353. Rejection ~Of Humanity~

Jotaro drops to the ground, bleeding, as Irene then Shizuka run outside first. Gabrielle is frozen in shock and so is Josuke. The rest follow after hearing the commotion.

"Jesus..." Gabrielle's eyes quivered.

Irene uses Stone Free to desperately lift her father up.

"Shizuka!" yelled Irene to a frozen Shizuka. "Help him up!!!"

The others are still far away, trying to run after.

Shizuka snaps out of it and grabs Jotaro using Achtung Baby, carrying him up.

"C'mon!" yelled Irene.

Shizuka turns red, staring at her father as he unconsciously hugged her.

Shizuka stares at her father who is done being healed by Miguel and Josuke.

"There," said Josuke. "He's fully healed."

"And fully rejuvenated," smiled Miguel. "He apparently didn't eat for four days."

Jotaro is completely unconscious.

"Let him rest," said Gabrielle. Her eyes are still quivering at the sight of the injured Jotaro. She sees a scar that halved Jotaro's face, similar to Miguel JoJo's. Gabrielle sighs and turns around, walking into a new trap door on the front and back to the front seat. Josuke sighs and follows after.

"Boy, we sigh a lot," sighed Yurielle.

"Because we all wanna catch a break, kid," said Miguel.

A knocked-out Jotaro lay down next to Shizuka and Irene.

Shizuka is bowing her head, dwelling, while Irene is tending Jotaro and checking for his temperature.

"Could you at least check up on Papa?" asked Irene.

"You're doing it already. Why do I have to help?" asked Shizuka.

"At least help me help Papa out..." sighed Irene.

"Hey," said Miguel.

"Yeah?" asked Yurielle.

"We should think of a group name."

"Ha...?"

That evening... the group slept... Gabrielle parked the CoolDudeBus in a new dimension in an abandoned neighborhood... She slept next to Josuke in the front seats leaving the aircon on in the RV Train... They slept in sleeping bags... The others slept in the bedroom section of the CoolDudeBus... Miguel slept with a paper with a bunch of poorly-written names written on it... like...-Cool Dudes-Jazz Blues-Otaku Town-The JoJos-The Bizarros-The Bizarre Bois ("Too Sexist")-The JoJoSapiens-The Stone Ocean Crusaders-The Stardust Knights-JoJo Knights-JoJonauts-JoJovengers-The Stardust Avengers-The Stardust Runners-Ibarra and the JoJos-Star Knights

One is encircled with the words "Maybe..." next to it."JoJoCorps"

All of them are crossed out.

They all slept that night...

But a ghostly orb haunts the area, floating about...

Meanwhile...

Kira pockets a disembodied hand into his pocket, caressing it psychotically.

He suggestively drools at its sight.

"I understand if you drink the blood..." said DIO, who is beside him. "But keeping it as a partner? Are you delusional?"

"A hand is already a Merienda," said Salvi. "And here you are... wasting food..."

Kira sighs and points his finger and touches Salvi's forehead. "Unless you'd want to explode... Don't think about eating my current fling..."

Salvi snarls. "I had an adoptive daughter who could do what you do... Did what you did... No wonder she betrayed me in the end... Maybe I should have been more... understanding to her bizarre nature."

"Damn right," said Kira.

Diavolo files his nails while staying in the darkness. 

DIO chuckles. "Another who hates the light?"

"I prefer to be alone..."

Pucci drinks DIO's wine. "Hm... Lord DIO. This wine is scrumptious."

"Of course it is," said DIO. "My choices are godly. Wrry..."

"They're currently in an unknown dimension," said Salvi.

"Leave them be. We will find JoJo when they are finished," said DIO.

The woman with the black quartz Gem in her naval from last time enters the room with her hands behind her back.

They all salute like Gems, except for Salvi.

DIO sighs and turns to Salvi.

Salvi scoffs and salutes as well.

"At ease," said the supposed Diamond. "Have they found JoJo's identity yet?"

"No," said DIO.

"Tch-... Grandfather shouldn't have decided to not find out his identity when he gave it to him THAT FOOL!!!"

"Calm yourself, My Diamond," said DIO. "It isn't right for you to be so angry at the world... Nocturna Anastasia..."

Nocturna sighs. "Ah, well... Mummy will be unhappy if this little plan of yours will fail..."

DIO snickers. "Don't worry, Nocturna. We are here only to serve you... Nothing else..." He bows with respect.

