Venezia, Italia
"L-Lady Caramelle! Have mercy! I- I have a wife and a family! Please! Let me explain! They forced me to talk! I swear!"
"Lorenzo... Do you know what is love? Do you know that love had a price?"
"W-what? They forced me to do it! I'M INNOC—!"
" Wrong answer. Ragazzi, you all know what to do. Show Signore Lorenzo what we do to disobedient snitches like him."
"Yes, Mother. What about his family? Should we exterminate them as well?"
"No, I'll take care of them. Just carry on and return to Venere Paradiso. We would greet your new sisters tonight for their arrival."
"Understood, Mother."
***
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
He fired his shots, hot lead flew out in precise aim as the miniature stands chanted, "PASS! PASS! PASS!", ricocheting the bullets to the target.
Some went on her exposed arm.
The rest had hit both of her legs.
Giorno's senses were in a blur. It's white noises with several faint commotions around him in a cacophony of disoriented noises. He has heard Mista's gun firing. But he didn't know where, why, it meant what or to whom he aimed it.
It was a trip slow trip as his body suffered from blood loss, the fatal wound Spice Girl that has left on his shoulder added to the fact that defending himself from Spice Girl's attack drained him dry literally.
The wear of repeatedly going against and matching the corrupted Spice Girl had put him and his stand on a corner.
Before he could ask, wrap his head around the chaos that was around him, he has passed out.
***
"Fuck!", Mista said as he dodged another attack from spice girl.
Gold experience and Giorno was out of commission and he was head on with a power stand that has been attacking him relentlessly despite the injury inflicted on its user. He can't just shoot her to kingdom come. She's family and you shouldn't kill family. Making her subdued one way, or another, is his best bet.
He can't close the distance between him and the other two across the kitchen, as it seemed like he was Spice Girl's next target for shooting her user.
He made a mad dash out to the receiving area while the stand followed him, hot on his trail, attacking with the barrage of fists in a sudden burst. Not giving her opponent an opportunity to reposition and take aim.
He has dodged her next barrage, but when he was about to land on his foot, his weight has made him sink on the marble floor.
All this time the glitching pink stand wasn't aiming for him. It's aiming for the floor so that it would be in quicksand malleability. He struggled as the floor continued to engulf him. His efforts were futile against the natural force of gravity and the soft death trap that the stand has created.
He knew that Trish's stand is strong. But never has he imagined that the stand has this enough potential to kill in just moments, not even letting him to have the chance to empty his gun and now, he's sinking fast that on his head were visible and his hands.
BANG!
Running out of options, he has fired with all his remaining shot only to have it blocked and then softened into gum-like malleability upon contact with the pink stand, rendering the bullet useless.
He was about to lose hope when he saw that Spice girl raised her legs preparing for a fatal drop kick for the finishing blow.
He has closed his eyes shut and expected, but it didn't come. When he had looked up, it was Fugo's stand, Purple Haze was deflecting the drop kick that would crush Mista's skull.
"What took you so long?!", Mista yelled towards the strawberry blonde.
Before Fugo could utter a reply, Spice Girl wasted no time and landed a combination of hits towards Purple haze. It now diverted the pink stand toward the Strawberry blonde and to Purple haze as an exchange of heavy hits came down the two power type stands, While Mista was being rescued by Sheila E and VooDoo Child, pulling him out of the elastic quicksand underneath him.
"Where's Josuke and Kyrie?!"
"Don't worry, they went to Giorno and Trish in the kitchen." Sheila E replied as she pulled Mista out of his quicksand.
***
"What in the world happened here?", Kyrie mumbled as he manifested Sleepwalker.
It was a mess of a trashed kitchen space. It misshaped utensils and furniture as the walls and the windows bore the damage from the pink stand, holes and fist marks were visible on each surface, it did not spare even the sink and countertops from the chaos.
"Heal their wounds, Higashikata. I'll use Sleepwalker to paralyze Signorina Una.", Kyrie barked while Josuke nodded healing Giorno and Trish.
The younger mafioso took a sharp breath as he pierced her skull with Sleepwalker's paralysis thread.
