CHAPTER 6: DEEPER IN THIS PIT
Hierophant Green's seemingly endless tentacle always gave his wrist a pinching squeeze when he tugged on it, reaffirming Belladonna's inescapable position of being literally bound to those Joestar idiots.
Since the previous day when Polnareff had taken off, the group had been uncomfortably quiet, which left Bella suffering in his own boredom. He couldn't even get high thanks to Joseph rummaging through his stuff and taking his pills away, the old man frowning at the heart-shaped pellets before whacking his head again with that god-forsaken magazine. Kakyoin had to physically restrain Bella when he'd tried to rip the bastard's throat out with his bare hands.
Another thing too, he couldn't use his Stand.
I mean, how the hell could he with the damn unit that was Star Platinum looming over him, the image of Kujo's Stand beating his beautiful face and body into a black and blue mess was enough to keep him in line…
At least until his backup showed up, then he was going to shove Temperance Noir's claws down that Rob Lowe-wannabe's throat.
Speaking of… Hol Horse was certainly taking his sweet time, wasn't he?
Maybe he got held up, or simply couldn't find the feline. According to Avdol, the useless Frenchman would get killed while he was moping around by himself, so the group had divided themselves to look for him, Kakyoin keeping Belladonna on a tight leash all the while. The Japanese boy wasn't nearly as intimidating as Kujo, but Dio had vividly described how deadly he could get if you pushed the wrong buttons.
Another tug at his wrists had him looking up to meet Kakyoin's eyes, the ginger looking down at him from under his dangling bangs.
"I know you know more than you're letting on, Belladonna." He said, the feline unable to stop the sneer from curling on his painted lips. "Polnareff is convinced the man with two right hands is here, so I guess my question is, is he?"
The threat behind his question went unsaid, implied only by the tightening of Hierophant Green's tentacles.
Bella's tail whipped behind him, a purr forming in the back of his throat as he smirked, leaning forward to emphasize his minimal cleavage. He shrugged, "Maybe if you loosen up a bit, I'll tell you… that is assuming he's still alive."
Kakyoin's eyes narrowed as the shorter boy rubbed his wrists together and licked his lips suggestively, the stud in his tongue catching the light as he did so.
It was all a game to him, wasn't it? The hanging of their lives so casually in the balance against Dio's Stand-users, Bella included, and while his defeat was a hearty bargaining chip, he knew they didn't have much to weigh against their numerous other enemies. It was just as Dio had designed the game to be, with him knowing everything and holding every card while they knew nothing.
However, Belladonna was scrambling too. A captive on their journey until he became useful or he escaped, the latter of which becoming less and less likely with every catty remark he gave them rather than helpful information.
"How about this," he decided. "If Polnareff is still alive, I'll let you go, on the condition you don't tell Dio where we are."
It was a longshot at best, and a death warrant at worst, but what other cards did he have to play at this point?
The pink-haired boy hummed as he examined his nails; if Kakyoin was serious about this deal, he could ditch the Joestar losers before the day was over, but if Hol Horse and J. Giel had already taken care of Polnareff he could kiss his freedom goodbye. It was a gamble, yes, but screw it, Bella was feeling lucky.
"Okay, you've got a deal, Cherry." He finally said, a Cheshire grin spreading across his face. "Trust me, if he's looking for the two-handed man, I promise you he's already found him."
He seriously didn't like the look on his face, like he had already gotten what he wanted and was just waiting to stab them in the back the moment the opportunity arose.
"Hey! There's a weird fight happening over there!" someone suddenly shouted, peaking the pair's attention only to be punctuated by the sound of a gunshot echoing out from nearby.
While civilians had started shuffling away from the gunfight happening two blocks away, Kakyoin coiled Hierophant's limb tighter around Belladonna and yanked him along as they ran towards the sounds of battle, Polnareff's steel clashing loudly against the thunder of bullets.
When they arrived at a plaza settled right at the edge of town, the stench of blood was already in the air.
Kakyoin stared in horror at the shape of Avdol laying in a pool of his own blood in the sand, grains brushing across his still features as the lone cowboy's silhouette stood victoriously over him, twirling his pistol with a wolfish smirk.
