Omake 24: The Gate and the Key (3)

I coughed, eyes open wide as I felt a sharp pain erupt from my legs.

Pucci had indeed given us help as he managed to get us all back to the train. After entering it, it was easy for me to have one of the train workers to leave the vehicle and move to retrieve the rest of the group.

Kate stood guard over me as Pucci began working on my wounds, the sword-wielder unwilling to leave my side over someone ‘she could feel was dangerous’. The priest didn’t mind, mentioning that it was ‘refreshing’ to know that I was being ‘beloved’ in such a manner by ‘trustworthy friends’. The problem to this very detail was the unnerving glare that Abby was giving him. The little girl had taken a seat onto my chest, taking the effective spot of guard dog for the time being. I could feel her draw from her connection with the Eldritch Deity she had been ‘touched’ by, but it was minimal. After days of working on this circumstance, she seemed to have developed a greater understanding over the fact that instantly tapping onto her dark powers wouldn’t help anyone.

She was worried, and potentially angry, but also without a target as she knew I had killed the jerk behind the wounds I was recovering from.

Regardless of the child’s irritation, I was more troubled by Pucci’s minor hesitation before a ‘monster beyond this world’. And his wording, delivered in such a calm and placid manner, was just as jarring and unpleasant as I remember it being for the few important scenes of the original timeline I was familiar with. But I was surprised that, instead of appearing fairly empty like he had back in our last conversation, the man was actually… ‘happy’ to see me.

Not the bad kind of happy, the weird kind of happy. The ‘I will probably get a restraining order by being this friendly to you’ kind of happy.

After removing the splinters and the shrapnel, I was allowed to fully regenerate through the Hamon, effectively fixing the troublesome injuries and remaining with just the soreness of the now-gone pain. It took a little while to have the rest of the group to return, Speedwagon bearing the documentation needed to finally get us going with our journey. Mostly everyone was surprised to learn that even the ‘mighty’ Dio Joestar was capable of coming close to dying, with the sole exceptions being Robert and Bhediya.

That kind of news also left Abby in a little concerned mood that saw her latch onto me like a child that didn’t want to leave the bed to go to school. It was amusing, and heart-warming, but I was fairly worried as I saw tentacle-tendrils appearing, those wrapping around my legs and resting onto my arms in a protective manner. Very careful, very calm over the pressure exerted by those.

I was relieved that Abby was in control, but that didn’t stop me to try and calm her down even further to avoid any surprises in the near future. No chiding, no strictness, I knew she was just reacting to a frightening prospect, which was losing her first and closest friend in centuries. Regardless of that, I still felt part of my mind shift part of the attention to the fight that forced me in these conditions.

Keicho shouldn’t have been there, a man from a different time and certainly left there by our current enemy. Interdimensional problems were back to make for quite the troublesome additions to our adventure, and I was worried that this wasn’t as easy as I wanted. It didn’t help me hope for this to be a one-time thing Vins decided to go for when Pucci muttered a couple of words.

“There are two others that have been summoned. An unwilling soul, and a damned one.”

I frowned. “That sounds… awfully specific.”

“And troublesome,” The little blonde, still resting on my chest, commented. She was more than happy to accept a head-pat out of this.

It was just the three of us in the sleeping quarters. I had asked the others to leave as soon as he mentioned that he had some big news to deliver. It was difficult to get everyone to listen up, but it was easy to make it clear that their priorities were to handle our current new guest and poor Bloody, the kid was still facing the horror of having killed for the first time ever. Maybe I should try to have Abby do something about it. While the two weren’t that much close, I was fairly sure they were both able to find openings in each other’s minds when the necessity came up to be explored as a possible option.

“That’s because I’ve kept track of these souls for a while. I know of them, but I had no hand in their arrival in this dimension,” Pucci admitted. “I fear to admit that, for as much as I had predicted great trouble ahead of you, I don’t think this will be an enemy you can win against, Lord Dio. For I, someone blessed by the Heavens themselves, don’t know who this is and how they managed to get these four souls in this world.”

And shit has just hit the fan. On a monumental scale to be rather honest. A sudden new player enters the table and flips all cards that had been neatly stacked for my plans against my current issue. Like, the list of people capable of weaving through Dimensions was limited, but what were the chances of an unknown element being part of this entire ordeal?

“Bad woman?” Abby inquired, a little bit of barb within her words as she really didn’t like the current obstacle to a fine visit in the States.

“I thought it would have been Vins’ work.”

“Maybe if it had been from within this timeline,” The priest elaborated with a sigh. “｢Hanoi Rocks｣ does allow Vins to travel quickly and retrieve new minions within her current universe, but nothing in her powers should allow her to take individuals from other dimensions. It’s just… absurdly wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“｢Made in Heaven｣ should have made me able to know what exactly is going on, yet, for the first time ever, I find myself floored by what is currently happening,” Pucci added with a grim look. “The only thing I can say is that Vins has control over this individual and their Stands. I would advise caution about this, Lord Dio.”

“I’m no lord. I believe we addressed that already,” I lamented with the Italian priest. “Still, I can’t believe this is now a thing. I suppose I shall have your assistance from time to time if they plan to send these two threats to fight us. Keicho was a surprise I could fight.”

“I will be around. But my intervention shall be solely aimed at those that are already violating the rules of this dimension.”

Oh well, that isn’t that bad-

“But I will also tell you that currently your crew holds some important individuals. I strongly suggest that you protect your loyal friends to the fullest, for their destiny is divine and close to yours in purity and absoluteness,” He proclaimed quietly. “And you should be even more wary of little Abigail. The entity within and beyond her isn’t defeated just yet.”

Abby hummed. “I don’t like you.”

“The feeling is mutual, child,” Pucci rebuked softly, before looking back at me.

…

“Thank you...”

“Your words humble me, and I shall leave you to your thoughts and your next plans. Until next time.”

I waved at him as he disappeared in the blink of an eye. The moment I was sure that he was really gone, I allowed myself to grow at ease and focus on the matters at hand. Despite being sore, I still was capable of moving around thanks to the cane I had brought with me as a gift from George. The thing wasn’t exactly gifted for the reason I was now going to use it, but it was still a good enough tool to aid my wandering around the train.

Abigail held my left hand tightly, her tendrils mostly retracted but still present as she walked beside me as we reached for the others.