[5.3] Streetlight Manifesto: Sukie in the Graveyard

[RockyRaccoon]

Upon finding shelter from the menacing birds that continued to move towards him, Johnny came upon the very same house that the rest of the investigation group was in. The house was small so in turn it wasn't too hard for Father John to immediately notice him. "Heeeey~ Hedgehog boy!! You're okay!♥♥♥" He shouted out with glee but as he did so, the sound of something dropping suddenly echoed through the halls.

Then music that was coming from some sort of music box began to play throughout the house. The music had a warm but somber feeling attached to it and upon, the group could hear someone picking up the music box from the ground followed by footsteps comings towards the group. "Johnny?! Wait a minute! Who's there?!" Kyu shouted as he stood up front and summoned Sukiyaki to his steed. "Everyone...prepare yourself!"

Coming to the living room was a frail, pale-skinned 8-year old Japanese girl with pigtails. She held the music box with both hands and looked up at the group with an innocent looking smile on her face. "Hello Everyone" She said as she walked towards the group looking particularly at Kyu. Kyu's eyes widened and he fell to his knees as his mouth quivered with fear. "Y-Y-Yu-yu-" Kyu couldn't even complete a sentence let alone a word and sweat poured from his forehead while he continued to shutter in fear. 

The girl came up to Kyu and gently put her hand on his face and for a few seconds what seemed like a stand began to appear from behind her.

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"There, there boy. It is true. Your sister Yuki-Chan is here, and she will save you" Her voice sounded as if it was multiplied or that there were multiple voices speaking at once. Her stand began to flicker in and out of view but even then the group still couldn't get a good look at it other than that it was white and humanoid. "Onii-chan!" Yuki's voice suddenly turned childlike as she held her arms out for a hug.

"Y-Yuki-chan..." Kyu said as tears started to emerge from his eyes and he stood up getting ready to hug her until Father John immediately charged towards Kyu and tackled him to the ground.

"Keep away from the witch!!! Young boy, she is not your sister!! Dear Heavenly God, somebody say something" He pinned the boy to the ground holding his arms down with all his might but even then the pastor's own strength couldn't match the boy's as he was quickly overpowered. Kyu tossed Father John to the corner of the room before angrily looking back at the group "Priest, you better get the hell out of my way and that even goes for the rest of you!" He yelled as his tears continued to fall from his eyes, clearly wrecked with emotion. "She...She's my sister! I abandoned her and...I don't care if she's a ghost! I'm going to protect her! I'll protect her no matter what!" He said then turned back to Yuki with a warm smile on his face.

However, a horrible piercing was felt around his chest and his smile immediately turned into a look of despair as he slowly looked down to see the hand of a stand emerged into his chest, the claws which seemed to be 10cm in it's appearance barely managed to miss his heart but the pain was clearly immeasurable. He then looked up to see his own sister using her stand to stab him all the while holding a gleeful looking smile on her face.

"Y-Yuki-chan...Why?" Kyu said while he bled out.

"兄さん 一緒に永遠にいてね~(Big bro, be with me for forever!)" She said as she began to suddenly float in the air. Her stand which was still essentially shrouded behind darkness then dragged Kyu and tossed him towards the bedroom only for him to suddenly vanish into the shadows. 

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"As for the rest of you pigs, I'll give you all one last chance to leave. Saving these people will do you no good, I will not allow you to interfere with Yuki-Chan and her playthings any longer"   Yuki's stand slowly began to appear into view brandishing a wicked smile that reached both ends of it's faces, it's body seemed to levitate in the air without any legs and it had a somewhat transparent look to it.

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"Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! Now the real fun begins!! Nyahahahahahahaha!" Yuki's stand laughed menacingly at the rest of the group as the birds outside suddenly grew loud once again while the entire house shook violently. Yuki then disappeared into the shadows before the group could even hope to do anything towards her.

