Chapter Text
For years on end Weather had hoped for his memories to return. It was as if clouds hung over his past to block them off. He just wanted a peek below them to know who he was, what his hobbies were, if he had family, a place to stay. He even wanted to know what got him imprisoned, no matter how horrible it was. Because even if it meant that he was a bad person, at least he would know a little bit more about himself. Bad things could be changed, missing things could not.
However, when the moment came that he regained them all those wishes were thrown out the window. The clouds that blinded his vision evaporated but he could not see anything good, only destruction and pain. It made him turn into an overly violent man who acted on his vile impulses without caring, someone who the 'old Weather' would have avoided. Every action was fueled with hate. Hate of the world, hate of his past, hate for frankly everything he could think of. He even hated himself.
Despite remembering who he was, there were only a few things Weather knew for sure. The first was that he was confused, angry and he had an insatiable yearning for ending his own life. That last thing was the hardest to deal with. He couldn't kill himself, as he knew he had tried in the past, and Anasui straight up refused. He was the only one of the group he could ask. When he refused, he simultaneously forced Weather to live, to suffer.
He knew this wasn't the way he was supposed to be but he couldn't help it. The feeling of being wronged and to have been robbed of a normal life was too strong. It was easy being angry. To lash out. To destroy everything in sight. It brought relief, to see others suffer as much as he had.
Then Pucci showed up and every painful memory hit at once. The second thing he knew for sure: he wanted this man dead. This was the man who had ruined his life, who could have just as well discussed any issues he had with Weather instead of taking everything from him. And yet here he was, clad in a priest's robe as if he himself was without flaw. A wolf in sheep's clothing. As if he had no blood on his hands. True evil.
The fight with Pucci ended with Weather nearly losing his life. It was simultaneously a good outcome and a terrible one.
Pucci had ran after Jolyne showed up. Weather knew that if they had been only a minute later, either him or the priest would have been dead. Somehow Foo Fighters had not been affected by Heavy Weather, the many organisms multiplied so fast that the effect could not spread as it would on a normal human. They had been behind the wheel of a car they had managed to steal. Unfortunately, unaffected or not, they turned out to be a horrible driver. The car swerved and crashed into a building head on, just a hair away from being dangerous for those in the front seat.
F.F. exited the vehicle first with their finger gun raised. The others followed suit, though a little slower with the effect of Heavy Weather still taking place. Pucci could not have gone far with his injuries, it was their first priority to find him.
Meanwhile, Weather was in excruciating pain. With both of his legs hacked off in battle, he sat against the nearest wall as his consciousness started to slip. Anasui had made an effort to stop the bleeding a little by putting Diver Down's legs in the place where his were missing to block some of the blood flow. It didn't help much, but it would have to do for a few moments. The two amputated legs laid beside him in the hopes that F.F. would be able to reattach them. It was a disturbing sight.
"Anasui." He managed to croak out. He felt his eyelids droop downwards. The blood loss was getting to him.
"What." Anasui answered shortly. Despite his annoyed delivery of his words he squatted down next to Weather, ready for whatever the older wanted to ask of him. Instead of asking a question, he simply lifted his head from where it was resting on the wall to drop it onto Anasui's shoulder.
Anasui was warm, was breathing steadily and he could even faintly feel his pulse where his forehead made contact with skin. It was comforting, safe.
"What are you doing Weather."
"Let me stay like this for a moment."
Weather could feel him take a deep breath. "This is not how it's supposed to go. You're the one always calming me down, not the other way around."
He allowed himself an amused huff. A ghost of a genuine laugh. He felt his eyes slip close. It felt nice. Everything around him had been too bright. He focused on Anasui's heartbeat until it was nothing more than white noise.
...
"The rainbows are disappearing! ...Weather? Weather! Stay with me! F.F. get back here you bitch! Weather is-"
He passed out.
They had not found Pucci.
