The team of stand users and animorphs didn't get to fly very far before trouble came for them.
"Shit," Marco groaned. "What was that? I thought you knew how to fly this thing, Ax!"
I do. But another Bug Fighter is following us.
Ax maneuvered again, flying low and then veering suddenly to the left. The humans stumbled, unable to keep their balance from the sudden turn. Tobias flapped up in the air to avoid being stepped on.
"Why aren't there any seats on this thing?" Abbacchio grumbled.
"Do you really think Taxxons and Hork-Bajir need to sit?" Rachel asked. Abbacchio narrowed his eyes at her.
BOOM! A loud explosion sounded behind them.
"What was that?" Bucciarati asked.
"Dracon beam. We're being shot at," Jake answered.
Cassie steadied herself against the wall. Giorno placed his hand on the ground. Short but Sturdy trees grew between everyone.
"Hold on," he advised.
Ax made another maneuver so that he was facing the Bug Fighter head on, shooting the whole time. Multiple shots hit the target, and the ship exploded.
There. I do not believe that is still a problem, Ax said.
"Good," Cassie said, still holding the tree she had leaned on for support. "We can hopefully make it to the train station now."
"This is so cool," Narancia said. The team had reunited and were currently in their hiding spot- a turtle. The turtle's stand with the key made a room where they could stay hidden. Even the animorphs, who were non stand users, were inside, along with Trish.
"Since the turtle is a stand user, does that mean I'd be a stand user if I acquired it and morphed into it? At least while in the morph," Rachel asked.
Maybe we should try it and find out, Tobias suggested.
Some time passed. Fugo, Abbacchio, and Giorno were asleep on the couch. Mista and Narancia were watching the ceiling. Trish and Rachel were discussing fashion. Tobias and Ax were asleep on the carpet. Cassie and Bucciarati were reading magazines. Jake was standing against the wall with his arms crossed. Marco was sitting on the floor just staring at the wall.
Suddenly, Mista cried out Bucciarati's name in alarm. Everyone looked up.
"Yes I see. A stand did this. One of our enemies must be somewhere aboard this train," Bucciarati said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Narancia was old, looking like a grandpa. Giorno stirred in his sleep.
"What's going on? Who do we have to fight now?" He rasped, having also turned old.
Jake looked down at his fingers in alarm. They were getting wrinklier by the minute, and feeling his face, he could tell that there were wrinkles there as well.
Ax wasn't affected, and Tobias quickly morphed his human self, his bird self getting weaker. Fugo and Abbacchio were getting older as well.
Mista, Trish, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, and Bucciarati were also aging but not nearly as rapidly as the others.
Giorno proposed a theory it was about body temperature, explaining that men had higher body temperatures than women, and that it seemed like those with higher body temperatures were aging faster. It was then decided that Mista would go out of the turtle to try and eliminate the enemy.
"I'm going with him," Marco decided. "Ax, Tobias, and Rachel have gotten to go on stand user missions. It's my turn now."
"Just be careful," Bucciarati warned. "We don't know anything about this stand user."
"I'll be fine," Marco replied. "I'd rather be doing something other than watch Jake turn into my grandpa. Before you know it, we'll have to stop by a retirement home and drop him off!"
Marco and Jake got out of the turtle. Marco started to morph immediately.
Mista shuddered as Marco's arms were sucked back into his body. "It's so disgusting," he said. "What are you morphing, anyway?"
"King Cobra," Marco answered. His neck elongated, stretching out. His feet were also sucked back into his body. His nose and mouth melted together, his eyes going to either side of his head. His skin turned green and scaly, and he began to shrink. His legs melted into a tail.
Mista looked disgusted, but was unable to look away from the sight until the morph was complete. "Smart move," he said, going for the thermostat to turn down the temperature. "Snakes have a lower body temperature than us humans." As he pressed the button, he cried out in pain.
What is it? Marco asked, alarmed.
"It's a fishing hook stand," he cried out. "It's inside my hand! And it's going deeper!"
In an attempt to free himself, he shot at the fishing line. But it did no good. The line yanked Mista along the hallway, and he shot himself in the shoulder. Sex Pistols tried to pull out the hook, but they couldn't stop it. Mista fired a shot at the door in front of him. The shot took off the enemy's fingers.
"Mista, you're in the clear!" One of the Sex Pistols called. The fishing line gone from his body; Mista stepped out into the room. Aiming his gun, Mista walked toward the enemy.
"You have until I count to two to give me an answer or I'll put hot lead through your fugly skull," he warned. "Where's your partner hiding out? One. Two-" he prepared to shoot, but suddenly one of the old people in the train jumped up from the ground, reaching for him.
"Where's my steak?" he rasped. "It's my favorite meal!"
"You'll get it soon. Now get out of the way!" Mista snapped.
"I don't think I will," the old man said. "I think you'll be going to your death soon!" It was him. The other enemy stand user.
Marco heard- or more like felt the vibrations of- Mista crying out in pain. Having morphed one of the fastest snakes, he slithered along the floor. Mista collapsed as the stand user sped up his aging.
"Big bro, look out!" The fishing line stand user cried out.
Marco lunged! His venomous teeth sank into the flesh of the aged stand user.
"Ahhhhh!" He shouted in pain.