"I have a feeling that you're only wishing to kill us off once you achieve Heaven."

"I assure you... I will not..." DIO, while bowing, gives a sinister sneer while doing so.

Meanwhile...

"Anne..." whispered Miguel.

Gabrielle, with woged ears, hears this.

She woges them back to their human form.

"God..." said Gabrielle.

"What?" asked Josuke.

Gabrielle grabs her back. "My back's aching..."

Josuke sighs and takes out Prince, which heals Gabrielle.

Gabrielle sighs, thanking Josuke, and walking outside of the RV.

She sees a lake and grabs a stone. She then throws it into the lake, allowing it to skip around. She threw it so hard that it was tossed a few kilometers away. 

Gabrielle sighs and picks up another stone, preparing to throw it again.

"Hey," said Miguel.

Gabrielle's eyes turn to Miguel. "What?"

"Just bored..." said Miguel.

"I heard you were whispering Mom's name..." said Gabrielle. "What's that about? I thought you hated her." Gabrielle throws another stone into the lake.

Miguel breathes in. "I did love her. When I was a kid, I confessed to only two girls. Anne and Jessica." Miguel throws another stone. "I hated both of them because they rejected me."

"I get it-..."

"No... No, you don't. I'm sorry, but you don't, kid...My whole life, I was rejected. When people learned that I'm destined to save the world, I was still rejected. I mean... in a way... I felt so happy... being crucified as the people cheered for my death like savages... But... As time went on, I began to realize that it was just another rejection. It was the end of my life. It was a swansong to my original roots. I died as I lived: Rejected."

"I don't reject you."

"Sooner or later you will. That's why I don't trust you."

"Ah..."

"But I respect you. Y'know what? I take back what I said. Maybe you do know about being rejected to some degree. You were rejected by your mother at times because she was depressed about your father's death... You were rejected by America... You were rejected by Tooru... And right now, I'm rejecting to have a connection with you, which is pretty unfair, huh?I'm truly sorry, but I just don't trust anyone anymore."

"But... Is this all humanity is? Constant rejection of each other? This causes all the world's problems?"

"I was rejected. I never became a world's problem. I became someone who was painted as one."

"MABUS would beg to differ."

"You got me, there." Miguel chuckles.

"I'm tired... Is this the break everyone's talking about? And after a few minutes, a random Stand or supernatural phenomenon will encounter and attack us-..."

"Yeah... That's how it works... We just keep getting buried underneath all of these piles of... no... buckets of... water... drowning in the calamities..."

"Keep our hopes up?" Gabrielle throws yet another rock.

"Pretty much... I always thought that I'd get the girl... if I saved the world and earned my place to be respected by people around me... Have a functioning family... Get a job... Grow old with the people I love... I didn't get what I deserved... Or... maybe I did... Well... I saved the world and I was rewarded with 3,600 years of pain and suffering. So... I don't trust anyone anymore. I don't even trust nature."

"Do you still love your version of my Mom?"

Miguel pauses. "Is it tragic if I reply, 'yes'?"

"Hay Naku... (Gimme a break...) Don't answer. I'll cry if you cry..."

*CRASH!!!*

"And... THERE it is!" yelled Gabrielle. "Should we alert the others?"

"Have you watched any JoJo's!? We always do battles on our own!" yelled Miguel.

Miguel and Gabrielle approach a wooden house nearby.

Meanwhile...

Jotaro slept on the bed as Irene put his head on her lap, sleeping as well. 

Shizuka stares at Jotaro. "My whole life, you rejected me... Where even were you!? Who does that!?" she thought. "I bet Irene knows how to catch a ball..."

"She doesn't, actually," whispered Jotaro, opening his eyes.

Shizuka's eyes widen. "Pa... Chichi... (Pa... Father... (Chichi=Informal for Father...))"

Jotaro stands up and covers Irene up with a blanket.

He does the same with Shizuka, who declines by pushing it away. 

"My jacket's warm," said Shizuka.

Jotaro sighs. "Your hands are cold."

"You didn't hold them. How would you know?" she said. "Don't hold them," she thought.

"I don't have to," said Jotaro. "Your hands are very pale. Your skin's tightened... You're shivering... Wear. A. Blanket."

Shizuka turns away. "Hai... Sumimasen. (Sure... Sorry.)"

"You don't have to be so formal," said Jotaro.

"Stop talking," said Shizuka.

