/co/ spooky thread

>you are anon
>it's been a rather long week, and you can feel the beginnings of anxiety creeping into your life like a stubborn vine, especially this time of year
>after a bumbling moron tried to mug you and failed while you walked on your way home, you've had your fill, and decide to go to your favorite place to "cool off"
>it's an old manor built a half century back, but it was abandoned in the will of its last owner, you heard they were a real life Scrooge-type.
>you make your way in, dragging your things as you sit in the folding chair you keep for these days.
>after about 15 minutes of recuperating you tend to your "things", the very "thing" that tried to mug you earlier.
>the would-be thief lays unconcious from your fortunately accurate hit earlier, you sit looking at him wondering if he's worth the energy
>you drag him to the basement and get ready to dispose of him with a trick you "learned" from a chance encounter with a magic lamp last October. What a year it's been since. You've been able to let your stress out on those who've legitimately wronged you, and you can't even be caught for it. There's nothing left to find.
>as you raise your arm to blast this idiot into smithereens and get some restful sleep later, you notice someone else is doing ghoulish things in this basement
>a pale-ish, almost purple looking woman in a long coat is seemingly starting to eat someone, their neck specifically.
>You notice and turn to each other, victims in hand, in a very dark basement, in a dilapidated manor, only 15 feet apart
>you're first thought is "great, I'm probably going to have to get rid of her too, or I'm next".
>after a loaded pause and almost no motion in the room, she gets a smirk on her face and casually asks you:"come here often?"
>what a bizzare turn of events. You're being flirted with by an apparent cannibal in a cellar, and as you're about to blow a thief to bits. Maybe diplomacy is the best way to do this.
>"Yes, as a matter of fact, I come here quite often. I've been coming here once or twice a month for the last year or so. But I've never seen you or anyone else here. What /are/ you doing here? I'm a little preoccupied..." She's out of range, if you can just get closer...
>Her smirk turns into a more suspecting look, this might be harder than you though. "I /was/ going to have a bite to eat before moving on...but this is too interesting to ignore, even if I'm short on time. I've been moving for a few weeks now, been through a lot of places across the state, but no one has been as notable to bump into as you. Not that vagrants and drugies are very interesting. Just what were you going to do to that man?"
>this isn't good, she's getting inquisitive. If she hasn't figured you out yet, she's about to. It's time to cut this short. "How about I show you. Come a bit closer so you can see."
>she didn't even try to hold in her laughter. "Ah...yes, never heard /that/ before, oh that's precious...but I don't think you understand who you're talking to. I'm-"
>and before her condescension continues, a brute of a man barges through the wall behind her, knocking her forward. She lands almost at your feet.
>"You're a filthy souless vampire is what you are." The man turns his attention to you. "May want to back up, sir. Those things are dang-, wait. That man behind you...that's not her's. This one doesn't take more than one per town. The talking...that's yours! What, you some kinda serial killer? Seen plenty of you freaks to recognize it, barely better than the actual monsters!" He then spits on your work shirt.
>the "vampire" can wait, this fast-talking wanna-be knight in shining armor is a far bigger threat to your peaceful life you've made.
>You steady yourself and stand firmly. Even if he barged through a wall made with solid oak wood. "Well, you figured me out right quick, I'm impressed. I suppose you'll try to deal with me yourself, as the police clearly haven't been able to, like with the vampire girl, yes?" You look down at her as you finish speaking. She carefully gestures you not to give away her not-being ko'd by the hit. This'll be fun.
>The man starts carefully moving toward you, he's done this before, a lot. "That's right, killer. I do my part cleaning up the streets. And taking care of ghoulish predators, literal or not, is what I do."
>What a blow-hard. You didn't think people like this existed outside of uncreative DnD campaigns anymore. He's only a foot away from the vampires feet now, he's in range of your power's attack. But your "friend" seems to have a plan of her own too.
>as the apparent vampire hunter reaches for a hatchet in his coat, the vampire does something you really weren't expecting, even for tonight's standards of events.
>She trips him.
>And now hes falling into you. Is she trying to get you killed? Probably.
>as he already begins to catch himself, to your dismay, you raise your right arm and drop it as hard as you can. As you do this, the vampire has already gotten up, and swinging a 6'x1' beam of oak wood at his back.
>you no longer doubt she's a real vampire. She did all that in one second, and is swinging over 100 pounds like a baseball bat.
>she hits first, causing him to arch back, you hit him in the chest. Now you can use your power, and the idiot explodes into burning smoke from his chest out to his fingers and toes in a flash. He's been eliminated without a trace.
>she drops the wood with a sigh of relief. "Well, that was fun. We should do this again sometime. I'm sibella by the way." She reaches out to shake your hand. You just killed a man with a van-Helsing complex, and she wants to shake your hand. She's wonderful.
>You catch yourself getting carried away already, this is an immortal being of the night, if ever there was such a thing as an unknown variable, this is that. And if she ever decided to be a problem...low life's who mug you or jackasses who try to cheat you are easy to blow to smithereens without much issue.
