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bakerstreet2014-10-05 02:01 pm
zizz) wrote in bakerstreet2014-10-05 02:01 pm
stay hungry stay free ( do the best you can )
THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE MEME
inspired by the Left 4 Dead games, The Walking Dead, and various other zombie-related media.
It's a scenario that needs little introduction: the dead have risen to feast upon the living.
In the beginning there were evacuations, emergency broadcasts, reassurances from the government and the media.
It was hoped that things would return to normal sooner rather than later. But eventually, all that's left are the shambling hordes.
So take up that baseball bat, or your father's shotgun. Cling tight to your memories of the better times, or your faith, or whatever keeps you going.
The odds aren't stacked in your favor....but maybe you'll survive.
WHAT.
a productive survivor is a happy survivor.
1) Scavenge/Search: The end of civilization as we know it also means the end of all things convenient, up to and including hot water, electricity and McDonald's. Whether it's ammo or edibles, you're looking for any salvageable supplies. This option is also for if you're trying to find a familiar face somewhere among all the destruction and danger.
2) Fight: Not for your right to party, but for survival. Whether against a lone zombie, an entire horde or a fellow human being, there's nothing else to do but try and come out of the encounter alive.
3) Barricade: There's nowhere to run, but you can at least hide out and hunker down for awhile. Hopefully being cooped up won't drive you stir-crazy.
4) Escape: There comes a time when the only thing to do is run. Is there a horde on your tail? A final evacuation helicopter waiting just ahead? Whatever the reason, better hope you don't stumble.
5) Scout: Charging ahead blindly is an easy way to get killed. A little reconnaissance can prove to be the wisest decision.
6) Relax: Seems like an out of place choice, doesn't it? But sometimes, peace is just as important as safety. You've managed to secure a little while to breathe, to forget the horror you've just gone through.
WHERE.
location, location, location.
1) City/Neighborhood: These places used to be bustling with life. Now they're silent, littered with wreckage and likely crawling with foes.
2) Farmstead/Mill/Lighthouse: Isolated, secluded buildings out in the sticks.
3) Sewers/Subway/Rooftops: If you're heading through these areas, you're likely just trying to get to someplace better. Here's hoping nothing gets the jump on you.
4) Hospital/Army Base/Evacuation Center: These places once offered hope and protection. There might still be firepower and supplies stocked somewhere within.
5) Woods/Swamp/Coast/General Outdoors: Nature hasn't gotten any kinder, but it might just provide needed cover or a place to gather food the old-fashioned way.
WHEN.
at what stage of the world's end do you find yourself?
1) Initial Outbreak: This awful reality is new and frightening. There's chaos and panic everywhere you turn.
2) Two Weeks Later: The horror isn't quite so fresh, or maybe you're just starting to get a little numb to it.
3) Two Months Later: Some of the dust has settled on what remains of society. How have you been holding up?
4) ???: Specific time of your choosing.
WHO.
humanity's numbers have thinned dramatically, but you aren't alone.
1) Family: In this world, kin may be all you have left, or those who are as good as.
2) Friends: Better to be in the company of those you know and trust than those you don't, right?
3) Lovers: This isn't exactly the time or place for a honeymoon, but you're lucky enough to have found your spouse/romantic partner/fuckbuddy/whatever.
4) Strangers: You don't know this person and they don't know you. In any other situation, your paths might never have crossed. But here the two of you are anyway, like it or not.
5) Enemies: Perhaps you were at each other's throats long before this world went to hell. Maybe you just ended up that way over time, or due to the stressful circumstances at work.
6) Guardian: It could be that you don't even like this other person, but you feel responsible for them anyway.
EXTRA.
feel free to add these at your own discretion.
A) Power Loss: Immortality? Gone. Magic? Nixed. You're just an ordinary person now, for better or worse.
B) Infection: You've been bitten, or scratched, or maybe you're grappling with a sickness that has the same eventual end. You can resist the symptoms for awhile, but the only "cure" to be found is a bullet to the head.
C) Injury: Unlike the option above, you aren't hurt because of a zombie. How badly have you been knocked around?
AS ALWAYS, if there isn't a prompt that suits your needs, you're free to make up your own scene.
this tl;dr must be the work of an enemy stand
what - ( 1 ) scavenge / search
where - ( 3 ) sewers / subway / rooftops
okay. okay then. okay we can do this --
kakyoin isn't sure where he is. he'd woken up without remembering ever falling asleep, opened his eyes to find himself standing ankle-deep in murky water, claustrophobic concrete tunnels stretching for as far as the eye could see before and behind him. jotaro and mr. joestar, abdul and polnareff had been nowhere to be seen, and even now he had no idea where they were. the people he did end up running into here could hardly be called people any more. kakyoin's cautious exploration had eventually led him to a group of 'people' shambling about in what looked to be an abandoned subway station connected to these tunnels, but he quickly came to realize that they weren't lucid, and apparently very intent on killing him.
