, Spiderman,” Morlun said, sauntering over to him.

Mirror Miles tried to stand, but he faltered. “His soul. Give it back!” He was screaming through his own tears. “Give it back now!”

“His soul is nothing but a talisman now,” Morlun droned on. “You exhausted all other alternatives, your friends have fallen, and now it’s time to give up this game. It’s been fun, and you were a worthy adversary, as well as your ill-fated love, but I’ve no patience left. Unless, of course, you’d like to see your parents perish, too?”

Even battered Miles glared up at Morlun. “L-leave them alone…stop this!”

“Do you surrender?” Morlun asked. “Surrender and I leave them be. Surrender, and I will not consume the one you love.”

Miles was quiet for a moment. “Can he come back if you don’t…?”

“It’s a possibility,” Morlun said. “Depending upon your butterfly’s determination.”

Who in the hell was he talking about? Also, by love, did he mean…? Miles felt his face heat up and his guts knot as he continued to watch the screen.

“Alright. I’ll do it, then. I give up.”

Morlun grinned wickedly as he placed a hand on Miles’s shoulder. “I knew you’d make the right decision.”

Actual Miles looked away from the screen as he heard his voice shriek and then quickly cut off.

“Tragic, isn’t it, Mr. Morales?” the infamous, staticky voice commented behind him. He turned to glare at the Radio Demon who smiled and waved in response. “Utterly terrible. This is what happens when you decide to romance someone so below you. He lives in this timeline, you know? And you…well, you have a lovely funeral.”

“This has happened already,” Miles surmised. He glared at the Radio Demon. “Where is he? What’ve you done?”

“More like, what can he do? Or rather, what’s he going to do with you?” Alastor asked, the room darkening as his smile was the only visible feature. “He’s been keeping secrets from you, Miles. Sure! In the timeline you’ve seen, you fall by Morlun’s hand. In another…”

Miles shook his head slowly. “No…I don’t believe you. He would never!”

“Oh?” Alastor asked, grin getting wider. “Why don’t we see if you’re right?”

He waved his hand, drawing back a curtain, leading to a room that looked like a movie theatre. Alastor gestured for Miles to walk inside and disappeared. He heard his voice on the screen.

“What’ve you done to him?”

Miles walked in and stared at the screen. In front of this movie version of himself was Giorno’s father, the priest, and Giorno. Although, Giorno was a lot paler than he should’ve been, and his irises were crimson red.

“Giorno? What did you do?” Miles murmured under his breath.

His father, Dio, continued. “I needed to revive him—a soul is a heavy loss. However, I, DIO, know how to handle such situations.”

“What is that? What is that in the center of his forehead?” Movie Miles asked.

“I’m sure Kakyoin has told you about fleshbuds,” DIO said. “My son was a little put off by the stories he’s heard from your friends. It was a simple measure to make him more amicable to our work.”

“In other words, you’re controlling him!” Miles argued. “You can’t do that! He’s your son!”

“It may seem extreme, but I’ll do anything to have my son by my side as we seek our revenge on those who have wronged us.”

He gestured to the halved remains of the Radio Demon; that smile branding his face, even in death.

“Now, Mr. Morales, will you join us?” DIO asked. “If you do, you can become beyond those who would hurt you. I would offer you immortality, as well.” His face darkened. “If not, you will be considered amongst our enemies and dealt with swiftly.”

This version of himself paused. “…I won’t allow you to control the person I love or hurt the Joestars. I’ll save Giorno, no matter what.”

DIO scowled. “I thought you would know better. Clearly, the Crusaders taught you nothing. You’ll be the first blood, then. Giorno, my son, kill him.”

It was as though a switch had flipped. Giorno’s eyes locked onto Miles and within seconds, he was standing in front of him.

“Giorno! Wait!”

Giorno didn’t seem to hear him as he jammed blade-like fingernails into Miles’s neck. His eyes widened in shock before he quickly fell to his knees, gasping and trying to say something. Real Miles knew he probably wouldn’t be able to say anything.

“And this is what will happen should you refuse my deal once again,” he heard Alastor comment from the front of the theatre. “I know you’d like to save Mr. Morales as much as I’d like to not die by your father’s hands. So, last chance, Mr. Giovanna. The next time I ask, the price will increase, and he’ll be included.”

Miles rushed to the front of the screen. Seeing Alastor extending his hand out to Giorno who’s red eyes and distant stare said it all. If he noticed Miles were there, he didn’t give any indication. He couldn’t let Alastor trick him into this deal. Even if this were real…it wasn’t his fault! There had to be another way!

“You’ll keep him and his family safe?” Giorno asked.

“Of course,” Alastor said. “And once you’re properly mine, I’ll use my connections to erase your father from the equation entirely. Your power will give me enough of a pathway to do that.”

“If I do this…you will leave Miles alone.”

“Absolutely. He won’t hear from me, or by extension, you, ever again.”

Giorno looked at Alastor to his hand, surrounded by a magic green glow. He was considering it! Miles tried to stop him, to call out to him. “Giorno! Stop! Don’t! We can find another way!”

“You’ll have to think of something better than that,” Alastor’s voice mocked in his head.

As Giorno reached his hand up to meet Alastor’s, Miles rushed in and grabbed Giorno’s hand. This seemed to shake Giorno out of whatever spell he was under. “Miles? What are you doing?”

“More like what are you doing?” Miles countered. “You’re trying to make a deal with Alastor! You’ll die! I’ll-I’ll never see you again!”

“Maybe that’s for the best,” Giorno muttered. “Miles, I would love nothing more than to stay here with you. Surely you know that. But there are so many ways that ends badly. I don’t want to hurt you or anyone in the Joestar family. They’ve been good to me.”

“You won’t,” Miles assured him. “All we need to do is work together. We’ll find another way. No one is going to die, especially not us. You promised, and I’m going to hold you to it.”

Giorno paused. “Miles, you don’t…”

“I’m really tired of people telling me what I don’t understand,” Miles said. “I get it. There’s real danger here, and it’s scary. But I’m not willing to face it without you, so, unfortunately for you, you’ve gotta keep your word. Or does that mean anything to you?”

Giorno stood up, his face was unreadable. “Of course it does. But you…you’re important to me. I’ve never cared about someone the way I care about you. That’s why I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you—”

Miles cut him off. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive.”

“Then we’re at an impasse.”

Alastor cleared his throat. “I see you need time to think it over. You can explain your situation entirely to Mr. Morales. I’ll give you thirty minutes’ time. If you haven’t come up with the correct answer by then, I throw you back into the streets with O’Hara and Morlun.”

With that, he disappeared, and the doors in the room vanished. The last, remaining light in the room flickered off as Giorno caught his hand. He could make out his eyes and the outline of his face in the pitch dark.

“If I don’t take the deal now,” Giorno spoke in a low voice. “If something bad happens in the future, and you…you’re hurt. He’ll want both our souls—not just mine—to save you.”

“Nothing bad is going to happen,” Miles objected.

This time Giorno cut him off and dug something out of the bag on his shoulder. “Oh yeah? So, explain the memory we just watched! Explain the one you watched! It’s all in here! You wanted to know so badly what was in this book? It’s all the times we’ve died: you, me, the Joestars, Hunter, everyone! Everyone in this book…they possess a talisman. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to counteract it, but I’m the root cause for at least 50% of them. How am I supposed to help you when I’m the reason you die?”

His grip got tighter as he sat down on the ground; Miles followed suit. Miles didn’t know what to say. He wanted to help, but how could he help someone dead set on self-ruin? They sat there in silence for a few minutes, far longer than he would’ve liked. Were they close to their deadline? What would Giorno choose? He couldn’t take the deal! He just couldn’t! Miles needed to convince him otherwise. Well, he could try one thing. Hopefully he wouldn’t end up looking too stupid after this.

“You know,” Miles began. “I care about you a lot, too. You saw that in the memories, didn’t you?”

Giorno’s grip lessened. “Miles…”

“I meant what I said,” Miles said. “I’d like, when this is all over, to be able to hang out with you. I’m pretty sure we can manage it, even with our responsibilities. I’ll show you all the rare quiet places in New York. We could study together, grab dinner from a place that claims to be Italian. You can tell me if it sucks or not. No monsters, no demons, no vampires. Just us.”

“Just us?” Giorno repeated, he leaned in a little closer. “All of that sounds nice, if it’s possible.”

“What would you want to do?” Miles asked, the room suddenly got a little smaller and possibly warmer.

“We could explore Italy,” Giorno suggested. “There’s plenty of quiet places I know of; beautiful when the sun falls. If you’d like to, we could spend time painting what we see; I know you’re good at that. Even if I’m not so skilled, I’d like to see your perspective. Then we could get some real Italian food, and you’ll be able to tell the difference.”

“I’d like that,” Miles said. He leaned in a little closer. “It will be possible, you know? Trust me.”

It was quiet. Giorno furrowed his eyebrows. “Just so I’m clear…this is a confession, correct?”

Miles nodded.

“Good.”

As quick as his heartbeat, Giorno leaned in and kissed him. Miles felt his face heat up as he kissed back, trying to keep calm and collected. He’d seen this happen in some of the tomes he read, but he had no idea if Giorno had felt the same way in this timeline.

At least before anything went horribly wrong, he had this.

Giorno slowly broke away. “Alright…I’ll stay with you, Miles. I swear.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” Miles murmured. He got up, extending his hand to Giorno. “Now, let’s find a way out of here.”

“Sure you two can stop making out long enough to do that?”

Miles froze and turned his head. Standing in the corner were Danny, Zuko, and William. While Zuko and William had the common decency to look at either the ceiling or floor, Danny smirked at both of them.

“How long have you guys been here?” Miles asked.

“Long enough for all the dream vacation planning,” Danny said.

“We don’t have time for this,” Zuko said. “We need to get out of here.”

“How did you find us?” Giorno asked.

“Well, we decided to help Zuko when those weird girls showed up at the shrine. I…couldn’t hear their thoughts. It was making me uneasy,” William explained. He pointed at Miles and Giorno. “Now, your thoughts were loud and clear. That’s how we found you, well, that, and Danny’s ghost powers.”

“As conflicted as I am over how you found us, I’m still grateful,” Giorno said. He took Miles’s hand and got up. “Now, like Zuko said, we need to get going.”

Green flames rose around the walls of the room. Out from the shadows stepped Alastor, Vlad, and a third devilish man with giant red wings and regal clothing. Birds of a feather, Miles supposed.

“I suppose you’re not taking my deal?” Alastor asked.

“No,” Giorno said firmly. “Never again.”

“That’s a shame,” Alastor said. “Obviously, there’s no danger to you, seeing as you’re surrounded by your friends…and more.”

“Golden Experience!”

Alastor stepped backwards as Miles felt a gust of air whoosh past him. Alastor shook his head. “I’m not going to fight you. Like I said, there’s no point. Besides, we’ve already made sure you’ll make a deal eventually.”

“What do you mean?” Zuko asked.

“You didn’t,” William murmured behind them. “All those people…you didn’t! You can’t!”

Giorno marched over to Alastor and grabbed him by his coat. “What did you do?”

“You’re not the only one who wants to know the contents of that book,” Alastor said. “I just provided the lists of the names of talisman holders to those who would value it most.” He glanced over Giorno’s shoulder. “Might want to let your friends, the ones who are in danger, know how much you’ve cost them.”

“MUDA!”

Alastor went flying backwards, blood dripped from his jaw. He rubbed the base of his chin, smiling and laughing maniacally as he disappeared. Vlad and the other man remained.

“You know Daniel,” Vlad spoke up. “I could help you, should you wish to join us. No one has to get hurt.”

“In your dreams, Vlad,” Danny shot back.

“I’m sure you’ll come to consider it,” the other man interjected. “When the vipers strike and you’re left poisoned and struggling to survive, you’ll find us to be the sweetest antidote.”

“Ew to literally everything that just came out of your mouth,” William said.

“Consider it.”

The two disappeared, leaving everyone confused, angry, depressed, or a combination of the three. William ran his hands through his hair. “This is bad! Really bad! They could be on their way to attack everyone now!”

“You’re right,” Giorno said. “I…don’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”

“Giorno,” Zuko began. “What was on that list?”

“It was people who hold talismans in their hearts,” Giorno explained. He handed Zuko the book he had been carrying. “Might as well share it, since all of us are targets now.”

