Note: There WILL be fluff as well as a happy ending. There are just certain events that need to happen in order for us to reach that. Also, for those of you who might be confused as to what's happening so far, I'm gonna write out a quick summary as the paragraph below, so if you are one of those people, you can read that, if not, go ahead and skip on to the chapter.
Summary of the last few chapters:
Jotaro was captured by the headmaster Enemy and they deleted the security tape file on the computer. Kakyoin was only able to reach outside the dream world to Holly's phone because he's being manipulated by a long-range dream stand, that works for the headmaster. This is the reason he was sent into a spiral of nightmares. While Holly mentioned how it was nice to hear Kakyoin talk on the phone, Joseph and Dr. Hashi were both confused, only to realize something that wasn't great. That it wasn't actually them listening in. There were imposters on the Enemy's team, and it seems they can disguise themselves. Meanwhile, Jotaro is currently being interrogated about the secret move he used to destroy DIO, but he refuses to say anything. Here and there, the Enemy is dropping little hints that are worrying for Jotaro. Like 'Kakyoin knows too much, we must put an end to him', or, 'Maybe he can help'. Which is only adding more anxiety to Jotaro's current state. If you have any questions just comment and I'll be happy to answer :)
...To the actual chapter...
Kakyoin's been running for who knows how long. His dreams took such a sharp turn from confusing to just pure torture. He's been repeating in his head over and over that none of this is real, and he has no reason to be running. But every time something came close to harming him in any way, his fight or flight response kicked in and he just kept running. He couldn't stop it. His body just moves on its own.
He finally stopped to catch his breath in an alleyway. He wasn't sure where he was, he didn't recognize it. But he was in a city, tons of people he didn't know walking the streets, not caring for what's happening around them, like AI's in a video game.
Kakyoin shut his eyes and massaged his temples, thinking of a way to get out of this situation. He knows just thinking about something that could help him.... but what?
That's it! A video game!
Every enemy has a health bar, and special moves, a video game takes technique and skills, which he just happened to have. He just had to think of it as a video game. Fight your enemy, win or lose, if you lose, you just respawn. Right? Easy enough. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. 'I just have to control my body, and not run away.'
Kakyoin made his way out of the alleyway, cautiously looking both ways.
"Got you."
Kakyoin spun around and sent a fist right for his enemy's face. He didn't have Hierophant Green with him after all. Kakyoin gasped when he saw his enemy.
"Jotaro?" Kakyoin rushed over to his friends' side. He examined his face to make sure he didn't do just too much damage to him. Jotaro looked at him, wincing slightly at the sting.
And then it happened.
Kakyoin was shot back. Flying out of the alleyway, all the way across the street and right into the brick wall of a building. He coughed blood violently from both the impact and his new injuries. And despite everything that just happened, what hurt him more was all the past trauma that suddenly came rushing back to him.
He finally started forgetting, those nightmares finally started to slow, but now the traumatizing thoughts came back. DIO.
He felt the deja vu and nostalgia while he flew back into the wall. Images of the water tower flashed in his mind. The blood. The scream of his name. And then the silence. The repetitive beeping of the heart monitor.
His breathing was now erratic and he suddenly felt claustrophobic by his thoughts.
"I knew the Kujo boy would be the end of you."
Kakyoin was in a trance and could not physically move, sleep paralysis, as one would call it. Kakyoin saw the blurred image of someone who was no longer Jotaro approach him. He felt the fight or flight response kick in, and all he wanted to do was run. He felt terrified. He felt trapped.
He internally called for help, he screamed, he yelled, he cried, but no one seemed to hear him.
Tears fell freely, but he could do nothing, not even anything as simple as closing his eyes.
And just as a blurred arm reached out, the enemy's hand grazed his neck, before it disappeared. Kakyoin was able to move, and the person was not the only one to vanish. But the entire city he was in seemed to fade away like dust. The building he sat in crumbled and he fell into darkness. Except there was not the unsettling feeling of being alone or the feeling that someone was lurking in the shadows.
The suspense of attack had completely faded away. He felt normal for once. He felt like he did before the Crusaders or before he encountered DIO. No worries, no enemies, he felt at peace.
He fell onto an unseen floor, a grunt as he hit it. He looked around, seeing nothing but an endless abyss awaiting. He just wanted to go home. He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to wake up, he didn't want to be stuck here. He wants to see Jotaro. He wants to be with Jotaro, he wanted to be comforted and loved. He loved Jotaro. He missed him. He hoped he was okay.
Kakyoin held himself in his arms as he thought, as he cried, as he yelled, as he screamed, as he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, as he felt the burning flame of sadness erupt inside him. It hurt to bear it. To bear the pain and anger and frustration and stress. It started to become too much weight to hold over his frail shoulders. And being in this endless dream, in this endless spiral of confusion, he had no one there to hold him and help him.
In desperation, Kakyoin yelled with everything he had, his shout was hoarse and broken from his tears. He didn't know why. He wanted someone to know, to feel. He wanted someone to save him.
Because he couldn't get out on his own.
He needed help. He needed a rope, or a hand to help him up. That's all he wanted.
He just wanted someone to hear his shout for help.
And someone did.
Jotaro, even though in another consciousness and probably miles away, he felt something spark in his soul. With what he was going through, Kakyoin... Being captured... and completely shutting down and standing himself from the world. He was about ready to give up, feeling as though he had lost his meaning in the world. DIO was gone after all... What else did he have to live for?
As Jotaro was just about ready to close his eyes and accept what he thought was his inevitable fate, he heard something. He felt a jolt of hope shake his stomach. He heard the faintest shout, a cry for help, a beg for mercy. He heard it.
