Golden Wind: Fate of Zephyr

Chapter 6: Sorbetto's Promise

“Ogio Engio is dead.”

Those were the four words that came out of Rovescio’s phone without warning. He had to make sure his mobile phone wasn’t on speaker before he silently motioned Azzura to follow him out of the room they were in. 

That morning the abrupt announcement was given began rather normally. The team had been spending some time in their meeting room which doubled as a small bar area when guests were not using it. Entering the room whenever the whole team was present looked like a Fellini film coming to life; one would think that they encountered a small gathering of friends catching up rather than seasoned assassins trying to relax between chaotic events. Tae was chasing after Andreas’ monkey Stand after the latter stole a piece of strawberry cake from the former. Stella was trying to coax Zafferana to take a break from typing endlessly on a computer with food she just made from the nearby kitchen. Andreas was groaning about losing the third time at the poker game he was playing with Rovescio, Aglio, and Azzura. “I knew you were bluffing,” he dramatically tried to grab his waged money back before it was scooped up by the victor. “No one has the balls to pretend they have a scala reale and go all in like that, Rey! All you had was a four—”

“Code names,” Aglio reminded the mafioso to not use Azzura’s real name. “Be professional.”

“Relax, Signore Nero,” Rovescio reached over to rub the Team Leader’s shoulder to tease him. “We know you’re a sore loser when it comes to Reyhan beating you and you’re trying to hide it by being professional. It’s only a game, amico.”

“I-I’m not,” Aglio was too flustered to defend himself when Azzura’s laughter interrupted him. He watched her dangle his now-lost bills of Lire in front of his face. “Looks like the student has become the master,” she teased, knowing the other mafioso was smiling behind his mask despite appearing annoyed. “Better luck next time, Alberto.” Similar to how Andreas was with theatrics, Azzura exaggerated her movements to push her new winnings closer to her seat and asked the rest of the players if they wanted another match. Andreas grabbed the cards before them; it was his turn to deal with the deck. 

“Remember when you used to be so horrible at poker all'Italiana,” Stella chimed in as she finally managed to shove a piece of cantaloupe into Zafferana’s mouth; the latter’s eyes were still glued to the screen as she chewed but it didn’t stop her from stifling a peal of laughter upon hearing those words. “What a big difference now,” Stella continued. “You didn’t know anything about playing cards— Andreas! Get your monkey out of the fruit bowl. Zaff hasn’t eaten anything today!”

It was comedic for all eyes to turn to the monkey Stand, who was caught stuffing the rest of the cantaloupe like a squirrel. The piece that was dangling from his already full mouth dropped back into the bowl once it realized it was caught. “Let the little shit have some,” Zafferana made eye contact with the creature to give it a silent nod of approval; the monkey Stand chattered in happiness as it began eating the fruit like a glutton despite others trying to tell it to stop or eat slowly. “And you’re wrong Chia,” the mafioso used the nickname that everyone else in Team #47 used for Stella in private, “because I’ve actually eaten a big breakfast before any of you came to the hostel to see it: I had a nice cornetto with some boiled eggs—”

“Taehyung,” Andreas knew how to tell if Zafferana was lying or not, “what did Signora Anita here eat this morning? Don’t lie to us.”

Two eyes were staring at the young mafioso now; Zafferana was using her eyes to threaten him not to betray her while Andreas was trying to make him speak the truth. Everyone in the room knew Tae was a horrible liar that always felt bad if he didn’t tell the truth about anything; if he didn’t confess immediately, he would let his guilt riddle him until he eventually blurts it out. Two people who he considered the closest to other than Rovescio were now making him choose a side and he was in a dilemma. All the attention was turned to Tae nonetheless, with some trying to convince him to tell the truth while others wondered what he would do in the end. Stella noticed blue and orange tears flowing down his face as he debated internally on what to do; it was the effects of his Stand that came out when he was in situations similar to the one he was in at the moment. 

“She had a whole bottle of Lagrein and a cup of Earl Gray tea,” he said quietly but loud enough for the rest of the team to know the answer.

“How could you, Tae,” Zafferana slumped back on her seat as chaos ensued around the issue of the mafioso not eating. Stella didn’t hesitate to rush into the kitchen to bring out more food while Andreas took the plate of crostini near him to try making Zafferana eat. Before long, most of the team was surrounding her; Stella and Andreas were trying to make her take a bite at whatever they could get their hands on as Aglio had to get up to make them stop while Tae was profusely apologizing. “This is why I don’t tell you guys when I eat,” Zafferana knew they meant well but she wasn’t someone who enjoyed eating for her reasons. “Just because I eat rarely as often doesn’t mean I’m starving myself. No, I do not want your poorly made crostini for the fifth time!”

That was when Rovescio received the call and used the chaos going on to step out. He signed to Azzura to quickly follow him out but keep quiet, indicating he got a call from one of Ogio Engio’s men. They quickly made it to a small alcove away from the team before putting the phone on speaker. “Dimmi, Ivette,” Rovescio could hear that the other end was cutting in and out as if the caller at the end was trying to hide somewhere that compromised the connectivity, “what’s going on?”

“Both him and Polpo are gone,” Ivette the guard explained. “Ogio Engio’s body was found at an international school burned to death according to the morgue that brought him in. The guards and I found that Polpo had committed suicide just last night after switching shifts with the graveyard crew. We tried to summon「Y2K」with the lighter but nothing came of it. His Grace... is gone.”

Azzura had been secretly listening in with Rovescio and began signing frantically. “Is this it,” her fingers motioned in the air. “If he’s dead… you’ll be the next Caporegime then. Ask her when the congregation will begin.”

