Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Wayward Baby

by RobynRider

In the year 2009, Shizuka Joestar begins to have questions about her origins. In her search for answers, she finds herself in a conflict far beyond anything she bargained for. Secrets are revealed, friends are made, and the fate of the world could be forever changed. Typical week for a Joestar. -Edited by Pianolote. Originally posted on AO3. Cover by "tsundenials" on Twitter.

38. D'Arby the Daredevil: Part 2

"I'll wager my soul." Shizuka stood tall as she stared the woman down. The room had fallen silent. Ripley and Marina were still trying to recover from Pa-Pa-Power's outburst. The twins were both down for the count, albeit for different reasons. Shizuka took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Oh? Your soul? And which prize will you be wagering your soul for?" D'Arby rested her index finger against her bottom lip as she flashed a wicked grin.

"W-What? The same thing Pepsi played for. Our freedom." Shizuka stammered.

"Your freedom? So, you're leaving poor Pepsi to rot then? I have to say, that's very cold of you." D'Arby teased.

"What're you talking about? Pepsi failed, and now it's my turn. You're not making any sense."

"Pepsi wagered their soul for the freedom of your group! Freedom is worth one soul! But one soul is also the price of another soul. If you want freedom and Pepsi, you'll need to sweeten the pot a little." D'Arby held her hand out dramatically.

Shizuka clenched her fists. "What the hell do we have? All we've got are souls. I'm risking mine to play you."

"Yes, just yours… Maybe if you offered two souls, I'd be more inclined to play."

"Well, I've only got one to play with, D'Arby! So why don't you get to the chase?"

"One of your friends needs to wager their soul as well." D'Arby growled.

Shizuka glanced over to her dazed allies. Marina looked like she was going to be sick. Ripley was sitting up, but she was clearly unwell.

"You're comfortable playing two-against-one?" Shizuka mumbled.

"No, not at all. You'll be the one playing me. You just need to offer two souls in exchange. I suppose you could play me twice if you wanted. One for Pepsi's soul, and once more for your freedom. But do you honestly plan on defeating the undefeated twice in one day?" D'Arby giggled, licking her upper teeth.

"This is ridiculous!" Shizuka stomped her foot.

"No. I'll do it." Ripley interjected. "D'Arby, I'll wager my soul on Shizuka's performance."

The child just clenched her jaw. She really didn't have any negotiating power in the situation. If D'Arby wanted all of their souls, twenty bucks and a kit-kat bar she'd have to find a way to pay up. Everything was riding on this victory. If D'Arby had her soul along with Pepsi and Ripley's, there wasn't much Marina or Shirlie could do to win them all back. For better or worse, this seemed to be the final round. Now, all Shizuka had to do was figure out what she wanted to play. Before she could do that, she wanted to test a theory. Something about D'Arby's victory against Pepsi was incredibly suspicious.

"There. You're getting two souls for the value of one. Since we're giving up this much ground, I'd like to ask for something before we start." Shizuka narrowed her eyes.

"Oh? What do you need? A glass of water? The winning lottery numbers? What can Michael get for you?" D'Arby grinned.

"Nothing like that. I wanna test something. It's really simple." Shizuka walked over to the bar and grabbed a few things. Then, she approached D'Arby and presented them. "I bet you twenty bucks that I can juggle more objects than you."

That was unexpected. A second gamble? For a measly twenty dollars? Why would D'Arby ever accept such a thing? She already had their souls on the bargaining table. Ripley questioned whether or not Shizuka had broken under the pressure. That seemed unlikely, though. She kept that calm, cool nature about her as she presented the items to her opponent. The child seemed determined. This was all being done for a reason.

D'Arby seemed to be staring into Shizuka's soul as she contemplated the offer. "Twenty dollars, hmm? That's chump change." She scoffed. "Up the ante."

"What's the matter? Afraid you'll lose? Maybe it'll start a snowball effect. Whoever wins this little game will go into the real deal with momentum. In fact, I'll be able to determine the winner by how many objects you can juggle at once." Shizuka grinned.

The older woman swiped three things out of Shizuka's hands. First, she held two empty bottles, and then she took a napkin dispenser. D'Arby threw them each into the air and carefully juggled them while staring at the child. She was managing them just fine. After a moment, she asked for another. It seemed like four objects wasn't an issue either. She did that for about fifteen seconds before demanding Shizuka add a fifth.

"I wonder how many you can juggle, hmmm? Is this all some kind of ploy? What's your angle? Twenty bucks won't do you much good when you're dead."

Shizuka didn't answer. She just stared up at D'Arby with a sharp eye. This continued for some time. Six objects, seven objects, and eventually even eight soared above D'Arby's head as she caught them in stride. Finally, when D'Arby added the ninth, she slipped and dropped them. Shizuka just stared at the scattered bottles, trinkets, and napkin dispensers. Whatever she was trying to figure out seemed to be finished. She just walked over to the table Pepsi had been sitting at and helped the empty body upright. Once Pepsi was leaned against a chair, Shizuka slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the table.

"We should get started, hmmm?"

A vein protruded from D'Arby's forehead for just a moment as she felt the situation slipping from her control. Shizuka was calling too many shots. She needed to remind everyone that D'Arby held all of the cards. And she had just the way to do so… The older woman marched over to the table with a sly grin.

"Yes, dear. But before we do, I should put Pepsi's little soul into safekeeping."

"Safekeeping?" Marina echoed skeptically.

"Whatever she does, everyone keep your cool." Shizuka put an arm out to block Marina and Ripley from approaching. "Dad told me about this. The D'Arby family has a twisted way of preserving souls. Deflating bodies, creating a diorama of screaming dolls, or an entire laminated binder filled with soul-fused poker chips. This is psychological warfare."

"Warfare? Shizuka honey, don't be so dramatic. I don't create grotesque displays like my brothers, and I don't keep them filed away in a book either. Each and every soul holds a special place in my heart…" D'Arby reached up and began to unbutton her blouse. Her necktie came next. Soon, it became abundantly clear why she kept all of her skin covered from the neck down.

As the woman's shirt parted, Shizuka got a good look at her tan skin. There wasn't much skin to see, though. No… Nearly every inch of D'Arby's exposed chest was covered by moving tattoos. She was only showing a modest amount of cleavage, and her bra remained intact. From what Shizuka could see, D'Arby had dozens of tattoos writhing around her torso. Their faces were filled with distress. She was reminded of old horror movies where bodies were fused together. They were packed like sardines, which was strange to think about when looking at a two-dimensional canvas. The most grim detail of all had to be their eyes. They seemed to be in unimaginable discomfort. Their eyes stared a thousand yards into space. Empty, lifeless, but agonized. Shizuka recognized those eyes. Tsuru's experiments had that same look near the end. When a human being is pushed too far, there's very little humanity left to save.

D'Arby continued to disrobe. She let her shirt fall back onto the table and revealed her entire abdomen. Her stomach, her cleavage, even her armpits had those same tattoos. She ran a gloved finger up from her waist to her neck. As it passed along her skin, the tattoos seemed to react in turn. They pushed away from her finger as if they were horrified by her touch. Whenever she made contact with a tattoo it would let out a silent shriek. The woman grinned, feeling all eyes on her.

"I dress conservatively for a reason. The world wouldn't understand the living art exhibit that is my body. Look at them struggling. For the first few days they crawl all around my body looking for a way off. It must be so confusing for them. To us, my skin is a two-dimensional plane. But to them it's a multi-layered maze of twists, turns, and cylindrical nightmares. I love the sensation of a new soul scraping and crawling all around… And then it's so satisfying when they eventually give up. After hours or days of blindly crawling, they make peace with the fact that they're trapped. But I always give them new friends to cuddle with."

Shizuka could feel her ears ringing. She was clenching her jaw so tightly that her vision began to blur. The untold amount of human suffering was simply too much for her to handle. Her sense of justice was burning deep within her soul. It took everything she had to refrain from pummeling D'Arby to a pulp and freeing the hundreds of people trapped in her wasted skin. That's when D'Arby's Stand appeared yet again.

Nephthys rose slowly from behind its User with the ankh that absorbed Pepsi's soul moments ago. The instrument began to glow with a strange orange power. D'Arby tilted her head, exposing her neck and smiling. Then, Nephthys placed the glowing ankh against its User's skin and began to sear it! The stench of burning flesh was poignant in the room, and smoke blew away from D'Arby as the light grew brighter. It's like the ankh was fresh from a flame, branding something to the woman's skin like livestock.

After about fifteen seconds of this, Nephthys pulled away to reveal Pepsi lying unconscious along the skin of D'Arby's neck. Everyone stared in silence. Her neck was irritated, but it seemed to heal rather quickly. Pepsi was coiled around the curves of D'Arby's neck like a snake, but their face was present on the front of her throat. D'Arby's index finger carefully rubbed along her new tattoo as she hummed in satisfaction.

"There we go… That'll do just nicely. When they wake up, they'll find a place to live on my body. There's really a lot of room, I assure you." D'Arby flashed a menacing grin.

Ultra Violet flew from Shizuka's form too quickly for the human eye to track. It grabbed D'Arby's throat, squeezing dangerously hard before slamming her into the wall. She gritted her teeth, pushing forward until she felt resistance from behind. Bubblegum Bitch had its bat against her neck, pulling her back and out of range to attack D'Arby. Marina held Shizuka in place despite the child's best efforts to break free.

