Chapter 7: Heart of Gold

The man looked at them. His golden blonde hair shifted ever so slightly in the wind. His deep yellow eyes seemed to take in every detail from their bodies, even down to the specs of dirt. He wore a black suit jacket and pants with a darker yellow shirt underneath, and the top button remained unbuttoned. In his pocket, he had a yellow rose tucked into it but it almost seemed as if it was metallic, like it was covered in gold.

"That can't be possible though…a gold plated rose?" Jacob thought to himself as the group approached the mysterious figure with La'Rue in front.

"Hello…it seems you've found me…" The man spoke in a smooth charismatic voice. Although described a man, he seemed roughly around their age and about their respective heights. La'Rue would look at him.

"You seem to be doing the same thing you usually are…" La'Rue glanced at the private jet and all the other trinkets lying about.

"What…? You mean running the Barrington Estate? THE most successful business in the world?? I work like a dog all year round, and still, my father looks at me like I'm nothing more than old gum stuck to the bottom of a table!" He cleared his throat, "Pardon. He's just grooming me so when I inherit the company, unless that traitor of a younger brother, Eugene, steals it out from under me, it will be in safe hands. Right now, we're mostly in stocks, with each costing around $37,000,000." His eyes looked about the room casually as if all he ever did was business. There was a sense of boredom when he looked around the room but glee seemed to return when looking at these new visitors.

Everyone's mouths dropped, except for La'Rue who smiled slyly. "H-How many stocks do you have??" Mark's eyes were wide with both awe and disbelief.

"Oh…umm…. about 8,245…nothing too much, but that's really about where majority of our business is…" He sighed apparently bored with talk about numbers. Jacob began thinking to himself, his face contorted with confusion and pensive thought.

"Holy crap!" He exclaimed after a few seconds, "That's about 365 billion dollars' worth!" Everyone's faces dropped again and they looked at William and back and Jacob and then back at William.

He shrugged the comment off, "Like I say, we're pretty high in the business world. Can we not talk numbers though? It's all I do and its nice to get out of the office when I can and I hardly get to meet new people." He hopped down from the jet wing, landing gracefully. "Anyway, you've found me, so what is it that you want?" He walked around with his hands in his pockets, constantly checking his watch and phone.

"Well…we nee-" Mark had begun to talk but had been cut off by La'Rue,

"Do you know anything about an organization called 'The House'?" William's face went pale and his eyes narrowed for a moment.

"Why are you asking? What have you gotten yourself into??" He stared at the group with an annoyed look now and had partially turned himself away.

"They seemed to have confronted us and it seems we've been victims of their assaults, without provoking them…" Angel had stepped in and revealed Glitch Mob, "I don't know if you can see it but they've given us these things which they refer to as, Stands." William looked over and his interest peaked. From him another humanoid like figure appeared. Its body was made of pure gold, or so it seemed. Embedded into the structure of its body were molds of roses that appeared to be gold as they were inlaid into the structure of the body. The figure seemed fairly muscular although nothing like One Minute Till Midnight, it still stood out as a heavy hitter. Along the undersides of its arms were silver plates that gave a nice contrast to the gold. Also wrapping around from the shoulder, all the way down to the wrists, were strands of silver thorns that hugged the arms tightly. On its knuckles were buds from roses that hadn't bloomed yet and remained tightly wound shut. These silver thorn strands also ran down around its legs where the back panels were also a silver color, while the front remained a consistent gold like that of the overall pattern. On its knees were large opened silver roses that stuck out a little. On its head there were a crown of silver thorns. Its eyes were also silver roses that were smaller and seemed to constantly rotate clockwise. Its mouth was small and bound shut by the silver thorns as if they were stitches.

"I have one too…it seems that they're becoming more and prominent since The House has decided to move in…" He looked towards the floor.

"So, you do know about The House??" Jacob kept looking at how dazzling William's stand was and how different from what he'd seen up to this point.

"Sadly yes…. every once in a while, they decide to show up at our doorstep and threaten us for what they claim is 'protection money'. We've been somewhat tracking their whereabouts but they're so sporadic its impossible to locate their headquarters. For now, we just try to contain any major conflicts that arise, but it seems that they've settled down for a while." William began walking over to them.

"Isn't it a bit dangerous that they've gone silent? Couldn't that mean they're preparing for something?" La'Rue crossed his arms and his brows furrowed.

"We've gotten the same feeling, at least I have, but my father pays no heed to my ideas. So, any initiation towards them has gone silent. I'm on my own on this one but I can't really do anything since I don't have my father's support. He's just assumed that they've died out, although I highly doubt that." He looked around at the group, "So you've all got stands…that's pretty interesting…I guess, with you guys doing all the heavy lifting, I could support your cause…but in a fair fight." Everyone's eyes went wide at the prospect of dueling with a man who would essentially be helping them.

