New Orleans...
Rain tapped lightly against the tall windows of Jojo's study, a rhythmic whisper over the city of New Orleans.
Inside the sprawling room lit by soft amber lamps and the occasional flicker of firelight,
Jojo, Freya, and Bonnie sat around a wide table cluttered with books, relics, and a handful of old, yellowed papers spread like puzzle pieces.
Jojo leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes narrowed at the faded ink.
Freya stood behind him with arms crossed, her brow furrowed.
Frown~
"____"
Bonnie, perched on the arm of a nearby couch, had her fingers steepled beneath her chin, eyes scanning the page before her.
"Caroline recovered this from the ruins of Portugas, right?"
Bonnie asked, breaking the silence.
Jojo nodded.
Nod~
"Yeah. Said it was tucked between some weather-worn books in one of the lower chambers. Didn't think much of it at the time."
He flipped one of the papers over.
His fingers stilled.
"But when I was going through her collection at the Salvatore School… this fell out."
He turned the paper toward them.
The symbol was crude but unmistakable—
A circular sigil formed by overlapping triangles and twisted serpents, etched in black soot ink.
Freya's breath hitched.
"That's… the symbol from the Creeper's ritual site."
She muttered.
"The one etched into the altar."
Bonnie looked confused.
"Who is this creeper?"
And Freya filled her in with the details.
Which left Bonnie stunned.
"Exactly,"
Jojo said, his voice low.
"This isn't just a coincidence. Someone knew what was being done there… maybe even started it."
Freya stepped closer, trailing her fingers over the edge of the parchment.
"The paper's older than the Portuguese ruins. Look at the fibre—this could be decades old. Centuries, even."
Jojo's eyes flicked toward her.
"So the ritual—it might be part of something... bigger."
Bonnie picked up another page, this one half-torn, filled with scribbled notes in Latin and a few sketched diagrams that looked disturbingly similar to binding circles and summoning runes.
"If this is a fragment of something larger, we could be looking at a legacy spell… or a bloodline curse."
Freya frowned.
Frown~
"And if it ties back to the Creepers, then whoever started that ritual is still out there… or left behind successors."
The rain intensified outside, wind howling faintly through the narrow street below.
Jojo sat back, his jaw clenched.
"Looks like the Creepers were just the start."
He muttered.
"And if this symbol keeps showing up… then whatever's behind it isn't done yet."
Bonnie looked between them.
After some time...
The sky outside the French Quarter was tinged with soft amber light as Jojo stepped out of the old brick building.
Bonnie had just left.
Now, the air felt lighter—
Charged with a different kind of anticipation.
Jojo checked the time and smiled faintly.
'She'll be waiting.'
He made his way across the courtyard where the car was parked.
Alice was already there, leaning casually against the passenger side, arms crossed, eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.
She looked up as he approached.
"Took your time,"
She said, voice teasing but soft.
"I didn't want to keep a lady waiting,"
He replied with a lopsided grin.
Alice pushed off from the car and tossed him the keys.
"You're driving."
Jojo raised a brow.
"You're being mysterious."
She walked around the car, opened her door with a grin.
Grin~
"And you love it."
With a quiet chuckle, Jojo got behind the wheel.
Chuckle~
The engine rumbled to life as he pulled out onto the road. He glanced sideways.
"So, where are we going?"
Alice tapped the side of her temple.
"Eyes on the road, Ghost Rider. Just follow my directions."
The drive began like a thousand others—
Trees blurring by, houses giving way to wilderness—
But something about the way Alice sat, calm and unusually quiet, told Jojo this wasn't just a random detour.
She'd planned this.
He didn't press.
He liked the silence between them.
It wasn't empty—
It was comfortable.
And it only made him more curious about what waited at the end of the road.
An Hour Later...
The winding road narrowed into a shaded dirt trail, flanked by moss-covered trees and tall reeds.
As Jojo eased the car to a stop, the forest gave way to an open glade—
And there it was.
A lake.
Silent. Untouched.
The water was so still it mirrored the sky perfectly, a sheet of glass painted with drifting clouds and the last golden hue of sunset.
Pine trees hugged the shoreline, their reflections swaying gently with the breeze.
Jojo stepped out of the car, leaving the door open.
The air smelled like earth and rain, fresh and calming.
He walked slowly toward the bank, boots crunching lightly against the gravel and grass.
His eyes drank in the scenery—
The shimmer of water, the soft rustle of leaves, the way the sunlight licked the surface like flame.
"…You brought me here,"
He said under his breath.
Alice appeared beside him, arms crossed again, that knowing smile dancing on her lips.
"Told you I had a place."
Jojo turned to her, his expression a mixture of wonder and something quieter.
"It's beautiful."
She shrugged, but her eyes were warm.
"It's a reset button. Thought you could use one too."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The only sound was the water lapping gently at the edge, a heron's wings flapping somewhere in the distance.
Jojo exhaled slowly, as if something in him had finally loosened.
"I've… been to hell, literally. But this…"
Alice looked over.
