Inside Jinnah International Airport, Staying Close to Polnareff
Kakyoin takes small, quiet steps as he scans the walls and floor around him. Polnareff's entire body is tense, the eerie silence of the airport pushing in on them. Normally, this place would have people going to and fro, travelers sleeping in the chairs waiting for their connections…
Nothing. The lights are on, the timetables are there but…all there is…
Bloodstains. The smears of red decorate the beige floors, the hazy glow of overhead chandeliers and electronic displays giving the place an ethereal glow.
"Kakyoin, these people…"
"Let's focus on finding Jotaro. If he was waiting for us, he'd either be by the terminal or around here…"
Suddenly, a feminine shriek comes from a winding hallway to their right. With the low hanging fog, the interior of the airport is already a winding maze, so there's no way of truly telling exactly where they have wandered to. The darkness outside of every window only further removes Kakyoin from his sense of place.
"Tch…" Polnareff clenches his teeth with an audible fright. Kakyoin tries to make out the signs, but only a scant few have had English listed for directions.
"Polnareff, we should-"
"Yeah yeah, focus on Jotaro…" Looking dejected, Polnareff continues to inch on before Kakyoin puts an arm on his shoulder.
"We should investigate. That woman…she could be a survivor. Jotaro can handle himself and…" Kakyoin gives Polnareff a reassuring smile, "He would do the same."
With a big grin, Polnareff gives a thumbs up before giving Kakyoin a hug.
That scream…I'm sure it reminds you of your sister…
Resolute, Kakyoin and Polnareff push out of the hug and stand defiant against the rolling fog bank within the airport building. With a synchronized step forward, they sprint off in the direction of the scream.
I'm afraid that the similarity isn't chance…This could be a trap but-
Kakyoin looks at Polnareff's determined eyes.
You'd throw yourself into a trap to save us. And you'd do so for an innocent, too, Polnareff.
Their steps echo throughout the halls, the fog getting thicker as they run on. The lights from signs and bulbs alike bloom out, a bright haze enveloping them. Even as close as they were, Kakyoin can barely see Polnareff beside him.
"Polnareff…you truly are inspiring."
"What's that?" Polnareff, a little further than Kakyoin anticipates, responds from the fog.
"I said, Polnareff-" Before he can finish, Kakyoin is cut off by a loud thunk. Coming to a stop, he sees Polnareff on the ground clutching his shin. Following his previous trajectory, Kakyoin sees that Polnareff had run straight into the side of an escalator.
"No good, useless, piece of-" Polnareff swears up and down while clutching his leg, but as Kakyoin helps him up, another voice interrupts him. A low, crackling voice from a floor above them, almost sounding like an old witch or hag from the movies.
"Polnareff. So nice to see you." The unseen voice echoes eerily around them. From all directions above them, they are assaulted by the calm but ominous voice. Very, very faintly, Kakyoin hears some muffled screams, but he can't figure out the direction of them.
"Who are you?" Kakyoin shouts up and around him, listening desperately for any clue about the whereabouts of the voice.
"I'm just a loving mother, Kakyoin." The low, elderly voice oozes unsettling tenderness as it reverberates through the room the two stand in. With the thickness of the fog, whereever they are standing feels as if it extends infinitely in all directions. "You see, what really matters is…"
The fog clears slightly at the top of the escalator. A short, shriveled old woman stands at the top, clutching a gnarled walking stick. Her head is adorned with a headdress, and numerous pits and blemishes fill in the spaces between her wrinkles. She picks up the walking stick and points it directly at Polnareff, still leaning on Kakyoin's shoulder.
"-That I'm here to kill that son-murdering ingrate!" Polnareff pushes off of Kakyoin and, from the corner of his eye, Kakyoin notices the fire in Polnareff's gaze.
"You…you have two right hands! You're that bastard's mother? Chariot!" Silver Chariot bursts from within Polnareff, settling into a duelist's stance.
"My beautiful son…died at your hands!" The previously calm voice has flared in intensity and, as the old woman speaks, fog billows out from her. Polnareff starts to sprint up the escalator, but Kakyoin stops him with a calming hand.
"She's provoking you…"
"I know! That witch doesn't know what she's getting herself into…"
"She does, Kakyoin. Haven't you noticed? None of those corpses have shown up in a while."
