231. The Lovers Part I

"SCREW MAHARLICA!!!"

"DOWN WITH MAHARLICA!!!"

"MURDERER!!!"

Several men and women rally against Miguel JoJo, who enters the white house via a red carpet.

Miguel walked into the white house once more.

"Hello, Miguel," sighed Trumpet. Behind him is the American Flag, with lights shining on it.

"Doughnut... Look... There's an enemy bigger than both of us... He's planning something... I'm just not sure what it is..."

"Ah... Yes! You've told me about this fictional figure... A Mafia Boss who is trying to assassinate you and your friends..."

"I've been kidnapped seven times this last month," said Miguel.

"Seriously? Do you not have security?"

"I live on a farm, Doughnut."

Doughnut sighs. "You're scared that this threatens everything you've worked for?"

Miguel sighs and nods.

"Look, Miguel... I am still not joining your nation."

"LET THESE PEOPLE GO!!! IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT AMERICA, THEN YOU WILL OFFER IT TO US!!!"

"You are no different than those colonists-..."

"I AM NO WHITE MAN!!!"

"And there it is..." Doughnut crosses his legs. "Abolishing Nationalism, Patriotism, and Cultural Identity... Why are you doing this?"

"Culture..." Miguel sighed. "It's the reason why the world isn't united... Why the world hates each other... Why the world cannot understand... and therefore fear each other...I have faith in the people... and my idea... that no race shall be above another."

"You don't understand-..."

"No! You don't understand! You Americans think that you're meant for something... Destined for greatness... Because you think you're the only ones born from freedom! In the end, your stubbornness to not allow unity in the multiple worlds divides your people even more!"

"You awfully sound like a man with extreme rightist or even leftist views, Miguel."

Miguel's eyes quiver. He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "I'm trying to build-..."

"A world over heaven?"

Miguel's eyes get angrier.

"Did I strike a nerve, Miguel JoJo? Think, Miguel, think! What if a Neo-Nazi becomes Earth's President, Miguel!? Or how about a White Supremacist!? Or how about a communist!? How about a man who would do anything FOR HIS GOD!??"

"Then I'll hunt him down and kill him."

"And what if you're not there anymore to do so?"

Miguel looks down, away from Trumpet's eyes.

"I see that you have eye bags in your eyes..."

Miguel's eyes quiver.

"Pitiful Miguel JoJo... Forced to fight for the weak and against those who oppress... Yet... In the end... You have become the man you've always feared to become... A man that is no different from your father..."

"Arthur JoJo is a better man than you'll ever be..."

"Not Arthur JoJo..." Doughnut hissed. "Bernardo Salvi..."

"ORA!!!" Star Platinum nearly blasted a punch into Doughnut's face.

"Did you just try to kill me!?"

Miguel is shown to have pointed two fingers at Doughnut, suggesting he nearly beat Trumpet right on the spot. "I didn't mean-..." Miguel grabs his other arm that points to Salvi and pulls it downward

"Didn't mean to?"

"I wasn't going to kill you."

"But you were going to hurt me, hm?There is law in this country, Miguel JoJo. You were a lawyer! You should know! Without law, we are no different from ANIMALS!!!"

Miguel clenched his fists.

"Ah... Yes... An Aswang Black-Eyes... I could let you off the hook... Knowing what you really are."

"I'm not an animal..."

"Then GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!"

Miguel's eyes went teary as he walked outside.

American citizens see Miguel crying as they all laugh at him. Photographers begin taking photos of a crying Miguel.

Dark read the Newspaper.

"PRESIDENT DOUGHNUT TRUMPET MADE PRESIDENT MIGUEL JOJO CRY..." Dark squints his eyes."An attempt to abolish nationalism leads to President JoJo's hilariously memed reaction.Boy, you are down bad!"

Miguel played Transformers with Gabrielle. Dark, meanwhile, played Stardew Valley with Hercules.

"Hey, Daddy? Why does America hate you?"

"Because Daddy made a lot of enemies, sweetheart..."

"I'll fight anyone who tries to hurt you, Daddy!" smiled Gabrielle.

"Of course you will, sweetheart."

Raphael, his Chimpanzee son, speaks in sign language. "Dad? I saw you in the news! You okay?"

"I'm fine, bud. I just have an inferiority complex against the guy," said Miguel. "Son... Sweetie... promise me that you won't get into politics."

"Not planning to," smiled Raphael.

"I don't know what that is so no thank you!" smiled Gabrielle.

Miguel smiles softly.

Hercules stands up and leaves the game in the middle of farming.

"Whoa!" yelled Dark. "Why'd you do that!?"

"Do what?"

"I can't just plant all this on my own! You just left the game randomly!"

"Oh! Sorry... I gotta go somewhere!" smiled Hercules.

"Where would you possibly go!? We're both retired Superheroes and Assassins and we get paid infinite money by God knows who!" yelled Dark. "We're basically rich!"

"How the hell do we get money anyway?" asked Yuki.

"I have no idea..." said Dark. "What I do is just solve these easy mathematical puzzles on the computer then I randomly get lots of money! Then I made a program that solves these puzzles!"

"Wait a minute..." Miguel squinted his eyes as he leans closer to Dark with intent and suspiciousness. "I thought you hated math."

"That doesn't mean I'm bad at it!"

"What about your sidekicks' ages?"

"Who?"

The two of them begin arguing about math,

"I'm gonna go... See ya!" smiled Hercules.

