369. Found ~Introduction to the Dark Gems~

Josuke slowly wakes up and realizes that the hospital is in ruins.

He slowly stands up and runs down the sixth floor, where he senses danger had been.

He sees that everyone is mourning Annalisa's death.

"Shit... Shit..." Josuke bowed his head. "I'm so sorry..."

The group, at the funeral, pray to their Gods as they waited for their mother's burial.

Shizuka speaks up. "Well..." she said. "She saw me..."

Irene holds Shizuka's hand.

"She saw me..." said Shizuka, with her voice breaking. "Uh... *sniff...* She saw..."

Jotaro finally tries to hold her shoulder.

"Don't touch me..." said Shizuka, still with a breaking voice. "Don't you... dare... touch me..."

Jotaro bows his head and puts his hand down.

"She always... wanted to die with everyone in the family in the hospital room... Flowers everywhere... Balloons... Balloons telling her that she'll be okay... And eventually, she'd breathe her last... Happy that we finally patched things up," said Shizuka, holding herself together. "We were all in the hospital...Th-... That's it..."

Jotaro grabs her shoulder, but Achtung Baby punches him in the face. 

"CHU~I!!!"

"Shizuka!" yelled Irene.

Jotaro slowly stands up.

Shizuka runs away into the graveyard.

Jotaro yells, "Shizuka!"

"I'll go talk to her-!" yelled Irene and Gabrielle.

Josuke and Yurielle don't know what to do.

"I'll do it!" yelled Miguel, loudly. "I'll do it... I... couldn't do anything... I guess I owe her one."

"So do I," said Josuke.

Later, Shizuka cries alone above a small bridge. She sits down, holding her knees near her face. She looks at herself in the water.

"I see a nobody..." said Shizuka.

A portal opens behind her, and Miguel and Josuke walk out of it.

"Don't talk to me," said Shizuka.

"We... understand what you're going through," said Josuke.

"No, you don't. You never will," said Shizuka. "I caused her death. And now I'm alone. Truly alone..."

"You're not alone," said Miguel.

"Yes, I am," said Shizuka. "I always am. I was alone then, I'm alone now... I'll... be alone forever... I'm a nobody..."

"You're not a 'nobody,'" said Josuke.

Shizuka stays silent.

"I remember when I was a kid... I would wake up with my sister. We... shared the same bedroom. We... both had this thing called autism. She had Asperger's, so she was gifted. Now, I... I had... instead... more... disorders..."

Shizuka stayed quiet.

"I would wake up and always see her play with toys enough to fill seven giant boxes... While... I had this one small box on the corner that I don't play anymore...Kariel, my sister, was given... phones... new clothes... everything... As we grew up, they paid for her college tuition, bought her new digital equipment, and she even got her own car.Y'know what I got? Nothing. I worked for my own stuff...When Mom died, she didn't even include me in her will.Every day, I'd go to school... And the kids would beat me. The teachers thought I was a stupid kid, and they'd scold me when I got into fights... The ones who beat me were pretty smart kids, so they got off the hook...My whole life... I was waving through a window... No one noticed me...And... I don't hate any of them."

"Because you're the Messiah..."

Miguel shakes his head. "Because I met MABUS... An alternate variant of myself... He's a version of himself who went through the same thing. When he came back to life, he killed everyone he loved... I saw what he could do... What he symbolized. What he represented. I don't want you to end up like him... Not even like me... I haven't killed... but... I grew bitter... I grew angry... I just don't want you to end up like me."

Shizuka tries to look at Miguel, but he looked too much like Jotaro, so she turned away and kept staring at the pond below her.

"My mother never loved me," said Josuke, speaking up. "I was her daughter from her first marriage. When they found out that Mr. Reaper wanted to be President and I was giving him the power to lead the country, he worked with Eobard to destroy my life and jumpstart the Made in Heaven Event. People kept saying that I should hurt her back... But she's my Mom, y'know? She and my siblings are all I've got...I remember... When I was a kid, I was never brought with my other siblings when they'd go to parties and they made me study all day... They made me become Prince of the World... But I never wanted that... Everyone broke my heart... Except for the few close friends I have... So... Don't... be like me... And hate them... These people are all you've got... Because I can tell that Jotaro does love you... I know it... We... know it... Because we know that if we had a daughter like you, we'd love you so much..."