Weather, now with two brand new reattached legs, stood a little distance away from the group. He could still sense the priest, but he could tell he was far away. To him it didn't matter what plan they came up with as long as they would start moving soon.
Neither the snails nor the rainbows had returned once he had woken up. It had to be connected to his emotional state. He was much calmer now than when he had just gotten his memory disc back. Most of it could be attributed to pain and blood loss, but it could also be that he now had a clear goal and a clear ending point to his life.
He felt something, or more accurately, someone tug on his pants. Emporio.
"Weather... are you okay?" He sounded worried and perhaps unsettled over the amount of blood smeared over the asphalt. Most of it belonged to Weather after all.
"I can stand."
"Yes... but how are you feeling?"
"I wish I was dead."
Emporio stared at him with his big golden eyes. His bottom lip wobbled and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. For the first time since Weather had regained his memories he felt guilt. He had seen the boy grow up. He knew how anxious he was, how much he had clung to him and Anasui when he had found out that they were both stand users. He was terrified of being alone or being in places with lots of strangers. Weather had been a stable presence in his life up until now and now he had fucked it all up. The small hands tightened on his leg.
"Please don't say that." Emporio's voice cracked.
Despite the anger and the violence that consumed him he found that he, unfortunately, still had a heart. One that could still feel sympathy towards the boy.
"I'm sorry."
Emporio hid his face beneath the brim of his hat. "We will find the priest and defeat him... and- and then you'll be happy... right?"
"...Sure."
They both knew it was easier said than done. You don't just get your will to live back with the death of another person. But for now they could pretend.
"Okay." Emporio wiped his eyes and tried to put on a brave face. "I'm sure we will find him Weather."
Nobody could have prepared for what happened.
How does the world still spin as it's falling apart? How does it carry on knowing its own demise? It kept on moving faster as Made In Heaven sped up. No matter what happened, it seemed to be a slave to its own movements, unstoppable until the priest was killed.
Jolyne had given the final blow.
And they had survived. Somehow. A sigh of relief came from Hermes. Then it was quiet.
The sky cleared up as the clouds slowed down to their normal pace. Weather had once loved observing nature, but now the magic of it was lost on him. Underneath him, the waves of the ocean dragged themselves slowly back and forth against his legs. He had gotten drenched at some point, but his clothing had dried just as fast as he had gotten wet. The sea adjusting to its old rhythm was the only sound to be heard, besides that there was only silence. Nobody dared to say a thing.
The body of the man once known as Enrico Pucci was lying face down in the water a small distance away. Though 'body' was a generous description for as broken and battered as it was. His remains floated in the water and would soon turn into food for the alligators. Nobody would know what took place here. He would be forgotten in the chaos he himself had created. It was better that way.
The only thing Weather could do was stare in a daze over the naturescape. He couldn't register any movements around himself. He just felt numb, disoriented. Weather just stood there processing the fact that they had barely made it through the last fight alive. He was almost disappointed. He had sustained major injuries throughout the fight but someone, probably F.F., had healed him. And he resented them for it. It was useless. Pucci was dead. He had nothing left to live for.
His legs itched, they felt foreign. Like the nerves weren't properly attached or as if they weren't the right size. Likely it was just the exhaustion settling in his body. Everything had happened in a blink.
But now time felt like it was standing still.
The sun was stuck in the sky. It had stopped at the edge of the horizon, tinting everything in an orange tone. Unlike the beauty in the sunrise, destruction was everywhere around them. Birds that had fallen out of the sky scrambled to get back on their feet and off the ground. Fish that had ended up on land without immediately rotting trashed around wildly to get back to water. In the distance plumes of smoke were visible where aircrafts had crashed. This battle had its cost and the cost was great.
Jotaro was the first person to move. Not so surprising, considering that this wasn't his first rodeo with an enemy like this. He waded through the water towards his daughter and pulled her into an embrace. She clung to the touch as he whispered praise into her hairline. They had never been that close, but right now none of that mattered. They were alive. Her father had come to save her, even if she was now capable of protecting herself.
