Celli and Lulu’s Strange Situation: The Siren's Call

Chapters

Episode 1: Welcome to the Show
Episode 2: Sunset on Equestria
Episode 3: The Midnight Runners
Episode 4: The Ocean Has Eyes

Episode 1: Welcome to the Show

It was a lovely Saturday afternoon in Canterlot Park. As the city was high on festivities, baubles and dangly objects hung all around the lampposts and trees here, especially around the entrance, where more families were pouring in. Snow had fallen the day before and the ground was coated in a light layer of white, which children were already in the process of gathering for their snowman building.

The air was cold and a little windy, which was a decent reason to keep people away from the park today, except for one important thing. Smack in the middle of the park, beside a small man-made lake was a temporary stage, fitted with metal beams that towered in the air that housed rows and rows of swiveling lights that occasionally panned down onto the stage where three girls were singing.

As their voices blended together expertly almost like they had been singing for thousands of years, more and more people began joining the crowd, cheering for them as the lights above flicked to red, merging with the increasing glow of red pendants around their necks. Smiles creeped across the girls’ faces as they beheld the crowd before them. The main one, a girl with poofy orange hair, ducked low and swept her right arm across one foot to the other, then spun around and placed a hand on the small of her back as her smile grew wider and wider.

Another, a girl with purple and green hair tied into two pigtails, hopped a step, then dropped to one knew as she swung an arm around her opposite shoulder, and the third, a girl with blue hair of two hues, spun on her toes like a top, then dropped in a split before immediately bouncing up and raising her arms high.

With one final melodious harmony, they spun together, grabbing ahold of their shoulders as they brought their mics together in the air, producing an incredible wave of feedback that rocked the entire park, literally blowing hats off people’s heads before the sound and lights cut out.

Cheers rang across the park after a brief pause, and the three girls bowed before ducking back behind their stage.

“We’ve done it!” The lead one, Adagio Dazzle, clenched both fists as she reached the bottom of the backstage area. “Do you feel that?”

“Donuts?” The one with blue hair, Sonata Dusk, lifted a finger as she sniffed the air.

“Power, Sonata,” Adagio said as she planted one hand on her hip. “But not just our gems. You feel it, don’t you? Aria, you too? The power of this world coursing through our veins!”

The third, Aria Blaze, folded her arms and planted both feet together. “I don’t even know why we still bother with our gems when we have powers like this.”

She balled a fist as a purple spectral hand appeared beside hers, doing the same. Her entire body was covered in a blazing blue aura that didn’t consume her.

“After this song, I already feel strong enough to take down an entire police station!” Adagio cackled as a female humanoid appeared behind her, partially hidden in the shadows. “Imagine what we could do if we performed another three times?”

“But why stop at three?” Aria asked. “Why not thirty?”

“It’s nice to sing and all, but…” Sonata tapped her sisters on the shoulders. “Do we really need to do this? There are better ways to get back to Equestria. I just want to sing.”

“We are fools to ignore power like this!” Adagio grabbed Sonata by the collar and pulled her closer, touching her nose to her sister’s nose. “We spent weeks learning how to control it and you want to throw it away now?”

“I’m saying, why do we need to use them like this? You know like that one comic, with great power comes-”

“Enough. Sonata, you’re not backing out now.” Adagio held her firmly. “You must remember all that has happened. Star Swirl cast us out. On the brink of our victory over Equestria. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Well, yeah… but…” She pictured the crowd they had just siphoned their magic from. Already she could hear their voices rising outside, and it wasn’t the good kind. “I know it’s not any different from what we’ve done in Equestria, but I…”

“What, you suddenly grew a conscience?” Aria groaned.

“What’s that?”

“Nevermind.” The middle sister shook her head. “Look, we’re getting back to Equestria, one way or another. And with all the power we get here, we’re going to take it back, right, Adagio?”

“Well spoken, Aria.” Adagio’s smirk grew wider still. “Feel that energy. I feel like I can already do anything with power like this. A few more concerts will certainly do the trick.”

The sounds outside grew louder and sharper and Sonata already knew what was going on. She could hear a brawl starting as people began calling each other names, followed by the sounds of muffled gasps and shouts of pain. Their singing had started more than one war throughout their lifetimes and they would feed on the hostility, growing stronger and more powerful, but this time it was different. Sonata felt different. And she wasn’t talking about the new powers they got.

She was starting to feel for the humans.

“There must be a way we can get this power without causing them to hurt each other,” she said, challenging her sisters. Adagio and Aria looked at the younger siren, slightly unhappy with the tone she was using.

“This is the only way back Sonata” Aria said with a glare. “We did this back in Equestria and we’re just doing the same thing now.”

As she said this, Sonata stood silently as she looked towards the middle siren. “Well, you never know until we try, there might be another way. A peaceful one.”

“Peaceful, you say? Do you want a peaceful approach, Adagio?” Aria looked to her older sister.