"Heals, doesn't it?"
He nodded, eyes still locked on the water.
"Yeah. It does."
Then, almost shyly,
Alice reached out—
Her fingers brushed against his hand.
She didn't say anything.
She didn't need to.
And for the first time in what felt like weeks,
Jojo let the silence settle around him like a warm blanket.
No fire. No screams.
"____"
"____"
"____"
No monsters.
Just stillness. And Alice.
Alice tugged a soft, checkered blanket from the wicker basket she'd tucked into the trunk.
She spread it across a sun-dappled patch of grass near the lake while Jojo lent a hand, quietly anchoring the corners with smooth stones.
A bottle of wine, two glasses, and a container of strawberries followed—
Not a word spoken, just smiles passed between them.
Time slipped by gently.
They lay side by side, the breeze combing through their hair, the sound of water lapping quietly nearby.
For a rare moment, Jojo felt the world go still.
He wants to spoil his pixie girlfriend, so he pinched her hip and moved closer to kiss her.
Then—
CRASH.
A violent, metallic crack ripped through the calm like a thunderbolt.
Birds scattered from the treetops.
Both Jojo and Alice jerked up instantly.
"____"
"____"
Their eyes met.
"Stay here,"
Jojo said, already rising.
Alice was right behind him.
"Like hell I will."
They moved quickly, cutting through the undergrowth.
Just beyond a bend in the trail, a car sat crumpled against a pine tree—
Its front end smashed, smoke rising from the hood.
Jojo's nose twitched.
Something sharp, chemical, tainted the air.
He followed the scent and spotted a torn duffel bag on the ground a few feet from the wreck—
Its contents spilt across the gravel.
White powder.
A lot of it.
Jojo bent, dipped two fingers into the torn packet, rubbed them between his fingertips, and sniffed.
"Cocaine,"
He muttered grimly.
Alice's jaw tightened.
"This just stopped being a picnic."
They rushed to the car.
Jojo yanked open the crushed passenger door, sparks flying from a broken hinge.
Inside, a girl—
Maybe seventeen—
She was slumped over, unconscious, blood running down her temple.
He reached in and carefully pulled her out.
On the driver's side, a boy—
Barely older than her—
He was still breathing.
His head lolled against the seat, blood trickling from a gash over his eyebrow.
"H-Help… please,"
He rasped.
Jojo crouched, his face unreadable.
"You're lucky we were here."
The boy blinked, eyes glassy.
"Did… did she—make it?"
"She's alive,"
Alice said, already checking the girl's pulse.
"Barely."
Jojo's expression hardened as he glanced back at the drugs.
Jojo stood over the unconscious girl, blood smearing across his hands as he pressed firm pressure to the gash on her side.
The smell of gasoline mixed with iron hung thick in the air.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone, thumbed through his contacts, and hit a number marked.
"EMERGENCY – DIRECT".
The line clicked immediately.
"Emergency services,"
Came the brisk response.
"There's been an accident."
Jojo said, eyes scanning the wrecked car.
"Single vehicle. Two passengers. Coordinates sending now."
He held the phone out, flicked his thumb across the air, and the location pinged through instantly with pinpoint precision.
"One unconscious female, heavy bleeding. One male, stable but likely concussed. Also—"
Jojo glanced at the spilt powder by the tree,
"—evidence of narcotics. You'll want to send a squad car."
"We're dispatching units now. ETA: six minutes."
Click.
Jojo pocketed the phone and knelt beside the girl again.
His jaw clenched.
"Stupid choices,"
He muttered under his breath.
He wasn't about to pour sacred fire into a reckless teenager's wounds—
Especially one who mixed speeding with drug runs.
But letting her die? That wasn't him either.
A faint blue glow flickered between his fingertips, subtle and focused.
A shimmer of controlled angel fire—
Not his usual fury, but just enough warmth to slow the bleeding and stabilise her pulse.
She coughed faintly, breath hitching.
Cough~ Cough~
"____"
"That'll keep you alive until the medics show up."
He murmured, watching her expression calm as the pain dulled slightly.
Alice stood nearby, arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
"She's lucky it was us and not a stranger."
"She's lucky I'm trying to be a better man."
Jojo said, rising slowly and wiping his hands on a handkerchief.
He gave a quick glance at the boy, dazed and blinking.
"Don't move,"
Jojo told him.
"You'll live. Doesn't mean you're off the hook."
Sirens began to wail in the distance.
Wee-oww~ Wee-oww~
The wail of sirens grew louder, cutting through the stillness of the forest-lined road.
In seconds, red and blue lights painted the trees as a pair of ambulances and a sheriff's cruiser screeched to a halt.
Paramedics jumped out, rushing toward the wreck with stretchers and medical kits.
Jojo stepped back, hands raised in calm clarity.
"She's over here. He's is—conscious, but barely."
As the medics tended to the teens, a uniformed officer—
Mid-thirties, sharp-eyed and sceptical—
Approached Jojo and Alice.