>she's considerably more dangerous. But far more interesting because of it. You should at least reciprocate.
>You shake her hand, it's not cold like Hollywood would have you believe, guess that makes sense. "Fun is one word for it, I guess. My name is /anon/, and the feeling is mutual. I don't think I could've taken him so easily myself."
>She chuckles shortly and starts brushing dirt from the floor off her self, "Well he wouldn't have been here to barge in if I wasn't here, so I should be thanking you. Either way, we should meet back here some other time, when we're less..." She throws a look at the bound thief behind you,"occupied?"
>This is a huge risk, it could be a trick, but not likely one you suppose. If she'd wanted you dead you'd be dead by now. Besides that, this is the first and only chance you've had and likely will have to start on the path to your true goal.
>"hmm, I can be here the day after tomorrow, Friday night around 8:30 or so." That way you can stop by your house and check on your /investment/."sounds good, see you then.", and like that she quickly absconds into the night.
>You finish eliminating that thief, in less than a minute too, and are about to head out when you see something on the floor. It's a rat with a badly broken hind leg. You figure it must've been in the wall when the Van-Helsing-aspirant broke through.
>But that's not what's interesting you, it's what the rat just now swallowed a hearty lick of: a 1" spot of blood. Her blood. You can't help but stare at the menacing spot on the ground, and the rat that just tasted it. You have a hunch on what happens next but, you can't be sure until it does.
>It only took a moment. The rats hind leg, which was so badly broken the bone broke the skin, was not only already starting to close the wound, but the bone set itself back in place.
>You wouldn't believe it if you hadn't been through everything you have, this rat just turned into some kind of vampire rat. "I should probably kill that before it causes trouble...", you should definitely kill it before it causes trouble.
>you snatch it up as it finishes healing and are about to destroy it, but it overpowers your grip and runs away into the wall, much faster tha a rat should be able to move. The rat actually overpowered your hand. You're personally offended that this little vermin made a fool of you. Your thoughts turn to desires of blowing it to bits from here, almost obsessively so for a moment, you're seething. A damn rat got away after all you've done?
>It's then you hear a bang and see smoke come from where it ran off to. Did you...you haven't gained any new skills with your powers in months, could you really have just learned a new technique? You touch a rock and throw it a good 20 feet away, and sure enough, it blows up like it was in your hand.
>this is the best night you've had in years. It could only be better if you had enough of that blood for yourself, and your special asset back home. Ah, another time, this warrants celebration: a cup of decaf and a long night of sleep in your own bed.
>After two fairly standard days at work, it's finally Friday evening. You're pretty certain the only reason your new friend invited you to meet is because of your "talent".
>You're still not out of danger yet, it could be a trick to get you to reveal the source of it. Despite the unlikelyhood of it, it's always better to be prepared and not need to be ,than the alternative.
>It's 7:30pm, before you leave you have one last thing to do. Check on your special asset in the basement. You unlock the door hidden on the floor of your closet, and climb down the narrow steps. In the far edge of the cellar, your safe.
>About 3' tall and deep, by 4' wide, made of heavy grade steel. You undo the combination lock, use the key on your key-hook, and put in a second combonation. You pull the heavy door open and look in.
>Inside is your personal documents, some emergency cash, a handful of precious metal chunks, and something wrapped in a cloth on the top shelf. You pull the cloth open carefully and peer in it, within is a stone artifact you acquired from the same wish-granter that gave you your powers. Well, it's still there for that day when everything is in place.
>You methodically put everything back in place, relock the safe, and rearrange your closet floor to conceal the door again. Time for your little meeting. It's overcast, cold, blustery, but not raining or snowing. Perfect that much harder to be followed by aspiring criminals...or vampire hunters.
>You head out in a waterproof coat, light sweater, dark colored durable work-type pants, hiking boots, and you bring a flashlight. You might be out for a while, and there's no telling what may happen. You lock the three locks on your door and start the hike the old manor.
>The old building is unchanged from how you left it, no new foot prints in the foyer, no sign of any flashlights or lanterns, so far so good. You decide it's best to check upstairs after your surprise the other night. A handful of empty rooms in disrepair and one room that was still half-furnished from the long dead owner. It's clear.
>After a sigh of relief that no one was hiding up here, you feel there's no point in delaying any longer, time to head down to the basement. You carefully walk down the old steps, alert as ever, and reach the dirt floor. You can't see her yet, that's not encouraging.
>Should you call out, or look around the rest of the basement? Might be better to just look around, and besides, she still might not be the only one here. You walk over to that fresh hole in the wall, and look around the other side. Nothing but a few old wooden shipping crates on the far wall...
>"Oh you can't be serious.", you mutter to yourself. Surely she's not just hiding in a box to get the drop on you? You quietly walk over to the crates, and blow the nails off the crates one by one and look inside. Nothing of note in the first ones, only one big one left.
>Your heart starts beating faster in anticipation, and you blow the nails out of the top as before. You lift up the wooden lid, and get ready for her to leap out from within.
