"...iel? Daniel!"

Groggily, Daniel opened his eyes to see Hiram standing over him, a worried look on the boy's face. "Huh? Hiram? Whas going on?" Still feeling dazed, he started to move his hand to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes, only to find a sudden resistance around his wrist. "Wassat?" He looked down to see a pair of handcuffs shackling him to a shelf. "Why'm I in handcuffs? Those goons…"

"Have been defeated," Hiram finished. "And you shouldn't move so much; you're probably still under the effects of oxygen deprivation."

"No, I'm fine, I'm fine," Daniel said dismissively. It wasn't the complete truth - he was feeling pretty woozy - but he wasn't about to let Hiram know that. A red and pink arm snaked out of his own, snapping the handcuff that encircled his wrist. "See?" Daniel said, attempting to give Hiram an everything-is-fine smile. "Just as good as...Hey, whosat?" A flicker of movement in Daniel's periphery distracted him from Hiram's still worried face. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the figure. "Whas...What're you doing here?"

"Good to see you too," Stan replied. "I'm glad that you seem to have recovered well, though I notice you and your friend haven't listened to me in the slightest."

"Yeah, well, you're a goon," Daniel replied. Joshua had explained to him before how Stan was apparently not their actual enemy, and how he saved them from the Cobalt Order, but Daniel still didn't fully trust the large man. He hadn't enjoyed being frozen by that creepy Stand's eyes; he had enjoyed being shot even less. "And why are you here anyway?"

"Same reason as you," Stan answered. "After our encounter, I started tracking the Cobalt Order, and it led me here. I didn't know you were planning a raid on the same night as me, but fate does have a way of bringing Stand users together." "Bulll-shit," Daniel slurred. "You were prob'ly stalking us, cuz you knew we'd find the Cobalt Order before you did." "I do not need to track children to get information," Stan replied crossly.

Daniel had to snicker at that. "You mean the children who kicked your ass?" He leaned back against the shelf, smiling at what has assuredly been a devastating comeback, when a knock on his head jostled him out of his satisfaction. "Don't be rude," Hiram said.

"Owww, Hiram, that hur-" Daniel began to complain when he was interrupted by another knock on the head. "More importantly, what were you thinking with that stunt?" Hiram asked. "Rushing in without a clue what that fog could've done to you - you're lucky it only knocked you out! What would you have done if it had been poison, or some sort of virus?"

"Well, excuse me," Daniel said, standing up to defend himself, "for trying to protect you, and-" He stopped. He had stood up too quickly, and the blood rushing from his head had made him dizzy. He stood frozen in place, the room dancing around him as he tried not to double over and throw up. "Daniel?" Hiram said, the anger in his voice immediately replaced with concern. "I'm fine!" Daniel exclaimed, dizziness subsiding. He stood up straight, shook his head, clapped his hands against his face a couple times. "I'm fine," he repeated.

Hearing the sound of a door opening behind him, he turned to see Joshua and Alexa carrying in the white-haired man's unconscious body. "Oh, you're here too?" Daniel said incredulously. "What happened to being too good for our 'suicide mission'?"

"Someone needs to be here to make sure you guys don't kill yourselves at the hands of the Cobalt Order," Alexa replied, raising an eyebrow. "You certainly seem incapable of stopping it yourself." Daniel opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't seem to find the words in the haziness of his mind, so instead he just watched in silence as Alexa and Joshua draped Ivan's body against the office chair and restrained his arms behind his back.

"Alright," Stan said, moving to the unconscious man's side. "Step back now, all of you. I'll need some space to do this right." "Sorry, but what's going on?" Daniel asked. "You came here to look for information on the Cobalt Order, right?" Stan replied, as Birdhouse in Your Soul materialized by his side. "I'm sure that searching this office will net you some pretty good results, but in my experience as a Stand hunter, the best source of information is straight from the horse's mouth." Stan made a gesture with his fist, and Birdhouse in Your Soul stabbed its claws directly into Ivan's thigh.

The white-haired Stand user woke up howling in pain, as Stan positioned himself directly in front of him. "Okay, listen closely," Stan said softly, ignoring Ivan's cries of pain. "You're going to tell me everything you know about the Cobalt Order. You're going to give me the names of its members, their addresses, and their Stands. You're going to tell me where the Cobalt Order's base is. And you're not going to try anything funny with your Stand, or Birdhouse in Your Soul will freeze you before you get so much as a puff of that smoke out."

Ivan's screams had died down, but his breathing was still short and panicked. His head jerked around violently, his eyes twitching in all directions as if searching for something. "Where is it?" He shrieked. "Gavno! Where did it go?"