"You're the ones who made the call?"
Jojo gave a simple nod.
Nod~
"Yeah. I'm Jojo Sataru. This is Alice."
The officer's eyes narrowed slightly at the name, but he kept his voice steady.
"What happened?"
Jojo motioned toward the gravel path.
"We were here for a picnic—up by the lake,"
He said, gesturing toward the trailhead.
"Heard the crash. Came running. Found the car like this."
Alice added,
"They were unconscious. The girl was bleeding badly. Jojo pulled her out while I checked the boy."
The officer jotted it down, then raised a brow.
"And the drugs?"
Jojo pointed toward the torn packet lying near the tree, dusted white across the ground.
"That flew out of the car. Smells like synthetic narcotics—cheap cut, judging by the discolouration. Probably had a few hits before they lost control of the wheel."
The officer blinked at him, visibly surprised.
"You in law enforcement?"
Jojo smirked faintly.
"Something like that."
The officer stared a moment longer, then motioned to his partner to secure the bagged evidence.
"Alright. You two can stick around if we've got more questions."
Jojo nodded coolly.
Nod~
"We're not going anywhere."
Behind them, the girl was loaded onto the stretcher, her vitals now stabilised thanks to Jojo's subtle touch of healing.
The boy was groaning weakly as they wrapped his head and lifted him out.
Alice stepped closer to Jojo, her voice low.
"What do you think? Just dumb kids high on bad choices?"
Jojo's eyes followed the stretcher as it rolled toward the ambulance.
"Maybe,"
He said quietly.
After some time...
Only the faint rustle of leaves and distant birdcalls remained.
Jojo and Alice made their way back to their picnic spot, the woven basket still resting under the shade of a tall tree, the blanket fluttering slightly in the breeze.
The mood had shifted, but not broken.
Alice glanced sideways at Jojo.
"You okay?"
Jojo shrugged off his jacket and tossed it near the basket.
"Yeah. Just didn't expect to play paramedic today."
She smirked, settling down on the blanket.
Smirk~
"You never expect a quiet day, do you?"
Jojo chuckled under his breath as he sat beside her, his arm slipping naturally around her waist.
Chuckle~
"Not when I'm with you."
She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Good. I like being the chaos in your peace."
Jojo grinned.
Grin~
"And I like being the calm in your storm."
For a while, they said nothing—
Just basked in each other's presence, the rippling water of the lake reflecting golden hues as the sun dipped lower.
"____"
"____"
Alice pulled out a container of chocolate-dipped strawberries, offering one to him with a teasing smile.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Trying to seduce a devil with fruit?"
She gave a mock gasp.
Gasp!
"Excuse you. These are enchanted strawberries. Guaranteed to weaken your hellfire defences."
Jojo took a bite, holding her gaze.
"Then I surrender willingly."
Alice leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Good… because I wasn't planning on letting you resist anyway."
Their lips met—
SMOOCH!
Soft at first, then lingering, tasting of strawberries and unspoken emotion.
Whatever weight lingered from the accident had faded, consumed by the comfort of closeness and the quiet rhythm of the lake.
As the sun continued to sink below the treeline, Jojo's hand found hers, fingers entwining like they always belonged together.
No monsters. No missions.
No death.
Just Jojo and Alice.
St. Augustine Medical Centre...
The sterile hum of the hospital was broken only by the occasional beep of monitors and the soft shuffle of nurses moving between rooms.
On the third floor, in a dimly lit private room, the boy from the lake accident lay unconscious, tangled in a mess of IV lines and bruised limbs.
His chest rose and fell steadily—
But his mind was anything but at rest.
Inside the Boy's Dream...
The hallway stretched endlessly.
Blood pooled beneath his feet, staining his shoes with every step.
He walked, trembling, through flickering lights and warped reflections in the hospital windows.
At the end of the corridor, a door hung ajar.
Through the gap… he saw her.
"____"
His girlfriend.
Lying motionless.
Eyes open.
Lips blue.
He stepped inside, arms trembling.
"No… no, I didn't mean to…"
She sat up slowly, neck cracking, her eyes glowing white with a void.
"You did this."
She whispered, her voice echoing from all directions.
He stumbled back.
"No—! I didn't mean it!"
Her voice twisted—
Echoing with dozens of others.
"You fed me death. Now you will eat it too."
He screamed.
AHHHHH!
Back in the Hospital Room...
The boy's back arched violently against the bed.
Beep—Beep—Beep—BEEP!
Monitors spiked.
His fingers clawed at the bedsheets, knuckles paling.
Then his eyes snapped open.
Bright. Yellow.
Unnaturally glowing.
"____"
For a long second, he lay still.
Silent.
Then… his head turned too smoothly to the side.
ICU...
Adjacent Wing...
In a nearby room behind reinforced glass, the girl from the crash lay unconscious on a ventilator.
Her vitals were stable but critical.
Unaware of the boy's transformation.
Unaware of the nightmare, walking just down the corridor.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review and power stone!!!