>But nothing happens, it's empty. "Well, that's not embarrassing." You sarcastically lament. You stand there for a second feeling silly for being so paranoid and anxious, she's likely running late.
>Suddenly, just as you start to relax again, you feel two points press into the left side of your neck, right on your carotid. A cascade of several things happen in very quick succession, almost simultaneously.
>First, you jump to your right and turn towards your left while letting out a very short but loud "gyah" type sound. You see her half-hanging from the ceiling, feet embedded in a dense oak support beam, her left hand holding another beam, her right arm hanging down with her index and middle finger out and curved slightly, with a smug look of satisfaction to top it off.
>Meanwhile, you stepped in an old soup bowl when you spun around and are now falling backwards onto your ass, unable to catch yourself. You land on the cold hard dusty floor, and lay flat on your back as you catch your breath, the feeling of adrenaline, mild soreness in your right leg from tripping on the bowl, and last but not least by any means: embarrassment.
>"You okay down there?" She asks, barely holding back laughter at the display. You pick yourself back up and start to dust yourself off. "Fine, just fine. My heart almost stopped and my pride is severely wounded, but sure, I'm alright." I guess this means you're not in much danger, at least.
>Now you can let yourself relax a little bit, it's tiring being so on edge. When you look up from dusting yourself off, she's just landing back on the floor. "Well good, I'd hate to start off the night making you sprain your ankle, or break something."
>This is going to take getting used to, especially since you want to get close enough to her to be given the boon of immortality. And at that point, you may as well stay on good terms at the very least. Okay, now you have a new goal, get to know this...Sibella woman, or at least establish some trust.
>There's a deafening silence, you stay quiet thinking she'll offer up why you were invited, and she's expecting you to ask about her state of being. You're just about to break down and ask why she wanted you to come here, when she asks something first "So, that little trick you did with the hunter the other night, mind telling me how you did that? Never heard of someone or something being able to do that."
>How much should you reveal? You don't want to risk saying too much, but being too short won't help you be trustworthy. "Well, about a year ago I came across a being that could make ones desires a reality. I asked for the power specifically because I thought it'd be extremely useful. I can do it on command so long as I've touched the thing I want to detonate. And it can be anything-" you reach into your pocket, and take out a dime.
>You throw it at a rat hiding in the corner of the room "-like this dime, or anything else..." You detonate it the moment it hits the rat, and in a quick blast it's gone.
>"So, Sibella was it? I'm sure you've been waiting for me to ask about your vampirism, but personally I think it's mostly self explanatory. I'm more interested in what brings you here, to this town. And how does one usually becomes a vampire in the first place? Movies and books aren't so reliable." She doesn't appear to take offense to your asking, good.
>She doesn't lose her positive facial expression,"Why I'm out here...well you remember our party crasher from the other night? Him and his friends found me out, funnily enough, about a year ago or so. They've been catching up one at a time, roughly once a month, but usually I just slip away from them and move on to a different town, I've only had to actually fight them off twice, and only once did they get killed. Pushed him off an observation deck at a national park, almost got me that time too."
>she's briefly carried away reminiscing, but resumes the story, "Anyway, despite clearly not taking it very personally myself, they're dead-set on putting me down, even before I took out one of them. This town was just the next one over from the last.". That's about what you'd figured, but it's good to have it confirmed, one less thing to worry about.
>Her expression finally becomes more serious, good, that means it should be accurate information. "Now, as for your other question, that's one I haven't heard in awhile. Most people are too worried about divine judgement, or 'losing their humanity' to consider being a vampire. I assume that's why you're asking?" Really no point in hiding it, you nod affirmatively.
>"Right, often it's a transfer of our blood to a person, it doesn't take a lot to get the ball rolling, and the other way is to be turned into one via curse or spell or what ever word you use for it, but that's very rare." You can't help but grin a little bit, considering your encounter last year, and what you have stored at home.
>You walk a little closer before asking your next question,"Thank you, that's actually very helpful. But I do have another, less personal question." Sibella raises an eyebrow. "Go ahead."
>"These people hunting you, I can only assume they keep track of their own, especially when they're after you. And being we live in an age with such easy travel, it wouldn't take them more than a couple days to make it here no matter where they are. With that, should we be preparing for a visit from them soon? They can't be more than 12 hours out, and it won't take them long to find this place." You can hear a distant thunderstorm through the old basement windows.
>Sibella sits on a crate, thinking about it for a moment before responding. "You're right, they could be here anytime in the next day or so. Do you want to go into hiding, there's still time to put some distance between them and us, or did you have another plan? These men don't take kindly to interference, especially from people with your...hobby."
>Even in this short time, you're feeling confident you can achieve immortality before the weekend is out, you'll be outnumbered, and you're more useful with the skills and strength of a vampire than without, especially with your powers. That's not even counting your asset back home.
>You take a deep breath to keep yourself even-headed, the stress of this situation is starting to build up, you need to regulate yourself. Especially with the bold moves you're about to make. You speak with conviction, this is becoming personal.
