New Delhi, the top of this damn hotel
Hol Horse cautiously takes a few tip-toed steps into the hallway dividing the two penthouse suites. It's still extremely late at night, and the silence is only broken by the hum of the fluorescents above. His eyes are intent on the door on the left hand side, and he hugs the wall as he scoots every closer. He whispers, "Emperor" and a silver revolver manifests in his right hand. The cylinder rattles quietly as he firmly grips his Stand.
Hopefully, the bastards will be sleeping. Get rid of Jotaro in his sleep, and I don't reckon the guy with the scarf will be a problem. Shit, what if Jotaro wakes up? My damn partner hasn't contacted me, and that kid'll beat the piss outta me. I heard what he did to the goddamn orangutan.
A beat of sweat rolls down Hol Horse's brow as he clenches his teeth in anxiety. Suddenly, he feels a damp hand grasp the top of his right shoulder, right near his neck. Hol Horse nearly screams as whips around to find the gorgeous Indian woman from the airport recoiling a few steps behind him, concerned. He dissipates Emperor, and straightens himself to regain some dignity.
"Uh, sir, are you okay?" Her right hand is still coated in blood, though it had mostly dried at this point.
"Yes, of course, well-" He stammers in both shame and confusion. "I'm more wonderin' what the hell you're doin' here."
"You ran off when I asked for a ride, I thought to myself, 'Oh, he must be late for something.' So I followed you to the hotel and the staff said you were meeting someone up here. So I ran up the stairs and-" The woman seems to nearly sob out the last few words.
"Nah, darlin'. Just droppin' something off with a few old friends. Run along to the lobby now, I'll be down in a few minutes to fetch my dear horse." Hol Horse stands proud with his hands on his hips, winking as he finishes his sentence.
"Oh…alright. I'll wait at the door for you, my dear Hol Horse…" She looks down at the carpet below and mopes her way to the door to the stairwell. Hol Horse turns back to his destination, only catching a glimpse of a smirk on the woman's face as she looks back one last time before disappearing.
That damn lady is a stalker. I don't even know her name…wait, did I ever give her mine? Ah, shit, I'm runnin' out of moonlight. Let's get this over with.
He sidles himself right next to the door, only to notice the right shoulder of his shirt is coated with a bloody handprint. The blood seems to seep through his clothes, leaving his neck uncomfortably damp.
That's just disgustin'. I'll have to stop in the laundry room on the way back, don't need the authorities stoppin' me for having blood all over my damn shirt.
Hol Horse twists into a crouch in front of the hotel door, and notices the door is slightly ajar. His eyes dart to either end of the hallway, then he leans in to peek into the penthouse. Inside, he sees a sleeping Joseph sprawled out on the couch, hand still clutching a glass full of water sitting on the nearby coffee table. With a deep breath, Hol Horse stills himself.
This damn fool probably passed out when he got in and left the door open. Perfect for me, now I don't have to kick this door down.
"Emperor." The cold metal of the revolver rests comfortably into his hand. Taking one last chance to survey his surroundings, he scans the inside of the room as much as he can while he itches his blood-soaked shoulder with his Stand. There appears to be a kitchen counter on the right, and a large window overlooking the skyline in the back of the room. Presumably, there's rooms on the left and right of the main area, and one of those has Jotaro in it.
Alright, here goes nothin'.
He leans into door, pushing it slowly and quietly as he enters. His hand clutches the grip of his handgun tight and, as soon as the door opens fully, a heavy metal object lands square on Hol Horse's head. Not heavy enough to knock him out, but heavy enough to make a clatter against the door frame.
Agh, god dammit! Shit, shit, shit, that hurts!
Hol Horse grabs the top of his head through his hat and stamps his boots into the carpet in pain. He opens his clenched eyes to notice the object that hit him: a saucepan. His eyes snap up and look at the couch, only to see a still sleeping Joseph resting peacefully. The room is once again silent, and his eyes dart around to either side to see if anyone stirs from the sound. After about 30 seconds of no activity, he straightens up and smirks at his reflection in the glass on the other side of the room.
New Delhi, 1988
Without opening his eyes, Joseph takes a deep breath as he feels the ripples in the glass of water he's holding.
"The next thing you'll say is, 'That damn fool could sleep through his own funeral,' isn't it?" Joseph opens his eyes and looks directly at the smug cowboy in the doorway.
"That damn fool could sleep through his own funeral." The cowboy's eyes snap to Joseph's, and his jaw begins to hang limp in realization.
"Too slow!" Joseph flings the glass in his hand directly at Hol Horse's face, clocking him right between the eyes. The glass shatters, the water within crackling with Hamon. Springing up from the couch, Joseph rolls to the right side of the room towards the kitchen. He sees the muzzle flash from the man's gun, and a bullet slugs itself directly where Joseph's head used to be.
This guy's a good shot, or he was just ready to kill me on sight. Either way, it seems the gun really is his Stand. I could feel the ripples of it materializing in the hallway. He seems to have a partner in the stairwell, too. Better take him down quick.
Hol Horse wipes the blood from over his eyes, the glass having only cut him on his brow and cheeks. Just as he opens his eyes once more, Joseph has already dashed up to him. With a flash of purple, he wraps his Stand around the cowboy's torso several times, and then swiftly grabs the cowboy's hat.
