Between the 6th and 8th Floor of Silver Tower, Searching for N'doul
Hm.
Kakyoin's eyes dart between the sheets of drywall, the exposed electrical gang boxes, the half finished floors. It can be a bit dizzying at times, looking between two sets of eyes. In his mind's eye, he sees the world through Hierophant Green, a rush of rooms as his Stand slithers rapidly two floors below him.
The 8th floor is hardly a professional space, with most of the guts of the building still exposed. Where Hierophant Green is on the 6th floor, though, looks far more complete. The drywall, or plaster (Kakyoin can barely tell the difference), has been fully installed but not painted. Floors a solid wood, with carpet rolls unstapled nearby. Even some lights flicker on as his Stand brushes against cords and switches.
A slight breeze rolls through the 8th floor, lifting the tarps a bit as the unfinished window frames rattle. The orange twilight colors Kakyoin's gaze as it spills under the tarps.
Night will come soon...
Finally lifting his feet after a moment of observation, Kakyoin gently steps around, focusing most of his attention through Hierophant Green. On the 6th floor, the Stand pauses for a moment to scan a side room in more detail. As a whole, the side rooms seem to be more fleshed out, with some office furniture tucked inside for storage, presumably. Running its trailing tail through the room, Hierophant Green cautiously moves chairs, glass tables, and half desks, hoping to catch a hidden assassin.
Nothing. Judging from the state of these floors...and from Avdol's thought...
Kakyoin shakes his head, looking up.
"Be safe, Avdol and Polnareff. He's likely towards the top...most of the metal framework isn't exposed here. If I had to hazard a guess...he's towards the top."
Pondering a bit alone, his fingers hold his chin with a V. As his Stand shuts the door to the side room two floors down, his thoughts freeze in place as he feels some shaking and creaking from the floors above.
...I should send Hierophant Green to assist. Tucking myself away in these lower floors might just be safe enough.
His eyes flashing with focus, Kakyoin breathes in before walking towards the stairwell down. He'd searched long enough.
I may not be a good match against N'doul's Stand, but against him...
Hierophant Green snaps to attention, speedily working its way between unpainted walls and work tools up to the staircase.
Hierophant Green can handle any Stand user.
On the 1st Floor of Silver Tower, 25 Days to Save Holly
You'd think they'd put in a little more work for the 1st floor...
Tiptoeing around the scattered power tools and empty packages strewn about the floor, Joseph's eyes can't make out much. Only the steady rhythm of Hamon pulsing from him keeps him from falling over.
Though he had been searching for a few minutes now, he can't seem to find any trace of the woman he'd tailed in here.
All these expensive tools...if she were here to loot the place, I'd think any of these would suffi-Ow!
His booted toe clunks hard into something below him. Looking down while wincing from the sudden pain, he sees a heavy, rusted chain had somehow thrust itself in his foot's path.
This place is a wreck. Who leaves around something so beat up...and heavy!
With a bit of stressed frustration, he stamps his foot onto the chain. As he lifts his foot for another huff and stomp, he notices the chain sticks to his foot slightly before thudding loudly onto the ground.
Magnetized? These aren't steel toed, so...sticky? I don't know which one is weirder.
Hit by curiosity, he kneels down to inspect the chain closer in the dark. Picking it up with one hand, it feels rough, gritty with rust. Its weight rests firmly in his good hand before he rolls it into his metal hand, taking his glove off with teeth to inspect the chain with his skin.
No, definitely not sticky...
Still, as he attempts to turn his hand around to let gravity drop the chain to the floor again, the metal lingers against his prosthetic for a full second before reluctantly dropping. Quickly, he puts his glove back on and stands back a bit.
"A Stand?!" Hermit Purple snaps from his arms, assaulting the rusted chain with thorny branches. The chain remains, however, mostly unaffected besides some flecks of rust floating in the air.
Hm. Just a chain it seems. So why does it seem to be magnetized to me? Something is def-
His thought is cut off as he sees a shadow dart between support beams in front of him.
The girl! This is no time to be distracted by some weird chain!
"Hey! You might not understand me, but this place is unsafe!" The figure remains out of sight as Joseph rushes forward, not noticing the chain slowly rattling its way to him.
Damn, why is my Arabic so rusty! Not that I would know the dialect around here, but still!
His legs spring to life as he tries to follow the shadow draped person. His hand hooks the corner of a beam separating barely finished rooms, using the momentum to swing himself down the dark passageway at top speed. As he sprints, his breath floods his lungs again and, as he breathes it out, Hamon surges from his feet.
She's just up ahead!
Again, he hooks a left by gripping a column, though a sudden knot in his gut forms. Trusting the feeling, his prosthetic hand instinctively reaches behind him. A metal ping sounds as the vibration rattles up his arm. Pulling his hand to his face, Joseph scans the blocked missile: a practically out of the box nail. About two inches long, relatively thin diameter.
It's like someone shot it from a nail gun...but I don't sense anyone behind me...
Looking back, Joseph squints at the trajectory of the nail. Sure enough, a pristine box of nails sits on the framing of a half finished wall, with a single hole in the fold of the cardboard box where a nail tore through.
...The chain, this nail...it has to be a Stand user.