>"I've been a killer of lowlifes, cheats, and general deplorable people for a year now, if the threat of someone taking issue with my lifestyle made me want to run away, I would be very far from here by now. No, I don't plan to run. I have a far better, more long term plan. We can eliminate them ourselves."
>Sibella looks at you with an incredulous expression. "I don't think you understand how many there are, they'll send a team of half a dozen to investigate his last know location, then the other 20, well, 19 now, will show up to search the town. They won't leave till they either know we've left, or killed us themselves. They're not much better than a pack of murderers-" Sibella catches herself "-uh, no offense of course. Still, how would we be able to take all of them on?"
>Now you can't help but stifle a quiet laugh, this is what you've been good at your whole life, overthinking things to where you can plan and prepare for bad outcomes or possibilities. This is your strength, why you're still a free man, and why this weekend will be the beginning of a new life. Tonight may even be the last night you have to fight anxiety at all.
>"I may be a mere man who's fairly lucky, but I'm cautious and methodical in my planning. I maintain my fortune through planned and confident action, and it is this lifestyle that has prepared myself accordingly."
>Now you had Sibella's attention. At this point you'd probably have anyone's. "Just what are you talking about? This better not be some trick to get me to /turn/ you, only for you to leave me behind." She has good instinct, you'd expect no different were the roles switched.
>"I don't expect you to simply buy it, I wouldn't either. I believe extraordinary people are drawn to each other by a gravity of sorts, they eventually will cross paths and something of importance will happen. You can keep running around until they give up or get lucky. I'm going to survive, and then I'm going to thrive."
>Sibella stood up, with a more serious expression now."Alright, you've convinced me. I'll hear you out, but what /is/ this plan of yours?" You feel relieved that you won't have to get desperate to do it, finally, the pieces are in place. "Simple, we outsmart them. But first, we should head to my home. It's probably best we not be here when /they/ arrive."
>After modest hike through the brush and a short walk through the edge of the suburbs, you reach your home. The whole way back, you both were alert as possible, keeping an eye out for the slightest indication of being watched or followed. You lock the door behind Sibella, and check the peephole. "Okay, follow me."
>You pull back your closet carpet, open the door, and both of you head down. You set up a folding table and chairs you kept down there for reorganizing the safe every so often."have a seat while I finish setting up."
>Sibella got right to discussing the plan as soon as she did so, "So I suppose given the circumstances, you ought to be turned soon. When did you want to do that, it can knock you out for a bit, so-" Sibella is interrupted by the sound of a crossbow being fired from your cellar door, down at her.
>The bolt cut about a half inch deep as it grazes her arm and lands in your left leg. The force and surprise knocks you off-balance and you fall backwards. The next sensation you feel is light-headedness, it feels like the room is spinning. You think you understand what's going on as you black out.
>The assailant drops the eight feet from the door to the cellar floor,"Finally, cornered. Now, after all this effort, I can pay you back for Buccialati Fugocci! The good man you threw off a cliff!" He quickly reloads a shot and takes aim.
>You start to come to, to the sounds of an absurd sounding Italian name being shouted in a righteous tone, no less. What a life you live. You already feel the changes, stronger, faster, greater awareness, heightened senses, even regeneration of wounds.
>While your "guest" is distracted you carefully bolt from the floor, to behind him, without hardly a sound. Luckily he's too busy being your typical blowhard vigilante. You swipe your hand flat ways at his neck to test your new abilities. He's almost effortlessly decapitated in an instant. You just barely stifle the surprising urge to say 'Wrrryyy' as you do so.
>You take a moment to inspect yourself and take note of what you notice different. Looking at your hands with improved eyesight, you can see detailed patterns and grooves in far greater precision than ever before. You have immensely improved muscle control and sense as well. "Hmm, immortal eh?"
>Sibella steps a couple feet closer."How do you feel? Any burning or pain? That'd mean your body's rejecting it." You turn your focus to your body as a whole. You can actually /feel/ your internal processes, almost on command. "No pain, or discomfort. No, I feel good." You pick up the crossbow from the ground, and crush it like a soda can with you left hand, it's not even your dominant hand.
>You're about to say something to Sibella, but are interrupted by a conversation from all the way outside your house, in your front yard. They're getting worried about their comrade. You rip off your sweater like you were taking a piece of lint off of it, to expose your button up shirt, you certainly aren't bothered by the cold anymore.
>You grab the mask and put it between the back of your undershirt and your button-up, using the waistband of your pants to keep it in place. "I should keep this on my person now, they could take the safe too easily. Now..." You both hear a couple of the hunters calling out for 'Dino' from the doorway.
>"I'll take care of them, I want to celebrate my new life, and let out my frustration with them." You silently step up the ladder and up into your home. You feel something new about your power, like its evolved again. It seems being tested through conflict is the secret to expanding this power of yours.
>standing 10 feet from you, half behind the door frame, is one of them. You carefully look around the hallway wall-corner at him. He looks anxious, and is trying to talk this out with his ally, suggesting they send several inside to look. Why must you be in such a stressful situation?
>But you will make them disappear. The new feeling with your power is coalescing in your left arm, and gradually flowing down to your left hand. Almost like instinct, you know how to use it, even though you don't know for sure what 'it' is. You look at your left hand see it begin to have a faint aura around it.