Before he could answer, Ivette continued. Some banging and unidentifiable noises were heard from her end as if she was trying to hide somewhere. “There’s a problem,” Ivette tried to explain as much as she could; on her side, her gruesome end was inevitable. “We were about to send a message to you and Team #88 on the matter to settle things diplomatically before Father Diavolo would release an official statement. Somehow, Greggio and Fioredi got the news beforehand and are refusing to go through with it. I think someone intentionally set this up because they’ve started to kill everyone— they’ve killed the guards here too.”

“They WHAT,” Rovescio quickly regained his composure to avoid having anyone come in unannounced upon hearing his voice. He could see Azzura frantically signed about how horrible the situation had become; she desperately wanted to say something out loud about such disrespect and chaos Team #88 had done but bit her tongue as she then told Rovescio to get as much information out of Ivette as possible. The barely audible background noises hinted at a man saying they were going to find Ivette and kill her. Ivette mentioned she was hiding in a closet of an office she managed to hastily close off as a means of buying time. 

“Team #88 is hunting down any mafioso or man that has a clue to Ogio Engio’s treasure to find his assets,” Ivette was trying to hold back tears as the banging door she was hiding behind grew louder and more frequent. “I’ve heard they’ve even killed children who dared to know anything about the ten billion Lire that you helped hide for His Grace a while back. They may be coming for you and Team #47 next— I’ve already compromised your safety by just calling you. Who knows if this call is already being traced back in some way.”

The two mafiosos could hear that the door opened on the other side and Ivette’s voice became softer and quicker. Rovescio could hear a gun being cocked as if she was prepared to shoot at her eventual opponents in vain. He knew she wasn’t a Stand user and had no chance of survival but admired her perseverance and desire to not die without a fight. 

“We need you to be the next Caporegime,” Ivette’s breathing got more frantic as footsteps and voices approaching her hiding spot became louder. “Ogio Engio chose you to be his Favorite for a reason. I’ve gotten His Grace Como Petra to receive you in Certosa di San Giacomo by the end of this afternoon; I assume you haven’t moved the treasure from the island recently. For now, he thinks your team is just a liaison for the Favorite and he doesn’t know who you are. Grab the treasure and pay it to secure your position before it's too late—”

The sound of the closet door was heard followed by Ivette’s painful screams before the phone was cut off. It seemed like Ivette managed to destroy the phone before she was killed so that there was a chance of Rovescio’s call not being traced back as a result. The two mafiosos stood in silence to process what had just happened and both felt their heartbeat surge. Even though Rovescio had already planned to find the assets once he heard of Ogio Engio's death anyways, the call forced them to realize he would be dealing with potential casualties; he bitterly mused at how he thought he could make things as peaceful as possible if he planned well for it. The playful banter going on in the other room with the other members of Team #47 was still going on, contrasting the severity of the mood that Rovescio and Azzura were feeling, and everyone but the two mafiosos was ignorant of what was going on. 

“We need to get those assets now,” Azzura quickly grabbed the phone from Rovescio without asking. The second-in-command didn’t hesitate to activate her Stand to destroy it; the phone started transforming itself into what looked like a gem-shaped version of the same thing but much more fragile than before. One drop to the ground shattered the material into smaller gem pieces before it reverted into the old phone again as if someone had smashed it to the ground full force instead. Some sparks seemed to appear before they fizzled out entirely. “I’ll tell Aglio that I got in contact with the Favorite of Ogio Engio and the situation,” Rovescio planned out loud, “and then—”

“You’re not telling him you’re the Favorite,” Azzura questioned. “Why?”

“I don’t want to be Caporegime,” Rovescio confessed. “I never did, to begin with. The only reason why I became one is so then I can make Aglio become Caporegime instead when the time came to it. If we play our cards right, we can make him the next successor. Aglio must—”

“Win,” Azzura finished his sentence. She kicked the pieces to the nearest side of the wall as the two mafiosos shared a somber look. “I was there when Sorbetto told us that too,” she reminded Rovescio, taking his hand to squeeze it reassuringly. The two mafiosos stared into each other’s eyes as so many scenarios— both bad and good— crossed their minds. The rare moment when neither of them was arguing or teasing one another was something a few have seen in this lifetime. 

“Don’t forget that I’m in this with you,” her voice was low yet reassuring. “This is our chance to make sure our team is taken care of. If making Aglio the next Caporegime means he and the rest of Team #47 will be protected and more respected, then we must make sure he gets that title at any cost. We got this.”

“We need to come up with a proper plan first,” the cigarette he was balancing in his mouth the whole time was threatening to drop as he started to make his way back to the room. “Maybe, we go into hiding and delay our meeting with His Grace Como Petra. We wait this out as we—”

“There’s no time,” Azzura gripped his shoulders and pulled him to her level to stop him. He didn’t flinch when he felt her nails starting to dig into his skin through his sheer sleeves but didn’t mention what she was doing to him. “Both of us know what The Rising 88 is like,” she reminded him in an angry whisper. “We both know what it’s like to fight them— they’re brutal! They won’t hesitate to kill all of us even if we concede or offer to help them willingly. If we don’t act now, Alberto will die. So will Chia, ‘seppe, Tae, and Anita. We cannot lose any more of our men by being cowards.”