sharply reminded of the 'people' that had been affected by the stand, judgement, kakyoin beat a hasty retreat and re-evaluated his circumstances.
this -- was most likely the work of an enemy stand. some sort of hallucination, perhaps. or he'd been transported to another location somehow. but either way, his main objective would be to proceed with caution, ferret out this stand user, then return to where jotaro and the others were. as long as he stayed calm and was careful, there was no reason to panic, he told himself.
his shoes felt unpleasantly heavy, water squelching from the soaked leather and weighing down at the hem of his uniform pants, but there was nothing that could be done about that. walking at a steady, measured clip, kakyoin hugged the wall to his right, pausing only when anything disrupted the heavy silence -- some noise that always ended up being the scurry of insects, or the flicker of a fluorescent lightbulb somewhere. before him, hierophant green's many tendrils spread out like cobwebs, poking through the tunnels and chambers that lay ahead of him, seeking out any signs of life.
it was one of these tendrils that eventually found hol horse. creeping across the floor like a vine, it touched at hol horse's boot, then gently moved up to curl around his ankle, quietly tracking his movements. other tendrils bloomed out like ribbons, spreading out across the floor to evaluate the surroundings, and hol horse would have heard the sound of distant footsteps splashing closer from down a tunnel.
kakyoin could sense through hierophant's ribbon that the person he'd found wasn't one of his companions. was it the stand user who'd brought him here? either way, he was determined to have a talk with whoever it was that he'd found, and the sooner the better. his footsteps quickened to a cautious jog, each step kicking up dank water as he neared the location where hierophant had latched onto hol horse's leg like a shackle. ]
even hierophant green couldn't tie you to a word limit huh kakyoin
he'd been fine with the orders. really. he'd had his plan and his targets, and a pretty healthy fear of dio's wrath to keep a boot in his ass about it — and he even wanted to say that all things considered, he'd done a pretty good job already! he was still alive, at least, and he only cut his losses when he had to...
... but he just wasn't a guy who handled surprises too well. especially lumbering, shuffling, undead surprises that moved in huge hordes and swarmed to devour living flesh. and hell if he knew whose stand it was. the only one who'd have fit the bill for that kinda power would've been enya, and that nasty old bag snuffed it when she let dio down; there was no way she was coming back from that, so... he had no damn idea what this was, or whose fault it was, or anything.
this stand business was getting out of hand for a guy with his abilities.
he really would've done anything to have that j geil around, right then. not that that fella would've been much use — a stand of light wouldn't be worth a damn shit to him anyway, in the murky, foul-smelling darkness of the sewer. but he just wasn't cut out to go it alone like this! even shin deep in a noxious-smelling slurry so cold his feet had gone numb from it, the rest of him was sweating buckets, his heart pounding deafeningly in his ears as he slowly crept his way through the the tunnels. if those undead didn't get him first, he'd probably just sit tight and die down here. wouldn't take him long to dehydrate, long as he kept panicking, and well... he always knew he was never gonna be one to go out with a bang. if it wasn't polnareff or jotaro or whoever, it was gonna be some miserable old age when women didn't look his way any more, or a heart attack on the toilet, or dio just coming along to clean up whatever he left behind, like he did with that old crone. something equally pathetic and deflated.
even compared to that, this was something. dying in his prime, leaving a handsome corpse behind... damn it, but what if he became a zombie? his face would rot off...
they weren't far from him. he could hear the groans and thuds, and he held his breath anxiously, trying to ascertain the direction — so he could run the other way. sure, he had an infinite supply of bullets, but he could also... run away. so why pick the conflict route?
that was what he was thinking until, on his next step, something grabbed him and pulled him short. he almost tripped in the darkness, swore and splashed about to right himself before he could get a nice faceful of that nasty viscous goop, and he turned, jerking his foot with growing panic. ]
Ah — Ah, hell...!
[ he couldn't really make out what it was; at first, he thought it'd been some passing detritus getting tangled around his foot, but trying to kick it away — then trying to move at all — suddenly seemed fruitless. he'd obviously been grabbed by something, and in the seething, oozing waste that devoured his feet, there was no way to tell what it was. hol horse drew his emperor and pointed it down with his cold and shaking fingers, roughly where he figured it was emerging from; he could hear footsteps coming in that direction, too fast to be one of them, but definitely not a friendly.
he didn't have any friendlies left.
just above the pool, a faint green glow came into sight. that was an easy one to recognise, but it wasn't exactly a good thing, and hol horse ran his free hand down his face anxiously, listening to those groans as they congregated, echoing down towards them. hell.
when kakyoin rounded the corner, he found hol horse with the emperor rolled up out of shooting position across his knuckles, both hands urgently making a shh shhh shhhhut up gesture as clearly as he could. ]
Listen, Kakyoin...! [ it's a comically loud whisper. ] ... I ain't gonna fight you, understand? Just... keep quiet, a minute...!
no subject
instead, it was hol horse.
hol horse, who had the audacity to tell him to be quiet. ]
-- you!
