Isabella stared at the floor. It was disgusting now. They hadn't bothered to clean up her mess from earlier. There was also blood where Angela had cut her splattered on the floor. She felt dizzy. There wasn't anything in her system and the constant blood loss was taking its toll. She really just wanted water. She felt so weak. She glanced at her arm, it looked strange, wrinkled. She turned around to see the rest of her arm and her hair fell into her face. It was white. She looked down into her shirt and saw her breasts also sagged.
Am I old? Is this a new form of psychological torture?
The door opened and an old man walked inside. His hair was flipped to the side in a ponytail. He walked towards her and then behind her. He began to fiddle with her bindings. Surge, or Tulmine, ran in at that moment.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Tulmine yelled.
"I'm untying her. Crazy shit's going down and Andréa wants her."
"Yeah, She said we need to protect her down here. You and me. So leave her bound. She's not going anywhere."
"So does that mean you know what's going on?"
"We're under attack, Zucchero. That's why you rapidly aged. Sale already went up to fight since we're both unaffected. You have to stay here since your stand won't work well while you're like this," Tulmine explained.
"Why aren't you old?" Zucchero asked.
"Andréa said cold slows it down. Angela and I had a beer earlier. She's unaffected too, so that's my guess, and Sale stood in front of the open fridge for ages," Tulmine turned to leave.
"Surge, wait! Where are you going? I thought you just said we had to defend the doc?" Zucchero said.
"Yeah well, what good are you to me like this?" Tulmine gestured. "If I take out the one doing this, the rest of us will have a chance. It's affecting everyone."
"Andréa's gonna be pissed if she learns you didn't follow orders," warned Zucchero.
"Fuck Andréa, I'm doing this for us!" Tulmine left the room.
So it's a stand attack. Maybe it's Melone's team? It would make sense. These guys have been talking about the drug trade and how they hate the Boss. This is some inner-Passione conflict. What better way to end it then sending in the assassin squad to take care of it? Yet, the idea of Melone being close by made her shiver. She knew it had all been in her head, but god had it felt real.
She hoped they would find her soon.
Ghiaccio raced down the hallway and punched an aged-looking man, freezing him to the spot. Pesci cast his line and struck the heart of the man about to rush Ghiaccio. He reeled in and the man's heart burst forth from his chest. The man collapsed to the ground. Ghiaccio turned towards the other end of the hallway and threw shards of ice at three men running towards him with guns. One man went down immediately upon being impaled in the skull. The other two were hit but not mortally. They turned their guns on Ghiaccio, but the bullets just ricocheted off him.
"Idiots! Guns don't do shit against stands! Especially not White Album," Ghiaccio laughed. He put his hand to the wall and ice shot out from the spot he touched. It quickly traveled the length of the wall and sprayed out impaling one of the men through the neck and chest. The other dodged and kept shooting.
"Ah!" Pesci yelled as a bullet hit him in the arm.
"Pesci, get back!" Ghiaccio yelled. The shooter pressed a finger to his ear and began to retreat down the hall.
"The main corridor has been compromised! Two stand users at the front entrance! Send back up immediately! One has ice abilities and guns are ineffective against him!" The man yelled.
"Backup's arrived." A girl turned the corner of the hall stopping the man in his tracks. She wasn't old.
What the fuck is going on? I thought Pro got everyone...but the man's still old. What gives? She must have had some means of cooling herself down.
Ghiaccio recognized her from the file. She could utilize a person's fear against them. This could be dangerous. Ghiaccio was practically an indestructible stand user against all physical attacks. He wasn't sure how he'd fare psychologically. He'd never been able to fight off Sorbet's stand before. He steeled his nerves and refused to show the anxiety he felt.
"Angela!" the man gasped.
"Hold your ground soldier. Direct order from Andréa. We hold until we can't. Get more of your men here and provide cover fire. Guns work against the users. Leave the ice user to me." The man ran off and Angela guarded his retreat.
"Pesci, stay icy," Ghiaccio snarled. "Risotto said this one can play with your fears."
"Hold your ground, no matter what," Pesci said and summoned Beach Boy.
"Let's play, Ice Boy," Angela said in a low voice.
With the hallway cleared, Fugo ran down the corridor towards the sounds of gunfire. He grabbed the door handle at the end of the hall and pulled it open. As he passed through, his hand jerked him back. Fugo looked back at the door. His hand was stuck fast to the door handle.
"What the fuck?" No matter how much he pulled, he couldn't free himself of it.
"You're one of Mista's friends. I remember you." Fugo turned to see Sale on the other side of the door. He'd never met him but he'd seen his dead body after Mista had finished him off. Giorno, how many people did you bring back? He was gonna regret this one.
"Purple Haze!" Fugo barked.
"Kraft Work," Sale said, smiling. The stand summoned and punched Purple Haze before it could react. Purple Haze stumbled a bit but stood its ground. It went to wind up and lunge at Kraft Work but almost tripped when its feet wouldn't move from their spot on the ground.
