49. Miguel JoJo and Anne Zeppeli 2 ~Second Date~

Miguel sat on his bed all alone while the lights are turned off. He stared at his residual limb. Outside the window behind him is revealed to be a dark and silent forest with crickets chirping and animals howling. He puts up his hands and stared at them. For a moment, his eyes become black and his skin becomes pale.

A knock could be heard from the door.

He went back to normal.

Anne opens the door and enters the room.

"The door was open, so I left myself in," she smiled softly.

Miguel smiles back. Though, she could tell that it was forced. She approached him and sat on his bed.

"Hey," she said. "You okay?"

"What do you think?" asked Miguel, rather sharply. "S-... I'm sorry... I'm just... not that... in my head right now..."

"You've been staring at your leg, lately," said Anne. "You want me to zip off mine and use it for a day?"

"Very funny," said Miguel. "Thanks for some comedy."

"I was being serious," said Anne.

Miguel sighs. "Hay Naku."

Anne stares at Miguel's eyes.

"It hurt your pride, didn't it?"

Miguel stayed silent.

"You're this guy who had been training martial arts with his father since he was ten and was taught how the real world works on the island... And you lost your leg from something that you could kill with a single punch-..."

"I've been very careful," said Miguel. "Nobody was able to hack me... No one ever found out about my identity... It's just insulting that a simple flesh wound could've toppled everything over.Now... People even like my own allies... Jessica, Jedan, Kariel, and my own Dad think I'm crazy. They think that this arc of vengeance I've thought of toward the world is insane... Everyone... even the normies in our school thought I was crazy... They thought I was crazy... they feared me... At some point... And for the people who were my friends? they hated me... for leaving them... even you. I'm just so scared... I'm just so Goddamned scared that after everything I've been through... What they were saying... was right... I'm crazy. I can't change fate. I can't change who I am and who I will become. A monster who will become worse of what he already is."

"Yeah... I hated you. Kariel even talks about how scary you are since you came back... and yes... We talk behind your back and talk about how crazy you are," said Anne. "But I don't think you're crazy."

"Yeah... Yeah you don't," said Miguel, turning to Anne. "That's because you're the only one who would never... could never... and will never think I'm crazy."

"My Dad..." said Miguel. "He keeps telling me that I won't become the worst of what I am but he treats me as if I might."

"That's just parenting," chuckled Anne.

"Yeah," he chuckled back.

Miguel changes his face to a more serious one.

"Diablo... the guy I fought... He said that I'm meant to go to Salvi," said Miguel. "That we are meant to fail. That we are meant to die. He said that there is no hope. He said that me hunting him will bring the destruction of the Universe..."

"I thought he only wanted to destroy humanity," said Anne.

"That's what he wants," said Miguel. "But he acknowledges that that's not what is needed to happen. He was saying that this needed to happen."

"So... they're the good guys?" asked Anne.

"No..." said Miguel. "Salvi... Salvi wants something bigger... something worse..."

"So... what do we do?" asked Anne.

"I'll abandon my mission," said Miguel.

"You'll what!?" asked Anne.

"I'll abandon my-..."

"I know what you said! Don't do that thing in movies where you'll repeat what the other guy rhetorically asked you to -! Ugh!" shouted Anne.

"If letting go of my vengeance and letting go of my rage means saving the Universe..." said Miguel. "...I'll have to lose my rage and-..."

"...-have faith in yourself and everything else," said Anne. "Hm..."

"Yeah..." said Miguel. "...I was so scared of becoming my dad... frankly because I couldn't become like him... because I'm nothing like him. He's a Grimm. I'm an Aswang Black-Eyes."

"What about your dream?" asked Anne.

"Screw it," said Miguel.

Consequences! Consequences! You fight fate, fate takes something away from you.

"Hey, Miguel?" asked Anne. "I have an idea "

"The beach?" asked everyone else. Miguel and Anne stood in front of them and nodded.

Miguel is shown to have a robot leg on his left hand now.

Arthur laughs. "Hey! Kid! Cyborg, buddies!" Arthur shows off his left arm, which is revealed to be a robot hand the entire time.

"Dad, don't call us that," said Miguel.

"Last night, we've decided that we should be going to the beach!" smiled Anne.

"The beach?" asked Jedan. Jedan dips the beef tapa he's eating in some mayonnaise dip he mixed with soy sauce.