Jotaro nods and lies back down, but this time, he lies a bit farther from Irene and closer to Shizuka. Jotaro lies in equidistance between Irene and Shizuka.

Meanwhile...

Miguel takes out his sticks. 

Gabrielle takes out Stone Free.

Gabrielle smells the air but doesn't pick up anyone... or... anything... that is alive, that is.

*sniff... sniff...*

"What? Do you have allergies or snot?" asked Miguel.

"I'm picking up the enemy's scent, jackass!" yelled Gabrielle.

"So... allergies..." said Miguel.

*CLANG!!!*

A pan falls on the ground.

Miguel begins to sense something. "It's a ghost."

"H-... HUH!?" asked Gabrielle. "Wh-What!?"

"Don't tell me that you're afraid of ghosts..." said Miguel.

"Pfft! Me!? No!"

Miguel senses something. "I see...You used to watch horror movies with your Dad as a kid...And now that he's gone..."

Gabrielle grabs her arm and gulps.

Miguel sighs. "Honestly..."

Miguel grabs Gabrielle's hand and he leads her inside. "We have to exorcise this thing."

"Wait... I don't wanna-...!"

"Just trust me."

"But you don't trust me."

"Fine! I trust you!"

"How do I know that you aren't just saying that? I don't wanna be double-crossed anymore, y'know?"

"*sigh...*" Miguel summons Diana Prince's Lasso of Truth. "I promise I won't. *sigh...* I wish I wasn't so alone..." He looks like he's about to cry. His eyes widen as he teleports the lasso back to Diana. "Let's exorcise this creature. First! We have to know what creature it is!"

"Oh!" yelled Gabrielle. "So... Phasmophobia!"

"Well! No..." said Miguel. "Anyway! First, we should take out these sanity detectors!" yelled Miguel.

Miguel shows Gabrielle a sanity detector that randomly comes out of his pocket.

"This is exactly like Phas," said Gabrielle.

"No," said Miguel. "Now... we're still at 100%. Now! We will now check the place for fingerprints or ghostwriting with this!" Miguel shows her a UV flashlight.

"Seriously?" asked Gabrielle.

"Shut up. Just go with it."

After checking the whole house... They find out that the house has both ghostwriting and fingerprints...

"Great! We're almost done! Is the Electromagnetic Field a Level 5?" asked Miguel.

"No," said Gabrielle.

"Ghost Orbs?"

"No."

"Spirit Box?"

"No. And this is just Phasmophobia..."

"Uh-huh... So! It is a demon!" smiled Miguel.

Gabrielle gives a frightened and mortified look.

"Sorry... I mean... We could totally exorcise it with either a crucifix or golden jewelry. Happy music, perhaps?"

"You're a Chosen One! Can't you just exorcise it!?"

"Oh... Right... But I was kinda nearly bonked for nearly killing Mephisto. It could also be a Jinn! But nah... It's a Demon. I remember beating a Jinn at arm wrestling a thousand years ago when I visited Saudi Arabia for 30 minutes. He sounded like Robin Williams."

"How do you exorcise a house!?"

Miguel warps out salt and creates a circle around them.

"Don't step on the salt," said Miguel. "And stay inside the salt. If not, you'll die. I'll be fine, though."

"Can't you just bring me back?"

"Depends. How much do you enjoy paradise? Will you leave when you meet your dead parents?"

Gabrielle's eyes widen and quiver. "Ah..."

Miguel whispers Latin phrases. Gabrielle knows the prayer, so she joins in.

Gabrielle thinks. "Come to think of it... This is the first time in years where Dad and I exorcised demons... Well... he's not really my Dad... But he's a lot like him. This... This is nice."

"HEY!!! ASSHOLE!!!" yelled Miguel. "WAKE THE FUCK UP OR I'LL ERASE YA!!!"

Gabrielle feels a cold breath on her neck. "Wait... What even is that!?" 

She feels cold... She hears bones clacking... She hears sloshing sounds of presumable flesh...Humming could be heard... Someone whispers in her ear...

And...

A demon appears. It's a man.

"Oh. Angel Dust," said Miguel.

"What?" asked "Angel Dust."

Gabrielle shivers in fear. "Uh... W-w-w-w-wa..."

"You okay?" asked Miguel.

"STONE FREE!!!"

"WHOA!!! CHILL!!!" yelled Miguel.

Angel Dust is unamused. "Is this your sperm's test result?"

"Christ! No... She's a variant," said Miguel.

