Well, I'm finally continuing updates but I'm trying to make more of an effort to proof-read and use better language. Also tried to make it less 'wall of text' even if it looks worse imo. Reviews and feedback welcome! If this is much better I'll go back through the story and try to put this style into all of it.
The newly formed trio of Jojo, Havoc and Kinks made their way towards the Hotel Ornya through the surprisingly quiet city streets of Wisconsin. Kinks was busy trying to dial Jennifer and his loud protests of her undying love (which she must've temporarily forgotten about) fell on deaf ears.
Havoc was stroking his chin and clearly deep in thought while Jojo confirmed what he'd already suspected from a brief glimpse at the cell phone positioning.
"He's in his room, on his own" Jojo announced, but with a hesitant note to his voice "But I don't think it's been used for days. It's hard to tell"
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like Endo" Havoc muttered "He'd be out looking for Moonchild, or getting wasted in a bar" this last point made Kinks nod vigourously, clearly the two of them had been partners for a long time.
Jojo had a brief moment to wonder why he was paired with Havoc, Hildie had made it sound like he was legendary amongst Mission X and he was pretty amazing. But having said that, it didn't sound like the other Mission X members had particularly devestating Stand abilities. As far as he'd seen, only he and Havoc had offensive based Stands. Which might be why they were paired together, so he could learn some tricks for himself.
He smiled, thinking that this was some compliment from Vicious. He wasn't aware that this was actually meant to be a solo mission for Havoc and when he said he'd brought him so he didn't get bored he really meant it, genuinely. Still, a little ego boost was good for anyone.
As they approached the Hotel Ornya, Jojo was temporarily overwhelmed by the size of the thing. It was huge, beyond huge, if he thought that Kalifa was classy this was beyond anything he'd ever seen. With an almost sheepish shuffle, he pulled the beanie off of his head and held it tightly in one hand. Anything to look just a little more presentable.
"How did you guys afford this? Vicious hasn't got a perfect credit rating, y'know" Havoc smirked, trying to hide exactly how jealous he was of this. Kinks just laughed and rubbed his nose with a huge grin stretched over his face
"Hey, we just got here and were told we were the 10,000th visitor and we got our rooms paid for free! We even got an unlimited mini-bar!"
"Which explains why Endo's in the room" Havoc sighed "Well, better safe than wiped out by B.O.C, let's take a look Jojo" the blond haired Englishman lead his two allies towards the entrance across the courtyard and ignored the smug look on Kinks' face. This place did look amazing... but something about it was bothering Jojo.
-o-o-o-
The woman at the front desk was only too happy to give Havoc and Jojo an extra room, even saying that the bill wouldn't be important. Taking a few steps outside, Jojo immediately spotted the pool and his face immediately lit up. He hadn't realised how much he missed swimming and was immediately grinning at Havoc.
With a sigh, his older partner gave him a dismissive wave of his hand but grabbed Jojo's shoulder before he got too far
"Just remember, there might be enemy Stand User's around. Don't get careless" his warning seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Jojo quickly ran across the neatly cut grass towards the pristine pool.
Havoc turned to Kinks and saw his slightly injured friend shrug. They weren't exactly convinced that there WERE more Stand Users, still, it would have been nice if Jojo were more concerned. Havoc pushed it from his mind and walked across the lobby to the elevator
"What room were you two in?" He asked, trying not to let his still forming bad mood ruin put him off his mission. Kinks seemed to think for a moment before finally pulling his keys out, doing his best not to notice the incredulous stare of Havoc's before he announced
"Room 314 it says" Kinks firmly pressed the button to call the elevator and Havoc was left only to rub his temples and try to maintain his zen. The lift arrived with a comforting 'ding' and the two heroes quickly boarded and pressed the three button.
The soft hum of elevator muzak filtered through while the two of them idly considered what to do next, Kinks glancing at his phone once again. Havoc patted him on the shoulder and sighed on his behalf
"I'm sure she's just busy, Kinks"
"I hope so, man" Kinks moaned "I don't think I have enough ear lobe left for another piercing" after a long, slightly awkward pause, Havoc reached down and pressed the button as firmly as he could in an effort to make the lift go any faster.