"Jojo! You're the one who said we needed to stay calm!" She shouted. "If you kill her, we'll never get Pepsi back!"

D'Arby was resting her weight against the wall. Her hair was messy as it fell over her face. One hand rested on her throat; the other was still gripping the wall for support. Her nails had dug into the wood. She panted heavily. After another moment to collect herself, she managed to force a sly grin across her quivering lips.

"Hah. Very nice. There's the Joestar rage. You act so high and mighty, but your lot is as irrational as they come. Emotional, weak, owned by your perverted sense of justice. Just because I kill people, suddenly it's acceptable to kill me? If that were true, everyone would be a murderer. Heroes like you should stay in their lane." She growled.

Shizuka went limp in Marina's arms. She surrendered her fury and merely stared at the carpet for a moment. Then, she jerked herself free and glared at the panting woman. She snarled a bit, and her nose wrinkled with anger.

"D'Arby…" She stepped closer. "I'm going to win this game, and then you're going to regret showing me that."

The woman just made a brief fart sound with her lips. "How original. You really think I'm intimidated by that? As far as I'm concerned, those are famous last words. Say something about winning back your wife's soul, or how I'll burn in hell for doing these evil things. Then you'll really be a broken record. All of my victims postured like this. You've seen where that got them. Why don't you make my day and put your money where your mouth is?"

Shizuka slammed her open palm against the mahogany tabletop. When she pulled her hand away, a single glimmering quarter remained. Her eyes darted back to the enemy. D'Arby seemed intrigued.

"We'll flip a coin. That's the entire game. Best three out of five. Winner takes all." She crossed her arms.

The room fell silent. Nobody knew how to respond to that. Was Shizuka thinking straight? How could she put her own life on the line for a stupid game of chance? How could she risk her friends'? Or even the world? They all had so much at stake. She was really willing to die over the whim of a spinning coin?

"One more thing…" She stood up, pressing her thumb against her chest proudly. "I'm going to cheat."

A wicked look flashed in D'Arby's eyes. She felt a smile forming involuntarily as the child boldly promised to cheat at the very game her life depended on. A lesser woman would demand that Shizuka disavow such a treacherous and dishonest tactic. After all, shouldn't games be fair? D'Arby believed that cheating was fair. If both players are capable of cheating it becomes a metagame. Instead of relying solely on one's ability to accomplish the goal of any given game, the players also engage in a secondary battle of skill. There's no such thing as cheating if you're not caught. If you steal fifty dollars from a rich man's wallet, will he even know he's been robbed? It's a victimless crime. That's how D'Arby viewed the world. Of course, she'd never once been caught cheating. And she was so very good at it.

"You're going to cheat, are you? That's exciting." D'Arby prowled her way over to the table. With one swift motion she took the quarter and brought it up for inspection. She flipped it in her hand three times before running her thumb along the ridges. Then, she circled each side carefully with her nail. "Hmmm… This seems to be a standard minted quarter. I'd expect nothing less. You don't really seem to be the type that would carry around rigged scamming equipment."

"The quarter's real. I don't trust anything in this room. You've got total control of the environment. That quarter came in with me. It's the one we're using." Shizuka spoke in absolute terms, allowing no wiggle room for D'Arby to slip in an alternative coin.

"A game of chance… This is truly interesting. You're cheating, of course. But I'm still intrigued by the premise. Why chance? Wouldn't you feel more comfortable challenging me to the game you're best at? Something that I've never played before, like Pepsi?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Shizuka crossed her arms. "That way you could use your Stand to steal my skills and use them for yourself?"

Marina shot upright in shock. "W-What!? Shizuka, why are you saying something like that so suddenly? When did D'Arby mention having a power like that?"

The look on the older woman's face was all the verification Shizuka needed. D'Arby was smiling ear-to-ear. She looked as though she'd never been more delighted by an opponent in her entire life.

"My word, Shizuka. Nobody's figured me out before. Especially without playing me themselves."

"You made it pretty obvious." Shizuka shrugged. "You stole Pepsi's aptitude to lie and used it against them. They have a natural ability to sense when someone's lying by pinpointing invisible tells. They would've won, but you flipped the game on their head by suddenly changing your ability to lie. You weren't only a different liar after that, but you were as good at it as Pepsi."

"Wait, so you're saying that she used Pepsi's ability to lie instead of her own? That would change her tells." Ripley muttered.

"Exactly. D'Arby told an obvious lie, but the message was clear. Despite it being absolutely false, Pepsi couldn't identify any of her tells anymore. They knew that the game was over, and their soul admitted defeat." Shizuka pointed at D'Arby. "That's not going to happen with me. That's why I'm challenging you to a coin-toss. It's entirely based on luck. I'm no better or worse at it than you. It's the only fair game you're capable of playing."

"And yet you're proudly saying that you plan on cheating! This is just delicious! You've gone to such lengths to ensure a fair match, and now you're inviting me to cheat as much as I like? You're an interesting girl, Shizuka. In fact, you're wise beyond your years." She rubbed her chin. "I'm skeptical of this entire thing. But let me make one thing clear…"

D'Arby stomped over to the table and placed her hand on the quarter. She lifted it up, expertly flipping and twirling the coin between her fingers while rolling her eyes. "You were talking about fairness? Coin flips aren't fair, sweetie. They're actually lopsided. The side facing up has a fifty-one percent chance of landing upright after the toss. Not only that, but a coin toss is hardly random. Look… Heads."

She flipped the coin into the air and caught it effortlessly. D'Arby then slapped it against the back of her other hand before presenting it to Shizuka. Sure enough, the quarter was facing heads-up. The older woman grinned. "It's just a matter of physics. If you can replicate all of the variables to a coin toss it becomes relatively simple. In fact, if you were a trained conwoman, you could land a coin however you wanted with startling consistency."

Ultra Violet swiped the coin from D'Arby's hands in a flash of light. It phased into Shizuka's hand, and she examined the quarter carefully. "I can't trust this quarter now. You touched it." She sighed, flicking it across the room.

This drew a laugh out of the woman. "Shizuka, baby! You're being too cautious! What could I have done with the quarter?"

Shizuka's eyes lit up for a moment. Then, D'Arby felt her shirt ruffling rather swiftly. Before she knew what was happening, Ultra Violet was hovering in front of her with the original quarter in its hand. Shizuka brought it back once again and examined it.

"You're good. Really good. Dropped the original quarter down your sleeve and swapped it with a fake. Is the new one weighted to one side? I can't trust anything in this room, can I? You're rotten to the core."

D'Arby gritted her teeth. Nobody had seen through so many of her tactics so easily before. Sure, she'd faced off against some admirable foes in her time, but none of them made it look as effortless as Shizuka Joestar. She was infuriated, but also felt a degree of respect. This child was far beyond her years. Something was wrong. If she were capable of caring about others, she'd almost feel curious about the girl's story.

"Alright then, Shizuka. What would you suggest? We can't trust either of us to flip the coin. Not to mention your inability to trust any coins in the building. Should we call it quits? Break for lunch, maybe? I'm sure you'll all come back in the morning with a go-getter attitude." She growled snidely.

"Ripley, do you have any change?" Shizuka groaned, completely ignoring D'Arby's dramatic whining.

The agent shrugged before reaching through her pockets. She opened her wallet and poured its contents into her palm. "Three pennies, a nickel, and a quarter."

"Unless you have reason to believe that Ripley walks around with rigged coins in her wallet, I say we use one of those. I'll even let you choose." Shizuka leaned back in her chair. "Neither of us will touch it at any point. Fair is fair."

"If neither of us is allowed to touch the coin, who's going to flip it? Some neutral third party? I don't see anyone who fits that bill in this bar." D'Arby rolled her eyes.

"What're you worried about? One of my amateur friends rigging the coinflip somehow? Here. Lemme fix that." She glanced over at Ripley. "Pass the quarter."

The agent shrugged, tossing it across the room. It twinkled with warm candlelight as it spun through the air. Shizuka caught it in one hand, slapping it against the top of her other hand. Then, she presented the coin to D'Arby for inspection.

"Which side did it land on?"

D'Arby looked closely. Then, she could only laugh. This kid… She really was too much. There was no way of telling which side the coin landed on! The entire surface was an even, glossy texture. It looked like a poorly detailed coin from an old video game. Shizuka must have used her Ultra Violet to manipulate the coin's absorption of light.

"Ripley won't cheat. She won't be able to cheat. I'll obscure the coin so she can't tell which side is which. No way to rig that, right? The result will only become clear after it's landed." Shizuka raised the quarter between her index and ring fingers.

"Very well. But let me assure you, Shizuka, I can tell what side a quarter is on just by touching it. You won't be able to lie about it landing in your favor."

"You'll have every right to touch it… With your sleeves rolled up, and with my Ultra Violet watching your every move." Shizuka nodded.

"That's it then." D'Arby smirked. "You said best of five, right? So, the first person to win three flips is the winner of our little game?"

"The game ends when you have my soul inside of Nephthys's ankh. Not a moment sooner. If you fail to acquire my soul, you'll return Pepsi's. Do we have a deal?" Shizuka extended her hand cautiously.