One thing about Kyrie's stand is that it makes him an Empath. Whenever he uses his stand on others, he would feel the emotional imprints that are in that person or on the subject that he has taken over.
Usually it would just be easy but on Trish's case, there is something that was blocking his influence - a firewall of unstable emotions and memories that were suppressed, thickened by an unknown force, hijacking his ability to establish a solid link.
"I-I can't go through!", Kyrie stated.
"What? Try again.", Josuke replied, determined.
"W-what?! Are you insane, stronzo?! Her brain might get damaged, you imbecile!"
"Then, I'll fucking fix it! Do it now before Mr. Mista and the others would end up killing her! DO IT! We would die trying, you got that, boy? Now, gather your shit and use your stand!"
Kyrie got caught by the sudden outburst but he have nodded as his stand had produced multiple paralysis threads, piercing through Trish's head. It was a hard battle against the mental blockage on her, making his own blood drip down his nose. The force that's causing her stand to go berserk amplified hundredfold her inner emotions. For Kyrie, it is as if a freight train hit him by the sheer amount of heaviness inside her mind. It was over bearing; negative emotions, the feelings and all of those unnamed sensations from her, crashed down on him. He was being beaten by an emotion storm, the feeling of drowning and the pressure of the sea strangled him, taking all of his strength as he struggled to press on.
"Do it, Sleepwalker! Suppress her subconscious!!!"
***
A low cackle piqued Giorno's ears.
Faint, but he was hearing it from behind him. When he has opened his eyes he was in that familiar void again. That space of nothing where the light and dark met, from that time when he has seen him-Dio.
In this dreamscape he have found himself in the middle. Turning his head, he searched for anyone.
"A shame..."
"Huh?", He uttered as he faced the owner of the voice who seemed to appear beside him out of thin air.
"Really, Haruno. It's a shame.", the owner of the voice said. His blonde locks and muscular form sitting on the floor, chin resting on his hand.
"You...", Giorno started murderously.
"Yes, it is I.", the other smiled as his towering form stood up from his spot and loomed in front of Giorno.
"Haruno... Giorno Giovanna. The golden David on a pedestal. The unshakeable Mafia Don with a heart of gold and an iron fist. My, my, my! My Dear Giorno."
Giorno stayed silent. Not that he wanted to, but he froze him in place, unable to speak, unable to move a muscle.
The man circled around him, scrutinized looks came from his golden irises as he halted and stared towards Giorno's soul, looking like as if it were the furnaces of hell. His large palm went for his cheek, caressing it as if he's some kind of lost child - gentle, cautious but touches that aren't born out of sympathy but of pity and disgust.
"Tch...", he spewed, "Jonathan's eyes... Disgusting. Then, here am I thinking that a wretched bitch would bear the perfect successor."
"B-Burn in hell... D-Dio.", Giorno spoke, as he have finally able to move his mouth.
"My oh my. I thought you have forgotten how to speak. Oh, and me? Hell? I came from that place and Satan sends his regards."
"You're already dead. You are nothing but a figment."
The other burst into laughter as he lets go of his face, a mocking smirk tugging his lips.
"Dead? Yes, my physical body was dead. But a figment?", he sniggered. The laughter had died down eventually, replaced by a heavy looming aura that sent Giorno a sensation of icy terror and disgust on his spine.
The man leaned over to his ear with a maniacal whisper, one that laced with madness of a beast and a cruelty of a child, "I am Dio. I am undying. They may have destroyed my body, but my power is absolute. I am transcendence with all of its glory..."
Then, the said man walked back so that Giorno could see him fully.
"I am you....", he said as his image shifted into Giorno's... A doppelganger in Giorno's image with crimson eyes, "I am the truth, Haruno. I am the devil in the back of your head. I am the truest form that you could ever be. Everything will crumble under your feet..."
"N-no... LIAR!"
"That sounded funny, coming from you and your white -lie -inducing tongue.", his doppelganger uttered as he held his neck, "Everyone will fall down to their demise under your wing. Including her. Especially her. Admit it. You are just there for her because your greedy little heart wanted the fact that she treasures you. You are just a child wanting the love of a woman you cannot have. You love... No. It obsessed you with the fact that she adored you."