Adagio’s fingers gripped tighter around her arms and sneered. “No, I do not. They cast us out, they thought to trap us here, but they never knew what they had done by doing so. We will find a way back and we’ll destroy all of them.”

Sonata flinched as she heard this. She didn’t want to go back to their old ways, not again. “No…” she said.

“What did you say?” Adagio stepped closer, fire in her voice.

“I said no… I-I don’t wanna do this!” the younger siren replied with only a hint of hesitation left in her resolve.

“You don’t have a choice.” Aria joined in. “Like Adagio said, you ain’t backing out of this and we’re all doing this together.”

“I do have a choice!” The younger said in protest. “We may be sisters, but I can make my own decisions and choose what I wanna do! And you can’t force me to do something I don’t wanna do!”

The other two sirens shared a knowing look with each other. They knew Sonata had always been a pain, but she had always followed along, even if she did it without knowing why. But this time, it seemed she had learned a thing or two about standing up for herself, and normally, they’d be proud of her, seeing as she finally grew some kind of brain. But this time, she was standing up to them and they didn’t like it one bit.

“Sonata, no. What do you even like about these humans?” Adagio hissed, throwing her hands up. “They’re nothing but magic fodder for us!”

She shook her head. “You’re wrong. They’re living and breathing. I don’t know, we’ve been out here among them for years. I don’t want to do this anymore. Call it a dumb reason, whatever, but I want to live a better life. I don’t want to be bad anymore.”

“You’ve always been lacking up there, but this you just brought it to the next level…” Aria sighed and looked at the oldest siren. “What do we do now?”

“We carry on.” Adagio clenched a fist to a cheek as orange energy pulsed around her lithe form. A figure stepped out from behind her, covered in shadow as it tilted its head up to face Sonata. “Sonata, you’re off the team.”

“You’re not using your Stand against me!” Sonata stepped back, glowing blue now.

“Don’t make us do this, Sonata. We’re just going to put you away so you don’t disrupt our plans.” Adagio widened her poise and flicked one hand to one knee, planting the back of her hand on it.

But Sonata wasn’t having it. “Ocean Eyes!”

“No!” both Adagio and Aria said at once.

Water burst out of the ground under them, coming from one of the pipes leading to the nearby lake. The rush of ice cold water sent Aria sailing back into the steps leading up, but Adagio held her ground, grabbing onto one of the metal beams as her Stand fought against the current of the waterspout. Sonata took this chance to fling one of the doors open as she raced away into the night sky, hearing the roar of her sister behind as she dashed through a line of bushes.

She wiped tears from her eyes as she looked back one last time. They had made their choice and she had made hers. As long as they planned to hurt others, she would have nothing to do with them anymore, no matter how much it hurt.

But just what was she going to do now?

Author's Note

Thank you for taking the time to read this story/chapter

As the story description says, this is a team effort by Myself, Golden_Reflection, Tokurider45, and Jojoleopard. We decided to do this because me, Golden and Toku posted some good stand ideas that we all decided to use them.

This a new experience for us, so we do hope it pleases to your liking. Until then, see you all in the next chapter.

Episode 2: Sunset on Equestria

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed, putting down the latest letter of petition from some noble asking for a reduction of their own taxes. She turned towards the window of her private study which looked over the skyline of Canterlot, giving her the image of the sun dropping lower towards the horizon line, and her thoughts started drifting to quite a number of years ago.

“Sunset…”The Princess of the Sun muttered to herself with a sigh, the anniversary of that day was just around the corner, much to her dismay.

How long has it been? Ten years? Twenty? Thirty? Perhaps it was longer. Time was a concept that became lost on Celestia due to her own immortality but she never did forget her former student, or the rift that had formed between the two of them as time went on. Things had been said, things had also been left unsaid.

“If only I could go back in time, maybe I could’ve changed things. And maybe, she might still be here…” Celestia said sadly as she looked up towards the sky. And the moment she did, she finally noticed that the sun was no longer in the sky. “Just how long have I been going over these documents?”

“Knowing you, sister, much too long,” a voice echoed in the hall behind her.

Celestia turned her head over and saw her younger sister, Luna, coming over towards her. “Oh, hello Luna. It’s time to swap, isn’t it?”

Luna nodded her head. “Yes it is, sister.” She noticed the look on Celestia's face. “You were thinking about her, weren’t you?”

Celestia stood quietly for a moment, then nodded her head. Luna felt saddened from her sister’s expression. “Celestia, you can’t blame yourself for what happened that day.”

“I know. What happened to her was beyond me.” Celestia sighed and returned her gaze to the sky above, which was now dark blue. “But I could’ve stopped it. If I had paid more attention to the needs of my students, maybe things could’ve been different.”