"Tch…" Polnareff clenches his teeth and looks around the both of them. The room, too, fills with a deeper fog as they wait.
"Oh, my son…" The hag's voice echoes throughout the room. "In remembrance of your wonderful life, I have two offerings…"
Two? Me and-
"Polnareff. And this fine young lady…" In a flash, the fog clears in a section of the upper floor. A small metal railing veils half of the figure revealed, but Kakyoin's heart drops as he looks. As if a spotlight was cast upon the figure, he sees a woman, tears in her eyes. In her left hand, a long, sharp stiletto blade. Her right hand seems to be gripping her own mouth, with visible circular wounds in both of her forearms.
"You witch!" Polnareff attempts to leap up and grab the second floor with Silver Chariot's extended arm, but before he can.
No. No!
The innocent woman plunges the knife into her jugular, her arms fully out of her control. Blood splatters over the railing and the woman collapses.
"You're as much a monster as your shitbag son!" Pulling himself over the rail, Polnareff disappears from sight as the fog re-envelops the second floor.
"Hierophant Green!" Kakyoin's Stand coils its snake-like lower body and slithers up the wall to join Polnareff, but as he draws closer he hears Polnareff scoff at someone unseen.
"Who the hell are you? One of her minions?"
"Okay now, I can explain." A voice coos out in an anxious Southern American accent.
"You're the one pointing the gun at me, asshole. Move it or I carve you to bits."
"I really wish I could, kid. But uh, y'all ever think that the guy with the gun AIN'T pullin' the strings?" As Hierophant draws closer, he sees a blonde haired man with a cowboy hat brandishing a gun standing directly in Polnareff's way.
"Last chance, cowboy."
"If I were you, kid, I'd run. And probably duck." Through Hierophant's eyes, Kakyoin spots a hole in the gunman's hand, right before he pulls the trigger.
"Polnareff! Do as he says!"
"What?" Confused, Polnareff attempts to swipe at the oncoming bullet, but-
He can't see it in the fog! He's going to get hit! Unless…
Water rushes between Hierophant's hands, who turns to face Polnareff beside it.
"Emerald Splash!"
Karachi, 2220 Miles from Cairo
Hm. Somewhere through the terminal…
Avdol steps cautiously but firmly through the doors by the terminal. Sure enough, a car is pulled up by the curb. Sadly, the hot rod had seen better days. Bloodstains coated the concrete around it, and the doors had been wrenched off and thrown around. A few zombie-like corpses are still pinned under them, lifeless.
"Jotaro, amazing as ever…" He looks down on the compass, detecting a faint response from within the main doors. Judging from the signs, these doors lead straight into the airport shops.
Now, from what I can gather, the enemy user probably has no way to defend himself other than with his bare hands.
Avdol pushes the doors open, only taking the slightest note of the gruesome sight within. Inactive bodies lie in piles, answering the mystery of what happened here. A massacre.
DIO…a coward and a monster. A demon and a vampire.
The light on his compass grows stronger as he delves further into the strip of stores and restaurants. The fog appears to be much more sparse here, and the bodies lie on the ground as if they were discarded toys. As he continues, Avdol can make out a faint sound of shouting coming from what appears to be a kebab shop further ahead.
"Anne?" Avdol speaks loudly without shouting, but he's a bit too far to get much of a response. Yet, something feels a bit off. He stops, eyeing the piles of bodies around him. They are all still, but…
The doors!
When he entered, the doors had been closed, yet they were wide open now. Fog seeps in, flooding the place with an impenetrable curtain. Eyes darting here and there, Avdol spots small tendrils of fog reaching for the piles of bodies.
"Magician's Red!" Dismissing the compass and summoning his Stand, Avdol squares himself in the midst of the shopping strip. Countless bodies begin to rise up, disentangling themselves from each other in a grim display.