"Mr. Avdol!" he shouted, running to his comrade's side and forgetting himself as Hierophant's arm slipped harmlessly through Belladonna's fingers. The redhead moved with near-impossible gentleness as he moved Avdol into his arms, flinching when his hands came away from his back sticky and red.
He… he's just hurt, that's all… Avdol's going to start speaking and open his eyes any second now, right? "Mr. Avdol, you have to wake up!" he gave the man a shake, but bit his tongue when more blood spilled out from the wound in the center of his forehead. No… he can't be… it was too easy… to quick… he can't have died like this!
A laugh cut painfully quick through the silence. "Man, today must be a lucky day! My gun and J. Giel's mirror don't pair well with Avdol's flames, we were sure he'd be our most formidable foe, but look at him now! With him gone, the game is in the bag."
Hol Horse holstered his gun and opened his arm, Belladonna's ears flicking happily as he ran to the cowboy, practically jumping into his arms.
He purred, pink eyes gleaming, "Took you long enough baby, I was starting to think you forgot about me…" he blinked his eyes innocently, not meeting the other Stand-user's eyes as if he'd been hurt. The cowboy flicking his cigarette to the other side of his lips with his tongue as he tipped his hat.
"As if anyone could ever forget you, kitten." That brought a smile to the boy's face. "Just had to finish up Dio's business is all."
Bella smiled but inside was fighting the urge to push the tip of his heel into his balls until they popped like zits, cursing Hol Horse for leaving him high and dry for this long, but it didn't matter. Everything would feel better after a shower and maybe a screw before Dio's punishment for failing to kill Joseph and Jotaro began.
There was just the remaining problem of Kakyoin and Polnareff, who were currently glaring daggers into them both, tears running in steady streams down the silver-haired man's face as he mourned his fallen friend. Belladonna cast an acknowledging glance at Avdol's body, the man who showed him some decency by fixing his broken nose.
Hm, maybe he got what he deserved. After all, kindness to your enemies gets you a bullet to the face, or something like that.
"Then let's finish quickly… that's usually easy for you." He winked, snickering under his breath when he felt Hol Horse slide his hand down his back and pinch the base of his tail for that remark.
He clicked his tongue, almost pitifully, pointing his cigarette towards the corpse. "Gotta say though, for such a tough guy, he wasn't that hard to finish off… but you know what they say kitten, the end is a sudden curtain-call, most folks don't get to say goodbye, especially when a bullet to the brain's involved." He laughed, pointing to Polnareff, "Think of that as some parting wisdom before I make you croak."
Polnareff took a step forward, tears being replaced with fury as his fists turned white at his sides, but before he could make his move he was stopped by Kakyoin's arm across his chest. "Polnareff!" he called, eyes desperate for his friend to not take another step. "Don't let him get to you! Mr. Avdol died for you just now, after begging you not to fight alone! Don't let your revenge waste his sacrifice…"
"Then tell me, what am I supposed to do?!"
Bella felt Hol Horse's deep chuckle against his ear.
The ginger continued, voice more hushed this time as he tried to keep his plan to himself, but feline ears heard him regardless.
"We need to fall back, we have no idea what their Stands are capable of, it's three to two right now, and we can't fight a battle that will result in our deaths." He explained, keeping his hand pressed against Polnareff's chest, holding him back from the revenge he so craved.
A growl tore out from his throat, murderous eyes trained only on Hol Horse as the cowboy smirked. "He stabbed Avdol in the back like a coward… he murdered my defenseless sister who couldn't fight back… you expect me to run away just like that?!"
When he took another step Kakyoin planted both of his hands onto the Frenchman's chest, forcing him to look the younger man in the eye.
"Live today, fight tomorrow."
Those words gave him pause as his gaze finally softened slightly. Polnareff looked at Avdol's body again, his lifeless features soft and without malice, and as badly as he wanted to tear the bastard that took his life limb from limb, he knew he'd die if he tried now… and Avdol truly would have died for nothing. So with clenched teeth he gave Kakyoin the barest nod of resignation.
The redhead gestured to a nearby truck, the keys left in the ignition when the driver fled from the gunfight.
"That truck's our way out… if we can regroup with Jotaro and Mr. Joestar we might have a chance…" he whispered before a grating laugh cut through his plan, the sound worse than yellowed nails dragging across glass.
