"Kill Kitty," Angela said in a low voice. She wouldn't let them get past the corridor. She needed to keep Andréa safe no matter what. Ice Boy didn't wait. He raced towards her reeling up for a punch but she jumped out of the way and swung her blade into his shoulder. It didn't pierce but it did crack the white exterior.
Damn, the armor is stronger than I thought. Kill Kitty can usually cut through anything.
The armored assassin turned and shot a shard of ice at her but she dodged right to avoid it as it smashed into the wall. She sliced again but he skated out of the way. A hook shot out behind him from the taller user and towards Angela's heart. Anticipating the attack, she crossed her arms overtop her chest as the hook pierced her forearm.
"I've got you now!" The green-haired man yelled and began reeling her in.
"Give her hell, Pesci!" The ice user yelled.
Angela was whisked off her feet and towards the assassin called Pesci. Angela braced herself as she approached. She twisted herself in the air, putting her foot out in front of her. It connected with Pesci's face and she kicked off, flipping backward. She landed in a crouch as Pesci stumbled. She raised her blade and sliced into the line but the attack snapped back on her cutting her face.
"Fuck!" Angela hissed through gritted teeth.
"You can't cut the line! Once I catch you, you can't break free!" Pesci beamed.
"We'll see about that," Angela said under her breath as she stood, wiping her cheek. His moment of pride left his defenses lowered and she rushed Pesci darting behind him. She then ran towards the wall and kicked off it landing in a roll in front of him. She bounced out of it to her feet as she yanked hard with her hooked arm. The line tightened around him, binding Pesci with his own stand.
Angela kicked off the wall to her left and flew at Pesci with her blades poised, slicing into his arm. All of this transpired within seconds leaving both users unprepared to defend. The ice user snapped to attention first and raced over as blood sprayed from the cut. The adrenaline boost from her blades took effect, pumping the heart faster.
Pesci turned to face Angela but she jumped and vaulted over Pesci, landing behind him just as Ghiaccio skated past her to where she'd been. She landed and slashed Pesci four more times in the back as he reeled around on her again having finally freed himself of his line.
He tried casting again. The line surged further up her arm. Shit, I can't get this thing out of me. If I'm not more careful, he'll reach my heart like the others.
Ice shards flew at her which she slashed out of the air with her blades and then cut Pesci in the face. Ghiaccio skated back towards her again only for her to jump, placing her hands on his visor and vaulted back behind him again. He skidded to a stop on his blades and looked back at her again.
"Fucking hell, she's fast," she heard the ice assassin breathe. Her speed was an asset to her here. The Ice user could barely keep up with her moves. Pesci was bleeding now excessively. His face changed from one of concentration to panic.
"Ghiaccio! I'm scared!" Pesci cried out in fear and the broken concentration de-summoned his stand. Good, this one seems particularly susceptible.
She needed to figure out how to bring Ghiaccio down. The armor was too tough to pierce through. Wreak Havoc could work without the addition of adrenaline to the bloodstream. However, without the use of Kill Kitty beforehand, the ability could be resisted by the user if their mental defenses were strong enough. She had no way of knowing how Ghiaccio would react but she thought it was worth a try.
"Wreak Havoc," Angela said and a black aura surrounded her.
"Fratello!" Pesci screamed and fell to his knees. Ghiaccio winced like he was fighting anxiety but otherwise seemed unaffected. Well, now I know he's mentally capable. Pesci stared off into nothing as he continued to freak out.
Good, one down. I just need to deal with this one now.
"What the fuck did you do?" The assassin Ghiaccio screeched. It was clear he was trying to steady himself.
"Adrenaline makes the blood pump faster," Angela said as she extended her arm out in a stretch, now freed of the line. "Your friend is so scared it will cause him to bleed out within minutes."
"You bitch!" Ghiaccio lunged for her but she flipped over him again as he reached Pesci. As she flew through the air, she noticed something on Ghiaccio's neck. There was a hole that exposed his flesh.
Just big enough for a blade. That's my ticket.
She landed and braced again as Ghiaccio spun around to face her.
"Stop moving and fight me, bitch!" Ghiaccio raged.
"What's wrong Icy? Can't keep up?" Angela glowered. She just needed to get behind him to make him cower before her.
This battle is mine.
Illuso watched the screens intently with Gelato's bottle sitting on the desk in front of him. Gelato had demanded a better spot to watch the mission unfold. The stand user Angela was fighting Ghiaccio and Pesci and she seemed to be getting the upper hand. Thankfully, Babyface hadn't run into problems yet, at least that they'd been informed about.
"I repeat DO NOT engage! Prosciutto? Prosciutto!? Dammit, I think he turned his earpiece off," Risotto seethed.