Marco released him. Ow! What the hell! It felt like something was moving inside him- the fishing line?
"Pesci, don't waste your fishing line on that thing," scoffed the aging stand user. He had went back to his normal self. He winced. "That snake's venom is still affecting me, I don't know how much time I'll have. We have to find Trish." He picked up Mista's gun and shot him, then shot Marco. They both went still.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go." The two stand users walked away.
Back in the turtle, the animorphs were trying to attend to Narancia, Fugo, Abbacchio, and Giorno. Trish was trying to help, too.
"Cassie, will you help me out?" Bucciarati asked. "I have a plan."
"Sure thing," Cassie said. "Let's hear it."
"What can I do?" Rachel asked.
"Keep attending to the boys and keep Trish safe if anything happens," Bucciarati replied.
"Seriously? I have to stay in the turtle and Cassie gets to have all the fun?" Rachel complained.
"You'll find Cassie's role doesn't involve much battle," Bucciarati answered.
Back outside the turtle, Marco demorphed. "Mista, get up," he pleaded.
Mista groaned. "It's not possible," he said. "Sex Pistols saved my life but I'm too wounded to go on. You're lucky morphing heals injuries."
"Still hurts though. That bastard's shot separated my body into two parts." He kicked at the snake tail that was still on the ground.
The sounds of fighting came from the front of the train. Cassie ran in, carrying the turtle. "Marco, keep it safe," she said. "I've got something else to do."
"Wait, what?"
"One of the stand users is knocked out. I have to get back before he wakes up," Cassie explained. She took off, not even acknowledging wounded Mista.
"What was that about?" Mista groaned.
"Beats me," Marco said, holding the turtle close to him. "But we have to protect the turtle. Our friends are inside."
When the aging wore off, Marco felt relieved.
"Bucciarati and Cassie must've stopped that aging power stand user," he said. "Or maybe my venom caught up to him. Either way, that's one down, one to go."
Marco, Mista, the fishing hook stand user has his hook in Bucciarati, but Bucciarati made it inside the train, Cassie's thought-speak called. The hook is headed for his heart!
"Shit, we got to do something," Marco said.
"But we have orders to guard the turtle," Mista insisted.
"You can guard it. I'm going to help Bucciarati," Marco declared.
"You can't go against orders," argued Mista.
"Bucciarati isn't my leader," Marco shot back. "Jake is. And don't worry, I'll still protect you and the turtle."
"Be careful," Mista hissed. "The hook senses the heartbeat. If it catches you, you could very well be a goner."
"Thanks," Marco replied. "Now time to go save your leader." He crept into the hallway of the train.
To his horror, he saw Bucciarati's body. It was in many pieces, but wasn't bleeding. Of course- he had zipped himself apart to prevent being detected! Marco hurried forward and quickly pushed the two halves of Bucciarati's heart together. Sticky Fingers zipped them together, but to Marco, it just looked like they had zipped themselves up.
"Marco? Is that you?" Bucciarati asked.
"In the flesh," he replied.
"Thank you," he told the animorph.
Marco watched as Bucciarati's body parts reconnected to each other, thinking about how it was way less gross than morphing.
The train screeched to a halt. Bucciarati stood up.
"What do we do now?" Marco asked.
"Defeat that stronzo," Bucciarati replied.
Bucciarati unzipped himself from the train. Pesci stared in surprise.
"I thought I killed you!" he exclaimed.
"Unfortunately for you, but luckily for me, I survived," Bucciarati said. Behind Pesci, Marco was demorphing. Keeping Pesci distracted, Bucciarati went on, "My mission is to keep Trish safe, and I won't let my emotions get in the way of my judgement. You, however, let your feelings for Prosciutto get in the way of yours."
"I'll avenge his death," Pesci shouted. "He won't die in vain. I've realized what I've been doing wrong and from now on, I'm going to change it!" He cast the line. Marco, human again, began to morph.
"The hook went right for your heart," Pesci told Bruno. "I'll pull it right out of your chest!"
Bruno used his stand to stop Pesci from tugging the line, and part of it wrapped around Pesci's neck.
"Look what I have," Pesci said, lifting the turtle from his jacket. "If you try to kill me, I'll smash the turtle on this rock and kill everyone!"
The turtle? How could- wait! Cassie was the turtle. She had acquired it and morphed it. Of course, that was why she brought it back to Mista and I, Marco realized.
"But first, I'll take Trish out," Pesci said. "Can't kill her." He began to shake the turtle, but nothing came out.
"Wha-"
Marco's hairy hand wrapped around Pesci's neck. Let go of my friend, pineapple head! He shouted at him. Pesci writhed and choked, the fishing line and Marco's fist working together to cut off his air flow.
"Grab Cassie, Marco! I'll end him," Bucciarati shouted.
Marco snatched Cassie from Pesci's hands and moved out of the way. In just a few moments, Pesci's bloody parts were scattered around the riverbank near the train.
Wow, Marco said.
"Cassie, Marco, you can demorph now. Our enemies are dead. But we'll have to find a new mode of transportation," Bucciarati said.
When Cassie and Marco were human again, they followed Bucciarati back into the train to get Mista and the others in the turtle. They had to get out of there, fast.