☆ ⁺ « ENTITY ON ITS OWN
★˚⋆ WHAT THE FLACK IS GOING on here? you nearly said before you remembered that you were currently in Bruno's body and Bruno didn't say things like that. You forced yourself to tamp down on your alarm and reached for your composure.
"Abbacchio," you said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not Abbacchio. That's Abbacchio," he tipped his chin at Fugo's prone form. "I'm Fugo. We switched souls somehow. It must have been a Stand attack."
You heard everyone crowd onto the bridge. There were a few gasps and hissed swears.
"What the flack happened here?" Mista snapped, except the effect it had in Trish's voice nearly made you snort.
"What's wrong with Fugo?" Trish asked, rushing over to him.
"Did you guys have a shoot-out here or something?" Narancia asked, surveying the damage with his hands on his hips.
"Explain yourself," Bruno said to Fugo, using the exact mix of steel and exasperation you would have.
Fugo sighed, wiping his hands on his pants. It was only then that you noticed he had been crouched over Abbacchio to apply a healing patch to his forehead. "We went briefly unconscious a little while ago. Abbacchio and I woke up at the same time and encountered each other on the bridge. Needless to say, seeing each other in our own bodies caused some alarm. We both assumed it was some kind of Stand attack and started shooting at each other. I managed to clip Abbacchio over the temple. It wasn't until we started talking that we realized what was happening."
"You shot Abbacchio?" Narancia said. "How'd you manage that? Your aim is shit."
"He wouldn't have gotten me if having our bodies switched didn't throw me off," Abbacchio grumbled from the ground.
"That's a lot of blood, are you sure he's going to be alright?" Trish asked.
"It's just a scratch," Fugo said, frowning. "You're awfully concerned for once, Mista."
"The Stand attack affected a few other people too," you said. You pointed out who everyone was, surprising yourself when you managed to keep all of the switched identities straight.
"Wait, who are you?" Narancia said, squinting at Trish. "JoJo?"
"I'm JoJo," JoJo piped up. "That's Abbacchio."
"Abbacchio's the one who got shot," Abbacchio said flatly, still on the ground. "That's Narancia."
"But I'm Narancia!"
"I'm Mista, flackbag."
"But I thought JoJo was Mista!"
"I thought JoJo was Trish."
"Trish isn't JoJo?"
"You're all confusing yourselves for nothing," Bruno said. "We've all been paired off. Whichever person's body you're in, they're currently in yours. Just remember that."
Narancia scratched his head. "Great, now I'm confused. Who am I again?"
"What about the two of you?" Fugo said, looking between you and Bruno. "Did you switch?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," you said. "The Captain and I went unconscious but we didn't switch souls. We might not have been in range."
"Which reminds me. We still have to check on Polnareff," Bruno said.
Mista scoffed. "What's there to worry about? If we're all paired up, there's no one Polnareff could have switched with. He didn't switch with the Captain or Bruno. He should be fine."
"Yeah, and he was already unconscious," Narancia added.
You realized a beat too late that as Bruno, you had to be the most concerned about Polnareff.
"We don't know what this Stand is capable of. Dr. Polnareff might have experienced different effects because he was already unconscious." You shrugged. "I can go by myself. I just want to check on him."
"Don't be ridiculous," Trish said. "You said it yourself: we don't know what this Stand is capable of. We should all stick together before anything else happens."
And so, everyone made the trek to the med bay. Even though you shouldn't have been, you felt a twinge of apprehension. Most likely Polnareff was fine. Most likely nothing had happened to him.
You made sure to push inside the med bay first. The silence inside struck you hard. The usual blur of beeping and low tones was completely gone.
Polnareff's healing pod was dark.
"What's wrong with the pod?" you said, immediately going to check on the console. It seemed to be working fine, except that all of the vital information and internal tracking displayed zero. That didn't happen unless no one was in the pod or—
Well.
You pressed the button to open the pod's lid, leaning over to peer at Polnareff. Even though the monitors couldn't lie, you brought your fingers below Polnareff's jaw, trying to find a pulse.
It was there. Or else your mind was desperate enough to imagine there was one.
"What's wrong with him?" Bruno asked. He was just managing to keep the panic out of his mind, pretending to be distantly concerned instead of terribly so.