"Risotto, there seems to be another stand user we didn't know about," Illuso said as he watched Sale attack Fugo on the screen.
"What?" Risotto put his arm on the back of the chair and peered over Illuso's shoulder.
"It's Sale," Illuso pointed at the screen.
"What the fuck is Sale doing with these guys?" Risotto growled.
"I don't know, but I think it's a safe assumption to make that Zucchero is probably there too. I haven't seen him yet though."
"Shit, look!" Risotto pointed at a camera of a hallway. There were more men with guns running down it towards Ghiaccio. They had guns and they weren't old.
"None of them are old…" Illuso said slowly.
"Sorbet, what's happening over there? Is Grateful Dead still active?" Risotto asked sternly.
"Urgh, fuck!" Sorbet said over the speakers.
"What's going on?! Sorbet?!" Gelato yelled from the bottle.
"Sorbet, we don't have eyes. What is happening?" Illuso repeated.
"Negative. Grateful Dead is down. Tulmine hit Prosciutto. Damn it," Sorbet groaned.
"Are you hurt?" Illuso asked. Risotto was quiet and tense beside him.
"Ugh, Pro threw me across the room with his stand. Ow, he sure packs a punch," Sorbet groaned again and there was a shuffling sound. "I'm okay though."
"Good. How's Pro?" Illuso asked.
"Oh, shit—Hey!" Sorbet yelled.
"Sorbet?" Illuso didn't like the urgency in Sorbet's voice. Sorbet didn't have a combat stand and with Prosciutto down, Sorbet was a sitting duck.
"Bet!" Gelato screamed.
"Gelly, is that you?" Sorbet asked.
"Yes! I'm here!"
"He can hear you, Sorbet. What's going on?" Illuso asked again.
"I'm holding him with Blue Foundation, but you better send someone our way because I don't know how long I can keep him like this," Sorbet said.
"Sorbet! What is Prosciutto's status?" Risotto barked.
"I don't know, but he's not moving," Sorbet said. "He might be unconscious. I need back up now."
"Risotto, I swear to god if he dies, I'll slit your throat!" Gelato yelled.
"If he dies, I'll let you," Risotto murmured. He stood up straight and opened the channel so everyone could hear his next words.
"Everyone on high alert! Prosciutto's been hit, and Grateful Dead is out of commission. Stand users are back to full power." When Risotto finished his announcement, Illuso heard Formaggio's voice cut through.
"Shit!"
"Formaggio, is everything okay over there?" Illuso asked.
"No Lu, we got company. There's a stand user out here with a bow shooting at me and Melone!"
"Godammit! Another user? We are so fucking blind…" Illuso huffed.
"We have no visual on you guys out there, is there only one?" Risotto asked gruffly.
"It seems like it, but who knows?" Formaggio said. "Oh, what the fuck…?"
"She's flying! She has wings!" Melone yelled.
The creature stood over Isabella smiling, it's baby-like speech combined with its glee for killing unnerved her.
"Mommy?" the creature said. Mommy?
Mother… She recalled her first session with Melone, '...My stand creates a homunculus. It takes DNA from a 'father' candidate of my choosing and then seeks out potential women that it can mix it with as the 'mother' or host.'
"Mommy said I had to kill everyone in here but my family," the creature said again as it approached Isabella.
"Wait! Is your family La Squadra Esecuzioni?" Isabella asked suddenly.
"Yes! I love them and I have to protect them!" the creature said.
"You mentioned Mommy. Is Melone your mommy?" Isabella asked and the creature stopped its approach.
"You know Mommy?" the creature chirped. She was certainly impressed. If Melone was the "mother" role and he wasn't obliterated, then that meant he'd been testing his stand's abilities. At least Isabella was doing some good if no one died to make this creature before her.
"Yes, I do! I'm your mommy's doctor. These people took me away from your mommy and did bad things to me. But now you're here to rescue me," Isabella emphasized. The creature stopped for a moment to think.
"Hmm...Mommy didn't mention rescuing anyone. All he said was that I had to kill everyone in the warehouse that wasn't Uncle Fugo or the rest of the family. If I don't kill you, Mommy and Daddy won't be proud of me."
Daddy?
"Uh—I'm sorry, do you have a name?" Isabella smiled at the creature.
"I'm Glacé!" He smiled broadly.
"My name is Dr. Isabella Florence," she stated smiling. "It's nice to meet you."
"Hi, Isabella! You're nice! Too bad I have to kill you," he chirped. He was so innocent that perhaps she could persuade him to let her live.
