Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 146

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Buffy and Severin arrive on the island and see the aftermath of Fugo's fight.
Word Count: 1090
Rating: Teen (hints at Purple Haze)
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS

          Buffy hadn’t acted recklessly.  Well, no, that’s not right.  She hadn’t acted without thinking.  That’s closer.  She’d paid attention as Giles had detailed the location of the island, and she’d gotten so much better at reading maps than when she was a teenager.  Severin seems vaguely impressed at her ability to use a boat, but then, she hadn’t grown up as a Californian kid for nothing.  He should know, being a Californian kid too.
          “Keep an eye on the water.  The last time I fought these Slaypire things they were weird half-animal things, so they could be lurking in the water,” she instructs.
          Severin nods and gets all intense.  Normally, he’s pretty laid back, nervous even, but when it comes to fighting he gets a Concentration Face on.  It works for him, so she’s not about to say anything.  “Fortunately, unless they’re really deep my spell should work fairly well in the water.”
          There’s a sense of déjà vu about the sunlight thing.  Like she’s seen it before.  But a lot has happened over the last few months, and she doesn’t want to say anything, even in her own head, until she’s sure.
          “That’s handy, but it makes sense in a natural sort of way.  Sunlight does get into the water.  That’s how you get algae.”  That gets a raised eyebrow—which, yeah, okay, maybe that was an inane, obvious thing to say, but it’s how she talks and she’s not changing that for anyone.  Especially Giles.  It’s funny to see Giles’ reactions, even after all these years.  “And they’re going to need to be at the top to attack the boat anyway,” she continues, which makes the eyebrow go back down.
          When they finally catch sight of it, Buffy feels a chill go up her spine.  It’s probably nothing, since her Slayer senses aren’t screaming, but even the sound of the ocean seems a bit muffled.  It’s not the feeling she got when they went down to fight the entire cave of Turok-han.  It’s the feeling she got after the fight with the Mayor.  They continue on in grim silence, but she makes sure to grab her (weapon) before she steps on dry land again.  The island is eerie, silent except for the wind that rustles through the ruins.  It’s sun-baked, which seems like a terrible headquarters for a bunch of Slaypires, but then, they hadn’t come across as the most intelligent of opponents.  And then she sees the clothes filled with dust.  Her brain jumps to that one Batman movie Xander liked, the one where the officials turned into colored sand.  Not that he didn’t like all the other Batman movies, but they’re not appropriate here.  It’d been funny and stupid then.  She’s not laughing now.
          There should have only been Slaypires here.  She’s long since gotten used to the whole ‘dust in the wind’ thing.  Usually, though, the clothes and possessions dust too, unless it’s some kind of magical artifact.  It’s the empty clothes, particularly the cute skirt and tank top, that get her.  She’d known all of them at one time or another.  Some she’d only seen a picture of, some she’d only known to pass in the hallway, some she’d trained specifically, one session or hours.  Some she’d worked with.  They’d been as good as dead when turned, but even so, the scale hadn’t really hit her before now.  Partially because it never even seemed real that there were multiple Slayers.  It’s one thing to know, another thing to work with them, particularly since Giles seemed averse to sending any of them out in the field these days.  Xander had been the closest in years.  It was the newer, less experienced teams doing all the heavy lifting.  No wonder Severin had the story he had.  How many others had died and Giles just hadn’t shared with the class?
          It’s when they get close to the shade in the ruins that they learn they’re not alone.  A voice calls out, brusque and threatening, in Italian.  When Severin freezes and waves at her to do the same, she stops moving.  If this guy managed to take out an entire island of Slaypires, that’s better than she could probably manage on her own.  (If she’d managed to funnel them and take only a few at a time, sure, but that’s not what happened here.)  There’s a blond with a really strange suit that looks like it’s been attacked by a giant holepunch and a normal tie standing near a boat of his own, what looks like a battery-powered spotlight in his hands. 
          Neither she nor Severin speak immediately, so he repeats in English, “I wouldn’t do that if I enjoyed breathing.”
          It’s really good English.  She should really stop being surprised by that.
          “Giorno would probably be upset if you killed us,” she starts cautiously, because she remembers the Passione Boss describing this guy, and she also shouldn’t have been surprised by how powerful this guy’s Stand is.  Giorno had offhandedly mentioned that he wouldn’t send this subordinate against Wolfram & Hart because of the danger to the civilian populace, but on an isolated island against the entirety of the remaining Slaypires it was no problem.  She’d thought he was arrogant at the time, which wasn’t honestly wrong…but he was also obviously correct.  “You’re Fugo, right?  I’m the Slayer, Buffy.  This is Severin.  Thank you for dealing with the Slaypires.”
          The blond’s eyes narrow instantly.  “You know Don Giovanna.”  He’s skeptical, but he’s watching her closely, reading her body language, tone, anything else.  Violent, but not an idiot—but then, Giorno probably wouldn’t trust an idiot to this extent.  In fact, if someone who didn’t have the intelligence or judgment had a Stand this dangerous, she has a feeling that Giorno would have put them down.
          “I worked with him to get information about a branch of Wolfram & Hart.”  Passione had been having other issues with them, right?  Giorno had been seeking allies to help deal with them in the first place.
          Fugo nods and glances at Severin, rattling off another question in Italian.  This time, the witch answers back in Italian.
          “Nice Neapolitan,” Fugo mutters, before turning back to Buffy, brown eyes still evaluating.  “I’ll have to call the Don to confirm.  Please stay where you are and don’t touch any of the shadows.”
          He takes out a gun and a cell phone, and Buffy nods and doesn’t move.  Ordinarily she would hate staying still, but she doesn’t particularly care to tick off someone that strong.