Zuko flipped through the pages, his eyes widening as he examined the names. After a few seconds, he slammed the book shut. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“That’s partially my fault,” William said, stepping in. “I thought if we hid the names, everyone could be safe, even if just for a little while. I should’ve known Alastor would make copies of the names.”

“He could be messing with you guys,” Danny spoke up. “Who’s to say that ‘list’ is accurate? Just because it was in the library, doesn’t mean they didn’t make it up.”

Giorno shook his head. “No. It’s real. I found memory tomes to make sure he wasn’t lying. It’s happened before.”

“Just because it’s happened before,” Zuko said. “Doesn’t mean it’ll happen again. I’ve got an idea.”

“Where to?” Danny asked.

“Still the same as before,” Zuko said. “If there’s anyone I know who can help us, it’s my uncle.”

Miles walked over to Giorno, unsure of what to do. He didn’t want to overwhelm him (more than he already was). He settled for grabbing his hand. “You made the right choice. Those guys just…”

“Had everything planned?” Giorno asked. “Now everyone is in danger because I didn’t take the deal.”

“Everyone is in trouble because Alastor is an ass,” Miles argued. “We’ll get through this. We’ll beat Alastor, Morlun, and your dad if they decide they want to hurt anybody, especially anyone from our group. Besides, I’m Spiderman, and you’re one of the toughest stand users in your world, right? It’ll work out.”

Giorno squeezed his hand. “I’d like to believe you’re right.”

…

Katara was taking a few minutes to play with Sobble. She’d befriended him at the festival, and now he had begun to follow her around the shrine. It was easy to teach him how to use his abilities, since they were both waterbenders. Although, the water gun was a little different from her usual offensive attacks. They’d gotten through that, and now they were practicing aqua jet. Now it was back to her lesson.

Today Ami was with her; the sailor senshi of water and intelligence wanted to study Katara’s techniques. It wasn’t in Katara’s nature to dismiss someone who wanted to learn. Ami brought her Seel with her; she and Sobble seemed to get along well. While they played and trained with each other, Katara brought out a copied waterbending scroll she learned long ago. They stood in front of the pond at the back of the shrine.

Katara pulled her arms inward, causing the water to roll the same way. Then she pushed the small waves she created outward. Rinse and repeat. “Natural water is controlled by the balance of the sun and the moon. Waterbenders, just like the sun and moon, push and pull water back and forth to bend. You try!”

Ami took a deep breath and tried the movements as Katara had. However, the water wasn’t budging. Ami’s face fell. “I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.”

“Your movements are a little rigid,” Katara said. “Try to go with the flow of the waves. If you keep up with them, they’ll keep up with you.”

Ami shook her head and tried again; her arms matching the pull of the water. It began to sway back and forth. Katara grinned. “That’s it! You’ve got it!”

“Really?” Ami paused and smiled. “Neat! I thought I’d never get it!”

“Honestly? I wasn’t that great when I first started,” Katara said. She sat down near the pond and gestured for Ami to do the same. She waved her hand inward and levitated a ball of water between them. Warping it into a small stream, she sent it zipping through the air, circled around the two of them, and then gently above the flowers in Rei’s garden. “You’ve got to be more fluid, no pun intended. Once you master that, waterbending is pretty easy. Though, it still takes a lot of practice.”

“Bending is so amazing,” Ami said. “Thank you, Katara. I promise I’m going to get better at this! I’ll study the techniques you’ve taught me several times a day!”

Seeing her so determined was kind of inspiring. “I’m sure you’ll be great at waterbending, Ami. Although…why did you want to learn waterbending specifically?”

“I…” Ami blushed. “Well, I want to be able to protect my friends.” She shut her eyes. “I know I’m not the strongest sailor guardian. When I went against Sailor Neptune a couple of weeks ago, I lost miserably. But you went up against her and protected Hunter. Scientifically speaking, your waterbending is more powerful than our abilities.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Katara said. “Not completely. Like I said, these things take lots of practice. And you’ve got a lot going on: you’re a scholar, a friend, and a warrior. It’s a lot to juggle. You’ve gotta find your balance.”

“Balance,” Ami repeated. She nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Oh look, there’s Usagi.”

True to Ami’s words, Usagi ran out of the shrine, grinning as though she’d just won the hugest Pai Sho match.

“Guys!” Usagi chirruped. “Haruka and Michiru offered to take the girls to the new spa so we can get ready for the party together!”

“That’s awfully generous,” Katara said. “How can they afford it?”

“Well Michiru’s a world-class violinist and Haruka is a famous racer,” Ami said. “They probably make decent money.”

“Who cares about all that?” Usagi asked, that grin never leaving her face. “It’s a free day of pampering!”

Usagi sometimes reminded her of Aang when they had first met. She was carefree, idealistic, and kind. Unfortunately, those traits could get her into trouble; after all, she’d been targeted by the daimon before. And if Usagi was a target…

“Are you sure we should be going off for that sort of thing right now?” Katara asked.

“It’ll be fine!” Usagi said. “The boys can handle themselves.”

Katara raised an eyebrow and glanced into the open doorframe of the shrine. Josuke, Joey, and Sokka were all fighting over the same bag of chips, despite there being other types on a table nearby.

“And who will win the chipmaggedon of 97?” Gus announced.

“It’s 95, actually,” Rei spoke up.

“Nuances,” Gus said dismissively. He continued with a grin. “Will it be the brains and the brawler from the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka? The luck-based strategist, Joey Wheeler? Or our heart and healer, Josuke Higashikata?”

“I never even got to try this flavor!” Joey argued.

“It’s my favorite, it should go to me,” Josuke argued.

“It ALWAYS goes to you!” Sokka griped.

One of Gus’s illusions popped into the middle of the fight, grabbing the bag of chips, disappearing, and handed it to the real Gus. “No! It goes the amazing, master-illusionist, Gus Porter!”

“HEY!”

Katara gestured to the scene. However, Usagi seemed determined. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. Besides, Jotaro and Zuko will keep them in line.” She grabbed Katara and Ami’s arms. “C’mon! Please! It’ll be so fun!”

Her eyes were as wide and pleading as a baby saber-tooth moose lion cub.

“Fine,” Katara said with a sigh. “But only because we need to make sure everyone stays safe at that party.”

“Yay!” Usagi said, hugging Katara. “Thank you! I can’t wait to spend time with you guys! It’s gonna be so much fun without…you know…all the noise.”

Katara blushed. “That’s fair. They can be a little…loud.”

“Oh right! I forgot to mention something,” Usagi said. “Haruka and Michiru said they wanted to visit the library first. So, we’ll go there, and then to the new spa!”

“The library?” Katara asked. “That might be good for us, too.”

“Don’t tell me Ami’s gotten to you,” Usagi said.

“You could do with a little more studying, Usagi,” Ami said. “Besides, Katara is right. We could use this time to make sure there’s no new attacks in our near future.”

“You two have got to lighten up,” Usagi said. “I can see this spa day is critical.”

Katara laughed. “You know Usagi, sometimes you really do remind me of Aang.”

…

“Hey Chibiusa,” the Collector spoke up. “Who’s the pie for? Looks awesome! Can I have some?”

“No,” Chibiusa said a little more quickly than she intended. When the Collector looked hurt, she blushed. “Sorry, it’s just that I worked really hard on this, and this is my third attempt. Those jerks with the big gullets already ate the other two I made with Arven and Yugi.”

“Oh,” the Collector said. “Older people can be so greedy, right, King?”

“I don’t know,” King said. “I’m usually the one who eats a lot of food at home.”

“I remember,” the Collector said. “You ate like so many pizza bagels. I thought Mamadalia was going to flip out.”

“Some mom she was,” King said sarcastically.

“Yeah…”

The three were on their way to their new art class. King had been staying over to visit Luz and her friends. Plus, he seemed to like Jotaro (even if he was kinda scary to Chibiusa). Since the Collector wanted to stay with King, he ended up visiting the shrine a lot, too. Ash and Lillie didn’t want to take lessons, but Frisk had said they would show up a little later. They needed to do something first.

Why did the Collector look so sad, anyway? Who was Mamdalia? Well, she wasn’t anything like stupid Usagi; she knew it was impolite to pry. Still, she was curious.

“So, who’s the pie for?” King asked.

“U-Um, well, it’s for someone special,” Chibiusa stammered.

“Like a best buddy?” the Collector asked. He turned to King. “You never made me any pies. Why does her best friend get a pie?”

“I think the person she’s talking about is a little more than just a buddy,” King guessed (annoyingly correct). “Besides, I’d need help, and Eda has a tendency to make the ingredients for pie walk out the door.”

“That makes sense…maybe we can get Arven and Yugi to help us, too,” the Collector suggested.

“They might,” Chibiusa said. “They’re really nice.”

They walked on until they reached the rec center. There he was: Masanori Tsuzuki, Chibiusa’s crush. He made such beautiful sculptures; she wanted to get to know him better, at least. He was holding a bouquet of roses; there were so many, and they were so beautiful!

She wondered if she was lucky enough to be the one they were…

And then Mr. Wright showed up with Miss Fey and her cousin, Pearl. Masanori’s face fell. Who had he been expecting?

And then Chibiusa remembered that Michiru usually taught the class.

He was going to give those roses to Michiru!

“Where’s Miss Kaiou?” Masanori asked.

“Well, she’s absent today, but Pearls didn’t want to miss the class,” Mr. Wright explained. “And I was an art major before I went into law, so I agreed to help, just this once.”

Darn that Michiru!

Well, she wasn’t here today. So, Chibiusa had an opportunity to get closer to Masanori. It would be fine!

“Nick, Mystic Maya, these are my new friends,” Pearl said, dragging the taller lawyer and his shorter mystic assistant with her. “This is the Collector, Chibiusa, and King!”

“I’ve actually met King,” Mr. Wright said. “His mom used to stay with me. How is Eda doing?”

“Pretty good, we’ve been staying with Raine,” King said.

“Although, you could just live with us,” the Collector said. “I mean, the castle is huge, and there’s no way any of those monsters can get in there! It’s in the sky!”

“I don’t know,” King said. “I kind of like living with just Raine and Eda. It’s like we get to be a family now.”

“Oh…sorry.”

There it was again! That sadness. It was kind of familiar; like how she felt when no one wanted to be near her in the thirtieth century: extreme loneliness.

“I didn’t know you had friends from other universes, Chibiusa,” Masanori said.

Chibiusa smiled. “Yeah! We’ve been getting along well!”

“That’s great,” Masanori said with a hesitant smile. “But…I don’t know…I don’t wanna scare anybody.”

“I haven’t been scared yet,” the Collector bragged. “The monsters here are kind of boring compared to the Boiling Isles.”

“Sounds scary,” Pearl commented.

“It’s not that bad,” King said. “I mean, there’s a lot of good witches and demons there, too.”

“Not like the witches here,” Chibiusa said.

“Definitely not.”

“Hey guys!”

Wally, Mokuba, Bede, Silver, Syaoran, Sakura, Hop, Hau, and Toph walked over to the group. Mr. Wright raised an eyebrow. “I thought you two,” he gestured to Hop and Hau, “said you weren’t into art.”

“Toph convinced us to come,” Hop said. He leaned closer to the group. “There could be witches anywhere.”

“I sure hope not,” Masanori said, almost looking as though someone had walked over his grave.

Chibiusa panicked. Hop was going to scare off Masanori! She pushed him away from her crush, laughing a little. “He’s joking! Hop’s a kidder.”

“But there are witches everywhere,” Wally said. “It’s pretty spooky.”

Masanori scratched the back of his neck. “It’s getting pretty late. We should go inside now.”

With that, he sped off into the building. Chibiusa turned to the others in a huff. “Great going, guys! Now Masanori will never talk to me again!”

“That’s probably just as well,” Mokuba shrugged. “Artists don’t make much money.”

“Shows what you know!” Chibiusa argued. “Art is a beautiful expression of oneself! I can’t believe you would say something like that, Mokuba!”

Mokuba flinched, like he’d been stung. Chibiusa was too mad to care.

“He is related to Kaiba, cut him some slack,” Hop said with a grin.

“And you!” Chibiusa said, pointing a finger at Hop. “You’re the reason Masanori ran off in the first place! I can’t believe you’d scare him like that! Don’t you have a brain?”

“Hey! I was just trying to be honest!”

King tapped her shoulder. “Chibiusa, don’t you think you’re being a little too harsh?”

