Jojo's Bizarre Adventure - Elegy of Giants (IC)

[Bloble]

Leila Voltina
City X
Streets
10:25

You saw it happen in slow motion. As you ejected yourself from the back of the van, you hit the ground hard. If your Stand hadn't been there to shield you, a broken bone wouldn't have been strange. Instead, you only suffer a few scrapes.

The crash is actually not as horrific as you had expected. The van careens into a light pole, coming to an abrupt stop as front bumper meets strengthened metal. The back wheels lift upwards for a moment, and then come back down with a few squeaks. The light pole creaks and tumbles over, falling across the road and blocking a beat up truck from passing. The results are as subdued as they are partly because of the automatic braking system, and partly because Justin really wasn't going that fast to begin with. As the driver angrily honks his horn, you do your best to take in the scene as quickly as possible.

It's night time, so the streets are almost deserted, but there are a few people milling around, with plenty more opening windows and looking out to see what the fuss is. You're in the middle of a residential district, and already you can hear mumbling around the edge of your senses as more and more people wake up. In minutes, this place will be swarming with people, and your chances of figuring out who did this will shrivel and die.

There are no casualties you can see, though a heavily pregnant woman is collapsed against a wall near the light pole, clutching a bloodied arm with her good one. The car just clipped her as it passed over sidewalk, but she doesn't appear to be in serious danger. On the other side of the street, a couple is busy dialing for an ambulance or the police, and their young daughter is snapping picture after picture with her personal interface device.

As the pissed off driver honks his horn again, you catch a glimpse of a shadow disappearing into an alley near the van. So, it seems, does the pregnant woman, because she loudly shrieks and starts inching away from the traces of blood on the faux brick walls.



Arthur Arthur and Michael Stienman
City X
Streets
10:25

Surprisingly, all the crash manages to do is cause the mini fridge to topple over. As far as collisions go, it's a fairly gentle one. None of you are even injured. What isn't so gentle is shards of glass in the front cabin and the lack of a driver. Justin's gone, and you can't even hear his screaming to try and locate him.

The back door is open, letting in worried voices from outside.

As you emerge, you see a mostly empty street. Leila stands some meters away, taking in the view, and panicked shrieking can be heard from the passenger side of the van.

[Zenieth]

You're senses are hit from all sides as you take in your surroundings and consider course of actions. Your first move is to identify all of the possible suspects which include but aren't limited to your companions on the van, though you quickly rule them out as you're certain that flying eyeball (where was it anyways?) would have realized who it was before hand and given you a heads up, if only out of courtesy for a fair game. So your suspects came to the Arthur, Michael, the family nearby, the pregnant lady, the driver and whoever else might be lurking. You put the driver on low priority, he's a possible but given the circumstances it'd be just a little to convenient for him to be it, though he might be playing towards hiding in his audacity.

You soon consider the area and it hits you that time is of the essence, your enemy has the potential to get away at any moment and with each passing one the probability of him blending into the crowd only increases. You sigh as you consider your options and think of his reasoning. You figure there's three options to what this 'stand' attack was for.

Firstly, it could be a test. In which case you're on performance to dance your little monkey dance as smoothly as possible. In this case you feel survival is pretty high, though you can never be too sure. Regardless, your tester will want to see how well you and your teammates perform in which case it's imperative that you either catch them or get away.

The second option was that this was a warning, odds are still on the relatively safe side, but depending on the assailant, there's no telling on if they'll choose to make one of you an example and if it is, then it's necessary you locate them as they will certainly be able to locate you and undoubtedly come back with more lethal force if you don't cease your progression.

The final option is that this is an all out attack, they aim to kill you and your compatriots, the results are clear, life or death and in which case you have to move, and quickly.

With all of those options up, you conclude that a crowd only leaves you more vulnerable, if they didn't know your appearance, they certainly did now and yet here you were just standing in the dark, but you can't mull over your inconvenience, you've got to react, you've got to plan.

At first you consider using your ability to throw a dagger at the couple and their daughter, in your initial belief, you feel that it'd be a good way to fact check three possible suspects, but then you quickly decide against it. Assuming they're not, then you're power will be wasted and you don't need that up against the opponent you have, not with that strength. Similarly, it'd be showing your hand far too early without definitively guaranteed results. So that option, for now just seems foolish.