The day before Sorbetto disappeared and was found dead soon after, the former Team Leader told the two of them to watch over Aglio. The two mafiosos swore to protect their best friend for as long as they could, to ensure Aglio became the top of Passione at all cost, and to be by his side until the very end. They weren’t sure how ambitious they should allow their Team Leader to go, but the idea of going as far as being the next Don of Passione did cross their minds. Between the two next-in-commanders, both Rovescio and Azzura swore to each other they would not let their small group in Team #47 suffer the same or worse fate as their late Sorbetto. Unbeknownst to Aglio, for better or worse, they did what they could behind the scenes to ensure everything was well. It was why they fought to make him the next team leader, why Rovescio worked to become Ogio Engio’s favorite, and why Azzura bore as much responsibility as she could when neither mafiosos could pick up the reins. The bickering and arguing the world saw on the outside did not outweigh the true camaraderie they had between them. Their connected goal was to help the mafioso that changed their lives for the better succeed. 

Rovescio sighed in frustration at Azzura’s rebuttal; he knew she was right but felt like he needed to prevent as much trouble and bloodshed as he could instead of trying to be the last one standing. “You’re right,” he gently pushed her hands down to agree with her. “We are getting this treasure now. Tell the rest of the team secretly to be on guard while I handle Aglio.”

Rovescio made his way to the other room with Azzura following closely behind, both prepared to tell everyone to quickly head out in short notice and with the lies they plan on telling to set Aglio up for success. “You know the coordinates to the assets and how to retrieve them for His Grace Como Petra,” the second-in-command inquired before Rovescio opened the door for her. “If we’re going to Certosa di San Giacomo, that means—” 

Rovescio was more determined than ever to make sure his plan to make his Team Leader the next Caporegime works.

“We’re going to Capri.”

「Polyphia」reversed the movement of the shoe that Tae left behind. One touch was enough for the mafiosos to witness the shoe bouncing where Tae used to sit, as if it was trying to go into the boat but was unable to. Eventually, it reversed further to show that Tae was walking around before the disappearance. The actions only puzzled the remaining men further. 

“We only had one shot at replaying this,” Rovescio reminded Aglio that「Polyphia」could only reverse the action once. “But, what we just saw still doesn’t make sense. Is the team being absorbed into the boat or are they in some sort of different plane of existence? If it’s the latter, I don’t think either of us has the capacity of an astrophysicist to figure out what is going on.”

Aglio made his way to the stern, motioning Rovescio to stay close in case the enemy tried to grab one of them again if either stood alone. The Team Leader used「Black and White」to transform his arm into a circular blade to cut the floorboards in the area where Andreas was last seen; unknowingly, the boards moved away to avoid the cuts while still appearing to be affected by the saw. “He’s certainly not under there,” he was careful enough to avoid the wires that seemed important or create any openings that could flood the boat. “Giogio mentioned an idea before he was taken with Stella and Zafferana,” Aglio recalled. “Didn’t he say something about a puncture?”

As he spoke, the Team Leader placed his free hand in his pocket and remembered the folded Polaroid that was taken earlier. The photo was handed off to him before they got on the boat and he opened it up. All seven members were standing in front of the boat and the bow was in clear view as well as the mast indicating the name of the boat. Rovescio noticed his leader staring at the picture intently, not noticing he was switching his view between that and the mast of the boat before both men’s attentions were caught by the sound of a squawking seabird that Giorno left behind. It was still on the deck and pecking at the spot the Former Don was at previously. 

“One of you knows where it is,” a voice called out threateningly but neither mafioso could recognize it. Rovescio and Aglio moved closer to each other and stood back to back to see whether the enemy would make themselves known.「Black and White」was flicked in Aglio’s free hand to calm the latter’s nerves while「Polyphia」crouched in front of Rovescio and snarled loudly. “Who are you,” Aglio tried to coax the voice to reveal itself. “What is the meaning of this?”

“That blond Cannoli-looking newbie you brought with you was too smart for his good,” the voice continued to speak. “But, he’s not smart enough to be taken by me. I have all your men and women in my possession right now and I can kill all of them within a second unless you give me what I want. You two stronzos must be Il Leader Aglio Nero and his right-hand-man Rovescio Montagna, right? My memory is a bit hazy, but that doesn’t matter.”

The mention of their names brought chills to the third-in-command but he kept his composure to avoid Aglio from suspecting that he was more involved in this plot to find Ogio Engio’s treasure than expected. “You didn’t answer my leader’s question,” Rovescio pointed out. 

“And you didn’t answer mine,” the voice countered back. “I heard one of you two know who the Favorite of His late Grace is and now you’re are trying to get those ten billion Lire assets for them! Maybe, the Favorite is actually one of you two. If you just tell me the coordinates and hand in the money, I’ll give you back your team in one piece. Nobody gets hurt.”

“What coordinates,” Rovescio tried to play dumb. “It’s strange that you’re following us while we’re having our well-deserved vacation. We were just on our way to visit the Blue Grotto. What will His Grace Polpo say about you ruining our well-earned holiday?”

“You’re a horrible liar, Cass,” the voice chuckled darkly as it called him out. “We heard everything you were saying about Polpo dying and giving the money to his Favorite. Plus, everyone knows damn well that the last place you would want to see is some stupid blue cave. You should have thought of cooperating with us before trying to pretend you don’t know anything.”

The mentions of the “we” and “us” made the mafiosos guess that more than one enemy snuck on board and the two mafiosos suspected that their assailants were related to The Rising 88. Aglio whispered into Rovescio’s ear to prepare for an attack while further figuring out clues to look for. The voice kept taunting the men, throwing any threat it could to either anger or grab the latter’s attention. As the two mafiosos continued to look around for more information about who they may be dealing with, Aglio remembered how he initially asked Tae to go up into the sky to provide an aerial view from the top of the mast. The Team Leader looked back up at the same mast once more and then at the Polaroid again. There was something different about the boat’s mast from the first picture and the one he was seeing now. The voice stopped taunting the mafiosos and moved to complain about how noisy and loud the seabirds were. 

