STORY 2 - (Joseph and Johnny)

VENICE - 2001

"...And so the doctor says, 'Has anyone seen my hat around here? I just had it yesterday!'"

Joseph erupted in laughter at his own joke while Johnny had his sixth forced sigh of the day.

"Great joke. I'm dying. Funnier than the last five." Johnny groaned.

Joseph swung around to block Johnny's path and grabbed him hard enough by the collar to nearly pull him out of his wheelchair. "Now listen here, bud, I don't care if you're crippled! Keep insulting my jokes and I'm liable to kick your ass!"

"You're annoying!" Johnny pulled his hands up to Joseph and made a grabbing motion with his hands. Instead of grabbing the man, he pressed all ten fingernails to the back of his hands, and started spinning them. Starting at his palms and moving down to his brachium and shoulders, Joseph's grip loosened and his arms began to contort and push outward from where he was grabbing Johnny. However, Joseph could only grin at the attack.

"Next you'll say, 'I warned you about my abilities!'"

"I warned you about my abilities!"

Johnny gasped. Between Joseph's fingers was a string that stretched from one arm to the other. That string had somehow been tied between Johnny's fingers. As Joseph's arms and palms continued to be twisted outward, the string tightened, closing the paralyzed man's palms together like a praying priest.

"HAMON!"

Golden electricity ran through the string, shocking Johnny so hard he and his wheelchair were violently pushed back a couple meters. Joseph stumbled back up to his feet triumphantly, revealing the secret to his trick: a bola. "Hee hee, looks like I should've warned you about me, too!"

But before he continued his gloating, Joseph noticed a meanacing aura around Johnny - one of dark determination. He wisely kept quiet.

"Listen. I just want to get this over with. After you're all done, I want those parts. I need them. Quit getting in my way."

Johnny's black stare continued as he looked through Joseph, wheeling right past him. Joseph knew that had be kept egging him on, one of them might've been killed.

The two continued their journey past the skirmish detour and onwards North. They eventually hit the water border of the island. As Johnny studied a map of Venice, Joseph looked intently out into the water. Just beyond the speedboats and yachts, he could make out the silhouette of another island in the distance. It drew him in.

"Think we could get a ferry out there?" Joseph asked his companion.

"Maybe. Is that where the corpse part is?" Johnny responded.

"There's a possibility."

Johhny shrugged, figuring they didn't have any better leads. The two looked around, and convinced a small boat to take them to the island.

The already cloudy day became even cloudier as they neared their destination. Mist rose off the water and seeped onto the land, covering the dock and following path in light fog. Johnny paid off the sailor, and the man floated back to normal waters. The men walked and wheeled onto land, Joseph's pace being much brisker. His face was distressed at the sight. Air Supplena Island was no longer the well equipped Hamon coaching outpost of the past. Now, it was a shell of its former self. Cracks lined the cobble pavement, the paint on the buildings was mostly chipped off, and weeds overgrew the grassy fields. Worst of all, the large tower in the middle of the island had fell, crushing some other buildings with it. Though Joseph was a little elated that the Hell Climb Pillar was no more, the damned thing, seeing his memories as nothing but rubble now was disheartening.

"What exactly is this place?" Johnny rolled up to the softly shocked Joseph.

"I used to train my Hamon here." Joseph turned, "But that was in my time. What year are we supposed to be in? 2001, right? Crazy how rubbish it's become."

Johnny wheeled forward, unphased, "It's strange how most of you non-stand users gravitate around this country. I think Gyro told me he was from Naples."

Johnny's nose began to twitch. Something was off. Something in the air changed. As he craned his head around, he spotted a discoloration of smoke among the clouds. Joseph had spotted it too, but he missed something that Johnny could see. A figure walked in the newly formed purple clouds, slowly but erratically. It's skull face was terrifying, sporting bright yellow eyes and a heavily drooling gritted mouth. As it traversed from behind a pile of rocks, the grass it walked on immediately rotted and died as the purple clouds came in contact.

"Dammit." Johnny backed up a little, "A stand, but I can't see the user. They're probably hidden nearby."

"Is it in the middle of that trail of purple fog?" Joseph pointed and asked, "Even if I can't see it, at least I can see its path. And if the dying plants are telling me anything, it's not something we wanna touch."

Johnny made a quick examination of the area, turned to Joseph, and stated bluntly, "Try to lure it to you. If it moves, so will its user. Good luck."

In an instant, Johnny brought his index finger to the side of his temple and shot.

"ACT 3!"

He swirled down into a hole in his seat, which zipped down the chair and into the ground, disappearing into the normal fog and piles of surrounding rubber.

"Damn yankee." Joseph looked up, and saw that the poison cloud was moving toward him now. And fast. What he couldn't see was the raving strand, now growling and roaring, approaching the Hamon user. Of course, Joseph was prepared for the likely situation against a stand as soon as he learned of them. A plan that was sure to save him. He faced the incoming gas cloud, and took a charging stance.

...Then immediately made a 180 and ran the other way.

"RUN AWAY!"

No way could he fight against something he couldn't see or touch! Though a proud man, Joseph definitely knew his limits. Not even the Pillar Men could think of something better, he thought.

A ways off, Fugo hid behind the crumbling tower. Since he'd seen the two arrive, the worst conclusions had run through his head. The boss had killed his friends, and discovering Fugo had run, hired assassins to finish off the mutiny. This was survival now. Though the man in the wheelchair disappeared, he wasn't too worried. His condition probably didn't make him as nimble as his friend, so the buff guy would be the first target of Purple Haze. Unfortunately, his stand kept running out of range, so Fugo kept hopping from hiding place to hiding place to keep up with Joseph. Luckily for Johnny, the movement of Fugo blew any cover he thought he had.

Johnny had to remind himself not to kill. Though that was the normal means of business for him, meddling in the affairs of another time might only cause more trouble for everyone. Stealthily, his hole waved around piles of rock, and climbed up Fugo's ankle. He noticed the hole, but it was too late. Johnny popped out and shot his forehead with a couple of bluntly grown nails. Purple Haze slowly disappeared as his master went out cold. Joseph noticed, and collapsed in relief. That stand was starting to get faster.

Before Joseph could even catch his breath, Johnny shouted from the debris, "I'm over here! Carry me to my chair!"

Joseph forced a moan, then got up to retrieve Johnny. "Easy!" He cried as Joseph slung him over his shoulder, "I'm not a sack of potatoes. Be a little grateful, I just saved your ass."

"Americans sure do complain a lot." Joseph spoke over him, "And you sure do like taking credit for the hard work of others."

Johnny wanted to complain about Joseph's words and the way he threw him back in the chair, but for some reason, he was warming up to the huge oaf too much to do so. Something about him was very familiar, like another goofball he knew. A thanks was not exchanged between the two, but through the thick air of pride, their astuteness felt silent gratitude from the other. Deciding that this was all Air Supplena offered, the two argued on the way to get back to the mainland.