Your attention turns to the blaring horn, but you soon shift your eyes to the side, instead picking up the shadow slinking to the alley and the subsequent scream of the pregnant woman that followed. Okay, that was bad for your situation and you knew it

"ДеpЬмo"

You need to move and quickly that would surely cause people to come clamoring, but you don't, not just yet. Perhaps as insurance, or maybe you're just that mean spirited a woman. You figure that the guys are closer to the source and will react before you can, so turning on your heel, you face the family and with a glare that easily gives away your intentions you tell them to

"Oтвaли"

[TheInfamousMan]

"Thank God for seat belts." Arturo could not help but mutter as he slammed his fist into the buckle, making it release the belt before his feet landed on the floor which was originally the left door. "But an attack? Just who the hell is trying to get to the Speedwagon Foundation through us?"

It was troubling having enemies that he had no idea about... but then again a fight was never fair.

"You people okay?"

The girl, Alma asked that question in a voice that suggested that she was more or less fine.

"Oh yeah, I'm just peachy!" Arturo sarcastically replied before seeing that the man named Jack got up from his seat and followed after Alma.

"Well, she sure seems fine. Art, is the driver all right? Im goin to take a look at whatever or whoever that was."

When Jack said that, Arturo frowned. Who did this guy think he was giving him orders? Not that he minded checking if the driver was alive.

When he saw Jack get out of the car, Arturo ducked his head and poked his head in between the front seats to see the driver. His eyes were closed, and an air bag was deployed on his side and front but his forehead was bleeding out and seemed to have a few cuts from the broken glass. "Damn, a concussion?" Arturo pressed his right headphone and quickly went to the 'emergency line' of his contacts. flicking to hospital Arturo quickly told the person who answered about the car crash and the injured driver along with the location before ending the call.

"Well, time to go." With that, Arturo got out of the car and saw Alma and Jack go in two different directions. He frowned a bit at that, but noticed that Jack was going a route more or less close to where Alma was going. "Alright, lets see why these guys can do." With that, Arturo began to run silently, making sure he could not be seen by either of the other Stand users, ignoring the laughter in the night sky.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

In taking a step out of your abused transportation, you're finally allowed an actual glimpse of your surroundings.

The Toast Points and their entourage of fans are holding their concert in the a field roughly the size of an officially-sanctioned soccer field. To the north the crowd grows dense with concert-goers clustering together to get closer and more immersed and become "part of the experience" with the band. Laser lights and billowing discharge from smoke machines rise into the night sky, accentuating the stage and the players upon it. As with most outdoor musical events of this type, it characteristically has that atmosphere of barely, barely controlled chaos. In spades.

You note that there is no direct path to the stage, as the ebb and flowing tide of the rambunctious crowd is fluid, leaving no open areas.

Speaking of fluidity, you will also note that the van is halfway submerged, front end in, in a small pond, a sheltered oxbow cove part of a larger "lazy river" system that stretches both ways into the darkness, surely throughout the whole of the park's property. Battered though it may be, with the edges of the roof crushed in as if were held onto hard by something, it seems to be by all means fairly easily salvageable, provided it were to be fished out from the drink. A grove of trees lies due west to the waterway and to the south, three and five meters, respectively.

If you had any questions as to why no one in the audience had no reaction to your spill, you have one now. The piece that the 'Points are currently using to put on display their signature lyrical, melodic stylings is the lively, loud, face-melting ditty known as:

..................s
W r e c k e d
................./a
..................o
..................R

(If not stylized as such, apparently the song's title was considered to be spelled incorrectly.)

As part of the song's performance, the band and associates trashed several cars - both the barely held together shells of gas-guzzling gluttons of yesteryear and the "safer" bioelectrorad alternative fuel users that have been in vogue in the auto market for the last half century - as part of a destructive protest of the rampant modernization and shrinking land in a growing world.

Very avant garde stuff that spoke directly to the people, yes. Or maybe it just pumped their blood up because of their innate taste for violence.

Either or.

One van crashed into a canal was not anything anyone would take more than face value at. Even if it was Speedwagon property.

To the east, across the street, on a nearby building right at the edge of the block, in the projects, you notice a spider crane, something used in all first-world construction projects and known as "The Python" in the business on account of its multiple joints and superior controllability. It is rotating on its axis, the "arm" of the machine fixated into a rigid position, and it seems to be losing momentum and coming to a stop.

In spite of this, you do not hear the sounds of nighttime construction work echoing from across the street.

Rock music continues to rage on, heedless of you all.