---

Palace's stand swung the wooden block violently through the air and as it did, a couple of the infant birds would find themselves being shaken off as they were tossed towards a wall leaving them unconscious for the most part. The rest of the birds would then find themselves retreating from the enemy, however whether or not they were truly retreating out of fear or because they were being called elsewhere was not certain but either way Palace would find himself safe from those demon-like birds. From outside Palace could hear the sound of a man tapping his face against a window and if he were to look out the window he would see the familiar face of Ray, a friend of his own caretaker.[/div]

[ToledoJones]

The thought of traveling by "portal" was not something Monks regarded with excitement, but going through was a lot less jarring than he had imagined. Ayida seemed nonplussed by the teleportation so he figured it simply was not as a trying as he imagined. Mitch had managed to push some of the group into one of the nearby houses. There were some newcomers, someone Monks did not recognize from earlier investigations or Dolce's briefings, a man with a cat and a girl Monks had never really spoken to but he had seen around. He couldn't help but steal a glance at cat-owner, there was an undeniable a feeling of kinship though Monks doubted anyone else was in his situation.

There was an odd sort of aura in the abandoned house, a creaking sound that never truly subsided even when the group was still. It was hard to imagine that it was the house itself making that much noise. Shortly after they had arrived, Johnny and the rest of the team had caught up to them on foot. The portals were useful but they did not seem to be much faster than walking.

It was Ayida who reacted first. Her head had turned toward the door before the music came. Perhaps she heard the music box being wound? The music seemed to freeze everyone in place for a time, leaving Monks unable to do anything but watch as the little girl entered the room and attacked her older brother, Kyu.

The shaking house was what finally brought Monks back into the world. He looked to Ayida, who was clearly seeing more than he could. What had the girl done to Kyu? How had she made that hole in his chest? Monks made toward the shadows where Kyu had vanished. "Come on!" He yelled. "I don't know what happened but that wound in his chest is no joke. He won't survive long like that!" He pulled his side arm and his flashlight (despite not knowing what effect a gun would have on a ghost) and moved into the shadow to look for the injured boy.

[dumb guy]

It had been four hours since Juno had entered the fog, he was lost and afraid, yes, afraid. Juno couldn't believe the wildlife in this damn town... Well actually the town is stand user central so nothing should surprise him at this point. The long winter trenchcoat he had been wearing was torn to shreds, the outcome of acidic saliva mixed with briar and sharp twigs. To calm himself he began to talk out loud. "Fuck these birds and fuck this swamp... I'm too young to get scars like this goddammit." Juno walked with a slight limp endlessly into the mist, luckily he had begun to understand how these birds worked and could take down one of them with ease if they were alone.

Amidst one of his paranoid rambles, Juno cut himself off after noticing a peculiar structure in the distance. It was an abandoned house and for a split second he saw the backside of someone entering it and shutting the door. This sight brought both happiness and caution. He was saved! But who would be living out here in this hellish land. 'Probably a creep, a junkie or some shit.' Whatever the case was, Juno was desperate for a way out of here.

Juno moved closer to the house, now a few meters away from the door. "God why does it have to be abandoned, why can't it be..." He thought deeply on what other structures would be in such an awful place. More abandoned houses, he had seen plenty of them on the way here. It was like an epidemic had struck. Suddenly thoughts of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" began to fill his head. He shuddered, 'that was one freaky movie' he thought to himself. Juno took a step closer only to realize he had stepped in ground softer than the usual, he looked down to see his boot covered in a mixture of mud and acid. "FUCK!" he screamed allowed, yanking off the sizzling shoe from his foot. The damn thing had even managed to seep into his sock. Juno promptly yanked it off and quickly noticed the footprints of someone, no, many people leading up to the door of the house. He suddenly realized that he yelled at the site of his deformed boot and realized they would have probably heard.