>When you wished for this power, you didn't wish to have an exact copy, just the powers of the Stand itself, without needing the actual Stand. Did that creature actually decide to give you the full package anyways? You raise your left arm and innately fire something toward the two.
>It flies at blinding speed into tweedledee's headlamp, and goes through his head. No way, you actually have...well that's very good news. Tweedledum is stunned by his cohort crumpling to the ground so suddenly. On his shoulder, you can see what you released crawl up on top of it. It says something in a voice like your own:"Look over here."
>You can't help but smile at the sight, hell the whole situation. This is becoming fun. However you notice something about your new boon; it doesn't look completely like its original iteration. On the hunter you've dubbed tweedledum's shoulder is a small tank-like thing, but it's color is more violet injluenced than blue and green, and it's...smoother in overall aesthetics. Interesting.
>Tweedledum is still paralized as your assistant beckons again,"Oy! Look over here!". He looks, and it explodes the moment he looks in its direction. A ball of energy returns to your left hand. "So, it's only mostly the same, not completely? I see." You wonder how much more you can gain access to by fighting these Cretans.
>The isolated explosion fails to draw any relevant attention, they must not be able to see it. You check the clock across your living room: it's already 12:30am, sunrise isn't till about 7:00am, plenty of time. You head back to your cellar,"The door is clear for the moment, there's another place we can regroup. Follow me." Before you leave you annihilate your documentation. You can't risk letting them get that.
>The both of you carefully maneuver past their lights and quickly slink over the roof as they stand about waiting for their sole scout to return. You almost pity the waiting they'll be doing. You make your way halfway across town to an old church in the process of being restored. Thanks to a zoning snafu, it's not being worked on lately. And who'd look for vampires in a church?
>The both of you sit on the only pew left in there."Well, I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten in a long while. We should probably start thinking about that before it gets too long." You nod in agreement, you haven't even thought about how that's going to work now. You guess you'll have to cross that bridge when you come to it.
>You sit there for a moment, thinking about how it felt to use your new tracer bomb. You lift up your left arm and try to focus on the feeling before you were going to fire it. You see that aural glow again, but you don't follow through on firing, you instead shift gears to focusing on wanting to smash an empty glass bottle on the ground in front of you.
>For a moment, you feel something, like something just on the edge of being able to release, but it's not. "Anon, what are you doing? You're staring at a dirty bottle on the floor like it's insulting you." You have an epiphany right then. "Sibella, I need a favor from you. Take something like a pole, and try to hit me in the head with it as hard as you can, I want to try something."
>Been a couple hours since she last tried to hold back a laugh. "Sure, why not...this work?" It's a rusty piece of rebar. You are not excited for how that'll feel if your hunch is incorrect."That works. Now really try to hit me with it." She raises the rebar above her head, and you focus again on that feeling. It's swung down with more force than you'd care to know right now.
>Just as it's about to hit you right on the head, it stops. You can see a light bluish blur as an arm comes from your shoulder, and catches the rebar. "Hey, what-what'd you do?". You don't answer, you're too excited and focused on the arm. You just broke the ice with a very strong aspect of you power that you'd only suspected.
>You study the spectral projection for a moment, and you notice quite a few details. First, its color: it's not really light blue, it's more the kind of bright violet-blue you'd think of with UV light. There's a darker purple glove on its hand and wrist, with silver diamond-shape studs on its knuckles. It has a round elbow pad of the same color of purple.
>You manage to tear your stare from the arm and look back at Sibella. "You can't see what's holding the pipe? You can let go of it." She does just that ,and it stays in place. You give a mild amount of focus, and are able to have the arm lower the bar and hand it off to your hand before you retract it.
>"No, no I couldn't see anything, it just stopped for no reason. Why, what was it?". You look at the bar and notice slight indentations where the fingers held it. The force behind this must've been staggering. "An arm, it came from my shoulder and caught the bar reflexively. It's a new part of my...abilities." She thinks for a moment before asking something,"What kind of 'ability' is this anyways? You always seem so defensive of saying much about it."
>You suppose you couldn't avoid this conversation forever. "There's a foreign fictional story in which a power, the main power in the series, is a manifestation of psychic energy wielded by its user, almost always a humanoid form. It's called a「Stand」, and each one has a unique talent or ability. To those who don't have the power, they're invisible, and the user appears to have telekinesis."
>"I was partial to one of those, and when I encountered a creature who professed itself to grant wishes, I asked for its powers, without needing the「Stand」itself. I noticed earlier that it decided to give me the physical tracer bomb of that「Stand」, and just now verified that creature did indeed give me the whole package. I'm rather excited to be honest." Sibella sits down and seems to reflect on what you said for a minute.
>She then looks back over to you,"You said its arm came out, can the rest of it come out too?". You try to summon it once again, and it feels closer than with the bottle, but no luck. "No, it seems only partially, and likely only as a reflex for now. It's been evolving and growing with all this action lately, I doubt it'll take long at this rate." She starts contemplating again. What's she thinking?