Again, footsteps ahead tantalize his ears, causing his eyes to dart ahead.
Either she's the user, or she's in trouble.
Once against busting into a sprint, he quickly gains ground on where he senses her footsteps. With his hurried steps, the boxes and tools rattle around him. Copper pipes, waiting to be installed like the wooden studs beside them, roll across the mess of a construction site.
Just as he is about to round another corner, so close to finding this woman again, his gut once again wrenches. Lifting his arm to block whatever is flying his way, he finds a heavy force slamming into his prosthetic arm, which folds at the wrist joint as his fingers grip onto the mystery object tight. Panic runs through Joseph's mind at the sheer force pushing against his arm, Hamon pouring in to help stifle the blow. His head turns just as his arm halts the thing, eyes recognizing it as a pretty heavy duty pipe wrench.
This is pretty heavy...unless a Stand was fairly strong, they wouldn't be able to throw it with such force. I was barely able to stop this thing...
Attempting to drop the now stopped wrench, Joseph finds it stubbornly sticking to his hand. He wildly waves his arm in an attempt to dislodge it, but still the wrench persists.
Definitely a Stand...did it magnetize me?
The footsteps ahead sound close. Gritting his teeth, Joseph again rounds the corner. This time, however, just as he enters the spacious room ahead, a blinding worklight flashes in Joseph's face. He raises his pipe wrench-laden arm to block the light, a small grunt of pain ringing out. By the time the light flickers off, there are spots lingering in neon in his vision.
Okay, so definitely a Stand user.
As he tries to look around the room, still disoriented from the light, he feels as if his body were being pulled by a tide to the center. Right there, smack dab in the middle of the room, a giant metal support looms amidst the messy floors.
"Hey, I know you're here. Listen, young lady, whatever this DIO has told you, we don't need to resort to-"
Before he can finish his plea, another nail flies from between the panels of a half finished wall, its trajectory aiming straight for Joseph's temple. Even faster than the last two thrown items, his hand barely has enough time to react with the extra weight of the wrench, with Hermit Purple instead barely catching the nail as the tip presses against his skin.
Too close! And this one is even thicker than the last one.
As he turns to face the direction the nail flew at him from, a loud, metallic clatter slams into the large support behind Joseph, two lengths of long, thick, rusted chain extending on either side of him in an arc before slamming into his midsection. The chain continues whirling around the pillar, cinching Joseph tight to it with his arms bound at his sides.
Even faster?
A worklight again assaults his eyes. In the face of the unyielding light, Joseph can only squint as a figure saunters in front, silhouetted.
"Tch." The woman clicks her tongue as a lighter flash illuminates her face. She's young, with light purple hair framed by a red hood. "You really are just a helpless old man."
Joseph's arms strain against the chain. Regardless of his efforts, he's fastened tight to the support. The force attracting the chain to him seems to get stronger every moment.
"Don't try to move, Joseph Joestar. Wouldn't want that chain to crush you any quicker, hm?"
"You...you're one of DIO's-"
"Devoted followers? Worshippers? Naturally."
Her face curls with sadistic delight before the lighter clicks shut, a lit cigarette dangling from her lip as her face once against obscures with shadow.
"Someone as young as you, caught in his web." Making a bit of small talk, his eyes dart around the room for solutions.
I really don't want to wring her neck, but she's in range of Hermit Purple. I can't make anything else out with this damn light...
"Caught? You misunderstand me, Joestar. I love DIO. He is everything to me. And you? Less than nothing." She raises her hand other hand, clenched tight into a fist. "How about we see if I can kill you before the chain does?"
The assassin releases her fist, and a variety of fasteners, washers, and metal filings fly out of her open palm. Even with the precise deflection and grasp of Hermit Purple, some of the construction shrapnel snakes through. Purple vines snapping from his shoulders, Joseph screams in pain as the blunted edge of a washer slices into his arm between the links of the chain. Filings dig into his cheek, and a screw lodges itself in his leg. Even the detritus on the floor drags itself even closer, pooling closer to his feet.
"Oh, looks like you lived. One point for the chain." She takes a drag of her cigarette, the embers barely lighting up her cheek.
"What, no point for me for living?" Josephs weakly attempts to wisecrack back, blood trickling down his face and neck while his leg starts to bleed a bit more.
"No. This isn't something you can win."
Okay, next chance I get, I have to take her down. Poor young girl, indoctrinated by that bastard DIO...
Suddenly, her silhouette disappears behind the light, blinding Joseph even more. Preemptively, he takes a deep breath, sending soothing Hamon through his body and out into the pillar. The room, seemingly central to the floor, has exits and hole sprawling in nearly every direction.
Quietly, he whispers to himself, "Let's see if you can guess the direction of your death this time."
Echoing from all around him, the woman's voice rings out "Let's see if you can guess the direction of your death this time!"
The tinking of small metal nails, screws, and bolts rattles from all around him. Closing his eyes to the blinding light, he shifts his body a bit within his bindings, his legs moving a bit freer than his upper body. Hermit Purple lashes out at the metal rushing towards him, desperately blocking the barrage as best he can.
Just as quiet as before, he whispers again,
"Heh, still got it."
END of INTERLUDE 14