Singapore, 5142 Miles from Cairo

Avdol merely stands in shock before the demolished television in front of him. Just a moment prior, Mr. Joestar's Stand had used the hotel TV to reveal the identity of the newest assassin sent to kill them: Kakyoin. The same Kakyoin that had helped defeat Tower of Gray with his wiles and assisted them in each fight since.

Kakyoin…Could it really be him?

"If Kakyoin is with Jotaro, this could spell trouble for both him and us. The boy is vital to our success." Avdol's eyes are glued to the hotel carpet below him. Unease flows through his veins, ice cold anxiety sending shivers across his skin. Mr. Joestar is silent. Avdol taps his foot for a few moments in quiet thought before looking up at his companion. He's still sitting on the floor after the TV explosion, but he too seems to be wracking his brain, a look of deep concern painting his face.

Suddenly, a half-hearted knock raps on the door before Polnareff traipses his way into the hotel room. He only steps a bit into the room before a bewildered expression overcomes his face, "Mr. Joestar what did you do to the TV?" The old man springs up indignant, "Why'd you assume it was me?" With a click of his tongue, Avdol speaks up "To be fair, Mr. Joestar, things do tend to explode around you." Joseph merely clenches his teeth and sits down on the nearby bed. "Polnareff, sit."

The next few minutes detail Hermit Purple's words, and their encounter with DIO. "KAKYOIN… BEWARE." Polnareff is speechless for another few minutes after, before speaking up. "But…I saw Jotaro leaving with Kakyoin earlier!"

"Right, and that is precisely why we're troubled. I have no doubt that Jotaro can take on any single assassin that challenges him, but I fear if he's betrayed by one of our dear companions…" Avdol trails off, adjusting the prayer beads around his neck with uncertainty. "No, we must have faith in my grandson. Let us wait a bit longer, shall we?" Joseph's gaze withdraws to his knees. Nothing to do but wait.

Time passes…

The first hour and no word from either Kakyoin or Jotaro. I can see Mr. Joestar growing increasingly worried. And Polnareff…he's not handling the stress well at all.

"Kakyoin? Was he a double agent the whole time? Even removing the flesh bud, our dear Kakyoin was simply a traitor? Am I a traitor?" Polnareff paces, doing a heel turn in the other direction with each sentence. "Enough!" Joseph slams his fist down on the bed frame. "If he doesn't show up in the next hour we will have to go searching, until then we keep our wits about us."

Just then, a subtle, polite knock taps the door, and Kakyoin enters with a gentle wave. Though this only lasts a moment before he notices Polnareff's expression, "Why the dour look?" Polnareff straightens like a board, before stammering out mere fragments of words. Kakyoin scans the room and notices the neat pile of TV debris that has been swept onto a hotel towel. "Did Mr. Joestar blow up a television?" Joseph balls up his fist in agitation, but Avdol steps over between Kakyoin and the others. "Kakyoin. Where is Jotaro?" Kakyoin simply arches an eyebrow in confusion. "I haven't seen him at all today, is he alright?"

Joseph springs to his feet, stance firm and direct, "He's in grave danger. For you see, he left with you this afternoon." The room hushes to a tense silence, all eyes on Kakyoin. His expression, too, narrows. Clearing his throat, "So I'm suspected of being a traitor, then," Kakyoin leans his back against the wall beside him, "And I, the fool, decided to read while we waited to meet up. Thus, Jotaro is missing and I'm thought to be the traitor."

This is a gambit, but I think…

Avdol places his arm in front of Joseph's chest and steps between him and Kakyoin. "We had a very reliable source inform us that you were the traitor. That's all." The green clad teenager glances over at the pile of electronics and looks back into Avdol's eyes. "There's nothing I can say. You all seem to have your mind made up." Polnareff turns his back to the rest and stares out towards the balcony.

The pressure in the room is tremendous, as Avdol and Joseph's eyes are unblinkingly watching Kakyoin's every subtle move. The tension only breaks when Avdol takes a step forward and declares "We will wait one more hour. After that, Kakyoin, you know what we will have to do."

Kakyoin's face goes a few shades paler, and a look of sorrow crosses it. "Torture, then…" And at that remark, Avdol bursts into laughter. Joseph gives him a puzzled look, before huffing and sitting down on the bed once more in distress. "No, my friend. You are clearly yourself. I appreciate you offering though, Polnareff would've simply fled." Polnareff's back is still turned, arms and shoulders trembling.

That's the real Kakyoin, loyal and true. I can see it in him, his fate is not one of betrayal. The others don't seem to appreciate me trying to lighten the mood, however.