Alma Allegro, Jack Daniels
City X
Pollyanna Park
10:25

You both look like you fit right in here at the tour's stop. Alma like she's ready to have herself a fun time tonight, and Jack like he's ready to make some memories or freelance photograph highlights or unrefined but no less intriguing pratfalls of the concert for a happening event publication with his vintage and oh-so chic camera.

Alma's take-charge attitude has resulted in her more or less leading the way, with Jack following to the side and behind by several paces, five meters worth. Alma's at the edge of the crowd, but with her presence there seems to be little doubt that she could part it and make her way in further if so desired it.

Jack's far enough behind that he has the entire body of his compatriot in full view. With the correct lens he could easily snap a covergirl shot then and there. This allows him plenty of room and line of sight to quickly maneuver and draw a bead on anyone or anything that gets near, provided he's fast enough to react.

"Hey! Hey, killer miss!" A pepped up, college sophomore-age hoodlum greeted Alma and gestured to himself as he grooved to the beat, "Wanna move with?"

Someone noticed Alma quickly, and clearly went out of their way to get her attention. Must be the work of an enemy Stand. Or beer and hormones.


Arturo De Niro
City X
Pollyanna Park
10:25

You moved, quickly and quietly, but had to decide where to. Did you follow the river bank for a bit, as it got closer and closer to the band? Did you make your way to the natural barriers of the tree lines to the west and south that separated this section of the park from the rest? Now that you were out of the van and had opted to break off from the rest of the group so that you weren't all in one place, what did you now do?

At the very least you called in help for the driver, secret this mission, though, may be. If he comes time before that, great. The threat might even be taken care of by then. Worse case scenario is that he's still out, EMTs arrive, and you're out of a driver and you're all stranded because no one can drive your ride. Granted, you could maybe get the van up and running again, ready to follow its programmed route to the true meeting place, but that's only once you've secured the perimeter, so to speak, and ensured that there are no more threats to you and your fellows.

Judging from the sound of that creepy laughter, that is a threat that's not likely to go away on its own. You have to find the assassin(s?) and disrupt or terminate their operations so that this mission can get back on schedule.

The worst case scenario, goes without saying, is that you're dead, regardless of whether or not Emergency arrives on the scene. You, your teammates, and possibly even some bystanders, depending on how much this guy cares about inflicting collateral or not.

There's some fast-thinking in your future, and there's no time like the present to act.

[Break]

"Well this is unexpected. Guess I'll have to clear a way."
Saying this, Jack picked up one of the fallen beer bottles, throwing it right behind the hoodlum.
Distracted by the sound of shattering glass, the guy turned around, giving Alma time to slip away and continue her search.

"Now, to continue my setup, where is the next best spot..."
murmuring this, Jack entered the crowd, casually dropping a photograph as he went along.

[TheInfamousMan]

It was difficult, choosing whether to go through the trees or through the riverbank. On one hand, the riverbank was more open and Arturo could see clearly what was in front of him. Bad news was that the threat might be hiding in the trees, and could easily attack him from there without him knowing its location. The other hand was going through the trees, where there was the possibility that he couldn't see the threat but the threat might also have a bit of trouble seeing him.

It all lead to the same location but it was best to be safe than sorry.

"Rock and a hard place situation huh?" Arturo thought with a slight chuckle before heading towards the trees. He might have a slight disadvantage, but the disadvantage was equal for the threat if it attacked. Plus, he would also have a slightly bigger advantage within the forest.
With that, Arturo headed to the forest, the music blaring in the distance while the laughter continued on.

[Sherrinford]

“Tsk. That wasn’t good.” Arthur carefully came out of the van, ready to react to any more sudden assaults from the unidentified attacker. At first he was a bit concerned that the passenger woman wasn’t in the vehicle, but he quickly noticed she was safe and sound enough, having escaped the worst of the impact on her own. The other passenger was also unharmed enough to still be indipendent.

But what happened exactly? Was it a trap of the S.F.? Although without a real argument aside from “they could have done it more easily if that was the case”, Arthur decided to still put a little trust in the megacorporation. And besides, that wasn’t the moment to stand still and ponder.

Whoever and/or whatever attacked them, it knew about them. At the very least he or she knew of their itinerary, enough to set a trap for both vans (or maybe it could be that one of them was the culprit? He guessed you’re never too safe around Stand Users). The other van was nowhere to be seen, which in the worst case scenario probably meant they fell for the attack even before they did.