"You're that plague user, right? You can't do anything if you can't hit me," Sale said smugly and raised his brow. Little does he know. Fugo had Purple Haze point its fist at Sale and launched a bulb from its knuckle. It flew directly toward Sale but Kraft Work blocked at the last second.
It became stationary in the air.
"You really fucked up now," Sale said as he tapped the bulb slowly with his finger. Each tap made Fugo nervous. He recalled what Mista had told him about his fight. He was able to shoot Mista's bullets back at him with kinetic energy. "You can't do anything to block this now. Where are you going to go?" Fugo tried to close the door but the door itself was frozen in place.
Shit, I can't block it with the door.
He tapped it once more and the bulb shot back directly at Fugo. Purple Haze tried to block it but the bulb went so fast it shot through his hand and smashed into the door creating a dent. Fugo's free hand began bleeding and the virus filled the air. He tried to clench his fist but the hand must have sustained nerve damage because he couldn't properly operate his hand. The virus began tearing through the side of his face and shoulder where the impact occurred. It was eating his frozen hand quickly.
"Time to see how Angela's doing," Sale said and left.
Sorbet and Prosciutto ran towards the center of the complex assuming that would be the most likely place for their leader's office to be. They checked rooms as they passed just in case. Any hired guns they ran into Sorbet took them out with the uzi. He knew using Grateful Dead on the entire complex was taxing on Prosciutto and so Sorbet took it on himself to clear the halls until they ran into a stand user.
"We've got to be close now," Prosciutto said.
"According to the camera's location, it should be towards the end of this hall," Illuso informed them.
"What's going on elsewhere?" Sorbet asked.
"Fugo's run into opposition, as have Ghiaccio and Pesci. It's nothing we can't handle though," Illuso said. "Babyface is cleaning house down below."
"Dude's creepy but he's fucking lethal, I'll give him that," Prosciutto said. They got to the room and found it locked. Prosciutto summoned Grateful Dead and punched the door off its hinges. They walked inside the massive room and found boxes and crates stacked everywhere.
"Shit," Prosciutto said. "Illuso, this isn't it."
"I think we found where they're storing the drugs though. Giorno might be interested in that," Sorbet commented.
"Hey!" a man appeared from behind a row of boxes. He began shooting at them.
"Shit." Prosciutto blocked the bullets and Sorbet hid behind a stack of crates.
"What's happening in there?" Risotto demanded.
Sorbet peeked out from behind the boxes to return fire. The man was soon joined by three more men.
"We've got company," Prosciutto answered. He shielded his body behind a stack on the other side of the room and de-summoned Grateful Dead. He pulled his pistols out and began to take shots. Prosciutto must have been tired to take this approach instead.
He's always prepared though, he knows his limits well, Sorbet thought.
"Don't take any unnecessary risks, Prosciutto, do you hear me?" Risotto growled. "Wait for backup if you have to."
"I'm not letting these guys stop us now, Riz," Prosciutto answered.
"Damnit, Prosciutto!" Risotto snapped.
Sorbet emptied his clip, killing one of the men and then began to reload while Prosciutto took more shots. He heard a scream. Prosciutto had made a hit. Sorbet finished reloading and turned to look at Prosciutto again. There was a man creeping up behind him.
"Pro, look out!" Sorbet yelled. Prosciutto turned and dropped his pistols and began to go hand to hand. Sorbet shot and killed another man that was shooting at them as Prosciutto disarmed the man and grabbed him by the throat. The man rapidly aged until he looked frail. Prosciutto released the aged gangster and he crumpled to the ground. The assassin picked up his pistols again and returned fire on the last gunmen with a headshot.
"So you're the one aging people," a voice behind them said. Sorbet immediately turned his gun on Tulmine but Shinee appeared and blocked the bullets. Prosciutto summoned Grateful Dead again.
"Sorbet, get back! Let me handle this," Prosciutto said, pistols still at the ready.
"What's happening?" Risotto demanded.
"Tulmine," Sorbet replied.
"There has to be another way out of here," Prosciutto said.
"You're not going anywhere, blondie," Tulmine quipped.
"Who said I was leaving? You assume I'm gonna let your ass live. Bring it, Sparky," Prosciutto taunted.
"Prosciutto! Do not engage Tulmine!" Risotto yelled. "You and Sorbet can't fight him!"
"Watch me."
Glacé absorbed another person's matter into himself.
"Glacé, one more thing. There should be a room down there to the east of you that is sealed off. I can't see through the cameras so I need you to be my eyes," Mommy directed.
"You got it, Mommy. I'll head there now!" Glacé said and changed direction. He encountered two more people with guns but the bullets were merely absorbed into his body. He laughed as he attacked the screaming men. One tried to smack him with the butt of his gun only for Glacé to smile in response.