D'Arby smacked their hands together and shook them with glee. "Your soul will make a lovely addition to my collection. I wonder where you'll end up after wandering around my skin for hours and hours? It'll be a nonsensical maze that seems to defy all physics. Up and down will lose all meaning… You could coil around my leg, always sure you're moving forward until you finally reach the sole of my foot. Maybe you'll nestle down there, always crushed beneath me as I walk the Earth a free woman."

Shizuka didn't take the bait. She ignored the disturbing words and focused entirely on the game. The child lowered her sunglasses over her eyes and tossed the coin over to Ripley. It was time to begin. They both sat down at the same table as before. Ripley stood beside it with the quarter in hand. She seemed to be the only one showing any nerves. Shizuka kept a stone-cold expression as she leaned back in her chair.

"You know, Shizuka, the game will also be over if either of us is caught cheating. I'd be careful if I were you." D'Arby licked her upper row of teeth. "You've got so much to lose. Not only are you bargaining your own soul, but the soul of your dear friend Ripley."

The child was impossible to read through her sunglasses. She just leaned her knee against the edge of the table and crossed her arms apathetically. "Are you finished? Ripley, feel free to give the coin a flip."

The agent cleared her throat. Sweat beaded down her face as she watched both competitors. Ripley had an unwavering faith in Shizuka's tenacity, but anyone would be a little nervous after wagering their soul. This was all or nothing. If they lost here, Marina and Shirlie wouldn't have a chance. It all came down to Shizuka. She took the quarter and rolled it between her fingers. It reflected the room's scarce candlelight quite beautifully. Despite that, the agent couldn't tell which side was facing up. Shizuka's Stand really was something. When that little girl was fully grown, who knew what Ultra Violet would be capable of?

"Okay. I'm going to flip it on three." She glanced between them once again.

"Would you like to call your side before or after the flip, Joestar? We'll alternate who gets to call on every flip. Fair is fair." D'Arby sat up a bit.

"I'll do heads." Shizuka shrugged.

"Sounds wonderful." D'Arby snapped her fingers. "Flip it now."

"Here goes…" Ripley swallowed a little harder than usual as she eyed the coin one last time. She was really caught up in her head about the entire thing. Shizuka claimed that she was going to cheat. She wasn't being tactical or sly… She outright bragged about her plan to rig the game. Was Ripley meant to do something specific? Did the child pick her for a reason? She didn't catch onto any subtle clues during their limited interactions. Ripley was terrified that she was about to ruin everything. If she didn't know how Shizuka intended to cheat, how the hell could she avoid messing it up? Her only option was clear. She had to play the game fair and square. She just needed to flip the coin…

"Three." She spoke with conviction.

D'Arby's eyes darted between Shizuka and the coin rapidly over the span of a second. She was inspecting every variable in search of some mistake. Shizuka was only ten years old. She couldn't possibly have some trick up her sleeve that would fool the great Isabelle D'Arby. It couldn't be done! Even if her father was an acclaimed trickster, he was no match for Terence and Daniel. No, it was just that loathsome Jotaro Kujo who bested her little brothers. That man was her true opponent. Every battle along the way was simply preparation. With Shizuka's soul she could effortlessly draw Jotaro into a high stakes wager. Then, she could finally claim what was rightfully hers. His soul. All she needed to do was trump some diaper-wearing nobody that stood in the way of her destiny. Shizuka was as good as dead.

"Two…" Ripley readied the quarter between her thumb and index finger.

Shizuka didn't move a muscle. Between the three, she seemed to be the most relaxed. Whatever her plan was, she was totally confident in her ability to pull it off. There wasn't a drop of sweat on her. Those little hands weren't trembling, and her breathing appeared steady. She was at peace. In fact, she wasn't even looking at Ripley's hand. She was staring at D'Arby from across the table.

"One."

The coin flipped, and Shizuka smirked. D'Arby's face sank when she witnessed that curt little grin. Why did the brat smile? The coin hadn't even left Ripley's hand yet! She wasn't watching the coin at all! She was grinning into D'Arby's eyes. The woman was familiar with that look. It was a look of total confidence. Somehow, before the coin entered the air, Shizuka was confident that everything had worked out in her favor.

As the quarter flipped through the air, D'Arby's eyes tracked it carefully. Her mind ran through dozens of different possible situations in the span of a few seconds. There were just too many ways Shizuka could cheat with her Ultra Violet. Agreeing to these terms might have been a mistake, but D'Arby wasn't one to scare easily. She gritted her teeth and waited.

Ripley caught the coin and smacked it against the palm of her left hand. She covered it, huffing softly with anxiety. She got a grip, waiting for the women to react.

"Well? Show us." D'Arby groaned.

The agent removed her right hand and allowed them to see the result.

HEADS!

It was heads! Shizuka had accurately predicted the first flip! That gave her one point! She only needed two more to win! Even after receiving such good news, she didn't cry out in joy. Her response was measured and tame. She just let out an even chuckle. Then, her head tilted back over to D'Arby as if to say, "Did you expect anything different?"

D'Arby slammed her hand on the table and stood up from her chair. The woman walked to Ripley's side and placed her thumb on the quarter. Ultra Violet appeared when this occurred. It rested one hand on D'Arby's shoulder and caused her shirt to vanish. Shizuka carefully inspected the woman's sleeves to see if any coin-swapping would be attempted. D'Arby's bare skin was truly an upsetting sight. Dozens of lost souls writhed around her tanned torso in agony. She flexed her neck a bit and pushed out her chest proudly. They were badges of honor to her. Each and every life was a conquest thoroughly completed.

After a moment she was done examining the coin. She could feel the head of George Washington protruding from the coin. It was slight, but D'Arby was more than familiar with the American quarter. The heads side was most definitely facing up. Shizuka won the first round.

"I'm ready for the second flip." The child relaxed into her chair. "How're you feeling, D'Arby? Comfy? Why don't you sit back down?"

Shizuka was trying to throw D'Arby off her game. She must have been under the impression that Isabelle D'Arby could be agitated and distracted once a wager had begun. That simply wasn't so. Shizuka could try all she liked. She wouldn't be able to throw D'Arby off of her game. No, this would end one way. The game was over as soon as it began. D'Arby sat down in her chair once more.

"One thing before we continue…" She mumbled.

Nephthys suddenly emerged and grabbed Ultra Violet. Shizuka flinched in her seat, but she didn't fight back. The child glared over at her enemy.

"I'm going to be holding onto your Stand for the rest of these tosses. If I don't, how can I be certain you're not swapping coins midair?" She laughed confidently.

Nephthys gave the Stand a firm squeeze to show Shizuka that there was no way to break free. She grunted for a moment in irritation, but quickly returned to her casual position in her seat.

"Fair's fair. If you could manipulate light, I'd be worried about the same thing."

A sudden snap of the fingers alerted Ripley to prepare another toss. This time it was D'Arby's turn to choose. Fair was fair, after all. She took a moment to consider her options. The coin landed on heads in the last round. She knew that a quarter was actually one-percent likelier to land on heads due to the slight weight disparity. Shizuka was right to claim it. Then again, did she want to chance fate by doubling down on the last round's results? It had to land on tails sooner or later. D'Arby once read that coin tosses could have incredibly unlikely outcomes. The article detailed a story from a college professor. He told his students to flip a coin one-hundred times over night and write down the result of each toss. Based on their results the professor could confidently guess whether or not they actually completed the assignment as intended. Many students simply wrote down a random sequence of heads and tails in the hopes of an easy grade. Those students failed to realize that seemingly unlikely outcomes were actually quite common when presented with fifty-fifty odds in large sample sizes. When students actually tossed a coin one-hundred times, they would report instances of the quarter landing on heads nearly ten times in a row. These outlier examples are to be expected in large sample sizes. The lazier students wouldn't think to claim such unlikely results, lest they look like they were cheating all along.

D'Arby kept that article in mind while contemplating her side. It was entirely possible that the coin could land on heads every single toss. She'd be wise to pick the side with a higher chance of landing upright. Finally, she'd made up her mind. However, she was spoken over right as she tried to call her side.

"Just a warning, it's going to land tails-up this time." Shizuka mumbled in a neutral tone.

The blood in D'Arby's veins began to boil. She clenched her jaw and dug her nails into the lovely tabletop. For just a single moment in time her true anger was displayed in full force. Psychological experts often examined deposition footage to pinpoint a person's authentic reaction when presented with distressing information. Even the best of liars were unable to hide their true feelings in the very instance that their minds processed information. Whether it was visible for a few measly frames of video or an entire second, the researchers were able to tell when skilled liars felt angry or betrayed. D'Arby knew this very well and did her best to mask those ugly expressions the moment they arose. She couldn't tell if it was present long enough for Shizuka to catch. Either way, she was absolutely livid. How could this little brat go and call a side when it wasn't her turn? D'Arby knew better than to call her out on that, though. Shizuka didn't actually call a side. She simply told D'Arby which side the coin was going to land on when Ripley flipped it.

This proved to be quite the conundrum. Either D'Arby could defy Shizuka's tip and stick with her original plan, or she could choose to believe the brat and switch to tails. The mind games were reaching such peaks that she struggled to determine who was being played at the moment. Perhaps Shizuka was counting on D'Arby sticking to her guns and picking heads? Or maybe she wanted the woman to believe her and switch over to tails?