"Kekekeke… hey Polnareff…" someone hissed, Polnareff's eyes widening as the image of the Hanged Man emerged from a puddle in the dirt, rotted bandages billowing with each shake of laughter throughout his visage. "Such a shame about Avdol, but you only have yourself to blame…"
He growled loudly as the image disappeared. "Damn you… where's your real body!?"
Polnareff was left completely at his mercy as the Hanged Man reappeared in the reflection of a window behind him. "You should thank me though! As I am about to reunite you once more as I take your life, along with that succulent little sister of yours… hey, when you see her again, make sure to ask her exactly how I killed her…"
The Hanged Man dissolved into manic laugher, the Stand's tongue dancing past his lips as he almost choked on his grating cackles.
Whatever resolve Polnareff had gained shattered into a million pieces as his laughter dragged against his ears. "Bastard!"
He was quick to summon his Stand, Silver Chariot's armor shimmering as he drew his sword with raging eyes, Belladonna flinching as he saw it in person for the first time. Polnareff was quick, and Kakyoin wasn't quick enough, his warning call going unheard as the tip of the blade shattering the window, but the Hanged Man's laughing face still remained, appearing to be right behind him in the reflection.
"Your Chariot cannot cut my Hanged Man you fool! I am in the mirror, where you can never reach!" The Stand wrapped his paws around Polnareff's neck, the indents on his fingers appearing in his flesh as his bandaged face turned to Hol Horse, the cowboy thoroughly enjoying his vantage point as his fingers feathered against the inside of Bella's thigh. "Fire away Hol Horse! Let's finish this…"
Seemingly reluctantly, Hol Horse let go of the feline boy, summoning his Emperor with a flourish and aiming the pistol at Polnareff's head.
"Aye-aye sir."
Belladonna watched with emotionless eyes as the French playboy quite literally stared down the front of the barrel, Hol Horse's bullet and the Hanged Man's knife both inscribed with his name as they both lunged to snuff him out, but in a bizarre twist of fate or circumstance, the diamond-hard shield of Hierophant Green intervene at the last moment, deflecting both knife and bullet in a flash of green light.
"Emerald Splash!" Kakyoin called as his barrage of gems struck every inch of the Hanged Man, but also Polnareff as well, his shoulders and face pissing blood as the Stand's attack laid into him.
The roar of an engine rang as Kakyoin grabbed his comrade and floored the gas of the nearby truck all within moments, speeding away into the dust before the enemy trio could react. Hol Horse regained his bearings first as he re-aimed his Emperor, but clicked his tongue in disappointment soon after. "Out of range… damn."
The pink-haired boy beside him coughed, clearing sand from his lungs and rubbing it from his eyes, hissing from behind his teeth as he tried to adjust his shades. When he could see again he watched the truck containing his former captors get smaller in the distance. If it were up to him, he'd say good fucking riddance to those Joestar assholes and go home, but he knew Dio would fuck him till he bled if he came back without their heads on silver platters.
As much as he wanted to cut his losses, Bella knew he wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot.
"So what now?" he asked, running his fingers through his rosy locks.
His feline ears flicked in annoyance when the Hanged Man laughed again, an ugly sound from the pit of his black heart. "Don't worry Kitty Cat… Polnareff is mine." He purred, his visage briefly appearing in the window of a shop beside the boy. "Once I bleed him dry, I can show you a good time you'll never forget… that is, maybe if you cry and beg me to stop!"
The fucker didn't wait for a reply as his image disappeared in a blink of light.
As if, you make my cock softer than a Shirley Temple you fucking monkey, Belladonna thought, rolling his eyes as Hol Horse chuckled beside him.
"Such a way with words… he must really have it in for Polnareff." He mused, holstering his Stand and smirking out at the Indian desert, the last ashes of his cigarette falling silently onto the sand.
I'm back! Sorry for not updating for so long but college be rough yo! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter as Bella slips back into a villainous role, at least until the next chapter ;) Also no need to worry about J. Giel, he's not into guys and Belladonna would rather slam his dick in a car door than sleep with him (he's not into rapists). See you next time! Ciao!