Luna placed one wing over Celestia's back in a comforting gesture, "Listen, Celi, nothing can change by dwelling on what you could or should have done," she said as she joined her sister’s stony gaze out the window. "We should both know that better than most after all we've both been through." A small smile appeared on Luna's face, showing both a mix of happiness at where they were now, and regret of what she had done in the past. But thanks to Twilight and her friends, all of that was now but a distant memory of times she wished could be forgotten forever. They were sisters again, better than ever, and that was what mattered to Luna.

Celestia held firmly to the times she and her sister had in the old days, good, bad and current. Celestia looked up, rubbing her head against one of her sister’s wings. “Yes, you’re right Luna.”

“Well, of course I'm right.” Luna smiled, swelling with pride. ”Have I ever been wrong?” She smirked only to see her sister giving her a half lidded stare. “On second thought don’t answer that.”

Celestia shook her head, having a small smile and laugh. Despite some arguments they had, she could always count on Luna to cheer her up whenever she felt down.

“Are you going to miss this?” Luna tapped a hoof on the windowsill. “Raising and lowering the sun? Once Twilight takes over, we’ll be out of our jobs.”

Celestia grinned at the rising bulbous white shape in the sky and nodded. “I would. But I wouldn’t mind kicking back and living somewhere along the western coast. I certainly wouldn’t miss our queenly duties with the guards and nobles.”

Luna chuckled as she finished raising the moon. “Perhaps, maybe it’s time to find a special somepony to be with as well, Celi.” She gave her a playful wink.

“You’re one to talk, Luna.” Celestia shoved her with a wing.

They would’ve probably escalated the gestures, but a knock of a hoof at the door drew their attention back to their roles as rulers for the time being.

“Your majesties…” A guard coughed and saluted them. “You’re wanted in the tower. It seems the…” He scratched his right ear. “The mirror there, there’s something going on.”

“The mirror?” Both sisters locked eyes as Celestia’s thoughts drifted back to that magical thing she had locked away from the public eye. That was the object through which Sunset Shimmer had disappeared all those years ago.

They wasted no time in getting there, leaving the guard in their wake as they took flight through one of the windows, soaring high towards the tower. This was where Celestia had locked away forgotten artifacts and magical crafts, but she had made the mistake of telling Sunset about it when she was still a pupil here; that mistake had cost her her best student at the time.

They arrived at the tower in a beat and they could already see why the guard on watch had come to summon them. The surface of the glass was shimmering, almost like it was a startled pool of water. Red rays of light were cutting through the darkness, bleeding against the furniture in the room as they danced around, erratic and random.

Something was going on in the other world, something that filled their hearts with unease.

“Magic. Somepony inside is tampering with magic,” Luna said, shaking her sister with a hoof. “But how? There isn’t supposed to be magic in that world.”

“Perhaps our and Star Swirl’s earlier assessments on this world were wrong.” Celestia kept her steely gaze on the rippling mirror. “But this is unlike any magic I know.”

“What are we going to do?” Luna said, concerned. “Who knows what could happen if this keeps up. There’s no telling what power this could be.”

Celestia’s gaze didn’t break from the portal as Luna’s words buzzed through her ears. Even though this phenomenon was unknown to her, there could be potential danger if she left this unchecked. “We must investigate this… We have to go through the mirror.”

Luna looked a little stunned at this statement.

“But Celi…” Luna began, but Celestia cut her off.

“We have to Lulu. If we don’t check it out and it turns out to be serious, this could spell danger for both worlds…” she said. “And, on the chances of this being Equestrian Magic, we must make sure that it isn’t from something or somepony dangerous.”

Luna still felt a bit unsure. But she knew her sister was right. Even though they didn’t know what was happening, it could still be dangerous for not only Equestria but for the other world too. “It might be dangerous, Celi.”

“Maybe, but we have faced many dangers before in our time.” Celestia mentioned. “And, as long we’re together, we can do it again.” She ended this with a reassuring smile. “One last adventure before we throw in the towel.”

Luna looked on as the mirror’s surface continued to pulse and warp as more red light began to surge in, piercing through the dark room of the tower. “Very well. One last adventure. Together.”

Celestia nodded, then started penning down something on a scroll, which appeared before their faces. “I’ll have to leave instructions while we’re gone. We don’t want Equestria to be left without a leader.”

Luna watched his sister’s quill scale across the note. “At least Twilight and her friends will be able to handle any threat while we’re gone. They’ve protected Equestria from more dangers than we have.”

Celestia flashed her a wide grin. “That’s because we normally leave it to them. How often have you seen us dealing with magical threats?”

“True…” Luna chuckled as Celestia folded up her scroll.

With a whiff of magic, the scroll vanished in a puff, sent to the royal guards as she dusted her wings together. “Shall we, Lulu?”

Luna took a deep breath in. “We better. Before I change my mind.”

“Here goes nothing. Let’s see what Star Swirl’s world has to offer.” Celestia stuck a hoof in, then threw the rest of her body in after it.