Chibiusa looked around. Her friends did look hurt, but so was she! She’d had to deal with Usagi, Josuke, and Okuyasu’s thoughtlessness this morning. She didn’t need the same from her friends. She shook her head and ran inside.

…

It was awkward. They were sitting together. But how was he supposed to navigate a relationship with Miles? Is that what they had? True, he’d wanted this. Now that he had it, he felt more vulnerable and worried than ever. The others were talking, a bit somberly. This world was nothing but painful for him. He was marred by failure here. In Italy, he was reminded of those who never made it home, sure. However, there was still some light mixed with the loss. Here, in Tokyo, he was constantly making mistakes. He thought it had been a good idea to keep Alastor a secret. That didn’t work; it almost and may cost Miles his life. He thought he didn’t have any family; it turns out he had one and he’d just endangered them. He thought keeping the list of talisman holders was a good idea; now almost everyone knew who had a talisman.

“Giorno?” Miles asked. “You doing okay?”

Giorno shook his head, but he didn’t say anything. What was there to say?

“Uncle,” Zuko began. The older man was very hospitable. He seemed kind. It was clear Zuko trusted him, and that didn’t seem to be something so lightly gained. He had made them some tea and sat down with them to discuss the situation. “We’re not sure what to do next. We don’t even know who knows about the talisman holders now. We’ve got to protect everyone, but there may not be any time!”

Iroh looked at the list, perhaps trying to come up with a plan of action. His eyes widened and his brow furrowed when he looked further down. “Nephew…it says…”

“I know,” Zuko said, shutting his eyes. “But I can’t think about that. I’ve gotta think about what’s best for everyone. What happens next could be because of us.”

His uncle sighed. “I know you want what’s best for everyone, Zuko. It’s what makes you a good leader. However, I think this situation calls for help from those who have years of experience.”

“Experience in fighting monsters?” Danny asked.

“Fighting evil,” Iroh corrected.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Danny objected.

“I’m not saying that!” Iroh said. “I’m just saying that it shouldn’t be wholly up to any one group to defeat your opponent. Those who would try and end the lives of so many people should be brought to justice by the people.”

“What if they already have a way of getting to them?” Giorno questioned. “What if it’s already too late?”

“If you allow yourself to think it’s too late, then it will be,” Iroh said. He stood up. “I, for one, do not believe fate is so harshly determined. Perhaps help will come from the likeliest and unlikeliest of places.”

“Will you help us, Uncle?” Zuko asked.

“Of course,” Iroh said. “As will others. You merely need to ask.”

Giorno turned away. A heartwarming family moment wasn’t exactly what he needed to see right now. He looked at Miles; he was staring out of the window, as though he were searching for someone.

“Morlun or Miguel?” Giorno guessed, keeping his voice so the others wouldn’t intrude on their conversation.

“Both…and more,” Miles admitted. “Also, what you said and…did…are you sure?”

Giorno paused and looked at the table. “I don’t try to lie about my feelings on things. Granted, I’m not generally an open person, and this is all new to me. I’ve never cared about someone like this before. However, I… like you, Miles. You were kind to me, even when I wasn’t very honest with anyone. You talked to me, shared your music with me, you treated me as a friend, like someone who had someone who cared about him for once. And you saved my life. I will do anything to make sure you and your family stay safe during all this.”

When he turned back to look at Miles, he looked like he was going to cry. What had he messed up now?

“Thanks, Giorno. I’m glad someone sees me that way,” Miles murmured. “And I’m glad it’s you. I like you a lot, too.” He paused and turned to Giorno. “I’ll be real with you; if this is an official thing we’re doing, then this is the first time I’ve ever been in a relationship. I never thought I’d be able to trust anyone again until we became friends. And…I think you’re one of the coolest people I know. You took on a demon several times, you run…your own business, you help protect people who can’t protect themselves, and you’ve looked out for me ever since I got here. You kept me safe when I didn’t even know it, and I don’t want you to have to do this alone anymore. I’m going to help you, and we’re both getting out of this. I’m not letting Alastor, your father, or anyone hurt you ever again.”

He was always looking out for himself. Was it okay for him to accept Miles’s offer? This would be the first time he established something with someone without materialistic reciprocity. Miles thought he was someone good, and he liked him for who he was. Their connection was genuine; it was heartwarming and terrifying. He might not have known how to approach this, but he was going to try his damndest.

“Well, look who it is.”

Giorno rolled his eyes. Astarion, along with his partner, Tav, the wizard, Gale of Waterdeep, and the patriarch of the Joestars, Jonathan Joestar walked over to their table.

“Yes?” Giorno asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” Astarion said.

“Not to fear,” Gale said, almost-knowingly. “I checked. We are the only other people in this shop.”

“Are you sure?” Zuko asked.

Gale nodded. “I cast detection to make sure we were the only ones here.”

“Well, what do you want?” Giorno asked.

“Is that any way to talk to those who want to help?” Astarion countered with a smirk. He turned to Zuko. “Curiosity, who’s on that list?”

“I don’t trust you,” Zuko said bluntly, clutching the list tighter.

“I’m hurt,” Astarion said, holding his hand over his heart.

“They really do just want to help,” William spoke up. “If they had any intention of hurting anyone, I would’ve been able to hear it.”

“Maybe we can trust the psychic,” Miles said. “Besides, Gale has helped us a lot.”

Gale did a small bow. “I am a wizard of the people.”

Tav and Astarion scoffed.

“No need to be so rude.”

The four sat down at their table. Wonderful. Giorno was tempted to leave, but he might as well hear what they had to say.

“We’ve got a plan for countering your vampire problems,” Tav said. “There’s two enemies down.”

“Are we going to be allowed to know what the plan is?” Danny asked.

Tav shook their head. “It might not work, and if it falls into the wrong hands, it definitely won’t.”

“Great plan,” Danny said. “It might not even work.”

“You try to counter a vampire who is literally only allergic to radiant energy and another who can stop time!” Tav argued. “I swear Cazador was easier to beat than these bastards.”

Astarion frowned. “I’d argue that point, but you did tear him apart.”

Tav paused. “I did not mean to make light of your past, Astarion.”

“I know, love,” Astarion said.

“The point is,” Jonathan interrupted. “Dio isn’t a threat to be taken lightly.”

He turned to Giorno, making his stomach sink. “Giorno, whatever he has promised you is a boldfaced lie.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Giorno asked. “I know that, and I don’t need you to tell me.”

“Shut up and listen,” Astarion hissed. Tav moved to stop him. “No, I’m not staying quiet on this. You want to push everyone away who tries to help you? Be my guest. You stay alone, you’ll die alone. Your father will find you, and he will make you an immortal whether you want to be or not. Much more than that, those you loved or cared about become his playthings! You’ll endanger everyone if you don’t take what’s being offered to you now. If there’s one thing you can take as truth from me, it’s this: you’ll never get your life back if you lose your humanity, Giorno Giovanna.”

Giorno stood up, ready to fight him. How dare he! How dare he…he…Astarion didn’t know anything. His blood felt like it was boiling; he hadn’t been this mad since he fucked up Cioccolata. Yes, he knew Astarion was a vampire, and he might or might not have some experience in this field, but Tav also said the vampire they fought was weaker than Morlun and his father. It wasn’t the same. He had no idea what kind of pressure he was under! He had managed to stay cool and collected through everything: a shitty childhood, taking down powerful stand users in the mob, dealing with a demon who slowly sapped his life away, and finally finding someone worth protecting whose life was in immense danger!

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but I—we want to help you,” Jonathan said. “I know what it’s like to feel like your whole world is falling in on itself.”

Giorno started to walk away. “You have no idea what my life is like.”

“Giorno!” he heard Jonathan protest.

“No,” Iroh’s voice cut through. “He needs some time to think this over.”

“Alone?” Miles asked. “Giorno, you can’t. There’s…”

“Miles, please,” Giorno said. “I just need some time to think things through. I promise, I’ll meet you at that gala tonight.”

“Alright…”

He sounded hurt and dejected enough to almost make him turn around, but he couldn’t. He needed to calm down and think of a way to beat Morlun, DIO, Alastor, and any other fucker on his own.

…

He was sure he’d seen him again. His hands were shaking, even as he tried to steady them when he took a sip of tea. He hadn’t told Franziska. He wasn’t sure what to tell Franziska, and Phoenix wasn’t home. He was all alone in his apartment; Bucciarati and Abbachio had left to go investigate an old warehouse for some sort of monster, and Franziska was out shopping for food. He had no one to tell that Manfred Von Karma was back from the dead.

He’d been walking the streets of Tokyo, meeting with Miss Skye to discuss the forensics she performed on a personal project he’d discussed with no one. It might pay off eventually, but now he had bigger problems. Von Karma had almost blended into the crowd, and if the man didn’t regularly haunt his nightmares, he might’ve missed him. The worst part was when they locked eyes, the latter smirked and disappeared. It was almost identical to his nightmares.

So now he was doing his best to calm down. Surely Franziska would return soon, and they could form a plan of action.

That’s when he heard a loud knock on his door. He almost fell out of his chair. The knocking persisted. What should he do? Did he have a weapon to pry it open? The knocks were getting louder—more impatient. They had vast amounts of technology and numbers on their side! Should he open it and get it over with? What did he want, anyways?

“Hey nerd!” a familiar, non-Von Karma voice called out. “You in there? Your boyfriend asked us to check up on you.”

Miles marched to the door and glared at Eda the Owl Lady and her partner, Raine.

“Geez, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Eda commented.

“Something like that,” Edgeworth muttered. “Come in and have a seat. Could I get you some tea?”

“That sounds nice,” Raine said. They took a seat while Eda plopped down next to them. “Is everything okay, Mr. Edgeworth?”

Edgeworth poured a cup of tea and handed it to Raine, not looking at them. “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing,” Eda said. “C’mon, spill, what’s up?”

Edgeworth sighed. “It’s a long story, and I’d rather not get anyone else involved.”

“Doesn’t help anyone to keep it bottled up,” Raine said. “Besides, we’re in our ‘helping each other out era.’ Or, at least, that’s how Luz put it.”

“Is that really how the children talk in 2024?” Edgeworth asked.

“Maybe everyone talks like that, and you’re just out of the loop,” Eda said.

“In any case,” Raine interjected. “We need to be open and honest with each other. We don’t want anyone to get hurt by something we could’ve dealt with earlier on.”

“I don’t suppose you’re being specific to anyone’s situation?” Edgeworth mused.

Raine sighed. “I hate that the kids didn’t think they could trust us to help them. They seem dead set on handling things by themselves. I’m afraid they’re going to get into a lot of trouble being stubborn.”

“Not that you’d know anything about stubborn people, Rainstorm,” Eda teased.

“Surely not,” Raine said sarcastically.

Their affection for each other was terribly saccharine, but also something he himself wanted to be able to express eventually. He loved Wright, but sometimes it felt like he could do more, like something involving love and care was broken. He often wondered if Phoenix would have preferred to been with someone who could show him their affection more clearly.

“Hey!”

Edgeworth looked back up at Eda and Raine; both seemed even more concerned now.

“You were staring off into space. What’s going on?” Eda asked.

“I thought I saw someone I knew,” Edgeworth said. “Twice now. He’s supposed to be dead. However, given how the dead have been given a second chance at life, I believe it might be more than merely ‘seeing things.’ I think my old mentor, my father’s murderer, has risen from the grave.”

Eda and Raine were quiet for a moment, taking in his words.

“What do you suppose he wants?” Eda asked. “Was he a witch? Demon? Tyrant with an invisible, punchy-ghost?”

“He was a prosecutor,” Miles said. “His record of being beaten was only beaten by one defense attorney.”

“Let me guess,” Eda said. “Phoenix?”

Edgeworth nodded. “I’m worried. Even if Wright doesn’t have a talisman, they said they needed hearts to fuel some sort of grand plan, and his was unusually bright. What if he…”

“Look, we’re not gonna let that happen,” Eda said. “I mean, Phoenix was kind enough to let us stay with him when we had nowhere else to go.”

“Exactly,” Raine agreed. “In fact, we’ve got a plan to get rid of a lot of the threats lingering out there. Perhaps, he’s in league with the Deathbusters. We might be able to get rid of them all in one fell swoop.”

“What’s the plan?” Miles asked.

“It’s top secret,” Eda said. “If someone infiltrates your mind, you wouldn’t be as aware. No offense, but you’re not a human with magic.”

“I suppose Luz knows, then.”

“Actually, we’re not involving the kids.”

