(no subject)

[nohardwork]

"I'm sure there's got to be a city nearby," Joseph said. "Don't look so down about it! We can ask where we are then."

Caesar was nervous; Joseph could tell. Caesar was always more uptight than he was (though there were few people who weren't), but he could practically feeling the stress radiating off his body.

Who could blame him, though? One second they were in Switzerland about to confront Wamuu and now they were in --

Joseph looked at the environment around them. Tuffs of dried-out plants grew out from underneath craggy rocks; the occasional tumbleweed tumbled over a vast sea of sand. It was the complete opposite of where they were before.

Comments

[nohardwork]

"I won't just stay here to die!"

[youre_the_sunflower]

There was ice freezing Caesar's veins and he clenched his fists to ward it off.

"The others we spoke to...many of them said they'd been here for some time. What happens to those that leave?"

[buon_giorno]

Giorno glanced at Juli and then back at the two men.

"I don't know. They never return. We've had teams search far out but, even with our resources, venturing a few kilometers away from this place is treacherous. You two are the first who have ever emerged from the desert. It all becomes aimless. ...I'll say this. I'm sympathetic to your plight. I may have the means to help."

[nohardwork]

"Help?" Joseph echoed. What could he do to help?

[youre_the_sunflower]

"What's the catch?" It was the first time Caesar had said anything so direct since they arrived. He couldn't help it - no one had been anything but helpful and accommodating, but...

[buon_giorno]

"I don't intend to hold both of you in my debt, if that's what you're suggesting. I know nothing about either of you, so you have nothing of value. And even if you did, it wouldn't be my decision alone to make on how to collect it."

Giorno took a moment to consider his words with another sip of his tea.

"If you became members of this community, I would be obligated to help you as a member of the council. I'll leave that up to you both to consider. However, if not...there's nothing stopping me from making a decision on my own to assist or appealing to the others here as a gesture of goodwill. All I would need from you is your trust."

[nohardwork]

"What... what exactly would you do?" Joseph's response came out uncharacteristically subdued and he looked at the ground as he waited for Giorno's reply. He had been warned that taking out the ring before the 30 days were up would lead to him dying instantly. It felt like too much to hope someone could do anything about it.

[buon_giorno]

"...You got a glimpse of it, didn't you? My ability."

[nohardwork]

"You talking about that weird person?"

[buon_giorno]

Giorno blinked. "That was me."

So, Joseph really didn't know anything about stands. If Giorno wanted truly wanted something out of him, he could have used that to his advantage.

"I've cured myself of the incurable before. How I did it...I'm sorry, but I simply can't tell you until I know I can trust you." The only ones he'd told about his powers in clear terms were other members of the council. The only one who knew them fully, besides himself, was Juli. "If I were to tell you and you were to ever use that information against me, however small or petty the reason, you'd become my enemy without question."

[nohardwork]

"I should trust you with my life when you won't even tell me what you'll do." Joseph didn't like it, not at all. Even though he wasn't getting bad vibes from Giorno, it was his life at stake here. They had been warned as to what would happen. Giorno hadn't been there. He didn't know who the Pillarman were. Joseph did.

Joseph glanced over at Caesar, trying to get a read on his feelings.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar said nothing. He was focused on trying to get a read on the kid in front of them and his own swirling thoughts.

That being...Giorno was speaking as clear as day but it was still somehow impossible to get a read on him. A part of Caesar thought he was like Lisa Lisa in that way.

[buon_giorno]

"I need to trust you before I tell you. And I want to trust you, Mister Joestar." And wanting to do something was the first step to actually doing it. "However, you still haven't answered me. Why were you spying?"

[nohardwork]

"I felt something was here."

[buon_giorno]

“‘Something?’”

[nohardwork]

"Yeah." Joseph stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It felt like I was being pulled here."

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar gawked at his partner, too dumbfounded for admonishments or even words.

He had been spying?! …Well, that was like him, but the explanation absolutely wasn’t. It was beyond just unconvincing to any sane person—it was like nonsense a child would blurt out when they couldn’t think of a better lie.

And Joseph was an incredible liar. And this was his life on the line. So, why…?

[buon_giorno]

“…I see.” Giorno took another moment to collect his thoughts, slowly sipping the rest of his tea before setting the cup down for the final time. “Very well. I’ll trust you.”

[nohardwork]

It annoyed Joseph how adult this kid was acting.

"Well, now what?"

[julibahana]

This was all extremely weird. But Juli had gotten accustomed to weird since arriving here.

Juli knitted her fingers together. "Well," she started and then she paused. "Do you have any idea how the ring supposed to kill you when you remove it?" It might be good for them to know, just in case.

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar cleared his throat—he had to reorient himself after the whiplash of Joseph’s baffling admission and Giorno’s baffling acceptance.

“The ring is hollow and the poison is stored within. The ring dissolves after a month in the human body. …There are five days until it dissolves fully.”

Five days they had to hunt down Wammuu…or so Caesar had thought. Now…

“Our enemies are inhuman. They can pass through the human body before you can blink. That’s how the ring was placed there in the first place. Only they hold the antidote.”

[buon_giorno]

It sounded like a terror tactic…or some kind of test, Giorno thought. Or both. Regardless of why, things made much more sense.

He had many, many more questions, but they could wait. It was time to make good on his declaration.

“Gold Experience.”

It emerged fully from his body—his Stand. It was as golden as his hair and extremely humanlike in appearance, hardly bigger than Giorno himself. It’s fist flew at Giorno’s teacup—and instead of the porcelain shattering, it exploded into a storm of swallowtail butterflies.

“Gold Experience has the power to give life to nonliving objects. That includes the human body—it can create cellular life from antibodies to entire body parts. I was once infected with a flesh-eating virus that would have killed me in minutes, but my powers allowed me to create a cure.” Giorno pointed at Joseph. “Poison is poison, however spectacular! If I can understand it, I can create an antidote.”

[nohardwork]

Joseph eyed Gold Experience warily. "So how are you going to understand it?"

[buon_giorno]

“Gold Experience has a keen biological intuition. However, it still requires my knowledge to work effectively. I’ll need to spend time studying you and the ring itself.” Giorno closed an eye as a butterfly landed on his cheek to inspect his ringlets. “I’m aware that you would be staking your life on my ability, Mister Joestar. If you accept…for the next five days I will dedicate myself to curing you.”

[nohardwork]

Joseph looked over at Caesar, but his expression did not shift. Ultimately, this was his decision.

He shifted his gaze over to Giorno.

"Then I'll leave yourself in your hands."