>"This 'creature', where did you meet it? Do you know if it's still there?". Now you can't help but wonder if she wants to acquire a「Stand」too. This could be an interesting development."I ran into it in a cave near my campsite, in the Sierra Nevada mountains while on a trip last autumn. It disappeared after my wishes were granted, I got the mask from there too. It said we may meet again if I'm lucky, and that id know where to look. I thought it was just being cheeky."
>She stands back up from the dusty pew,"Well, where do you think it went? It sounds like it knew how events would unfold and giving you a hint." Now you sit down and start thinking. Was there something recently that's related to the meeting? You were planning another camping trip, but this time to a desert campsite south of Las Vegas. Maybe...maybe it meant it'll be in another cave near /that/ campsite.
>You stand back up,"It's probably going to be near a campsite I booked for next month. It's in an area in the southern tip of Nevada, no more than a day's drive from here. Why do you ask?" She smirks at your question."I think you know why. You can incinerate anything, shoot a tracer bomb, catch things heading to you, and who knows what else. Surely that'd be a useful thing for anyone to have, especially if we're such good friends now."
>If you'd been asked about the source of your powers a week ago, you'd have blown whoever they were to smithereens to protect that secret. Now you're about to willingly share that power with someone. What bizarre few days it's been. "Alright, well, it's only 1:00am, we could start for the site now, get about halfway, and take shelter for the day until sunset."
>You then remember one crucial issue with that plan."We'll need a car, mine is in my garage at home. They might've left to search for us once they figured out we're not there." Sibella starts walking to the door,"Well the sooner we get moving, the better. Come on.". She's almost, if not just as self-assured as you are.
>Sure enough, there's no one there, or around there, when you get to your house. They didn't even leave a guard. You quickly change into fresh clothes and grab a messenger bag to carry the mask and a few other things in. You both jump in your car, unassuming and inconspicuous as ever, and head for the desert as fast as you can without drawing attention.
>Leaving from northern Nevada at 1:15am, you make it just past a town in the middle of the state, Austin, by 4:45am. By 6:45am, the light of dawn is fast approaching. According to the national weather service, sunrise is at 7:29am today. You pull off the freeway and find a trail just outside some town called Round Mountain. You park and find an old mine a while from the trail, and in the knick of time, it's 7:20am.
>Even the light of dawn was getting to be too much to look at. While you may be stuck in a mine until...6:14pm at the earliest, you brought the folding chairs and table, as well as your camping supplies you keep in your car. The two of you take turns sleeping and keeping an eye on the entrance. When the daylight dims, and the sun finally sets, you get back on the highway at about 6:30pm.
>It's been a fairly quiet trip, neither of you is really used to traveling with anyone else, let alone spending extended time periods with anyone you don't already know very well. And there's plenty to think about too, which「Stand」would be the best without being dangerous to existence itself? You're pretty sure you know what would be a fitting pick considering everything, though.
>It's 9:45pm, you finally arrive at Horse-With-No-Name State Park, and drive in with no issue. After a short time you get to the site, and get out of the car. "The hill behind the site is the best bet. Let's see what we can find.". By the next sunrise, you know you'll have found it, and turned the tables on your pursuers. You walk to the trunk and stuff the mask in your back waistband again.
>The wind is blustery, and the desert night is always cold, there's a new moon tonight, no light. Perfect. You both head up the hill, you're able to see in the dark, so neither one of you should have a problem seeing a cave here. A few close calls during hour one, but they're just overhangs and the like.
>After two hours, sibella finds a deep cave behind a Joshua tree. You've no doubt this is it, the menacing aura is too familiar. You turn to her before walking in,"Don't trust him too much, he may have done me a favor, but he's unpredictable." She nods in understanding. After a moment of walking you see a fire and something metal next to it.
>"Hey, I know you're here. I have something I'd like to ask you." You know he can't resist that. From the metal container flows a smoke that takes the form of a man."Ah, so good to see you, friend! Enjoying your boon? I bet you are...Now, what brings you and your friend here, hmm? Let me guess, she wants some powers of her own, no? Haha, everyone does!"
>If it weren't for his contribution to you, you wouldn't be able to stand his enthusiasm, or poorly hidden future-sight. Sibella steps a bit closer, "Yes, I'd like powers somewhat like his, the 'projection' part." The being stroked its beard. "Hey, friend, I'll do this for her but, eh, do you have an idea for which one, there's a lot of good ones, don't want to short change your friend here."
>Now you're having trouble holding in a laugh yourself,"Yes, as a matter of fact, I know a great one I considered myself! Allow me to recommend;「The World」." Even he's smiling now,"Oh, that's a really good one, a more vindictive spirit would say too good, but I like you two. Very well, hold still madame, this may sting a bit. Oh, and I can't stick around long, it'll make sense in a few minutes." That's not reassuring.
>"HAIL TO YOU", the being points a finger and fires a bolt of energy in the shape of an arrow at sibella, much like with yourself last year. You're blinded by a flash of light, but when the dust is settled, all seems to be well. The metal container is gone, looks like there's a note in its place, and Sibella looks a little dizzy.
