Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Frigus is sent backwards by the heel kick, heavily injured by the blow. This was unlike anything she had been hit with before. She struggled to get back up, continuing to fall back down. Eventually she gives up, staying down.

Boyero held his scythe in an offensive stance, heading directly for the other valentines attempting to slice through each of them as he did the previous 10.

   "Your friend tried this strategy, didn't quite work out for him now did it?"   

Gappy emerges from behind Boyero.

"Who said I was doing the same thing as him?"

D4C attempts to get Boyero in a full nelson as the Funnies approach with bladed weapons to stab him, but before they can pull it off, Narktus arrives on the scene. He skids to a halt while crouching low, then rises to his full height.

This guy... he carries an aura of serious power and killing intent!

Who is this man?

Boss!

"For sticking it out this long and almost winning..." Narktus rubs his chin. "Perhaps I'd say you've earned vacation time, but I'm not the one in charge of you. Except you, Ghiaccio."

The masked conqueror silently makes a 'Bring It' gesture to both Gappy and Gold Experience Requiem, prompting all three Stands to attack him with full force, but he jumps out of the way.

As he continues to evade attacks and cut down any Valentines in his way, he muses to himself, G.E.R. has a time limit. Subordinates of a subordinate, there's no way you'd last long enough against it for it to run out. Even I can't actually beat this thing, but I can survive long enough for it to end.

Edited by KiriK on Sep 20th 2019 at 9:50:18 AM

Frigus lays still, humiliated twice by the same assailant. Until a looming shadow stands over her. She knows instantly who it is, fear and panic set in. She mutters quietly

"I apologize my lord."

   "You fell victim to your need for vengeance. We will discuss this later."   

Krampus opens a portal beneath her, she falls through and it closes. Boyero could feel Krampus's presence, he turns to his master.

   "Back to your tower, Boyero."   

Boyero nods, disappearing in a cloud of snow.

Krampus too, disappears in a cloud of snow

"Ghiaccio, go with them."

"Alright." Ghiaccio is surrounded by spectral shapes of technology like cogs and wiring, then vanishes.

Narktus dances around Gold Experience Requiem's shard-bullets, until it gets sick of entertaining him and 'resets' his next dodge, causing him to get hit anyway.

Thankfully, his armor withstands the powerful shot, but it knocks him off his feet, which leaves him open to Gappy.

"Let's see... I suppose I should steal your armor's durability so the next shot kills you, huh?"

Narktus struggles to his feet and performs a speed-vanish. He reappears behind Giorno, then immediately dodges again. The moment he is reset to before he started moving toward Giorno, he is already in evasive motion, protecting him from the next projectile volley.

This perilous dance continues for quite some time. At one moment, Gappy even gets him with Valentine's cape, and he sees his parallel counterpart.

"This is bad, this is bad..."

"You're telling me?!" shouts Alt!Narktus, backdashing away from his counterpart only to get GER'd up close again. "Ghk!"

"We just have to be careful!" Prime!Narktus manages to warp back to the main dimension on his own before he can be forced to collide with Alt!Narktus.

Such goes on for a whole minute, before the beetle arrow finally falls out. The Requiem has ended.

"Gold Experience... you..."

Narktus breathes a sigh of relief, then warps up to Giorno and punches a hole through him. As he begins to pull his arm back, he comments, "Your Stand may be able to heal this off... but I'll be damned if that wasn't satisfying." Then he teleports away before Gappy can attack him.

Edited by KiriK on Sep 20th 2019 at 10:05:34 AM

White Tower - Boyero and Ghiaccio

Boyero appears, shortly before Ghiaccio. Ghiaccio would appear to find Boyero scrambling around a bookshelf, mumbling to himself. The scythe Boyero had used during the battle floated behind him, soaked in frozen blood. He suddenly stops moving, detecting Ghiaccio. His gaze turns to his new ally

   "Greetings!"   

"Hey." Ghiaccio raises up a hand. White Album dissolves back into his normal clothing.

"Nice place. Suits my style, I think."

   "You... you have incredible ability with Ice. I've only seen such strength from the master himself. The true King of Ice! Where did you learn it?"   