"I'm not a target dummy today, assassin." He pulls Hol Horse's hat down hard over his bloodied brow and yanks on the purple vine, causing the man to spin around like a top as the vines lift him slightly mid-pull. Joseph almost silently backflips behind the kitchen counter, watching the man become unraveled. With a stumbling landing, the cowboy pulls his gun up at a sudden sound of a door opening. Without hesitation, he fires at the sound while pulling up his hat.
"Joseph, why are you so loud, you idiot?" Anne says sleepily as she rounds the corner of the doorframe from her room. The bullet seems to move at only half the speed of a normal one, but is careening right at Anne's head. Joseph bolts immediately up in a panic, but sees Hol Horse's eyes widen as he, too, sees the young girl in the doorway. Seemingly in recognition, the bullet makes a 90 degree turn upwards and, instead of hitting Anne, embeds itself into the ceiling.
"Get the hell outta here, little girl!" Hol Horse shouts as he recenters his focus on Joseph. The silver sheen of Emperor flashes its aim towards Joseph, and fires once more. Joseph ducks back behind the counter, and rolls back towards the window a few feet. Mid-roll, he notices the bullet almost soar over the counter, then curve its way straight down to where Joseph would've been hiding.
He can move the damn bullet mid-flight? At least it looks like he can't see through the thing, and has to know where I am to hit me…Damn. I don't think Jotaro would stand a chance. He's all brute force, and who knows how quick he can move that bullet, maybe even faster than Star Platinum can stop. I better keep this guy close, I should be able to take him on in hand to hand.
Joseph readies himself into a crouch, before breathing Hamon deep into himself and punching the side of the wooden counter. The ripples flow throughout the wood and concrete that lies below the carpeted flood, and Joseph can feel Hol Horse dashing to aim behind the counter. He launches the purple vines from his arms and leans back against the glass of the window, eyes intent on the front wall of the hotel room.
Sure enough, he sees the blond cowboy leap to do a rolling shot, only for his left leg to be caught by the vines. With a fluid motion, Joseph reels his left arm back and elbows the window with a Hamon-infused strike, shattering the entirety of the window behind him, while also rolling backwards out of the building. Right before he plunges, he hears the fire of the foe's Stand. His right arm grips the protruding vines tight, and the resulting fall yanks Hol Horse down and dragging him to the now blown open window.
The bullet zooms harmlessly into the skyline as Hol Horse is dragged on his back towards a long fall. His gun dissipates as he grips onto the front of the counter with all his might.
"No no no no, I hate heights! Let me go!" Hol Horse tries to kick at the vines holding his other leg, but a sudden snap of tension rips him from his handhold. Soon after, the cowboy goes careening down the side of the 20 story hotel.
Bathed in the moonlight reflecting of the blurring windows, Hol Horse sees the falling Joseph only a story down, falling just as fast.
"Emperor!" Hol Horse tries to manifest his Stand, but is thrusted at Joseph with a jerk of the vines, which now seem to be receding into him.
Alright, now to see what kind of party the tenth floor is having.
Joseph reels the cowboy into an arm's length away, and grasps him tight in bear hug. The man wriggles in his grasp, but Joseph quickly twists and knees the man hard in the gut, knocking him to the side and into a glass window a ways down the side of the building. In the split second of the glass being shattered, he spots the headboard of a bed and snaps his Stand at it.
He drops below that floor and sees himself in the reflection of the glass of the next floor down. He feels a tug, and pulling with all his might swerves his momentum to crash into the window at full speed. Shards of glass litter the empty bedroom in front of him as he plows straight into the side of the mattress.
Aw, looks like an empty room. Oh well, gives me time to think about how to beat this guy. Bastard didn't have to share his blood with me, though.
Joseph looks in disdain as he notices the spot of blood on his left shoulder, and absentmindedly scratches it as he stands up and cracks his back. He hears a pounding on the floor above him of several people running around, and some terrified screams of what sounds like a couple storming out of a bedroom.
Lucky bastard probably got an eyeful. Still, he didn't seem like pure evil, not like those other guys Jotaro dealt with. Maybe a little cocky and stupid, but perhaps he's open to reason…
New Delhi, 42 Days Remaining
Jotaro tackles through the door of his room into the living room. He hears screaming coming from the newly opened window, and sees Anne staring curiously out of the opening.
"What happened?"
"Uh, looks like Joseph telepathically dragged a cowboy out of the window after he tried to shoot us."
"Yare yare daze…" Jotaro merely grabs the brim of his hat as he sees his grandfather chuck the assailant into the lower floors before pulling himself in as well. "Stay here, Anne. I'll save the idiot." Jotaro then trudges his way wearily towards the front door, only giving a slight glance at the saucepan on the floor.
At least he planned. But good grief, I can't even get one night's sleep…
He rounds his way out to the hallway and starts towards the stairwell, only to notice a head peeking from the far away door. It darts back in and slams the door to the stairwell behind it, and Jotaro notices a small blood smear on the wall near the penthouse door.
So there's two of them. And, blood…
His glare sharpening, he starts to sprint towards the stairwell.
END OF CHAPTER 8