The road wasn’t packed full of people, but that didn’t matter much. There was no sure way to identify him. The Stand User could have been anyone here, not to mention all the bystanders that would soon stop-by. Since they were attacked while moving in a vehicle, chances are that the Stand has a high enough range to not be as close to the User as to immediatedly reveal his identity anyway.Plus Arthur didn’t want to play the role of the sitting duck, waiting for the enemy to attack them again (and this time, without the protection of the van’s safety).

Arthur quickly decided that the best course of action in order to single out the User was to “retreat”. Luring the enemy out of his anonimity. Trying somehow to limit the angles of attack and sort out the people around them, keeping a close look on who might follow them, until there was no doubt who the enemy was. Going to the S.F. headquarter (or wherever Justin was taking them) had to be put on hold (if they knew the route they most likely also knew where they were going, making the most predictable route the most dangerous too).

“You, woman, we’re too much of an easy target out here. Unless you have a better idea, I suggest we scramble away. Let’s make 「him」 come to us. And you, you’re name is Steinman, correct? I assume you can walk, right?”

However, it would be nice if their driver could tell them a bit of what was going on. Even a suspect of his on the situation could be useful. Maybe he’ll be able to extort something out of him. Arthur turned towards the driver’s seat, but it was empty. Not only him, but that weird fucking eye-ball thing disappeared too. Of course, this didn’t exactly please an already pissed off back-alley doctor.

[Sakuraba Haru]

Alma turned to the hoodlum and smiled at him. "Killer Miss? An... interesting choice of words. Well I am stunning."

"I would love too, you know... any other time maybe I wouldn't mind, though today I have a job to do. I need to get closer to the stage, it's for my work you see... I'm a media journalist and would like to write a good article for this band, you know? I'm quite the fan. Think you could help me move some people out of the way? If you do maybe after this is all done I'll spend some time with you."

She had no intention of that, but it's good to be nice and to get a little help. She cupped her left hand under his chin.
"So, won't you help a girl out? I really need to do my job~"

[Break]

"Now, that girl is quite the pro. I like her already."
"Heh, guess i got worried for nothing. But now im out of cover, this isnt good."
Muttered Jack in response to his Stand's words. Indeed, having a Stand with such a high level of individuality could be useful in a situation like this, even though its tremendous Ego oftentimes brought him worry.
In this case, however, having an extra pair of eyes and brains was certainly for the better; he just had to make sure she stayed hidden while scouting, in case someone among the crowd could see her.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

Alma Allegro, Jack Daniels
City X
Pollyanna Park
10: 26

"Come on," the college kid says with a resigned, cocksure sigh, "Do you really think I can move a crowd like this? I could if I would if it's for you, but I'm buzzed - not deluded! If you stick with me I can totally probably show you the way in the next time there's an opening."

It was at that moment that Jack's "distraction" came into play. A beer bottle explodes loudly into shards of glass behind the young man. He jumps a little and turns towards the source of the noise as he instinctively moves out of the way from where the offending sound had been.

"Watch those pyrotechnics, you!" he guffaws, more enthused than angry at the potential threat to his life, "We're not firing them off yet until the T.N.T tribute, donchaknow?"

The back end of the crowd seemed to react somewhat to the nearby noise. Many move to one side or the other, so at last there was at least some more-or less clear cut way into the approximate middle of the sea of fans.

Meanwhile, for Jack Daniels, he continues to wade his way through this veritable sea. Despite the large size of the area the concert is being held, the 'goers are packing together like so many sardines or penguins. But, the cover of the crowd is fine camouflage for a single man who wishes to lose himself under their cover. Your attacker is still out there, but at least they'll be having quite a time trying to locate you. Additionally, the girl, unseen to others but those with the power like yours, can also blaze a trail of her own through the crowd in a complementary flanking maneuver to your own, courtesy of your Stand's incorporeal nature.

For you, where to now? Make an attempt to go further ahead, possibly all the way to the front? Sit back and wait, under the cover of noise and countless other bodies, to keep an eye out, ready to switch from prey to hunter mode if the opportunity perhaps arose? Something else that comes to mind?