[ kakyoin reflexively pulled back his stand to its humanoid form to hover behind him, hierophant's tendril recoiling from around hol horse's ankle like it had touched something unsavory, but he also automatically kept his voice at a low growl. though he didn't know what hol horse was planning on doing, his body had already realized before his mind that something didn't feel right and that he should be quiet. ]
What are you doing here? This isn't your Stand ability -- is this another one of Dio's henchmen?
[ his gaze flickered from hol horse's face, to the unaimed emperor, then to the far tunnels where he could hear the distant sounds of inhuman moans. behind him, hierophant had silently braced its hands in a familiar position, wrist joints already seeping with fluids. kakyoin looked back to hol horse, his brows furrowed in thought as he pieced together the facts; though his words were less overtly hostile when he spoke again, hierophant stayed in that wary position, threatening without words to attack the moment anything was out of line. ]
... you're also in danger?
no subject
... but at least he was talking quietly. even then, hol horse cringed at the sound of his outburst, watching his stand with a growing wariness as it accumulated in front of him, rolling his emperor up the right way and pointing it at it on instinct. sure, it at least seemed like kakyoin was here by himself, and amongst them he was pretty small potatoes... but that was when hol horse had everything orchestrated how he wanted. nice open space. mid-range quarters. an ally or two. not some damn dank tunnel where that thing could pretty much emerald splash him out of existence before hol horse could make it to the next bend.
at least he got his foot back, but it was obvious to hol horse why he'd relinquished it: it wasn't like he had anywhere to run, right now. he hissed back his response, still in that exaggerated stage whisper. ]
Yeah, well, you call it 'danger', and I'd say I'm... 'between plans'? [ very convincing, except for the way his voice was shaking a little on the end of words. he was clearly cold with fear. ] Bettin' if you're down here too, you've probably got this as figured out as me, that right?
[ hol horse held up a hand, looking up, listening. the shuffling had moved on. now there was only the steady tap, tap, tap of water distantly dribbling down from the old, weathered stone. he exhaled, slowly, in a long pheeeew. ]
We ain't out of the woods yet. Pretty sure they can smell us, so they just keep on circling round an' round. Probably because you withdrew your Stand that you didn't lead 'em straight to us, there.
As for who's responsible, well... your guess is as good as mine. Wasn't ever part of Dio's plan, far as I know — not that he's gonna tell us anything, if he decides to change it. Who knows? Maybe he got sick of waiting, decided to cut out the middle-man. That guy could be capable of anything.
[ he shrugged. and then, after a pause: ]
... Can't help but notice you're alone.
no subject
but what was done was done. no taking back what was said. he'd simply have to be warier from hereon -- even if it was just hol horse here at the moment. ]
I may be alone right now, but I'm still more than capable of holding my own. You'd do well not to try anything stupid.
[ his frown had deepened significantly. kakyoin didn't move from where he stood, but hierophant's legs had unfurled to gently loop around his body, hovering protectively around him. those tendrils were ready to form a protective barrier as soon as hol horse so much as twitched his trigger finger; a shotgun barrage of emeralds would follow immediately.
but hol horse wasn't the main threat here. kakyoin doubed that hol horse was a good enough actor to fake the terrified tremor in his words, meaning that this place and its numerous, ravenous denizens were dangerous to the both of them. ]
You aren't like Enya, you don't know of DIO's Stand ability. And unless you raised your hand against him, it seems unlikely he'd waste any time or resources aiming to kill you specifically. So either you were caught up in someone else's attempt to the Joestars -- or you're lying about what you know.
[ despite the unsettling drip, drip, drip of water from all around them and the faint sounds of groans echoing in the distance, kakyoin kept his voice quiet and level. though his shoulders were tensed, he showed barely any signs of fear or panic, hands only clenched into loose fists at his sides as he evaluated the circumstances, forcing himself calm. ]
... you keep saying 'we.' 'Us.' But you don't sound like you have any of your allies here with you.
no subject
hol horse did his best to match that noise level, but his voice was naturally brasher, and his control slipped here and there. he still kept his hands in their own uneasy position, half-surrendered and in clear view. ]
... Trust me, I really don't want any trouble with you. Right now, I'm just trying to save my own hide, and I'll be honest with you if it'll help me do that.
So yeah, you ain't wrong. You killed my partner, and I'm alone, and I got nothing to do with what's going on up there. They like the taste of Hol Horse as much as anyone, from the way they've been following me around. [ he paused, listening to the shuffles. there were so many more of them than there had been before, and the yelling and shouts of panicked townsfolk had stopped carrying on the wind a long time back. ] And you know I'm not lying to you, 'cause whatever you think of me, you know I don't go strolling knee-deep in shit for kicks.