Dammit.

That whiny, sniveling little child. D'Arby couldn't let Shizuka win the battle of wills. She needed to stick to her plan. If Shizuka had said nothing, D'Arby would have chosen heads. That's why she had to choose it! D'Arby was the one who sewed uncertainty into her opponents. She refused to be the one who was unnerved by a simple guess!

"Good for you then, because I'm calling heads." She growled. "Now flip the damn coin."

Ripley nodded. "Okay. Here goes. Three."

Shizuka was smiling right from the start of the count. She rested one arm on the chair's armrest and used her other hand to prop up her face. She stared innocently at her opponent through those dark sunglasses. D'Arby wanted to smack them from the girl's face and crush them under her shoe. The brat's expression was absolutely insufferable. How dare she sit there so confident that the great Isabelle D'Arby had no chance of winning this game?

"Two…"

That smug look was becoming too much to bear. Why didn't Shizuka feel afraid? D'Arby's Nephthys was clutching Ultra Violet. The girl's Stand couldn't swap the coins! How else could she cheat with such a quick flip? Could the quarter really be weighted? No! If it were, Shizuka wouldn't proclaim tails with such confidence! Unless she swapped it out with a tails coin before Nephthys restrained her Stand. Isabelle's heart sank. It couldn't be. Could it?

"One."

"TAILS!" D'Arby shouted at the very last moment.

At the same moment that Ripley registered D'Arby's cry the coin left her hand. It launched up into the air. Everyone watched as it soared through the air. Even Shizuka seemed a bit surprised by D'Arby's last minute swap. The tension within the speakeasy could be cut with a knife by that point. With bated breath, D'Arby waited for the coin to land. When it smacked against Ripley's hand D'Arby felt herself experiencing a very strange sensation. Doubt. Even though she'd just explosively changed her decision at the last moment she felt the overwhelming urge to switch back.

Her mouth was dry. A single drop of sweat trailed down her left cheek as she glanced at the coin. Ripley seemed to be waiting for either of the competitors to say something. D'Arby's chest was even heaving a bit. She didn't know what to do. The hand hadn't moved. There was still time before her answer was locked in.

"Heads." She finally decided.

The room fell silent. Ripley stared at her in shock. Shizuka sat up in her chair. She tilted her head, lifting a hand up to her ear. The child made a drawn-out sound of consideration. Then, she extended her pinky and thumb to simulate a telephone.

"Uhmmmmmmmmm, sorry. I think I misheard you. Did you say heads just then?" She asked in a playfully condescending voice.

D'Arby didn't respond. Somehow this petulant child was turning her world upside down.

"Hello, hello?" Shizuka spoke into her hand-phone. She stared daggers into D'Arby. "If you're flip-flopping again, that's fine. Ripley hasn't revealed the quarter yet. All you have to do is speak up and say heads! Otherwise I won't know if I'm just hearing things."

Once again, a decision. D'Arby could stay with tails, or admit that she'd once again changed her answer. She was filled with more rage than she'd felt since the defeat of her brothers. Indecision was the greatest danger a gambler could face. She needed to make a decision and stick with it. Heads was her original choice. All of Shizuka's games clouded D'Arby's judgement. She needed to stay true to her instincts.

"Yes, I said heads. You can't just shout things and cause me to panic in the middle of a round. We both know that Ripley is about to reveal that the coin is facing heads-up. So sit back and let it happen." D'Arby growled with true animosity.

"Whatever floats your boat." The girl shrugged.

Ripley lifted her right hand and glanced down at the coin. All of the air left her lungs when she saw it. She couldn't help but feel abundant relief. Somehow, against all odds, Shizuka had done it. She didn't even know what it was, but that didn't matter. Shizuka was playing on a different level entirely.

Tails!

The quarter was tails-up! At the end of the day, Shizuka had been honest with D'Arby. The coin landed on tails. She'd even tried to guide D'Arby in the right direction before the toss. Despite that, D'Arby stuck with heads and lost. Now Shizuka had two wins out of five. She only needed one more favorable toss. Impossibly, victory seemed so close!

D'Arby stood up with such force that her chair fell over. She let her head hang low, and her black hair fell over her face. Her hands were open as they hung by her hips. Shizuka narrowed her eyes for a moment. Then, the woman spoke.

"You're really happy, aren't you? I bet you're bouncing with joy in that tiny head of yours. You're probably thinking, 'Oh, D'Arby is so weak! She can't see how I'm cheating! I'm only one flip away from winning for all my friends.' Is that it? You think I'm dumb?" She threw the table across the room in a fit of pure rage. It slammed onto the ground and rolled onto its side. Without anything between them, D'Arby stormed over and grabbed the collar of Shizuka's sweater. She pulled the child forward, glaring into those sunglasses.

"It pisses me off beyond belief knowing that's happening inside your stupid little head! The fact that I can't grab that tiny voice and strangle the life out of it! It's speaking in a place I can't hear! You're mocking me on a forum that I have no way of participating in! STOP MOCKING ME!" She gave the girl a good shove.

This caused Shizuka to fall onto her back. The chair broke upon impact. She let out a grunt of pain as her sunglasses fell onto the ground beside her. Shizuka's violet eyes stared up into D'Arby with a cold emptiness.

"If you knew what that little voice was saying about you, you'd have done more than just shove me."

Nephthys's grip on Ultra Violet became violent. It squeezed Shizuka with such force that her clothes visibly indented into her body. She gritted her teeth and took it. Meanwhile, D'Arby walked across the room and over to Michael. Without a word, she undid the man's belt. He didn't move an inch. Once she had it unclasped, the woman yanked it off in one swift motion. It jingled in her hands as she walked back to Shizuka on the floor. Nephthys lifted her onto two feet as D'Arby fastened the belt around the girl's wrists.

Shizuka was bound tightly by D'Arby. In fact, it was actually a little bit painful. The belt was fastened and secured.

"There's a chance you're moving with your own body and swapping out the coin somehow. This way I'll be able to hear you moving. If you undo the belt, it'll make quite a bit of noise. You're going to sit tight in this chair and watch the coin flip like a good girl. Do you understand?" She pulled up a new chair and shoved the child into it.

Ripley felt uneasy about these developments. First of all, she really didn't enjoy watching a grown woman knocking Shizuka around like that. Secondly, she feared that Shizuka's new restrictions would prevent her from cheating in the third round. Surely the girl anticipated D'Arby limiting her movement? Still, Shizuka had so little time to prepare any kind of plan. Could it really be as simple as changing the coin with her bare hands while invisible? Ripley didn't know what to think anymore.

"Sounds good to me." Shizuka let her bound hands rest in her lap.

Once she was satisfied, D'Arby took her seat opposite Shizuka. She crossed one leg over the other and then crossed her arms for good measure. She wasn't even looking at the coin this time. She was watching Shizuka like a hawk. The speakeasy was relatively quiet for a while. Nobody moved. It was as if D'Arby could smell any cheating. Her eyes were sharp and irritated. If Shizuka really planned on pulling one over on this woman, it would have to be totally foolproof.

"It's your turn to call the side, girl." She spoke with more venom than a cobra.

"Hmmm." Shizuka pursed her lips in thought. The girl rocked her chair back a few times. It tempted to fall all the way back, but she kept the balance just right. "You seem to get mad anytime I call it. Maybe I'll let you call this round for me?"

"Don't try to throw me off with any mind games, Joestar. I never underestimate an opponent, but you've pushed me further than anyone has in a very long time. You're not going to be able to slip anything past me this time. Pick a side." D'Arby barked.

The child rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. I'll go with heads."

Ripley took the coin between her fingers and prepared for the third toss. She swallowed awkwardly as her eyes darted between the competitors. Well, it was time to see if Shizuka could pull this off.

"Three…"

D'Arby was a lucky woman. Lucky enough to rely on inconsistent methods of victory. She was a firm believer that you made your own luck on Earth. Unlucky people always had such annoying sob stories. They lost a limb, they lost their car, they never got a fair shake… D'Arby found those people detestable. Anyone with misfortune was simply weaker than the forces that dared to reckon with them. Lady Luck never cast her shadow in the presence of Isabelle D'Arby. She was powerful, esteemed, important. Luck was a childish explanation for the chaotic world that humanity was forced to live in. When someone feels helpless, they like to blame a neutral and unfeeling force for their sorrow. The world is not neutral. The world chooses the strong.

"Two…"

When faced with impossible odds, Isabelle could quite literally sway the pendulum of fate her way. She could never explain the phenomenon. It was just a fact of her life. Even before she manifested Nephthys and learned about her ability to steal souls, D'Arby was capable of forcing the hand of destiny. Perhaps it was truly a latent ability held deep within her being? Or maybe it was simply her outlook on life. To be honest, she wasn't really sure.

"One."

