(Special huge reference on here for all you GOATS who know it.)

Shirou

"And...you're sure...?" I ask.

"Security cameras picked up everything. Footage is on Anima City news already. On the off chance you don't believe me, I'll send you the link." Mayor Rose tells me on the phone.

I sigh.

"Thanks...Barbara..."

"Keep up your training. It's the only way from keeping this from going any more sideways than it already has."

"I understand..." I say, hanging up.

To absolutely clarify, I go to my messages and touch the link to the news, seeing the footage of...

SCARECROW...

He...HE FREED ALAN?!

"F*CK! F*CK! F*CK! I F*CKING-WHY THE HELL DID-?!" I scream, slamming my fist into the stone wall next to me.

"Shirou! Calm down!" Michiru pleads, I listen to her as I take a breath. "What happened?"

"Alan got busted out of New Alcatraz!" I exclaim.

"Oh sh*t..." She utters, deadpanned. "How?!"

"Scarecrow..."

"Dammit...!" She hisses. "Of all people!"

If Alan was freed...so was that psychopath Boris...

Guarantee you that snake is getting ready to ravage the city again just so he can find Nazuna again.

Of whom is currently working at the orphanage right now...

"Dammit...every day I get reminded that...THAT..." I growl as I fumble over my words.

"That what?" Michiru asks.

I relent, just being mentally checked out already.

"That I should've killed Alan when I had the chance..." I utter. "I know in the moment I was professing how I wasn't going to be like him...but in the end...that's what people like him use to stay alive so they can kill more people. Last time it was about revenge...which I kept myself from doing. This time...next time I see him...it's about keeping him from hurting anyone else."

"Guarantee you Cato would agree on that."

"Where's he now?" I ask.

"At the training grounds with Nina. After we trained yesterday, she said she wanted extra time the next time around, so Cato's taking her up on that." She informs me.

"Alright. Only been a day, what do you think our chances are against the current forces threatening our world right now?" I raise my eyebrow.

"Why'd you phrase it like that?" She whispers, but shakes her head. "Uh, I guess we could hold our own. Still trying to relatively come to terms with the fact we lost our Beast forms."

"You don't have to remind me." I sigh, facepalming.

"Timing couldn't've been worse on that part...only real upside is that there's at least one in our little team who's still a Beastman...but she's a literal teenager..." She says.

"Hey, I've been fighting since I was 10, she'd be a late bloomer by my standards." I quip.

"AKA, the standards of the millennium-old man..." She retorts. "Times changed."

"True...very much so in our case." I chuckle.

Suddenly, Michiru's face perks up.

"Oh, wait! Didn't Cato say that he was going to give us some new weapons?" She comments.

"I thought I saw something fall out of the sky..." I say.

"Should we take him up on that?" She asks.

"He should be wrapping up with Nina, so I think we can." I nod as we both leave the cliff area we were hanging around.

Cato

"Stop trying to hit me and HIT ME-OOF!!"

Nina and I are doing our last rounds of extra training, per her request.

Though she wanted to do it in the Gravity Chamber, and we're doing twice Earth's gravity just to start small.

She's been doing great! Improving by the hour and everything!

Final part of her training of the day was a challenge for her to hit me IN the chamber for extra difficulty.

She initially was going at me with all she had despite the extra weight on her, but I focused everything on evasion, gauging her current capabilities as well.

So far, pretty good!

Also, she just landed the hit in my gut that ended the lesson for the day.

I'll be honest, I decided to go a little easy on her and let her have this one.

"YEAH! Win for Nina!" She exclaims, pumping her fists in the air.

I walk over to the controls and deactivate the artificial gravity, we walk out as I lock the chamber.

"You did good." I congratulate her, nodding.

"Thanks...phew..." She utters, wiping the sweat off her forehead and catching her breath, she just about looks to the side. "Oh, hey! Shirou! Michiru!"

I see our two friends approaching us.

"Guessing you aren't up for the extra training too, aren't you?" I ask.

"Actually, wanted to take you up on that whole 'new weapons' thing." Michiru says.

"Oh yeah, plus some other stuff, let me call Kai." I say, putting my right middle and index fingers to my temple.

"Hey man, you there?"

"Oh hey, Cato, what's up?"

"You still got those extra weapons and equipment I asked about?"

