SO Episode 27

Sky High (スカイ・ハイ) is the twenty-seventh episode of Stone Ocean and the one-hundred-seventy-ninth episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. The episode covers from Chapter 112 to Chapter 117 of the original manga.

Eight hours before Weather Report and Anasui escape prison, Jolyne, Ermes, and Emporio are attacked by a mysterious group of rod-shaped organisms. The trio soon confront the Stand User controlling the rods, Rikiel, who is prepared to protect Pucci at any cost.

Summary
Jolyne, Ermes and Emporio are flying aboard a helicopter. Emporio wants to go to Cape Canaveral directly but Jolyne tells him to head West because she feels that Pucci is in that direction, somewhere in Orlando.

Suddenly, something flies into the cockpit of the helicopter. Several things enter the helicopter and Ermes can barely see them pass, and those things cause Emporio's eyelids to drop. Ermes herself is forced to close her eyes and Jolyne's eyes also begin to bleed as the helicopter starts to drop in altitude. Blinded, Emporio cannot activate the automatic flight system. Forcing her eyes open, Jolyne sees that something is attacking them and deploys a net inside of the helicopter. Unfortunately, the enemy is able to fly between the strings. Unable to track the enemy, Jolyne decides to grab everyone and jump from the helicopter. Ermes is shocked but she then sees the enemy, a strange rod-like organism, following them. Since their relative speed are equal, Ermes is able to summon Kiss and tell it to destroy this "rod" with a punch. However, it turns out there is a whole swarm of rods. Jolyne hangs to the helicopter to slow everyone's fall and they safely land on water. Holding the corpse of the rod, Ermes realizes that it is some strange living being and not a Stand. Emporio feels that it is familiar but cannot recall what it is for now. The conversation is interrupted when the real enemy, Rikiel, arrives on his bike.

Rikiel proudly announces his growth in ability and reminisces how Pucci helped back at the hospital. Back then, Rikiel was despairing, gasping for air, covered in sweat and his eyelid drooping without reason. Lamenting how his whole life was ruined by his strange affliction, Rikiel thought himself a good-for-nothing. However, Pucci extracted Rikiel's Stand DISC from him, examining his latent ability. Pucci thus presented the Rods to Rikiel, a strange type of creature who are poorly understood by mankind. With this realization, Rikiel was able to see and control the Rods at will. Rikiel was amazed at his revealed potential, but one of Pucci's tooth burst out of his mouth. Worried about the dangerousness of Rikiel's ability, Pucci dubbed Rikiel's Stand "Sky High" and told him to leave.

In the present, the heroes are also puzzled by the Rods and wonder how they work since they always fly without touching anything and yet need sustenance like any other living being. Nonetheless, Jolyne and Ermes decide to confront Rikiel and approach. Rikiel waits patiently for them to get into optimal range for his power, but the women understand that he's laying a trap, which surprises Rikiel. Rikiel is worried that Jolyne and Ermes could quickly understand that Sky High lacks precision and he begins to lose his cool when his motorbike sinks into the mud. Searching for his keys, Rikiel is able to avoid some stones that Ermes throws at him, but the rocks are copies created by Kiss and she's able to make them fly back right into Rikiel's face. Panicking, Rikiel starts to gasp for air again and he even immobilizes the rods by accident. By chance, Rikiel finds his key and his confidence.

Before Ermes can take her stickers from the stones, Rikiel somehow makes it so Ermes breaks her finger. Rikiel is able to move his bike and proceeds to explain how the space mission represented the advancement of the human spirit. His confidence at an all-time high, Rikiel induces all kinds of ailments like making Ermes' hand rot and make Emporio urinate blood. Rikiel even immobilizes Ermes' legs and declares that he'll kill all the heroes to protect Pucci.

Rikiel sets his sights on Jolyne. She runs towards Rikiel to attack, but her ankle suddenly snaps. Seeing this, Emporio realizes that her ankle couldn't snap so violently without some internal damage. This allows him to understand that all the ailments are caused by the Rods sucking the body heat from their victims, which according to medicine, induces all kinds of affliction in the areas that lose heat. Rikiel acknowledges it but nonetheless, he's immobilized Jolyne and aims for her brain stem, knowing that she can kill her if he absorbs the body heat in that area. Emporio tells Jolyne to dive underwater, but Jolyne tells Emporio to give her a lighter and suddenly lights herself on fire. Jolyne slowly approaches, enduring the pain of her twisted ankle and the fire and Rikiel doesn't know where to aim. Stone Free is able to punch Rikiel and tears off a sleeve, exposing the Joestar Birthmark on his shoulder. This confirms a truly close tie with Pucci and Jolyne plans on interrogating him.

Encouraged by Pucci's words, Rikiel splashes himself with gas and also lights himself on fire. Enduring the same pain and showing the same spirit, Rikiel considers himself on an equal footing with Jolyne and explains that it also allows him to know how it feels to be on fire and deduce how to best attack Jolyne. Jolyne sends Stone Free to punch Rikiel but her Stand completely misses. Rolling on the ground, Rikiel explains that's realized that Jolyne is keeping her mouth open to breathe and thus he's sent Rods inside of her mouth to absorb heat from the hypothalamus near the mouth area and mess with her optical nerves.

Rikiel gloats, but Jolyne simply chooses to close her eyes and mouths, using only her connection to Rikiel via the Joestar Birthmark to find him and pummel him. Even then, Rikiel grabs Jolyne by the neck. He's announced that he's shut down his nerves to endure the pain and that he's covered the fire on her neck with his hands to expose Jolyne's brain stem again. Without any choice, Jolyne must finish off Jolyne by pummeling him with Stone Free. Both collapse and the Rods fly away. Emporio runs towards her, fearing the worst when Rikiel gets up. However, Rikiel realizes that his own hand has shielded Jolyne. On the ground, Rikiel wonders whether it was all part of Jolyne's plan or dumb luck. Jolyne says the latter but Rikiel is not so sure. She asks who Rikiel, and the latter just answers that he has a debt towards Pucci. He declares that Pucci will reach Heaven no matter what and that Fate will guide the priest's hand. Finally, Rikiel tells Jolyne that Weather Report is Pucci's own brother. Angered, Ermes violently punches Rikiel with Kiss and dismisses his claims before telling her to leave. Nonetheless, Jolyne is impressed by Rikiel's declarations.

The narration explains that riding a bike without a helmet is authorized in Florida because people are responsible for their own safety. Incidentally, a swarm of Rods fly by a biker's neck and cause a crash.