A Body to Call My Own Pt.2

“Possession?” Tadashi asked. “I thought that was something out of a horror movie.”

“Not gonna lie, it’s kinda tricky — but you’re talking to an expert here!” I smiled and pointed emphatically at myself. “The souls in that world are much stronger than ours, so the body should be able to withstand the initial shock and not... you know, explode or anything.”

“Okay. But it's him who explodes, right? Not us.”

“It won't be the best experience, but yes, he's the one who dies, not us.”

As we talked, the man with the goatee got ready, an evil smile plastered on his manipulative face.

“Everything is going according to plan. First the capital, then the state, then the entire empire,” he muttered to himself. Little did the man with the goatee know we were there.

The villain, now dressed, had turned his attention to a device in his hand. The device looked like a watch strapped to his palm, with a round glass display showing various numbers that neither of us understood.

“So, are we going to try it or not? We'd better try while he's alone.”

Tadashi pouted, crossing his arms and avoiding my gaze.

I was just thinking!

Still looking sulky, Tadashi just nodded. I approached the man, the smell of vinegar intensifying. My fingers touched his exposed soul — the body, which begged for a respite from his wickedness, tried to break free from the soul

“Who would have thought that after thousands of years without killing anyone, I would do it twice in the same week.”

“Wait, are you going to kill the guy?”

“Don't try to be a superhero. We'll do much better for the world than this trash,” I ripped the guy's soul out before Tadashi turned the issue into a moral debate. I don't want to take innocent lives, but...I AM STILL THE DEATH.

I would show no mercy to any villain.

Slimy and putrid, the flame of the soul as I pulled it out formed small filaments that, in a failed attempt, still tried to remain in the body. Disconnected from the body, I threw back the soul flame, which in seconds was blown away by the wind. Evil, perhaps, but she was also a very weak soul.

The empty body fell backward, but before it hit the ground, the muscles contracted — I wasted no time entering my new home. Tadashi didn't even see me coming in, only the chain spiraling into the body, pulling him forward.

He scratched his goatee. 

Smiling, Tadashi looked at himself in the mirror.

“I always wanted to have a goatee," said Tadashi, turning sideways, analyzing his new body as if it were a new piece of clothing. "He must be a tremendous son of a bitch, but he's quite handsome."

"Humans. They focus only on being attractive, when the good news is that we didn't explode.” I said inside Tadashi's new mind.

“Oh... you're right. I should have thought of that... What a deep voice, I don't know if I'll get used to it,” said Tadashi, returning to the purely cosmetic. “Just for the record, this business of talking inside my head is too weird.”

Wait, with quotes or without quotes? Can you still hear me like this?

“Without quotes it's a little lower. But still, are you going to keep talking in my head the whole time?”

“Of course, did you think I was going to watch without saying anything? I paid for a VIP seat in the commentator's chair, not in the stands, baby. What were you expecting?”

“I don't know, something like Naruto. The Kyuubi doesn't talk to him all the time. Every time I pee, I'll have to hear you talking about my... you know. By the way, what’s this guy’s like?”

“CALM DOWN, THIS IS GETTING WEIRD! Wait a second, let me try something here.”

Tadashi was in control of the body, but I had a card or two up my sleeve.

“I'll go crazy if you keep talking nonstop. When we were still souls, it was more of a conversation. Now every time you talk, it feels like my head is shaking,” said Tadashi.

Suddenly, the coolest and most handsome skeleton in the world appeared in front of Tadashi, sitting in a comfortable but villainous leather armchair.

“Hey, don't leave the body Shi-nii. I don't want to be known as the weirdo accompanied by a skeleton! Come back or I will destroy you,” the masculine voice reverberated through the huge room.

“Damn, that was scary,” I said, picking my nose.

“Sorry about that, it was kind of automatic. I think my body is getting used to not being evil.”

“It's okay, but there's no reason to be nervous. It's not my soul, as you can see,” I waved my arm to show that there was no longer a chain. “Technically speaking, I'm a hallucination."

I changed places several times, one moment lying on the bed, another hanging from the chandelier, even throwing myself out the window.

“I took just a little control of an area of your evil brain to generate an image. Instead of hearing a voice, you'll have an image to attach to it.”

I started teleporting back and forth, shouting, showing off the 3D sound functionality. It was all automated by the brain. While I was boasting, Tadashi put his hand on his head, a pain striking us.

Yeah, maybe artificially generating a hallucination wasn't the best idea.

“Man, he killed his own mother...” said Tadashi, pointing to his reflection.

Wow, thank God he killed his own mother. What a relief, it's not my fault. Phew... that was close!

The pain did not come from my changes, but from the memories of the man that fell upon our souls like a ton of bricks. Filthy, more of them appeared in our new brains every second.

“Shi-nii, I think this is a lost cause. Villain is one thing, but this guy is a complete maniac.”

