Gyalzen POV

Of COURSE, Iggy got to sit in the back seats of the jeep. I wasn't going to argue, there was no point in doing that. The dog's behaviour earlier was proof enough. And that's how I ended up crammed in the back with Avdol, Kakyoin and Polnareff.

That didn't stop Polnareff complaining though. It lead to Joseph saying "You'll just have to wait until the coffee flavour runs out. When it has throw some more gum into the trunk to lure him back there."

I spoke up as well "You don't want to repeat last time. You'll just get yourself mauled again." Polnareff reached towards Iggy only for him to growl angrily. I shut my eyes, muttering "I rest my case."

My relaxed state was suddenly broken though as Joseph abruptly let out a loud groan. For a moment, I thought the jeep was going to tip over as he screeched to a halt. Once I'd calmed my nerves I turned to Joseph about to ask what the hell he was doing, however he pointed ahead, stammering. 

"L-look! Over there!"

We all climbed out of the jeep and it was now I got a look at what he'd noticed. My eyes widened, a HELICOPTER. Not just any though, no, the words 'Speedwagon Foundation' were emblazoned across the front.

It was worth noting there was only the one helicopter. I didn't yet know whether it was the one who brought me or Iggy. Kakyoin pointed out "One of the Speedwagon Foundation helicopters went down! It looks like it just fell out of the sky." Avdol added "There's no sign of an explosion or gunfire."

Joseph turned to us, warning "Be careful, you can bet it was attacked by an enemy Stand." That's when Jotaro pointed out "Look, it's the pilot!"

I approached the scene carefully to get a better look. Joseph called after me "Gyalzen! Be careful! Someone could be hiding there!" However I raised my hand, assuring him "I'll be fine."

I surveyed my surroundings to try and spot possible enemies, however there was nothing of the sort. Upon closer inspection though, I was able to conclude that this was the chopper that dropped Iggy off. The whereabouts of mine was unclear.

As Joseph and the others joined me, the bizarre circumstance behind the crash only became more apparent. Most notably, upon inspecting the pilot's body, we were shocked to discover his mouth wide open full of water?!

Placing the pilot down again, water flowed out, Jotaro commented "All this water, from one person's mouth. No, the water must be from his lungs." Squatting down, I inspected the body for injury only to find nothing again.

I spoke "Yes, drowning was definitely the cause of death. But how? Where did this water come from?" 

Polnareff caught out attention next, calling out to us "Hey! The other guy's over here! He's alive!" Instantly rushing over to him, it was clear he was dehydrated. Joseph told him "Talk to us! Hang on! Tell us what happened!"

The remaining pilot gasped, slowly he raised his hand towards the wreckage and rasping out. It took him a moment to get the words out. However I heard them clear as day.

"W-w-water..."

Confused, Joseph said "You want water? Polnareff, hand me that canteen." Polnareff did exactly that and Joseph held the canteen closer to the pilot "Here, just hang on, here's some water." What happened next, caught me off guard.

The pilot abruptly screamed "NO! THE WATER ATTACKED US!" As he said this, a stream of water burst from the canteen! 

In an instant it took on the shape of a HAND, grabbing the pilot's head and killing him instantly and now blood-tinged, it retreated back into the canteen with Joseph exclaiming "It's a Stand!"

Image of Geb:

Power: C

Speed: B

Range: A

Stamina: B

Precision: D

Development Potential: D

We both took cover, a short distance away from the canteen. Joseph exclaimed "The enemy Stand is inside the canteen! Damn it, they were just innocent bystanders! Why did it kill them?!"

Even though I was with Polnareff and Kakyoin, I could hear Joseph ask Avdol. "Avdol, did you see what kind of Stand it was?" To this, Avdol responded "All I saw was a hand. But I think it's still inside the canteen. I haven't seen it leave."

And neither had I, I watched the canteen with narrowed eyes as blood slowly began to trickle out of it. Jotaro took out a pair of binoculars and began looking around, however he soon informed us "I don't see the Stand user anywhere.  It seems the enemy's far away."

Kakyoin took this moment to order "Polnareff, slice up that canteen." At first Polnareff interjected "What, me?! You saw what that thing did to the pilot, if I poke a hole in that thing..." He paused before snapping.

"No way! You or the old guy do it, you two are closer! Just use your Emerald Splash! Or old guy, do whatever you can do!" I remained silent, instead shaking my head, I had no idea what I was dealing with here. Hell, I was still relatively new to this whole 'Stand' situation. 

As for Kakyoin, he replied by simply saying "I don't want to." This made Polnareff yell "Don't make me do something just because you two don't want to do it! What's going on with you!" Kakyoin remained firm "No means no." With me adding "Stop complaining Polnareff!"