“You idiotas are more annoying than the damn cat that’s screeching right now!”

“Cat,” Rovescio was confused at first and looked at Aglio to understand what the voice was talking about. Hearing the mention of the animal confirmed Aglio’s suspicions as he motioned Rovescio to take the photo from him. “That cat sure is noisy,” the Team Leader made his way to the steering wheel, which was the closest thing to the mast. “It’s always mewling every chance it gets. Do you think he’s hungry, Rovescio?”

“Aglio, there is no ca—” Rovescio tried to figure out what Aglio was trying to say before the Team Leader put his finger where his lips would be over his mask. He then pointed to the seabird that was still squawking and pecking at the floor. “I told Tae he shouldn’t bring it onto the boat but it was too cute to say no.” the Team Leader played along. “What a talkative gattino. Its pretty little feet can win even the hardest hearts.”

“It’s… a really pretty one,” Rovescio gingerly played along, still wondering what was going on. That was when a conversation from a year ago returned to his and Aglio’s minds.

Both Rovescio and Aglio recalled the same memory they had of Tae. Even after almost a couple of years of knowing the mafioso, not much is known about his past. Due to his Stand and his subconscious intention of keeping it hidden, his memory was always jumbled and he developed a habit of constantly discussing dispensable information at random moments. Most of the information he would babble about regarded birds; he always had a fascination with them. 

“I used to live in this city called Busan,” Tae rarely talked about his childhood in particular but this was a rare moment for the rest of the team to know where he used to live. The team had just finished their first meeting after a brief paycut and were in the middle of splitting their earnings when the mafioso began to speak. While it was annoying to have such conversations, Aglio told everyone to let the younger man talk as a means of learning more about him. The team was careful to try “There were so many seabirds you can find near the beaches and docks! But, if you’re not careful, they can steal your food! My favorite seabird is a black-tail gull. They have a black tail but what’s more interesting is the sound they make! They sound like a cat when they squawk and they have yellow feet— so that’s how you can differentiate black-tail gulls from the rest of the birds.” 

While it could get annoying to hear him talk endlessly, it was one of the few ways to calm him down whenever he was in distress and to encourage him to open up more about his past without pressure. 

“야옹, 야옹,” he mimicked their cries in a cat-like manner when asked by Zafferana what they sound like. “The seabirds here in Italy are so different with their different noises and their pink feet. I think those are seagulls called herring gulls. But, I like black-tail gulls way more and I wish I could see one again… I miss my little brother…” 

When Algio mentioned the cat and then paws, the third-in-command realized the sea bird that Giorno transformed looked just like the black-tail gull Tae was describing a year ago. Rovescio finally understood why Aglio made those weird statements: whoever was speaking could only hear and feel what was going on the boat— the duo could communicate between themselves without noises or obvious movements. However, he was still unsure what the Stand ability was or the identity of the enemy at hand; neither he nor Aglio couldn’t recognize the powers just yet.

“God,” the voice complained, “make it stop scratching before I kill the damn thing. Fuck! The cat scratched me!”

“The cat did nothing wrong,” Aglio silently motioned to Rovescio to look at the mast. The Team Leader made his way closer to the area and reached out to try leaning against it. “It’s just an innocent animal that—”

“Shut up!” With that, the familiar arm and rapier appeared where he was standing and stabbed him from behind. “You’re so annoying, Signore Nero! A shame that your mouth could have saved your men instead!” 

The move was quick— fast enough for Rovescio to be unable to reach Aglio but the former was able to see the latter be pierced completely through the chest from behind. By the time the third-in-command made it to where Aglio used to be standing, the Team Leader had disappeared and a pool of blood was left behind. Rovescio realized that Aglio had somehow bled himself before he was taken so that a trail of blood could be left behind; a few specks flashed onto Rovescio’s face as the mafioso tried to grab the Team Leader. For a while it was. The third-in-command got onto his knees and slammed a fist onto the blood in frustration, cursing at himself for not saving Aglio earlier. Just as the voice continued to taunt him, something brushed against「Polyphia」’s hind legs, signaling both the Stand and its Stand User’s attention.

The black-tailed gull was no longer squawking but holding something in its mouth. Rovescio remembered the voice mentioning it was scratched in some way and saw that a needle-like object was now in the sea bird's mouth. Gingerly, he reached out to the bird and let it drop the item into his hand. The object itself resembles a purple-colored toothpick and Rovescio stared at it further before looking back at the bird. “Do you think,” he felt silly talking to a bird but he motioned it to pick at where Aglio used to be standing. The black-tailed gull said nothing except to take the needle back, confirming to Rovescio that the animal couldn’t be talked to normally. He noticed a similar toothpick sticking out and gingerly picked it up to see what it was; unlike the purple one the seabird was holding in its beak, this one was black. He then remembered the Polaroid, taking it out briefly to double-check his suspicions, and his mind was connecting the dots. 

“I see,” Rovescio finally recognized the Stand ability and motioned「Polyphia」to be prepared to fight. He now had enough context to figure out what to do. 

“You only had one job,” the voice jeered. “Why don’t you tell me where the treasure is and I’ll spare everyone on this boat. Everyone’s lives depend on what you do next—”

Rovescio cut the voice off by suddenly punching the mast hard. 