[ but then there was the hard sell he was getting to. hol horse slid his foot forward, carefully, and he watched kakyoin from under his hat for any signs of retaliation. his voice loosened up, became almost lightweight and friendly. ]
... Now, the way I see it, either we go it our own way and pretend we didn't even see each other, and probably get eaten in the process — [ had to make that idea sound absolutely terrible! ] — or we do the smart thing and work together to get outta this shithole and get to safety as soon as possible!
no subject
You were quick to flee when J. Geil was defeated, without even going to check if he had survived or trying to avenge him. And you abandoned Enya without a second thought, as well, even though you both serve DIO.
If you were that quick to abandon your former allies, I can't imagine how eager you'd be to backstab me, your enemy. Or -- use me as a living shield so you could save your own life ...
[ there was some pretty obvious disdain in his voice, and kakyoin stopped talking just then only because he noticed the sounds of someons shuffling by the chamber they were in. those wet, arrythmical footsteps ambled closer, pause, then fade away, accompanied by rapidly-quieting groans. in the distance. he could hear more restless voices, the sounds echoing unsettlingly throughout the dank tunnels.
as much as he hated to admit it, hol horse was probably right. this wasn't the sort of situation that either of them could survive alone. ]
... I don't trust you.
[ he spoke reluctantly, but behind kakyoin's back, hierophant lowered its hands; though its face was as impassive as ever, the hard stare it had fixed on hol horse drifted away, and it looked towards the tunnels that branched off into the darkness as if searching for an exit. although kakyoin still seemed openly stern and wary, he was clearly far more worried about the 'people' milling about outside than he was about hol horse. ]
The moment you do something stupid, I'll consider you a threat and react accordingly. But -- if you have an idea of how to proceed, I'll listen for now.
no subject
hol horse waited for the groans and murmurs to subside, waited for kakyoin to finish laying out the facts. he scratched his jaw, but otherwise barely flinched as kakyoin recounted the deaths of those on his side. eh, well... he couldn't argue it, but then, that was never really his angle at all.
at least kakyoin did seem to understand, in the end. whatever he thought about the arrangement, there was really no arguing that going it alone was gonna be better for either of them, right? they were both stand users, with a shared problem and a shared goal. and he didn't know what kinda movies they aired in japan, but he went to see dawn of the dead at the pictures more than once, and he was pretty genre-savvy. in this situation, the only right way was to stick together.
in the ensuing silence, hol horse had the confidence to slide another step forward, lowering his hands slowly. ]
It's 'cause you don't trust me that I can buddy up with you. If you're stupid, what kinda use are you gonna be? Not like you're promising to be my best pal so we can braid each other's hair forever an' ever, here.
I'm talking about an arrangement. Lasts as long as it takes us to make it to the outside, and that's it.
[ hol horse raised his gun to gesture into the surrounding tunnels. ]
Here's what I'm thinking. You keep on doing that feeling out with your Stand. But you wanna withdraw it the second you feel those things up ahead, or there's a chance they're gonna pick up on it and track us. I got my bullets; my feeling is that they're gonna recognise the life energy from it, so as long as I can get one past 'em, I can lead 'em away with it for a while as a diversion. And, of course, there's your Emerald Splash as the last line of defense.
[ he paused. and then added, with a slight curve to his mouth: ]
... In my defense, that ol' bag tried to kill me first. And you know as well as I do that J. Geil was toast whether I showed up or not. We're all mercenaries, Kakyoin; don't go seein' us as equivalent to your little group, because we ain't.
no subject
[ kakyoin's frown deepened at that, but it was more disapproving than actually angry. personally, he couldn't fathom a lifestyle of hurting other people just for money, especially the way hol horse put it -- but that was neither here nor now. his brow had twitched when hol horse sidled another step closer, but kakyoin only exhaled slowly through his nose, lips pressed together thinly, then looked towards the tunnels that branched off into the darkness. ]
... you came from that direction, correct?
[ kakyoin pointed at one of the far tunnels. he still remembered feeling hol horse's movements through hierophant's shackling tendril, and he mapped out those previous steps in his head. speaking quietly, almost as if he were talking to himself to jog his memory, kakyoin half-turned to glance back the way he'd come. ]
And I came from that tunnel. I walked mostly in a straight line but even with Hierophant spread out, I didn't find any signs of an exit. So it might be best to try a new direction.
[ he was still obviously avoiding turning his back completely on hol horse, but his walked at a brisk clip towards one of the other tunnels, stopping just short of its entrance.
a deep exhale before kakyoin looked back towards hierophant green, then gave it a small nod as if encouraging forth. of course, he didn't get any real reaction from his stoic stand, but it did promptly disperse into its familiar array of narrow ribbons and tendrils, spreading out before him, slinking quietly against the floors and walls.
kakyoin didn't say anything to explain himself as one thin tendril slunk backwards, coming to curl around hol horse's ankle like a leash. it tightened just enough to stay in place but not enough to hurt, not enough to hinder hol horse's movements at all; just a reminder that kakyoin didn't trust hol horse not to flee at the first sign of danger. ]
It's worrisome that those -- people can detect Stand energy. [ expression focused as he sent hierophant forth to scout the tunnels, kakyoin spoke at a low mutter. ] They must also be influenced by a Stand, if they can sense Stands. But I've never seen a Stand with such a huge area of influence. Even Justice's effects weren't this widespread.