After her sister walked through the mirror, she soon followed suit, placing her hoof in. “I hope this world isn’t too dangerous. But, I can’t help but worry about what’s to come.”

With one last huff, Luna disappeared through the mirror, which shimmered and bounced as though it was made of jelly, settling once the two of them were long gone.

Thus, the royal sisters’ journey to save both worlds was about to begin, but little did they know, this was the start of a really bizarre adventure for them both. They didn’t know it then, but magic was already working through their bodies as they twisted and morphed, turning into something else entirely and behind them was their magic leaving their bodies, becoming something more ethereal, something more… bizarre.

Episode 3: The Midnight Runners

As wind whistled through trees under the moon’s light and snow fell slowly towards the ground, a lone wolf howled, lifting itself high before scurrying off from the sound of rustling bushes behind it. Emerging from them was none other than Sonata Dusk, covered in snow, mud and dirt. Part of her skirt and a portion of her sleeve had torn off, left behind on some forgotten bush and a fairly large stick stuck out of her ponytail; a snail slowly made its way from the tip towards her head. Sonata was panting a bit heavily, not sure how much longer her body could carry her. She had lost track of how long she'd been running now, but she told herself the edge of the forest would soon appear before her eyes. Each breath threw cold air down her throat, making it harder and harder to breathe, but she knew she had to keep herself going or she would just die out here in the wilderness.

“Please let me be nearly there…” the young siren said as she pushed on. She had run through a forest in hopes to lose her sisters, just in case they chased her down. If anything, it would be some time before they catch wind of where she was. Sonata kept herself going, resolving to find her way out soon. She could eventually hear sounds up ahead of herself, and as she got closer, she saw a small light and took a peek through a bush, moving a tree branch out of the way. What she saw put a small smile on her face. She saw a sidewalk and a few cars driving along a road.

“I finally made it out!” she said as she took a step out from nature’s edge and took some time to catch her breath. Joy filled her heart as she stood looking back at the forest, but she couldn’t help but feel sad recalling what happened with her sisters.

“I’m sorry Dagi and Ari, but I have to do this,” she said. A happy couple walked by her, arm in arm, and she spotted a family having dinner together outside a restaurant, bickering over who had the bigger filet before bursting out in laughter. “All these humans, they’re happy and enjoying their lives together. It shouldn’t be taken away. No matter what, I’ll stop you both… somehow.”

The youngest siren wanted to stop her sisters, but she couldn’t even begin to know what to do. Right now, she was all alone. She had no resources, no place to stay, no food to eat. If they found her now, she would surely be on the losing end.

“What am I gonna do?” she asked herself. “I can’t beat them two against one, not unless I’m clever. And honestly, I’m not as clever as they are. And I still need to rest up after the whole day. I need somewhere to go.”

She pondered what she would do next, however, she wasn’t looking where she was going and accidentally bumped into someone on the sidewalk, causing her to tumble back onto the ground. She rubbed the back of her head as she got up, bruised from the impact.

“O-Oh my gosh! Are you ok? I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.” Sonata said, worried that she might’ve hurt them. She didn’t want to get into more trouble than she already had.

“Hey, no worries. I should be the one asking if you’re ok,” a male voice said as a hand was offered to Sonata. “Here, let me help you up.”

Sonata allowed herself a small smile. It seems this person was rather polite. ”Thank you,” she told him, accepting his hand before she finally let her eyes move up to examine who this passerby was.

The boy in front of her had white skin and a head of purple hair styled kind of like a pinecone. He wore a pale blue puffy sweater, a purple shirt marked with a snowflake and various diamond-like patterns around the edges of his sleeves, and he had on gray jeans and blue sneakers. He looked back at her with bright teal eyes, giving her a sensation she hadn’t known in a long time.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a smile, which faded once he saw the state Sonata was in. “Hey, what happened to you?”

“It’s a long story.” Sonata dusted her legs. “I better be off now.”

“Don’t mind me asking, but you seem to be in some sort of trouble,” the boy turned his head as she walked past him. “Is something the matter?”

Sonata then stopped in her tracks and thought for a moment on what to say. “It’s fine, really,” she said. She didn’t want to get someone innocent involved with her situation.

“Are you sure?” The boy asked as he noticed that parts of her clothes were a little torn and that her body was covered in mud and dirt. “By the looks of it, I’d say you’ve been running from someone. Or something. Is it vampires? I’ve never seen one, but I’ll bet all my spare change that they exist.”

“I told you, it’s a long story, but I can’t stay here. You’ll be in danger.” Sonata tried to leave, but the boy held on tight. “Did you hear me? You’ll be in danger.”

He shook his head. “I can’t just leave an innocent girl like you to fend for herself. Tell me how I can help.”

“You can’t help. You can’t possibly help. I have to go. I need to find someplace warm.”

The bushes where Sonata had come from shook and dropped leaves and snow everywhere, turning their attention to it, but nothing else happened after that.