With the same soft 'ding' the lift doors opened onto the 3rd floor and the two Mission X members began the slow trudge to the room that had been given to them for free. Havoc held back somewhat and glanced at the paintings on the walls around him, they all seemed to be pointed towards Room 314 but that didn't make any sense.
As he heard Kinks' key in the lock, Havoc suddenly felt a surge of paranoia and turned to shout a warning but was too late. A huge gust of flames blew out of the door and engulfed Kinks, the other hero being fast enough to dive but he was too slow to avoid the full blast of heat and fire.
Screaming, he started rolling immediately and managed to escape being too badly burnt, but the two of them were now seperated by a wall of flame. From within the inferno, a man emerged, clad in a leather jacket and smoking a pipe he puffed out a cloud of lilac coloured smoke before he turned his head, seeing both Havoc and Kinks outside.
"Well now," he drawled "this wasn't on the agenda. Havoc Vocal, here in the Hotel Ornya. I didn't believe it until I saw you for myself. Do you know who I am?"
"Nope, and by the time I'm done nor will you" Havoc snarled, his crimson Stand emerging from behind him, eyes blazing "RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE!" with a sharp dive, his Stand swung out with both fists at the enemy, but pulled back as a wall of fire erupted out of the floor, shielding his advesary.
Havoc hissed as he felt the heat washing up his arms and quickly withdrew his Stand, leaving it to float besides him in preperation for another attack. The mysterious man chuckled, as the flames slowly subsided to reveal his face again
"My name is Cage Starter, member of B.O.C, and Stand User of Propane Nightmares. I've already taken care of one of your members" he grinned, "Now all I have to do is finish off the two of you! I'm leaving your new recruit to my friend downstairs, I'm sure they'll both have plenty of fun"
-o-o-o-
Jojo was standing besides the pool, grinning, ready to dive in when he felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. Like something was out of place, or that the whole scenario had some air of deceit about it. He chewed his lips, anxious to get back to swimming but better safe than sorry.
He called out Radiohead and with a soft whir, his robotic Stand began searching the internet for information about the Hotel Ornya. As the data streamed across his Stand's face, Jojo frowned, confused at what he was reading. Muttering he tried some alternative spellings but it was always the same.
The Hotel Ornya closed down five years ago, after a gas leak had burnt down most of the left hand side of the building. But if that was true, why couldn't he find articles about it re-opening? That must've been worth reporting on after the severity of the accident.
His blood seemed to run cold as the idea slowly dawned on him. Very carefully, he turned to look at the other people by the pool-side. Girls in bikinis, guys in trunks, all having fund and diving into the water... but the closer he looked the stranger they looked. Radiohead focused in on them and Jojo stumbled back in shock.
They were all dead, they were moving in a life-like way but they were quite clearly dead bodies. Their skin was pale and their eyes blank as they ran around the pool, diving in and swimming around. He noticed one lose an eye as it simply fell from the socket and drifted to the bottom of the pool.
Holding back the urge to vomit, Jojo staggered towards the reception and saw the woman from before, he hadn't really noticed her before but she had long auburn coloured hair down to her waist, bright blue eyes and dark lipstick on. Her uniform consisted of a blouse, blue skirt and a red cravate. But as Jojo watched her appearance slowly changed.
With a green glow, a strangely shaped device appeared around her fore-arm in the shape of a high-tech gauntlet. Rows of dials and switches seemed to cover it as a second one appeared over her other arm, a helmet finally materialised over her head, a visor with a running red light beeping as she looked at Jojo
"Oh dear, are you lost, sir? You must allow me to direct you to your room. There's going to be a riot out here soon" her voice was distorted by the helmet but Jojo was too confused by what she was saying.
To his horror, the dead bodies clambered out of the pool and a legion of others appeared from within the hotel, all walking normally unless otherwise disabled. Jojo noticed one with a broken leg who was clearly dragging it behind him. As they surrounded him he had a sudden thought, Radiohead's face flashed quickly before returning to a news article.
7 years ago there'd been a riot in this town, centred around the Hotel. It seems they'd been a lynch mob after one man who'd abused a local girl and who they strung up besides the pool. Glancing to the woman Jojo realised exactly what her plan was as he saw the corpses suddenly lunge at him with rage filled faces, fingers grabbing in a perfect re-enactment of the lynching.