"His pulse is weak," you said. "I'm going to try to wake him up. The tranquilizer should have worn off by now, right, Fugo?"
He nodded.
You struggled to prop Polnareff up in a sitting position, gratefully thanking Mista when he came up on the pod's other side and helped you out. You could see Polnareff's eyes flickering beneath his eyelids. He was still alive.
You looked back at the rest of the crew. "Should I..."
Bruno grit his teeth. "You might as well."
Firmly, but still gently, you took Polnareff's shoulder and shook him. "Dr. Polnareff. Dr. Polnareff, wake up."
You were just about to slap him when a voice made you turn around.
"Don't waste your time. I'm over here."
You glanced at the crew, all of them looking as confused as you did.
"Dr. Polnareff, where are you?" you said, looking around. The voice hadn't come from his body, which scared you. If Polnareff's soul had been switched, who had he switched with?
Or maybe, what?
"Look down."
You looked down at the ground. Near Narancia's feet, something was moving.
Your stomach sank. From the tight look on Bruno's face, he seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
"Narancia, pick up Coco Jumbo," he said woodenly.
"Huh? Uh, okay." Narancia stooped to pick up the turtle, tucking it under his arm. "How'd you get down there, buddy? Did you fall or something?"
"Yes, I did fall, actually."
Narancia nearly lost his grip on the turtle. His eyes widened, and so did everyone else's.
"Hold on. Polnareff?" Trish said.
"I'm afraid so."
You couldn't believe this. Polnareff's voice was coming out of Coco Jumbo's body. A flacking turtle.
Polnareff had swapped souls with a turtle.
JoJo frowned. "But Coco Jumbo is a computer, isn't it?"
"Even if it wasn't, it's an animal," Abbacchio said. "Wouldn't that make them different?"
"You're wrong on both accounts," Polnareff said, sounding resigned. Narancia was too freaked out to keep holding the turtle, so he set it on the nearby table.
"Coco Jumbo is no mere computer," Polnareff continued. "Before I converted it into one, it was a real, live turtle."
"What do you mean by that?" Fugo said. "How is that possible?"
"All living things have souls. That's just the way things are. So by extension, all living things are capable of wielding Stands, same as humans. This turtle was unique in that it actually did possess a Stand, one that enabled it to keep a great deal of space in its shell. An entire little room, almost. It's accessed by the key. Because of that, I was able to place the components of a supercomputer within this room and use the turtle as a holding shell. The computer is real, it's just not the turtle."
"So the turtle was alive this whole time?" Mista said. "It told us it wasn't, though."
"Just another line of code I included when I wiped Coco Jumbo's memory banks. Having a live turtle would bring up too many questions."
"We never even fed it," Trish said. "How did it not die?"
"Does that mean the turtle's soul is currently occupying your body, Dr. Polnareff?" you asked, trying to get everyone back on track. "Won't that be ... a problem?"
"I am currently dying, so yes, it may be a problem," Polnareff said wryly.
You leaned towards him. "Dr. Polnareff, what's going on? You don't sound as concerned about this as you should be. I mean, nearly everyone on the ship has switched souls."
Somehow, the turtle's eyes managed to widen. "Nearly everyone?"
"Bruno and I didn't switch souls," Bruno said. "We must have been too far away from the Stand attack."
You were probably the only one who caught the significant glance Bruno shot in Polnareff's direction. Something unspoken passed between the two of them, and Polnareff seemed to understand to keep his mouth shut.
"You're right that I'm not concerned," Polnareff said instead. "In fact, I'm not even surprised. It is, after all, my Stand that caused this."
You had woken up in Bruno's body. Polnareff was inside a turtle, and now he was saying his Stand was the one who had attacked your crew. Things just couldn't get any weirder.
"Anyone else's head hurt like a bitch right now?" Mista muttered.
"I never should have agreed to help you," Abbacchio said.
"It must have been an unintentional attack," JoJo said. "Since Polnareff's soul was also swapped. Why would he have done that to himself?"
"You would be correct," Polnareff said. "As a result of Silver Chariot, nearly all of you have switched souls. Or rather, Silver Chariot Requiem."
Fugo's head whipped toward the turtle. "Your Stand was pierced by the Arrow?"