Sonata was about to ignore it and get away from this overly-friendly boy when something skipped on the sidewalk beside them before leaving her field of vision almost instantly.

“Was that… was that a rock?”

“What rock?” The boy looked around, scratching his head.

“I… I think I better go.” Sonata straightened her coat and took one step forward before something else skipped off the concrete floor.

It sounded almost like the patter of a shoe, but a lot softer and with a lot less surface area.

“No, they couldn’t possibly have found me already…” Sonata’s eyes darted around, alert. With only a few streetlamps dotting the area, it was hard to see whatever was moving around them. “I ran through the forest. I might not have erased my tracks through the snow, but they couldn’t have possibly caught up to me already.”

“Who? Who’s after you? You aren't giving me a lot to go on here.” The boy reached out a hand toward Sonata who was still looking around in a panic.

Sonata had no time to think of some excuse, so she just quickly blurted it out. “My sisters. They’re after me. They want to enslave the world.”

There was another faint patter of footsteps. This time, Sonata noticed tiny little imprints in the snow around them. They were almost as tiny as pin pricks, but heavier. Then there was a spray of red across the white snow. The sudden splash of color caught Sonata’s attention and she followed the trail back to her leg. Blood was now dripping down her leg from a thin and long cut, too clean to be anything accidental.

The young siren then winces a bit in pain from this and puts one hand over the cut. “T-This had to be a stand. But it’s not Dagi’s or Aria’s.” She mentioned her thoughts and started to panic a bit. “This isn’t good,” she said, continuing speaking in her thoughts “I told this boy already what my sisters are planning in a panic. And, if they sent someone after me, he could be in more danger now.”

“There’s an enemy Stand around.” The boy pushed Sonata behind his back as he lowered his stance, keeping low, arms wide. “No time to explain.”

Sonata blinked. “W-What? You know what Stands are?”

The boy looked back at her. “You know about Stands? I thought I was the only one!”

Sonata could name a few, but this one was a mystery to her. “Just… who are you?”

The boy smiled and pointed a finger at his face, placing his other hand on his opposite shoulder. “Arctic Ace at your service. I’ve dealt with a Stand user or two abusing their powers, so I have some experience.”

“Experience will get you nowhere here, boy,” a feminine voice came from the dark of the night. Sonata couldn’t pinpoint where it had come from, but she could hear more tiny footsteps approaching them from all around. Whatever Stand this was, there was more than one of them. “You protect what you do not know. Give the girl to me and you will live.”

Arctic Ace didn’t even hesitate once. “What has she done for you to be after her? I’m quite a good judge of character. So far she seems nice and kind. You on the other hand, missus hiding-in-the-shadows-woman, I’m not getting good vibes from you.”

There was a brief pause, then a bark of laughter erupted from the dark. “Brave of you, boy. Then you will die. The Midnight Runners will take care of you,” the feminine voice spoke out in a tone filled with wicked glee.

Ace however seemed mostly unphased by this. “Then what are you waiting for? Are you gonna come at me or keep hiding like a coward?”

“You mistaken me for waiting. I haven’t been waiting.” He could almost picture the smile on the woman’s face.

There was a shrill squeak, like the laughter of a mouse if a mouse could laugh, and then something jumped past his left leg, slicing across it before disappearing back into the darkness of the street. Ace’s blood sprayed against the snowy ground, but instead of yelling in pain, he backed up and swirled both arms over his head, leaving them in the air as he began glowing light blue.

Sonata kept her eyes on the darkness, trying to spot their tiny assailants, but they were too fast and small to track, especially since they were moving away from the light source above their heads.

She sensed something moving along her left, behind the bushes she had come out from, but before she could turn, a strange blue colored ninja stepped past her, its eyes glowing the same blue as the aura around Ace. It was decked out in a sleek black and blue outfit, complete with gauntlets and shoulderplates of pure ice. It created a circular piece of ice like a shield, pushing it forward as it collided with the speeding enemy Stand. The shield shattered and something shrieked before darting back off into the bushes.

“That’s right. Just try and stand up to my Cold as Ice!” Ace slid a foot forward, then brandished both fists close to his face. “You’ll find it hard to rival its speed and precision!”

“You dare to challenge the speed and precision of my Midnight Runners?” There was a scoff from somewhere in the dark. “I am Dextra Sprint, but everybody calls me Dexy. And I accept your challenge! Go, Midnight Runners!”

There was more scuffling from the shadows around them and Sonata found herself taking a step back towards the lamppost, but Ace half-turned his head and gave her a confident nod. Whoever this boy was, he surely knew what he was doing.

A small shape darted out from his left, but Cold as Ice had already moved, grabbing it with both hands as it tried to attack him. Now that Cold as Ice was holding it still, they could see just what they were up against. It was a small humanoid figure, no bigger than four inches. It was decked out in what looked like a tracksuit and it had an orange visor in place of eyes. It brought its fingers together and slashed around the air, trying to attack Cold as Ice, but it could not reach it.