Boyero reaches for his scythe, grasping it. It dissolves into a puddle of water on the floor, which moments later evaporates into a vapor.

   "Yes, I enjoy the view. Up here is my collection of arcane books... Down below is the library, the largest collection of books in all of reality! Well... at least my reality."   

He extends his hand, a cold fog dripping from his hand.

"Books, huh? You know, I could go on all day about some stupid bullshit metaphors people made up relating to books... but I'll spare you the details." Ghiaccio pushes in his glasses and takes Boyero's hand.

"As for White Album, that's just my Stand. Whether you get pierced by this weird type of arrowhead, inherit it from an ancestor, or are just born with the capacity to manifest it, it's a physical manifestation of your fighting spirit and will to live. White Album's basic power is to freeze anything it touches, and also to protect me as a layer of armor. I developed Gently Weeps as a technique; it relies on an air-hole somewhere on the suit that I normally use to breathe inside it, but I can also use it to freeze the air with my breath. Can't tell you where the hole is in case you try to kill me some day, like Giorno FUCKING Giovanna."

Edited by KiriK on Sep 20th 2019 at 10:51:04 AM

Boyero shakes hands, withdrawing his hand to his side.

   "So it's a Stand then? Each one is unique as I understand it, I thought it was some form of ice magic. Interesting, do you know of anyone who has these weird arrowheads? While your technique is certainly impressive, and far above my own mastery of ice the master's presence enough can freeze the air. I study these arcane books endlessly, looking for the spell. I'm beginning to give up hope... but alas I ramble about my troubles to someone who doesn't quite understand."   

Ghiaccio also withdraws his hand. He muses.

"The old Boss had a whole stockpile of 'em, I think, but the only member of Passione who got to use any was Polpo. His Stand had an arrow in its mouth, and it was used in an initiation test where it would appear and stab your soul with it if you tried to cheat. If you died, you weren't worth recruiting, but if you passed without cheating or cheated and survived, thus gaining a Stand, you would make for a powerful ally. Polpo's dead, though. Ate His Gun, they say, but I think Giorno was involved in it somehow. Fucking hate Giorno. Anyway my new boss - friend of your boss - has an arrow or two in maximum-security storage, but that's maximum security stuff. I'm only allowed to know it's there because I'm from the same universe as it."

   "As I said, I understand that opinion, but that doesn't mean I share it, myself."   

The Dark Aspect sighs, and nods, understanding that he's not going to be making any more progress with that point at the moment. However, he smirks in response to Tahn's muttering, and nods.

   "I can tell you my guess, if you want."   

He glances at Tahn's food, as well, then to the door, and finally back to Tahn.

   "Or, yeah, I could go. I understand. Just because I don't need nourishment doesn't mean I don't enjoy a bite to eat from time to time, myself. Completely cool with me if you want me to go. Don't want to overstay my welcome."   

Lucien nods.

"It reminds me of the magic shows that I used to attend back home...those were different times, of course."

There's a tinge of what seems like wistfulness in his eyes at that last remark. Grymm smiles when Hisoka compliments his card.

   "Thank you! My original ones didn't survive the trip to this place, except for one, which was still badly worn out by time, but Lucien helped me make these copies. The lad has a real eye for detail. The crest right there is on a few of my other possessions, too. I just don't remember what the initials stand for..."   

He nods gratefully, and then blinks when Hisoka points at the cards. As Hisoka walks away, and the pair takes their leave as well, the silence is broken with the growing laughter of a very entertained bounty hunter, and the amused chuckle of his wizardly friend.

   "This Giorno, he seems to be the strongest of the Stand Users in this 'Arena' as the locals call it. How many encounters have you had with him? Is there any particular information that I wasn't informed of?"   

Boyero steps towards the staircase that leads down to the library, he turns his head back to Ghiaccio

   "If you would care to follow me, I can show you my collection. Surely you're interested in at least one book?"   

"That's up to you if you want to. I don't mind if it stays a mystery or not.", Tahn says. He then glances down at his food once more before grabbing a piece of it with his fork. He looks back at Shadow, puts two fingers on the side of his head and flicks them to the side as a gesture of goodbye, then smirks.