Because of this, D'Arby was certain that she could not lose a simple coin toss. If she were the unlucky type, she'd have died decades ago. The types of enemies a woman like D'Arby made were unforgiving. She had two options… Thrive, or perish. Of course, D'Arby thrived. She grew, and eventually became so powerful that the very idea of losing a gamble hadn't crossed her mind in years. So why was this mere toddler threatening her to this degree? D'Arby had to figure it out. She needed to force the hand of destiny. If she wanted it bad enough, she could make the coin land on tails. Shizuka might have been using some underhanded method to obtain her first two victories, but D'Arby couldn't be defeated by tricks. One of her brothers was defeated by a bluff. The other was finished by a simple parlor trick. Isabelle was different. She had to be.

The coin left Ripley's hand. Time seemed to slow down. D'Arby felt her heart pounding away as the quarter flipped majestically through the air. This was it. If the quarter landed on heads it was all over. D'Arby would likely be killed. She'd never before felt so much pressure riding on a single outcome. When the coin landed in Ripley's hand, D'Arby was the first to her feet. She slammed her hand against the quarter and felt which side it was on.

Relief.

Pure relief resonated through her very bones. D'Arby let her eyes roll back for a moment in absolute bliss. Her finger wasn't wrong. She hadn't been mistaken. The quarter had landed on tails! She didn't lose. Her tenacity had forced the hand of destiny. Luck was not an abstract force that favored people at random. It was a tool that could be dominated by the strong. She'd manifested this. All of her doubt had faded away. D'Arby was once again fully confident in her victory.

Shizuka just leaned back in her chair. Her restraints prevented her from crossing her arms or performing any taunting gestures. "Hmm. Looks like I got it wrong. Good round, D'Arby."

"I have nothing to say to you, Shizuka." The woman scoffed. She sat back down with a little smirk. "Flip it again. I'm calling heads."

Ripley glanced over at Shizuka, but this caused D'Arby to snap her hands in the agent's face.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. No communicating with your friend! Don't ask her for advice with those dread-filled eyes of yours! She can't help you! You're a tool, understand? If we had a robot that flipped coins you'd be sitting over on that table with the rest of your friends. This isn't a game of strategy. So, look straight, keep your mouth shut, and flip the damn coin." She demanded.

Shizuka eyed the woman carefully. Something about D'Arby seemed different. That last flip definitely changed something in the gambler. A new sense of confidence emitted from her side of the room. It was unmistakable. No matter. She still had faith in her odds. Maybe it's because she was playing with a bit of a handicap. That was for D'Arby to discover, though.

"Alright, Ripley. You heard her. Go ahead and flip it so we can get going." Shizuka sighed.

The agent stared dead ahead. She didn't want to look like she was aiding the child in whatever cheating was going on. If the integrity of her tosses were questioned, they might have to replay the entire game. That would be disastrous. Shizuka still had the advantage! She could still win! D'Arby needed two victories in a row.

"Three…"

Still, the momentum was now in D'Arby's camp. Her wings had caught a gust of wind, so to speak. Everyone in the room could feel it. D'Arby sat back in her chair like an empress awaiting fresh fruit from her servants.

"Two…"

Shizuka wasn't phased by this turn of events either. This was far more than a coin toss. It was a battle of wills. D'Arby had brought her strength into question. She refused to lose. There was simply too much at stake. This went far beyond her friends. The entire world was resting on her defeating Blondie. She didn't fully understand Tsuru or her plans, but it was obvious that Shizuka existed for a reason. There was some grand plan that Stella spoke of in the hotel. If Shizuka died here, Tsuru's master plan would be a moot point. This wasn't her destiny. It was a piece of gum clinging to her shoe. She was going to walk away from D'Arby. That was all there was to it.

"One."

The quarter leapt into the air. D'Arby didn't bat an eye. In fact, she didn't even watch as it cascaded through the air. Her eyes stayed on Ripley's hand. Despite the fact that her life hung in the balance of this flip, she was unafraid. Of course, the coin would land on heads. That's what she wanted. That was the energy she put into the cosmos. D'Arby was by no means a superstitious person. She was a woman of science, experimentation, and knowledge. She knew these things to be the truth. If she wanted something more than her opponent, she would get it. Nobody wanted anything more than Isabelle D'Arby, though.

When the coin landed, D'Arby didn't spring from her seat. She gave the moment a chance to marinate. Then she stood and slowly stepped closer to the agent. Her finger ran across the coin, and she flashed her upper row of teeth.

"Oooooh, wonderful. Heads! Shizuka, darling, are you looking forward to being a tattoo on my flawless skin? I take very good care of it. Around an hour of my day is dedicated solely to skincare. I even get eight hours of sleep every night to ensure that I never get a breakout. From what I've observed, it's rather painful for the souls whenever I have a pimple. I'm such a loving caretaker. When you become a part of me, I'll take such good care of you."

Intimidation wasn't going to work on Shizuka. She already knew the stakes when she wagered a soul. D'Arby was trying to run away with all of her new momentum. It didn't matter. She won two rounds, and then D'Arby won two rounds. A pessimist would say the odds favored D'Arby. Shizuka preferred to look at it like a pattern. Now it was time for her to win again. She didn't tense up a bit in her chair.

"Good job. I'll pass on the offer, though. Let's get this over with."

D'Arby meandered back to her chair with a spring in her step. She sat back down and gave her legs a few energetic pats. The woman was in her fifties, but her body language had devolved to that of a teenager. She was basking in the euphoria of victory. It was too soon, though. Shizuka would make her regret it.

During the previous game between Pepsi and D'Arby, Shizuka noticed something strange. Pepsi had cornered D'Arby with a simple story about their first kiss with a boy. There wasn't enough information for D'Arby to determine whether or not the teen was telling the truth. This made the woman rather angry, but only for a short while. Once it became clear that she had been backed into a corner her entire demeanor changed. She seemed to take a good long moment to recompose herself. Then she spoke with perfect confidence. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind that the answer was correct. Even though her life hung on the line, D'Arby had found the absolute truth within herself. That was dangerous.

Shizuka had watched that game very carefully. It's how she picked up on D'Arby's ability to match her opponent's talent at any given task. That's why she had to propose a game of total chance. Still, it seemed like luck wasn't as biased as she thought. She remembered what her father once said about it.

"People always like to say I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I killed a Pillar Man with no Hamon training! I survived a volcanic eruption! I've been in so many plane crashes that I only need one more to win a free sandwich at any participating location! Lemme tell you a secret, honey. Only if you promise not to tell another living soul!" He'd always lean in really close after that, like anyone could be listening in on his sage-like wisdom.

"Luck is a joke. You make your own luck every day. It's about being in the right place at the right time. It's about doing the smart thing, even when that seems hard. Even if you're in a situation that seems hopeless, I think that a positive attitude goes a long way. That's why I say you should always tempt your fate with luck and a smile! As long as you've got a big old smile on your face, there's nothing you can't do. Believe me. With the amount of people who have tried to wipe this smile off my face? I shouldn't even be here!" After that, there would always be such a jovial laugh.

She felt an ache in her stomach after that. Shizuka missed her father. Even more than that, she wished he could be here to help her out of such a terrifying situation. His laugh was always the perfect medicine for any problem. Joseph was just cut from a different cloth.

Shizuka couldn't let her old man down. He was out there somewhere. If she failed here, D'Arby would become his problem. Her family would have to risk their lives to save her soul. She couldn't let that happen. She needed to remember his advice.

With a big smile, there's nothing you can't do.

So Shizuka smiled. What else was there to do? She let her face twist into a big hearty grin. As she changed her perspective, an enormous weight seemed to lift off her shoulders. She was going to win. She wanted this. Her dad was right. You make your own luck. When Felix Felicis tried to thread together a favorable fate for his crew, Shizuka destroyed it. That guy could actually see the future! D'Arby was nothing compared to what she'd faced!

A man who could raise the dead, a man who could implant memories into your mind, a teenager who manifested his greatest fears all over town, and a woman who could change matter with the touch of her finger? Those things were scary. What was so scary about D'Arby? She could steal your soul, but only with your permission? When she thought about it that way, Shizuka actually found D'Arby quite pathetic. She didn't rely on raw power to intimidate her foes. Instead, she used petty mind games and grotesque tattoos to strike fear into their hearts. Rapture was horrifying. Nephthys was a goofball compared to Blondie.

"Flip the coin, Ripley. I pick tails." Shizuka spoke calmly.

D'Arby grinned. "Yes, please. Let's end this on a high note."

Ripley truly felt like she was going to be sick. It took all of her strength just to hold back her nerves. She was probably going to throw up if this went on any longer. Shizuka was insane. How couldn't she be showing any anxiety in the final round? Ripley needed to have faith in that confidence. That, and whatever method of cheating she had up her sleeve. Shizuka could still win. Ripley needed to remember that.

"Three…" She closed her eyes.

D'Arby didn't let up for a moment. She was putting all of her desire into the air for the universe to perceive. She wanted this. There was no way that Shizuka wanted this victory more than Isabelle D'Arby. She was so close to ultimate victory that she could practically taste it.

"Two…"

Shizuka gritted her teeth. She was feeling rather tense, but the sunglasses helped mask her nerves. She felt her blood boiling as the countdown dragged along. No matter what, this was it. She was going to win. She had to. There was nothing left to say.

"One!"