no subject
he watched kakyoin pick one, and he started to move to another when he felt something lash its way up his leg again. it came at the perfect time to pull his leg out from under him, and he practically fell knee deep into the cold, ruddy water with a splash, swearing loudly. ugh, god damn it, his favourite outfit and everything...! that kakyoin... it was gonna smell like a sea of assholes for weeks, now!
hol horse got to his feet, brushing his grubby fists down his blackened top and wringing out the cloth on his thighs before he turn on kakyoin, glowering angrily. ]
The hell're you doing? Are you serious about this? Come on, Kakyoin. Look at our situation, where'm I even gonna run to?! [ hol horse had been quite happy to play along, geez!! he scowled down at the grip on his ankle, gave it a few experimental tugs... fucking pain in the ass, this guy. it wasn't going to budge.
... but if worst came to worst, he was pretty sure his emperor could make quick work of a little piece of silly string like that. if kakyoin wanted to think he had him tethered like a damn toddler, then that was his mistake to make, when the time came.
hol horse made partners to survive. if he had to sacrifice himself for them, then they weren't partners any more. he wasn't gonna shoot and make a big racket until he absolutely had to — but if it came to that, he'd damn well take his chances alone.
hol horse moved to where kakyoin was, very purposefully smearing his nasty hand all over kakyoin as he pushed in beside him to look down the long length of the passage. he was sulkily silent for a while after kakyoin spoke, and then he mumbled something bitter to himself, adjusting the hat on his head before he responded. ]
... Lotta Stands we don't know about out there, and that thing could belong to anybody. Fate might've brought us together with the tarot cards, your Hierophant, my Emperor 'n' such, but that ain't the last of it.
The world you've entered is pretty dangerous. Even I don't know the upper limit of what Stand powers can do.
no subject
kakyoin glared daggers at hol horse, but refused to dignify that action with an actual response, returning his focus to his stand quickly enough.
as hierophant explored further and further into the darkness, its tendrils grew narrower, stretching flatter like ribbons. its faint glow barely cut through the murky darkness when it was quiet like this, only the faintest glimmers visible beneath the plates and scales that shifted along each tendril. ]
... don't speak to me like I'm a child.
I knew what I was getting myself into, when I decided to accompany Jotaro and the others.
[ kakyoin stared darkly out into the tunnels as he spoke, his expression the usual stern half-frown, ill-fitting for his age as always. he swallowed thickly, and a thin bead of sweat lined down his jaw, disappearing down the high collar of his jacket as he pushed hierophant to stretch itself just a little bit further. ]
It's a new type of Stand for sure, but there's no reason to panic. No matter what kind of Stand is behind these circumstances, it must have the same sort of rules and restrictions that ours do. There's no such thing as an invincible Stand. So as long as those rules can be figured out, it can be defeated. As long as we stay calm, there will be a solution.
[ a slow exhale before kakyoin withdrew hierophant just a little bit, enough to ease the strain on himself. the long ribbons twirled around his arm doubled over and thickened as he lessened the distance it had spread itself over, and kakyoin finally looked back over at hol horse properly. ]
I couldn't find anyone -- anything in this direction, at least for as far I sent Hierophant out. I'll keep scouting ahead, but for now, we should start walking.
no subject
hol horse looked down the long tunnel, and then slowly brought his shackled foot in front of kakyoin to take the lead. it was a safe assumption from kakyoin's prompt that he'd want him being the first guy to head down into the darkness, walking ahead — probably to keep an eye on him, make sure he wouldn't try something funny or try to slip away. not a great feeling, and hol horse clearly wasn't all that keen about it by the long urrggh he muttered out under his breath. he kinda doubted kakyoin really had his back here either, if worst came to worst; being in front of him just made him feel like a meatshield.
he'd just have to rely on things going as smoothly as possible while they were stuck here as a twofer, and hope that none of his other friends would show up along the way and render him unnecessary. or worse. because odds were they'd just see it as a chance to subdue him, too, if he were caught in this kind of situation.
well... even a stint in the hospital would be better than being a zombie. if it ended at ora ora, he could probably deal with it...
the sound of his footsteps felt too loud in the dark, and every little scuffle reverberated deep into the gaping darkness ahead of them. he kept his gun trained up, cool as could be, though the chill, the fear, and the damp from his pants was making him shake a little more than he'd like. accuracy wasn't really a problem, with his sort of stand, but it wasn't a particularly cool look. ]
... So what're you gonna do next, Kakyoin. [ he peered over his shoulder, the pair of them only dimly illuminated by hierophant green's place around kakyoin's arm. ] You get out of this or we go and find this Stand user and deal with them, or whatever... and then you're just gonna carry on heading to Egypt? The worst case scenario might've already happened up there. I don't wanna be all negative about your odds, but if yer the only one left alive outta all of your friends, then what?