"Shut up!"
"You just want her for the sake of self-reciprocity. Because? You are just as insecure under that perfect marble David that you like to play with everyone. How cruel could you be? Giving them false hope... Giving her false hope, just because you are afraid to lose control. You? Able to love and to feel? How about that time that you have used poor Bucciarati and his team for your gain? Do you think, that Narancia or that Abbachio would like to die without justice? Or that time that you were just a measly pickpocket fraud? Or that time that she only wanted to help, but you just turned her little heart down? Love? You are just lusting for human interaction. You are nothing but a seed of greed disguised in a face of an angel, and she's a poor little sinner who has nothing but her salvation toward this fake angel that you created."
"I-!"
"Because if push comes to shove, Giorno will falter, you'll be little Haruno, trembling on the corner... All. Over. Again. The manipulative, greedy and cunning monster that you are. No wonder death is her only escape from you. I don't understand why you struggle when you are the one to inflict it on everyone. You're mine, Giorno. I own the very being that made you invincible. You can't escape me.", he monologued as a glint of bloodlust shone through his eyes; a low, maniacal chuckle escaping his throat.
"I SAID, SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!", he yelled, opening his eyes.
He was drenched in cold sweat, his breathing were heavy and uneven. He was no longer on that void of a dreamscape but he was in his room in the Crescendi estate, alone. The ticking of the clock beside him was the only sound that's been echoing faintly in the background. The soft Tick-Tock were joined by the occasional rustling from the trees, and crickets outside have made a meek cacophony of silent noises.
He looked around and pinched himself to make sure that he's really awake and when his eyes darted to his windows, It's already dark outside, he's guessing that he's been out for a little while.
He remembered Spice Girl's hand piercing through his flesh; he remembered Trish-struggling on his arms. He remembered the noises, the chaos and the gunshots... The gunshots.
His eyes widened as he bolted out of bed and out of his room. His heart, pounding out of his ribcage, hoping that his idea was wrong.
He went next door, hurried, worry churning his insides.
Giorno opened the doorknob only to be met by Fugo and Mista, blocking his way inside Trish's room.
"Are you alright, Giorno?", Fugo asked.
"I'm fine, where's Trish?"
Mista and Fugo exchanged glances before Mista looked at him, "Um, she's-uh...", the gunner struggled to find coherent words.
"Answer me. Is she alright? Is she hurt? Tell me where she is. Is she inside? I need to know if she's alright. Let me through."
"GioGio, I think you should-", Giorno caught Fugo off in the middle of his sentence, shoving them out of his way.
"Giorno, wait!", Mista tried to reach out, but the blonde had already let himself inside the room.
The blonde Don searched for a certain pink-haired girl, but he saw no one, only a human-sized, pink, cocoon-like thing on her bed.
Mista approached the Don as he placed a hand on his shoulder. An unspoken attempt of consolation for his friend.
"That's Trish.", Mista revealed, earning him a look of disbelief from Giorno.
"What do you mean, 'that's Trish'?"
"That thing... Or rather, inside that thing is Trish."
"What? What happened? Why?"
Fugo went beside Giorno with a heavy sigh, "After Kyrie have subdued her, we thought that she's going to be fine. She looked fine after that incident earlier this morning, but when we checked on her for a few moments, this chrysalis have encased her. We don't know why but, we are trying our best to investigate."
"We tried to open that thing, but no. The outer part is tough—bullet proof. Stand proof. Josuke, Kyrie, Calypso, everyone tried to open that thing.", Mista added. The blonde shook his head and removed Mita's hand on his shoulder before he stared at the other two with a determined glance.
He moved towards the chrysalis and activated Gold Experience thinking that, 'they're not trying hard enough.' .
He sensed if Trish was still alive and tried to open up the cocoon with swift attacks,
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!!!!"
but it was also futile.
"She's...", he panted, "alive. In there - she's alive... If I could just-!", he lifted his fists again, but a forceful grip have stopped him from his action— Mista, "Let go of me, Mista. Don't make me say it twice.", Giorno commanded as his eyes conveyed a strong, nameless type of hostility.