"Oh, but Glacé, if Melone is mommy then who is daddy?" she asked in a tone as one would address a child. She was trying to keep him talking. His face beamed brightly.
"Daddy Ghiaccio!" he exclaimed. "I'm going to meet him today! I'm so excited! I love him so much!" Ghiaccio...that's Melone's partner. Based on what she knew of Ghiaccio and Melone's interactions, she wondered if he even knew if his DNA had been used for this.
"Does Ghiaccio love you too?" Isabella prompted him again.
"Daddy doesn't know about me yet, but if I do good today and kill everyone, I'll get to meet him! I can't wait!" Glacé bounced up and down like a child. Oh, Melone… Why? Melone had enough issues with his partner and consent to begin with, and she couldn't imagine his partner reacting well to meeting Glacé after all the accusations he'd made against Melone about his stand.
"I would love to meet your daddy with you. Why don't we go find him right now?" Isabella hoped that would work. She stood up with her hands still tied behind her back and smiled at him.
"I can't ask Mommy what to do right now, but I know he'd want me to kill you. You could be trying to trick me and I can't let Mommy down!" Glacé said earnestly and stepped forward again. She took a step back and her back hit the wall.
Her heart raced as she recalled all those things Melone had done in her mind.
This shit was getting Ghiaccio nowhere. Every time he went to attack, Angela would leap over him. He would spin around to catch her just for her to sidestep to his back again. They continued this little dance for a while with Ghiaccio just barely keeping up. She keeps trying to get behind me. Did she notice my airhole? She must be trying to stab me there. She was too damn fast. He couldn't keep this up, he needed to slow her down. He finally skated away from her towards Pesci and crouched down low.
"Gently Weeps!" Ghiaccio hissed and dropped the temperature dramatically. It did seem to slow her movements down significantly. It finally gave him a fucking moment to think.
He looked over at Pesci who was still freaking out and gushing blood. He had to do something or Pesci would die. His blood. It would merely be a bandaid over a tumor but it was all he could think of at the moment. The battle was too fast for him to think of something more effective right now. Ghiaccio touched the cuts on Pesci's body and froze the blood. Gum in the cracks of the dam. He knew it wouldn't last, blood was hot and would quickly melt the ice, but it was better than nothing. At least Gently Weeps would give them more time.
"You're smarter than you look," Angela finally said as she stood up again.
"I'm the smartest one on this damn team, so you're fucked," Ghiaccio boasted.
"Hm, if you're the smartest one then I think this will be over soon enough," Angela smirked. "Come on, Icy, make your move." Ghiaccio touched the floor and ice shot towards her. Angela jumped but the ice grabbed her legs just before she could clear it. She fell forward into a crouch trying to pull her legs free. Ghiaccio took this opening and skated toward her. He had to kill this bitch before she could get the upper hand again.
He reeled up with a fist when she smashed the ice with her daggers and leaped up to meet him. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a deadly embrace as they fell. He stared into her fierce yellow eyes as a dagger slipped between his flesh. Ghiaccio gasped as his heart rate sped up and spiked his anxiety. She released him from her grasp and he stumbled. There was nothing in particular to make him feel this way but every worry he had in the back of his mind was swimming into the forefront.
Will Pesci survive? I'm not strong enough to save us both. Am I going to die here? I never told Melone how I actually feel. What if Melone likes someone else? What if Fugo stops being my friend when he realizes I'm such a shit person? Why would anyone like me? No one in the squad likes me because I'm so fucking awful. It's why my dad hates me and why Mom left me. Mom hates that I'm exactly like Dad in every way. I'm brutal and caustic and I feed off people's hatred for me. I need people to hate me because I hate myself.
"Wreak Havoc, motherfucker," Angela spat.
Ghiaccio screamed.
Risotto stared at the screen over Illuso's shoulder. Ghiaccio and Pesci were down, Fugo was being eaten alive by his own virus, Babyface was still unknown since Melone couldn't make contact in the midst of his and Formaggio's fight on the roof. Sorbet was in a Mexican standoff with Tulmine, and Prosciutto...god, he couldn't even let himself think about it or he thought he might actually lose his shit in front of Illuso.
What had he done? Why did he let them go alone? He should be in there too. At the very least, Risotto should be dying next to his men in battle. He'd lost his family once and he didn't know if he could handle it a second time. Maybe Gelato knew what he was doing all along. Risotto knew that if this continued, he didn't want to live through this either. This day was fucking cursed and he knew it since he'd woken up this morning.
Stay focused. You can't think like this. They need you. If I crack, they all lose hope.
"Risotto?" Illuso turned and looked at him. "What do we do?"
He really had no fucking answer to that. He just had to trust his men.
And wait.