-o-o-o-
Keeping his distance, Havoc began to wonder how to deal with this opponent. He could hear the constant hiss of gas escaping from the room behind Starter which at least gave him an idea of his enemies Stand but it looked like he wasn't triggering the sprinklers. Which most likely meant he couldn't stop the fire without first stopping the gas.
Havoc tensed himself ready to attack Starter, his enemy clearly seeing it as he smirked and tensed but was caught unawares as Rage against the Machine swung out, shattering the plaster wall besides him and leading to room 312. Diving through the open hole, Havoc quickly had his Stand grab the bed and slam it into the gap to try and seal it.
This worked momentarily but was incinerated by another burst of flame, this time from Room 314 itself. Havoc was knocked over by the attack and crashed into the far side of the room, landing in a heap, he stayed crouched on the floor as he looked around quickly. The walls began to burn and release clouds of foul smelling smoke as Starter moved through the burning remains to face Havoc, grinning at the blaze.
"You planned to shut off the gas? Not bad, good deduction. It's true, Propane Nightmares only allows me to ignite and shape the flames, I can't create them from nothing. But that doesn't do you any good, as long as I can find you I can shield against any attack you have-"
Starter's gloating was cut short by a sound like a gunshot, but the silver ball rocketted past his head and embedded itself in the plaster besides Havoc's head instead of hitting him. Starter smiled, his teeth glinting in the light of the flames
"Ohh? Still got some fight in you, Kinks?" Starter asked, turning behind him to see the young Mission X member standing again, despite the angry pink splotches across his skin. His breathing was uneven and ragged but he held Pinball Wizard in his hand aimed at him. "Too bad I'm too fast for you"
"GOOOO!" Starter whipped around to see Havoc and Rage against the Machine hurling a large chunk of the wall at him. He immediately panicked, that shot had been a diversion! He'd fallen for it too readily, he realised, cursing himself. He blasted out flames at the lump of plaster and dry-wall, destroying the attack before it connected but as he looked he saw a single glint of silver.
Too slow, the ball smacked his fore-head and Starter found himself staggering back, annoyed. They'd gotten him, but was that all they had? He couldn't see why Master Romance thought them so dangerous. Mustering his flames for another attack he realised that both Kinks and Havoc had moved.
How had they done that? They'd moved silently, he hadn't heard a thing. Growling, he summoned his flames again and began scorching the rooms to try and force them out of hiding.
In the hallway, the two Mission X members were panting for air, trying to dislodge the smoke caught in their chests from that latest encounter.
"I'm glad that one made him deaf" Kinks wheezed "But do you think he really did it?"
"I don't know... Endo's Stand isn't known to B.O.C. They only know of mine, the Dropkick Murphys and St Jimmy's. We'll have to hope they didn't work out it's ability." Havoc dragged himself to his feet and got ready to attack again when a sudden exlosion of flames knocked both him and Kinks backwards again.
The force was much greater than last time as Havoc's body shattered through the door to Room 315, he felt himself crash onto the bed and bounce backwards through the window. As the glass around him shattered he flailed himself around, fear gripping his heart
"Rage against the Machine!" His stand flew out but it was smaller than normal, it grabbed the edge but he felt it straining to support his weight. The fear was weakening his Stand, he had to calm down. He tried to think of something to calm him down as he looked over the three storey drop when he saw Jojo.
Surrounded by a mob of zombies, the other Stand User was fighting him while he was all alone. It looked like he seriously needed help and here he was, panicking about a little fall? He felt his heart pound faster as he grunted, flexing his Stand's arm. What kind of pathetic hero got scared over some height!
With a roar, he wrenched himself full up right and landed into the room. He heard Kinks scream as flames blasted over him again and charged directly forward. He screamed a warcry which Starter couldn't hear and seconds before he reached him he heard Starter ask the open air
"Why can't I hear his screams?"
Rage against the Machine's fist collided with Starter's face, completely surprising the enemy Stand User and crashing him through the floor with an almighty cross punch. Not taking the time to check the damage he'd inflicted, Havoc rushed to examine Kinks.
He was badly burnt, his hair singed off and his ear piercings half melted to his ears in bubbling pools of metal. Havoc was as gentle as he could with his friends scorched skin as he laid him down. A sudden eruption of fire behind him warned that the fight wasn't over yet
Rising up from the hole in the floor, Starter surrounded himself with a tower of fire and glared down at Havoc, pure fury in his eyes. It was quite strange being on the recieving end of a stare like that, Havoc noted without any humour. Fighting against a Stand like this was very bad for him, the abilities clearly put him at a disadvantage.