“Mine! Mine! You’re all mine! You will die!” The little Stand continued to struggle.

“Is this the best you got?” Ace tried to peer out of the darkness around them, but he still couldn’t see its master.

“You underestimate me.”

From the shadows, another two figures flung themselves at Cold as Ice. One cut it across the wrist, making it drop the Stand it was holding, while another attacked its face, just barely missing its cheek. As it passed, Ace caught sight of it. It closely resembled the orange one his Stand held earlier, but this one had a green visor and a similarly green stripe going down its tracksuit.

Blood sprayed from his own wrist, reflecting the damage on his Stand, but he made no sound. Clasping his arm, he slid one foot back, then had his Stand put its hands together as an icicle formed above its fingertips, resembling a dagger.

“Midnight Runners, together!” the woman shrieked.

Cold as Ice spun the dagger to one hand, holding it in reverse grip as more of the enemy’s Stands attacked it. They hopped around outside the light before flinging themselves at it one at a time. Ace’s Stand deflected each advance with its ice dagger, managing to scrape one of the Midnight Runners across the chest before it screeched and disappeared from the light.

The enemy Stands were all coded in a different color. Ace had seen a red one, a blue one, a yellow one, purple, pink, grey, and a gold one, apart from the orange and green ones he had seen earlier. They moved fast, but unfortunately for them, his Stand’s eyes were able to keep up with them just fine.

The gray one returned, slashing up with its sharp fingertips, but Cold as Ice blocked its attack with its dagger, but instead of launching it away, this time it extended its weapon up and forward, creating an ice pick out of it. The Midnight Runner bumped into the top of it and before it could recover, Cold as Ice slashed down twice, cutting both of its shoulders deep enough to nearly sever both arms. Blood sprayed from its wounds as it dropped to the snowy ground.

“Mine arms! Mine arms!” the Stand cried out. “He hath damaged me severely!”

Dexy screamed from the dark, then growled, “You’ll pay for that! You think you’re all that?”

“No, but I think I’m pretty darn close,” Arctic Ace said before his Stand crouched down and touched the ground with its hands causing the floor beneath the enemy to rapidly freeze over, causing the nearly armless stand to begin to lose its balance. A bit before the stand could slip, Cold As Ice took this chance to take a swing and clocked the enemy in the jaw hard with its fist, causing the stand to flip down and smash its head against the ice covered pavement.

“Ohhh, I am fortune’s fool…” the gray Midnight Runner mumbled as the green and red ones appeared and dragged it away before Cold as Ice could stomp on it.

The pink and purple ones ran around Cold as Ice and Arctic Ace, moving in occasionally to attack, only for Cold as Ice to see them coming and fend off their sharp fingers.

“I’m sorry we have to do this, but you’re in the way,” the purple one said as it spun around Cold as Ice’s icicle dagger. It thrust both arms forward, aiming for its eyes, but Cold as Ice sidestepped it before grabbing its tiny foot between two fingers.

With a blast of cold air, ice began to creep up the Midnight Runner’s foot, spreading up all the way to its waist.

Before Cold as Ice could deliver the finishing blow to the tiny Stand, the streetlamp above them suddenly burst into bits, raining glass down around Ace and Sonata.

In that brief envelopment of complete darkness, the purple Midnight Runner escaped Cold as Ice’s grasp. Whether it was with help or on its own, Ace did not know.

Dexy’s laughter returned from the dark. “Fools. What are you going to do now? Sure, you had the advantage earlier when you could see, but what happens if you can’t?”

Ace and Sonata kept their eyes and ears out, listening as Midnight Runners’ tiny footsteps could be heard on the soft snow around them, running in circles, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. It was already hard to keep track of them earlier, but now in the dark themselves, it was almost impossible to see them when they were on the move.

Sonata tapped the side of her head. “Uh oh.”

Episode 4: The Ocean Has Eyes

As running could be heard all around them, Ace and Sonata kept themselves on the swivel, waiting for the moment one of the Midnight Runners would decide to strike. They could already hear their tiny voices gloating out there in the dark, unable to see them.

“I can take you all by myself. You’re all mine! Mine for the kill!” one squeaked.

"There's no way either of you two fuckers will see where we're coming from!" they heard another one shout from behind.

“I’m sorry for the way it just swore at you!” a meeker one said.

“Thy years are surely matched if I could still swing mine arms.”

“Though, I wish I didn’t have to fight someone who looked so handsome. You’d make such a lovely partner,” another said in a flirtatious tone.

“Mmph! Even with your power to create ice, you'd be dead wrong if you think we'd surrender just because you managed to deal serious damage to one of us.” One voice had a proud and confident tone.

“Dammit, why did you all get to say the cool lines?!” another voice said in annoyance “Ah just forget it let's just take these chumps out!”