Arturo De Niro
City X
Pollyanna Park
10: 26

The grove you have opted to enter is less forest and more just five long symmetrical rows of trees that act as a de facto fence that separates one part of the park from another. Low lying shrubbery at edges lends itself further to making it the barrier that it is. From a bird's-eye view it would make Pollyanna look like a quilt of verdantness, pathways, and buildings of both the leisurely and utilitarian variety. There was a two meter gap between each tree from the east-to-west bearing, three meters between each tree as the line went to the north and south, and a thick, cushioning bed of brown needles that had been dropped over the years by the evergreens. Setting foot into the "forest" immediately muffles a noticeable fraction of the noise from the nearby concert, and probably by design.

Whirrr-
-Thunk.

What you are able to hear clearly is something else entirely.

Whirrr-
-Thunk.

"Get out of town."

A voice above and to your left rings from the cover of the canopy of branches.

Whirrr-
-Thunk.

"Get out of the business."

Ahead of you. To your right. Lower to the ground.

Whirrr-
-Thunk.

"GET OUT OF THE LAND OF THE LIVING!" the voice screams into your ear, right from behind you.

A heavy, wooden fist, that looks to be amateurishly carved with numerous jagged splinters jutting from its "skin" hurtles towards the back of your head in a blur.

Enemy Stand

Name: ???

Power: B
Speed: C
Range: ???
Durability: ???
Precision: A
Potential: ???

Stand Type: ???

Stand Ability(s): ???

vs.

Arturo De Niro's Stand

Name: ???

Power: B
Speed: C
Range: ???
Durability: B
Precision: C
Potential: ???

Stand Type: ???

Stand Ability(s): ???

Its speed is nothing to sneeze at, but you have years of experience at your disposal. It's a close shave, but in the midst of this ambush you have barely enough time to put up a last-second defense. Though you may have defended yourself you have still taken a direct hit from the attack of an enemy Stand. The force from it enough to lift you off your feet and throw you through the air for about a meter into an open grove, as well as forcing you to shake the recoil from the strength of the blow.

From the position that you knew for sure the attack had been sent from you see no sign of your attacker other than an upright, small wooden cross. Shaped like a plus sign, strings loosely dangling from its ends, its diameter roughly equaled a foot both for the horizontal and vertical bars.

Then, careening right towards your position like a three meter in length, porcelain ballistic from the heavens up above was...Bob's Big Boy?

"You have no place here, you hot shit head-hunted!" The distinctly nasally voice of your assailant barks at you from somewhere noticeably afar, in the direction of the concert.

"Turn him into hamburger,「 Swing Shift 」!!!"

All the while the smell of sawdust lingers in your nostrils.

[Lycodrake]

Michael Steinman

“You, woman, we’re too much of an easy target out here. Unless you have a better idea, I suggest we scramble away. Let’s make 「him」 come to us. And you, you’re name is Steinman, correct? I assume you can walk, right?”

"Yeah, I'm ready and able to move, doc." With the street not as crowded around them, it did make narrowing down their attacker easier, but at the same time gave the attacker's Stand a better view of them. They were easy targets apart, but Michael wasn't sure if the enemy stand could get all three of them with one attack either. "I don't think it would be a good idea to get in a group, but let's try to keep in range of helping each other if that Stand comes back! And watch out - the Stand user might be in a vehicle!"

[TheInfamousMan]

"Damn it!" Arturo cried out as he dodged the next projectile that came at him.It was annoying, really.

He thought that he would have more cover than this. But apparently looking at the forest from a distance made people mistake how big it actually was.

Now here he was, in practically open space, dodging hand-made projectiles and bits of pop memorabilia.

But there was the question of where that Bob's Big Boy came from. Does this mean that the user was watching from somewhere. "I need to figure out where the user is... If I see where this crap is coming from, then I'll probably find the user. But first..." Arturo took a steel ball from his holster and threw it at the cross which was probably the manifestation of the enemy's Stand. "Lets see the limits of this thing."

A wooden right hand then appeared next to Arturo's own, mimicking his motions as the hand began to slowly curl up in a gun-like position.

[Break]

"Well, well. He sure isnt showing himself, and honestly im tired of waiting. so-"
As Jack steadily made his way to the edge of the crowd, he snapped his fingers once.
"-lets spice this up a little."

...Somewhere int he middle of the crowd, a forgotten photograph depicting a small device started to behave in a.... bizarre way.
Indeed, not even a second after Jack's bold exclamation, the world turned upside-down for everyone near. That was, because the music suddenly stopped. The reality-augmenting vision and cybernetic implants of everyone around grew hazy, some strongly modified cyborgs collapsed on the spot, vehicles all around stopped moving- suddenly, the whole area was thrown back hundreds of years of culture and order.
All that with such a simple little contraption. Yes- EMP. It was still just as effective as ever; jack could not help but chuckle at the city-folk unning around like headless chicken desperately trieng to access the net with their incacipated goggles.

