Alexander Obol paced back and forth in a dark room, biting his fingernails all the while. The door opened, and a young woman walked in. The woman had red hair, and a navel piercing in the shape of a celtic knot.

“Mr. Obol?” said the redhead. “I... I have some news... about Risotto Caligula.”

“Did she find what she was looking for?”

“Not exactly... she's d-dead.”

Obol sighed.

“Miss Henson,” said Obol. “You should know by now that I trust you more than anyone else in Passione. You care about loyalty above all else – and honestly, you're more qualified to lead the intelligence team than that stupid capo of yours.”

“Oh! Th-thank you, sir-”

Obol held out a manila folder towards the red haired woman. Miss Henson took it and started leafing through.

“For the past decade, a cult of stand users has been growing across Europe. I've been tracking their progress ever since one of my recruits left to join their cause. I believe the cultists are responsible... for the death of Giorno Giovanna. If it turns out they killed Caligula too, they must be after the rumored treasure.”

“What d-do we do, sir?” sputtered Henson.

“Is there anyone in Passione who you trust completely?”

“Th-there's a friend of mine in the bounty hunting team…”

“Get in contact with her. I have a couple friends of my own. Past them, we can't let anyone in Passione know what we're doing. The cultists have likely already infiltrated the gang.”

“Understood, sir!”

The young woman handed the folder back to Obol and ran out of the room. Alexander Obol looked down at the files. A page displayed photographs of a girl named ‘Jackie-Louise David’ and a man named ‘Harry Warhol’.

= = = = = = = = = =

In the circle of Stonehenge, Tubthumper's leg was held up by Good Vibrations Act 2.

“Sh-shit!” gasped Obol. “Tubthumper! Send this bear back to the woods!”

Good Vibrations was forced off of Tubthumper's leg by an invisible power. It slid on the ground towards Georgia – however, it dug its heels in and stopped itself before it reached her.

“Hmm... so your stands are combined into one body?” growled Obol. “Seems pretty strong for a shrimpy little guy... still, I doubt it can overpower my Tubthumper!”

Good Vibrations grabbed a ball off one of its shoulders, and began spinning it, so that the ball was turning clockwise when seen from the top. As the ball picked up speed, red waves of energy emanated from the surface. 

“KOKO-MO!”

Good Vibrations threw the ball. It landed beside Salvador & Obol, but continued to spin clockwise. Obol's head was pulled downward towards the ball. His tongue stuck out, revealing the trident shaped piercing, and the skin holding his eyebrow piercings was stretched forward.

“Th-thubthumpa!”

Tubthumper tapped Obol on the neck. Obol's motion was reversed, almost pulling him back up into a standing position. Suddenly, he was yanked forward again, and his face smacked against the spinning ball. A phone flew out of Obol's shirt pocket, and attached itself to the orb. Salvador sat up, and peered at the phone screen.

“Hmm... 'Zarco Lek' - is this the partner you were talking about?” taunted Salvador. “Which means... one of the tourists here must have you on the other line. Good Vibrations, do me a favor and speed up this ball's spin.”

Good Vibrations Act 2 walked up to the ball, and started to spin it more. The red energy intensified. Georgia's cufflinks and purse were pulled out of her jacket, and stuck onto the ball. Blood dripped down Obol's eyebrows as his piercings began to tear out of his face. Tubthumper's arms appeared and attempted to pull Obol away from the ball – but he couldn't move an inch. Salvador climbed onto Obol's back and stood up.

The boy with the mohawk was being dragged across the ground on his stomach – pulled forward by the braces on his teeth. A cell phone was open in front of him – but it was on the camera application. One of the identical jungle explorers was clutching his ears, while the other was running to the center of the circle. The running explorer was chasing a metal helmet shaped like a skull, alongside a pair of bloody earrings shaped like planets. The older woman had lost her snake-headed staff and a small digital camera, both of which were sliding towards the spinning sphere.

“Hmm... nobody else is on a phone call,” said Salvador. “And Good Vibrations’s magnetic monopole attracted all the metallic objects in the area. Unless... your partner isn’t in the area.”