The voice was caught off by the sudden hit and assumed the mafioso was simply frustrated. Before it could jeer further, Rovescio punched again, and again, and simply continued to do so rapidly.「Polyphia」’s claws appeared as he punched to scratch the metal object. 

The nasty comments made by the voice started to go away when it began to mention how it suddenly felt off. “My skin,” the voice shrieked, “it’s tearing! Why does it feel like it’s tearing?”

“No, it’s not,” Rovescio downplayed it. 

Water was now seeping at the deck and stern despite it appearing intact and the fact that the mafioso only kept punching the mast. The sound of gargling water could be heard from the voice; its owner certainly felt seawater fill his lungs and the taste of salt overwhelm his tongue. As the boat began filling with seawater, the waves also crashed and the boat was officially flooded. The black-tailed gull flew itself to land on Rovescio’s shoulders and dropped a few more needles it saw in the water onto the mafioso’s hand. The needles were also color-coded in some way, indicating to him that they were his transformed team members.

“Why are you drowning your entire boat,” the voice asked. “Are you out of your mind?”

The mafioso only smirked as the boat began to capsize. He made his way up the mast to avoid touching the water as the boat continued to sink into the sea.「Polyphia」made its way to higher ground nearby as well, staying as close to its Stand User as it could. Two other colorful sticks that he saw floating in the water near him were quickly picked up. 

“This isn’t my boat, to begin with,” Rovescio explained. He motioned to the beam he was now holding onto to keep his balance and looked at the mast. “We figured out you could only track us with sound and movement. That cat you mentioned was a black-tailed gull; they’re known for sounding like cats despite being seabirds! But, I needed to know who you are and how you were hiding here before I could use「Polyphia」to smoke you out.”

“Impossible,” the voice choked. “How could you have known?”

“Our boat was labeled number 4,” Rovescio pointed to the mast still saying Barca VI and reccalled the Polaroid showed the boat was labeled Barca IV instead. “The Roman numeral for that is IV but you made the boat say VI instead— that would make the boat number 6! And seeing how you transformed my team into sticks…”

Rovescio looked around to see if the enemy Stand User’s body would appear anywhere as the transformation of the boat continued to reverse. “I now know exactly who you are,” he identified the voice and confirmed it was coming from a member of Team #88. “There’s only one person who can transform people into tiny sticks and encapsulate objects with them. I have enough context to know I just need to reverse your Stand ability. Show yourself!” 

As Rovescio felt the water finally touch his feet, the fake boat began breaking into pieces and the real boat emerged from the water; it almost made him fall into the sea as it burst from the waves but he managed to hold onto the fake mast as it disintegrated. Because of「Polyphia」's ability, the pieces themselves didn’t float away but began dividing themselves into narrower, thinner pieces until they resembled the similar needle-like sticks that everyone else was turned into. The fake boat was now nothing but a pile of grayish-green sticks that were either floating around in the water or littered all over the real boat. Before hopping onto Barca IV, Rovescio looked at the mast to confirm its name. “Just as I thought,” he mused. “Had we not caught on that the Roman numerals were off, no one would have noticed the boat was different in the first place!”

What remained of the sticks that were in the water and the fake boat had begun to dissipate. A head weakly peeked out from the deck and Rovescio made his way to approach the revealed enemy. “Greggio Zucchero,” he called out the man’s name. “This is the first time I’ve seen you use「Dat Stick」in such a way. No wonder why we didn’t recognize you at first. To think this is the only time I found your abilities useful.”

“If it isn’t Il Monte ,” using Rovescio’s old moniker was meant to be an insult of sorts. Greggio struggled to stand up as his Stand appeared behind him. The two Stand Users were now facing each other on the deck area and their Stands protectively nearby. Its arms were trying to get the rest of the body out. “Fucking bastardo …”

“I was hoping you and your team weren't going to bother us today,” Rovescio lamented as the enemy Stand User coughed up what was left of the seawater he accidentally swallowed when he was submerged. Ocean water still dripped from his body. 

While「Polyphia」could revert the Stand’s stick-making abilities,「Dat Stick」was fighting against it. It was a matter of endurance and who can remain standing before the other will collapse. Greggio was stumbling with each step and struggling to stand up straight. While Rovescio was more capable of hiding his exhaustion, he could feel like he was reaching his limits soon. The enemy Stand User kept teasing him about it between breaths. 

“I wouldn’t if there weren’t rumors about Team #47 knowing a thing or two about Ogio Engio’s favorite and the treasure,” Greggio reasoned. Even though his plan was somewhat foiled, he refused to revert the rest of the team and was doing what he could to try to make his new opponent give up out of tiredness. The crashing waves occasionally put Rovescio and Greggio off balance, causing the former to accidentally let go of his transformed teammates and left them to roll on the boat. The only way to get everyone back to normal was if the mafioso defeated the enemy first. “But,” the enemy Stand User added, “it looks like the rumors were true. You guys were trying to find his assets after all to allow the Favorite to be Caporegime. Whatever happened to helping the little guy? Your peers? Your friends?”

“You know damn well we were never friends,” Rovescio scoffed. “Who would want to be close to a group of idiotas that killed innocent people and guards? Fioredi was right— you are never going to be capable of being a leader or mafioso because you’re too dumb and reckless.”