Despite the attempt at levity, Kakyoin is still back against the wall. "Avdol…I'm worried as well. I haven't seen the girl either." Metallic grinding is heard as Joseph clenches his fist once more.

That is…even more troubling.

Just then, the door swings open, revealing Jotaro and his outstretched leg. Apparently he kicked it open. He strides in with a cold look, eyeing each person in the room intently. Polnareff spins around, "Oh thank god, Jotaro. I thought you were a goner." Jotaro remains expressionless, but brusquely responds "And why is that?"

Joseph has not looked up yet, and while still looking at his knees, "Is this the first time you've seen Kakyoin today?" A breeze rattles the glass door to the balcony. "No. Kakyoin attacked me earlier. It was a fake." Avdol, Kakyoin, and Polnareff all sigh in relief, yet Joseph simply casts him a hard glare.

"I'm tired of waiting, grandfather. We should quit stalling and head straight for DIO." Jotaro spins around, trenchcoat flipping up behind him. "There's a train station in the middle of town. " Polnareff scratches his head for a moment, before following Jotaro as he leaves the room. Kakyoin stands straight, silent. Avdol turns his gaze back at Joseph, who meets his eyes. "Like my grandson said. Let's go." Avdol eyes squint slightly, and Kakyoin pipes up, "Just like that? We're worried about an assassin and suddenly we're abandoning our plans?"

Time passes…

The five men had been walking in relative silence on the way to the station. Polnareff had pointed out a few tourist traps, but the rest of the group simply walked in silence. Just as they are about to turn to head towards the station, Joseph stops, dead silent. Polnareff spins around, "Hey, Mr. Joestar we gotta turn here. Or do you need to take a leg break?" Joseph focuses his eyes on the back of Jotaro's head, "We need to make one stop."

He's been oddly quiet. We usually bounce ideas for our journey while we walk but…

"And where's that, grandfather? There's bathrooms at the station."

"No, Jotaro. There's a Butterfly Park ahead. I need to get a souvenir for your mother."

"She can get it herself, we're doing this to stop DIO, not sightsee for my mom."

"I'm the only one with cash, Jotaro, we're going. You can run off to the station if you want to leave so badly." Joseph pauses in thought, "It will only take a few minutes."

"Whatever." Jotaro finally turns around and waves Joseph forward.

I see, Mr. Joestar. That's what you wanted to show us.

The group continues on down the road, and even Polnareff is silent. Jotaro and Joseph are leading the rest, with Avdol a few steps behind. Kakyoin and Polnareff linger towards the back, casting uneasy glances at each other. The sidewalk narrows to only the shoulder of the road, and tall trees flank the asphalt on each side. A southern summer breeze makes the leaves dance above them all, and the shade is a welcome reprieve from the tropic sun. There seem to be no cars on the road today, not since they were in the city proper.

A few minutes into their walk down the deserted road, Avdol stops quietly in his tracks and gives a hand signal to both Kakyoin and Polnareff behind him. They, too, stand in silence. Kakyoin gives a knowing look to Avdol, while Polnareff just looks forward at the Jojos in concern. Joseph continues walking for only a few more steps, before landing loudly on his right foot. His eyes are fixated on the back of Jotaro's cap. Jotaro whips around as he speaks, "What's the holdup old ma-" only to be met with Joseph's crackling metal fist. "OVERDRIVE!"

Jotaro goes flying into the treeline on the right, tumbling and rolling like a ragdoll until he comes to a stop on the dirt. "What the hell-"

"My grandson loves his mother, you jackass, even if he's awful at showing it! And it's Gramps, dammit!"

"You should've stayed posing as me, Jotaro's a little too hard to imitate it seems."

"Wait, you guys knew he was a fake?"

"Yes, Polnareff, maybe if you weren't too busy eyeing the local ladies you'd have seen this charlatan try to act like our dear Jotaro."

'Jotaro' rises to his feet, clutching his face. Blood is gushing from his nose, as it begins to split open into another man's face entirely, the previous body of Jotaro melting into a yellow slime. "Damn you, you sucker punched me before I could call my Stand!" He now appeared as a shirtless white man, with long black hair and high arched eyebrows. "Yellow Temperance!" The yellow sludge masking him before starts to bubble out from his skin and emanate out in tendrils on his back, his eyes glaring at Joseph in pure spite.

Now, let's see if we can kill two birds with one stone. This is the first of DIO's henchman who doesn't have hostages and hasn't ambushed us. We can learn more about the assassins and find out where Jotaro is.

"Now I'll do to you what I did to your precious Jotaro!"

"What are you talking about, you bastard?" Polnareff barked out.

"Oh don't you get it? I killed Jotaro. Now to kill all of you with my unstoppable Stand!"

END OF INTERLUDE 1