no subject
[ his answer was prompt and sharp, spat out almost before hol horse was done speaking; kakyoin met that backwards glance with a focused stare, not so much angry as it was a little indignant, firm and certain. that dig at him earlier -- 'sheltered little schoolkid,' as if he were some defenseless child -- was certainly annoying, but not worth dignifying with a response. but any implication that his companions were weak was enough to make kakyoin bristle the slightest. the tendril coiled around hol horse's ankle reflexively tightened just enough to send a message before loosening again, ever-present but not actually hindering his movements, and kakyoin looked away from hol horse, looked past him as if he weren't important. ]
Don't underestimate them. I don't know why I've been seperated from them, but there's no way that I'm the only one alive. When -- not if, when -- we've finished dealing with the Stand user responsible for this situation, I'll find the others and we'll resume traveling to Egypt to face DIO. Obviously. So please don't ask such stupid questions.
... and turn left at the next split. After that, straight ahead.
[ several of hierophant's tendrils had come slithering back to him as he spoke, returning from scouting ahead into the maze of tunnels that lay ahead. mentally making a note of which paths seemed to be populated by those not-people and which ones were empty, at least for the moment, kakyoin redirected his stand to explore ahead down the path he'd dictated to hol horse. he'd done well so far in avoiding drawing any attention, but it was definitely taxing to keep himself spread so thin. ]
Do you plan on trying to kill the Joestars again, when we get out? [ hol horse was hardly his ideal conversation partner, but talking helped keep his mind off the faint tension dragging through his body; the unpleasant sensation of slimy, stagnant water engulfing his stand prickled through his nerves, and kakyoin stared at hol horse to distract himself from that faint chill washing over his skin. ] I don't know how much DIO is offering you, but Jotaro and the others won't go down easily, and you won't see a single cent if you fail at your attempts. Trying to kill people for money ... it seems awfully high-risk, even with the promise of a large reward. Surely, you could find better uses for your Stand.
no subject
[ ... but hol horse couldn't really argue with that, even if he would've liked to. like kakyoin, he mused that there was probably little likelihood that the rest of jotaro's team would kick the bucket, mostly because hol horse would never get that damn lucky about anything. even if these zombies could isolate them and pick off, say, joseph, someone like jotaro wasn't gonna go down against a mindless horde. and as long as the joestar bloodline survived, hol horse's job wasn't done.
... kakyoin thought they'd go and defeat the stand user together, huh. hol horse sure as hell didn't sign up for that when he proposed this — he'd been damn clear that his goal was just to get out. but... if he argued now, kakyoin would just suspect him and hold him on a tighter leash, so he'd just have to be patient. kakyoin would lead him to the exit, they could get up into the city, and then he'd just wait for his chance to cut and run. it'd come, sooner or later.
hol horse looked both ways at the turn, paused to listen for anything; that dripping was getting louder, little by little, but there weren't any familiar shuffles or groans to be heard. least that kid hadn't led them wrong yet, but that was about the only thing in this situation that hol horse was fine with. he turned, following kakyoin's guidance.
even the distant sounds overhead had stopped in this place. they were probably too far from manholes and other shallow points for sound to permeate through, and it made the whole place feel more and more like they were heading into a completely empty area. should've made him feel better, but he couldn't shake the feeling that that would probably wind up worse for them. what if they reached some dead end? ]
Better uses? [ hol horse couldn't help but cackle drily. kakyoin wanted to come across as worldly, but little things like that would inevitably give him away, sooner or later. ] You get hit on the head running away from those things? My Stand is a gun. That kinda thing has just one purpose in this world, and there ain't no better use for it than making money.
'Sides, I know you haven't forgotten what DIO's like. [ hol horse waved a hand over his shoulder, keeping his eyes ahead. ] Even if I regret taking it on, double-crossin' a guy like that isn't an option, if I wanna live to see another day. Nope... I'm just gonna carry on doin' exactly what I set out to do, same as you.
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[ kakyoin huffed quietly through his nose, his voice kept at a low mutter, almost to himself. even if they'd formed an uneasy alliance at the moment for the sake of survival, kakyoin still couldn't pretend to understand someone like hol horse. profiting off the deaths and misery of other people was a detestable way to live. to use one's stand -- the very manifestation of one's psyche -- for that purpose seemed even worse. ]
And please don't put me in the same category as you. I never wanted anything to do with someone like DIO. You decided to work for DIO voluntarily, of your own accord. Pretending that you don't have a choice in the matter after you put yourself in that situation is dishonest.
[ he'd kept his voice quiet but stern, refusing to drop his guard even the slightest, but those last few words tapered off strangely; hol horse would have heard kakyoin's footsteps slow down behind him. several of hierophant's tendrils suddenly jerked where they snaked across the floor, a sharp twitch jittering down the full length of those ribbons and into the darkness. ]
-- stop. [ that was about all the warning hol horse got before kakyoin suddenly reached out to grab at the back of his shirt. the moment his fingers latched against a handful of fabric, he yanked back, pulling them both back several paces. before them, hierophant's tendrils rapidly doubled back to return to kakyoin, shifting and shortening rapidly to protectively coil around him. ] A lot of them are gathering up ahead. I'm not sure why, but there's suddenly a lot more of them. They shouldn't have spotted me, but -- I think they'll be heading this way soon. We should go back and head down a different path.
