Chapter Thirty Eight.Fast Kilmister, Master of Ace of Spades, waited in the dark of the cargo hold. He was strapped in with nine other men, all having obvious, physical Quirks. He, however, only had eyes for Ace of Spades. It seemed to be breathing, calmly, air puffing out from its war-pig mouth.
From what he had been able to gleam in the last few weeks, it could manifest within three meters of him, and go to a maximum of five without losing any significant strength. At five point one meters, a heel-sign of one was less than natural, untrained human strength. Ace would then be weakened to a similar degree.
Currently, the container was dangling from a dozen hair-thin wires, each connected to a helicopter. Presently, the target cruise liner, the Splendid Pinion, had just entered Japanese territorial waters. It would take twenty-three minutes for the nearest response team to arrive, and by then, Kilmister intended on being far gone.
Far above the Splendid Pinion, after returning from a quick rest in Julian's quarters, Pet Shop cast his sharp eyes over an approaching helicopter. It sensed something from the container it carried, at once familiar, and yet unknown.
Pet Shop divided, coming low and back up sharply, coming to land in the window of Julian. Suddenly disturbed, the aged Stand User turned to the falcon, eyes cast in concern. It was uncommon for Pet Shop to arrive suddenly, normally it announced itself, or adhered to a set schedule.
Manifesting his Stand, Horus, the falcon made it clear that they were soon to be attacked. 'I will inform the others,' Julian said. 'Delay them, if you can. If you see a Stand User, report to one of us. We can't risk a direct confrontation with the Joestar-Speedwagon affiliated Stand Users.'
With a gentle flap of his wings, Pet Shop departed, a cone of ice already forming to sap away the troublesome helicopter. When it hit, the container slammed into the cruise liners main deck.
Kilmister ran through the corridors of the cruise liner, looking for his target room. Cabin five-twelve. Around him, the ship burned. He had been fortunate to survive the helicopter crash, surviving only because of his Ace of Spades. He had seen a creature, something like his own ghost, but this one had just been there, in the sky, floating.
He ran through the corridors of the fifth deck, trailed by a bleeding four-armed man whose name he had forgotten. 'Five-twelve,' Kilmister said, stacking up on the door. 'Ready?' he asked the man, before Ace of Spades turned the door to a shower of nails and splinters.
Beyond, the cabin was empty, but for books, a laptop and a small, steel-coloured briefcase. Entering the room, he heard the four-armed man finally subcombe to his wounds. Already, the shouts of his distant, embattled colleagues was fading to the silence of defeat. 'Oh,' came a muffled voice. 'You don't look like a Speedwagon boy, I suppose we can use you for our lords meal…'
Turning, Fast Kilmister saw two figures, no, four. The first, a heavily bandaged a lab coat-swaddled man, had a beast hovering besides him. The second was female, but he could hardly make her out. She looked to be middle aged. 'Rita,' said the man. 'Be a dear and take care of this man.'
'Of course, physician,' said the woman, her ghost seemingly made of chains from what Kilmister could make out. 'White Room,' she said, before Kilmister fell into unconsciousness.
Dio leaned against the railing, taking his time in examining the busy night life of the city. In the far north-west, on a great hill, U.A. Hero Academy sat squatly, new buildings visible around it. Many saw it grandly, but Dio only saw a stepping stone.
He had taken his time in scaling the scaffolding, using it to oversee his city. His city, when had he begun to call it such. He tasted blood on the air, his pets would be bringing him dinner soon. Recently, he had felt strange. Uneasy, even.
It had started three nights before, and had only grown more pronounced. He had begun to tremble. Him, Dio, tremble! The thought was anathema, but the truth was reasoned. He was able to curtail it through increased consumption, but the effects of his feedings had grown less pronounced. His strength was fading, he was being drained.
He also sensed something, something which made him feel as though he had lost. Perhaps it was his sudo-Jonathen body, having started to reconnect to this universes descendents. Unlikely, but possible. Even now, after all these years, there were many things he was not certain of. But whatever it was, it was growing stronger, closer. 'Whatever you are,' he said to the moon. 'I will conquer you!'
Julian pushed the wheelchair to which the would-be killer of the physician was sat in. In the aftermath of the assault on the crush liner, they had limped towards the Japanese mainland. Upon arriving, it was easy for the Stand Users to slip through the wide net in the anarchy.
They had split into three groups. The twins are overseen by Pet Shop. Julian and the wheelchair-bound figure, and The Physician, the briefcase and their last human member, a Stand-occupied husk self-named Blue. One they had exited the port, they would make for their pre-arranged safe house.
Upon arrival at the safe house, a secluded apartment complex on the edge of the city of Musutafu. Already, Julian could see Pet Shop peering out from one of the top-floor apartments. It was a rundown building, but the top-floor had been given a clean up by their boss' associates before their arrival in Japan.
'Julian,' he heard the elder twin, Rita, calling from the same floor. 'Hurry up, old man. We can not risk discovery, not so soon after the attack and our arrival!'
'I am coming, Rita. But our friend here is rather heavy. It does not help that he is unconscious, maybe if he were to walk…'
'Oh, do be silent,' Rita continued. 'The physician is already here, so quit your whining.'
Continuing on in silence, Julian ditched the wheelchair and pushed the unconscious man into the elevator, allowing his Stand, Medusa, to oversee the man. When the elevator reached the top-floor, it did so with a heavy thump. Again, Julian left it to Medusa to drag the unconscious Stand-User into the open apartment.
'Now,' said the Physician. 'I think we can begin.'