“No not yet~ I want to play with them some more~,” the flirtatious voice purred. “It’s more fun when we make them sweat~.”

Ace had Cold as Ice create two disc like shapes in its hands, holding one in front and the other to its right as they waited for another attack from the dark.

And then there it was. From the darkness came a red and a blue Midnight Runners, slashing at Cold as Ice’s shields faster than Ace could blink. His Stand managed to block one attack, but the blue one managed to get around its other shield, anticipating its movement, slashing at its elbow. Blood sprayed from both Stand and master and Ace grasped his wound as he cursed under his breath.

Before he could react, the green Midnight Runner slid in from behind, catching them unaware. It sliced at the back of Cold as Ice’s foot, then climbed up its leg before cutting it in the knee before being kicked away.

“We can’t stay here,” Ace said as he pointed to the next streetlamp. “We have to move.”

“How? You’re injured.” Sonata said only for Ace to flash her a reassuring smile.

“It’s just a small cut, nothing serious.” Ace assured her before he reached down and touched his wound encasing it over with ice to prevent blood loss.

Sonata was impressed when she saw this, able to seal up his wound with his ice. Then she felt her leg getting a bit cold. She looked down and noticed him doing the same with her wound from when Midnight Runners first attacked.

“By the way, you haven’t told me your name.” A smile was plastered on Ace’s face.

Sonata blinked. “Oh, I haven’t? That’s my bad! It’s Sonata Dusk. But everyone just calls me Sonata.”

“And it’s nice to meet you, Sonata.” Ace gave her a quick handshake before ushering her towards the next light. “I wish I could say it was under better circumstances. Not a Stand battle.”

“Where are you going?” Dexy could be heard running through the bushes close to them as her Midnight Runners sped all around the two of them. “Did you think finding another light source will save you?”

And then the footsteps of her Midnight Runners grew faint and to their dismay, the closest streetlamp’s bulb blew.

“I’m sorry, but it had to be done to defeat you,” one of the Midnight Runners said. It’s voice sounded like it had come from right beside Sonata’s ear.

“You’re not going anywhere, not until I’m finished here,” Dexy said.

“The boy’s fate has been determined, and he will perish!” one of the Midnight Runners snickered.

“But the girl will be taken back, all by me! She will be delivered to her sisters! By me!”

“Your sisters?” Ace looked at Sonata.

All she did was shrug. “Like I said, long story. What are we going to do now?”

Ace watched as the next streetlamp disappeared into darkness when its lightbulb shattered. “We have no choice. We’ll have to face them in the dark.”

Cold as Ice slid to a stop and raised both arms, creating a shield of ice above its head, which began to spread outwards. More Midnight Runners attacked from all around them, bouncing off against the expanding ice. A few managed to get in and cuts began appearing all over Ace’s and Sonata’s arms and legs. The cold air began to smell like iron, but they weren’t able to move fast enough to avoid the Midnight Runners. In the dark, they were almost invisible, even when up close. By the time they could even see one, they had already been injured by it.

Sonata clasped her hands together as she watched Ace continue to protect her, a random person he had only just met. He was giving it his all to defend her and she knew she couldn’t just stand here and let him risk his life. She had to do something and she had to do it now.

“I can’t hide forever. Come on, Ocean Eyes!” Sonata crouched down, putting both hands on the snowy ground between her legs as she threw her head back.

Sonata’s body began to emit a purple glow as a being draped with a blue furry coat and ushanka appeared behind her. It flexed its lean arms, then brought one palm forward diagonally, while its other arm dropped to its waist, fist forward and ready to do battle.
Through the glow around Sonata, Ocean Eyes’ green eyes glimmered before it thrust its side arm forward. Water began to float up from the snow below and flew forward like that of speeding bullets.

Sonata heard a squeak from the dark as her watery bullets hit something, followed by a growl from Dexy. “I’ll give you that one, but you can’t destroy what you can’t see!”

“I’m gonna kill you so hard!” one of the Midnight Runners chimed in.

“Not if I do something about it!” Sonata replied. “As far as I know, your Stands can’t fly.”

“Pfffff…” a rasp came from the dark. “So what? You can’t fly either.”

A smirk formed across Sonata’s lips as she raised both arms in a ‘V’ shape. “I don’t have to fly. I just need to make sure you can’t fly.”
Ocean Eyes copied its master's movements as its eyes shone forth from behind metallic turquoise hair.

“H-Hey, what gives?” one of the Midnight Runners squeaked. “I can’t get you like this!”

“Tis a torrential current!” another yelled.

“Dammit! This cheap trick wont stop me!” another snarled trying in vain to free itself.

We can’t lose! Not to a handsome face like that!

“Damn you! Face me like a true warrior!”
“I’m sorry, master!”

“What the fuck is this? Stop it now!”

“Don’t do this! please! We can’t fail them!”

“How could we let this happen? We’re much better than them!”