"A-Are you sure?" Mark looked confused at the notion.

"Well, like I said, I don't see many new people often and the fact that you're all stand users makes this opportunity too good to pass up. So yes, I challenge you to a formal duel, first to concede loses." He smiled at them and put his hands behind his back.

"Do you really think it's fair to take four on one?" Angel looked at the man afraid to even imagine what sort of an ability the man had if he was confident enough to take them all on.

"Oh no, of course not. My stand isn't that ridiculously powerful, select one to face me and we'll continue from there." The group looked around at each other with curious eyes until Mark stepped forward.

"I'll do it," the group looked around at him as he summoned One Minute Till Midnight.

"Are you sure? You haven't even really used your stand, we don't even know if it has an ability!"

"I'm sure. He looks stronger than most of you so I can handle it. Besides, I haven't really gotten to use mine yet in a fight, so it's my turn to step up." He looked at them and gave them a thumbs-up. It comes down to me if we get this guy to help us or not.

They walked out onto the runway, which was surprisingly silent and empty. "When you have enough money, a single call can make sure the runway is cleared for about 10 minutes." William smiled.

"Isn't 10 minutes somewhat a small amount of time?" Mark looked at him perplexed.

"All I need is 10 minutes, this duel will be over quickly. But I stand by my word if you best me." His stand appeared, "I hope you're ready to face my 24 Karat Magic." He smiled somewhat smugly at Mark and even though he was a bit timid, Mark was able to suppress his nervous feeling and summon One Minute Till Midnight,

"I'm ready when you are." Mark made a determined face and tried to exude confidence which William easily saw through but amused him. They faced off about 10 meters from each other and William summoned 24 K.M and Mark did the same by summoning One Minute Till Midnight. "I'm going to assume by how close your stand is to you that it's probably a short-ranged fighter…"

"You assume correctly, so have at me." Mark began to run towards William who simply just watched and waited until he was about 5 meters away at which point 24 K.M. slammed its fist into the ground. From it, the ground around the stand began to turn gold, metallic roses blooming along within the ground that became gold with it. The area spread and as it did the speed of the effect consistently increased. Mark stopped near the spreading but by then it had been too late, the effect was moving too swiftly outwards to avoid. There was the audible click and OMTM's fist came barreling down smashing the ground and launching Mark backwards, but before getting completely away some of the spreading gold touched his fist and spread a bit all over his fist. As Mark looked down at his fist and at his stand's fist, they were both sealed shut and couldn't open, as if the gold had hardened over where it had touched and spread. Mark looked at his fist and then at William with a bit of horror in his eyes.

"Are you familiar with the story of King Midas?" William casually walked over the gold towards Mark,

"He was a good king. Helped out a man in need, and for some reason for is act of kindness, he received a wish from the Gods. His one wish was that everything he touched would turn to gold. This backfired tremendously for him, but is the basic mechanics and also works wonderfully for me and my stand. Once I turn you to gold, I will revert you using the only weakness to my stand, that is if I can revert it in time…"

Mark looked at his fist horrified, "What do you mean 'in time'!?"

"Well…after about five minutes or so, whatever has been covered in gold becomes officially solidified and permanently gold…for like…ever. So, that's why this will be a quick fight, unless you want to become a solid gold statue…?" He stopped walking and put his hands behind his back, his suit perfectly smooth as well as his hair and stand looking back at Mark. Mark looked back at his hand.

"The only way I can beat him is with a full-on assault, I can't wait back here otherwise I'll lose my fist…" Mark took a deep breath and once again ran at William, his fists of OMTM tucked into his side and he heard the spring joint lock into place. William waited until he was close and one again slammed his fist into the ground and the gold began to spread again. Upon nearing the border of the spreading gold, Mark jumped up and towards William, upon his descent his spring lock made the audible "click" and his fist went flying. Barely managing to block it, William brought 24 K.M.'s fist up in a defensive form that was barely able to move OMTM's fist over a bit but it still scraped a bit of his face. Since 24 K.M.'s fists had removed themselves from the ground, the floor had stopped spreading its gold and it just remained stable. A bruise appeared on the right side of William's cheek where the punch had grazed him. He shoved One Minute Till Midnight's arm out of the way and began throwing a flurry of punches, which One Minute Till Midnight took very easily. Where 24 K.M. had punched, there were small flecks of gold covering in small areas.