Nervous, Tadashi began to pace around. I followed him through the huge apartment. Apparently, the guy owned the entire duplex, maybe even the building. 

The whirlwind of memories continued to hit us, as the confused Tadashi looked for a bathroom where he could wash his face.

The first door led to the kitchen. The second, to a game room with a beautiful pool table. The third, to a woman chained to a bed. The fourth wasn’t a bathroom either — it was a library.

Wait... pool table? It would be cool to play—

FUCK THE POOL TABLE, THERE'S A WOMAN CHAINED!

We went back into the spacious room that seemed to be the villain’s master bedroom. With her head down, she showed no reaction to our entrance. Tied to the front of the bed frame, the chains ran from the columns of the huge bed, trailing along her arms until they reached her neck.

“Could she be his wife?” We looked at each other, and I shrugged. “Look, ma'am, I have nothing against what you did before with him... WITH ME, but I don't like this kind of thing.”

Tadashi's face was hit by spit.

“Bastard!” The girl tried to grab us, but her arms were stopped by the chains inches before they reached us. The chains, like snakes, intertwined, pulling her back. “Did you come to humiliate me even more?”

Damn, we've stumbled into the middle of the plot and we have no idea what's going on, Tadashi thought.

Tadashi was right, reality is much worse than fiction. If this were a light novel, the author would have given us more hints beforehand so we could follow the story properly!

Or we could’ve just… I don’t know, followed the bad guy for a while before jumping into his body.

Yeah…

“You can use my magic, but you'll never be able to use me in your schemes. I'm not going to marry you!” said the woman, trying to spit on our faces again.

Among the chains were several wires connected to a huge transmitter.

Hmm, I see, so that's what this machine on my wrist is for, thought Tadashi, who, without meaning to, with a simple movement of his hands, released a beam of pure energy that blew up a television.

The meters on his palm went to zero, automatically turning on the transmitter. The woman screamed in pain as her mana was sucked out. She tried to fight, but gave up, exhausted by the end of it.

“I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…I'll get you out of those handcuffs.” said Evil Tadashi.

Tadashi tried every movement with his hand and guiding words to free the girl: “Release! Free! Get out of the girl! Detach! Eh... Chain, get out!”

Nothing worked, but something told me it was better not to touch that hornet's nest.

"Hey, Tadashi. We’d better think this through a bit before just letting her go…”

Another headache hit us. That woman was our cousin. We sacrificed the hometown we came from to gain political power. Everyone hated us, our name in the streets tainted by the fact that we negotiated with all kinds of criminals, who were probably still better than us.

The memories kept coming: Stealing donations from children. Lying under oath. Hiding evidence or even creating false evidence.

We were the worst of the worst.

“Holy shit, I never thought I’d say this, but the least bad thing he’s trying to do is incest!”

Ignoring me, Tadashi, desperate to do the right thing.

“Fuck it!” Using the same motion he had once made by accident, Tadashi now fired a massive beam to destroy the transmitter.

The chains fell, becoming inanimate. Apparently, the machine also controlled them. The woman, looking down, stood up. Wearing a dress shirt and ripped jeans, she cracked her neck in the most badass way possible.

“Look, I’m not the man with the goatee. I mean, I am him, but I actually possessed him and…” Before she could finish, the woman lifted Tadashi by the collar.

“Tadashi, be careful!” I said, pulling us out of the body.

In the last milliseconds we were in the body, one last memory came to us incomplete:

I sacrificed my soul along with everything and everyone around me, but it's okay, because with that I will save humanity from...

When Tadashi noticed our sudden escape from our new shell, a large hole had already appeared in the wall. Three layers of walls — that's what the villain went through before falling into free fall. The woman had tremendous strength.

“Make sure you die and don't come back, you bastard!” she said.

“Look, Tadashi, I think we’re going to have to start voting on every move. Your recklessness already cost us our first body.”

“Shi-nii… I think we just skipped an important plot point back there,” Tadashi said, a little shaken, barely paying attention to me. “That last memory we heard—it felt important…”

“No way. I’m sure it was nothing.”

Just as I said that, the woman turned toward us, fear in her eyes.

“W-who are you?”

“Damn it… GO TO HELL! We’re not telling you anything. You missed our side quest! We sat you free and you threw us across three walls from the fortieth floor!”

Pushing Tadashi down, I threw us between the floor and ceiling of the building, descending at great speed.

“Wait...” the woman's words fell into the void, fading as we moved away.

“Is there any chance we can still get into the villain's body?” asked Tadashi, who was carrying me on his shoulders.

“No way... although it's actually a good idea!"

“What... NO SHI-NII, NO WAY. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET INTO A SKELETON!”

This telepathy really sucks. But it didn't matter, because as a spirit, I was stronger than Tadashi.

“Next stop: Cemetery!”