“Chiudi la bocca,” Greggio spat.「Dat Stick」revealed its rapier sword again and it was prepared to make Rovescio share the same fate as his team. “The Rising 88 deserve the position of Caporegime more than your disgraced group of shits,” he proclaimed. “Who cares how we get it? Everyone knows the last group they want at the top is you sons of bitches. Why would the Favorite choose you out of so many more people who are worthier? But, that doesn’t matter anymore, no? Now that I know you have the information our team needs to succeed and you continue to refuse to cooperate with us, I might as well finish you all right here!”

Greggio gestured his hand at his neck, sliding across with his thumb to reference a slice. There was no time to think for Rovescio;「Dat Stick」lunged at the mafioso with its rapier sword. A quick Sok Tad helped push the sword away so it wouldn’t stab Rovescio and he pulled the Stand closer so he could knee it. Greggio felt blood fill his mouth upon feeling the same impact, barely catching himself as he fell to the ground and held his stomach in pain. However, the small nick by the Stand’s sword left a puncture wound on Rovescio’s hand, causing him to how fight the effects of becoming a stick while also reversing the boat transformation and trying to reverse his team back to normal. Nonetheless, the third-in-commabf used the block opportunity to approach the other mafioso. Stand rushes for「Polyphia」tend to be exhausting, as well as the added reversal effects still going on regarding the boat. Greggio impulsively charged at Rovescio, using the brief boat-rocking moment to dodge a tornado kick that Rovescio threw at him. 

However, the move was actually planned by the mafioso. He intentionally threw a fake kick before hitting his enemy with the real one. As Greggio tried to throw a punch, Rovescio spun back around to do a stronger push kick. That was enough to send his enemy to the farthest part of the bow. Greggio had no time to process when he realized the whole time Rovescio was gradually pushing him to the front of the boat and now had half his body hanging over the leftmost edge. Rovescio didn’t hesitate to Stand rush him, throwing punches and kicks despite his energy rapidly collapsing every time he used「Polyphia」to throw a hit. The claws of the tiger Stand were enough to make multiple cuts on Greggio’s body; one ended up being straight through his neck. The endurance test was over; Rovescio had won. 

He was too dazed to see the body slump down and the head rolled over as the effects of「Dat Stick」finally reversed. Everyone who was transformed was turning back to normal and Rovescio felt his eyes closed as he prepared to hit the ground. It caught him by surprise when he felt someone’s arms instead and he didn’t need to look to see who caught him.

Aglio gently dragged Rovescio to the closest seating area and kept asking him if he was okay. “What do you need,” he tried to avoid sounding too worried. He tried to make sure the mafioso’s head wouldn’t slump. “Relax, Cass. You’re going to be okay. We got it from here.”

“Well, well, well,” Azzura’s voice was the first thing Giorno heard when he transformed back and opened his eyes. To his horror, he was greeted with the sight of the second-in-command holding up the still-alive head of Greggio. He knew that「Sticky Fingers」previously decapitated Mario Zucchero and the Stand abilities kept the latter alive yet incapacitated. He thought that Greggio was saved beyond being beheaded when his eyes noticed something glimmering where the opening was and swore the insides made it look like the head was a geode containing rubies. He had no time to understand why when he heard a faint moan and realized he was on top of someone. 

Giorno found himself on his stomach laying over Stella and only realized it when his head turned around to meet her somewhat horrified eyes inches away from his. The next thing he knew, he felt himself being roughly pulled off by Zafferana, and the mafioso immediately trying to get Stella off the ground. Giorno quickly got himself up and tried to apologize for unknowingly putting himself in the situation. The Former Don raised his hands to reassure the two women but Zafferana kept staring daggers at him as she tried to lead Stella away. “He did nothing,” the younger woman tried to reassure the older one. “I’m okay, An—”

“Dio mio, Cass,” Andreas’ voice interjected. The mafioso was walking over to the body and then to Azzura. “You did a number on this stronzo. Not like he didn’t deserve it.” The monkey Stand was still there chattering about before it started mimicking its Stand User’s movement of kicking the body. Greggio was not able to feel his body getting abused but seeing it happen was a nightmare of its own. Azzura followed suit while making sure the head got a full view of her and her teammates kicking him; even Zafferana joined along despite Stella telling her not to.

“I heard there was a black-tailed gull,” Tae was trying to search for the seabird and didn’t notice the whole thing regarding Greggio’s body currently being stomped and kicked violently; the animal had already reverted to Giorno’s ladybug charm by the time the younger mafioso opened his eyes. “Where is it? How could it be in Italy of all places?” His attention quickly diverted when he saw「Polyphia」, now curled up and asleep next to a conscious yet still exhausted Rovescio struggling to speak. “Cassio-형,” he was overwhelmed with emotion, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Rovescio brushed it off. “No need to worry about me. Where’s Giogio?”

“Paradiso, inferno, purgatorio,” Stella counted with her fingers before grinning wildly and lifting her hand to show Azzura. “Purgatory! He got purgatory, Rey!”

“A perfect punishment for this cornuto,” Azzura smirked seeing Greggio screaming for mercy before handing his head to Andreas. “Don’t worry, Signore Zucchero. You’ll be fine once your head gets reattached. Maybe. Possibly. Do what you want with him, Andreas.”

“Play a good tune,” Andreas beckoned Tae to turn on the stereo while motioning Stella to hand him some fishing lines and hooks. The reverse ability of「Polyphia」unknowingly fixed the stereo so that it could be playable again. 