"Is this the same goon I fought?" Daniel muttered. "What happened to the calm demeanor he had earlier?" "This must be the guy's true nature," Stan responded. "I've seen this sort of thing before. They act all calm and cocky while they're in control, but once the tables have been turned on them they show you who they really are. Now," he said, turning his attention back to Ivan, "you still need to answer my questions. Give me names, addresses, and Stands, or I'm going to start twisting these claws."

Ivan seemed not to hear Stan's threat, instead continuing to thrash in his seat. "Where is it?" he screamed. "My button! What happened to it?" Stan frowned. "What button?"

"The button on my collar! My button! The Cobalt Order's button! Where is it?"

Perplexed, Stan looked at Hiram, who shrugged in response. "I don't know. It probably fell off during the blast."

"Ohhhh," Ivan moaned, "This is bad, this is bad!" "Quit worrying about the button!" Stan yelled. Birdhouse in Your Soul dug its claws deeper into Ivan's thigh, causing the man to give an involuntary yelp of pain. "The only thing you need to worry about is answering my questions, starting with-"

"No, you don't understand!" Tears were streaming down Ivan's face. "That button, it - it's a Stand!" "A Stand?" Stan's voice grew soft. "What do you mean, it's a Stand?" "It's a Stand! It's connected to a Stand! It activates when we become unable to battle - please, you have to let me go!" Ivan suddenly lurched forward, sending the chair toppling over.

"Calm down," Stan said, catching the chair as it fell. "What kind of Stand? Why are you so afraid?" "I-its name is [Taste of Honey]." Ivan's voice was small now, no louder than a whisper, as the white-haired man stared at the ground. "It's a remote Stand - one attached to our buttons. When members of the Cobalt Order become unable to battle, it activates and… ohh, this is bad, this is bad! You have to let me go!" Ivan began to scream again, abruptly stopping as Stan slapped him in the face.

"Calm down!" Stan said again, more forcefully this time. "What happens when it activates?" "I-i-it comes and absorbs us," Ivan whimpered. "It takes us back to our base so we can't be interrogated. Please, let me go find my button - if it takes me back without my button the boss will think I tried to run away."

"Taste of Honey… Are you talking about that slime Stand?" Joshua asked. "You've seen it!" Ivan shouted, suddenly jolting upright. "Then you know it can't be stopped; not by other Stands or anything! Once it activates, it will stop at nothing to collect me - oh please, please let me go find my button."

"Hmm…" Stan scratched his head. "This isn't good," he finally said. "If this guy's telling the truth about this Stand, then that other guy has probably already been taken. We need to get out of here now, or we won't have anyone left to interrogate."

"Hah!" Ivan yelled in between panicked sobs. "Good luck trying to escape - all the exits in this warehouse have been sealed, and they're not so easy to bust through either." "I see, I see," Stan nodded. In a flash, Birdhouse in Your Soul's claws were at Ivan's throat, pressing just deep enough to draw a trickle of blood. "And how exactly would we unseal those exits?"

"The c-c-computer!" Ivan spat. "In the other room, the computer is connected to the - the -" His eyes suddenly went wide, and his breathing grew even faster as he pointed to the ground. "the - the - the floor! The floor!" "Connected to the floor?" Stan asked.

"The floor! "The door! There it is!"

At the base of the door, a puddle of bright green liquid had begun to slide into the room. "It's here!" Ivan shrieked. "It's come for me! Oh god, I don't have my button!" "Shit," Stan said, standing up as he pushed the screaming man to the opposite side of the room. "Sorry for swearing. One of you go to that computer and unseal the doors. I'll try to hold it off with my Stand."

Hiram nodded, and ran across the room to the side door, Alexa and Joshua following behind him. Daniel stood where he was, and watched as the green puddle grew in size, rising up and forming itself into a humanoid figure with a spiky head. Joshua had described to him what Taste of Honey looked like, but he had never actually seen it himself; he had been knocked unconscious at that time, after all. Taste of Honey finished constructing itself, and pointed at Stan with one long, green finger. "You are not the one I am here for," it said, its words coming out as watery gargles.

"[Birdhouse in Your Soul]!" Stan shouted. The purple Stand's eyes flashed, and Daniel could feel the hairs on his arms stand up as the Stand's paralyzing fear gaze was activated. Taste of Honey did not seem to notice the terrifying gaze, however, and began to ooze forward across the floor. "You are not the one I am here for," it repeated. It tilted its head, peering at the hyperventilating man behind Stan. "There you are," it said.

"That's right, I remember now," Stan said. "You weren't affected by my fear gaze. I guess because you're made of slime? Well, there's more than one way to defeat you." Raising its arm, Birdhouse in Your Soul shot two of its claws toward Taste of Honey. The claws rocketed through the slime Stand's body, and Taste of Honey peered at the tendrils embedded in its chest. "This does not affect me," it said. "I cannot be hurt."