"See you, mate!" smiled Yuki.

Hercules shuts the door.

Later...

Hercules plays, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey as he silently stared at a flat grave in the ground that says, "Melanie Hees." Hercules wears a checkered polo and some pants.

"You lost someone close to you?"

"Oh..." chuckled the 8-foot-tall Hercules. "Just my wife."

"My condolences."

"Yeah... We were... uh... close... back in '81..."

"You look pretty young to have been dating' back in '81..."

"Oh! I was married!"

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah! B-Because I'm... y'know... *ahem*... Lots of carrots... and... milk..."

"How old are ya?"

"I was born in... the thirteenth century B.-... *AHEM*... I mean... thirteenth of March... My... dad... told me about who I really was... I had amnesia back in nineteen for-... *AHEM*... nineteen eighty-one... And I met her..."

Hercules remembered...

"I just went back from my day job..."

Hercules, with a large monster tentacle wrapped around his arm, places the arm on the ground.

"I went to a concert by Journey... Loved that song... I was really popular back then... and people would gather around me..."

Hercules sighs as the men and women cheer for Hercules like he's some sort of celebrity.

"Then I met... her... Unlike the rest of them... She didn't pay attention to me at all... That made my connection with her feel... Special. Young, blonde, beautiful, 27-year-old... I approached her..."

Hercules approaches her and taps her shoulder.

"Hey."

"Oh... Hey..."

"Uh... Gnarly..."

She giggles. "You don't have to pretend, Hercules."

"Oh... yeah... I just wanted to ask you out..."

"I don't date Superheroes..."

Hercules' eyes sparkle.

"For the first time... I wasn't the greatest hero... an object of ovation and praise... for the first time, I wasn't a god... I was a man... So... I dated her with my real self..."

Carl Hees meets Melanie once more in a cafe and spoke with her...

Now...

"Hm..." said the old man. "The name's Steel... Dan Steel..."

"Hello, Dan Steel..." smiled Hercules.

Dan chuckles. "I fought in 'Nam..."

"So did I-..."

Dan squints his eyes.

"-...my... dad... Yeah... Haha... Semper Fi... Is it okay for me to say that? I-I-I'm sorry..."

Dan chuckles. "It's fine... Semper Fi... In 'Nam... I fell in love..."

"Who was she..."

"He was a journalist..."

"Oh... Sorry..."

"We were judged for it... He was killed in 'Nam by our fellow soldiers..."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Steel..."

"When I grew up here in America... I always thought that it was a land of the free... where no one would be judged and anyone could be who they are..."

"Damn right no one should be judged for who they are."

Dan chuckles. "You're alright Carl Hees."

Hercules smiles. "I... never told you my name."

Dan sneers softly.

Hercules' eyes widen.

"GOLDEN SUN!!! TIME-IMPRISONMENT!!!"

*CLANG*

The one who was time-imprisoned...

was Hercules...

Hercules stayed motionless as chains from every corner wrapped around him, stopping him in time.

Dan sighs. "You're a good man, Carl... You fought in the wars to save people... You were raised by Prometheus long ago... when you were still training to be the greatest hero of Greece... You are a good man... You're a man who was taught good values... So that's why I'm sorry since I have to kill you..."

"Wha-? How-?"

"My Stand allows me to possess someone and reflect damage and effects of my body into the person I possess. My Stand is actually considered to be the weakest in the Second World Order, yet I stand as one of its top assassins."

Hercules disables his time imprisonment and backs away.

"Why do you want to kill me?"

"I was promised that killing you would have Doughnut tell everyone about what those men did."

"Look... What happened is in the past... It was an act in the times..."

"I WAS MOCKED FOR OVER 60 YEARS!!!"

"And I've lived longer... I know what it feels like to be berated for not being like everyone else in the world. Believe me... These people don't have to pay."

"These men got their medals of honor... And I've got nothing... I evacuated 1,000 fellow soldiers, men, women, and children from an aerial attack... And what did I get!?" Dan sobbed. "Everyone agreed to give those three men my medal of honor instead of mine!"

"Sir... Please..."

Dan takes out a knife and stabs himself in the torso.

The knife somewhat phases through his skin.

Hercules, however, bleeds heavily from his stomach. He vomits out blood as he knelt on the ground with one leg.

"Mighty Hercules..." the old man spoke in soulful song. "...how awful your fate has been..."

"You don't... have to fight me..." whispered Hercules.

"But you'll kill me if you have to... Even though you have no jurisdiction in this land?"

"I will..." he whispered.

"I only want justice for men like me... Hercules... You and your partner are no heroes."

"But we can try to be..." Hercules squinted his eyes.

Dan Steel shakes his head. "Sonny... Good luck..."

Dan Steel takes out a knife and stabs himself once more, as Hercules vomits blood.

"GOLDEN SUN!!!" yelled Hercules, as he

Golden Sun blasts its fasts toward Dan Steel.

Dan Steel is thrown backward as he slides on his shoes.

"I may be ninety Goddamned years old, but I still have some fight left in me... And you're kind of an idiot for doing that."

*POW POW POW POW POW POW POW*

*SPLAT*

Hercules' punches were reflected back into him is thrown several meters out of the graveyard and into a field.

Hercules bled heavily. "The damage you give me are proportionally reflected back at you."

"Shit... I'm not really smart..." whispered Hercules, as he slowly stood back up. "But I have to find a way to beat this guy..."