“You FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT,” Greggio could do nothing but curse as he felt the fishing hook stab his eyelids and his head being thrown and looped over as a familiar tune to Giorno played. The Former Don reminisced how his original team did what he nicknamed with Mista “the torture dance” on the boat and chuckled at the scene before him. Andreas had asked Giorno to join in on the dance, to which the latter politely declined and stated he preferred to watch. Greggio’s screams as the sunlight burned his eyes were deafened by the music and herring gulls coming onto the deck to investigate out of their curiosity. The chips that reappeared on deck were their new source of food, to the monkey Stand’s dismay, and there was a separate scene going on where the animals were fighting for the remaining morsels. 

Rovescio could stand now, though using Aglio as a crutch and Azzura turns her attention to the two mafiosos to discuss something the Former Don was too far away to hear. It seemed like all was going well as the leader and third-in-command then approached Giorno after their brief conversation. Azzura found the locket Giorno threw and went on her way to pick it up for him. 

“That sea bird you transformed your locket into,” Aglio pointed out the spot where the ladybug clip was supposed to be, “ended up saving us in the end. Do you know about black-tailed gulls as well?”

“My old friend,” Giorno half-lied, “was familiar with identifying various gulls. You know who.” Rovescio had a confused look but Aglio knew the Former Don was talking about Bruno. Azzura was able to give back the clip after brieflg admiring it and was about to say something when another mafioso’s voice alerted everyone else’s attention; the music had just finished and Andreas made his way to take the head off where it was hanging. 

“Over here,” Zafferana called them to meet her at the back of the boat. While one part of the team was dancing, another was talking to Giorno, she was feeling something off and her gut told her to head to the stern. It was there that she found the body of an unconscious woman overboard and floating motionless in the sea against the hull. Given how far away they are from shore and with no other signs of life besides their boat, seeing any stranger rang off alarms. 

She didn’t dare to try getting closer until the rest of the team made their way over; Aglio and Rovescio took their time until Stella offered to carry the latter instead so that the former could get to Zafferana quickly. Andreas lugged the head with him despite the act of carrying it terrified Tae every time the latter was near. The Team Leader ordered someone to grab the body, which Giorno carefully did using「Golden Experience」. “Bizarre,” he wondered out loud. “This lady has a red handset in her hand and its cord was wrapped around”. Greggio’s head began to chuckle as the newly discovered body was brought onto the boat and Rovescio immediately recognized who she was. 

“Wait a minute,” Stella recalled. “There was supposed to be a red landline phone inside that was missing. Why is it here?”

“Because that’s a part of her Stand,” Rovescio identified the woman. “This is another member of Team #88. Her name is Felìcita Gim and her Stand「BIBI 」can allow her to call any person of her choice anywhere with that phone that’s around her. If she’s here too and used her Stand while we were dealing with Greggio… Merda…”

“That means she heard Aglio talk about our plans and can let The Rising 88 know we’re heading to the treasure,” Andreas realized. “This is bad.” Everyone’s eyes widened once they heard that, although some were more subtle about it than others. Stella wasted no time tying Felìcita’s body up while the latter remained unconscious. “Even if the communication panel on our boat is broken,” she wanted to double-check, “this「BIBI 」Stand you mentioned could allow her and Greggio to still communicate with other people, right?” 

“Then they know we’re heading to Capri,” Zafferana began to sound frantic. “They have the money to get a faster boat and most likely are waiting for us by the time we get to the island!”

Greggio’s laughter becoming louder confirmed their fears. He commented on how it was too late for Team #47 to do anything to save themselves. The mafiosos now knew they had to assume the worst. 

Before Greggio could taunt them further, Azzura went to Andreas and took the head to bang it on the nearby bench. The sound of bone cracking made Giorno wince and Andreas exaggeratedly lifted his hands to avoid accidentally being in the second-in-command’s line of fire. “You stronzo,” she yelled as Greggio's cries motivated her to bang his head again. “Vaffanculo, you piece of shi—”

“Beating him further isn’t going to help us anymore,” Aglio told her to stop. “If they end up waiting for us to head to Capri, we can’t arrive without a full-on battle going on— especially given how tourist season just started. They probably have many of their men waiting for us as we speak. We need to get to the island before they do. They might even try to find our boat first and attack us while we’re at sea.”

“How fast can this boat go,” Rovescio asked Zafferana if she could make it sail quickly. 

“The best we can do is arrive in an hour at the best speed that won’t overheat the boat,” she shook her head. “We can’t go any faster, and we’ve already delayed time dealing with the current enemies on board. Mi dispiace, but if we go the max speed we risk leaving ourselves getting stranded.”

“That means,” Stella confirmed, “we need a way for us to get to the island ahead of us quickly. Maybe, a few of us will go to scout the area first or deal with the problem before the rest of us arrive.”

Giorno noticed the lifebuoy that Andreas had dropped earlier and made his way to pick it up. He recalled how he got to Capri rather quickly in the past and summoned「Golden Experience」. “I know a way two of us can get there quickly,” he offered a solution. With one touch, he transformed the orange object into a large fish he knew helped him and Mista head to Capri like before. “By holding onto this fish, we can swim our way to Capri faster than the boat and get there in time. We can scope out before the rest of us land, possibly deter or defeat whoever is supposed to be waiting for us.”

The fish flapped around as the rest of the team looked in awe at Giorno’s Stand and its abilities. Tae slightly jumped at seeing the fish come alive and Andreas was the loudest in his response. The Former Don noticed Zafferana looked annoyed and irritated with how he provided the solution. Even after she was proven wrong regarding Greggio, he noticed she wasn’t going to apologize or admit that she judged him. Giorno decided not to settle on that matter; it was more important that Team #47 survives and gets the treasure than him trying to be liked by everyone. 