“Not that I don’t agree with your morality, but isn’t that slightly hypocritical?” Miles asked.

“They’ve gone through enough,” Eda said. “They shouldn’t have to defeat an entire shadow organization. They could get hurt.”

“I’d like to help,” Edgeworth said. “Perhaps I can’t do magic, but there must be some way I can help put a stop to this!”

“No,” Eda said. “You’ve already done enough by telling us about your mentor. We can handle the rest from here.”

“But Wright, his life, I want to fight for him just as much as you want to protect your loved ones!”

His sincerity had even caught himself off guard. Raine and Eda seemed too stunned to respond. Edgeworth readjusted his cravat and cleared his throat. “Apologies. I lost my composure for a moment. I would just like to make sure he remains safe.”

“Don’t worry,” Eda said. “We’ll keep him safe and you, too. Don’t be so quick to discount yourself, Edgy-boy.”

He hadn’t given much thought to that point: what if Von Karma ignored Wright entirely? What if to get to Phoenix he sought revenge on Edgeworth first? In any case, they were both in a decent amount of danger.

Edgeworth fished an older picture out of his wallet. It had been from a time when he was garnering his reputation as the Demon Prosecutor. He stood stiffly beside Von Karma, finally being recognized for all his hard work. It had been everything he had ever wanted, and he didn’t stop to question why he felt so hollow in that moment, until Phoenix stumbled back into his life.

“This is Von Karma. If you see him, let me know.”

“Kind of looks like a good gust of wind would blow him over,” Eda commented.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Edgeworth mused. “The man carried a bullet in his shoulder for years.”

“You do realize Belos was hundreds of years old, pretty much the embodiment of a living curse; we beat him,” Raine pointed out.

“Isn’t he alive again?”

“And we’ll get rid of him again,” Eda said, a little tersely. She sighed and smoothed her hair. “Please, just leave this up to us. We can handle it.”

As much as he wanted to believe them, Edgeworth wasn’t so sure. He hadn’t believed in such redundant and basic concepts like ‘good vs evil’ before now, but it seemed to him that evil was among them, and no matter how good tried, evil seemed to be oddly overpowered.

…

Joseph flipped through the tomes in front of him. None of this added up. It seemed to him that Miles’ situation was steeped in coincidence rather than causation. Yeah, if there’s a villain who can literally tear apart timelines opposing him, it would serve to say the timelines would get a little messy. He was surprised DIO hadn’t ripped any holes in time with all his shenanigans. For all he knew, he probably did, they just hadn’t suffered the effects yet.

Given Jotaro wasn’t getting into any fights with Giorno, it could be that he wasn’t evil. However, there was the possibility that Jotaro didn’t even know. In which case, he needed to find Jotaro as soon as possible to warn him.

The table in the middle of the library was taken up by a skeleton, a woman with pale skin, pinkish hair, and clothes that looked like they were actually a part of her body, a man with wiry, brunette hair, tan trench coat, and pinstripe suit, a woman with dark hair, magenta jacket, t-shirt, and jeans, and a man with a regal gray shirt tucked underneath a red vest, slacks, and red sunglasses fixed over top of his graying hair. There was one chair left at the table, and he was tired of standing and reading. He casually strode over to the group.

“Do you all mind if I take a seat here?”

“Of course, take a seat,” the pale woman said. Joseph was now able to note she had a giant gemstone—no—a pearl in the middle of her forehead. Bizarrely enough, she still struck him as more normal than most enemy stand users.

“What’s your name?” the man in the vest asked.

“Joseph,” he said, trying to play casual. No need to give out too much information, especially with the probability of DIO pawns being out there. “And you?”

“My name is Stolas,” the man said with a small bow. “What brings you to this place, Joseph?”

“i was gonna ask the same thing,” the skeleton spoke up. “kinda wondering what your thoughts on all these monsters are.”

“Obviously they’re terrible,” Joseph said. “What else am I supposed to say to that?”

“then, why don’t you and o’hara focus more on them rather than some kid?”

Joseph narrowed his eyes at the skeleton. “Who are you?”

“casual observer,” he said. “you can call me sans.”

“What do you know about me? Do you work for DIO?”

“do i look like i got a fleshbud in my skull?”

“Some help him because they want to,” Joseph argued.

“why would i want to? so he could kill a good majority of the people in this broken timeline? d’ya think i’m a numbskull?”

“So,” Joseph asked, furrowing his eyebrow a little bit. “Why do you seem so opposed to what O’Hara is doing?”

“because he’s got it all wrong. the kid isn’t gonna cause some collapse of a timeline by saving his dad. what destroys the timeline is determination of an absolutely unstoppable force. i should know.”

“Well,” the man in the pinstripe suit interjected. “It depends entirely on the event and universe. Should one try to change something that has already happened, yes, it could very well rip apart the fabric of space-time. However, the event hasn’t happened, and given where we are, I’m not sure it ever will. All of reality could be destroyed because we’re all here, together.”

“As depressing as he’s put it,” Stolas said. “He’s correct. I’ve studied my grimoire, but none of these events should be happening. Quite frankly, these universes should’ve imploded upon themselves many moons ago.”

“Well, who are you three? You seem to know more than O’Hara does, even with his technology,” Joseph said.

“His ventures are quite noble for a human,” the man in the suit said. Stolas, the pearl-woman, and sans nodded in agreement.

“Quite condescending, aren’t ya?” Joseph asked.

“You get used to it,” the woman in the magenta jacket spoke up. “He’s the Doctor, by the way. And I’m Martha Jones.”

“Nice to meet you, I guess.” Joseph shook his head. “What I don’t get is this: if you three know so much, how come you haven’t been able to solve this mess?”

“We’re all unique in the sense that we recall some memories of this mismatched world,” the pearl-woman said. “But everything involving major events has been completely wiped away.”

“It’s as if there’s a block, preventing us from remembering,” the Doctor said thoughtfully. He wasn’t staring at anyone in particular, which was messing with Joseph more than it should have. “What are you doing with your fingers?”

Joseph glanced down to the table. He’d just been tapping his fingers against the table. He didn’t understand what the big deal was. It might’ve made a little more noise, given his prosthetic, but it shouldn’t have been anything for alarm.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt your genius,” Joseph said sarcastically. “We humans have to do something to weather boring conversations.”

“you didn’t seem too bored to me.”

“Hmph.”

“If I might ask,” Martha spoke up. “Who is O’Hara?”

“Someone who I thought had good intentions,” Joseph said. “Now, I’m not so sure.”

“His intentions might be ‘good,’ but good intentions are only good if the person knows the outcome,” Martha said.

“Spoken like a true medical student,” the Doctor said.

“Given I’m one of two humans here, I think I can speak better on the human condition than most others here,” Martha said. “Most of us have done something we thought good, noble even, only for it to blow up in our faces. It’s a part of life. Could be that your friend thinks he’s in the right, when in all actuality, he doesn’t have enough information to make an informed decision.”

Joseph gave her a smile. “Could be that you’re right, Miss Jones. Could be that I’ve been played for a fool.”

“Not a fool,” Martha said. “We’re human. The best part of that is our lack of staunchness. We’re more flexible to change and adaptability.”

Joseph scratched his chin. “You make a good point.”

He stood up. “Thank you. You’ve given me a lot to think on.”

As Joseph exited the library, a group of teenage girls passed him by. Some of them seemed familiar. Not that Jotaro would know any of them; his grandson wasn’t overly fond of girls. They probably didn’t know him.

In any case, he had his new mission now. He’d talk to Speedwagon, and they’d decide what to do next.

…

As everyone filed into the library, Katara wondered why they were here. True, she had convinced Sokka to give her some of the books he’d taken back, so it was kind of convenient, but why did Haruka and Michiru want to come here?

As though, reading her mind, Michiru spoke up. “We attend the Infinity Academy together. Our midterms are coming up soon, so we’re just picking up some books for our papers. We won’t be but a little while. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out some of the literary classics: Twain, Dickens, Thoreau. For those of you unfamiliar with our world, some of the best realism writers might help you understand it.”

Haruka laughed and shook her head. “Or you could always read some manga. Way more fun.”

“Haruka,” Michiru warned. “I’m trying to help them. What do you think their interpretation of the world will be if they pick up Berserk?”

“That the world is full of liars, and we should never trust anyone? I don’t know, seems like a pretty good lesson to me.”

“You’re quite the cynic, Haruka,” Amity commented.

Haruka shrugged. “Losing your parents will do that to you.”

“Oh,” Amity stammered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Don’t worry,” Haruka said. “It was a long time ago, and Michiru and I have each other’s backs.”

“That’s so sweet!” Luz commented.

Except for the parental death part, yeah.

“You girls wait here,” Michiru said. “We won’t be long.”

They disappeared to the upper levels of the library. Ami explained there were a lot of autobiographies up there. Although, the blue-haired senshi did express an interest in learning who they were writing about.

Katara broke away from the group and walked into the secret library. Others were leaving just as she got inside. She recognized the Doctor and Martha Jones. The woman with the pearl in the middle of her forehead was new, but Stolas was not. He seemed concerned, as though he’d misplaced something.

He looked to Katara, “Ah-um-hello! Would you mind terribly keeping an eye out for my Via? I can’t seem to find her. She was in the secret library with me, but she must’ve went off somewhere at some point.”

“I’ll see if I can find her,” Katara said.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Katara walked into the room, placing the books onto a cart for return. “There. Hopefully that’s the end of that.”

If Kaiba returned his ill-gotten books, then that would be the end of it. However, that wasn’t very likely. She was still a little mad, even if he had apologized. He should have never mentioned bloodbending. If he was truly as smart as he claimed to be and done all this research on them, he would’ve known how taboo a subject it was to discuss. The only times she’d ever used bloodbending was to prevent Aang and Sokka from getting hurt by Hama’s bloodbending and when she thought she’d found her mother’s murderer. She never wanted to use it again.

From the corner of the library, she could hear sniffles. She walked over to the corner of the library and saw Via huddled up with her face buried in her arms.

“Via? You okay?”

She looked up, tears still in her eyes. “He said he’d spend time with me today. He spent the entire day reading and debating with all those other people. No matter where we are, my dad always ignores me.”

“He seems really upset that you’re missing,” Katara countered.

“Then why does he keep ignoring me? It’s always like this! He promises to spend time with me until he finds something better to do!”

“That does sound pretty bad,” Katara agreed. She was quiet for a minute before deciding what to say next, “You know, my father was away at war for a long time. My brother and I didn’t see him again until we found Aang.”

“Is this some story where you’re going to make me feel bad for being mad at my dad?” Via asked.

Katara shook her head. “Actually, I was mad at my dad. Even if I realized that that he was out trying to make the world better. I knew what he was doing was important, but I couldn’t help but feeling like we needed him, too. I was pretty angry at him when we found him again.” She turned to Via. “I think it’s okay to be angry. But don’t lose yourself in your own anger. Maybe you can have fun here without him.”

“But my dad knows so much more about the human world than I do,” Via argued. “The last time I came here, people were so mean. They shoved me around, called me names, and screamed in my face.”

Katara felt bad for this girl. It was obvious she needed someone to help her out. Well, she didn’t have to look any further. Katara stood up and held out her hand. “Hey, I was new here, too. I still don’t understand some stuff, like the arcade or the fascination with malls, but I’m with a pretty good group. Do you want to hang out with us for a little while? We’re getting makeovers and going to a formal dance today.”

Via looked as though she’d been offered the world. She nodded and grabbed Katara’s hand. “Thank you. It…would be nice to make a friend here.”

“You can consider me one, then,” Katara said with a smile.

As they made their way to the others, the door to the entrance swung open. A very tall and built man, hunched over, walked into the secret library, brushing past the girls. It’s like he didn’t even notice them. The strong scent of iron followed him; it was then Katara noticed the trail of blood following the man who had collapsed against a bookshelf.

“We should…help him?” Via guessed.

Katara nodded and rushed over to the man. She did a cursory glance over his wounds. The skin across his abdomen had been cut. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t heal, but it would cause problems if she didn’t do anything. She whipped out a steady stream of water from the cantina strapped to her side and held it over the man’s wounds.

The man looked up at her. “Who are you?”

“My name is Katara. I’m a waterbender. Don’t worry, I’ll have this healed soon.”

“G-gracias.”

Thank you. Luz had taught her that.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did this happen?”

“It’s…complicated,” the man muttered. He hissed as one of the wounds began to seal itself shut. “How’d you learn you could do that?”