"Yeah, though when we spent that day making everything, including your sword, we made so much we had to separate it from the stuff for here and the stuff for there."

"And?"

"To be honest, so much has been happening here...I actually forgot about the pile of stuff for you guys and I left it back at the place I forged it...that's why I didn't call you..."

"Do you have it right now?"

"Uh...gimme a bit, and I'll send it all to you."

"Copy that. Give me a heads up when you do."

"Copy. OH! Also, your parents called."

"Yeah? Why?"

"They were doing research and scouring any sources of potential info they had. I was on that list."

"Did you have anything for them?"

"Believe it or not...I might have something in the works."

"Really? How?"

"Okay...this doesn't exactly impact you as of right now...but over here...I think one of my friends here is an Anomaly!"

"WHAT?! An Anomaly is your friend?!"

"Yeah. Felt it the moment I came across him, but his behavior has been different from any other Anomaly the vast majority of that the Kin has ever come across. Call me crazy, but this could very well one of those few 'friendly' ones. He's done nothing but good even before I came here."

"And over here, most current problems are being caused by another Anomaly...even separate from the Demons."

"All we can do to fix it is what we can."

"I guess. So...how will that help everyone over here?"

"With your parents' help, I think we could synthesize something...I don't know what...that could maybe remove the blockage on your friends over there. Though that's gonna be AFTER a long and difficult conversation with this guy..."

"Why?"

"Because I'm starting to think he doesn't know he's an Anomaly."

"The hell does that happen?"

"With your parents' help, I learned about the other worlds similar to this one, and he does exist over there, I'd surmise either this is a world in which he didn't exist, or he died somehow and nobody knew. Either scenario, the Anomaly must've unknowingly taken the original's place and things played out how they normally would've."

"That's...depressing on a number of levels."

"Swamp Thing action up in here. Regardless, this kid is still one of the best people I know."

"I don't doubt it."

"I'll let you know if I get any updates."

"Alright. Give him my condolences when you break the news, if you can, and I'll be waiting on that equipment. Hear from you in a bit.

"Ditto."

I hang up the call and I turn to my 3 friends.

"Alright, in a little bit, the equipment will be here." I inform them.

"Shouldn't we let Nazuna and Marie know and have them come here?" Shirou asks.

"I'll call Nazuna." Michiru says, pulling out her phone.

"I'll get Marie." Nina says, dialing the number.

As the two of them start informing our missing 2 friends, Shirou walks up to me.

"Sup." I say.

"I find it funny we never actually duelled when I was still a Beastman." He comments.

"Why?"

"Wanted to take a swing at you with my full strength." He raises his eyebrow.

"Well, give my parents some time, they'll figure out a cure to your guys' condition." I say. "Then we might have that match..."

"I'll take your word for it."

"You won't regret it."

We both chuckle as Michiru and Nina walk up to us.

"So, Nazuna will be here shortly."

"As will Marie."

"Good." I nod.

"Meantime..." I say, holding out my hand. "While we rest..."

Suddenly, from my Pocket Dimension, comes a small 6 pack of glass bottled drinks.

"Thirsty?" I hold them out.

"What're those?" Michiru asks.

"Parvas Infernum. If you remember, it's a drink of my people, similar to your guys' Firebull. Non-alcoholic. Called my parents earlier and asked them to send me a pack."

"Oh, I'll have one!" Michiru says, walking up.

"Might as well." Shirou says.

"Sure!" Nina ends.

I hand them out to my present 3 friends, saving the last 2 for Nazuna and Marie for when they get here.

They don't need help opening them as these have corks on them.

POP!

With little resistance, the corks pull off and the group takes a sip.

"Oh wow! (Cough!) It really is like Firebull!" Michiru says, enjoying the drink despite the spiciness.

"Turmeric..." Shirou mutters, recognizing the spice.

"Spicy..." Nina comments, taking another sip.

I chuckle at them all liking the drink I personally like.

It's...nice.

Soon, I pick up 2 signatures coming in, and they make themselves known.

"Ah, Nazuna! Marie! What's up?" I call out to them.

"Had to take a call at the Orphanage, apparently Youta got into a fight with Perry about which channel they wanted on so I had to break them up." Nazuna says.