"I wish you were my Dads... Because you'd understand me," said Shizuka.

"Well... here's an uplifting fact," said Josuke. "The least favorite is usually the most successful!"

"R-Really?" asked Shizuka.

"My other half-siblings keep changing jobs and hate me because I have a steady one," said Josuke.

"And you?" smiled Shizuka, turning to Miguel.

"Kariel got pregnant when she was 22 and is now living with lots of kids," said Miguel. "She's working five jobs... I offered to help her, and she denied it, saying that those kids are her turf. Sad, because I really wanted to meet my six nephews and six nieces."

"How are you more successful?" asked Shizuka.

"Well... for one thing, I'm God, Shizuka."

"Ah..."

"And for another, I have the most fun. And another, I have someone who I love enough to stay with even though she hurt me so many times and is now healthily dating. And for another, I enjoy living... I usually don't survive fights for so long, but damn... I love living... It's the most beautiful thing to experience... Even if the whole world hates you and you hate the whole world. I'm happy... I finally am... Because I forgave these people..."

"What made you change your mind?" smiled Shizuka.

"Because of MABUS existing... And... Because I now have people I could actually love... I could actually trust..." said Miguel.

"Yeah..." said Josuke. "And we're a family... Even including the Jump Force, the Crusaders, Weeb Town, the Leaguers, the Avengers... Everyone... We're one big family. And together, we rise when we have nothing left."

Miguel nods, agreeing to that.

One... week... later...

Shizuka depressedly stares outside as the CoolDudeBus goes about the Universes as they've found yet another possible location of the Jump Force.

Miguel cracks a cooked fertilized egg and drinks its soup.

"Ew!" yelled Yurielle. "You eat balut!?"

"Yeah. It's culture," shrugged Miguel. 

"I remember my Dad eats that..." said Yurielle. "Doesn't it have a cooked Duck Fetus!?"

"When its bone crunches, it's pleasing," said Miguel.

"I have a love-hate relationship with it," said Gabrielle.

Irene depressedly eats with her chopsticks as Josuke tries to do so as well.

"You're not supposed to do that," said Irene.

Josuke had the chopsticks stuck upright in his rice.

"Upright chopsticks is an omen. It's similar to the ones used in a funeral."

"Oh! Sorry..." said Josuke, as he puts the chopsticks on the table.

"Try it," said Miguel, offering one to Yurielle.

"Nah," said Yurielle.

"Relish thy roots, unseeing one!" yelled Miguel. "Tis' ey shalt be thine!"

Yurielle's eyebrow raises. "Fine..."

Yurielle taps the egg softly and tries to crack it.

"Whoa!" yelled Miguel. "You gotta spin it first! When it stops, the end of the egg that faces up is where you should crack it."

"I have superhearing. I could already tell, anyway," said Yurielle. Yurielle tries it. "Huh... It's pretty good."

"Hey..." said Josuke. "Who's in Heaven right now that people in the world think shouldn't be in Heaven."

"Uh..." Miguel looks up. "Ferdinand Marcos, Loki of Asgard-616, Straizo of Earth-Star, and my Mom."

"Wow..." said Josuke. "And they say God doesn't do favorites."

"Nah... He does..." said Miguel. "Literally the second friggin' story in the Bible is about playing favorites."

Yurielle finishes the balut.

"Did..." said Miguel. "Did you just eat the fucking stone!?"

"Were... you not supposed to?" asked Yurielle.

"N-... No..." said Miguel. "No..."

Meanwhile...

"Meeting a due! Meeting a due!" yelled Dipper.

"It's adjourned!" yelled Jack. "And we just started the meeting! That makes no sense!"

"Jack?" asked Jill, in his head.

"Yo, Jill..." Jack looks at his mirror. To him, Jill appears in the mirror in the place of his reflection. 

"You gotta chill, man... Didja take your pills?"

"No... Because the pills affect you, too, Jill."

Narcos sips some soup.