“I healed myself,” Katara said, preferring to leave out the details of what happened when Aang first tried to learn firebending.

“It’s remarkable,” the man said. “I wish I had that sort of ability. Seems all I’m good for lately is destroying stuff.”

“You know, that’s what Master Jeong Jeong said about his firebending when he saw I could do this,” Katara said. “I’m sure destruction isn’t the only thing you’re good at. Unless…you’re one of those witches who likes to take pure hearts.”

“No, I’m not a witch,” the man said. “I’m just a guy trying to do his best to keep everything from falling apart. If that means getting mauled by a vampire, so be it.”

“DIO or Morlun?” Katara asked.

The man paused. He narrowed his eyes at her. “The latter. How do you know about Morlun?”

Katara froze. She wasn’t sure who this man was, he could be anyone. She needed to tread carefully. “Some people in our group were infected by some sort of spider-totem. We did our research here to find out what that meant and why Morlun wanted to attack them.”

The man took in her words and nodded. “And who’s in your group?”

“The girls out there,” Katara said. “Why?”

“No reason,” the man said. “Are you sure that’s the entirety of your group?”

Katara nodded. Via should know she was lying, but she didn’t give it away. She’d have to thank her later. “Although Toph is staying with Mr. Wright. She’s our friend, too.”

“The Blind Bandit, no?” the man asked. “She’s in quite a few of these books.”

“That sounds about right,” Katara said, rolling her eyes.

The man laughed. “You don’t seem surprised.”

Katara sighed. “No. I’m not. If you ever meet her, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

“Maybe I will,” the man said. “I’m sure I’ll see more of you and your group around. It’d be a shame to waste your healing powers just on me.”

Why did that sound like a promise…or a threat?

“I didn’t catch it,” Katara said. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Miguel O’Hara.”

Katara’s heart dropped. She’d been helping Miles’s biggest threat this whole time. She almost slipped up and dropped her smile. No, that wouldn’t do any good. She just needed to finish healing him and get out of here as quickly as possible. So, she did so.

“Alright, you should be good to go.”

“I feel better already,” Miguel said. “Thank you, Katara. Don’t waste that gift you’ve got.”

“I haven’t,” Katara said. “And I’ll continue to use it.”

“Good.”

“We have to go,” Katara said. “The others are waiting for us. C’mon, Via.”

“Hasta luego.”

She knew that one, too. And she hoped to the moon spirit above that she wouldn’t.

…

Giorno was just trying to clear his head. He’d clear his head and rejoin the others. Everything would be fine. He had to keep everything in check. He would not let his emotions get the best of him.

He sat on a park bench; the weather had turned colder. It was fall now. He wondered how much time he’d spend in this world before he went back home. He knew Kaiba, along with Miles, and a few of the others who were more technologically adept were trying to get everyone home, back to the time and place they had left.

Now everything was more complicated. He cared about Miles, and he would make sure no harm came to him, but the danger kept increasing. He didn’t know if he could stop it.

“Hey.”

He glanced up, ready to fight. It was just that Steven kid from the Kaolinite incident. Giorno rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “What?”

“Whoa!” the boy said, sticking up his hands defensively. “You just looked like you were upset. I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Oh, I’m just fine,” Giorno said sarcastically.

“Uh-huh,” Steven said. He sat down on the bench next to Giorno, “Then I guess you don’t mind if I take a seat, huh?”

Giorno felt his eye twitch. “That’s fine.”

They sat in silence for a minute. Was he expecting a conversation? He glanced over at Steven who seemed to be content looking at his phone, grinning at some text someone had sent him. It was that girl who’d been locked away with him and the others.

“You know,” Steven interjected. “Eavesdropping on someone’s conversation, even if it’s just texts, is considered rude.”

“…my apologies.”

It was halfhearted, but that’s all he could manage right now.

“It’s cool,” Steven said. “Connie was just telling me about some formal she was going to tonight. Apparently, Kaiba thinks it’s a deathtrap. What do you think?”

“It could be,” Giorno admitted. “That’s partly why we’re going today.”

“Oh, so everyone else is going, too?” Steven asked. Giorno nodded. “Hey, at least that should be fun!”

“Yeah, fun,” Giorno scoffed.

“Do you not like stuff like that?” Steven asked.

“It’s not that in particular,” Giorno said. “It’s complicated.”

“…It’s the monsters, right?”

Giorno laughed without any humor. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that: do you mean the daimon who are after a laundry list of people’s pure hearts? The two sailor guardians who are after the same thing for some fucking reason. There’s also a group of demons wanting me to make a contract with them to guarantee everyone’s safety, God knows what happens to me! No—wait—what about fact that my father wants to turn me into a monster who will kill every single family member I never knew I had until I came to this place? Or, the other vampire who wants to consume the souls of everyone with a spider totem, which just so happens to roundabout to the whole demon-contract thing again. And for some fucking reason, it’s all tying back to me and the person I really care about.”

He hadn’t meant to lose his composure. But, once it was all out there, he realized maybe his tirade was a bit justified. At least, Steven’s shocked face was sort of a confirmation bias.

“Wow…that does sound like a lot,” Steven said after a moment. “Are you trying to deal with this by yourself?”

“Yes,” Giorno said quickly. “No one else needs to be involved.”

“You realize you’re gonna burn yourself out doing that, right?”

“Then what do you suggest?” Giorno snapped. “I’m not involving Miles in this.”

“Does Miles know that?” Steven asked. “Did you talk to him about this—about how overwhelmed you are? Kind of seems like a conversation you need to have, or at least try to have. Because you can’t do this alone, and you can’t leave him in the dark.”

“What do you know?”

“I know that when I tried to do the same thing you did, it nearly destroyed my relationship with Connie. She was so mad at me when I tried to take Homeworld on by myself. She didn’t talk to me for weeks. And honestly? She had every right. We both had been training, we could’ve come up with a better plan together. I just went off and did what I thought was best.” He paused, seeming downtrodden by the memory. “It can feel like the whole world is out to get you, and maybe it is, but you can’t do it alone. Terrible things happen when you try to tackle so much by yourself.”

When Giorno didn’t say anything, Steven chuckled and continued, “Besides, Miles is Spiderman. If you tackle this together, you shouldn’t have any problems.”

He did make a good point. Perhaps going alone wouldn’t be an option. But he didn’t want to see anymore death, not this time. He knew it would probably be a constant in his line of work, but if it didn’t have to happen, why will it into existence? Still, acting like a loner would probably get him, and now by extension, Miles, into the clutches of Alastor, his father, or Morlun.

He’d acted so stupidly. He’d left Miles with the others and gone off on his own. But what was he supposed to do? Everything Steven had just said was so strange. He wasn’t used to needing to depend on others.

“I just don’t want Miles to get hurt,” Giorno said.

“I know that,” Steven said. “He probably does, too. But you can’t push people away.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Let people help and life gets a lot better.”

“Usually I’d slap your hand away,” Giorno said. “But I’m at a loss, and…you might have a point.”

Steven chuckled. “C’mon, this place is getting cold, and we’ve got a formal to go to.”

…

Frisk and Gohan showed up a little later than everyone else, and yet, their sculptures were coming along better than most. Gohan was sculpting this dragon-creature that looked so adorable, she wondered if his dad or mom was a mangaka for a living. Frisk, on the other hand, had been sculpting a humanoid, goat child out of the clay. It was also pretty cute. However, Chibiusa’s sculpture of the painted chalice in her mother’s room was not going as well. The small jewels and wings alongside it looked clumpy and uneven, but she didn’t know how to fix them. Eventually she tossed up her hands and took a step back from it.

“Would you like some help?”

Masanori gave her a smile and began to help with the edges of the clay chalice. To be honest, it looked even better than it did in the portrait! It was amazing!

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

“You think so?” Masanori asked. He grinned. “You’ll love this!”

He gestured to his own project; it was a woman, with a very familiar face and hair in the shape of an angel in elegant robes. Michiru.

Chibiusa bit her tongue. “It looks nice.”

“Just nice?” Masanori questioned. He tapped his finger against his chin. “I guess I could work on the hair some more! Thanks for the motivation, Chibiusa!”

With that, he turned back to his own work. So much for that special connection. Maybe her mom had been wrong about all of that. It was frustrating: she wanted a friend she’d be able to keep forever, someone who wouldn’t go away, someone who wanted to be her friend just as much as she wanted to be theirs. She did like spending time with some of the other kids, but it was inevitable that they would have to go back to their own worlds. Mokuba’s brother, even as smart as he was, couldn’t guarantee they’d all get to see each other again. Chibiusa was so tired of permanent goodbyes; she couldn’t take another heartbreak like Puu.

“Hey Chibiusa, what’s wrong?” Gohan asked.

“Oh?” She hadn’t even noticed she had tears at the edges of her eyes. She quickly wiped them away. “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” Sakura said. “C’mon, no one here is gonna judge you!”

Silver opened his mouth but was shot down by a glare from Hop.

“Well, it’s just that it’s very lonely in the thirtieth century,” Chibiusa explained. “Mama said I’d meet someone very special here, someone who would be my friend forever. I know it’s selfish, but I’d like that. Since I’m going to be the next Moon Queen, I’m going to live a long time, and I’m already alone a lot. I don’t want to be even lonelier!”

She paused when she noticed everyone (sans Masanori) was looking at her. “S-sorry. I just thought, if I found that special person Mama was talking about, I wouldn’t have to be all alone anymore.”

“Well, maybe you don’t have to be,” the Collector spoke up. “After all, whoever was trying to keep me out of this world wasn’t able to. I mean, I know we’re kind of stuck here for now, but maybe King and I can keep coming to visit you.”

“Yeah,” King agreed. “When we’re not repairing the Boiling Isles, that is.”

“Repairing? Did something happen to your home?” Chibiusa asked.

“Well, Belos kinda destroyed it when he took over the titan’s skeleton,” King said.

“Maybe I can visit your world and help fix things,” Chibiusa suggested. “Mama’s magic is all about healing the world, maybe if I practice enough, I could help you!”

“You’d be willing to do that?” King asked.

“Of course!” Chibiusa said, smiling again. “Not only would it be good practice for becoming queen, but…it’d be nice to help a friend.”

“Well, if you need anyone to crack some skulls,” Toph spoke up. “You know who else to call.”

“Maybe Belos,” King said.

“I’m pretty sure Luz can beat him again,” the Collector said.

“Maybe she doesn’t have to this time,” Syaoran said. “We’ve got our own abilities. Pearl can channel the dead, I’ve got elemental magic, Sakura has her cards, Hop and Hau have legendary creatures by their sides, Bede has fairies, Silver and Wally have pretty strong pokemon, too, Mokuba’s monster cards can actually hurt those daimon, I’m not sure exactly what Frisk can do, but they have a pretty strong aura, and Toph can literally bend the earth and metal to her will.” He paused. “And you, Gohan, King, and the Collector are stronger than all of us. I think all of us together can beat that old goopy-guy no problem.”

“Hey maybe we can form our own club!” Pearl suggested.

“With them?” Silver asked, gesturing to Hop and Hau.

“You’d at least be better than stupid Usagi and her friends,” Chibiusa said. “They can’t seem to agree on anything.”

“Good point,” Silver said. “I do love being better than other people. Alright, I accept. What about you, Bede?”

“We could probably help Mr. Kaiba if we worked with each other,” Bede said with a sigh.

“I think it’ll be fun,” Hau said. “We can hang out together, fight the bad guys, and find all the good spots to eat.”

“You sound like Usagi,” Chibiusa said.

“Nothin’ wrong with having a little fun while taking care of business,” Hau said.

“We should come up with a cool team name,” Hop suggested. “Something like Team Legendary!”

“Too predictable,” Bede said.

“What about Team Skullcrusher?” Toph suggested. “You gotta admit, it would make us sound pretty tough.”

“How about a more nonviolent name?” Gohan suggested.

“Your loss,” Toph shrugged.

“What about Team Titan?” The Collector suggested. “Titans are so powerful and strong!”

“Wouldn’t that basically be giving away that we’ve got a titan in our group?” Mokuba asked. “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, we just want to help.”

“That’s a good argument,” King said. “Plus, I’m way less despotic than I used to be, or so Eda says.”

“What about Team Guard ‘Em All?” Wally suggested. “It kind of sounds like Gardevoir and our purpose is to protect everyone, right?”

“It’s kind of dorky,” Toph said, “But I think it could work.”