Foo Fighters, unaware of the clearly sentimental moment, invited themselves into the hug and pulled Hermes along with them. Jolyne laughed a watery laugh as they loudly proclaimed: "We made it!"
Jotaro let go soon after, but he still showed a proud expression on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, Weather saw Anasui fidget with his pockets. After struggling for a few seconds he produced a ring out of nowhere. That in and of itself wasn't as surprising as the fact that his skimpy outfit had any pockets at all.
"Hermes?" Jolyne asked, "Now that this is over, would you go on a date with me?"
There was no more hesitation in the way she spoke. She had grown to be a confident woman, capable of taking on the world. After all she had gone through nothing could shake her anymore. Hermes on the other hand, looked shocked. Whether it was because she never would have guessed that Jolyne could be interested in her or because she thought that she was straight, it took her a moment to process the question.
And Anasui stood there, watching them. Frozen in his spot.
"So. What are we going to do now?" Weather asked him. Perhaps bad timing, but it seemed to snap him out of his stupor.
"Why are you asking me, no, do you think I know what the fuck to do?!" He closed his fist around the ring so tightly that his knuckles turned a pure white. "Because you'd be fucking mistaken!"
He threw the ring as far away as he could, where it disappeared into the water with a very unsatisfying splash. Then he turned to face Weather. His magenta colored eyes were filled with fury. "I went through this whole shitshow only to get rejected at the end of it! I did this all for nothing! Do you fucking understand or are you still as dense as you were?! And what the fuck do you mean with we?! I'm off on my own and don't bother following me."
Weather couldn't care how angry he was getting and stepped closer to him. "You didn't want to kill me, so you're responsible for my life. I'll follow you until you get sick of me. Then you'll listen and kill me."
Anasui mirrored him. "I'm not responsible for shit! Go guilt trip someone else, you son of a bitch!"
"Stop!" A high-pitched voice rang out. Emporio forced himself between their bodies to push them apart. "Why can't you just get along?! I don't want you to die! I don't want you to go away!"
Anasui's lips pulled into a snarl. "Look at that. Now you've gone and made him upset."
"Oh, you think it's my fault? That's rich-"
"Stop it! I thought- I thought we were a family... I don't want to lose you guys- I thought this would solve everything- " A loud sob cut him off. Fat tears came rolling down his cheeks. "I- I don't want to be alone again!"
Once again there was this little nagging feeling in the back of his head. A feeling that reminded him that he still very much had a heart with feelings buried deep under layers of anger. Everytime the boy spoke he was reminded of them and he couldn't help but feel bad for him.
"I'm sorry, Emporio." Was all he could offer the boy. He only cried louder. Anasui kneeled down to whisper something in his ear to calm him down. After all, both of them had a soft spot for the boy. The girls looked concerned at the whole situation, but none knew what to say.
Then there was the sound of approaching cars on the shore. Jotaro started to walk slowly towards them as if he knew they were coming. Maybe he had called them to pick them up. Who knew, the man was a mystery.
"Come. It's time we get away from here." He said. "With a bit of luck the police will be investigating the effect of Made In Heaven. We'll take that chance. If we wait longer they might start looking for you instead."
The cars brought them to the airport, where Jotaro gave them further instructions. "Pick a flight. It doesn't matter which one, as long as it gets you out of the country."
They decided on splitting the group into two, as that would make tracking them a lot harder. Despite his almost instant connection with Jolyne, Emporio insisted on staying with Weather and Anasui. Weather wondered if he was only doing so to keep an eye on them and to make sure they were safe. It was an oddly mature choice for such a young child, but he didn't go against it.
"Emporio, where do you want to go?"
"I don't mind, as long as I can stay with you two." Emporio looked at him with bloodshot eyes, still red from crying.
"Then what about Amsterdam? I've always wanted to go there." Weather said. "What about you Anasui?"
"I don't give a shit where we end up."
"Okay. Amsterdam it is."