The gunslinger felt a certain chill of terror as his piercing turquoise orbs met his eyes. There is this unspoken threat that made him swallow a lump in his throat, as he tried to steel his eyes toward his Don's sharp stares.
"And What? You're going to exhaust yourself and collapse, huh? I care for Trish and I care for everyone, even you. We know that she's alive but, what if an enemy shows himself, huh? You'll be too weak to even fend for her. Do you want that? I am worried sick about Trish, if you have any idea how bad I would want to crack that cocoon thing open... The point here is, wrap your head around, Boss. We would figure all this out, but for now we must be patient. What if we were attacking that cocoon not knowing that it could hurt Trish inside of that?"
Giorno gave Mista an unconscious glare as he snatched his wrist away from the older.
"I'm sorry...", He mumbled under his breath. "It's just that..."
"It's fine, man. We know that you're more worried for her. Just so you know, it's not your fault. Don't put all the toll on your shoulders. We're a team.", Mista said as he waved his hand dismissively before residing it in his pockets.
"Giorno. We knew you are worried...", Fugo started, "We could leave you and Trish alone. We would keep the door open, but Mista and I would be outside to guard. Is that set up fine?"
Giorno's gaze fell on the other strawberry blonde on his side and gave a solemn nod.
"Okay, just call out if you need something. C'mon Fugo. Let's let Giorno process for a moment.", Mista suggested, earning a slow affirmative nod from Fugo as the strawberry blonde walked out first, followed by the young gunslinger who gave a second look at the Don, a look of worry as he trailed out of the room as well.
Giorno breathed slowly. His feet took steps toward the side of Trish's bed where he had pulled a small cushioned stool and sat on it.
His turquoise orbs observed the pink chrysalis. He has placed his hands over its surface only to feel the slight burn of the convulsive temperature of the cocoon. The strange shell was basically radiating with life force that its smooth, pearlescent surface was like a giant heater. He could feel her pulsating energy against the cocoon as he sat there in silence. He wanted to stay. He felt more comfortable in that room rather than cramping up in the confines of his own room. Giorno felt at ease, knowing that he still could feel that she's alive.
You just loved the fact that she adored you...
Giorno shook his head off of the thought as he watched the chrysalis silently as if he was waiting. A pondering look on his face knotted his brows.
***
"Hey,", Fugo whispered as the two of them stood by next door.
"Yeah?"
"Do you see how he glared at you? That's pretty weird.", Fugo stated as if it were a matter of fact.
"Heck, yeah, I did. But still. Can't blame him."
"Well... Yeah. But his aura was pretty off. He was like, disoriented, afraid even... Like, agitated. It's as if he was trying to pry out of something."
"Well... Cut him the slack, Fugo. He's just like 15? 16? He's pressured."
"Yeah, but... It's like he's being overprotective about Trish that it's riskier than the last. It just weirds me out. I know that they are both our friends and I care about Trish... Sorta."
"Hey, Trish was far from her bratty persona from that time that we met her at Capri. You've seen it too, she's a real nice person to be around with. She'll never ask someone for their shirt as a replacement handkerchief again."
"I know and yeah I moved on from that. But wouldn't you agree that Giorno's being a bit overboard on his degree of concern?"
The gunslinger breathed through his nose as he looked at the ceiling, "Well, he got a boner for Trish."
Fugo's face scrunched up into a disgusted expression as he gave Mista a smack on his head. He never got why the gunslinger has a way to spiral out a normal conversation.
"Ow! T'fuck's wrong with you?!? Geez... What I meant by 'boner for Trish', is that he's interested in Trish. Giorno liked Trish. Romantically, okay? God, for a guy with 152 IQ you're pretty weak with context clues."
"What? How can you tell that he really liked her?"
"Well, based on my awesomely accurate deductions and my observation, duh? Can't you see the concern that he's been showing towards Trish? He's willing to lose his body parts just to be sure that she's safe. Last June? He has voluntarily and insisted that he'll be the one to organize a small birthday lunch for Trish. Like hell, even lectured me for mixing up salmon pink from peach and pastel pink for the decorations. Like, who the fuck would think that pink should have tons of fucking shades that look the same? But anyway, it still went well."