“Better than Team Yell, anyways,” Bede said.

“I like the name,” Frisk said in an almost whisper.

“Then it’s settled,” Chibiusa said. “We’ll be the better hero group! No, the best hero group!”

“Yeah, even if—,” Toph cut herself off. “Get behind me, now!”

Everyone jumped behind Toph and avoided nearly being crushed to death as Eudial’s van crashed into the building, coming close to hitting the wall of rock Toph had put in front of them.

“Nice instincts,” Hop commented.

They heard heels clack against the tile floor. Before anyone could stop him, Masanori stood up and went past the barrier.

“What is he doing?” Hop asked, dumbfounded.

Eudial hopped out of her van, surveying the area, flinching. “Whoops. I did not mean to do that. Man, it’s gonna take ages to repair that.”

“Who are you?” Masanori asked.

Eudial glanced over at him. “Oh, there you are.”

She pulled her blaster from her coat, and just as she was about to pull the trigger, Mr. Wright and Miss Fey stepped in between Masanori and the witch. Miss Fey looked to Masanori, “Masanori, get back behind the barricade!”

Masanori nodded and ran back behind the rock wall as Mr. Wright glared at the witch ahead of him. “Targeting more children, huh?”

“Well, even if you don’t have a talisman, we could always use your pure heart crystals to awaken our Messiah,” Eudial said, raising the gun again.

Chibiusa needed to think fast! She needed to transform. To the left of their group was a wall of desks. This was her chance! She ducked behind the discarded chairs and tables, transforming into Sailor Chibi Moon.

She jumped over the rock wall and aimed her heart wand at Eudial. “How dare you come here and try to steal the hearts of people trying to create such beautiful art! I am Sailor Chibi Moon, and in the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”

“If you two are just going to be annoying, can you at least not put up much of a fight? I’ve got a long day ahead of me. I’ve got a gala to attend later on, and my work schedule is just hectic right now.”

“Do you honestly think we’re going to be sympathetic to you?” Mr. Wright asked. “C’mon, your work is legally, not to mention, morally terrible.”

“Says the lawyer.”

“Hey, Nick has great morals! He and Mr. Edgeworth are always helping me and Pearl out! Even Franny helps! And I’ll be darned if I let you use his heart as some sort of fuel for anything!” Maya protested.

“Ugh, Chibi Moon, Mr. Wright, Maya, move! I can get a clearer shot if you move out of the way.”

The earth underneath their feet slid out from under them, causing them to go either left or right. Rocks from the wall were thrown at the speed of sound by Eudial’s head, and then straight at her. She barely dodged them.

“Hey! What are you trying to do? Kill me?” Eudial complained.

“That’s the idea,” Toph said.

“A noble endeavor,” a voice sneered. “I’m afraid the only ones who will by dying soon are those nearest to you.”

Chibiusa didn’t recognize the voice, but the Collector and King did.

“Belos!”

A man appeared from the ground, almost as though he grew out of it. He wore a green uniform, similar to English medieval clothing, a white cape, and had long hair that looked like it needed a brush.

King and the Collector both jumped over the wall. The man laughed. “Oh please, I’m not here for a fight. I’ve simply come to collect associate and tell her of the news we received.”

“What do you mean?” King asked. “And what did you mean by those near to us would be dying? Talk!”

“I’m not frightened of children,” Belos said. “Besides, you can’t kill me. Not while I’m tethered to my new allies.”

He chuckled and handed Eudial a piece of paper. She glanced over it for a few seconds, her eyes widening. “Is this what it looks like?”

“Precisely,” Belos said with a small smile. It creeped Chibiusa out.

“Get away from them!” a familiar voice shouted from the opening in the rec center.

It was Seto, Karlach, and Wyll. All three of them looked ready to fight.

“And there are three of them now,” Belos said. Eudial raised her gun, but Belos shook his head. “No, the grand design is to have them all in the same area.”

“What are you going on about?” Karlach asked.

“You hurt any of these children and I will send you to the hells myself; that’s my solemn promise as the Blade of Frontiers,” Wyll said.

“Goodbye, for now,” Belos said, placing his hand on Eudial’s shoulder. He glanced to King. “Tell Luz that I do look forward to seeing her again.”

“Wait! What are you—?” King tried to ask, but before he could, Eudial, Belos, and her van had vanished to parts unknown.

“Did you know what that was about?” Mr. Wright asked Seto.

“Talisman holders,” Seto said. “They know. They know exactly who and who doesn’t have a talisman now.”

“Seto,” Mokuba said. “That man said you three…”

“He’s mistaken,” Seto said quickly. “I don’t know where he got this information, but it could get a lot of people killed. I don’t have pure heart, so there’s no way I could—!”

He cut himself off and sighed out of frustration. “I need to go warn the others. Karlach, Wyll, Miss Fey, Mr. Wright, go back to Kaiba Corp with the kids and stay there for now. You’ll be safe there. Don’t come to the gala.”

“You’re crazy if you think you’re going there alone,” Karlach said. “One of us will stay with the kids, and the other will go with you.”

“I’ll stay with the kids,” Karlach said. “Wyll is better with fancier events, anyways.”

“I rather like your dancing,” Wyll commented.

“Can we focus?” Seto asked.

“Of course, your lordship,” Karlach said sarcastically. “Don’t worry, we’ve got a handle on this.”

“I have my doubts.”

“You know, we can help you,” Toph said. “I nearly took that witch’s head off.”

“No,” Seto said. Before she could protest, he added, “It’s not because I don’t think you can handle a few monsters, but that’s the scheme. They want to get as many pure hearts as possible into one area so they can strike all at once. The less people attend, the worse their odds at pulling off a huge heist.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Toph grumbled.

“There’s gotta be something we can do,” Hop complained.

“There is, stay away from the gala,” Seto said.

“But we can help!” Sakura protested.

Seto ignored her. “Karlach, can you please take them home? We won’t be long.”

“You two better come back in one piece or I’m wringing both your necks, yeah?” Karlach warned.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Do you honestly think I’d let the Deathbusters take me out?”

“We’ll be fine, love,” Wyll assured her.

As everyone else was turned away, Chibiusa heard the Collector say, “I’m starting to think Chibiusa was right and that all the older people have no idea what they’re doing.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Toph complained.

…

The punch at the gala was alcoholic, and Usagi had drank a lot of punch. Right now, Miles stood with her on the balcony, waiting for the effects of the drink to wear off a bit. The fresh air seemed to be doing her a little good. She wasn’t spouting stuff about desserts and the theory of relativity anymore.

He hadn’t seen Giorno since the tea shop, and he was starting to get worried. Did he get attacked? And if he did, by who? Miles should’ve never let him go off by himself. But he hadn’t known what to do at that moment. He was afraid if he pushed the issue, well, then their relationship would be very short lived.

Was that even what they had? He didn’t know what to make of any of this. Then again, why should any relationship in his life be easy to comprehend?

“Hey Miles,” Usagi said, poking his cheek. “Why do you look so upset? We’re at a party! It’s ‘sposed to be fun!”

Miles chuckled. “Sure. Fun.”

“Is this about Giorno?” Usagi slurred. She came up close to him. “Don’t tell Miles, but I think he likes you. He was so upset that you were in danger back at the Pokémon event. I told him everything would be okay! And it was!”

“He was upset?” Miles asked.

Usagi nodded. “Oh yeah. Even when that weird octo-lady attacked him, he was more worried about you.”

Miles felt a little better and at the same time, a little guilty. He knew that Giorno must care, why kiss him, if he didn’t? But…Miles didn’t know how to help him, and he wanted to help. He wanted to keep him safe.

“Miles?” Usagi asked. “Do you like him, too?”

Miles was quiet for a moment and then nodded.

“Then you should tell him,” Usagi suggested. “I’m sure it’d make him happy.”

“I did…” Miles said. “And it did, for a few seconds. But then Alastor ruined it, and now we’re in a lot more trouble than we were before. I think I might’ve caused it. I didn’t mean to give him more trouble to deal with.”

“Hey,” Usagi said, almost accusatorily. “Don’t ever be sorry for loving somebody! In fact, I’ll deal with Alastor and anyone else who tries to get in the way of love! For I am the pretty guardian!”

“Usagi, keep your voice down” Miles urged. “There are other people inside.”

Usagi giggled. “Oh, right.”

She walked over to Miles and gave him a hug. “In any case, I won’t let anyone hurt either of you. I know what it’s like to feel like the other person is always just out of reach. It used to be that a lot of things and people were keeping me and Mamo apart, but we found our way back to each other.”

She paused, broke away, and laughed. “I guess I’m being dramatic, like Rei says. But I think both of you should be happy. Kind of seems like you both need it.”

“Thanks, Usagi,” Miles said with a small smile. Talking with her had actually made him feel better.

“Miles?”

He turned to see Giorno standing in the doorway. Usagi glanced from him to Miles. “I’m feeling better now…I’m gonna go find Mamo!”

With that, she scurried off and left them alone.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Giorno said. “You look nice.”

If it hadn’t been so inconvenient, Miles would’ve almost forgotten that he was wearing a suit tonight. To be fair, they both were just to get into this place. Still didn’t make it any less tedious.

“You do, too.”

Giorno walked over and leaned against the guardrail. “Sorry for running off earlier. I…just got a little overwhelmed.”

“No, I understand. It’s my fault. I just…I wanted…I don’t know,” Miles said.

“Miles, it’s not your fault. I just don’t know how to do this,” Giorno said. “I want to be completely honest with you. I’m not sure if it will make things better or worse, but I need you to know that I care about you, even if I have a hard time expressing it. Before you showed up, my relationships and interactions were purely transactional. And then you came into my life. You were my first true friend, and you helped me at my weakest, defended me against everyone else, even if it could’ve hurt your own reputation. I…didn’t understand it. Not until I used what I thought would be the last time of my stand’s ability to save you did I get it. Even then, it still scared me. I’ve never had someone try to risk their life for mine, not with the express intentionality of saving me because they liked me. And when Alastor…when he hurt you, I knew I’d do whatever it took to keep you safe. I thought I could do it alone. I didn’t have anyone else to help me growing up, for the most part. I spent my childhood living in fear. My mother constantly left me alone, and my stepfather…well…I’d rather not discuss it. Not now.”

He paused and then glanced up at the moon. “I never envisioned needing anyone. I learned very early on that I couldn’t rely on others.” He turned back to Miles and smiled. “But you were different. I’ve been trying to keep you safe using the same tactics I used alone. But we’re a team now, no? Partners. So, I realize, I’ve been approaching this the wrong way. Miles…would you like to stay with me? No matter what happens next? I swear, I’m not going to shut you out.”

Miles felt his heart swell up. That was the most tragic yet sweetest proposal he’d ever heard. He walked over to Giorno and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. “Sounds good to me. Like I said, I’m not going anywhere. We can win—together.”

Giorno seemed a little surprised, but soon he relaxed. “I’m glad you think the same.”

He grabbed Miles’s hand and leaned in. All of this: the moon, the music, this moment felt almost too good to be true. Miles shut his eyes and waited.

However, they were interrupted.

“You two need to get out of here now! I think he knows—oh—I am so sorry,” Katara’s voice cut in.

“Who knows?” Giorno asked.

“Miguel O’Hara, that’s who,” Katara said. “I stumbled into him at the library and—!”

She was cut off as the familiar, icy tone of said man cut in. “And she very kindly healed me after you two left me to deal with Morlun alone. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Miguel stood behind them, looming like a statue. Miles almost tripped backwards, but Giorno caught his arm.

“Are you really so obsessed that you’re gonna keep chasing me even when there are way bigger problems out there?” Miles asked. He turned to Katara. “Also what did he mean you healed him?”

“He was bleeding, and I didn’t know who he was,” Katara explained. “I came as soon as I could to warn you!”

“I’m not blaming you,” Miles said. “Thanks, Katara.”

“You’re welcome!”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to be nice to him” Miguel said. “If it weren’t for him, those witches wouldn’t possess a list of talisman holders right now!”

“What?” Katara asked.

“That was Alastor’s doing,” Giorno explained. “He was upset I wouldn’t make a deal with him. Miles had nothing to do with it.”

“That tracks.”

“Hey! Toma esto en serio! Now they know where all the talisman holders are. They’ll be able to summon whatever grand weapon the talismans united creates and use it to destroy everything once and for all, and then no one is safe!”

“We’ve been trying to stop them!” Miles protested. “It’s not like we’re standing by while people who have talismans get attacked!”

