JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Thin Air

Chapter Forty-Four: The Virtuous Son

"I have good news for you, Mr. Ali. Based on your progress, it's safe for me to say that you can return home in a couple of hours. Your infection has been contained, you just need to rest a bit longer."

The patient being spoken to, a young man of South Asian origin, smiled joyously.

"Grazie!" the man said. "I'm so glad I came to you. I was out of options. I couldn't go to a licensed doctor, or else I would've ran the risk of being returned to my home country. God bless you, Doctor-

Just then, the sound of a hatch opening resonated, cutting off Mr. Ali's speech.

"Oh, I apologize for that. It seems that I have visitors. Quite an inconvenient time," Nicholson sighed. "I'll have to see to them. Please, excuse me." he said, calmly walking towards the airlock of the basement, which protected its occupants from the now-gone threat of Apocalypse Dreams. He stood back from it by about 10 feet, giving himself protection from close-range Stands.

As the pressure on both sides of the door equalized, Nicholson kept his demeanor tranquil, crossing his arms.

"100... 93... 86..." he counted in his head, a technique he used to keep himself cool in stressful situations. The numbers themselves had no meaning to him, except that seven was a lucky number to him. By counting back by that, he could afford to keep a straight face.

Finally, the door opened. The two people on the other side were now visible to him. He could feel the hatred radiating from them.

"Ah, so I've finally met him... the boy wonder, Keith Clapton. The genius that Broudie told me all about," Nicholson said in a tone that was hard to differentiate between being sarcastic or serious. "It feels amazing to put a face to words."

"Both you and him can go to hell..." Clapton said, his face getting more and more red by the second.

"Whether I go to hell or not is not your judgment, but I have no problem going to whatever extradimensional reality after my death. But Broudie... isn't it odd of you think of him so harshly when he provided you with so much? A powerful Stand, a source of income... a role as a father-figure when your true father is living hundreds of miles away from you?"

Clapton took one hefty step forward.

"Tell me... does a father-figure tell the kid in his life to help him conspire in someone's death?"  Clapton said in a quiet but increasingly infuriated voice.

"Death? Oh, by that, did you think that Ms. Joestar right there beside you was going to die?" Nicholson said as the girl silently looked at him as if peering right into his soul.

"Don't you fucking answer a question with another fucking question!" Clapton let out, rapidly shedding his normally amiable personality, becoming consumed by anger. Without a second to waste, Brooklyn Zoo appeared and grabbed Nicholson by his throat. Nicholson tried to wrestle the Stand's hand away but it was clear that he was no match for its power.

"I could end you right now..." Clapton said, breathing heavily. "If I just press harder... but you deserve a good beatdown first."

"Clapton... what are you doing..?" Shizuka said quietly. Not because he was about to kill a man, but seeing his demeanor switch up so suddenly astonished her.

"Oi," Clapton said while staring right into Nicholson's eyes. "I know that this is supposed to be your fight... but after knowing what this swine of an old man has said and done, I can't allow him to live. I'm sorry, Shizuka."

"Just wait-

Completely ignoring Shizuka's plea, Brooklyn Zoo charged its strength into its legs and in one immensely powerful jump, lunged forward, using Nicholson's body to plow through several walls. The three figures of Clapton, Brooklyn Zoo and Nicholson practically glided through the night sky southward, under the dark night sky.