However, he had no time to leisurely stay there; he had to find the one who would keep their quiet in this situation, because they expected something to go wrong--or, the one who was the most panicked of them all. Those two would be his targets for now.

[Bloble]

Leila Voltina
City X
Streets
10:26

The little girl looks blankly at the strange woman speaking gibberish, and snaps another picture. Then she sticks her tongue out at you.

"Get away from the lady, Yoko." The mother quickly pulls her child away, backing off with a suspicious look. Meanwhile, the husband (or it might just be a woman who happens to be ripped) takes a step forward and gets right in your face.

"I've called the police," he (she?) says angrily. "And we've got the whole crash recorded. If you don't want the city to sue you for everything you own, you'll stay away from us and pretend you weren't doing what I think you were doing with those two men." The implication is clear, and it's an unpleasant one, just like the person in front of you. This person is annoyed, concerned, disgusted, and a little scared. Maybe they think you'll pull a knife and demand drugs or money.

You can hear the sound of windows changing opacity in the neighborhood. Every second, a new observer appears to witness what's going on. The shrieking near the van also seems to have subsided, but the overall noise is increasing as the buzz of whispered conversation begins to populate the air.

For better or worse, there's no sign of any hostile Stands, but that could change any second.


Arthur Arthur and Michael Stienman
City X
Streets
10:26

"I don't think it would be a good idea to get in a group, but let's try to keep in range of helping each other if that Stand comes back! And watch out - the Stand user might be in a vehicle!"

"There aren't," a weak voice says. From the sky, a familiar orb of eyes floats downward in a crooked spiral, ending in a soft crash that sends it bouncing into a wall. One of its wings is bent crooked. "They're in the alley and not moving. Couldn't get a good look at the user before I got smacked around, but it's just the one. Looks like a close-range type, but I could be wrong. That idiot is there too, but I can't tell if he's dead or just out of it." You detect a hint of worry in the relatively even tone. Either he's a good actor, or he's actually worried about his subordinate.

It takes a moment to get reacquainted with its surroundings. Several of the eyes are bruised or spinning, but the remainder remain sharp and focused. "The smart option would be to distance yourselves from this area immediately. If the assassin decides to go after you, they'll be doing it on foot. I can warn you if there's pursuit, and if you make it out, you'll be given safe transport to anywhere on the planet."

Well, that's what he says, but an unspoken declaration is there as well. He called it the smart option, but he never said it was the best option either. If this truly is a test, then perhaps your new employer wishes for you to charge in blindly like fools. It's not as if you've signed a contract, so there's no reason to do something like that.

Still... the implication is clear. One who isn't prepared to risk their life cannot possibly bear the weight of the future.

[Zenieth]

You're greeted by two irritable situations,, first your compatriot things it's fair course to tell you what to do, you have to wonder if they're both deaf to the scream that emanated from the alleyway. You weren't going to retreat, that just gives them the freedom to attack again at their leisure, whatever that, was it called stand?, was it clearly had some freedom to move.

Your attention returns to the... you're not entirely sure, there's way too many genders now for you to give a damn, so you'll call it a fucker to save the headache. Well the fucker certainly isn't doing itself any favors for getting up in your face, threats of police? You haven't been phased by that since you were twelve, a lot of lost teeth and innocence will do that to a woman. You sneer at the fucker's accusation of what you were doing with the men you were riding with, the nerve, as if you'd be caught doing business in motion, in a van no less, it's not like you're a cheap trick.

To shut the fucker up,You grip the hem of your jacket and raise it, showing off you're bare Russian pride. Drier than the sahara, if you jad been doing anything, it sure wasn't with that little stretch of heaven. After giving the fucker and family a nice flash of the goods, you rounded on your heel and raised your arms in open surrender, as if saying you mean no harm

"I'm going" you say wrylyas you walk away.


You put about a meter between you and the fucker before you decide to let your stand deal the blow the fucker was so expecting, you don't put much force into it, just enough to knock some sense into the asshole. You don't know well where the blow will go, just a general fist to the upper body, you don't got the precision to specify more than that. The white arm materializing doing all the remaining work.

