Izahela Mena-Mena (イザヘラ・メナ＝メナ, Izahera Mena=Mena) is a tertiary antagonist featured in the light novel El Aleph.
She is an orphan who was kidnapped by Fernando Alhorn and his men and forced to work after they shot her with the Bow and Arrow, awakening her Stand, Hopscotch.
Appearance
Izahela Mena-Mena is a 13-year-old mixed race girl with naturally curly hair, described to be yellow like a canary. She has eyes that are as dark as pits.
When the Speedwagon Foundation finds her, her hair is tangled and dirty like a tumbleweed. Her cheeks are blackened and grimy with visible traces of tear streaks. Her expression is as if she has given up all hope and fallen into nihilism. Moreover, she has chewed up lips oozing blood and dirty clothes.[1]
Personality
Not much is known about Izahela's personality. After being kidnapped by Alhorn and his men, she falls into despair, having no choice but to follow his orders. She doesn't mind that they left her behind in the village alone with the other children because she didn't want to travel with them. The Speedwagon Foundation does not consider her dangerous, and she cooperates with them after she is taken into custody, providing them with valuable information.[1]
Abilities
Stand
Izahela uses her Stand to create pitfalls if its rules are broken. The Stand draws shapes using chalk on the ground and a pitfall is generated if a person or object has more than one point of contact on the ground within the shape. Thus, humans can only escape from the Stand by hopping between shapes.
History
Background
Izahela and her family attempted to emigrate from Guatemala to Mexico and gave money to a pollero. However, they were tricked by Fernando Alhorn and his men, who shot them with a Bow and Arrow instead. Izahela's father and little brother died as if they had been poisoned. Izahela was pierced through her shoulder, but managed to be the only survivor, gaining her Stand ability.
As she survived, the men trapped her in a dark area where they kept her hostage along with around fifteen people in total who were forced to stay there. They were only given scraps to eat and had nothing to do but cower in the corner of their room. Izahela seemingly passed some kind of test and was eventually taken out of confinement and put to work like a servant. The men eventually left her behind in the village, ordering her to lay traps and make anyone who comes to investigate the village fall down. Around 3 months pass and Izahela goes without a bath or clean clothing within that time.[1]
El Aleph
A Game of Hopscotch
Izahela hides in the water tank located in the corner of the plaza while using Hopscotch to trap the Speedwagon Foundation investigators. She manages to cause several investigators to fall in holes while ordering the other children with her to throw weapons at them. Octavio Luna Kan eventually finds her in the water tank and she weakly laughs before collapsing from exhaustion.[1]
In Custody
The children are taken into custody by the SPW Foundation and they go back to the Foundation's base, which used to be a large ruin in Guatemala but was converted into a facility. When she's awake, Izahela reveals her past and what she knows about her ability and Alhorn. Exhausted, she falls asleep soon afterwards and is treated by the SPW Foundation's medical team.[1]
Chapters
Novel Appearances- El Aleph Chapter 3: III - Guatemala Arc
- El Aleph Chapter 5: V - Peru Arc (Mentioned only)
- El Aleph Chapter 7: VII - Peru Arc (Mentioned only)
- El Aleph Chapter 8: VIII - Peru Arc (Mentioned only)
Quotes
Quotes- “I don't really get it myself, but whenever anybody moves on more than one foot in a place I've drawn chalk around, it makes them fall into a hole.”—Izahela Mena-Mena, El Aleph Chapter 3: III - Guatemala Arc
- “I'm the only one that can do it. All the other kids are just following my orders.”—Izahela Mena-Mena, El Aleph Chapter 3: III - Guatemala Arc
- “My family tried to go to Mexico. But they tricked us. They shot us with an ancient-looking bow. They told us that useful people would survive, and all the rest were done for. I saw my father and little brother die like they had been poisoned. For some reason, I was the only survivor. They made me come with them to that place.”—Izahela Mena-Mena, El Aleph Chapter 3: III - Guatemala Arc
Notes
- ↑ 15 when initially published in JOJO magazine 2022 SPRING