>It's hard to overstate just how much you've insured both your safety and her own with this little run down south. Even assuming your pursuers are hot on your tails, they're the ones who're being hunted now. This is the beginning of a very prosperous relationship, indeed.
>You go over to check the apparent note left for you:'I wasn't kidding when I said I have to go, but I'll give you a heads up, you're not the only ones with powers out here. Good luck, friend!'. How kind to give you such a detailed warning. You never can trust wish granting types.
>That's not what's important now, though. Now you have an ally with power that is at least equal to your own, if not so far beyond your own it's comical. Time to help her get acquainted with it, "How're you feeling? Notice anything different yet?". She tries to get a feeling for anything new, but seemingly has no luck."I don't know, how did you get yours to come out? I mean, there's something, but...it feels stuck."
>You organize your thoughts for a moment, so you can be more effective in your advise."You have to focus a bit, like you're going to hit someone or something. Then hold on to it, try to exert whatever you feel start to come forth." She focuses on a rather large tarantula-hawk resting on the cave-wall, and you start to see something like the aural glowing you experienced with your tracer bomb. Then..."oh? That was fast."
>One second there's a large wasp known to carry the second most painful sting in the insect world on the wall, the next its halfway across the room falling into the fire. Sibella looks almost as surprised as you are."What-What did I do? Everything slowed down to a stop, did I-"
>You can't help but finish the sentence,"stop time? Yes. Yes you did. And if you want to get even better at it, remember this:You must believe whole-heartedly that it's only natural for you to do this, to stop time, like being able to snap a pencil in your hand. There can be no doubt. But do that and you'll stop it for longer and longer each time. We'll be utterly unstoppable."
>There's a godawful, unnatural sound that pierces the dark. It's a speakerphone of some kind screeching thanks to a jury-rig set up. "Alright, that's enough hiding, come out into the lights, slowly!", it's your favorite vigilantes, this presents a unique opportunity. "Well, my friend, do you want to try out your new talent?" She doesn't seem excited."We should take a peak at what's out there, first."
>You can see several SUV's with their highbeams on arranged at the cave entrance. On a truck in the very center there's an array of lights not currently on, and with your keen sight, you see some interesting warning labels on them. They're UV lights. You have an idea, and wonder if it's really worth the risk.
>You step away from the wall, and put your hood up."I like to think we've been having a little competition to see who can get ahead in strength or ability. Right now you're miles ahead, and I congratulate you on that. Now watch me make this tied up again." You very well might die horribly doing this, but you've been wanting this your whole life. You walk out of the cave.
>The apparent leader jeers at you as you walk out,"Ha! Look, one of them actually came out! Guess you're not so tough after all?" Two crossbow bolts strike you, one in each leg, and you fall to the dry ground. Predictable. "Sir, we're ready to fire!" Your heart is racing as you hold as still as possible. They must not have seen. "Alright, let's take care of this trash. I love this job!" You can hear the electricity surging as they charge some kind of high-yield UV ray to blow /you/ away.
>You wait until the whiring reaches a peak, and turn your head for maximum exposure, and satisfaction. "Ha! Does it think the mask will keep it safe?!". You hear it fire, then you feel nothing but fire, and then you hear another screech as your most prized possession finally makes itself useful.
>You brace yourself for anything, it may hurt a bit, who knows? You feel a lot of burning, and it continues. Then you realize something, there's nothing on your face. The mask broke as soon as it was energized. Your heart skips a beat as you realize you just essentially jumped into the stream of a high-powered flamethrower with no recourse or backup plan, and without need at that.
>You attempt to let out some of the tension this pain is causing in a biting insult at your attackers:"GYAAAAAAAAAGH". That's about all you can articulate right now. The beam has been off for a few seconds, and despite that, the burning maintains itself.
>Your body is flowing adrenaline and lord knows what else to keep you going. You stay as completely still as possible, any movement just excites the pain again. Consequently, you hear someone approaching. "Oy, boss, I think it passed out! I'm going to put it down before it comes to." You almost wish you'd blacked out instead of suffering quietly, but this presents an opportunity.
>"Be careful, John, we don't know it's really out.". 'John' gets within arm's length of your smoking, bloody form, and raises a hatchet above his head. You pour what focus and energy you can into preparing yourself, this has to be executed just right. The hatchet falls at great speed.
>It gets within a couple inches of your head before abruptly stopping. 'John' is completely frozen in fear. To him, his arm stopped for no reason. Invisible to him, an arm is projecting from your shoulder, holding the hatchet by the head. As you lay face down in the desert dust, the form of a head, torso, and second arm raises from your back.
>You are now in full control of your powers. In a single action, you use just your power to pull the hatchet so he's pulled closer to you, while hitting him with a right hook in the jaw so his head falls toward yours. It takes everything you have, you lift yourself partly up and stab your right hand into his neck.