And he knew what it was.
Something inside Jotaro snapped. His eyes regained their color as his soul filled with hope. He didn't need a stand.
He needed Kakyoin.
Jotaro shouted a cry of determination as he snapped through the metal rope. When he had a goal in mind, something he was set to do, he should not be underestimated. As even without a stand, his power was incredible. And so was his drive.
Jotaro quickly jumped over the guards the headmaster had put out. They shouted at him and yelled into their transmitters, calling for backup. Jotaro had no other weapon than his fists.
And that'll do.
He swung by everyone he passed, jumping from wall to wall to avoid guards and get around objects. He was running down a grey hallway with many other doors. He passed a food cart with utensils, so he swiftly grabbed a steak knife as he ran.
Guards chased him down the hall, through different doors, following him at sharp turns, they couldn't let him get away.
Suddenly, Jotaro felt a shock of pain jolt through his right shoulder, and then it went numb. He dropped the knife but kept running. He did not stop, as the adrenaline was too much to let him think.
He had been shot in the arm with a tranquilizer. It would set in once the adrenaline wore down, and the guards hoped that was soon. Jotaro kept sprinting, leaving the guards behind as they ran out of stamina. He had only one image in mind.
Kakyoin's smile.
That's all he was thinking of. He wanted to see that genuine smile again, he didn't want to lose it. He wouldn't.
Jotaro didn't know the layout of the building he was in, or even where the building was located in the first place. As these thoughts scrambled through his mind, he started to think that this wasn't such a good idea.
He began to feel himself get tired as that spark of hope he felt strayed further and further away from him. He began to get stressed as he ran in what felt like circles. He scolded himself for jumping in without a plan. But then, Jotaro remembered all the stories Joseph told him when he was a kid.
"It seems that every time I did something without a plan, it always ended with a good outcome. Guess it's just the Joestar genes huh?"
"Please, give a Joestar some good luck will ya'?" Jotaro whispered. He didn't know who he was talking to, or who he directed it at.
All he knew is that someone was listening.
He turned another sharp right, skidding to a stop as he saw guards in the hallway in front of him. He spun on his heel to run the other way but was cornered by another group of guards, making him stop again. "Dammit..." he cursed under his breath.
He was worn out and tired, the effects of the tranquilizer in his shoulder began to set in. But he wouldn't give up just yet. "Please work..." Jotaro made a run for one of the doors right in front of him, and lucky enough, it was unlocked. He fell into the room and quickly shut the door behind him, fumbling to lock it. He backed up as the guards banged on it, attempting to break in.
Jotaro didn't have much time left until he'd fall unconscious. Maybe 5 or 3 minutes at most, he didn't think it would be enough to get out of here. He needed to see Dr. Hashi, he needed to see Kakyoin. He observed the room for a door or hidden passage, anything to help him.
Bingo.
He saw a window on the wall opposite of the door. He ran to it and touched it. It was bulletproof glass. He grunted as he shot a punch to it with his bare fist, he winced. It was a stupid thought, but he had to try.
Time ticked down and he barely had any energy left. He was ready to give up. He slid down the wall in utter defeat, his head tilting to the side as his eyelids started to feel heavy. As he was about to close them, his eyes locked onto a bookshelf. There was something off. There seemed to be something behind it.
Jotaro took a deep breath in a stood up. The bangs on the door getting louder and more aggressive. He put all of his body weight onto the shelf and moved it, it moved quite a bit, causing him to fall backward. He grunted, but looked to his side, there sat a hole that was big enough to fit a person. He wasn't sure if he could fit, but he had to try.
He had probably about a minute left until he passed out.
He was far in the tunnel, but could still hear the banging of the door in the room. And suddenly, he heard the door smash open, meaning they had gotten in. He heard shouts, but could not make them out.
Then a thought hit him. What if he passed out in the tunnel? What if he was never found? What if he died in here? Jotaro ripped off a piece of cloth from his coat and tied it around his shoulder, right next to his neck and shoulder blade, in front of where the needle was, as he had pulled it out earlier. He planned to try and stop the circulation, but he knew it was most definitely useless since it was injected in his arm a while ago. But he had to try. Maybe it could at least give him a bit more time. A few more minutes, that's all he needed.
It had been another minute of him crawling through the tunnel, and he started to feel claustrophobic, and so, he began to feel stressed and trapped and it started to get hard to breathe. But, he saw a distant light ahead of him.
He began to move faster, the light becoming bigger and bigger.
And he finally made it out.
Jotaro was greeted with the refreshing smell of fresh air. But he wasn't done just yet. He struggled to stand up, but was able to do so. He caught his balance and began to walk forward, away from the complicated building. His walk turned into a speedwalk, his speedwalk turned into a jog, his jog turned into a run, and his run turned into a sprint.
He didn't know where he was or what direction he was going in, but he just kept running. It didn't hit him until his legs went numb and collapsed that running would only drain his energy more than it had.
He fell to the grass, hoping that he had made it far enough away that they wouldn't find him. His eyes fluttered shut, and he couldn't open them again. He felt himself fall deeper and deeper into his sleep. "Kakyoin..." he whispered. "Please be okay...."
"There he is!"
"Get him!"
"I got him! Let's go!"
(2496 Words)
-End of Chapter Thirteen-
'Trapped'
To be continued...
A/N: As you can probably tell from my profile change, I have finished part 6. I am very sad about the ending, but it was a great part regardless. I know that there are two endings, so I'll just say this. I saw the one where only Emporio remembers. (Also, I totally ship Pucci and Dio)