"Yo... is that a fuckin' penis?" asked Jack, turning to Narcos.

"Mr. Ibarra's making me try new foods!" smiled Narcos. "It's Soup No. 5! Bull Genitals Soup!"

"Can you guys please focus!?" asked Dipper.

Monroe fixes his clock at the table.

"Why the heck did you bring that here!?" asked Dipper.

Nick, meanwhile, sharpens his ax with a stone.

"Guys!?" asked Dipper.

"I'm listening!" smiled Mercuria.

"So am I!" smiled F.F.

"Guys...?"

"HEY!!! EVERYONE, QUIET!!!" yelled Pacifica, revealing that she's still her beautiful self as an adult. Her hair is still blonde and she had grown a rather beautiful body or whatever sexist description I have. Jk. Don't cancel me... Uh! Quick! Quick! Think of a non-sexist description, Author! C'mon! Uh... She has sleepy doe eyes and a rather chubby face. Okay, that's it. What else...? Oh, she's the exact same height as Dipper and is taller than most of the Filipinos in the room. "Respect your host! Please!"

"Wow, you're tall!" smiled Narcos.

"Dude, you have a girlfriend," said Jack.

"So do you! OH! ROASTED!" cheered Narcos. "Gimme some of that Jazz Cola!"

Narcos is served Jazz Cola by Dipper's butler, Soos.

"Heheh..." smiled Soos. "Rock on, dude!"

"Rock on, too, Main Man Soos!" laughed Narcos. "Is that a button?" he asked, pointing to his shorts.

"Dude... you've collected all my buttons..." said Soos. "This is literally holding my shorts up."

"Because buttons are cute!" smiled Narcos.

"Can't argue with that!" smiled Soos, as he strips, and everyone groans and covers their eyes. 

Mercuria facepalms, embarrassed. "Oh, my God... Narcos, stop..."

"Why are you not wearing anything under there!?" asked Dipper, covering his eyes.

"It's a Gravity Falls thing!" yelled Soos.

"No, it's not!" yelled Dipper. "Ugh!"

"I honestly think we should just focus," said Anne, woged in her demon state.

"Demon Anne is right," said Narcos. "We should think about what to do."

"Then everyone please listen!" yelled Dipper. "We have reasons to believe that the Jump Force might be near an unknown Universe to Maharlica that's off-limits."

"Why is that?" asked Demon Anne.

"Because the Universe they're likely in is within the Universes with extremely powerful beings," said Dipper. "Beings that not even St. JoJo could stand up against."

"Who?" asked Mercuria.

Dipper presses a button on his podium and several orbs appear. These orbs are red in color and indicate that they're dangerous Universes, having incredibly powerful beings. "We don't know. But we believe that the Universes include beings from this family tree..."

"There are other freaking Diamonds!?" asked Steven, who's in the room.

"Yeah... But we're cool, because you're still a Diamond, right?"

"Yeah... Weirdly enough, my daughter inherited some of my abilities..." said Steven. 

"Steven!" yelled Dipper, hammering the podium. "Are they also Diamonds!?"

"Well... No," said Steven. "They just have my healing spit, resurrection tears, and the ability to fuse. That's it. Oh! And they have pink hair!"

"Oh... They're useless, then," said Dipper.

"Hey! Those are my daughters you're talking about!" yelled Steven.

"Alright! Geez! Calm down! I'm just saying that they aren't fit for battle!" yelled Dipper.

"Yes, they are! They could fight and they age slower than people!"

"Oh!" smiled Dipper. "Good on ya, then! Anyway! Diamonds! Yes... So, we've recently learned that the Colored Diamonds can fuse into a giant ungodly creature known as Rainbow Diamond. But we have no idea what the Dark Diamonds turn into! So, yeah! We're going to Dark Gem Homeworld territory, basically!"

"Wait... Wait..." said Star. "Why don't we just think of every color?"

"Wait... That's beside the point. We should prepare for whatever the heck kind of horrifying species is out there in the Unknown Universes-!" yelled Dipper.

"Looked it up! Black or Gray, huh?" smiled Star. "I think they'd just become a really dark version of Black Diamond, like Muddy Brown or whatever. Or how about Gray Diamond?"