Ripley flipped the coin one last time. Shizuka and D'Arby's energy were both focused directly on the quarter. Both of their powerful souls clashed for dominance as it slowly drifted back down to the agent's palm. Even though Nephthys had Ultra Violet in a vice grip, Shizuka didn't seem to be any weaker. She was putting her energy into the air with a big smile on her face. Even if her teeth were clenched, she didn't let up. She didn't care if she looked a little manic at the moment. Everything came down to this.

The quarter fell down into Ripley's hand with a little thud. Nobody could believe what they saw next. D'Arby's face dropped. Then, her eyes shot over to Shizuka.

"This has to be some kind of trick! Your Ultra Violet is hiding the result of the toss! Show me!" The woman demanded.

Shizuka looked as dumbfounded as everybody else. It wasn't any trick. This was reality. The coin hadn't landed on heads, but it also hadn't landed on tails. It landed perfectly on its side, standing upright with both heads and tails facing the open air.

"It's… Not impossible." Shizuka mumbled. "In fact, I've read that it's about one in six-thousand odds. You just don't see it very often." She stared in disbelief.

Ripley held her hand perfectly still. She didn't want to ruin the display. When D'Arby stood up to observe, the agent stopped breathing. D'Arby placed her finger on the quarter and knocked it down. She'd been able to touch it. It wasn't some visual trick from Ultra Violet after all.

The older woman prowled around Shizuka's chair like a deadly predator. Her eyes showed a total lack of trust. Whatever Shizuka had done to cheat must have paid off. The only question was how? How could Shizuka have influenced the flip's outcome without the use of her body or her Stand? Visual tricks aside, what else could this child do? How had she accurately predicted the first three tosses? D'Arby demanded answers. She couldn't stumble around in the dark for a moment longer.

"I need to figure out how you're cheating before we flip that quarter again." She growled.

Shizuka sat upright with the posture of a respectable catholic schoolgirl. Her eyes slowly drifted up to D'Arby's.

"Cheating? Oh, right. I did say I was going to do that, huh?" She smiled.

"Don't play coy. You promised that this would be an unfair game right from the start! I only allowed it because I believe that victims of cheating are bigger suckers than the cheaters themselves. If you could really pull one over on me, you'd deserve your freedom! But that's not going to happen! I'm going to figure it out, and if I do, you're going to be disqualified! Getting caught is the worst thing a cheater can ever do!"

Shizuka didn't blink. "You're not going to figure it out."

This made the woman even madder than before. "It's your Ultra Violet! It has to be! You're using some trick to make it look like the coin is flipping!"

"Nah." The child shrugged. "Ultra Violet could definitely do that, but you're holding it pretty tight. I lose control when I'm under attack. It's taking all my energy just keeping the quarter blank. Look."

Shizuka tried to turn the color of her sweater green, but it constantly flickered due to Nephthys's strong grip. Eventually it just faded out.

D'Arby gritted her teeth in anger. "Okay! It's not your Stand. I'll believe that! Then it has to be something Ripley's doing! I don't want Ripley flipping the coin anymore! She has to be using some kind of electromagnetism to make it land on the preferred side!"

"Ripley can't see the sides. They're blank. Are you feeling okay? We could take a break. Maybe order some pizza, go for a walk? I'd be game."

"Shut your mouth! You said you were cheating, so you're cheating! Give me a damn minute to figure out how!"

Everyone was uncomfortable. It felt like the moment in a reality TV segment when the diva started to fall apart. They just exchanged quick glances with each other to make sure they were all on the same page.

"Maybe Bubblegum Bitch is making the proper side sticky! That way Ripley could tell by touch! How do you feel about that?" D'Arby pointed her finger right in Shizuka's face.

"Bubblegum Bitch has a range of two meters. I'm all the way over here." Marina spat.

D'Arby's eyes fired over to the blonde. Her dark locks fell over her face as she agonized over every single detail. She gritted her teeth so hard that they threatened to break under the pressure. This was driving her mad. If Shizuka wasn't cheating, how could she have guessed those outcomes with such accuracy? How could she be keeping up with the legendary Isabelle D'Arby without some kind of cheap trick?

"Ready for D'Arby to flip again? Or were you serious about switching? I'm sure Marina could give it a toss. Or even Michael. I don't care who does it since they can't see which side is which." Shizuka shrugged apathetically.

"You think we're just going to flip the coin again because you want to? You're not the one making decisions here, little girl. I am. I have your friend's soul! I control Michael. This is my bar! Me! You're just a little shit who thinks she's anything more than an uncredited extra role in the feature-length film that is my life! Do you understand that?" She was practically frothing at the mouth by the end of her tirade.

Shizuka stared into D'Arby's eyes with consideration in her own. After a brief pause, she spoke. "You weren't told 'no' enough growing up."

Nephthys gripped Ultra Violet with such vitriolic hatred that Shizuka's skin began to turn purple in certain places. She didn't let up, though. She stared into D'Arby's eyes challengingly.

"If you'd rather forfeit, I'd be fine with that. It looks like you need a minute to yourself."

"That's it! Flip the quarter! That last round was just a dud! It doesn't mean anything! If you're not cheating, that makes this even easier! I hope you feel proud of yourself. All you've done is stretched your life by a minute or so!"

Ripley prepared the quarter in her hand carefully.

"Hold on." Shizuka interrupted the agent before she could even begin her countdown. "D'Arby, put the real quarter back in her hand right now."

Silence filled the room. D'Arby's eyes widened. She took a moment to see if Shizuka was confident in her accusation. When the child's eyes didn't falter, D'Arby groaned. She slid the quarter out of her sleeve and rolled her eyes. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"Not when I'm using my power on it. You can't swap the quarter that easily. Now get rid of that weighted copy and sit down."

D'Arby thought she hated Jotaro Kujo for killing her brothers. She thought that. Now, she knew what hatred felt like. In her fifty years of living, she'd never truly experienced the feeling. Not until she met Shizuka Joestar. This child brought out something ugly in D'Arby. White hot anger was a flowery description. She was struggling to find the right words to describe how much Shizuka was infuriating her. Discovering her ability to steal attributes, boldly proclaiming that she would cheat, doing everything in her power to undermine and annoy D'Arby at every turn? She hated it. She hated her. She wanted to tear the petulant brat's soul out and wipe her ass with it. She wanted to rip it to shreds and feed it to the dogs. She wanted to destroy Shizuka, ridding her from existence itself. Hate wasn't even a powerful enough word. She needed to learn more languages in the hopes that one of them would possess the proper strings of expressions for D'Arby to explain her feelings.

Isabelle placed the real quarter in Ripley's hand. Then, she sat in her respective chair. If Shizuka had been trying to beat down D'Arby's fighting spirit, she'd be sorely mistaken. All of this turmoil had only made D'Arby stronger. She wanted victory even more than before. It was no longer just about life and death. Now she had a higher calling. She wanted to destroy Shizuka. That mattered even more than her own existence.

"Three…"

"Just flip the damn coin! Don't count down! I pick heads!" D'Arby growled.

Without another word Ripley tossed the quarter into the air. It spiraled a few times before fluttering back down into her palm. The results should be shocking, but in a way, they seemed to make sense. The entire situation defied logic, so a little more improbability went a long way to drive the point across.

Yes, the coin had once again landed perfectly on its edge. Neither heads nor tails were the right guess. It was honestly to be expected that a quarter would land on its edge if you flipped it enough. Despite seeming highly unlikely before, it was within reason. This was different. Something with a one in six-thousand chance of occurring twice in a row easily skyrocketed the probability into the millions. It couldn't be a mere coincidence. It wasn't dumb luck, either.

Shizuka must have found the will to force luck as well. She wanted it. D'Arby couldn't believe it. There was simply no way that Shizuka wanted victory as much as she did. Could their wills be causing a sort of equilibrium? Was fate torn between their power? D'Arby truly believed that an outcome could be manipulated by the soul with more tenacity and power. She'd never once considered what would happen if someone were to match her own. How could such a will come from a mere child?

"What are you?" She whispered.

That wasn't what Shizuka was expecting to hear. She was honestly surprised by the coin's landing. However, she noticed a bit of weakness in D'Arby's tone.

"You really wanna know?" She grinned.

"You're not a kid! You can't be! So why don't you tell me what's going on!" D'Arby demanded.

Shizuka thought for a moment before shrugging. "Guess you'll find out if I lose, huh?"

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" D'Arby growled. "Is that a threat? Are you trying to scare me out of winning? It won't work! Flip it again, Ripley. Flip it now! Pick a side, Shizuka."

Ripley readied the coin.

"I bet…" Shizuka rocked back and forth in her chair for a moment. "It'll land on its edge again."

D'Arby stood up and kicked her chair to the side in pure rage. "That's not an option, Joestar! You either pick heads or tails! Heads or tails! You pick one! If your side wins, you win! If it doesn't, I win! That's how the game works! That's how it's always worked! This isn't a game with three choices. It's always been two!"

"Then if it lands on either heads or tails, you win." Shizuka gave a smug grin in response.

D'Arby nearly deflated like a balloon. She could no longer process the sheer insanity of her situation. There were only two potential outcomes with a coin toss. She'd conned countless losers out of their riches with a simple flick of a quarter. How could Shizuka be so sure that the coin would land on its edge? Just because something does something twice in a row doesn't mean it's bound to happen a third time. It was illogical. It was infuriating. Isabelle D'Arby demanded logic from the world. She refused to believe in petty forces of chaos like luck. She forged her destiny in the flames of her soul! She was an oven that radiated heat powerful enough to tame the forces of nature. Nobody was better than her. Even if they were, she could perfectly replicate their skills and become better than they ever would be! Shizuka Joestar was no exception. She couldn't be.