"Haha! Just kidding with you!" laughed Angel Dust. "So... You finally found somebody, toots?"

"Not exactly..." said Miguel.

"She's a bastard!? Oh! Too bad for you, then..."

Gabrielle squints her eyes.

"Still working for that fucking pimp?" asked Miguel.

"Yeah. Problem with that, cream cheeks?" asked Angel.

"Yeah. On Earth, we call that abuse."

"Uh... I'm from Earth?"

"Clearly you were too stupid to understand your own culture."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is this guy your ex!?" asked Gabrielle.

"I won't answer that," said Miguel. "Not in the mood."

"Yep! Fucked day and night for almost 50 years in the hyperbolic time room! Boy! Smelled like rancid balls when I came back after breaking up!"

"Will you please shut the fuck up?"

"I thought you Christians are supposed to turn the other cheek?"

"I beat people with sticks. I have my own religion."

"More like a cult. Now turn your other cheek so I could blow my load all over it."

"Why don't you take a pill?"

"Like you did before sex?"

"I should've taken a sleeping drug so I don't have to see your-!"

"OKAY!!! TOO MUCH INTO DETAIL, GUYS!!!" yelled Gabrielle.

"Be quiet, sperm donate!" yelled Angel.

"Fuck off, pale four-armed Lakshmi-lookin' ass."

"Atta girl. Go for his appearance. That's one of his billions of insecurities," said Miguel.

"Will you shut the fuck up!?" yelled Angel.

"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" yelled the pair.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"

"SHUT THE FUCK... UP!!!" yelled Angel. "I'll stop haunting this place since you assholes are here!"

"Why are you even here!?" asked Miguel.

"THIS IS A BROTHEL!!!" yelled Angel.

Miguel looks around and realizes something. With all the poles and the bar-like structure, having empty beer bottles lying around. Yes, it was a brothel.

"Welp. Bye!" yelled Miguel.

"Just when you thought IT'S A GODDAMNED time for peace and QUIET!!!" Angel teleports away.

"Asshole..." sighed Miguel.

Later...

"Who was he, anyway?" asked Gabrielle.

"We were together for 50 years... but when then he started acting cold toward me when I tried getting closer. He pushed me away. So I dumped him," said Miguel.

"You're actually bi," said Gabrielle. 

"Got a problem with that, kid?"

"How do guys... Where do they put-...?"

"What?"

"Where do they put it in!?" Gabrielle blushed.

"Okay... Birds and the bees... Gay edition... Well... I was expecting to speak to my son about this... Not the daughter... IT SHOULD BE THE MOTHER WHO-!!! Right... Estranged... Fuck... Uh... This is really awkward and inappropriate.Don't you care!?"

Gabrielle smiles and shakes her head. "You're all I've got! And I like that I get to connect with you!"

Miguel's eyes widen. He wipes his eyes.

"Wut?"

"N-Nothing... Just... A dusty old fly flew into my eye..."

"Well?"

"Welp! Back to awkwardness and inappropriate conversation! Uh..."

Miguel whispers to her ear.

Gabrielle's smile turns into a mortified look. She blushes, feeling dirty.

"THAT'S SEXUAL HARRASSMENT!!!" yelled Gabrielle.

"YOU SAID YOU'D BE FINE WITH IT!!!"

"YOUR OWN DAUGHTER!!!"

"Goddamn it..." sighed Miguel. 

"N-No way... IT DOESN'T FIT THERE!!!"

"Oh, it does... The same goes with women..."

"Wh-... Is that what Tooru was suggesting once!? EW!!! EW EW EW EW EW EW!!! ALL MEN (except Narcos because she's a woman who turned into one of them) ARE GROSS!!! EW!!!"

"Yeah... Well... We all kinda are... physically, sexually, and mentally..."

Gabrielle gives a terrifying look and begins to smile. "Could I do it to Narcos, though?" She blushes and sneers.

"What the honest hell is wrong with you and how are you my daughter?" asked Miguel.

"I get it from Mom!"

"Ah... That makes sense..."

Meanwhile...

Shizuka still feels cold and is shivering while asleep.

Time stopped. Time resumed.

Shizuka stops shivering. She opens her eyes and sees that she's been properly tucked into a sleeping bag like a little eggroll. She turns to Jotaro, who is now smiling. She turns red. "Yare yare dawa... Arigatou... Papa... (Gimme a break... Thanks... Papa....)"