"Turning non-living things into gold is easy because they have no resistance or will to survive. But turning a stand or user into gold directly with punches is a bit harder. However, the transfer from non-living to living makes it so the rapidity of the growth remains the same." William looked at Mark's stand with its incredible durability. "Your stand seems quite sturdy, but no matter, my speed is superior." He kept throwing a volley of punches as OMTM relocked his arm and when he released it the punch cracked through both of 24 K.M.'s arms and fists and went into his chest, sending William flying back as he fell any lid on the ground immobile. Mark walked over to him, his body slightly sore from being riddled with punches. He looked down at William as he turned himself over to see Mark.

"I guess that means I win, you concede?" Mark put his hands in his pockets satisfied with the results of the fight.

"Not…quite…yet," William smiled still trying to regain his breath. Mark glanced behind him and saw 24 Karat Magic's hand pressed to the ground and he saw a layer of gold covering the ground. As he looked down, he saw One Minute Till Midnight's legs covered in gold and moving upward. Mark tried to move his legs but couldn't and William began to stand up with his hand still pressed to the ground with 24 Karat Magic. "You let your guard down…" William cracked some of his injured bones, and despite the intense pain, he puffed his chest out a bit to regain his form as he brushed off his suit. "Life is all about composure. The moment you let it down, everything about you gets exposed and life seeps in, destroying your image." The gold had spread up towards OMTM's torso, his arm had begun to slowly crank down into his chest. "Don't worry, it couldn't be helped. As simply as I won't be helping you. But we all learn from loss." William went on as he saw the gold finish its spread up to the neck of OMTM. He began walking up towards Mark and 24 K.M. took its fist off the ground as the gold spread across OMTM's head and he shuddered, unable to move.

He circled around, looking at the gold statue of both the stand and its user. Everyone else stood in the back silent. William walked in front of him and flicked a little bit of extra dirt off his suit and pulled 24 K.M. back into him. He looked at the others, "Go grab some water, quickly. It's the only thing that can dissolve or weaken it in high concentrations before it completely solidifies. He's slowly begun to turn gold, that includes his living cells and being." As some of the others began to rush away, there was an audible "click," heard from within the cocoon of gold. Along the left shoulder of the gold figure, the outer layer began cracking at the joint. William's eyes went wide as he saw more and more cracking along the body. One Minute Till Midnight's fist blasted out and before William could bring out 24 Karat Magic, the punch had already finished. Unconsciously, William had closed his eyes waiting for his head to be smashed, but as he opened his eyes he saw OMTM's fist off to the side of his head.

"I guess that means I win…you let your guard down." The ridiculous force of the punch had riddled OMTM's entire body and had shaken off the gold. Mark looked at him and walked back to the group. Angel was cheering, Jacob gave him a high-five, and La'Rue was shaking his head, surprising a smile had spread across his face.

"H-Hey! I never conceded!" William frowned with the results of the fight.

"You didn't have to. Had I decided to hit you with that punch, you would've been broken beyond repair, and after all, we need you to help us. Because I swear to him, I'm going to avenge my father, and if you can help…so be it. Although it was quite an excellent duel." He stuck out his hand to shake it and William graciously accepted with a smile.

"If you guys are really this serious about taking down The House, then you're all stupid beyond repair…but I did agree to assist you if you bested me, and I'm a man of my word. A deal's a deal. I'll give a call to get the jet loaded up. My estate, as you probably have been told by now, is in San Diego, so we'll head there where I can work better with my materials. I give it about half an hour. In the meantime, I'm fine with travelling with you guys, but if you're going to be riding with me, you've got to have more of a professional…well, not necessarily professional, but more…eccentric look about you. Something that defines you and, in this case, I'd even say your stands. Like me and La'Rue." La'Rue smiled, his chains jingled a little. "So, lets go." The group followed and Mark noticed something on one of the antennae of the radio tower. He figured he must've been seeing things, but for an instance, he though he saw a bald eagle perched up there. It felt like it had been watching their fight, but that was too comical to imagine before it flew away…

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In an Undisclosed Location...

A man sat in a chair, he was turned around facing away from another two men who sat on the opposite side of his desk. Although the room wasn't too extensive, it housed a large expensive desk, diamonds studded the edges. He sat in a soft, leather, cushiony chair. Behind his desk, where he was facing, a painting hung with a pair of dice off to the top left, a deck of cards laying about in the bottom left of the painting, a slot machine in the top right, a poker chip in the bottom left. In the bottom center was a card that portrayed a Joker. Above it and centered, taking all the space, was what would be the top view of a roulette spinner, the ball in motion. Off to the man's right was a single door without a door handle. An odd circular hole filled the space and it hung there menacingly it a pure obsidian black. It was nothing like the door at the front of the room where the other two men had entered from, that door was perfectly normal and quite luxurious. To the left of the man was a large basic filing cabinet with what would be presumably filled with papers. The man wore a crimson red undershirt with a pure white overcoat and suit pants. The suit had an intricate pattern of Paisley, differing from white to red. He slicked his red hair back, a green zigzag stripe going back down the middle. He stood up and turned around. Both Spades and Joker sat on the other side of him.

