(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

[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."

[youre_the_sunflower]

“Jojo…”

There was nothing Caesar could think to say. Just yesterday he’d been single minded about hunting down the remaining pillar men. Now…all he could think about was Joseph’s well being.

And he was powerless to do anything about either.

[buon_giorno]

Giorno barely managed to keep the breath he’d been holding from escaping all at once. He looked to Juli.

“Mister Joestar will be rooming with me for the next five days. I’ll explain this to the other council members tonight. Please arrange a room nearby for Mister Zeppeli.”