Back to the more pressing matter, you eye the floating orb and sneer even more, your mood is worse than ever, so you quickly ignore it and your acquaintances and instead head for the alleyway blocked by the van. Whether you were entering a trap was unknown to you, but you know you heard that pregnant woman scream as she was being dragged, so you had better go check on what was going on in that direction.

[Sakuraba Haru]

So he's useless to helping you? Well... you weren't expecting too much. Cutting through the crowd without making much of a hassle seems to be rather... troublesome.
Hurting innocent people just isn't in your... heart.
Searching around for "sound" wouldn't be very reliable, there is a lot of noise here so trying to single out a single person acting suspiciously would be difficult.
And you cannot sense the "sounds" of Stands so you would need to find someone who makes odd movements within this large area without the assistance of their stand.
...Alma decided to move out away from the crowd but keeping as much of the area within her eyesight as possible.
The Stand User must attack sometime. Alma believed herself to be in no fatal risk.
She just needed to wait... taking a deep breath she focused the "sounds" of this large concert into her fingertips.
While it would be hard to search it would not be hard to gather.
The moment the enemy appeared she'll blow their head off!

[Sherrinford]

“Problems, problems, problems...”

Dr. Arthur was growing more and more irritated by the minute. That damn woman completely ignored him, opting instead to blindly chase after the User. “Oh, but at least the fucking orb-Stand is back.” He thought with a hint of sarcasm.

He didn’t like it. He surely didn’t want to play along with whoever was behind it, be it the Speedwagon Foundation or the last of Stand-gifted hoodlums. One thing for sure, that’s not what he would have signed in for.

This being said, however, there was one or two factors that prevented him to just leave it all behind: first, thinking about it, the possibility of the user going after him anyway was high enough... perhaps it was best to settle the issue there and then, instead of being constantly on guard later on, waiting for an unexpected attack to strike. Plus, attacking now was most likely the best chance they had, while they had numerical superiority?

Second, as much as he wanted to leave that idiot female to her own demise, his self-imposed ethics came to bite him in the back. He couldn’t just leave her going alone. He turned to his other companion, staring briefly at him in the eyes, hoping to find the same sort of certainty, and before turning to the floating orb: “I just hope I won’t regret this later on. – I don’t like this, I really don’t. Somebody ought to have a good explanation ready for when I come back – you, Stand, you seem to be a spokeperson of sort for the Speedwagon Foundation. I’ll let you know that I don’t work for free, understood?”

He was still reluctant to go into the alley, though. No fucking way he’d put himself into such an obvious ambush location. However, there’s often more than one way to skin a cat... “Perhaps there’s a better way. I’ll follow that damn woman from a safe distance and provide support. Steinman, try to look around for another way in, and ambush the User if you see he got us cornered. Can you do that?”

"... and you, Stand, don't float away. Stay close where I can see you. You've got some explaining to do."

[Lycodrake]

Michael Steinman
City X - Streets

It was nice to see the eye-covered Stand of one of the Speedwagon Foundation's men wasn't destroyed, and that its user could tell us a bit more of the situation, though Michael wasn't sure if his subordinate was still alive.

"Steinman, try to look around for another way in, and ambush the User if you see he got us cornered. Can you do that?”

While he is glad that there won't be a Stand user in a vehicle ready to run them all over, Michael could do without being ordered around. That and the organizer's Stand said that the enemy Stand might be short-range: that wasn't a guarantee. In the end, Michael knows that he is at an advantage in some ways, but disadvantaged with all the noise around him.

"Sure, doc, I think I can do that." Alley searching would force them into a narrow space, but as long as Michael prepared to defend himself or get a jump on the enemy Stand user, it would work out.

[Bloble]

Arthur Arthur, Leila Voltina and Michael Stienman
City X
Streets
10:28

"... and you, Stand, don't float away. Stay close where I can see you. You've got some explaining to do."

"..." It doesn't move. The Stand isn't coming closer or leaving. It merely stares at you, Arthur Arthur, as it's been doing all this time. You can't quite grasp what that stare is signifying. Eventually, however, it deigns to respond. "Of course," it says. "I was planning on that from the start. This was never meant to happen. We took countermeasures. They were supposed to be looking for us in a completely different city..."

And then you step forward, and it flutters after you like a drunken bat.

It's dark.

That's the first thing you realize as you walk between two buildings. As you enter the alley, all outside noise and light seems to weaken drastically, as if this is an entirely new world. The sound of a man whining about broken ribs and outraged screaming is dulled. Your old world was one of buzzing and human chatter, with the careful hum of delicate machinery serving as a soothing background noise. It was a world of light and color and garish fashions that got stranger day by day.