"What have you come here for, you know my time is much more valuable than yours…" He spoke with a dark, slightly gravelly voice. For a man who spoke much and spoke little, the two sitting before him were still terrified, although over the years working for him, they'd learn to suppress this feeling. When he did show off, the boss could be truly terrifying.

"We have some somewhat troubling news sir…" Joker shifted a little, his Aussie tilted a little, "Those men you asked us to dispose of, we have Intel from 'Split Open and Melt' that they seemed to have survived 'Anaconda' and have made a new ally with Barrington." The man sent him a piercing gaze that almost made Joker's heart stop in its place. His red eyes didn't move, didn't blink. The man walked over and began to thumb through his filing cabinet.

"That Barrington Boy…I was sure they were of an intelligent breed. Apparently not. My warnings didn't seem to get through, so we'll have to send a firmer message. Just as I had nothing, that pompous, arrogant, SON OF A-" the man had begun to get into a rage before Spades had spoken up.

"Sir, your attitude…" The man turned around at Spades breathing heavily and angrily as if he was in a frenzy. His breathing began to slow and he calmed down and slicked his hair back again.

"Pardon me…like I was saying…just as I had nothing, so too will he know emptiness…" He kept thumbing through, "Who do we have that's relatively close…?"

"Since you wanted pairs, 'Airplanes' is in the area and on standby…" Joker tipped his hat towards the man.

"Honestly, what a stupid name for a stand…" Spades rested his chin on his fist and sighed, his fedora rested on his head at an angle.

"It is his choice, regardless, send him in. Tell him to go ahead with operation 'London Bridge is Falling Down,' the world is about ready to witness the power of The House…we should start off with a bang…" The man smiled wickedly and looked down at a pen in his hand. A muscular arm appeared from the man's side and grabbed the pen in his hand. In the center of his palm was a rather large roulette ball that fit snugly into a crater. Its primary color was red, with purple and blue triangles that spotted along up the arm in random places. With practiced precision he threw the pen towards his desk and it slid towards the end where it stopped and it tilted over the edge, balancing on its fulcrum, ready to give at any moment.

"I've already done it." Joker smiled in return.

"Without my say so?" The man's voice dropped into a deeper, darker tone.

"Well, we were limited on time, their plane takes off in about 15 minutes. Besides, I'd rather apologize later than ask for permission now…" There was an unholy tension in the room. At any given moment, it felt like the air would just combust.

"Your impudence will not go forgotten, but you survive for now. Besides, you forget with me, there may never be a later for you." The pen tipped over and began its descent towards the floor but right before that the world froze and everyone and everything faded into a black void, all except for the man and his pen. "What are the odds the pen doesn't fall to the floor?" He watched it continue to tip over and heard a pair of dice rolling from behind him. "Ahh, a perfect roll…" He smiled as the pen flicked back up and rolled backwards onto his desk, "Fate is limitless…the odds are endless…and yet there are some of us who control those odds, making fate my slave…" He sighed and the world began to swirl around him, filling the void. "I'll delay the event by three seconds…" As he stared at Joker and Joker stared back, the man looked at the pen and they turned their attention to the pen and saw it begin to fall, before flicking back up and rolling onto the man's desk. They looked back at him with astonishment.

"To even think of seeing a sliver of the Boss's power is truly a blessing. Today is a joyous occasion!" Spades revered the man who he referred to as the boss, he even went as far as to remove his fedora, revealing his shaggy hair.

"You know why they say, 'Never bet against the house?' It's because The House, always wins…you two are dismissed…" The two men got up and left through the nice door. The man sat down at his desk, his eyes flickering from red, to purple, to blue…

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Stand Name: 24 Karat Magic

User: William Barrington

Ability: Can turn anything it touches into gold. Larger objects are harder to convert. As the gold touch spreads, the speed of growth becomes exponential compared to the time used. After about 5 minutes of being covered in gold, the object permanently becomes gold. Water is the only thing that can dissolve the layer of gold in high concentrations.

Stats:

Power: B

Speed: B

Range: C

Durability: C

Precision: A

Potential: B