"Needed to find somewhere to put my cart and some homeless goober took my spot." Marie comments.

"Well, come decompress for a bit with a drink." I set my drink down and toss the girls the bottles, picking mine up after.

They catch the bottles and they look at them.

"Didn't you say this was that one drink you and your people liked? Tastes like Firebull?" Nazuna asks, I nod.

"This will be interesting..." Marie comments.

They both pop the bottles open and take a sip.

"Yup...like Firebull..." Nazuna whispers.

"Turmeric..." Marie quips.

Ha!

Exactly the same thing Shirou said.

My senses go off again.

Kai's calling.

"Alright, I'm here, got everything ready. Sending it all to you now."

"Copy. Thanks again, man. You're a lifesaver."

"Hey, I'm just Kin."

"And I'm privileged to be a part of it with you."

"Thanks, man. Hit me up when you need anything else."

"Copy. See you."

"You too."

I turn to my friends.

"Alright, the stuff should be here in a second."

They nod.

We take the next few minutes just casually conversing about random things until eventually...

WHEEEEE-CRASH!!!!

A large metal crate containing the new equipment falls out of the sky and lands next to the Gravity Chamber.

I walk over to it as do my friends and I observe it.

I see initials on there, it's his full name.

First, middle, then last.

K.E.K

Another one too...

C.M.

Knowing him I'd surmise that'd be one of his friends he made over there who must've helped him make all this stuff.

"So...this is it?" Shirou asks.

"Yeah." I say, walking over to the miniature pad on the side and press the button.

FFSSHHH!!!

The crate disassembles from the top down like an emergency supply station, the walls and ceiling falling to the ground revealing the weapons and equipment.

"Awesome!" Nina squeals, bouncing up and down.

"So...what do we have?" Michiru asks.

I walk on the platform and observe everything.

What catches my eye is the small array of...

"Suits...?" I ask myself.

Yeah...mechanical suits, it looks like.

Well, they're collapsed into cases, so to speak.

They're based off of that of Duo Mortae, a pair of ruthless Mercenaries notorious for employing their services to the Demons.

I swear, those twins are like one mind, two bodies.

Few can match their coordination...

As I gaze upon the suits, I see a small screen with directions on them.

'Hey, Cato, or whoever is reading this. If you want to use these suits, stand in the circle of the one you want. Remain still and allow the system to acquire your measurements. The suits are flexible and can adapt to any humanoid form if it has your data. Also, Cato...if you're reading this...kick Seraph to the curb for me."

"I will, Kai." I say.

I then go over to my friends, currently observing the weapons they have the option of using.

"Do we get to choose whichever one we want?" Marie asks with a sly eyebrow raise.

"Hey, go crazy." I hold my hands up, allowing them free reign.

The subsequent browsing of the arsenal begins, with most of them not even knowing what to take due to the sheer amount of them.

Soon, Marie looks at the sets of armor I was talking about.

"You said THESE were suits?" She asks, pointing to them.

Everyone else follows her gaze.

"Yeah. Take whichever you all want, I'll show you how to put them on." I say.

They all then get to seizing their own soon-to-be sets of armor, Michiru choosing one with a slight maroon hue, Nazuna with a faint magenta, Shirou with a silvery accent, Marie with a sleek grey, and Nina with a deep blue.

Definitely invoking their Beastman colors.

"All you need to do is put them on the ground, take off your shoes but keep your socks on, let the suit size you up and let what happens next do so." I instruct them.

Because they're all wearing training and workout clothes, they don't need to worry about the suits getting caught on dangling clothing.

They do as I say, and Michiru slips her right foot in and follows up with her left. Then the openings suddenly clamp down on her, taking her by surprise.

"Just stay calm, it's not gonna hurt you." I assure her, she nods, trusting me.

The suit emits some scanning sounds and then...

It all disassembles into hundreds of little segments falling like dominos that subsequently and slowly envelop Michiru's legs, making sure to fit to her size. They wrap around her lower body and make their way up her torso, they then reach her shoulders and the dominos continue to wind and interlock with each other on her arms, all ending when they wrap around her hands and reach her upper neck.

I smile.

"Perfect."

"Whoa!" Michiru exclaims, examining herself. "This is cool!"

"Now you have a little something to protect yourself until you're ready." I say.