This is a world of darkness. A world where flashes of momentarily reflected light illuminate tiny portions of it for brief moments. A world formed of glimpses and vague shapes, where a single ancient light bulb flickers mournfully. It's a world that hasn't changed much since a century ago, a world that kept on trucking as humanity got a makeover. If the world got a facelift, this place is what lies under the skin.

Metal lines the ugly brick walls. Exposed pipes, some of them dripping fluid, and outdated machinery are all you can make out. There are no windows, and only a single steel door halfway down, locked tight with a chain that could hold an airplane together.

Some fifty meters down, straight across from the entrance, is an indistinct mountain of junk, rising taller than your head. On top sits an unmistakeably human figure, reclining on the wall as it rocks back and forth silently. You can only make out that it's big. Big and muscular.

It creaks. Whatever it's rocking on creaks loudly and brashly as metal rubs against metal.

"Took you long enough," the voice is male. It's as rough as the alley's walls, but with a hint of joviality. "Thought at least one of you'd pussy out. That punk, for example. You don't look too good, kid. Why don't you come on over and take a seat? There's plenty of room, and I'm sure these two won't mind sharing the space."

A stray gust of wind catches one of the loose, flickering light bulbs, and it swings idly. For a split second the mountain is illuminated with artificial red light, revealing a familiar suited figure reclining on a couch that's been bent nearly in half. If you didn't know better, Justin would look like someone in the middle of a nap. Instead, he might as well be a corpse.

"Hey, doc," the man on the mountain says. "Since you look like the only one here who has half a brain, tell the bitch to stop moving. If I see her pass that door, you won't like it. I'm sure you know a bunch of long words that'd be able to describe it, but I only need one." Leila, it's like he doesn't even acknowledge your existence. This man sees you as something less than human.

He raises a muscular arm, showing off something that glints in the moonlight. A handgun, and a big one at that, being held by fingers as thick as sausages.

Then it descends, terminating its journey as it is pressed against someone's neck. There's a gasp, and hitched sobbing.

"Shut it," the man says, addressing someone other than you. He flips the gun and hands it off to a thin, trembling hand. Justin isn't the only person there. At the back of the pile, partially hidden behind the metallic garbage, is another. "All right, this is what you're gonna do. You take this gun, and if one of these fuckers moves past the steel door, I want you to put a bullet through the suit's head. If you don't, you're the first to bite it." He speaks slowly, laconically, as if he doesn't care what happens one way or the other, even as he entrusts his weapon to someone else.

There's a choking sob and weak protests, which quickly end with a wet smack.

"Good."

A single eye stares back at you. Yes, you, Michael Steinman.

"Well? How about it, kid?" The man sounds like he's on the edge of laughter. "Maybe you come over here and sit down, and I maybe let one of these people go. Or maybe this chick keeps walking and sentences one man to death, and an expecting lady to life in prison."

[Zenieth]

You eye the man, you know well enough who his hostages are, you caught sight of both, probably could have gotten further if you'd not wasted time with those others, but what is was and you can't do anything about it now. you mark the door that he notes and you consider his statement.

You

You weren't allowed past that door, but why? It seemed an arbitrary cut off point, you knew your range, and it certainly was a lot less than 25 meters, but maybe that was his safe zone, the cut off point where he couldn't handle such an onslaught, it was at that thought that you laughed at his demands. Your voice echoed, it was hollow, mechanical, devoid of emotions as you burst into laughter at the request he made of both of them.

So you were the bitch that needed to be tied on a leash, it was funny in a way, but you had come to the simple conclusion that you'd make sure he suffered. You kept moving forward, towards that very door. Completely ignoring either of your companions, the hostages, no, you felt considerate, at least a bit as you looked over the guy. Whatever he was, he was sure of himself, and only sure individuals put demands so boldly, you're only about two meters from the door as you stop and ask the doctor,

"You know I heard trauma makes very cute babies, well the ones that don't end in miscarriages you know."

It was pointless banter, something that floated into your mind, utterly removed from the conversation and yet you felt it'd be good to get an answer, a doctor should know something or other about that yeah? It was worth it, if you ever gave the natural route a thought, rather than just going invitro.

You wonder where his stand is though, he was a lot more flashy when you didn't have him in your sights, did his power have stage fright?