"Want some?" asked Jedan. "It tastes so wrong. Kinda turns you on, it does."

The two stare at Jedan.

"Anyways," said Miguel, as both of them turn back to the group. "We've decided that our journey to this Temple was quite exhausting. So we've decided to go to the city beach!"

"When?" asked Jessica.

"Today!" said the both of them.

"YAY!!!" shouted Kariel, Jessica, and Jedan.

"Hold up," said Arthur. "Beaches are where creeps like pedophiles wander. I'm not letting Kariel in this."

"Dad, I'm 21," said Kariel.

"Not until September, you're not," replied Arthur.

"No, we're all going," said Miguel.

The Crusaders meet up on the white beaches of San Dominador City in Cebu at the entrance of the beach.

"Welcome to San Dominador City Beach," smiled the woman on the shed.

"Wait... We have to pay to go to the beach?" asked Arthur.

"No!" smiled the woman. "I'm here to welcome you to the beach!"

"Oh," said Arthur. "Well... good on you. Let's go," he said, walking away. "There's coca-cola here, and that's the only thing better than video games around here."

The Crusaders enter the beach and set up their blankets and benches. Arthur sits on his own bench along with Kariel and Jedan under umbrellas. Miguel and Anne decided to go to the water. Jessica decided to flirt with some beach boys. Miguel wore black swim shorts. Jedan wore green swimming underwear. Kariel wore yellow swim shorts. Jessica wore a thin bikini. Anne wore a suit that covered her entire torso but not her limbs.

"So..." said Miguel JoJo. "Water..."

"Yep!" smiled Anne.

"Kinda... Kinda wet there..." said Miguel, turning to Anne. "You sure you're okay about this one?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Totally!" smiled Anne.

Miguel steps on the water.

"OH MY GOD!!! MIGGY!!! NO!!!" shouted Anne.

Scaring Miguel, he takes his foot away from the water.

"At least you're that scared for me," said Miguel.

Anne hugs Miguel and buries her face in his stomach.

"I can't! I just can't! I can't handle thinking about it! YOU'LL DROWN, MIGUEL JOJO!!!" hissed Anne and looking at him terrifyingly.

A crab looks at the two from the distance.

"Disgusting creature," said Anne, staring at it.

Anne gets hit in the head with a basketball.

"OW!!!" she shouted. "WHO THE HELL PLAYS BASKETBALL AT THE BEACH!!!"

"SCREW YOU, MAN!!!" shouted a kid nearby, grabbing the ball, and running away.

"I'll beat the hell outta you if you do that to her again," he pointed at them.

"OK, BOOMER!!!" shouted one of the kids as she then followed her other friends.

"Hay Naku..." sighed Miguel. "Thalassophobia," said Miguel. "Fear of the ocean. Thought you'd be over with this, Anne."

"Easy for you to say!" shouted Anne. "You, on the other hand, have conquered all of your fears!"

"I still get scared," said Miguel, sitting next to her.

She sits down with him as well.

They stare at the ocean.

"Are you more scared of yourself going there or myself going there?" asked Miguel.

"I'm more scared of the people I love being swallowed by that damned thing," said Anne.

"You were fine with being on a boat," said Miguel.

"Yeah," said Anne. "Because boats are meant to save us from that giant thing THAT MAKES UP MORE THAN 60% OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE!!!"

"Okay! Okay!" said Miguel. "Y'know... You used to be a lot more selfish when we started this whole crusade thing. You were really possessive of people..."

Anne's eyes twinkle.

"But now... you're still possessive," said Miguel.

Anne frowns.

"But it's the kind of possessive where you care more about the safety of your friends instead of forcing them to be with you," said Miguel.

Anne smiles softly and buries her face between her knees.

"I'm sorry about your mother and brother," said Miguel. "I shouldn't have randomly left you guys."

"No," said Anne. "I hunted the Mafia where you strictly told me not to."

The two kiss and smile at each other.

"We figured my problem out together... so we'll figure your problem out just the same way," smiled Miguel.

Meanwhile...

Jedan and Kariel walk around on the beach and meet up with Jessica who is talking to some muscular and handsome men with chiseled faces and large bulky bodies. Kariel has his shades on. "Ugh... what do you guys want?" she asked Jedan and Kariel.

"You're the one who hid our wallets," said Jedan, crossing his arms.

"Yeah," said Jessica. "Because Miguel says that Kariel keeps losing his wallets while you keep spending your money for junk food."