Hm. This can't have been a trap. If I can just stop more fog from coming in, I should be able to deal with the rest…
The corpses shamble closer, more rising from the piles near him. However, Avdol simply takes a deep breath closes his eyes. Then-
"Crossfire Hurricane!" An ankh shaped fire blast carves its way straight through some of the bodies and out of the front door, where he came in. Still, more bodies stand up and pile in, fog rolling through the freshly burnt hole in the glass doors…
And then, a massive explosion. His blast had hit dead on, the sports car just outside bursting into a massive conflagration. A wave from the explosion thins the air around it, bringing in a cloud of smoke with it. Avdol raises a sleeve to his face and ducks below the smoke cloud, all the while looking about at the horde around him. Slowly, they begin to drop limply, collapsed into a heap.
Seems like the fog is semi-autonomous, so unless the user is actively focusing on an area, the fog is less potent. Better move and get Anne quickly, I'm sure they noticed that one.
Running down the strip of shops, he sees a small head pop out of the kebab shop.
"What the FUCK was that?" The little head shouts.
Heh. Glad to see she's okay.
Avdol smiles to himself. Before long he catches up to the squinting head, who shouts with a tone of delight.
"Avdol?! You're okay! I thought Old Man Joseph wrecked your plane."
"I wouldn't doubt it, I've been on enough planes with him…" Avdol sighs, but then peers past the small girl into the kebab shop. A man's head is peeping above the counter, obviously shaking.
"Oh yeah, this is the guy threatening Joseph."
"Ah, so his story has more credence…" Avdol frames his chin with two fingers, examining the man in more detail.
"Yeah, he put something inside him that makes him take the same hits, so I was trying to cut off his left hand. Cuz, y'know, Joseph ALSO doesn't have a left hand."
"GET THAT CRAZY GIRL AWAY FROM ME!" The man behind the counter shouts.
"Oh, she's not the one you have to worry about…" Avdol steps forward, Magician's Red radiating flames around him. "I don't know who that young man is, nor do I really care. But what I'd like you to tell me…"
The man behind the counter shivers a bit before answering.
"…What?"
"In your prior experience, does your Stand work if I burn you to a crisp in one go?" Avdol conjures up some flames, and shoots a warning gush of flames over the man's head. The fire impacts the tiled wall behind the counter, sending hot shards of it flinging back at the man. He yelps in pain, but then stands up straight, laughing.
"Hahahaha! You people never let me explain myself! If you kill me, my Stand will take out whoever I'm linked with! Kill me if you dare! Even if you don't, those little burns you gave me will be multiplied tenfold towards Joseph Joestar!" The enemy user stands up, proud and fearless.
"He does this every once in a while." Anne says, unimpressed.
"Ah." Avdol crosses his arms and taps his elbow. "You do indeed have me in a tough spot."
"I see you're a smart man, Avdol. My name is Steely Dan. I'm sure we can work something out to make sure no one gets hurt."
"Oh?" Avdol responds, intrigued.
"Yes, all you have to do is kiss my shoe right here." He puts his shined black dress shoe on the counter, a smug look on his face. "And I'll give you thirty more minutes before I kill Joseph."
"Really? As generous as that is…" Avdol raises his hands and gestures them, Magician's Red following suit. "I'm just too indecisive. Anne, would you care to make a decision for me?"
With a flick of his hands, Avdol gestures again at Steely Dan. In response, Magician's Red spins around, gathering flames in its mouth and wrists, before firing them at Steely Dan. The flames form half rings that pin the enemy to the wall, one for each of his limbs and one for his neck.
"I take it you shoot a lot of invisible fire, Avdol, but he looks like he's glued to the wall…" Anne puts her switchblade away, then walks up to Steely Dan with a devilish look in her eye.
"Hey! This burns a lot! You're hurting, Joseph!" The pinned man squeals as the little girl comes closer.
"Yeah, but he deserves it. Now let's see if he feels this." She reaches below the counter and pulls out a butcher's knife, inspecting its sharpness before her eyes lock onto Steely Dan's left hand.
Hm. It's a shame she doesn't have a Stand.
With a deep breath, Anne's butcher knife starts to crackle with a faint energy. Hamon, something Avdol had seen Joseph use on only a few occasions.
It seems our mystery man was telling the truth. But teaching her Hamon…
She reels back, ready to slam the knife against the wall. Steely Dan has his eyes closed and his teeth clenched.
An excellent idea. We shall get along well.
A loud cry can be heard all the way to the smoldering remains of the sports car out front. Another, louder cry, can be heard from the tarmac.
END of CONVERGENCE 2