Everyone else doesn't hesitate to do the same, and soon, I got myself a little armored squadron in front of me.

"Take some weapons too. You can attach them to your armor."

They waste no time in also choosing their arsenals. Nobody in particular chooses anything specific, just a little bit of everything, ranged to melee, etc.

That's good, it allows them to choose how they want to approach situations and strengthen their methods from there.

"You guys are looking readier than ever!" I compliment them.

"Feeling like my old self again..." Shirou proudly says, gripping his hands.

"Because you haven't mastered your power control just yet, these suits will amplify your physical abilities and obviously your durability." I inform them, they nod. "But just remember that you're still not invincible."

They all nod once more in understanding.

*RING* *RING* *RING*!

Shirou's phone goes off.

He pulls it out.

"Hello?"

"Shirou, there's been a murder."

"Dammit..." He growls.

"We need you to investigate."

"Understood. Send the coordinates." He says, hanging up the phone.

"Go do what you need to do." I say.

"Thanks, Cato."

"Use your training well." I say, he nods as he departs.

"What's that mean for us?" Michiru asks.

"Patrol the city. You have communicators in your suits, when you find something, hit the white beacon button on your wrist and it will give us your location." I tell them.

They nod.

"When you see Alan, Scarecrow, Seraph even...remember-"

"Don't hesitate." The four of them nod.

Seraph

Okay...I think I've waited long enough...

Now I believe-

"Hmm?" I turn to see a certain someone the Scout made contact with.

"That little Scout spoke of you..."

"Likewise."

"Why do what you do?"

"Same reason as you."

"Fun?"

"Partially..."

"All I needa know..."

"Wait, depends on how much fun..."

"Want there to be a world of entertainment?"

"What greater entertainment is there to do, or bear witness to, the deadly dance?"

"I had secretly paid that little mayor lady a visit, she never knew I was there. I peered in her mind and she had the idea of a 'tournament' to build relations with the rest of the world..."

"A bombastic approach..."

"An assertion of dominance approach..."

"What of the little interferers?"

"Make the 'tournament' a deal if they win, then we all leave...but they will participate..."

"So?"

"Knock the competition out, break the deal and this world is ours..."

"Bold...I like it..."

"For a world of entertainment..."

"I shall be the match to light this little fire..."

"I eagerly await..."

Shirou

These words...they engrave themselves into my mind...

Written in the blood of the sheep Beastman...it was written with something worse than malice...hate.

'You should have killed me when you had the chance'

The worst part about it is that that's not a lie.

Alan nearly committed genocide and I foolishly let him go.

Next time I see him...it's on sight.

I make a quick call to the nearby hospital to come pick up the body of the poor guy, and I call Barbara.

"It was Alan."

"(Sigh) Should have known."

"What's the plan? News is gonna hit the public soon." I ask.

"Uh..."

"What?"

"S-Shirou...switch to the news!"

"Huh?!"

"Just DO IT!"

Not hesitating, I switch to the news app on my phone. There's a livestream, and I play it.

"And we come to you live with...THIS!!

The feed switches to a shot of-

"Seraph..." I growl.

He's at some kind of desert area, in a city of sorts, and he's currently hijacking a broadcast...

He turns around, his sword gleaming in the dim sunlight.

"Who are you?! You're not supposed to be-GACK!!"

The poor news worker gets stabbed through the mouth by Seraph's blade.

"The following contains violence, coarse language, and adult situations not suitable for minors. Viewer discretion is advised..."

With a swing of his sword, Seraph then proceeds to vertically bisect the poor b*stard!! Both sides fall unceremoniously.

The spectators in the room scream in terror as he gives them the death stare, silencing them. He then directs it to the camera...even making me freeze up a little bit.

"Ladies...gents...every other carbon-based life form. I. Am Seraph. Herald of the Demons, you may remember me from these following cities."

On the screen suddenly comes...

Actual cities...

Dozens...!

The Americas, Asia, Europe, Australia...

HOW DID HE DO ALL THAT IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME?!

He...is...far stronger than we thought...!

All those people...

Also, how did he make the words go on the screen?

"Of course, if you lived in any of those...you'd have never remembered as I either killed or placed you under MY Influence...and part of our GLORIOUS plan..."

That...motherf*cker...