As Starter reared back, flames gathering in the palm of his hand, a flash of light caught Havoc's eye from across the corridor. With no warning, a shard of metal struck the side of Starter's body and bowled the fire wielding Stand User over.
Bewildered, he looked up to see a man standing at the end of the corridor. Dark hair dropping across his brow, concealing one eye but flicking at the ends into curves, there stood a man in a bath towel, he looked slightly older than Kinks and Havoc but also particularly embaressed by being dressed in the towel.
Standing besides him was a strange figure with three clawed feet, legs composed of silver rings and a dull bronze coloured torso. Rather than arms, it had huge golden wings and it's head appeared to be a human statue with no emotions but wearing a bird like helmet. The man wiped his brow from the heat and the metal item lodged in Starter was suddenly obvious as a feather
"That took longer than I thought," the man grunted "Can't believe you caught me off guard" Havoc grinned broadly at the newcomer while Starter looked suddenly horrified, the flames flickering in uncertainty
"You can't be here, I, I burnt you alive!" Starter screeched, trying to back away, the flames began erupting around him to form a wall of fire in an attempt to protect himself from the advancing figure despite his ludicrous attire.
"I got better, Rise Against!" The man shouted, the bird like Stand squawked in reply, it's wings grinding as they unfolded and lay flat, pointing towards Starter as the B.O.C member tried to get away. With a roar the feathers launched one after the other aiming at the fleeing Stand User
"RAI RAI RAI RAI RAI RAI RISE AGAINST!" the Stand bellowed as the feathers pierced the enemy Stand User over and over again before finally sending one last fletching at him and impaling Starter to the far wall. It took a few seconds but the raging inferno around them snuffed itself out of existance leaving the hallway completely charred and burnt but still in existance.
With a sniff the man raised a hand to Havoc in greeting and made sure the towel was secure
"How's it going, man. Sorry, I was indisposed for a while"
"It's fine, Endo" Havoc sighed, trying to ignore the rapidly cooling sweat on his back and how singed his clothes were. The two of them were too distracted by Kinks to exchange many pleasentries.
Kinks was lying on the carpet, patches of his skin scorched black the rest a deep red, he looked in terrible condition. Endo's face trembled with emotion as he rested a hand on his friend's fore-head. He was still breathing, but it was faint. Havoc was already dialing for an ambulance when he remembered Jojo
"Shit, this went to hell quickly" Havoc growled to himself. Tossing the phone to Endo, he ran back to the lifts. Endo looked up as he was running
"Where are you going?"
"I have to go help Jojo" Havoc shouted, his hand rapidly hammering the button to summon the elevator. He could hear Endo sighing deeply and turned, slightly angry at the other man's seeming obstinance and refusal to help
"If this friend of yours is fighting the other Stand User, then he's already dead. That Stand is completely invincible!"
Stand Database
Stand Name: Propane Nightmares
User: Cage Starter
Power: A
Speed: C
Range: A
Staying: E
Precision: D
Learning: D
Ability: Propane Nightmares only true power is to create a spark at will but provided a source of fuel is available, then it is also possible to control the fire created by this spark and use it in anyway the user imagines. It cannot create more fire without fuel however and the flames themselves are easily extinguishable if doused by means that would work on the type in question (i.e. not water on electrical fires). It is normal for Starter to clear an area entirely of Fire Extinguishers before he starts a battle.
Stand Name: Rise Against
User: Endo Cash
Power: B
Speed: D
Range: C
Staying: A
Precision: B
Learning: C
Ability: Rise Against seems to be similar to a phoenix in it's operations, whenever Endo is killed, he can be resurrected but the time it takes is often several hours to a day. This process can be accelerated by exposing him to heat, which was the case in this instance. Rise Against can also launch bladed feathers from the tips of it's wings to attack the enemy. Unfortunately, it only repairs Endo's body and can't restore his clothes. This Stand might have hidden depths to it, like Havoc's and Jojo's but Endo doesn't seem interested in improving it since he is already, as he puts it 'Basically immortal'.