Juno waited a moment to see if there was any response. It didn't seem like there was any towards him, but there was a response to something else in the house. There was a glow underneath the door now, eerie, but eerie is better than terror as a massive flock of those damn birds began to swarm the house so he began to force his hand to openthe door. Slowly opening it in an attempt to not be heard, although if he was he knew his cover was blown already. The door opens and Juno looks at the sight in front of him, Around 5 to 6 people all staring at a pale little girl that sent shivers down Junos spine. He had never seen a ghost before but had known of their existence from the little bits of information the captain would tell him about this place. Juno tried to say "Hello, who are you people and why are you with a ghost?" but all that came out was a startled "WHAT THE FUCK?!!"

[mangoflavor]

        “Flee lesser creatures for I am your predator!”
    A vain hiss seeped out of Palace's throat as a final act of aggression. His muscles relaxed, and his puffed up posture settled down comfortably to his neutral stance. For a moment he eyed the fallen creatures the others left behind, contemplating. Nope, they may not be safe to eat. His eyes then traveled towards the sound of tapping glass. He knew that person, it was a friend of caretaker!
    Upon spotting him, the lizard scurried over to the window sill. He was a little too short on his own, so all Ray would see of him now is a frantically flicking tongue and a claw or two managing to cling onto the sill. The lizard's stand Elenore would drift over and tap on the glass in turn.
        “Get me out of here! I slaughtered big baby bird things and I do not want to be here when their mother returns! I'm not as big and strong as the adults. Just take me to caretaker so we can get as far away from this place as possible!”

[hellohello]

Ray nodded to Palace and slowly opened the window a crack, just enough for the lizard to escape. He just it back and summoned a phone. "Hey, Kyu? I got Palace. The house I checked out is where the birds are coming from, so get everyone over here when you can."

[dad]

"Oh. You." Johnny's hair fizzled as he seemed disappointed at finding the priest. It seemed as if the boy didn't really want anything more to do with him. The reunion would be cut short as a ghost girl appeared and stabbed Kyu for some reason, Johnny being flabbergasted from the whole scene. What was stranger was the fact that Kyu kept addressing the mysterious phantasm as his sister. Was it really his old sis or just an incredible resemblance?

"I was kidding when I said haunted house!" Johnny nervously muttered to himself as he approached Monks and the others nearby. There was safety in numbers. "So....That a ghost or a Stand?" Johnny asked, still trying to believe that this was the work of a powerful Stand user.

[topazbeast]

The scene with the ghost girl's Stand stabbing her living brother made Gattino's head spin. He lifted a shaky hand to his mouth to keep from throwing up at the gruesome display of betrayal. He summoned his Stand for a source of comfort so he could stop the incoming panic attack. "You heard what that Stand said! We have no chance of surviving this, with the birds and the ghosts and God knows what else is out there!" he said as soon as his nausea dissipated. His sense of honor was out the window now that he felt he was going to die. "We have to get out somehow. Let's just leave the ghost girl alone and let her do what she wants."

[RockyRaccoon]

Monks came had hurriedly gone over to the general area in which Kyu was thrown to and upon going there he was met with what appeared to be a shadowy portal which quickly dissolved into the ground before he could even do anything. Father John quickly made his way to the area as well, his eyebrows quivered as he sunk to the ground putting his hands over his face. "No...No, that...That can't be!" Father John then began to softly weep to himself all the while trembling profusely and bowing his head in shame. 

Listening to how the investigative group react to what had just happened almost shocked Father John, most particularly what Gattino had to say about the matter and upon hearing this he stood up wiping the tears off his face and faced Gattino up front with an unwavering look on his face.


"No! I will not run away! With Jesus Christ as my love, and savior I will not cower in the face of evil even if I have to do it myself! If you wish to cower from the face of Hell then that is fine by me, but I myself will save everyone!! What kind of man would I be if I disappointed the only person that gives my life meaning?! Just as the Book of Isaiah 1:17 says 'Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause' I will do this not only for the love of my God but for the love of the people!"


Father John quickly peered out into the window for the next house over, glimpsing over through the creeks between the cardboard. He then turned back to the group and his eyebrows jerked upwards as he pointed right at Mitch.