"That's really cute," sighed Dipper, sarcastically. "Like looking up could solve our problems-..."

"I looked up Rick's Diamond Theory. He says that it could be Gray Diamond," said Narcos.

"There ya go!" smiled Star.

"Okay! Okay!" sighed Dipper. "Now could we please focus?"

Everyone stays quiet.

"These aliens are going to be dangerous. So, let's have a rundown with what each Diamond could do."

He shows a picture of Nocturna, who has a Gemstone similar to Steven's. Its original form is shown, and it resembles White Diamond's Gemstone, but it's black.

"Nocturna over here is currently the youngest of the Diamond Sisters... Or... well... Half-Sisters. She has the ability to induce chaos into the world by controlling something called Calamity."

Dipper shows only a picture of Violet Diamond's Gem, which resembles Yellow Diamond's Gem, the only difference being is that it's violet in color.

"This one is Violet Diamond! She has the power to control metal to a godly extent!"

Dipper shows only a picture of Red Diamond's Gem, which resembles Blue Diamond's Gem, the only difference being is that it's red in color. 

"Red Diamond, meanwhile, is the second eldest sister! Red over here has the ability to induce violent and aggressive emotions toward its enemy!" smiled Dipper.

Dipper shows only a picture of Brown Diamond's Gem, which resembles Pink Diamond's Gem, the only difference being is that it's brown in color. 

"Finally, Brown Diamond!" smiled Dipper. "She could induce toxins! The complete opposite of you, Steven!"

Steven looks worried. "Interesting..."

"And of course, there's the Caste System!Seaweed Emeralds, Dark Red Hessonites, Dark Green Demantoids, Blood Pyropes, Midnight Sapphires, Black Morganites, Dark Blue Aquamarines, Steel Lapises, Black Jades, Space Blue Larimars, Black Topazes, Dijon Topazes, Pine Nephrites (which my last name mayhaps be a reference to), Medallion and Royal Zircons, Indigo Agates, Black Citrines, Black Quartzes, Blood Quartzes, Indigo Amethysts, Jam Carnelians, Mahogany Jaspers, Cat's Eyes, Demon Aura Quartzes, Black Cherts, Black Flints, Basil Peridots, Indigo Bismuths, Black Obsidians, Scarlet Rubies, Blood Spinels, and Black Pearls! Oh! And Black Pebbles! Oh! And there are a bunch of Off-Dull Gems out there we don't talk about. Any questions?"

Narcos raises his hands.

"Yeah?"

"I'm eating this bowl of bull dick soup... I kinda feel weird now and I think I like both men and women."

"That is a horrifying confession to make but please stay on topic! Yes?"

F.F. raises her hand. "Is there water on that planet?"

"No," replied Dipper. "Yes?"

"How do we stop these guys?" asked Steven.

"Excellent question!" smiled Dipper. "We're destined to have a massive war with these guys and it's a 50/50 gamble whether or not we win!"

"So... You're sending the JoJoCorps there?" asked Star, raising her hand.

"Yes. And you raised your hand and that's fine..."

"Why not just send an army?"

"And provoke them!? Seriously, do you Mewmen only know how to provoke people!?"

"Right... That's true..." said Star.

Patrick raises his hand.

Dipper facepalms. "Patrick, why are you here? And no, Patrick. You can't eat the Dark Gems. Last time you tried that, Steven almost died."

Patrick lowers his hand.

"Okay... anyway-!" yelled Dipper.

"I found an Ad for this place," said Patrick, randomly. "It says that this was the Mystery Shack and I could just throw away my money here."

Dipper sighs. "Patrick, the shack closed down 20 years ago."

"What!?" asked Patrick. "Where the heck do I throw my money now!?"

"Try the vending machine," said Dipper. "Anyway-!"

"Okay!" Patrick hops down off his chair (because he's tiny) and walks to the vending machine.

"Anyway!" yelled Dipper. "Any more questions?"

Everyone shakes their heads.

"None? Okay! We'd be sending the coordinates to our friends, the JoJos!" smiled Dipper, as he puts his fists on his hips akimbo. "Let's go!"