>Without having to think about it, you see the blood leave his face and body, and feel it begin to restore you. You're overwhelmed with the wave of relief from the scorching agony. You let out a satisfied "Wrrryy" as you finish drinking the blood from the man, and stand up, mostly recovered. You throw his withered body at the UV lamps, and it flies into them, destroying them completely.
>Seeing as the hunters are completely stunned and motionless, you look at your「stand」while you have a chance. In the dark night, it's light bluish/purple looks like violet. It's head is very similar to its fictional counterpart, but it's eyes are an aqua green instead of reddish pink, and has a faint purple eyeliner. It has neckwrap and belt/thigh covering with color matching the darker purple gloves. It has round knee pads to match the elbow pads, and tight boots whose tops start half between the knee and ankle.
>You turn back to your attackers, "Your lives are short enough, if you want to run, do it now, and never show your face to either of us again. This is your only chance.". Out of the dozen there were, half drove off, leaving the boss on the truck with the lamps, and five of his men next to an SUV.
>You see the remains of your victim just under the back of that truck, and start walking towards them, ignoring the fact you're still bleeding. Seeing how little of a threat remains, you're rejoined by your friend, using her time stop to close the distance to you instantly. Now you can see what /her/ stand looks like.
>It's physic is less overtly muscular, more slender. It's look is mostly the same. Instead of a bright yellow color dominating it with an off yellow to accentuate it, its a pale green with a light blue as the secondary. The hearts of the fictional version are crescents on hers. The studs on its knuckles are bizzarely hexagonal and come to a shallow point on their surfaces.
>Now you're both walking toward the hunters, and before you pass the distance of 15 feet away, your stand forms a thumbs-up and drops the thumb. The body of your victim explodes, causing the trucks rear to jump five feet. The boss is thrown to ground and stunned, two of the goons by the SUV were close and get ko'd. Your friend pulls a few flat, almost arrow-head shaped rocks from her coat pocket, and her stand throws them at the tires of the SUV.
>You pick up a rock the size of an orange and use your stand to lob it the remaining three stooges, and since they can't see it, they're unaware it threw anything. They had huddled close out of fear, and when the rock hit one and detonated, it was enough for two of them. The last one tried to run into the desert, but was suddenly blown back to the suv. It seems your friend was thirsty too.
>Only the boss left now. He's only just stood back up and seen what's left."You think you've beaten us, huh? That you can just knock me down and call it a night? Well I've had a good run of luck myself, so just try me!". You notice something about him changing, it's his breathing. It's more controlled, and he's carrying himself differently, he'll he's almost glowing, too...
>It's then you remember the 'genie's' note, you two aren't the only ones he's given powers too. You glare at the hunter from a distance of only ten feet, "You've suffused your body with the 'sun's own energy', the Ripple, haven't you? Our mutual acquaintance from the lamp gave that to you, didn't he?". For the first time since he got here, he looks shaken.
>He takes a step backward,"You...you know about...well then you know what'll happen when I hit you with it, you'll burn up into-". His rousing speech is interrupted by your stand punching him in his diaphragm. He struggles to resume his little breathing trick, as you've likely broken one or two of his ribs based on the low angle you hit him at. You know you've almost won when you see him cough up blood.
>"You put me through the most agonizing pain imaginable, and you still think I'm going to pull punches, you're probably counting on it, aren't you?". You get a little closer to him."You think I'm going to want to feed to salve these burns and wounds from your little light show, so you'll have a shot at some last-ditch attempt to take me and my friend out. I'm right, aren't I? Try it." He glares at you for a moment.
>For some reason he starts smirking like he's got you where he wants you. You then notice your friend is back beside you. What's he planning? "You aren't wrong, monster, I'll give you that. But you, neither of you, are the first, nor will you be the last!" He yanks on what looks like a length of very fine thread, and you realize he's rigged up a snare trap between the SUV and the truck. You're right in the middle of it.
>The thread tangles you up, you aready feel a slight charge running through it. "You fell for it! Even injured I can still slice you up with these conductive threads, and don't you worry, missy, I'll have enough for you too!" You feel a strange change in the threads as the idiot brags how he's out played you. The charge is gone, some of the threads are suddenly severed, but in such a way they stay taught. Clever girl.
>After the bragging stops, he starts glowing and trying to infuse current into the threads. There's a wonderful pause as nothing happens to you, and he wastes almost all his energy. "Um, eh...what-The threads! Uh...hey look, I know I ain't getting out of this, but you can make it a quick painless hit, right?". You pull off the flimsy thread, and you turn to your friend with an idea.
>She beats you to it,"You know, I noticed we can punch with these things incredibly fast and hard. You think doubling up would make it seem twice as fast and twice as hard?" You look back at him, and he's frozen with fear leaning against the SUV. "Yes, I think so."
>Both of your stands begin punching simultaneously at speeds too fast to see clearly. He's jerking around in reaction to the constantly shifting forces, the side of the vehicle is slowly collapsing. Both having the same idea, you reel back for one last punch."Aim for the cactus?","Oh yes.". You both send him flying into a ten foot tall cactus, which he plows through, continuing into a patch of thorny shrubs below.