Salvador hopped off of Obol. Good Vibrations grabbed the ball and stopped it from spinning. Obol was launched backwards by Tubthumper’s pulling, flying past all the nearby tourists. The stand put the ball back on its shoulder, as Salvador stepped out of the stone circle.

A large man stood next to a car in the car park, feeding a flower to a sheep. The man was wearing a boxy suit, and had acupuncture needles sticking in his bald head. The sheep ran off, startled by the presence of someone else. The man looked up, and saw a bloodied teenager approaching.

“Zarco Lek, I presume?” said Salvador. “If you value your life... you'll get your stand off my friend’s face now.”

Zarco put up his fists.

“Very well,” said Salvador.

Good Vibrations took a ball off its shoulder, and started spinning it anti-clockwise. Waves of blue energy appeared around the ball. Good Vibrations threw the ball at Zarco's head. Zarco dodged the ball, the acupuncture needles launching from his head. The sphere hit the bus window, pushing the vehicle backwards while continuing to spin. Good Vibrations grabbed the other ball, and began to spin it anti-clockwise again. Blue waves of energy sailed into the air as the bear threw the metal orb.

“Tubthumper!”

Salvador turned his head, and saw Obol running up behind him. Obol jumped, punching the ball into the ground, before landing next to Zarco.

“Nice try,” said Obol. “But you're not taking us out that easy.”

“Yes, I expected you'd try and protect your partner,” said Salvador. “He is defenseless, like you said. Y'know, you two seem quite different – big and small, quiet and loud-mouthed. I guess it's true what they say... opposites do attract.”

Obol looked down at the ball he punched. The ball slowed down its anti-clockwise rotation, and started rapidly spinning clockwise. The sphere was now emitting intense red bursts of energy. The bus slid forward and slammed into the duo, pushing forward the counter-clockwise ball as it did. The two gangsters were sandwiched between the balls. Two cars were dragged towards the balls and crashed into them from the side. The windshields shattered, and glass was blasted all over the asphalt. Salvador walked up to the pair of gangsters.

“Look, I'm willing to make amends,” said Salvador. “You two seem like smart people – I'm sure Harry would love to have you on board.”

Obol chuckled.

“Nice try, kid. But I promised a long time ago that I'd never betray Passione.”

Tubthumper touched the glass shards. Salvador froze in shock as the shards drilled through the heads of Obol & Zarco. The red spinning ball returned to its slower blue spin, and the vehicles were pushed apart from each other. The duo fell to the ground, their blood pooling in the car park.

A red-haired woman was pacing the floor of a hotel room. A Peruvian woman with triangle pins in her dreadlocks was lying down on the coach. A Danish man with large glasses opened the door. He was carrying the mangled bodies of Alexander Obol and Zarco Lek. The red-haired woman stopped pacing and stared.

“Dammit,” said Miss Henson. “I should have listened to him. I... I know we've been tracking the cultists, but I didn't think they'd actually hurt any of us…”

“Well... I suppose we'll just have to continue Obol's mission without him,” said the Peruvian. “What's the plan, Francine?”

“M-me?” stuttered Henson. “I'm supposed to come up with the plans?”

“Obol was very clear,” said the Dane, “You are the person he trusts the most. In the event of his death or incapacitation, you are to be the new leader.”

“R... right.”

“You all right, Franc?” said the Dane.

“Yeah... I just... need a nap…”

Franc walked deeper into the hotel suite, into one of the bedrooms.

“Poor girl,” sighed the Peruvian. “But... she's the only one qualified to handle this case.”

“Yeah, I wish…”

The air in the room changed. The Danish man with the glasses dropped the pair of bodies, and began to sweat. The Peruvian woman winced as she looked down the hallway towards Franc’s room. A wretched wraith of a crystalline creature wandered into the halls. The creature was covered in cloth rags, and dragged chains from its legs. The creature had a large eye on its chest and two empty sockets on its face - tears dripped from all three. Its mouth was wrenched wide open, the crystal skin of its cheeks stretching and cracking. The hardwood floor warped beneath the stand’s feet with each step, and the wallpaper peeled in twisted ripples. The pair of gangsters backed up, noses beginning to bleed, as they stared down the hall of the hotel suite towards Franc Henson’s anguished stand.