Kariel giggles. "Right?! What a kind and generous man my big brother is!"

"And stop saying it that way!" shouted Jessica. "You sound like a high school girl fawning over her older brother!"

"I'm 21 so I'd be in college," said Kariel.

"The bags are underneath a table somewhere nearby or whatever," said Jessica.

"YOU JUST LEFT IT THERE!!?" asked Jedan.

"It's okay! I'm rich!" smiled Kariel.

"I'M NOT!!!" shouted Jedan, as he brought out Hierophant and searched for their bags.

Kariel followed after.

The two stumble upon a table with no one there. Underneath is a large bag. It's theirs.

"Jedan, go get it," smiled Kariel. "You're the one who needs the wallet, after all."

Jedan immediately charged to the table and grabbed the bag. He took out his wallet.

Suddenly, four women sat on each side of the table.

Jedan looked around and saw that there's no way out.

"Oh no," he whispered.

Kariel's eyes widen.

"Uh... Ladies! Look!" shouted Kariel. "There's something over there!"

The women ignore Kariel and text on their phones.

Kariel sighs. "Okay... Ladies!"

Kariel takes off his shades.

"Huh?!" he asked. "Yeah? Head and CEO of the JoJo Foundation!"

"Any proof?" asked one woman.

"I just need my wallet to show you my ID as proof! It's just over there in that... bag... Oh..." said Kariel.

The women ignored him longer.

Jedan does body language and basically said, "GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!"

Kariel does body language and basically replied, "Lemme find some help!"

Kariel runs to Arthur. He thinks, "I'll cry for a greater effect so that he'd help Jedan quicker!"

"Dad!" shouted Kariel. Kariel sobs. "JEDAN!!!"

"Oh, God! WHAT!? WHAT HAPPENED!?" asked Arthur.

"He's... He's between women's legs!" shouted Kariel and sobbed. "He needs your help!"

Arthur chuckles.

"I have never told you this... since until now you're so innocent... But I haven't told you about the story of the birds and the bees!" smiled Arthur.

"Whoa!" smiled Kariel. "Is that like a fable I haven't heard about? Tell me more, papa!"

"What about Jedan?" asked Arthur. "He needs my help or some-!?"

"Who?" asked Kariel.

"Oh, thank God..."

Back to Miguel and Anne...

Anne steps on the water with Miguel in sync. Miguel holds Anne as Anne trembled in fear.

"You're doing good so far..." smiled Miguel.

"Y-Yeah...?" she smiled. "I think I'm doing it!"

Miguel slowly let go of her as she kept on walking deeper into the water.

"MIGUEL!!! I AM DOING IT-!!!" she turns to him. "YOU LET GO!!!?"

Sticky Fingers, fearing for the worst, accidentally zips Miguel's face in half.

"Duh... Dur..." said Miguel, as half of his face flopped like paper.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" she shouted.

"Ocean good... Zipper bad... Ding dong... ting tong... Waka jack a lack a bing bong died in Inside out..." said Miguel.

"He dies!?" said a child behind him. "I didn't finish the movie! Mom!?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" shouted Anne. "No, he didn't! He was... is... still alive!"

"Riley forgot him and he died... I laughed at that scene because it's funny since cotton candy, elephants, and dolphins are all endangered nowadays and Disney doesn't give a fuck," said Miguel, feeling dull and drowsy.

Anne zips his face back to normal as the kid ran away and cried.

The woman punches Miguel in the face as he falls to the ocean.

"NO!!! MIGUEL!!! DAMN YOU, OCEAN!!! GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" shouted Anne, as she used Sticky Fingers to slap the ocean away.

"OH NO!!!" she said, tripping as the waves pulled her. She laid on the sand with her torso underneath the water as she screamed and punched the water. "IT'S FIGHTING BACK!!! DAMN YOU, SALTWATER!!! DON'T YOU FUCK WITH ME!!!"

"Mom?" asked another child to her mother. "They're a pair of weirdos, aren't they? Aha ha ha ha!"

Meanwhile...

Kariel sat in a fetal position, traumatized.

"And that's how babies are made! Unless you don't do it in the-..." Arthur spoke.

"My entire childhood was a lie," said Kariel. "So... when you and mom would go practice in your bedroom for your golf sessions with your friends... Some of those days... You were doing it?"

"Oh, Kariel..." said Arthur. "There were no golf sessions..."