"I believe your name was Mitch, is that right? Do you think you could open up a portal to the next house? As for any other followers that wish to descend into hell itself, we should split up once we get inside and be wary because our journey will not be easy! We will face many more enemies that will be even more powerful than those birds but do not fret! My Angel's ability will keep you all safe! Hollywood has never failed me yet and with the sword and shield given to me by the almighty God there is no way we will falter!"

He then quickly turned back and pointed outwards "Let's go! There is no time to waste! The army of Satan is nothing compared to the power of God!!"

---

With Palace and Ray reuniting, Ray immediately dialed up the number for Kyu hoping to speak to his friend however it was almost immediately that he began to feel a sense of dread as a harsh grumbling could be heard on the other lines. What was even stranger was that the voice didn't even sound remotely like Kyu, and as he made his call a cold air immediately whisked throughout his entire body which sent a shiver down his spine. 


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"My, my, you're quite the perceptive one I see...and quite a resilient as well! Mmmm...Come to save your friend have you?"

Faintly, the appearance of Yuki along with her stand SITG began to appear floating around Ray albeit with a very translucent appearance and her visibility seemed to fade in and out of view while she slowly drifted around the man all the while smiling wickedly.

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"Awww what's wrong? Are you sad because nobody likes you? Are you sad because everyone hated you after your little incident? Nyeahahahahaha! How pathetic. Go home Raymond Davies. You and that lizard. Your friend is gone now, just like all your other friends..."

The phone line then went dead silent along with the same cold hush that had filled his body.

[ToledoJones]

Watching Kyu disappear had been surreal. If that had really been Kyu's sister, why did she seem so hell-bent on killing her older brother? Did she have a similar sort of power as Mitch? It was all too much for Monks, but just when it felt like he may give into despair he was roused by Father John Misty's words as if they had been as visceral as slap across his face. He was not entirely sure if it was the words themselves that had reached him or simply the priest's ranting voice that had forced him back into reality but he was thankful nevertheless.

"Yes," Monks began, ripping a strip from the acid-eroded section of his trenchcoat. "We need to keep moving. If you want to go, we won't stop you." A shift of his head indicated Gattino as Monks bent down near where Kyu has been attacked. "You got caught up in this so no one would blame you, but you'll have to leave on your own. We don't have the time nor the manpower to escort you out, we have people to save." Using the torn piece of his trenchcoat, Monks sopped up some of Kyu's blood and then pocketed the now bloody rag. It was of no use now, but when they make it to a new building perhaps Ayida would be able to catch the scent of the blood and lead him to Kyu. It was long shot, he knew. Kyu could be any where.

[dad]

Johnny heard Father John's words but remaind unamused. It wasn't that they weren't powerful, but Johnny still believed that there was no ghost in the house, just a really powerful Stand user. Of course, a Stand user was equally dangerous, but at least it was something very logical unlike the idea of a dead sister communicating with her brother.

"It's not even a ghost!" Johnny angrily spouted as his hair rose, glaring at Gattino for saying such nonsense. "And it's not even a demon or whatever!" He looked at the priest nearby. "It's just a Stand user I bet! They are only human! They'll make mistakes and stuff and we'll capitalize on them! Not too hard right?" He stated, before remembering one thing. His hair formed a question mark.

"Hold on..." Johnny slowly approached Monks. "Were you able to see the ghost girl?" Johnny asked. Monks wasn't a Stand user, right? Surely he could prove Johnny's theory.

[topazbeast]

Ugh, of course I do something wrong AGAIN. Why do I even bother... Gattino sighed and grit his teeth at each response that was thrown at him. He needed to calm down, ignore his own self deprecating thoughts, and think. It was likely that the ghost girl was the effect of a Stand, considering all this trouble was being handled by Stand users. Probably some sick criminal, like the bomber from the store. In that case, he probably would be able to help. Father John's words made him feel even more guilty than before. 