"Go ahead and flip it, Ripley." Shizuka sighed. "I don't think D'Arby's feeling well."

The agent knew better than to count down after last time. She just nodded her head and prepared the coin. "Okay. Here goes."

She flipped it into the air and watched as it arched upwards. Then, it came down like always. Of course, the outcome was obvious. Once again, a victor would go undecided. The coin had landed on its edge for a third time in a row. This was simply beyond reason. The first two were improbable. Still, people win the lottery every day. It's possible to see something that's truly unlikely once or twice in your lifetime. But this? It was unheard of. Any mathematician would laugh someone out of the room for even asking about its likelihood. It bridged the gap between "improbable" and "impossible." For all intents and purposes, this simply could not occur.

Yet there it was.

D'Arby felt herself weakening. Her resolve was fading. If this kept going, she would lose. She needed to do something drastic. Something bold. If Shizuka kept calling the shots it would all be over. How could D'Arby possibly dig herself out of such a hole? She needed to think. She needed to THINK!

"Hold on! I'm demanding a rule change." She pointed at the child.

Everyone fell silent. Shizuka stared at that finger for a moment with a blank expression. Then, she sighed. "Good grief, you really don't pay attention. The game's over, D'Arby."

All of the blood in D'Arby's body went cold. Over? The game couldn't be over. What was this brat going on about? There wasn't a winner. The game hadn't been decided! The coin landed on its edge.

That's when her face dropped. Her jaw was hanging open like she hoped to catch a few delicious flies to eat. Those eyes were wide, bulging like the throat of a frog. She couldn't even speak. How had she missed it? Shizuka bet that the coin would land on its edge. Not the heads, not the tails. The edge.

And it did.

Shizuka had won that round. She'd won her third round. After two stalemates she'd forced her destiny. D'Arby hadn't been losing her will. It was already gone. They weren't fighting to determine whether the coin landed on heads or tails anymore. Shizuka was betting on the edge, and D'Arby was betting on anything else. Somehow, Shizuka had gone against logic and reason. She forced the pendulum of fate to swing completely off course. It was over. Isabelle D'Arby lost.

The very second that she accepted the outcome in her heart, D'Arby felt something strange. Pepsi's soul was suddenly torn from her skin and soared through the air. It went across the room and plunged into its respective body with impressive force. After a moment, their eyes slowly fluttered open.

"I didn't do that." D'Arby stammered for a moment. "I didn't let go of their soul."

Ultra Violet bucked Nephthys off rather suddenly after that. It had always been stronger than D'Arby's Stand. Shizuka only tolerated the abuse due to what was at stake. With that, the Stand slapped Michael's belt and immediately destroyed it. This freed Shizuka's wrists. She tore them apart and let out a sigh of relief.

Everyone was gathered around Pepsi at the table. They were coming to their senses. Ripley, Marina and Shizuka were checking to see if they were okay. They seemed confused, but nothing more. They weren't hurt, or traumatized. Shirlie was still out cold from Ultra Violet's swift attack earlier. She'd likely come to any minute now. It wasn't a very powerful punch. Somehow in all the commotion D'Arby had gone completely ignored. It was as if she ceased to matter when Pepsi's soul was freed.

"H-Hey!" She gritted her teeth. "Don't you dare think this is over! I let go of Pepsi's soul by accident! I lost my concentration! You didn't win. You can't win a coin toss by making up some arbitrary third choice! The game is still going on! I can still take your soul!"

Shizuka turned around with a rather unamused expression. She gave one last look at Pepsi to make sure they were okay. After that, she began to walk toward D'Arby.

"You really should've taken that opportunity to run, D'Arby. It was your last chance." She growled.

"Stop it! We still need to flip the coin! The game isn't over! It isn't over!" D'Arby shrieked in a shrill, distressed voice.

"You might not accept it in your mind, but you accepted it in your heart. That's how Nephthys works. The moment one of us realizes that it's over in our heart, the game ends. It's your only weakness. You can't just lie or argue your way out of it. There's a certain feeling that happens when you lose. It's only for a second, but it's very real. It feels like you're falling. That moment of realization that you've lost and it's all over. Your Stand preys on that feeling. It knows it pretty well. Well enough to know when its own User is experiencing that feeling." Shizuka growled.

"I don't understand!" Isabelle slouched a bit. Her hair always had a few grey strands, but now it was seriously beginning to change shades. The beautiful, striking black from before seemed to lose its sharp touch.

"You wanna know how I was cheating?" Shizuka tilted her head. "You really wanna know?"

All D'Arby could do was nod like a confused puppy.

"Alright then. I guess it's the least I can do. The first part is pretty simple. I never wagered my soul."

Another devastating blow struck D'Arby in the stomach at that revelation. "What are you talking about? You said it! My Nephthys initiated its ability! It was ready to grab your soul the moment you lost! I could feel it."

Shizuka just shrugged. She let her back slouch a bit in an exaggerated gesture as well. "Well," She drifted off for a moment with a bit of condescending tone. "Sure, the words 'I wager my soul' might have left my lips. That doesn't mean Shizuka Joestar was wagering the soul of Shizuka Joestar. Y'see… I have something of a house guest at the moment."

The child's eyes flashed for a moment. Instead of the gentle violet color they turned to a stark hazel. They weren't her eyes, not one bit. After this they switched back to their normal hue. Shizuka smiled guiltily.

"She's the one who said the wager. It might've been cheating, so that's why I didn't mention it. That's why I picked a game of chance. I could play you again if I lost."

D'Arby's mouth went dry. She fell back into her seat after that. All that time, and she wasn't even playing for Shizuka's soul? She could feel it now. Nephthys searched for the feeling of another soul within Shizuka. It was there! The soul of an adult woman was clinging protectively onto Shizuka's. It was larger than the child's, and its arms seemed to be cradling the girl's like a mother would. D'Arby had never felt something so strange in her life. Two souls? Two Stands. Shizuka Joestar wasn't normal. Was she even human? How had D'Arby missed such an important detail?

"The second one's a bit more of a gut punch to your street cred." Shizuka stepped closer. "You're really gonna feel like an idiot for this one. Especially since you totally guessed."

D'Arby's eyes lit up with recognition. She almost didn't want to hear. But she had to. Her curiosity was insatiable.

"Ripley was using static cling to make the quarter stand upright. I never told her to do it. She decided to do it on her own when it came down to game point. I picked up on it pretty fast, though. I knew if I let it happen a few times you'd lose your cool."

Ripley turned to face them after that. She laughed nervously, lifting up her hand. Electric Lady caused a bit of static electricity to emit between her fingers. "I was worried that I'd interfere with whatever cheating method you were trying. But when you lost two rounds in a row, I kind of lost my cool."

Shizuka laughed. "It's perfect! I couldn't have come up with a better plan even if we could've coordinated!"

D'Arby sank into her chair. Her hair had turned fully grey, and wrinkles began to form all along her gorgeous face. She was aging at a dramatic rate. The final blow had been dealt to her. The D'Arby family had one true weakness. They didn't handle failure well at all. Great amounts of stress took its toll on their bodies dramatically fast. She huffed for air, trying desperately to compose herself.

"I guess there's nothing left to explain, huh? We've gone about as far as words can go." Shizuka tilted her head to the right, allowing her neck to crack.

Ultra Violet flashed into view in front of Shizuka. It punched one fist into its open palm threateningly. D'Arby didn't speak. She didn't have the words anymore. She'd gone from looking like an unrealistic magazine cover's example of a woman in her fifties all the way to appearing like she was seventy years old. All she could do was heave for air. She looked cold, which was a stark contrast to all of the sweat on her face. Her huffs became visible as if she were surrounded by freezing cold air.

"My dad talked about beating your brothers. He said something about them looking twenty years older in the end. I guess you really are related. From my family to yours, I think it's best we stop having game nights. Things get really out of hand."

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORA!" Ultra Violet cried out in rage as its fists began to pummel D'Arby's body at lighting fast speeds. The woman was launched from her chair instantly, but Ultra Violet was fast enough to follow her through the air. As D'Arby fell backwards, dozens of punches connected with her midsection. She flailed uncontrollably in the air until she was finally beyond Shizuka's range. The old woman impacted the wall with a devastating BAM. Shizuka took a few steps forward, rolling up the sleeves of her blue sweater. She was ready to do more.

"Wait." A man's voice called out from behind.

Shizuka had nearly forgotten that Michael was there. She quickly turned around with a defensive stance. Her eyes darted between Michael and his cousin.

"What? We won. You've got to let go of our hearts too." She spoke with a cautious, warning tone. "It's not like a D'Arby to back out of a deal."

"Oh please. Your hearts aren't important to me." Michael shook his head. "I have no beef with you or your family. Isabelle is insane. So were her brothers."

The child loosened up a bit. That would definitely make things go easier. "Why were you doing her dirty work then?"

"She has something very important to me. If you kill her, it'll pass onto the next world. Forgive my bluntness, but I'd die if that happened."

