Cassie and Marco landed on the building platform and demorphed as Giorno and Mista ran up. Giorno had infused Mista's bullets with plant life, and vines were squeezing the helicopter to the building, preventing the escape of the enemy stand user inside. Mista shot his bullets through the helicopter.
"This almost seems too easy," Marco muttered suspiciously.
It was at that moment that little wounds appeared on Mista's body, indicating that Sex Pistols had taken damage.
"Mista! Withdraw your stand!" Giorno exclaimed.
"Can't," Mista cried weakly. More wounds appeared on him, and he sunk down to the ground.
"Marco, guard the turtle and look after Mista," Giorno said, putting it down. "Cassie and I will go after that guy!" Cassie began to morph, and Giorno climbed up the vine, entering the helicopter.
"Giorno, get back! It's a trap!" One of Mista's bullets cried out. Giorno's breath was knocked out of him as the stand user punched him. It wasn't the whole stand user- just his arm! Similar to Bucciarati unzipping himself back on the train fight, this stand user had used his mold powers to block his blood flow, allowing him to separate his body parts. And now Giorno was in danger of falling from the helicopter, the mold already beginning to crawl along his hair. And soon, he was falling. He used Gold Experience to create a vine and raced back to the helicopter.
"Giorno! Watch out!" Abbacchio had come out of the turtle, tending to Mista's wounds. "The mold is eating the branches!"
Abbacchio's warning was too late. Giorno was falling. Marco raced to try to catch him, but Giorno had missed the ledge and was falling toward the hard ground, stories above it.
The stand user cackled. "Yes, give me more! More!" He shouted, enthralled with the violence.
One of Mista's bullets went through the enemy's cheek. "I knew the mold would eat the branches. Because of that, the bullet turned back into a bullet. This might surprise you, but seeing you like this brings me no joy. Not a bit!" Giorno declared.
In her wolf morph, Cassie couldn't help but think that made him even more attractive. As someone who didn't enjoy the war at all or inflicting pain on the enemy, it felt good to know that Giorno understood that. Racing forward, she grabbed him by the neck of his suit, pulling him to safety.
"Thank you, Cassie," he told her. They looked at the enemy, who was now laying on the branches.
"Is he dead?" Abbacchio asked.
No, Cassie reported. I can hear his heartbeat.
"How are we going to kill him?" Marco asked quietly. "Climbing up the vines would take too long!"
"If you behave," Giorno told the enemy, "I'll show you mercy." He began to climb the vines.
"You fool!" The enemy shouted, grinning. He sat up. "My right arm detached from my body and now it's going to get your friend!"
Marco screamed as the mold attacked him, getting all over his body at once. He collapsed, unable to think about trying to morph.
Marco! Cassie cried out.
"Marco!" Abbacchio echoed, just as alarmed as she was.
The enemy cried out as a beetle burst from the side of his head, courtesy of Gold Experience's powers.
"Leave my friends alone, you piece of shit!" Giorno roared. Using his stand, he pounded the guy until he went flying from the building and into a garbage truck down below. Cassie hadn't watched it; her eyes were on Marco.
Once the enemy was in the garbage truck, the mold on Marco subsided, and everyone could breathe again.
Meanwhile, Bucciarati had escaped the mold.
The other stand user is defeated, Jake reported to him. Giorno got him.
"Good," Bucciarati murmured to himself. "Now I just have to take care of this guy- though it won't be easy at all."
The ground around him had become mush, and was now holding him in place.
Tobias? Jake asked his friend in private thought-speak. Bucciarati needs help. And I think you have one of the morphs to do it.
Bucciarati narrowed his eyes at the enemy, watching as he took a phone call. He didn't notice the red-tailed hawk flying into an alleyway to morph.
The enemy ran for the colosseum. Bucciarati called out Sticky Fingers and threw a pole at the wall, which impaled it, stopping the enemy from the running. The pole unzipped into two halves, and Bucciarati tried to zip them together and trap the enemy. Unfortunately for him, the enemy jumped before he could get him. Using the power of his stand, the pole was flung back at Bucciarati. He barely dodged in time, his own zipper slashing his throat, not fatally, thankfully. Pressing his hand to his throat, he tried to stop the bleeding.
Tobias? You ready?
Yeah. I can smell him. Should I attack him now?
No. You're going to dig through the ground. That's how you'll get him.
What?
It's how his stand works.
Jake was demorphing and remorphing as well. He heard Bucciarati cry out in pain, and the sound of glass breaking. When he finished morphing, the enemy was on the ground, talking to himself about how Bucciarati was trying to mimic his powers by moving underground with Sticky Fingers.
Jake struck! He thrust his nose forward and the enemy went flying, thrown a few feet in the air and crashing in the same spot Bucciarati had been.
"What….was that?" He gasped, winded.
Jake's rhinoceros morph had gotten him, but not good enough. He staggered to his feet, stomach bleeding, and rasped, "Where the hell did this creature come from?"
Jake braced himself for a counterattack, but it never came. The enemy was underground again, searching for Bucciarati. Jake hoped he had bought him and Tobias some time.
Tobias smelled flesh. His hunger was insatiable, the brain of his Taxxon morph craving food. For a few moments he forgot about the mission, until he came across Bucciarati.
Sorry if I scared you, he apologized, seeing the frightened look on the capo's face. It's Tobias. I'm in Taxxon morph.
It was at that moment that the underground walls became soft and rubbery. The enemy was catching up to them. "Stay still," Bucciarati said. "He can sense movement!"
For a few moments, everything was calm. And then Bucciarati yelled in agony as sharp pieces of rocks went through his skin. Tobias was barely aware of the pain of his own wounds from that same mud when he smelled Bucciarati's blood. It was a meal! He had to feast before his prey got away!
Tobias lunged for Bucciarati, but Bucciarati ran, using his stand to zip through the underground. Tobias went after him.
"Tobias!" Bucciarati bellowed. "Get ahold of yourself!" He received no response. He emerged from underground. "Tobias! Get out of there! You're in danger!"
He punched a pole and zipped it into pieces, sending the pieces underground towards the enemy, hoping to buy Tobias some time. He stared at his skin in horror. Was it…melting? That bastard could do that with his powers?
The enemy had found him! He was thrown into the air, landing inside the pavement-mud and sinking to face the enemy.
"Got you now!" The enemy was gleeful. Unknown to him, Tobias was right behind him. CHOMP! Tobias's teeth ripped a hole through the wound in his stomach that Jake had given him. He screamed in agony. Panicking, he returned to the surface only to discover that he was in the middle of the road. Cars were everywhere. One ran over his leg, and he crawled to the side of the road, onto the sidewalk, where Bucciarati was waiting.
"Just what the hell is that creature you sent after me?" The enemy demanded.
"I didn't send him after you," Bucciarati replied calmly.
I did!
Jake's rhinoceros feet stamped on the already gaping wound. The enemy screamed in agony.
"Finish him off," Bucciarati calmly told Jake.
Jake lowered his head, shoving his horn inside the wound. Rearing his head back, he tossed the enemy into the same garbage truck Giorno had tossed the other one into. As it drove away, Jake and Tobias demorphed behind a billboard.
"Great work, ragazzi," Bucciarati praised the two animorphs. "I don't know what I would've done without your help. Now let's regroup and we can go to the Colosseum."