"Oh... God... How do we not have more siblings?" asked Kariel.

"Well..." said Arthur. "Ever since your mother figured about Lance, she decided to give me a vasectomy."

"Who's Lance?" asked Kariel.

"Uh..." said Arthur.

"OH MY GOD... JEDAN!!!" shouted Kariel. "He's still stuck with those girls underneath a table!"

"Oh! Oh thank God..." smiled Arthur. "Right, right! Let's go, kid! Wait... Why's he stuck under a table?"

"No time for explaining!" shouted Kariel. "Let's go before Jedan gets birds and the bees-ed!"

Arthur stood before the women.

"'Sup," said Arthur, approaching the table.

"Ew," said one woman.

"Yeah," said Arthur, turning to Kariel. "We can't do anything. Jedan'll die there in starvation."

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Jessica, entering the scene.

Jessica looks at Jedan.

Jessica facepalm.

"Both of you, take off your shirts," said Jessica.

Kariel immediately took off his shirt.

"It's terrifying that you immediately responded that way," said Jessica.

"Oh, right! Birds and the bees! Gotcha!" said Kariel. "Should've blushed! Right... Right!"

"Mr. JoJo?" asked Jessica, turning to Arthur.

Arthur already has his shirt off.

"I see where you're going with this," said Arthur. "I like it."

"HEY!!!" shouted Jessica, as the women turned to them. "Look at this!"

The women gasp and approach the two.

"You owe me an entire mall," she whispered, as she slapped both of their butts and walked away.

Jedan grabbed the bag and crawled out of the table then proceeded to run away.

Jedan smells something. "Barbecued seafood!" he shouted.

Jedan grabbed his wallet and ran to the barbecue area. Squid, Flesh of Crabs, Flesh of Lobsters, Flesh of Shrimps, Lapu-Lapu, Barracuda, Tuna, Mahi-Mahi, Yellow Fin, Spanish Mackerel, Blue Marline, Squid, Octopi, Cuttlefish, Muscles, Clams, and Oysters are all found roasted in the grills. Jedan stared at them with a drooling face.

Back to Miguel and Anne...

Miguel sees himself. He has silvery eyes and he moves as if he was in the water.

"Beyond instinct... Beyond souls..." whispered the voice.

Miguel began to drown. Bubbles began to shoot out from his mouth as he screamed.

"Fate will drown you... If you keep fighting it... Swim in it... Let yourself float... Allow it to take care of you... and all will be okay..."

Miguel wakes up from the water, gasping for air.

Miguel sees Anne still punching the water.

Star Platinum grabs her as he stood up and

"Anne... I don't wanna do this anymore. At least, for a while," said Miguel.

"You're break up with me!?" asked Anne. "FINE!!! BUT I WILL KEEP STALKING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS!!!"

"What? No!" shouted Miguel. "I'm saying that we should take a break or something from constantly drowning me."

"I only indirectly nearly drowned you once!" shouted Anne.

"Yes... and the fact that logic that you only did it once as an excuse is super disturbing," said Miguel.

"C'mon!" shouted Anne. "Just help me out some more! We can do this a few more times and I'd get the hang of it!"

"You're someone who thinks Aquaman was a horror movie," said Miguel.

"THE GUY LOST HIS DAD WHO DROWNED BECAUSE OF THE SO-CALLED SUPERHERO!!!" shouted Anne.

"Anne, those guys were pirate terrorists who tried to hijack a submarine and kill everyone there," said Miguel.

"Ha! That's a fallacy! We don't know that they were going to kill those sub guys! Anne: One. Miggy: Zero," she smirked. "Huh?"

She sees a crab staring back at her between her legs.

"EW!!!" she shouted.

"It's just a crab," replied Miguel.

Suddenly, the crab formed a little armored suit. The suit had a bowl-shaped helmet where the crab stood. The suit had a large claw for a right hand and a fishing rod for a left hand. It's silvery in color and it has ten insectoid legs, three on the right and three on the left with wheels at the back of its metal legs. It has little launchers around its bodies.

"GAGO!!! PUTANG-INA!!! ALIMANGO!!!" shouted Miguel in a deep and loud voice. "ANNE!!! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM IT!!!"

Suddenly, it grew ten feet tall.

"Oh, God," said Anne.

"Hay Naku..." whispered Miguel. "That crab is a Stand-User."

"How's this for a disgusting creature," it spoke into their minds in a British voice.