"Alright, alright, I get it," he said to the three people addressing him. "I won't run from the gh- Stand user. Just tell me if there's something I can do to help. Or if there's a safe place to put my cat bec- PFF, hahahahaha!" Gattino burst out laughing when he saw Johnny's hair form a question mark. That certainly succeeded in raising his spirits. 

[ToledoJones]

Monks looked at Johnny, a boy with unshakable beliefs. That reminded him of himself before the last few weeks had destroyed everything he thought he knew. It seemed close-minded for a stand user like Johnny to be so close-minded about the supernatural but Monks supposed he could not judge someone so simply. "I saw her..." Monks replied.

"I couldn't see how she hurt Kyu, but I saw the girl." Monks moved toward the spot where Kyu had vanished. "But he was pulled through some sort of portal, like Mitch's, and I saw that."

Looking at Gattino and his cat, Monks sighed. "I'm not sure what to do about the cat." He looked at Ayida, though of palace and thought it unlikely there could be another stand using animal with them. "Leaving it here could be just as bad as taking it with us. Your call, I guess."

[RockyRaccoon]

Father John looked back to the investigation group including the newcomer who had just arrived and with a renowned smile he spoke loudly "Good! I'm glad that I am not alone in this journey! Let's venture forth towards the bowels of hell, with God as my light and protector I will save everyone!" pointing outwards Father John moved with haste as Mitch opened up his portal. However before he could move any farther the sudden howl of the wind swooshed by and the front door swung open violently as a dark figure stood out in the open staring at the group.

Father John, stunned in this trance almost felt as if all the confidence he had built up was suddenly lost as dread filled his entire body "N-No...What is this?! Who are you?! Reveal yourself, demon of hell!" Father John said all the while trembling profusely.

[dad]

"You saw her?" Johnny asked, his face turning pale. The girl wasn't a Stand? What? Had Monks perhaps just imagined her with all the numerous mentions? Confusing thoughts filled Johnny's head before he nervously giggled.

"Ha! I get it! That girl is the Stand user! She must be using her Stand to make herself look like a ghost or something..." Johnny said out-loud, surrounded by delusions in his head before suddenly being taken aback by the sudden screams of the priest.

A shadow slowly emerged from the building, stepping closer and closer to the priest as the figure became more and more familiar to some members of the group. However, if abruptly stopped at one point before the pale figure was completely revealed, with their white hair and strange clothes, clutching a paper toilet roll in their hands.

"Oh. It's you fools." Cai Lun spoke, but his mouth remained closed and his figure was still immobile.

[dumb guy]

Juno really didn't know what was going on at this point. All he knew was that these people were performing Stand antics and that he somehow became a part of it. More people grouped together. 'Jesus are they all stand user?!' He thought to himself. Some of these guys looked like cops, their stature at least made him assume that. The preacher was pretty cool though, it were as if he was the physical incarnation of blind conquest, something Juno thought was both awesome and hilariously cliche. Juno never was one for socialization, but the proud Highway Man should be able to adapt himself to any town or social construct he drifts into. 

"So uh... You're all stand users I presume?" He fiddled nervously for the fractured aviators in his coat pocket. Sliding them up up his nose with his middle finger and covering his eyes. Appearances are key in social settings and despite his valiant efforts of looking like a cold biker he just ended up looking like a homeless man with an idiotic haircut. He forced a smile as they all stood within the house.

They talked a lot about the ghost he had seen earlier and didn't really notice him, 'they must get this a lot' he thought 'randos coming and going'. As they spoke of the girl he heard some information on her apparently she's ALSO a stand user with an ability that made her a spook. At least that's what he made of it. That's good, no need for salt or any of that voodoo shit the boss was talking about. Just then the mysterious figure entered the room, now this guy, he was a fucking ghost. All white with paper and shit. All he needed was a white bedsheet over his head and he would have been complete. Luckily it seemed that the rest of the group knew the guy. Juno exhaled cautiously and hoped for the best.