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wuh.
hol horse jerked sharply, first from the sudden tightness of hierophant's grip on him and second from kakyoin's fist in the back of his shirt, wrenching him the wrong way; he hadn't been expecting it, and he barked a short sharp sound of surprise before he could help it, practically jumping out of his skin from the contact. the sound reverberated deeply down the passage, into the darkness.
shit, this idiot kid, why would he go doing something like that in a situation this jumpy?!
as kakyoin spoke to hol horse, he was already starting to turn around to face him, not really doing much to hide the unabashed fear there in the way the corners of his mouth were pulled down, his eyes wide. right. zombie stand swarm ahead. back the way they came, right? he pulled his hat down and ducked past kakyoin, taking the lead with far more willing this time; knowing the zombies were in the other direction obviously gave him the confidence he needed to go ahead. ]
Then... then let's get going, already. We'll get back to that last turnin' point and try the other...
[ a long, low sound cut through the darkness to silence him, and hol horse backed up so sharply that he slammed back into kakyoin again. so much for his brief surge of leadership. ]
... That didn't come from that buncha them behind us. [ hol horse pointed his gun into the darkness, swallowing hard, and he glanced at kakyoin for his reaction. ] You didn't keep your Hierophant spread the way we came, right...?
I think they've been followin' us.
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no surprise that when hol horse suddenly backed up like that, kakyoin promptly whammed right into him, smashing his face into the back brim of hol horse's stupid hat and knocking it askew. reflexively, hierophant's tendrils bristled all around them, the one tied around hol horse's ankle crawling up just a little higher to right below his knee. ]
-- watch it --
[ despite his calm demeanor, kakyoin was clearly also on edge, and his voice escaped in a sharp hiss as he backed off away from hol horse. hierophant also reluctantly backed down, returning to its place at hol horse's ankle as kakyoin glanced before them, then back. though his expression hadn't changed much, he'd broken out into a bit of a cold sweat, and he looked the tiniest bit paler in the dim lighting, his jaw clenched and shoulders squared. ]
There are limits to how far I can spread Hierophant, and I thought it would be safest not to leave a trail that they could follow ...
[ so that was a no.
the concrete walls surrounding them magnified each distant groan and shuffle, the sounds bouncing wildly and reverbating from all directions in a truly unsettling way. rapidly withdrawing most of hierophant's scouting tendrils, leaving only a few out to keep an eye out for how quickly danger was approaching, kakyoin turned to hol horse. ]
You said you could distract them with Emperor's bullets. Shoot the way we came from, the numbers feel lesser in that direction. Lead them back exacly the way we came, and if they follow your bullet, we can find an alternate route away from them. I'll watch our backs.
[ hierophant had reformed into its humanoid shape, hovering behind his shoulder with arms braced and ready to attack, only its legs trailing off into the darkness. for all of his obvious animosity towards hol horse, kakyoin at least seemed focused only on surviving at the moment, even if that required teamwork. ]
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so he raised his gun as he was told, positioning it pointing straight into the darkness, and he fired. the shot pounded through his eardrums, and the bullet disappeared out like a flare into the dark; through it, he could feel the shape of the surging mass of bodies on the wind as the bullet whizzed over and around them, taking the sharp corner beyond and veering off into the darkness, back the way they'd come. hol horse held his breath, too nervous to unclench his hands from the gun, not even to wipe the cold sweat trickling down his temple from under his hat. ]
... Feel 'em movin'. [ it was almost painful for him to unfurl his fingers. he still didn't call off emperor even then, squeezing it for reassurance as his hand came to rest back at his thigh. ] Looks like they're gonna check it out. That'll open up a path back to that fork in the road we came to before, we can —
[ a long, low, persistent groan emerged from behind them, and hol horse turned, his eyes widening at the sight over kakyoin's shoulder. ] Kakyoin...!?
[ of course. the bullet distracted the one group, but the sound caught the attention of the other, and now they were shuffling closer and closer in the dark, glistening empty sockets and blanched faces emerging from the shadows, their bowed legs dragging their sagging, bloated bodies towards them both. hol horse turned and shot into the darkness that way too, but the bullet went ignored; course it would, 'cause their quarry was already in sight. stupid to think that just that little spark of life would put them off the trail now.
there were so many of them. but if they ran right now, they'd just come on the other group headed the other way, and catch their attention again. if they fought too loud, it'd surely attract them back more than a bullet, too.
aah. if they died here, they wouldn't even be found again. ]
... Kakyoin, can you deal with 'em quietly? My gun's gonna be a problem here, it's the sound that made 'em come over...!