"Well.... going back to the topic, I can see now why he's acting a little weird. To think of it, when I rejoined, he told me that he admires and respects Trish for having the guts to live her life in both ways that she wanted."
"See? They're awfully adorable together, so why not? Plus, Giorno and Trish got good-looking genes and that's based on the account of our Boss's wingman.", He said as he pointed his thumb to himself.
"I suppose we need to stop gossiping about our Boss' life like silly junior high school girls. I don't want your messed-up conspiracy theories about genetics."
"Hey, It's called hypothesises"
"What in the ever-loving shit is Hypothesises?"
"The plural form of Hypothesis."
"It's Hypotheses. Hy-po-the-ses. Geez, learn some basic grammar.", the strawberry blonde heaved a hollow laugh as he looked across the hall, watching the farthest window down the hall.
"Psh, Sportivo, sportavo. Just lighting up the mood, it's more draining to think of the shitshow that's happening to us. Might as well laugh while we still could.", Mista smiled as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"Your humor is terrible."
"You're welcome, buddy."
***
11:24 PM
"Trish...", He mumbled, still half-asleep. A blurry but familiar image of Trish was staring back at him. He had fallen asleep in her room while watching over her, he blinked owlishly but, when he have opened his eyes again, she's gone.
"Trish?"
He frantically looked around and wondered what he has seen. Was it a dream? He thought so. But when he peered over the chrysalis, it was empty-a human-sized hole in the middle.
He scurried outside her room and spotted the other two young men who seemed to have fallen asleep on the floor.
"Mista! Fugo! Wake up!"
"Ugh... Five minutes...", Mista grumbled, half-asleep.
"What is it, Gio? Is there something you need?", Fugo said as he groggily stood up, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"It's Trish. She's missing."
"What?", Mista perked up as he stood up himself.
Giorno showed Mista and Fugo the empty husk of the chrysalis before the three of them hurried outside.
"Let's spl-"
CRASH!!!
BOOM!
"ERI ERI ERI ERI ERI ERI ERI ERI ERI ERI ERIIIIIIIIII!!!!"
"DORARARARARARRARARARARARARRARAA!!!!"
"That's Sheila E and Josuke!", Fugo exclaimed as the three of them ascended to the fifth floor where the noises came.
"AGH!", Sheila E blurted out after colliding with the wall. She got several broken ribs, her left eye, swollen. While her right foot, twisted in the most inhuman way possible.
"Sheila, what happened?", Giorno asked as he went beside Sheila E. The dark-haired girl lifted her finger and pointed weakly down the hall, "Fugo, Take care of Sheila E.", Giorno commanded while he and Mista went where the beaten Sheila E have pointed.
***
"RRRRRRAAAGGHH!!!", Calypso and Kyrie roared in unison as they tried to bust out of the late Madame's office. Someone elasticized the walls and everything inside, making their attacks futile as the surfaces only absorbed the impacts. Calypso cannot use her stand bullets since it would just ricochet back at her.
"Testa di Cazzo! I thought you immobilized her?"
"I do! But there is this force that's fighting inside her."
"Merda. My stand is overheating... Dammit!", she cussed under short breaths as her stand armor released hot steam.
***
Mista and Giorno ended up in the room where they kept Famietta—the white-haired girl. But when they have seen the scene, their hearts stopped.
It's dark but they could see a silhouette of two women and Josuke.
The pompadoured teen lay on the floor, passed out from blood loss— a huge hole on his side. The First woman seemed naked, standing up carrying the other woman on her back like a sack.
"Gi-Giorno... Run..."
As the moon shone through the windowpane, it revealed the grotesque scene. The room was trashed from the battle that happened while the two young men were flushed out of their color as they laid sight on their enemy.
Trish.
Her pink hair had gotten longer, being the only thing that barely covered her genitals and her breasts. In the middle of her chest, a spider-shaped crystal— buried deep on her flesh while her emerald eyes shone brightly with a soulless glint of bloodlust, on her side a glitching Spice Girl. Her stand held her from behind like an obedient child clinging and protecting its mother, a bright red stand aura surrounding the two.