"But that's not what I am talking about here. Today...is the day...of my announcement."

'Please be leaving this world forever...please be leaving this world forever...PLEASE BE LEAVING THIS WORLD FOREVER!!!'

"I shall be departing your dear world..."

'YES-Wait...'

"After you all are assimilated under our control!"

'F*CK!!!'

"That is..."

'WHAT NOW?!'

"Whoever slays me...effectively liberates all of you from us...but obviously you must conquer...US...first."

'Definitely would do the trick...but wouldn't actually stop any of his associates from carrying out the rest of his plan...'

"I officially announce the greatest gladiator matches in the history of your world! Once in YOUR lifetime event...one that shall leave you beyond breathless. Dawn vs Dusk...Day vs Night...Beginning vs End. All of You...vs All of Us."

I'm just standing there...my jaw agape...

"I officially dub it:

Fight like Hell!!!!"

A second passes by before-

"Be part of the conversation on Facelook at #fightlikehell."

My social media blows up suddenly.

"And he's already trending..." I say exasperated at all the notifications with the hashtag.

"We shall be taking inspiration from a certain society we are at odds at...and brackets are OBVIOUSLY included, because what's the end of your days without a little entertainment? Face off against our associates, survive that, face off against each other to weed yourselves out, make sure it's not a fluke. Then, make your way up to me, and you can save your little green and blue rock."

Wait, there's no way in hell he actually got Alan to work with...actually...given how strong Seraph is, I wouldn't be surprised if through some show of power he convinced him and his associates to actually do this.

Again, it's not this straightforward...but a point of fact is especially obvious that he mentioned putting the tournament goers against each other...

"The coordinates for the tournament are 25°N 137°E. If that doesn't make any sense to you. Blame the cartographers. This glorious event shall be held 7 days from today, 3 o'clock. God created the universe in 6 days and Jesus came back from the dead in 3, no excuses from your end. Should give you all enough time to find someone crazy or suicidal enough to even TRY to put any of us down. Or probably take some time to reconnect with loved once, or kill your boss. Live a little! Get a PURGE going! Because in one week's time...well...to give you an idea..."

He raises his hand and suddenly, on the feed, what appears to be the sun above him...flickers slightly...then-

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

IT EXPLODES INTO A MINIATURE SUPERNOVA!!!

The light overtakes the screen, leaving even me blinded briefly.

When the feed comes back...

What was once the city he was in...is now a smoldering glass floor.

"So keep that in mind, and I'll see you in a week's time. Oh, and hope that your guardian angels will be watching over you...because spoiler...I WON'T BE."

He turns away, and the camera then falls down to witness the singed skull of one of the victims of the supernova as Seraph then proceeds to fly off into the sky...the broadcast ending soon after.

...

...

...

Sh*t has hit the fan...

Cato

They're never this open about this. They always strike from the shadows.

Seraph is vain, and cocky.

This is him flexing.

Pride doth come before the fall, as you did before Seraph.

And I'm going to exploit this to the maximum degree.

"He just...killed them all..." Marie mutters, beyond bewildered.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Nina utters, holding her mouth.

"How do we have any chance against that...?" Michiru asks me.

"You're getting stronger, we just need to keep that up." I assure them.

"What about the whole thing with our Beast forms? You know, the nightmares we've been having about that?" Nazuna asks.

"Yeah...let me follow up with my parents." I say, putting my finger to my temple and setting up an ethereal call.

"Mom? Dad? You there?"

"Hey son! You're just in time, we've made...a relative breakthrough with the sickles you sent us."

"Hey Dad, thanks. Perfect. What did you manage to find?"

"As you know, Anomalies are born outside of reality itself, and as such, they aren't bound by the laws of the universes they exist in. Thus, they are capable of manipulating aspects of them."

"That was pretty obvious with the crap he was throwing at me."

"So, these weapons so happen to contain that same power he utilizes, and inflicted that on your friends...the only problem..."

"What?"

"Son..."

"What, Mom? You're making me uneasy."

"Sweetie, with the description of your friends' conditions...and how they saw their Beast forms in their consciences..."

"We've figured that it's because the Beast aspects of their bodies have literally been SEPARATED from themselves. Torn away from their human forms and made entirely separate beings within one entity."

"Wait, what's the situation with that? You kind of lost me."