"Thank you for the meal!" The gun absorbed into him and the man stumbled back. Glacé punched the second guy in the stomach and a box dematerialized from his abdomen. The man's eyes rolled up into his head and he dropped instantly. The remaining man got to his feet, panicked, and turned tail down the hall.
"Mommy said to kill everyone that wasn't Uncle Fugo or the rest of the family." He grinned broadly. Glacé dematerialized and quickly floated to in front of the man reassembling himself. "Where are you going? You have to die now."
"Please no! I just needed the job!" begged the man as he fell to his knees. Glacé continued smiling.
"Mommy said I have to kill everyone in the warehouse. And you're in the warehouse." The man's eyes bulged as Glacé attacked and killed the man.
He giggled and continued on his way.
Prosciutto turned off his headset so he didn't have to listen to Risotto yelling at him anymore. He knew he'd get an earful later for disobeying direct orders, but he knew that Risotto's judgement was clouded. He wasn't being impartial right now. He was clearly worried about Prosciutto's safety because they'd gotten too close. He knew that Risotto didn't want to lose his team again and was doing everything in his power to prevent that from happening. He was pretty sure the fact that it was October 14th wasn't helping things. However, Prosciutto recognized that this was creating a weakness for his capo. Risotto was willing to risk the success of the mission to keep him safe and that was an order Prosciutto refused to abide by.
One of us has to think clearly. If we can keep Tulmine here and busy, it will give the others time to find us. No doubt Risotto has already informed the others of our situation.
Grateful Dead attacked first and Shinee countered with a bolt of lightning. The shock reverberated through Prosciutto and knocked him back into a stack of boxes, which tumbled around him.
I will hold my ground until I can't. He raised his pistols and began unloading. He glanced to see Sorbet running over to join him.
"Get out of here! I can handle myself!" Prosciutto snapped.
"Risotto would never forgive me if I left you here," Sorbet responded as he helped Prosciutto to his feet.
"Electric Heart!" Tulmine yelled and Shinee built up a charge for the imminent shockwave.
"MOVE!" Grateful Dead punched Sorbet and sent him flying further back into the room as the shockwave erupted from Shinee. It blasted Prosciutto back again and sent his head spiraling as it collided hard with a crate.
"How you holding up, blondie?" Tulmine sneered as Shinee shocked him hard. Prosciutto's vision darkened and his ears rang as his body convulsed. He heard a shout but didn't see who, he guessed maybe Sorbet. It sounded a bit like him. Why the fuck wasn't he gone yet? He had to go meet up with the rest of the squad and find the leader.
The last thing he saw was Tulmine standing still and staring.
Glacé continued on his way and found where Mommy had indicated. The door was indeed secured. No problem, I'll just remove it.
He broke the door down into particles and reassembled it, open on the other side. There was a man with green hair standing next to a woman tied to a chair. Before Glacé could speak the man summoned a stand. It poked the woman with its rapier and she deflated like a balloon. She quickly vanished from view leaving the man with his stand pointing at Glacé.
"Try and get the doctor now, fucker!" the man cackled.
"I'm here to kill you!" Glacé chirped. "Clear the warehouse of all the targets!" The man looked unnerved but stood his ground.
"Soft Machine!" the man yelled and the stand surged forward thrusting the rapier out in front of him. Glacé ran in to attack just as he was stabbed. His body deflated of air and wrapped around the blade.
"That's right, bitch, try fighting me now!" The man laughed. Glacé attempted to contact Mommy but heard only silence. He didn't like how alone he felt. You won't be alone, okay? Then why wasn't Mommy answering him? He couldn't move, couldn't fight. Could he eat?
Glacé tried to break down the rapier he was wrapped around. It divided into pieces and absorbed into Glacé's body. Di molto! I did it! He got some of his mobility back. He broke into pieces and reformed in front of the chair. He still was a bit floppy but at least he could zip around the room again. He didn't think he could walk much so instead he decided to break down again.
"What the fuck? How are you doing that?!" the man yelled. Glacé reformed on top of the stand and began breaking it down. "Stop! What are you doing?! STOP!" The man screamed as he began bleeding at each loss of limb as Glacé consumed him whole. Once the man was gone, Glacé reformed and was able to fully move around again.
He saw the woman from earlier lying on the floor before him. She sat up and looked at him. The man had thought he was going to take her away. He wasn't tasked with retrieval, just elimination.
"Mommy? There's a woman here and she's tied up. Do I kill her?" Glacé waited while the woman looked scared.
"Please! I'm not part of Passione! I was kidnapped! I'm not with these guys!" she begged.
"Mommy?" Glacé asked again, uncertainly.
Still nothing. Just silence.
He worried something might have happened to Mommy. He promised he wouldn't leave Glacé alone but it was becoming clear that he was indeed on his own. Glacé looked at her for a moment as he thought about what to do.
Kill anyone that isn't Fugo or the rest of the family. Got it?
Glacé made up his mind.