That's when I noticed something. A small pool of water began to form next to us. Kakyoin and Polnareff noticed this as well. The water continued to form before building upwards. Once it took on the shape of a hand, my eyes widened.

Kakyoin stammered "T-that's the..." And that's when it attacked!

Kakyoin couldn't react in time, the water lashed out, slicing across both of his eyes. As he fell back, Polnareff called out "Kakyoin!" Joseph pointed out "It's the water! It had already left the canteen and hidden itself in the blood!" Avdol added "The Stand wasn't hiding in the water, it IS the water!"

Polnareff was still panicking over Kakyoin who now had large slashes over each eye. Joseph ordered "Polnareff, don't panic! Summon Chariot and defend yourself!" 

That's when I noticed the water AGAIN! This time building up under Polnareff's hand. I wasted no time acting this time, I grabbed Polnareff and shoved him to the side.

As the water sprouted up again, I raised my hand in a chopping motion. Breathing in, I channelled Hamon into my hand. I yelled out "OVERDRIVE!" Before chopping at the water. A fools errand, but I was acting on impulse.

What happened though, was that the water didn't even react to my attack! This caused Joseph to yell across to me "Gyalzen don't! Only a Stand can harm another Stand!" Of course I realized this all too late!

The Stand was completely unaffected, and now I was its next target!

I hadn't wanted to display my ability just yet, but for a moment I thought I'd have to. Before I could though, a beeping sound was heard. I turned to the source to see it was a watch being worn by one of the deceased pilots!

The water Stand forgot all about me, instead it lanced towards the watch, destroying it before retreating back into the sand. For a moment, we were all left motionless, wondering what had happened.

It was clear that it had attacked the pilot's watch because of the alarm. Jotaro pointed this out as well. Avdol stated what I was beginning to understand myself. "Sound! It hunts its victims by sound!"

The Stand lashed out again, once again going for me and Polnareff. Joseph called out to us "Polnareff, Gyalzen, it's coming for you two this time! Get to the car!" 

We did exactly that, Polnareff carrying Kakyoin. However the water was too fast! Before either of us could react it lashed out, cutting at Polnareff's leg. I stopped to help him, however I heard Joseph call out "HERMIT PURPLE!"

I'll admit, I was kind of surprised when I saw purple vines extend from Joseph's hand, wrapping around Polnareff and Kakyoin to pull them to safety. I was able to leap upwards and evade being attacked by the water.

The Stand retreated back into the ground, it was here I said "I think it detects sounds using vibrations in the ground." Joseph nodded in agreement adding "Exactly, and it moves through the earth where we can't see it. It can attack us from behind or below at any moment. What's worse, the user could be far away.

Once we were somewhat safe, we checked on Kakyoin. Avdol looked him over and explained "It's not good. He may have been blinded. Let's drive, we need to get him to a doctor immediately. 

Joseph deduced "If we move, it'll attack though." I agreed "Indeed, we can't afford to be careless." Almost as soon as I said this, there was a sudden shaking. A pool of water began to form around the car, PULLING IT IN!

Jotaro yelled "The tires are stuck in the water!" Avdol ordered "Everyone move to the back!" They all tried to do that. However I had another idea. I'd noticed that Iggy the dog had already abandoned the vehicle and was sat only a short distance away.

I did the exact same. Leaping from the jeep much to everyone's shock. Joseph called out "Gyalzen?! What the hell are you doing?!" I didn't directly respond though, instead I stood up and gave a smile.

"I had hoped I wouldn't need to use this ability so soon. However if the enemy is playing their hand so soon, so shall I. I've never actually shown anyone this gift, whether it's a Stand or not, I don't know. I suppose we'll find out.

As I stepped forward, steam hissed out from under my feet. But why? There was no friction. Well, soon steam began coming from my body itself. Polnareff exclaimed "Whoa! What's what?!"

My power began to manifest, similar to Iggy's Stand, the steam took shape. In my case though, it was a humanoid figure. Once its features were clear, the steam began to emit from it instead of me.

I turned to the others again, with my ability stood just behind me. I spoke once again "If this is a Stand, it will need a name. You said the theme was Tarot cards right? Well then..." I trailed off for a moment before finally saying.

"Say hello to Page of Cups..."

Image of Page of Cups:

(You already know its stats from the summary).

Author's Note: And that's it for this chapter. In the next chapter we'll get our first proper look at Gyalzen's Stand and how it will contribute to defeating N'Doul. I really hope you enjoyed and as always, thanks for reading.