"We mean that...your friends will never be able to get their Beast forms back. As in they can't transform anymore."

"Their Beast forms talking to them in their minds is that part, which we believe to be a combination of the effects of Scarecrow's presence alongside their Beast forms now being separated from their control."

"They'll no longer be who they once were."

...

...

...

"Son?"

"(Sigh)"

"I am so sorry, sweetie. We have done everything we could in that aspect."

"It's okay, Mom. Better I get the answers now than never. Only real problem is having to deliver the news to them..."

"Though...we have may have come up with something, a supplement..."

"Yeah...?"

"You have the ability to separate the spirit out of someone's body."

"Yeah?"

"And Scarecrow's sickles have the ability to manipulate aspects of reality."

"Wait...you're proposing..."

"We could melt the sickles into special gauntlets that you can use in conjunction with your powers and what we discover with Kai, to literally SEPARATE the Beast aspects from their forms, and if we make a few additions beforehand, the Beast selves could either be exactly the same as their human forms, or they can be summoned at will under their control. If we refine this method more, we may be able to do it without needing Anomaly-weapons or components."

"We have dubbed this technique: Separation."

"Whoa...wait, is this a code JoJo?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so their power came from Stands...and often they are separate physical beings...and maybe...we can use that same logic here!"

"Travelling Infinity has its benefits, after all."

"Though, we do need to let you know one more thing, son."

"Yeah?"

"Scarecrow is still somewhat within their minds, and is keeping them from even remotely having a connection with their Beast selves."

"The only way you can perform this technique is if they literally conquer their fears within them, slay the monsters within. They must be relatively at peace when you do so. Once it's successful, they can function the same as Stands, potentially even going as far as to keep them within their beings and summon them at will in the same manner, or even be somewhat autonomous, but it depends on the instance."

"If you don't, then you'll literally have evil superpowered twins to deal with."

"Okay! Thanks for everything so far, Mom, Dad. You two are the best!"

"Any day, son."

"We'll send you the gauntlets as soon as they're ready!"

"Thanks, as always."

I hang up the call, and now...it's time for the difficult part.

"So, any updates?" Nazuna asks.

As I'm about to deliver the bad news, Shirou shows back up again.

"You guys seen the broadcast?" He asks, we all nod.

"Yo, Cato's got an update for us in terms of our Beastman forms." Marie says.

All four of them look at me attentively, eager for an answer.

For once...I truly can't directly remedy this problem.

I take a deep breath, which they all notice.

"Guys...I'm sorry. Your Beastman selves are literally separated from you. When you saw them in your mind, it was a manifestation of the fact that you're disconnected from it. The forms are within you, but you can't access them anymore."

Their eyes fly wide open.

"You...you gotta be joking...right, Cato?" Marie asks, shaking her head in disbelief. "This has to be a joke!"

I shake my head too.

"No. As of right now you truly can't transform back into your Beast forms." I say.

"I...need to sit..." Marie uncharacteristically gets weak in the legs, and has to sit down on a nearby rock, holding her hands to her face, eyes narrowed.

Shirou grips his hand, narrows his eyes at me, but he tempers his rage.

"A thousand years...a thousand...f*cking years...gone..." He growls, looking at his fists. "To a scarecrow, no less..."

Michiru and Nazuna are still also in disbelief.

"I...just recently came to terms with it...!" Michiru utters, on the verge of crying.

"Feels like a part of me is truly missing now..." Nazuna, in shock, whispers.

I have to let them know first and foremost, might have been a jerk move on my part, but you gotta accept reality first.

As their situation finally sinks in, I decide to let them in on the plan.

"However..." I say, they snap their heads to me. "Even though you can't transform...there may be a way you could, so to speak, reunite with your Beast selves."

"You literally just said 20 seconds ago that we can't transform." Marie growls, glaring at me.

"Reunite. Not transform." I clarify.

"And what the f*ck is that supposed to mean?" Shirou also glares at me.

"Now, I say this because it's the only way you can understand. First, does anyone remember when I hit Nina's father and he miraculously was sent flying back?" I ask.

"Only one of us who didn't was Marie." Michiru quips.

"Well, when I did, I unintentionally separated his spirit from his body." I say.

"H-How did you do that?" Nina asks. "And did we talk about this already?"

