Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: A New Universe
Chapter 172: Welcome to the Invisible
Previous Chapter Next ChapterAtroe Fendi was freaking out. All she wanted to do was get away from the people who were bullying her in prison. Rainbow seemed to take to her like a big sister, which is why she hung around her. But now weird things were happening. Rainbow, Jolyne, and Ermes, all prisoners that she knew by reputation, were acting real weird and doing things out of a sci-fi novel. Even more so, they were conversing with some invisible and inaudible creature that killed several other girls right in front of them, their bodies completely dried out.
"Damn it," Jolyne said, "We need to get those discs back. But we can't get too far away from the guard." Atroe looked at them. "Um... You need something from the barn right? Thanks to Jolyne, I don't have my band anymore, so maybe... I could go get it." The others looked at her. "That's too dangerous," Ermes said, "You saw what happened to the others. There's no way you'll outrun what you can't even see. And even if you could, it'll probably just kill you too."
"Alright, here's the plan," Jolyne said, "Ermes, get the guard and throw him to Rainbow. She can carry you and him to keep within the base unit's range. Meanwhile I'll go after the discs." Ermes nodded. "You're crazy, y'know. But fuck it, if this doesn't work we're dead either way." She ran for the guard while Jolyne ran after Foo Fighters. Rainbow turned to see Ermes attack the split Stand with Kiss, not seeing Atroe run after Jolyne. The split creature managed to grab Kiss' arm to pull it off.
It got surprised when it managed to do so easily, then noticed Ermes getting away with the guard's corpse. "Can't believe I resorted to splitting my arm to make this work!," she noted, "But that's desperation for ya!" She winced as she pulled the sticker off and the severed arm merged with the one still attached. "Rainbow, now!" "I'll Fly!" Rainbow grabbed Ermes and the dead guard and raced over to Jolyne just as her band started beeping.
The Stand creature tried to splash water to get at the girls, but Rainbow was too fast, forcing it to run along where the water was landing, digging a small ditch as it did. "Damn!," Ermes called out, "It's not giving up! Rainbow, grab the guard and drop me, I'll take care of that fucker!" Rainbow reached down and grabbed the guard's corpse, while Ermes dropped to where one of the dried corpses was. As the split Stand made to grab her, Ermes placed a sticker on the dried husk and threw it at the creature, removing the sticker when they connected.
"Like a drop of water in the desert," she noted as the ploy worked, drying up the creature and allowing Kiss to knock it away from the ditch to dry up easily. She then ran to catch up to Rainbow, who slowed down to give her time to do so. Meanwhile, Jolyne had reached the barn, just in time to stop Foo Fighters before it could get to the tire. "So you made it," it said, "But this means I have to kill you now." It hit a nearby sink with a hose in it, causing water to spray everywhere.
"This puddle is the only thing keeping you from getting to me and these discs," Foo Fighters noted, "Let me ask you a question... Are you going to run away? Or do you truly wish to die?" "You obviously understand the concept of intelligence," Jolyne noted, "But I wonder if you understand arrogance. Let me ask you something in exchange. Pucci, the one behind Whitesnake. Why is that person collecting these discs?" As she asked, she stepped into the puddle, confusing Foo Fighters as it tossed the tire with the discs into another tractor.
"I can understand the idea of defending oneself," it noted, "And while I've yet to truly understand the idea behind defending others, I can see why it's important. But why would anyone chose to die? As for your question, I've never actually seen this Pucci. I know about Whitesnake, of course, but they've never shared their plans, only asked me to defend these discs." Jolyne dove to the ground. "Stone Free!" Her Stand shot out a string, and Foo Fighters chuckled. "Pointless. I've already made that puddle part of me."
The black gunk from before surrounded Jolyne and grabbed her. "I wonder what your plan was," Foo Fighters said as it started to invade Jolyne's body, "Perhaps break open the flour sack to dehydrate me. Or use the electricity from the lamps to fry me. But it's pointless either way. I have full understanding of my powers, and can create an environment where I have no weaknesses." "Maybe," Jolyne said, "But you lose regardless."
Foo Fighters then noticed the truck was missing, and turned to see it being driven out of the barn and across the farm's field by Atroe. "I was actually intending to use my string to start the engine," Jolyne clarified, "But it looks like Atroe had a similar idea. Girl's smart. She knew what we needed." Foo Fighters immediately released Jolyne and went for the tractor, but to do so it had to leave its perfect environment, slowly breaking apart thanks to the field as Atroe kept going forward, not deviating in case whatever invisible thing was after them was right behind her.
Foo Fighters tried to grab the back of the tractor, but realized it didn't have the strength to hold on as Jolyne regrouped with Ermes and Rainbow, Atroe stopping the tractor when she saw they stopped. Foo Fighters looked at them. "I... Have lost... The discs were all I had to my identity." It popped out the two discs. "Take them... For yourself. I... Don't have the strength to keep going..." And with that, it dissolved, only the discs remaining. Jolyne picked up the disc containing Foo Fighters, then looked at Atroe.
"Here it is," Ermes said, "The Disc containing Goo Goo Dolls. The discs come in a set of two, but for some reason Pucci left Gwess with her memory disc." Meanwhile, Rainbow returned with Atroe. "It took some doing," Atroe said, "But I think I got used to using Foo Fighters. But wow, talk about a difference. Now I can see all the crazy stuff you guys can do." They noticed Atroe had a new band on. "She temporarily assimilated one of the other girls' hands," Rainbow explained, "That way there won't be any need to explain why she's missing her band."
"Seems I can turn my entire body into plankton using this power," Atroe noted, "But it's like a logia power in One Piece, my real body still exists." "Oh yeah," Ermes said, "Never asked what you got in for." Atroe looked sheepish. "I... Kidnapped some kid for ten days, got me seven years. I didn't even want a ransom, it was just part of my childhood dream." The other girls looked at her. "Yeah, I might be messed up." She then got a cup, filled it with water, and downed it. "This power seems to get stronger the more water I drink."
"Hey, Atroe," Ermes said, "You were given the memory disc for Foo Fighters too, right? Was there anything in there about Whitesnake?" "Doesn't seem like it," Atroe said, "Seems this Pucci guy never got near the tractors much. In fact, there aren't even any other memory discs in that group. And these ones are the ones he doesn't need. Apparently, if you don't have Stand potential a disc rejects you. I guess I have that potential, which is why I'm able to use the disc for Foo Fighters."
Just then, the sounds of sirens could be heard. "Glad they took their time," Ermes said, "But what are we gonna do about the discs? They'll do a body check on us before they let us back inside." "Maybe if I make my boobs bigger?," Atroe asked. "You can do that?," Rainbow asked. "Foo Fighters seems to give me some shapeshifting capabilities," Atroe explained. The group decided on a plan, then held their arms up as the guards arrived.
Pucci frowned as he returned to check on the discs, having heard of the search and getting concerned. Officially the guard in charge of the search was killed by an alligator, while the deaths of the other two girls was unconfirmed. 'Jolyne Kujo was only meant to be a lure,' he thought, 'Ultimately it failed to catch, but I thought it was enough to send him running. I should have known better... Jotaro Kujo does not run. He's just left it up to his daughter.'
He looked at the pictures of the prisoners, then discarded the two that were deceased. 'And like her ancestors, she has started to gather allies, friends, those who share her power and her beliefs.' A guard approached. "Father Pucci, we should get moving. The warden already declared the search a failure." Pucci looked at the guard. "Yes, of course. It seems we'll find nothing more here." 'In more ways than one... It seems my real threat is not Jotaro, but Jolyne Kujo...'