“Dammit, I don't wanna go out like this! Not without a cool line!”

“What are you doing to my Stands?!” And for the first time since the battle started, Dexy walked closer, coming out from behind a row of bushes. Her almost neon green eyes shone with fury in the dark.

Sonata pointed two fingers at her, one on each hand. “Ocean Eyes has the ability to control water and to use water to its advantage. Snow is just water, right? All I did was melt it and make it real dense so your Midnight Runners have trouble moving around. It sure is cold with so much water around, but at least I won’t be feeling as bad as you.”

In the darkness, Sonata and Ace could barely make out all nine Midnight Runners struggling to move through the water, which had once been snow. The water level rose and fell like that of a tide, controlled by Ocean Eyes as it moved its arms and body back and forth, also like the tide.

Due to their small sizes, each Midnight Runner couldn’t firmly plant their feet on the pavement below and they were pushed around with the tide as it moved, eventually, Ocean Eyes’ ability managed to pull all nine of them together, pushing them into a clump as their faces smashed against each other.

“Ow!” Dexy put a hand to her head as she winced from the impacts. “St-Stop that!”

Sonata smiled and looked at the boy who had come out of nowhere to help her. “Ace, you think you can handle finishing this up?”

The boy put his fists together and cracked his knuckles. Sonata never knew how that helped, but a lot of people seemed to do it. “With pleasure. Cold as Ice! It’s time!”

His Stand spun through the air, forming icy razor blades around its arms as it rolled to a stop. Slicing its arms out, it shot the razor blades through each Midnight Runner. Because they were now unable to move on their own, the ice shards pierced through their bodies before landing in the water, freezing them to the spot.

Ahead, Dexy coughed out blood as she clutched her chest. In the darkness, it was hard to see if blood was spreading across her maroon jacket and black vest, but Sonata was sure her Stands’ damage had copied over to her own body.

“No, it’s not going to end this way! It’s not!” she gasped.

As Cold as Ice’s hands began to glow a white blue, Ace pointed at her before drawing a line across his own forehead with his other hand. “This is what you get for preying on the innocent. It’s over!”

His Stand thrust both arms down into the rolling waters, creating an explosion of frost that instantly froze everything around it. The ice crept up and sealed each Midnight Runner in a layer of frost.

“You’re done for now, missy!” Ace sent Cold as Ice forward, forming an ice fist over its own hand.

“N-No, don’t!” Dexy fell back on her bum and raised both arms in front of her face.

“Wait!” Sonata was suddenly in front of Cold as Ice, stretching her arms out. “I want to talk to her!”

“What? What for?” Ace wore a puzzled face. “She’s trying to kill you. Or something.”

“I need to know why she’s working for my sisters.” Sonata looked back at the cowering woman. “What did they do to you?”

Dexy looked up at Sonata, still breathing heavily with trepidation. Even after what just happened, Sonata got in the way to save her. Dexy slowly lowered her arms down as she tried to breathe calmly before answering.

“They didn’t do anything…I did this for money,” Dexy mentioned. “They promised a good amount of money from your sisters if I capture you, Sonata.”

“They?” Ace leaned closer to her. “Who’s they?”

“I…I don’t know.” Dexy shook her head. “It was dark. I was given half by a dumpster. I didn’t see his face. I was promised the second half if I brought you back.”

Ace stared at her a moment before he closed his eyes for a moment, listening to what she said, and looked into Dexy's eyes. “Let me ask you something, let's say you accomplished your goal, and brought Sonata back. How do you know you’ll get what you want? Did you think about what could happen? The chances of getting backstabbed, or even wondering why you were told to bring Sonata back?”

Dexy looked at the boy and took in what he had told her. But, before she could answer, she saw Cold As Ice reaching out towards her, causing her to tense up a bit until she felt it touch her wound, which began to encase in ice.

“W-What are you doing?” she said as Ace’s Stand closed up her wound.

“I’m making sure you don’t lose any more blood,” Ace mentioned.

“But why? I tried to kill you.” Dexy was shocked that he would do such a thing after what happened.

“Yeah you did, but you were not in the right headspace, so patching you up makes us even,” Ace said, while keeping his concentration on her wounds.

“I…It looks like I was wrong to come after you…” Dexy was moved. “I was just after money, but I see now. There’s more to life than just money.”

“Of course there is!” Ace gave her a smile. “You promise you won’t come after Sonata again, then?”

Dexy held up a hand and nodded. “Never again. I’m sorry. I’ll only use my Stand powers for good. It’s the least I can do after the kindness you showed me.”

When Cold as Ice was done, Ace stepped away and his Stand faded. Sonata stood by him, watching the back of his head. Whoever he was, he was a nice boy.

Once Dexy left into the dark of the night, she tugged on his sleeve and asked him, “Just who are you exactly?”

Ace could only shrug. “I’m just a boy trying to make a difference.”