"Alright. Ciao, Goddy."

He proceeds to take a bite out of his food.

Ghiaccio's eyes widen. "Giorno fucking killed me! He kicked my throat through a sharp pole right as I was about to kill his buddy Mista! It's thanks to my new boss that I'm alive again, but I won't rest until I've had my revenge!"

Then he suddenly calms down again. "Okay, I guess I can check out your books."

Cradlecrush Rock

Rin◊ is loitering around outside a building, from which music with Black Speech lyrics can be heard.

I'm not in control of that building, so please don't interact with it.

Cradlecrush Rock

Redacted was walking around the area, one of his arms morphed into a particle beam cannon, and his other arm dangling uselessly at his side. The arm was shattered in a few different places, and he did not have the energy to fix it currently. It was taking all he had to keep his morphed arm morphed. He had been travelling for ages, and was looking for somewhere to rest his head.

And then he heard the music around a building nearby. He started walking towards it.

Boyero motions for Ghiaccio to follow him down the staircase, entering

The Library

   "Oh! You were revived by this Narktus. How does death feel? Is it as cold as many people say? Give me every little detail."   

The library is stunningly huge, guard rails border bookshelves that seem to go up and down infinitely. At the center of the room is a stone platform, glowing with an arcane energy.

   "I believe I hear an Italian accent from you, do you like Death in Venice?"   

Ghiaccio doesn't even register Boyero's question about what death feels like.

"You know Paris, France? In English, they pronounce it 'Paris,' but everyone else pronounces it without the 's' sound, like the French do. But with Venezia, everyone pronounces it the English way, 'Venice.' Like The Merchant of Venice and Death in Venice ..." He suddenly grabs Boyero and stares him down.

"Why though?! Why isn't the title Death in Venezia?! Are you friggin' mocking me?! It takes place in Italia, so use the Italian word, damn it! That shit pisses me off! Bunch of dumbasses!" Ghiaccio turns away and starts angrily kicking at the floor.

Rin is too close to the building to hear any sign of Redacted's approach. She continues idling.

Redacted didnt notice the girl until he was quite literally staring her in the face. He quietly pulled his heavy cannon arm up and pointed it straight at her head.

   "Dont move a damn inch."   

Shadow's smirk elevates a bit, but he doesn't say anything - yet. He then stands up, donning his hat, which he proceeds to tip in salutation. He moves to step by the door, but stops, smiling to Tahn.

   "Ah, before I waltz on out of here, I just wanted to say that it's been nice talking to you. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me."   

"Yeah, t'was pretty fun.", Tahn says, snickering. "Maybe we'll see each other again someday if I survive long enough."

Boyero laughs uncontrollably at Ghiaccio's rage, a book flies to his left hand from below the guard rail. It's written in a language Ghiaccio surely doesn't recognize.

   "The original name of the book was 'Der Tod in Venedig', written by a German author. It was republished under the name it is now known as.... although to respect my new found ally I'll use the Italian wording as to not infuriate you. Come!"   

Boyero walks to the center of the room, standing on the stone platform.

"So it is, huh... Interesting." Ghiaccio follows after Boyero.

Rin slowly becomes aware of what Redacted is doing. "... Could you not?"

Her hand twitches. Faster than the blink of an eye, she swings her bat to try and knock his weapon aside.

Shadow's expression seems to grow unamused for just an instant, but he then nods, smirking.

   "I'm sure of it."   

He then glances up at the camera, and nods.

   "Could you send Botar, please? I believe I'm ready to step out."   

The weapon was knocked aside, and Redacted couldn't hold it anymore. And the cannon transformed back into his normal arm. He stood upright though, and digging deep he managed to shift his hand into a 10 inch blade. He was panting from his exhaustion of walking for days on end. And he looked a little worse for wear, his lab coat torn in several places.

"Glad t'know you have faith in me.", Tahn says, smirking before returning to his food, not even glancing up when the massive Botar appears in his cell for only a second, after which he warps himself and Shadow back to the main computer room.

Once back on his own, Tahn lays down on the ground, arms behind his head, and ponders.

Man, I don't know what I would've done if he'd been able to guess the full answer to my riddle...