"My Stand's nature with the Stand Arrow is complicated. Because of the tranquilizer, my body was put in a shut-down state. My Stand took that as a sign that I was on the brink of death. Having been struck by the Arrow once before, it took on its Requiem form to carry out my final wish."
"That being to protect the Stand Arrow," you said.
"Well, just call your Stand back and tell it to put our souls back," Narancia said.
"Silver Chariot Requiem is no longer under my control," Polnareff said tiredly. "It has ceased to be my Stand and is now an entity on its own. It has made off with the Arrow. I do not know what it will do next."
"So there's no way to put our souls back?" Trish asked in a small voice.
"If we kill it, will that kill you too?" Abbacchio said.
"I am as much at a loss to that as you are. I have never encountered anything like this before."
You retreated away from the crew to think. Polnareff's Stand had the Stand Arrow. It was the one responsible for switching everyone's souls. The best thing to do would be to get the Arrow and just give it to Zero. The soul thing could wait.
You were about to give out a command but remembered at the last minute to rephrase it as a request.
"We need to find Dr. Polnareff's Stand," you said. "There has to be some way we can defeat it. Or at least switch our souls back."
"I've already found it," Fugo said grimly, looking down at his holopad. He'd switched devices with Abbacchio at some point and was now in possession of his actual holopad. "Going by the ship's feeds, it's in the engine room, moving up to the galley."
"Something bad always happens in the engine room," Narancia griped.
"Bring me with you," Polnareff urged. "Even if I no longer have control, I still have extensive knowledge of Stands. I may be able to help."
Bruno surprised you by saying, "JoJo? If you would?"
Everyone moved yet again to the engine room corridor. Although this ship wasn't actually the Passione, you had never felt uneasy on a ship before. You liked to think it was your home terf. It was the part of the reason why the encounter with Sale and Zucchero had rankled you so much. Your ship was your safe haven. It was wrong that anyone or anything could be able to force its way in and threaten you.
You tried to think of whether or not the ship would be able to withstand a full-scale Stand assault. Attacks from not only Silver Chariot Requiem, but blasts from the Pistols and Aerosmith, Spice Girl, maybe even Purple Haze if it came down to it. You might end up destroying the ship. It was good that the Stand was confined to the ship, but you would have preferred any fights to happen outside, in the open.
"You'll have to be very careful if you decide to use your Stand," Bruno said beside you. He spoke from the corner of his mouth, careful not to let the others overhear. "We need to make sure we're near each other and aware of the intent. We can probably get away with summoning our Stands if the other person needs to. But we need to make sure we don't sustain damage. Any injury made on the Stand—"
"—is made on the user," you said, annoyed. "You don't need to tell me. I know that. Besides, it's mostly your Stand you'll have to worry about. Party Rock is rarely used in combat."
Bruno nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
The air seemed different inside of the galley. Maybe it was your imagination, but it seemed colder, thicker. You spotted Silver Chariot Requiem immediately, a dark shadow in the corner of the room, with a brimmed hat and tall boots. It had a heavy, shuffling gait. It seemed to suck all of the light around it into its body. Clenched in one of its hands was the Stand Arrow.
It was the first time you were seeing it in the flesh. It was the length of your forearm, gleaming and wickedly sharp. It might have been mistaken for a decorative piece, but the power it exuded was unmistakable. All of a sudden, you wanted to hold it. To feel that power in your own hands.
Get the Arrow for Zero.
Get the Arrow for Zero.
Get it now.
Get it.
Now.
"It doesn't seem like it notices us," Abbacchio said. "It's not reacting to us whatsoever."
"Is it blind?" Narancia wondered.
"No, because that would be you," Fugo said.
You lurched toward Chariot Requiem, the intent feeling in your chest too powerful to ignore.
"It's like we could just grab the Arrow," you said. Chariot Requiem made no sign that it noticed you, that it even cared about you at all. It just kept moving along, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. You reached over its shoulder, fingers only a few inches away from the Arrow...
"Bruno, wait, we don't know what it could do to us," Trish said, and you jerked your hand back.
"You could use Sticky Fingers to detach its hand and grab the arrow then," Mista suggested, only for Fugo to slug him in the arm.
