Una Extraña Aventura: A Zeppeli Tale [ON HIATUS}

Chapter Sixteen: The Dive (Part I)

"Wait, pull over!" Enrique cried as he sat on the back of the motorcycle he and Rosalia had borrowed without asking.

"Why? We're still two minutes from Carmen's hotel."

"Pull up by the Faro." Enrique insisted as the famed Maspalomas Lighthouse grew in size as they approached it.

"Now's not the time for sightseeing." Rosalia sighed.

"I am the least likely between the two of us to want to do that," Enrique grumbled. "And look, by the water. You see that ski-doo rental place, literally 30 yards from the Faro? Look at the guy who just left it."

"Wait..." Rosalia let the bike drift to the curb. "That's... that's Vitale!"

The two jumped off and ran towards the young Italian.

"Oh? Rosalia, Enrique, what brings you two here?" Vitale gave a warm smile, which was in deep contrast to the tension on the faces of the two native Spanish speakers.

"Vitale, has anyone tried coming after you or Carmen?" Rosalia asked. "We ran into some trouble, and they must know you're involved with us in some way."

"Trouble? No, not at all. Carmen's safe, she's just taking a nap since she had to get up early. But she's the kind of person to sleep through an earthquake, so..."

"Why are you renting out a ski-doo to use by yourself? I thought siblings did that sort of stuff together."

"It's... not really for fun," Vitale admitted. "My Mamma and her new friends went out on a yacht trip and they were supposed to come back an hour ago. We've heard nothing from them so I'm going to go check it out. But finding out where they are is going to be a hassle. They could really be anywhere on the ocean by now."

Trouble has come their way, Rosalia noted. But not in the way we thought.

"I can help with that." Rosalia said, walking up to the shore. She called out Prism Deluxe and arranged its lenses one in front of the other, making a telescope.

Praying that the worst didn't come, she had one criterion to use that would single out Angelica's yacht from the all the rest that were near the coast: immobility, whether it be from its anchor being lowered, or even being partially submerged. That yacht came into the view of Prism Deluxe's lenses to the right, or south-west of the island, about five kilometers.

"I found it. It's not moving, but it doesn't look damaged. I'm sure it's run into mechanical problems." Rosalia said in a reassuring tone.

"Thanks a bunch, Rosalia," Vitale nodded. "I'll take it from here."

"You can heal my wounds, right?" Enrique stumbled forward as the adrenaline from the stab wound slowly began to fade away. 

"Y-Yeah. You guys did mention getting into trouble, so it makes sense." Vitale said as Enrique pulled his shirt down to reveal his sealed wound.

"Enrique, I think you should stay near Vitale," Rosalia suggested. "If a Stand attacks him, he won't be able to protect himself."

"Good call," Enrique nodded. "You should go see what Blondie's up to."

"I'm on it," Rosalia nodded as she boarded the stolen motorcycle. "Be careful. Vitale?"

The Italian turned around a final time before the girl took her leave.

"What?"

"Stay safe." Rosalia spoke, an almost somber tone to her voice.

"Yeah," Vitale smiled. "You too."

Vitale and Enrique approached the ski-doo the former had rented, a single lifejacket attached to it. Vitale unfastened it, before giving Enrique's shoulder a brief Hamon-infused touch.

"That should do it," Vitale said. "Do you know how to swim, by the way?"

"I don't." Enrique shrugged.

"Cool, then you wear the jacket. I'm a pretty strong swimmer so I should get by."

As the two young men departed, the owner of the ski-doo rental shack exited his abode, a wide grin on his face.

"I hope you enjoy your ride, señor!" the middle-aged man with a prominent moustache waved his arm. "It'll be worth the money, I assure you!"

Vitale simply waved politely as before he put the vehicle into full gear and blasted across the water towards the yacht. It only took a matter of minutes for the duo to reach the yacht's location, and immediately they noticed that something was off.

"No one's above deck." Vitale noted as not a single sign of a soul was visible on the 80-foot vehicle.

His heart pounded. If the boat was simply having mechanical difficulties, why wouldn't even one person be above deck? Where were his mother and her new friends that she had rented the boat with?

"We have to board." Vitale determined, and he and Enrique climbed onto the yacht, tying the ski-doo down to it. Opening a hatch that led into the interior of the vehicle, Enrique's nose was hit with a scent that he knew all too well. All the lights were off and the curtains were drawn over the windows. But although he couldn't see a thing, he knew what he was smelling.

"Instant Crush!" he suddenly cried, exasperation and anxiety apparent in his voice. Vitale turned around and saw a deeply worried expression on Enrique's face.

"Something the matter? Did you summon your Stand?" Vitale asked.

"Vitale, something is very, very wrong here," Enrique noted. "Do you smell that?"

"Now that you mention it... there is a really awful smell here."

"Stay close to me," Enrique's lips subtly trembled. "That smell... it's burnt flesh."

"E-Excuse me? What did you just say?"

Enrique slammed on a light switch, illuminating the compartment the two had entered. The sight before them was horrifying.

Scattered all around, below deck, were six or seven corpses, all burnt to the point of being unrecognizable. However, due to their size and shape, one could conclude that they were all women.

"Ma... Mamma?" Vitale cried as his eyes darted between each body, trying to see which one was his mother, if any.

"Stay close, Vitale!" Enrique ordered, as he saw a shape moving in his periphery.

Something's here, he thought. A Stand. It can't be anything else because Vitale hasn't noticed it, or maybe because he's panicking so much right now. Can't really blame him. His mother is probably dead, lying in this cabin.

Then, the shape disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Enrique's eyes darted around, trying to see where it had gone. He then saw something appeared in the ceiling above Vitale's head, who was digging through each corpse's belongings to see if he could identify which one might be his mother.

That thing... it isn't on the ceiling, Enrique noted as he finally recognized the object. It was the front half of a small red submarine, about the size of a medium-sized dog. Half of it is in the ceiling, and the other half is sticking out into view.

"Vitale, watch out!" Enrique cried, as Instant Crush pulled dust from around the floor, as well as broken glass from shattered windows and glasses from whatever horrible encounter had preceded their arrival at the yacht. Bringing its arms in front of its body, it shot out the accumulation of debris at the Stand. But just as he thought it would make contact with it, it disappeared.

No, 'disappeared' wasn't the right way to put it. It was more like it receded into the ceiling, creating physical ripples in the structure around it. As it the solid surface was water, and the Stand itself dived into it.

This Stand can dive into solid material to hide, and only I can see where it is.