madimpossibledreamer | Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 67

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Darling converses with the voice she hears.
Word Count: 1046
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS.

            Darling continues to look around, paranoid, but the laughter continues. “There’s no point, looking around like that. I’m just a whisper. Your conscience, if you will. And I’m curious. Why do you even care? You were the first to say that they were horrible people. They probably even deserved what happened to them, so why do you care?”
            She shrugs at the mirror, careful. “Yeah, they—they hurt me. They weren’t good people. But did you see how they died? No one deserves that.” It has to be a Stand User. Or magic. Jojo had told some funny stories about magic earlier, but he’d also made it clear that magic could be just as deadly as a Stand and she shouldn’t just mess around with it. Still, it’s the way he says it. He doesn’t treat her like a kid. He gives her the facts, a warning, but it’s up to her to make the intelligent decision. She likes that. Nobody’s ever treated her like that before.
            “What if I assured you that the one who did it would get their punishment? Would you leave Harris and Speedwagon behind? Because they’re the ones poking their nose in when they shouldn’t. You’re intelligent. A survivor. Get out while you can.” The voice is persuasive. Like it really cares, doesn’t want to hurt her. And then she realizes part of why it sounds so alluring is that it’s doing the same thing Jojo does. Giving her reasonable options, having the faith that she’ll make the right decision given the facts. Mum and Dad just said “because I said so” or threatened her or just went and hurt her instead of warning about her beforehand. It takes her a minute to dredge up what ‘Harris’ means, though, because Jojo’s right, the name really doesn’t suit him at all.
            Fear rushes through her, but instead of running like she would have before, she glances up at the mirror again. Is it her imagination, or does she see the faintest glimpse of glowing red eyes in the mirror before they’re quickly gone? She doesn’t crank her head around, though. That might give away that she saw anything, assuming that this enemy isn’t in her head and doesn’t already know that she saw something. She finds her courage and shakes her head firmly at the mirror, or whatever might be lurking in the mirror, or anything. Is there such a thing as a mirror world? Or is it really in her mind? “They’re some of the first decent people I’ve met.”
            “But they’re marked for death,” the voice answers, chilling her to the bone, but it wasn’t like it wasn’t an answer she was expecting. She got the idea that this would happen.
            “For trying to find a murderer?” she asks. What kind of killer could inspire such loyalty? Then a thought occurs to her. She’s used to seeing Scotland Yard as the enemy, because they would report her to Mum and Dad or label her evil and a thief just for doing what she had to so she could survive. But she doesn’t want them dead, either. Are they also marked?
            The chuckle is kind and compassionate and therefore insidious. “What, you think it’s all about her? Oh, if she wanted, she could get whatever she wanted from whoever she wanted, but she doesn’t bother with me, or most of us really. No, this is about something else. Something you really don’t want to know, not if you want to live.”
            Whisper crawls up to her arm, comforting but in a position where it’s easy enough for him to strike, assuming they get any targets to attack. Something tells her that this could be a trap. The voice could be telling her what she wants to hear, news of the killer, trying to draw her in and kill her, but the easy way the voice says it…the voice doesn’t care about some murderer they even work with, does it? So then why does it care about her?
            And then, as if hearing her thoughts, the voice answers. “I’m telling you all this because I don’t want to fight you. I saw you fight those two. You could have killed them easily. I don’t relish the idea of fighting you. And in you, I see a reflection of myself, no pun intended. We’re both survivors, practical people. We don’t pick battles we don’t have to, do we?”
            Her eyes narrow. There’s something wrong with the scenario as presented. “If that’s the case, then why are you going after Jojo and Fitz?”
            The laughter’s friendly, but it sends chills up her spine. The whole situation is creepy; why doesn’t the disembodied voice realize that? “A calculated risk. You’ve made those yourself. The reward’s worth it, and they’re both lazy. They haven’t had to deal with what we have, have they? Ungrateful, taking everything for granted. Who cares if they get hurt in the process?”
            There’s the hint of ugliness she was looking for, and it strengthens her weakening resolve. “You’re wrong about Jojo. He didn’t want to talk about it, but the way he reacted…he understood what we’ve gone through. And no, it wasn’t just a ploy to get my sympathy. Most of his family’s awful.” After she says it, she feels guilt gnaw at her. Is it betraying a confidence, to tell this voice about Jojo’s life? When he doesn’t even want to talk about it?
            There’s a long silence, long and empty enough she wonders if she’d scared it away. Then it’s back. “All right, you’re fairly convincing, and it takes one survivor’s pain to know another’s. Very well—I’ll leave your Jojo of yours to someone else. Sound fair enough?”
            She sighs, thinking about how awkward Speedwagon is. It sounds fair enough, true, but at the same time she can’t just stand by as someone’s killed. “Fitz is awkward, but he did look out for me in a way no one has before. He’s not Jojo, but he still cares and tries. Which is more than people have done before.”
            There’s a sigh in response. “If that’s the case, I’m afraid we’re at an impasse, destined for conflict.”
            She readies Whisper, hardens her gaze toward the mirror. “I’m afraid so.”