“You mean like that friend of yours? The scared kid? He’s come close to getting caught by the deathbusters several times. We can’t let them get their hands on any talisman anyone might possess.”

“Wait…” Miles said with a pause. “Because it kind of sounds like…”

“You’re working with the two rogue senshi,” Giorno finished.

“And that means he’s looking for talisman holders, too!” Katara said, whipping out a straight line of water. She turned them into sharp icicles she launched at Miguel, without even giving him the chance to stand up. He blocked them with the back of his arms; they shattered on impact.

Giorno grabbed Miles and Katara. “All of us need to get out of here! NOW!”

Suddenly, the doors shut as a purple mist filled the room; there was an abrupt chorus of screams that were cut off in mere seconds as several thuds hit the floor.

Miguel looked from the doors to them. “You three stay here. I’ll deal with you later.”

“What, so you can swoop in there and steal the talismans?” Miles asked. “No way!”

“Look, this weapon could get us all home and prevent us from collapsing the timelines,” Miguel explained. “Although, I’m not surprised you’re doing your best to stop that again.”

“People could die,” Miles argued. “Lots of people!”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” Miguel asked. “For all I know, this is all your fault anyways!”

Giorno glared at him. “Take that back, now.”

“And lie?” Miguel asked. He shook his head. “You two should really learn exactly who you’re allying yourself with. The fragmentation and loosening of timelines started with his timeline! Why do you think you’re all here to begin with? If he hadn’t screwed up his timeline so bad, none of this would be happening! You’d be home, safe! You wouldn’t even have to worry about any of this talisman business! If people die here, it’s his fault.”

“That’s not true!” Miles argued, barely dodging Miguel’s grab. He turned to Katara and Giorno, urging them back. “You’ve gotta believe me!”

“You know,” Giorno began, his voice low. “I read something in the library the other day about a man, pretty lonely and pathetic who disrupted an entire timeline, destroying it. So, then he felt a pressing guilt to watch over all the other timelines. Who’s to say that man’s actions didn’t start all of this in motion?”

Miguel’s eyes widened before he shook his head. “I fixed the damage I caused!”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Katara added in. “From what Sokka told me, the timelines were still frayed. If anyone’s good for research, it’s my brother.”

“I am the only one who’s been trying to fix things,” Miguel said, his eyes wild. He was about to go off again. He raised both his arms. “You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed, the amount of trouble I went through just to form a place that could help everyone! But because one person decided to be selfish, everything is going to unravel! We’re all going to die if I can’t fix this!”

It looked as though he was going to take a swing at them, so Miles jumped in front of his friends. He planned to grab Miguel’s arms and try to push him away, but Miguel froze. He appeared just as confused as they were, well, except Giorno. Giorno stared directly behind Miguel.

“Who are you?”

Directly behind Miguel an old man clucked his tongue. He wore a tan fedora, shirt, slacks, and gloves over his hands. “You know, I the greater good only works if there’s a greater good left to fight for, Miguel.”

“Joseph,” Miguel’s voice hissed. “What are you doing?”

“Keeping you from doing stupid shit, apparently,” Joseph said. He held something invisible in his hands as he jerked them backwards, causing Miguel to stumble as well.

Giorno took this as an opportunity. “MUDA!”

Spiderman 2099 went flying backwards, over the balcony. He caught himself, but Miles wasn’t sure Giorno knew he would do that. He decided to not think about that.

The man, Joseph, walked forward, eyeing Giorno. “That’s crazy. You’re like the spitting image of him!”

“Of DIO?” Giorno guessed. “So I’ve been told.”

Joseph seemed confused, as if he didn’t know what to do next. He scratched the back of his neck. “Is Jotaro safe?”

Giorno nodded. “We’ve been staying together at the Hikawa Shrine.”

“Really? I guess you both know about who your dad is—well dads—I should say?”

Giorno nodded. “Look, I’ll answer any questions you have later, but we’ve got to get in there and save our friends, including Jotaro!”

Joseph nodded. “Gotcha!”

“MUDA!”

The glass to the room cracked wide open, revealing….

…

*Ten minutes prior*

Hunter walked through the courtyard with Willow. It was a nice night, not exactly a full moon, that was gonna be in a couple of weeks. He charted them in case he ever came across a friendly werewolf. How cool would that be?

No, it was more like a bright crescent. Apparently, a lot of people embodied the moon: Yue/Yukito, Usagi, and Sokka’s girlfriend (who had also gone by the name Yue). Maybe the moon was their key to getting home, that or Kaiba.

“It’s a nice night out,” Willow said, grabbing his arm. “Serene and peaceful. Makes it better that I’m with you!”

He felt his heart leap. Willow smiled at him, pulling him closer. Even if everything else was going wrong, he was glad he had Willow back.

They sat down near a patch of flowers growing in a fenced area, stargazing. Everything was so calm, so different than the craziness of the past few days—weeks—months—years. If he thought about it for too long, his whole life had been pretty crazy. Being the Golden Guard was never easy or quiet. He was always either studying or going on missions for Belos. His first act of rebellion had been keeping Flap; he never regretted that decision. Flap had been his first real friend. Then he’d actively rebelled against his duties and joined Hexside’s Flyer Derby team; he’d met Gus and Willow. Plus, Darius had helped him create his own social media. He got to keep his friends! When he found out the truth, when he found out about being a grimwalker, his life had been uprooted. A part of him had wanted to stay blissfully ignorant when it first happened, but if he had, he wouldn’t have gone back to Hexside to help everyone when Adrien attacked the school. And he’d actually enjoyed his time in the human world—sans being possessed by Belos…and Flapjack sacrificing himself. Now he was studying under Mr. Clawthorne and learning to make palismans, enjoying his time with his friends, and he had the best, strongest, and most beautiful girlfriend in all the Boiling Isles. His life had never been better, and it was because of all the crazy events that had happened in such rapid succession.

Although he was scared now, there was still some positives to his situation: the new people they’d met, like Usagi, Zuko, Sokka, Katara, Miles, his roommates, other guests of the shrine, and even Kaiba had been pretty good friends to have during all this bizarre business with the talismans, demons, witches, and…Belos. How he was alive again, Hunter didn’t know. He was acting just as self-righteous as when he’d died. He hadn’t flinched when he tried to kill him…again. If it hadn’t been for Miles grabbing all of the talismans in that moment, the witch and Belos might’ve gotten away with them. It didn’t matter if they were a family once, Belos still wanted him dead. He tried to tell himself that it didn’t matter, that he had family besides Belos, but sometimes, it was just hard to get over. He’d spent so many years of his life trying to gain his uncle’s approval and love, and it didn’t mean anything.

“Hunter, are you okay?”

Willow’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Um-yeah. I’m fine…what about you?”

“I’m worried, I’m not gonna lie,” Willow said. She squeezed his hand. “But I’m also determined to keep you safe!”

Hunter could feel himself blushing, but it also warmed his heart. “Hey, tomorrow do you want to go out? Just the two of us? Usagi said there was this really nice restaurant not far from the shrine, and I’ve been saving up enough yen doing odd jobs here and there. I thought…it might be nice.”

Willow looked up at him; her eyes were so pretty in the light of the moon. “That’s so sweet, Hunter! Of course I’d love to go!”

“C-cool!”

“You might want to postpone those plans.”

Both Seto Kaiba and Wyll Ravengard walked up the stone path leading up to the mansion, they seemed to have noticed Hunter and Willow hanging out in the courtyard ahead of them.

“What do you mean?” Hunter asked.

“I mean that everyone here tonight is in danger,” Kaiba said. “They can’t enact their little plan if they don’t have at least three of the talismans. I’ve read that much.”

“So Katara was right,” Willow said. “You didn’t return the books.”

“If I had,” Kaiba said. “I would’ve missed one of the most important memories. So long as they don’t get three talismans, they can’t enact their little summoning ritual. I’m not sure what all it entails, but a lot of people will die if that happens.”

At that moment, all the doors in the house slammed shut, as did the windows. The windows fogged up by some purple mist as the screams inside were cut off by coughing and thuds.

“And they’re going to pull it off if we don’t stop them now!”

“We need to find a way in,” Willow said. “Let’s try the back door; I saw Miles and Usagi go out to the balcony earlier. Maybe we can regroup with them.”

All three of them nodded in agreement, rushing to the back entrance. There was some sort of squabble as they heard Giorno yell “MUDA!” A man, with the stature of a statue went careening over the side of the balcony overhead. Wyll acted quickly and pulled everyone away from the man. The man, for his part, was able to grab onto one of the ledges on the lower levels and land on his feet. He glared up at the balcony as they heard glass shatter.

His attention turned to the four of them. “You—all four of you—stay right here.”

Kaiba laughed. “I’d hardly take orders from someone like you.”

He turned to the Wyll, Willow, and Hunter. “This is Miguel O’Hara. I’ve been informed that he’s working with those rogue senshi. Isn’t that right, Mr. O’Hara?”

“You don’t understand,” the man said. “I’m only doing what needs to be done!”

Wyll grimaced. “I think, as two mature adults here, we have very differing opinions on what needs to be done. After all, who blames children for the actions of fate? I’m sure you’re aware fate is a very fickle lady.” He frowned and shook his head. “We can’t control what the deities seem fit to throw at us, but we can control how we approach our own circumstances. We can guide our own fates to something better than was originally intended.”

“You have no idea what we’re up against,” the man countered. “There’s no way to fight back against total erasure. If all spacetime continues to bleed from the very gushy wound, eventually, it’ll give out. It’ll be a total implosion.”

“And you know this how?” Kaiba argued. “Because by my estimates, you have no idea what in the hell you’re talking about. You’re going off baseless assumptions!”

“I don’t have time for this,” the man said.

“Neither do we.”

“Dolor!”

Miguel was blasted backwards by a dark red hue of malevolent energy. He tried to get up again, when he was tossed aside by a red blur that emerged from the ground. The bright yellow grin and red eyes automatically struck terror. “Well hello there!”

“Alastor, what are you doing here?” Kaiba growled.

“Helping a friend,” Alastor said. “Can’t have Mr. O’Hara ruin my fun, can I?”

“You’re the one who started this!” Kaiba argued. “You’re the reason we’re all in danger!”

“No, that’s Mr. Giovanna’s fault. You can discuss that with him later. Oh! Do tell him I look forward to working with him and Mr. Morales in the very near future. Of course, you’ve seen what comes next, haven’t you, Mr. Kaiba?”

“As much as I don’t care for Giorno, Miles is a valuable asset. You keep away from him!”

“Careful, Mr. Kaiba, one might begin to consider you actually have a human heart.”

Wyll shook his head. “He’s trying to distract us! Come, we need to get inside. We can climb the walls!”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Hunter said. “Everybody just lock arms.”

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I can teleport us up there. We can help Giorno and whoever else is trying to fight off whoever set off that trap.”

“I'm skeptical that you could, yet intrigued that you may.”

“Just grab an arm!” Willow said.

As soon as they were interlinked, Hunter focused on the balcony and with a few zigs and zags teleported them just above the stone floor, careful to avoid the glass.

There were a few people, already inside, fighting against a group of daimon that looked like one of those weird marionette monsters in Cosmic Frontier. The guests—their friends were passed out and scattered along the ballroom floor, even Hooty was unconscious. And it seemed like he had tried to hit a couple of the monsters before zonking out. Giorno, Miles, Katara, and some old guy they’d never seen before were doing their best to keep them away from innocent party guests, but they were quickly being outnumbered. Not only that, but they seemed to be multiplying every time they were broken by Giorno’s Golden Experience, Miles’s and the old man’s strength, or Katara’s waterbending.

“Hey,” Willow said, turning to Seto. “Do you think you could summon one of those monsters of yours? I think I’ve got a plan. I’m going to group all those monsters together with vines. You hit them with your monster.”

Kaiba nodded. “Go ahead.”

Willow turned back to the monsters, her eyes glowing green as vines sprouted from the marble, ensnaring the marionette monsters. Kaiba shuffled through his deck, placing cards into another field, the graveyard, if Hunter was reading his disc-thing correctly.

“I summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!”

The massive dragon with features of its card name appeared in the room. It threw its head back and launched a beam of light at the marionettes, incinerating them all. Kaiba smirked. “And that’s how you dispose of trash.”

He turned to Willow. “Thank you for your help, it was very kind.”

“Gods, you sound like Astarion,” Wyll said with a laugh.