Shizuka felt a little awkward at that point. "I… Don't understand."

Michael lifted up his shirt to reveal a total lack of color over his chest. Not only that, but his veins appeared to be dark and strained all the way to the heart. They were nearly black. His skin was a ghostly white, lacking any of the hue skin should possess. Shizuka felt a bit sick just looking at him.

"She took your heart?" Shizuka muttered to herself.

"The D'Arby siblings could grab more than just souls. They can grab onto any part of you and hold it captive for as long as they want. I sold my heart to Isabelle fifteen years ago. She's been strongarming me ever since. I've been sent to take people, to kill people and so much worse. My Sixteen Tons seemed pretty useful to her."

"What could've possessed you to sell your heart?" Shizuka felt like it was a reasonable question. "You know what she's capable of."

D'Arby coughed to signify that she was still awake. Despite being embedded in the wall with several broken ribs, the woman was lucid enough to follow the conversation. A bit of blood dripped from her lips. She must have coughed it up. That was a sign of severe internal bleeding. She didn't have much time.

"He sold his heart because he was weak." She spat that last word. A glob of blood landed on the wooden floor afterwards.

Michael looked down in shame. "I don't expect you or your friends to understand my reasoning. The politics of my family are… complicated. I just need you to believe that I'm no enemy of the Joestars. I couldn't care less about what you did to Daniel, Terence or even Isabelle. I'm also not trying to be your friend. We can walk out of this place and never speak again. I'd prefer that. Before we go, I just need to get my heart back."

Shizuka was standing between Michael and his goal. She didn't mean to be, but it sort of happened on its own. She tried to think everything through. Michael always seemed like a stooge to Isabelle. He was obeying orders. That made sense. Sixteen Tons and Nephthys had such incredible synergy that D'Arby would be smart to enslave Michael. He could easily round up and transport anybody special that D'Arby wanted to challenge. She didn't need to trick anyone. They'd play for their freedom from Sixteen Tons. Still, Shizuka was always skeptical of people with awful Stands like him. Why would a good person need to be able to deflate people like balloons just because they felt a bit of gratitude toward him?

"No. I wanna know why she has your heart."

The older man sighed. He knew this was coming, but he'd rather not reopen wounds. "Do I even need to say? It's the oldest story in the book."

"A woman then?" Shizuka raised a brow.

Michael actually let out a somber little chuckle. "Yeah, a woman. My woman. Er… My fiancee. Isabelle didn't like her very much. Said she would taint the gene pool of our elite family. So, she snagged her soul. When I found out, I was willing to give anything for her life."

"Where is she now?" Shizuka asked.

"Living in a lovely two-bedroom apartment in Fresno." D'Arby chimed in, her voice dripping with misplaced humor.

"Of course, Isabelle wouldn't let it be so easy. I sold her my heart in exchange for my fiancee's freedom. But Isabelle still wouldn't let me be with her. I had to spend my days assisting Madame D'Arby in her lucrative gambling business. In other words, I became her strongman. Gather 'em up so she could drain them of everything they had."

Shizuka felt a new level of disgust for D'Arby. That was certainly saying something, all things considered. Sure, the tapestry of stolen souls along her skin were repulsive enough, but it was always worse to hear firsthand accounts of how a monster ruined people's lives.

"Okay…" Is all she said.

Michael walked past the child and over to his cousin. He placed both hands on her collar and hoisted her up a bit. Their eyes met, and D'Arby had a bloodstained smile.

"A deal's a deal, Isabelle." He spoke sternly.

"Of course, Mikey… I'm just looking out for you." She raised her hand and placed it on his cheek. "Don't let the others know, hmm? I want them remembering me as a stone-cold bitch."

Michael wasn't amused. "The heart. You promised that it would be mine before you died. I've been counting the days."

Isabelle looked even older than before. She was slipping fast. Shizuka's attack hadn't done her in. It appeared that her ticket was punched before the attack even occurred. There were things she'd likely never understand about the D'Arby family. At least Isabelle was dying. The world would be better off without her. That much was clear.

The woman's hand drifted down from Michael's face to his chest. Nephthys's arm could be seen faintly as a flash of light struck the man. He stumbled back, instantly lifting his shirt. There wasn't a cheer of joy when he saw the color had returned. There wasn't even a sigh of relief. He just closed his eyes and paused for a moment. Soon, he let his shirt drop down once again.

"Goodbye, Isabelle."

With that, he turned his back and walked away. Shizuka watched as D'Arby's aging increased dramatically. That last bit of Stand Power had really done her in. Soon, the woman closed her eyes. Blood trickled down her chin and onto her perfect white blouse. She went limp, and it was over. Shizuka could see flashes of light as the bound spirits finally broke free from Isabelle's empty body. She couldn't make out any of their faces, but she felt a bittersweet sense of relief. At least they could move on. Still, how many people did that woman kill? Her bloody mark on the world could never be truly forgotten.

Michael walked over to the group and sighed. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect you all to beat her. I'm glad you did, of course."

The man looked down at Shizuka with a sense of awe and respect. "I've never seen anything like that. I believe that you're from the same family as the Joestars who took down Daniel and Terence. You're an incredible young woman."

Shizuka rubbed her arm awkwardly. "Thanks…? If it's not too much to ask, where are we? We were in Colorado when you scooped us up."

Michael seemed surprised. "Oh. That's definitely a fair question. You were traveling, weren't you? Some group of powerful Stand Users seemed hellbent on taking you down. Honestly, I saved your skin. Even if I folded it into a briefcase afterwards."

Marina scoffed, hopping off the table. "Yes, yes, you're a real humanitarian. Now where the hell are we, buster? We're kind of on a strict schedule."

"That's unfortunate, because it's been two days since I took you from Colorado." He explained with a bit of a guilty expression.

"It's Tuesday night?" Ripley burst out with concern.

"Apologies. I don't normally deal with criticism. For obvious reasons, of course." Michael shrugged.

"Where. Are. We?" Shizuka asked one last time.

"We're in Wimberly, Texas. About an hour outside Austin, if the traffic's agreeable." The man explained.

"Texas? Lovely. I've always wanted to see The Alamo. Quick question, if you don't mind, why are we in Texas?" Marina was close to shaking Michael for some answers.

"It's where Isabelle told me to bring you. I don't ask questions. It makes me a very agreeable business partner." Michael said.

"Wimberly, Texas." Shizuka tried to map out their location in her mind. "We're… Thirty hours from New York City. Maybe add a few for traffic. Even if we spread that across three days, that still gets us there by Friday night. Saturday at the latest. We can still make it. We have until Sunday."

"Assuming we're not dragged into anymore family game nights." Marina quipped.

"We can leave in the morning. For now, let's get out of here." Shizuka sighed.

"I'll take care of Isabelle." Michael spoke respectfully. "She's family. The D'Arbys will handle everything. I also owe a debt to you, Shizuka Joestar. Though, I hope it doesn't offend you for me to say that I'll be avoiding your tribe for the rest of my life."

"Let's just call it even." Shizuka waved dismissively.

"That's agreeable. Take my car. It's the least I can do. I bought it legally with cash in Colorado. Your enemies shouldn't be able to trace it, either. You'll have a good head start. In a way, I actually helped you. They won't know where you're embarking from."

"We'll try to put our gratitude into words on the Christmas card." Marina swiped the keys from Michael and rolled her eyes. "Let's get the twins mobile and get out of here. Then we can explore the wonderful sights of Wimberly Fucking Texas."

Shizuka gave the D'Arbys one last glance before walking over to the twins. Once they were all accounted for the group left Michael to his business. They got in their new car and pulled out of the parking lot. It was already dark. They'd need to find a motel and then hit the road first thing in the morning. They definitely earned a little bit of rest. Shizuka settled into the backseat with a gentle sigh. Ripley could be seen in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were focused on the road.

"Our luggage might be gone, but we've been carrying lots of cash. We can stop at a Goodwill in the morning before heading out. Just for a change of clothes." Ripley rolled her fingers along the steering wheel.

"Sounds good to me. How're you doing back there?" Marina called into the backseat.

The twins both just gave a tired groan as a response. Shizuka looked out the window. Light streaked along the night sky from headlights, flashing signs and traffic lights. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. They made it out of that alive, but the trip across the country only seemed to be getting more and more dangerous. She only hoped they make it through whatever the next day had to offer.

Cowboy boots stomped out of a car and onto pure Texan dirt. Finally home. The tall, muscular handsome man felt a little giddy at the thought. He slammed the car door behind him and looked around. The man spit his toothpick out and grabbed a cigarette to replace it. Once it was positioned between his lips he flicked a cheap gas station lighter to start it.

"Uncertain, Texas." He chuckled. "Pop-u-lation is one-fifty. That's not one-fifty-thousand, or even one-fifty-hundred. That's an honest to God one-hundred and fifty citizens of this fine mother-loving city. Really makes you think, doesn't it Strawberry?"

A strawberry blonde man got out of the same car. He let his bangs fall over his face with a scowl. His eyes rolled, and he had to raise a hand over his eyes to block out the powerful southern sun. The Italian felt extremely out of his element.

"Whatever, Hol Horse. Can you tell me what we're doing here?"

To be Continued...