“So,” he asked again, “anyone want to come with me?”

“I’ll go.”

It was Andreas who volunteered himself. His Stand chattered in agreement as it wolfed down a potato chip it was munching on earlier throughout the conversation. “I wouldn’t miss out on a lifetime opportunity to ride a fish like that,” he exclaimed. “Hope it doesn’t mind this little guy coming along. You promise to behave,「Monkey Business」?”

The monkey Stand「Monkey Business」yelped in agreement and clapped its hands excitedly. Another quieter voice spoke up to volunteer too but seemed to backtrack once Andreas said it first. “Nevermind,” Tae hesitated. Despite his excitement to ride a fish that let him briefly overcome his fear of taking initiative, his mind came up with a new excuse to not go along. “ I think the two of you are enough,” he tried to walk back when all eyes fell on him. “I… forget what I said—” 

He unknowingly was walking towards Rovescio, who then shoved him forward to not go back on his word. He could stand on his own without Stella now but she remained by his side just in case. “You committed,” he reasoned, “you own up to it. Go with him, Taehyung.”

Other members encouraged him to step forward as well when Giorno politely interjected to remind them that the fish could only take Andreas and him. “That won’t be a problem,” Zafferana mentioned as she gently ruffled Tae’s hair. That was when the Former Don noticed something black appearing out of Tae’s back and everyone else that was initially surrounding him back up before the mafioso jumped upward. Giorno realized the mysterious thing was a large pair of black feathered wings that finally expanded into its maximum wingspan. A few stray black feathers fluttered to the boat and Giorno remembered seeing them on the boat before Greggio’s attack. He now knew where those black feathers came from.

“I’m not strong enough to carry anyone with me,” he apologized to Giorno out loud from the sky, “but I can fly fast by myself. I’ll be your eyes above you if you let me!”

Giorno told him no apologies were needed and that he was glad that two people would be accompanying him rather than none at all. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Rovescio teasingly shouted to the young mafioso before Tae was tossed a walkie-talkie from Aglio to communicate with Giorno and Andreas during their journey. 

The plan was to possibly have him fly around Capri so that eyes could be both in the sky and the ground, possibly reaching first before traveling around the island. Andreas and Giorno would then sneak onto Capri through the bigger port first and the rest of the team would follow behind and remain on the boat to prepare for any incoming attacks on the way. Rovescio was still out of commission for now, so it helped that a few members stayed behind to care for him as well. After all, he was the only one who knew where the treasure was located and how to retrieve it. 

Giorno and Andreas bid everyone else goodbye and the two dived into the waters with the transformed fish. The rest of the team watched all three of the mafiosos leave ahead of them; all of them hoped that their efforts wouldn't be in vain. Rovescio’s tired eyes met Azzura’s determined ones. After this hurdle, they will be one step closer to getting Aglio the title he deserved. 

Translations:

1. Scala reale: royal flush. It literally translates to "real scale" and indicates the strongest yet rarest hand in various forms of Poker. 
   
   
2. Signore: a title or form of address used of or to an Italian-speaking man, corresponding to Mr. or sir.
   
   
3. Amico: friend.
   
   
4. Poker all'Italiana: Italian Poker. 
   
   
5. Signora: a title or form of address used of or to an Italian-speaking married woman, corresponding to Mrs. or madam. 
   
   
6. Dimmi: hello (on the phone). In Italy, phone calls are typically answered as "pronto" but this is a more informal alternative. It literally translates to "tell me".
   
   
7. Certosa di San Giacomo: Saint James' Charterhouse. 
   
   
8. Stronzos: assholes.
   
   
9. Il Leader: the leader. While the term "Capo" is used by team leaders within Passione as well as the actual Caporegimes, Passione wants to make a clear distinction between those who have the actual role of Caporegime and those who are merely subbordinates. Team leaders, regardless of status and experience, are regarded professionally as "Il Leader" instead. 
   
   
10. Idiotas: idiots.

11. Gattino: male kitten. 

12. 야옹, 야옹: onomatopoeia for cat sounds. Depending on the language, animal noises are written differently. 
    
    
13. Barca IV, Barca VI: Boat IV, Boat VI

14. Il Monte: the mountain.

15. Bastardo: bastard.
    
    
16. Chiudi la bocca: shut your mouth.
    
    
17. Dio mio: my God.

18. 형: big brother. In Korean culture, a younger male would refer to an older male of close age range 형, which means big brother regardless of familial relationship. Tae has a habit of using these titles to his teammates. 

19. Paradiso, inferno, purgatorio: heaven, hell, purgatory. 
    
    
20. Cornuto: cuckold. It also means unfaithful, as the word comes from a saying that indicates someone has the "horns" to sleep around. Azzura is implying Greggio's personal life involves some infidelity. 
    
    
21. Merda: shit.

22. Vaffanculo: fuck you. It literally translates to "go get fucked in the ass" and can also be seen as "up yours". It is considered one of the most vulgar of insults to say.

23. Mi dispiace: I am sorry. This version of apologizing is more used to apologize for something not within one's control.
    
    

Name Meanings:

• Como Petra
  
  • Como: Italian word for "like, as". Also the name of a province and a city in Italy. 
  • Petra: Italian word for "stone". Feminine variation of Peter, meaning "rock, stone". 
• Felìcita Gim
  
  • Felìcita: Feminine Spanish variation of the name "Felix", meaning "lucky". In reference to song and album Felìcita by Al Bano and Romina Power.
  • Gim: Korean surname meaning "gold". A more common variation of this name is "Kim".