"Oh, I know," Stan responded. "I wasn't aiming for you." With a flick of its wrist, Birdhouse in Your Soul pulled back its claws, as well as the plastic wastebasket they had embedded themselves in. As the wastebasket collided with Taste of Honey, Stan rushed forward and, grabbing the wastebasket, forced it over Taste of Honey's head. He slammed the wastebasket on the ground upside down, trapping Taste of Honey within it. "You may not be able to get hurt," he said, holding the wastebasket down with one hand, "but I can still easily trap you long enough for us to get out of here."

"That's strange, though," Joshua said from the doorway. "The thing I remember should be too big to fit under that basket." "It does seem a bit smaller," Stan considered. "Maybe its size is variable?" "Maybe," Joshua responded, "But something seems off about all this."

Daniel's attention was diverted from the conversation by the sudden sound of something dripping. He looked to his right to see a long string of green slime drop onto the floor. Above the floor, another string of slime hung out of the opening of an air vent. "Guys…" he said, his voice breaking the discussion between Stan and Joshua. As the two noticed the dripping liquid, a large blob of green slime dropped from the vent, splashing on the ground and forming itself into another spiky-headed humanoid figure. The new Taste of Honey looked toward Ivan, paused for a second, and leapt at the shrieking man.

"[Sabaton]!" Daniel cried, and in an instant the Stand was behind Ivan, pushing his chair away from the Taste of Honey. "Hiram! Have the exits been unsealed yet?" "Working on it!" came the response from the side room. "Crap!" Daniel swore, as Sabaton pushed Ivan away from the lunging slime Stand once again. "At least this thing doesn't seem to be very fast."

The Taste of Honey stood upright, and Sabaton prepared to dodge the Stand's lunge yet again. But despite appearing to face Sabaton and Ivan, the Taste of Honey suddenly flung itself backwards into Stan. Stan, who had been unprepared for the slime's swift tackle, was knocked off of the wastebasket, and the Taste of Honey trapped under it shot out like a rocket.

Sabaton pushed Ivan forward, trying to avoid the Taste of Honey's charge, but the second Taste of Honey flew to intercept the chair. Sabaton abruptly stopped in its tracks, but it was too late: a slimy tendril wrapped around one of the chair's legs, and Ivan was yanked out of Sabaton's grasp. "Crap!" Daniel swore again, as Sabaton transported itself in front of the Taste of Honey, unleashing a flurry of punches.

"EEEEEEAAAAHH!" Sabaton screamed as it punched, but to no effect: its fists sunk into the Taste of Honey futilely. "This does not affect me," the slimy Stand said, passing through Sabaton. "I cannot be hurt."

The two Taste of Honeys oozed onto Ivan, merging together as they began to envelope him in their slime. Ivan's screaming had turned into a panicked, high-pitched laugh. "It's useless!" he screeched. "Nothing can hurt Taste of Honey! It can't be stopped! There's nothing you can do!" Sabaton rushed to Ivan's side, tearing away chunks of the slime crawling up his body, but the slime only slipped through its fingers and reattached to the Taste of Honey.

"It would seem he's right," Stan said. "Our regular attacks won't harm this Stand. If we had time to figure out this thing's weakness, then maybe we'd stand a chance, but it's going to disappear in a few seconds." He slammed his fist into the wastebasket, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.

As much as he hated to admit it, Daniel had to agree. Even as Sabaton continued to gouge chunks out of Taste of Honey, the slime Stand seemed to barely even slow its crawl up Ivan's body, and had almost reached the goon's neck. "Ah, well," Daniel said, giving a small smile despite himself. "Nothing we can do then." Without warning, he suddenly dashed toward Ivan and the Taste of Honey.

"[Sabaton]!" With a shriek, the pink Stand grabbed the top of the Taste of Honey, pulling a large layer of slime away from Ivan. As Daniel ran in between the Taste of Honey and Ivan, Sabaton let go of the slime, sending it crashing back onto Ivan - and onto Daniel as well.

"Daniel!" Joshua shouted. "What are you doing?" "Straight from the horse's mouth, right?" Daniel said, raising his head to keep it above the rising slime. "We can't stop this thing from returning the goon to his base. So I'm taking this chance - I'll find the location of the Cobalt Order's base by making this thing take me there!"

Someone shouted something in response - probably something like "Daniel, wait!" - but by that point the slime had risen above Daniel's ears. He took one more deep breath before the Taste of Honey completely engulf him, and watched as the world around him slipped away into a green-tinged darkness.

-To Be Continued- Fly in Honey (Act 2)