"My god...", Mista only managed to mutter out as his blood ran cold, his hands, shaking, making the pistol that he's holding to rattle.
This piqued her hearing. It caused her to snap her vision towards the two young men who were too shocked to move.
In a blink of an eye, she sprinted and went toward Mista. The force of their collision had driven Mista against the wall. A seamless, practiced maneuver- as precise as a surgeon with a scalpel.
Bang!
Bang!
Two shots passed and missed. It happened in a flash that it didn't give Mista a second to react and summon Sex Pistols to alter the bullet's trajectory as her hands went through his shoulders, cutting it open.
His body fell on the floor, blood splattering everywhere- staining her skin and covering her face in a thin, crimson sheen of blood.
Giorno could only manage to watch, his brain, racking on his nerves, struggling to catch up. And before he could even process— Trish was standing in front of him. Once again emeralds clashed with turquoise but this time, dark emeralds prevailed.
His breath was caught inside him as her hand gripped his neck with the intent of killing him. While Spice Girl got Gold Experience on her own, mimicking her user's gesture.
She was about to break his neck when a voice rang through her ears, "Not now my dear, your father wants to deal with him himself. Retreat for now and go home with Famietta, you did good my child."
"Yes mother...", she finally spoke as she yanked him away before moving in lightning speed towards the broken window while Giorno tried to catch up. But when he was about to reach her she jumped off the window with the white-haired girl, finally escaping on the dead of night.
When Giorno had processed the events he spun to his heels, the first thing that he did was to restore the hole on Josuke's body.
"U-Ugh... Giorno??? Wha-! AGH!!! AAAAAAHHHH!!!!", Josuke yelped while Giorno uttered nothing as he healed the pompadoured Joestar. After a few minutes, Calypso and Kyrie came rushing in and helped the others to tend the injured.
"Giorno... Wh-where is she?", Mista managed to ask weakly.
"...", Giorno just fell silent, a hollow look on his eyes as his gaze failed to look towards Mista with a slow shake on his head as his hands trembled, "They... They changed her... But I know that she's there! She's there!!! We j-just- I saw her, she's still there...", his voice trembled, cracking from the emotions that raged his soul.
"Oh my god. L- listen. Hey, hey hey, look at me buddy. Listen, Giorno. We're going to find her, okay? We-We're... Were going to find her and fix her back, okay?"
***
A few moments later, they all regained composure. The injured were tended by Giorno and Josuke. But the blonde Joestar is still fazed internally. What he have seen felt unreal. Who was that 'Mother' that Trish mentioned?
He knew the real Trish was inside that monster who almost broke his neck. He could feel it. Wishful thinking if everyone could hear his thoughts, but it is hope and faith in Giorno's vocabulary.
"Giorno! I have found this inside the cocoon, would this help?", Fugo perked as he brought back a Trish's emerald pendant on his hands.
Giorno got the pendant out of Fugo's hand, exchanging glances with Mista, Kyrie and Sheila E who's standing behind him, before clutching it, "This is fine, Thank you, Fugo... Calypso, do you have any map that we could use?"
Calypso nodded and lead them to the Madame's office where a tapestry of the Italian map hung against the wall.
Giorno stared at the the pendant before summonig Gold Experience. He imbued the pendant with life force, turning it into a humming bird, "Find her for me.", he whispered as he released the bird out of the open window before turning back at the map.
Fugo, Kyrie and Calypso had laid it down on the floor before Giorno started to mark every spot that the bird have gone, tracing Trish's tracks.
The sun finally started to rise when they have finally pinpointed the bird's last destination-Casa di Venere Paradiso, Venezia.
A firm grip landed on Giorno's shoulder as he peered toward the gunslinger who gave him a concerned look, "I am done with this cat and mouse game with those bastards.", the blonde started, " We would being her back and make them pay."
"We would. We would settle the score.", Mista said with an encouraging smile.
"Let's head to Venezia.", Giorno muttered as the sun shone behind him.
To be continued...>>