"That's a terrible idea," he snapped.
"Seems like a good enough idea to me," Abbacchio said, shrugging.
"I think we should try it," JoJo said. "We're all here in case something goes wrong."
"I'm not sure what Chariot's effect would be on another Stand," Polnareff admitted. "If you're willing, Bruno, you should use your Stand."
You and Bruno glanced at each other. He nodded imperceptibly, and you positioned yourself as though to withdraw your Stand.
"Sticky Fingers!" you called, and Bruno timed his Stand perfectly, having it appear at the exact next moment. You put on an expression of focus as Sticky Fingers crept toward Chariot Requiem, leaned over its shoulder.
The sound of a zipper echoed throughout the engine room. With a loud smack, Chariot Requiem's arm fell on the floor. You all collectively held your breath, waiting for it to retaliate. To your immense relief, it merely continued on its way, walking out of the engine room entirely.
"No offense, but your Stand is really stupid," Narancia said to Polnareff.
"I can't believe that worked," you said, and Bruno withdrew Sticky Fingers. With a grin, you crouched over the arm and reached out to pick up the arrow.
You didn't get the chance. You screamed as Sticky Finger's arm suddenly appeared in front of you, reaching for your throat.
But no. It wasn't going for you.
It was reaching for Bruno. In your body.
You panicked. You lunged to block Sticky Fingers' arm, realizing belatedly that it might end up puncturing your throat instead.
"Bruno, get down!" Mista shouted, shoving your head down. He fired frantic shots at Sticky Fingers, but the arm disappeared as quickly as it emerged. You barely had time to catch your breath when Abbacchio barked at everyone to get on the floor.
The Pistols were yelling maniacally. They had managed to redirect the elector pulses Mista had shot to ricochet around the engine room, and seemed intent on hitting one of your crew. You clamped your arms over your head, the Pistols' voices shrill and piercing.
"Mista, call them off!" Bruno yelled.
"I can't! They're completely berserk!" Mista shouted back.
"I'll just shoot 'em down with Aerosmith!" Narancia called over the din.
Fugo screamed, "You flackbag, you're going to take someone's head off!"
Chariot Requiem meandered back into the engine room, and the Pistols' rage fizzled out at its presence. While they wondered to themselves what had just happened, Chariot Requiem calmly stooped to retrieve its arm and the arrow before reattaching it to its socket. The limb fused smoothly back as though it had never been removed. Unconcerned, the Stand lumbered away again, leaving you all shocked in its wake.
"What just happened?" Trish said.
"Chariot Requiem doesn't just magnify our abilities," JoJo said slowly. "It ... somehow, it can control our Stands too."
"But how is that possible?" Mista said.
"JoJo is right," Polnareff said. "Chariot Requiem is able to control your Stands by some measure. If you go after the Arrow in any way, your own Stand will be the thing that attacks you."
Narancia shook his head. "That's flacking crazy. No way that can happen."
"It just did," Abbacchio said, getting to his feet.
You looked down at the ground, horrified. If what everyone was saying was true, there would be no way to get back the Stand Arrow. No way to get it to Zero.
You felt a twinge of pain in your chest.
You couldn't fail. Not now. You just couldn't. You couldn't bear to imagine the disappointment Zero would feel, how angry, how devastated.
A shudder went through the ship and you felt your stomach drop. Everyone looked up instinctively as the lights flickered.
"We passed through Bend Gate I," Fugo said.
Mista swore. "What are we going to do? Zero is going to be waiting for us."
"We should still have time to deal with this," Narancia said. "I mean, it's not like he's going to be right there—"
From above, you heard the comms system on the bridge begin to blare. Everyone rushed to the bridge, but you had a feeling you already knew who it was.
"We're getting hailed," Trish said, leaning over the comms console. It was strange to see Mista's body there instead of at the weapons console.
"I'm guessing it's Zero?" Bruno said.
Trish shook her head slowly. "No. It's ... it's an Imperial ship," Her face went pale. "Belonging to Prince Donatello."
- ✦ -
NEXT CHAPTER ─
❝ YOUR IMPROPRIETY IS ASTOUNDING, CAPTAIN. ❞
☆ ⁺ « NOT KEEN TO BELIEVE