“Don’t ever say that again.”

Hunter decided to turn to the most responsible person in the room, who could fill them in on what they missed. “Katara, what happened?”

“Eudial released a smoke bomb that knocked everyone out and the horde of daimon that Willow and Kaiba took care of. And now, she won’t leave.”

They had neglected to see Eudial fuming in the corner of the room as others started to wake up. Eudial stamped her foot. “I could just set the whole place ablaze to reduce the stench of failure.”

“Calm yourself, Eudial,” an eerie voice chastised. Hunter’s heart sank as Belos materialized from the floor. “It will all end soon; this wasn’t the proper night. The moon wasn’t full.”

“You understand waterbenders are at their most powerful under a full moon?” Katara asked. “I don’t care who you are, if you try to hurt my friends, I’ll put an end to it!”

“Such fire from a waterbenders,” Belos remarked. “You young heroes are all the same, so arrogant, so strong in the belief that you will always triumph if you believe hard enough. But good, true good, always triumphs in the end.”

The old man laughed. “You can’t be serious! You go around murdering people and still think you’ve got some sort of moral high ground? Not to mention that most of your targets are children.”

“Well said!” Wyll agreed. “Actually, I had a rather similar line of thought just earlier.”

“See?” Belos asked. “You’re all very well the same. You have the same dead ideas, you repeat yourselves, and you will be doomed to repeat this cycle. No matter how the outcome of our future battle plays out, you’re going to face the harsh truth that your truth is faulty. Soon enough, everything will end, and none of you will have to suffer anymore. Isn’t that far more pleasant of an outcome than to keep eternally fighting for heartbreak and evil?”

“You’re wrong!” Hunter objected. Belos looked at him, and even though he never wanted to see his uncle again, he couldn’t help but argue. Sure, it wouldn’t change anything, but he needed to stand up to him! He wouldn’t continue to be his uncle’s pawn. “The only time I was suffering was when I was being controlled by you! I thought we were a family. I used to think you cared, all I ever did was try to earn your respect—you love. But it was never going to happen. Ever since I met Luz, I’ve met friends—people I love—and people who love me! This world is beautiful. Yeah, even this one. Sure, it’s a mess, and not everyone always gets along perfectly, but that’s kind of what makes it special. If we didn’t have our idealism, if we didn’t fight for the people we love, we’d be soulless husks—like you. You can’t steal their hearts! I won’t let you hurt them!”

Hunter waited, but Belos merely sneered at him and turned away.

Before Hunter could speak up, Mr. Ravengard did. “Excuse me, but it seems to me you could at least acknowledge what your son is saying.”

“He’s not my son,” Belos said simply.

“In any case, you raised him, did you not?” Wyll asked, his glare fixed on Belos. “He just poured his heart out, and you can’t even be bothered to acknowledge him?”

“What business is it of yours?” Belos asked.

“For the record,” the old man said. “I think you’re kind of an ass, too. I wouldn’t ignore my daughter or my grandson if they had something important to tell me.”

“I’ll say this now,” Wyll said, drawing a sword that looked like it was made from fire. “You try and hurt any of these children, and I’ll make sure your reanimation ends permanently. I swear on my oath as the Blade.”

“We’ll see,” Belos said. “Come, Eudial. We’ll be off now.”

Belos and Eudial disappeared in the blink of an eye. Hunter’s knees wobbled, he might’ve toppled over if Willow hadn’t grabbed him.

She kissed his cheek. “I think that was very brave.”

Hunter wiped his eyes. “Th-thanks.”

Seto chuckled. “I’m jealous. I wish I could’ve done the same with my…father.”

“Hopefully you won’t have to,” Hunter joked, wiping his hands on his shirt.

“Hey, uh,” Miles interjected. “Sorry to interrupt the moment, but we should probably wake up the others.”

“You’re right,” Seto said. “I’ve got a lot to explain. You’ll stay with me tonight. I can’t risk anyone ending up in the hands of the deathbusters. Not now.”

“What did you find out?” Giorno asked.

“A lot,” he looked at Katara. “I did mean to keep my word to return the books, but this was important. I had to make sure. And I was right. Everything Belos just said confirms it.”

“What did he mean?” Katara asked.

“They need three of the talisman holders,” Kaiba explained. “As long as they can gather three, they can force the rest to follow. I don’t know how, but they’ve built some sort of technology that needs three forms of bio-signatures. Once they’ve got that, every other talisman holder is doomed. And Alastor just gave them a list of every single person who has one hidden inside them. I…received the list from Alastor, too. I think he’s mocking us.”

“Of course he is,” Miles said.

“Let me guess,” Giorno said. “You blame me?”

Seto shook his head. “Given I wouldn’t have made a deal with the Radio Demon, either, it would be hypocritical. That, and I’m tired. If we don’t make our next moves carefully, there may be none to play.”

…

Alastor wiped his hands on his jacket. “Thank you for another forgettable fight!”

Miguel struggled to stand up. “Don’t flatter yourself. The vampire kid and the warlock did most of the damage.”

“And you’re going to boast about that?” Alastor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why help them?” Miguel asked. “You’re just going to make them suffer!”

“And you’re not?” Alastor asked. “By Lucifer, they’re right, you really are a hypocrite!”

“…It’s not my intent,” Miguel said. “Under different circumstances, I’d leave them be. But I can’t. I figure you already know that, diablo.”

“It’s Alastor.”

“Alastor,” Miguel said. “Why are some of the spaces blank on the list?”

And reveal a good majority of his clientele, his business partner, her girlfriend, and her father to be talisman holders? He thought not. Besides, his management would definitely have a problem with that, and while he was still tethered to their will, he couldn’t make a slipup that huge.

“Who knows?” Alastor shrugged. “It’s a mystery to me!”

“You’re not one of the—?”

Alastor laughed in his face. “No! I’d never even taken the chance at releasing the lists if I were.”

Alastor paused. “May I ask a question?”

“…Go on.”

“You do know that if you hurt Mr. Morales, I will have to end you, right?”

“Why do you care?” Miguel asked.

“Because those heroes,” Alastor explained. “They’re the key. Perhaps you don’t see the use in them, but I do. You’re a fool if you can’t recognize their souls’ potential. If you leave it alone, I’ll be the one to watch the light leave their eyes. Simply do nothing, and your precious timeline problem will be handled. You can even have the talismans. All I’m interested in is souls.”

“The two are intertwined,” Miguel argued.

“Unless you can separate them” Alastor said. “I can do that. And I feel like Mr. Giovanna and Mr. Morales will be needing to make a deal with me very soon.”

…

When Kaiba said he was keeping everyone at Kaiba Corp, he was serious. He’d brought Miles’s parents from the shrine, just to make sure they were safe, or to make sure Miles wouldn’t go after them if something were to happen. In any case, Miles was grateful.

Right now, everyone was in the couch pit, watching a movie. Mokuba had managed to get Seto to sit down for five minutes and join them, he grumbled about being too busy, though. All of the older people, his parents, Peter, the BG3 Gang, both Mr. Joestars (which was weird because Jonathan turned out to be Joseph’s granddad), Avdol, Luke, Mr. Wright, Mr. Edgeworth, Raine, Eda, Alador, and Darius took up council in a secure meeting room. Miss Fey and Polnareff decided to stick with them, probably because they either got bored during the meeting or they were asked to keep an eye on things. Miles decided it was likely the latter.

Seto had explained everything to everyone else, so the atmosphere was tense. For now, Miles was trying to forget about him and Giorno being a target. He was content to watch this god-awful romance movie with him and their friends as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

“This guy is clearly a stalker!” Sokka complained, pointing at Edward Cullen’s face.

“This movie is trash,” Kaiba agreed. “Who picked this film?”

“You guys need to see the beauty in bad movies,” Sasha argued.

“No, I think pretty boy had it right,” Haruka said.

For some reason, Haruka and Michiru were on the list of talisman holders. Miles wasn’t sure why, and he was kind of curious to know. However, Usagi didn’t want to press the issue. She didn’t want to scare her friends.

“Vampire romance is bullshit,” Jotaro argued.

“Tav seems pretty happy,” William said. “Not every vampire is evil.”

“Because Astarion is such a great example of a stand-up guy,” Kakyoin argued.

“He is helping us, so…” William argued.

“Why is everything in this film blue?” Amity asked. “Not that blue is a bad color, it’s just like, they filmed in blue.”

“Actually, they did,” Steven said. “They put a blue filter over everything to make it seem more creepy or isolated, I think.”

“How do you know that?” Connie asked.

“I…read it somewhere,” Steven said.

“Do you like this movie?”

“It’s got a cute concept.”

“Steven!”

“I agree,” Usagi said. “To love someone so much you’d live forever with them—that’s gonna be me and Mamo!”

“Hopefully I won’t be a vampire,” Mamoru commented. “Though, if I get to be with you, it’d be alright.”

“Aw! Mamo!”

“I regret every single one of my life choices that led me here,” Kaiba muttered under his breath.

As things began to wind down and people started to relax and doze off, Miles felt Giorno pull him closer. “This movie really does suck—no pun intended.”

Miles laughed. “A lot of people watch this film to make fun of it.”

“I guess I could see the value in that.”

Miles leaned against Giorno; today had been long and bittersweet. He was going to sleep for as long as he could, no matter how much his mind begged him to stay awake.

“Hey Miles,” Giorno murmured.

“Mmm?”

“I…wanted to let you know that none of this is your fault. It doesn’t matter what Miguel said. You’re not responsible for any of this. And I’ll help you prove it.”

“Thank you, Gio,” Miles said with a sleepy grin. “And just so you know, I feel the very same way about you. You’re one of the coolest people I know; I won’t let anyone say otherwise.”

“Thank you, Miles, for everything.”

…

Rio Morales just wanted to check in on Miles, even if Jeff said they were fine. The wizard-man, Gale, had set up some sort of protection spell around the building, and he was keeping watch with his strange vampire friend and the knight. This world was weird. The sanest person they’d met was Camila, and she was a saint. She’d gone with her daughter to the ‘Demon-Realm’ to help fight off some sort of slime creature with just a bat.

Astarion had provided them a list of names of people who would be targeted by those evil witches (apparently there was a Wizard of Oz distinction between good witches and bad witches). A lot of the children were being targeted. Rio wasn’t sure what these talismans were, but she did know she wouldn’t let anyone hurt Miles. She was praying that their plan would pay off.

Rio, Karlach, Raine, Gale, Jonathan, and Darius carried blankets, making sure everyone had one. Karlach frowned. “Hold on.”

She glanced around the room, spotted a desk and sighed. She walked over to it, took a quick drink of some sort of potion, and picked up the tall, lanky boy in the white coat who had a paper stuck to the side of his face.

“He’s gonna run himself into an early grave,” Karlach muttered. She laid him down into an open area of the couch, putting a blanket over him. “Poor soul.”

“Wyll is right,” Jonathan spoke up. “You would’ve made a good mother.”

“Nah,” Karlach said, shaking her head. “My child would’ve been absolutely wild.”

She paused. “But it hasn’t been so bad. I don’t mind helping these two. They deserved better than they got.”

Rio smiled. It was nice to see someone happy here. She continued to walk around the room until she found Miles with Giorno. If they were trying to keep anything secret, they were doing a terrible job. Miles had fallen asleep with his head on his shoulder. Rio chuckled and placed a blanket over them. She was sure he’d tell her on his own time.

“Will you help me?”

Rio looked at Jonathan who was standing beside her. “With what?”

“It’s a long story, but Giorno…biologically speaking…he’s mine.”

“I thought that vampire guy was his dad?”

“He is,” Jonathan said. Rio raised an eyebrow. “It’s complicated. The long and short of it is that DIO stole my body. He won, and he wants to ruin Giorno’s life. His life has already been hard, and I want him to know that I’m on his side, but I was long dead before he was born. If I could have protected him, I would have. I want to protect him now. I don’t want DIO to manipulate him or force him into doing something he’ll regret, perhaps for eternity.”

“I…what can I do?” Rio asked.

“Just talk to him,” Jonathan said. “Every attempt I’ve made falls on deaf ears. I don’t know what to do to convince him to let me help. Perhaps, coming from someone he trusts, it might make a difference.”

“I can try,” Rio said. She frowned. “Probrecito.”

Even if Jonathan’s story was a little strange, she wouldn’t allow someone who had protected her son to be turned into some evil, undead creature.

None of these kids would get hurt, not while she was around.