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even if emperor was a stand, it was still a functional firearm -- the sound of the shot firing reverbated through the concrete tunnels, echoing all around them, and that sudden blast of noise was almost enough to stun kakyoin for a moment. he'd flinched sharply from the noise, resisting the urge to cover his ears far too late; it was a few tense moments before his hearing returned, and even then it was horribly muffled. kakyoin barely managed to make out what hol horse was saying, and he shook his head stiffly to try and ease the ringing from his head. ]
-- once we get back to that fork, go straight --
[ at least this time, hol horse had had the foresight to call his name before firing off that second shot. kakyoin immediately shielded his ears as the shot went off, and even before the bullet whizzed past the incoming horde, he knew that that tactic wouldn't work in such close quarters. he'd have to take action himself.
the few of hierophant's tendrils that had remained trailing against the floor beneath the inches of murky water suddenly ripped upwards like a net, entwining around ankles and feet on its way up. the movement rippled through the crowd and each zombie that was knocked off its feet bumped into another, sending the crowd into a disarray.
it wasn't enough, but it was a start.
kakyoin gritted his teeth as he backed off a pace, probably stepping on hol horse's toes and not able to care about it much at the moment. as much as hierophant hated to fight in wide open spaces, it wasn't often that he was forced to defend himself in such cramped quarters against a horde, either. jotaro's star platinum would have made quick work of a crowd like this, given there was nowhere for them to run or hide, but his own stand wasn't capable of such brute force methods.
hierophant's tendrils withdrew for a moment, tensing like springs before lashing out sharply like a tripwire -- aimed specifically at ankle-level. the faint crackle and snap of bone was audible with each blow hierophant landed, rotting flesh barely absorbing any impact from those blows, and kakyoin methodically felled the frontmost creatures of the group. the acculumated bodies would make for rough footing and slow down the rest. the only question was whether he'd be able to keep up this defense until the coast was clear for them to make a run for it. ]
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hol horse stood dedicatedly at kakyoin's back, watching the approaching horde over his shoulder, and helpfully did a whole lot of nothing. though, in his defense, he'd never promised he had much use beyond firing decoys, and he'd delivered on that already! as far as he was concerned, his role there was done; wasn't like he could just go firing off any more shots without doing more harm than good, in this kind of situation. these things were damn aurally sensitive for a buncha stiffs, and this enclosed space wasn't doing either of their stands any favours.
but kakyoin had the right idea, at least; hol horse watched him, glancing between the stoic, determined look on kakyoin's face and hierophant's swift, brutal takedown of the nearest enemies. kinda made a guy jealous, seeing how versatile those humanoid stands got to be... he had a bad personality, but teaming up with kakyoin wasn't proving so bad for him, after all.
he withdrew emperor. no point amplifying their presence for any others that might've been idling around. ]
That's it — that'll slow 'em down! [ hol took a step back away from them, and got a slight grip on kakyoin's shoulder to tug him along too; as planned, the creatures clumsily tripped over each other to follow them, fumbling their way over the pile of corpses that hierophant's tendrils had brought down. the felled ones squirmed, trying to drag themselves forward with frustrated gurgles, even as their comrades slowly trampled their miserable bodies.
they weren't coming in a rush, not with the way kakyoin controlled their pace, but hol horse still didn't like the idea of letting them get too close. not even to his prize meatshield. ] Once another wave comes over, do it again, an' we'll keep on backin' up like this 'til the coast's clear on the other side.
Just be careful with your Stand! They're technically a Stand too, so if they got enough brains to figure it out, they'll be able to damage it! You get bit, and we're both screwed!
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the wet, crunching sensation of dead, pliant flesh buckling against hierophant's tendrils transmitted perfectly back to him, and kakyoin couldn't help the faint shudder that ran down his spine. it was deeply unsettling and just repulsive enough, the feel of cold, wet skin and rotting joints crunching apart with each falling zombie. the next sharp snap of hierophant's limb sent a zombie toppling over backwards, knocking into the others behind it and causing a minor domino effect of stumbling. good thing these creatures were practically mindless; holding off an intelligent horde of this size would have been exponentially more difficult. ]
-- you don't have to tell me what I already know --
[ his snippy response was consistent with the frigid way he'd been treating hol horse so far, but its acrid, distasteful quality had grown a little lesser. after all, he didn't have that much attention to spare on sounding firm about hol horse when maintaining a solid distance between them and the incoming crowd took up so much of his focus.
the tug at his shoulder dragged his focus from the crowd and kakyoin tensely allowed himself to be led back away from them, still keeping his focus on them to make sure none of them could get any closer. ]
Is your bullet still out there? How much longer under we can backtrack?
[ one particular specimen charged forward enthusiastically, stepping over its comrades in its hurry, and kakyoin dealt it a swift punch to the face with hierophant's tendrils, sending it sprawling back. he took the chance to turn and stumble after hol horse, that one tendril still holding firmly onto his ankle. ]
I can't keep this up forever.
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