"Not sure. But with that information, my parents have formulated a plan. This leads me to my second question: Has anyone here consumed any media from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure?" I ask.

Nina raises her hand instantly.

"I have!" She answers enthusiastically.

Michiru raises her hand too, as does Nazuna.

"I got into it for a little while." The former explains.

"Went through a phase in the 10th grade." The latter adds.

"Good. So, for Shirou and Marie, the context I'm providing is that in those universes, an overarching aspect of them are symbiotic entities known as Stands. Essentially, they are separate beings who are connected to humans, normally. They can even be summoned on command or function autonomously, depending on the scenario."

"Wait...you're not saying..."

"I can use reverse-engineered gauntlets in conjunction with my spirit-separating technique to literally separate the Beast forms out of you. They'll send the former to me when they're ready. Once it's successful, you'll...basically have Stands if I'm extremely condensing it and putting it in layman's terms."

The group stares at me, confused, but more surprised than anything.

Michiru rubs the back of her head.

"Having something akin to a Stand was not on my bingo card for this year..." Michiru utters, her eyebrow raised.

"Would this be considered a JoJo reference?" Nazuna asks, Michiru shrugs her shoulders.

"When will the gauntlets be ready?" Shirou asks.

"Soon. I'd imagine within the next day or so. OH! One more thing, and this is probably the most important part." I say. "In order for this to work...there has to be some effort on your part, so to speak."

"What kind of effort?" Marie asks.

"Well...in order for the technique to be pulled off...actually let me preface this by saying that Scarecrow is somewhat in your minds. He's stripped you of your Beastman selves and using them to use your fears to torment you. Remember they still exist within you, you just can't use them. We theorize that if you literally conquer your fears, purge Scarecrow's presence, and make some kind of connection with your former Beastman selves, you can be reunited with them, literally. If you don't get rid of Scarecrow's interference, then we're going to have some evil selves to worry about."

"Uh...how...do we do that...?" Michiru asks.

"He'll likely use your pasts against you. Anything you have, like inhibitions, regrets, everything. I'd imagine you must make peace with it all, and again, conquer or even just put aside your fears."

The overall consensus among everyone minus Nina is that no one's keen on having to do that.

"Thousand years gives you a lot of emotional baggage...you know that...right?" Shirou asks, his hand on his face.

"I'm aware. But improving and becoming better is learning how to just drop that baggage and moving on." I say.

"Easier said than done."

"Better I do say it than never."

Shirou just groans.

"We keep this up, we're doomed..."

"I couldn't have said it better myself..."

My senses suddenly fire off to the Nth degree, I look to the side to see...

Scarecrow

HE'S GOT NINA BY THE NECK!

So much happens in the next few seconds it's almost a blur.

"Guys??!!!" She utters, her eyes beyond narrowed in fear.

"YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!!" Marie screams, charging right at him and just about managing to grab Nina, attempting to pry off Scarecrow's hands off her neck.

"Oh, get away from who?"

"HUH?!" Michiru turns around to witness ANOTHER Scarecrow!

He grabs her too!

"GET OFF ME!" Shirou hisses, getting wrapped up in chains by a THIRD Scarecrow!

"MICHIRU!" Nazuna screams, trying to save her friend, but gets lassoed in more chains by a FOURTH!

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?!

I glare at the Anomaly with malice.

"YOU GET AWAY FROM-"

"Too late. BYEEE!!!!"

VMMMM-WHOOOOOM!!!!!

THEY'RE GONE!!

AS SOON AS HE APPEARED, HE VANISHED WITH THEM!

BEFORE I COULD GET TO HIM!!

Momentarily stunned from the suddenness of everything, my anger overwhelms me.

I slam into the ground repetitively, causing craters to form.

"F*CKING! DAMMIT! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The last word is a raging scream of fury as I straighten my form upwards and thrust my clenched fists outwards. My body gets engulfed in a violent surge of energy. The immediate area becomes the epicenter of a massive blast of power from my wrath.

For the first time in a while...this really is a proper L...

Out of left field...

Chapter End

(To be continued! I'm not dead on this story. I'm determined to see it through to the end. Drastic life changes these past few months. If you saw the announcements you know the situation. Thank you for sticking around this long. See you...next time.)