Chapter Text
A year had passed since the amazing events with the pillar men, and so much had changed in that time. Roberta's life had changed, transforming like a phoenix rising from the ashes. She still lived in her apartment facing Central Park, but she'd become the curator of the Joestar Museum, as Kakyoin had stepped down upon seeing her range of skills. Kakyoin was currently working from home, chasing his hobby of video game design. It was a chilly winter morning, and Jotaro's daughter was visiting with her two girlfriends. Joseph was also over, making this a little family reunion.
"Whatcha working on, Dad?" Jolyne asked, peering over Kakyoin's shoulder.
"It's an idea for a game I've had for a while, where 5 fighters must travel to Egypt to defeat a vampire lord. It's totally original and not real at all." He replied, winking at Jotaro who winked back. Since he didn't have to worry about keeping his grandfather (and, by extent, the two slumbering pillar men) at bay anymore, Jotaro had relaxed a lot. He didn't show much emotion usually, but he was clearly far more relaxed than he was in the past.
"Got you some hot chocolate, Jiji." Jolyne said, walking over to the sofa with a tray of hot drinks. Joseph took the mug, and looked down with a smile.
"Can I have some marshmallows with it?" He asked.
"We don't have any, but I can go to the store and get some." Jolyne replied, getting her bag.
"Can you get me a slushie?" Foo asked.
"And a monster and some Doritos, babe!" Ermes added. "Ah, screw it, we'll come with you." The three girlfriends headed out the door, and Joseph turned to his grandson.
"I wanted her out the house because I don't wanna make her cry with the news." Joseph said conspiratorially.
"Huh?" Jotaro asked, but he felt deep inside that he knew what Joseph was going to say.
"Jotaro... I went to the doctor's a few days ago, and they say I've only got a few months to live. I promised Caesar that I wouldn't pass away until I'd made sure humanity was safe from the Pillar Men, and here I am."
Jotaro dropped his mug, cocoa and ceramic shards splashing all over the black rug.
"No, no, Jiji, no...." He gasped, tears coming to his eyes. He started to chew his knuckle in the way he did when stressed, as he was unusually upset, all systems firing with muddled, confused emotions. "You're dying?! Why didn't you tell me sooner? I should've been there more for you, I should've been a better grandson, I..."
Jotaro's tirade was stopped by Joseph calling out Hermit Purple and slapping him.
"Now you stop that! I didn't say jack shit because I didn't want to make you sad. Don't cry for me, Jotaro- smile. I'm going to see Caesar and Suzi again, and I won't be in any more pain. And you're not useless- you killed a vampire, defeated a serial killer, saved my life, tracked down a mob boss, helped stop an evil priest from destroying the universe, and made the fake stone that made humanity make peace with the pillar men. So don't you ever say that, because I'm proud of you, kid."
Joseph hugged his grandson, and Jotaro snuffled away his tears.
"I love you, kid. Don't you forget that. I love how you think about Marine biology all the time, and how you say exactly what you think, and how you're not afraid to just be you. And I want you and Kakyoin to be as happy as I was with Caesar and Suzi. So don't cry because I'm gone, smile because I was here. Keep living, for me. Keep going. Keep smiling. And I'll be smiling back at you, even if you can't see me do it."
"Gramps, are you ok?!" Jolyne asked, coming back in from the corner shop. She dropped her bag of marshmallows, and ran over to her great grandfather.
"I'm ok, butterfly girl. I'm just thinking about how I want you all to be happy." Joseph said, adjusting his glasses. "It's what Caesar would've wanted..."
Joseph was silent for a few moments, then grinned.
"So, who wants fried chicken for dinner? We can get that Merry-Wasp or whatever it's called, and I'll take you all to the movies."
"Gramps, you don't have to..." Jotaro began, only for Joseph to cut him off.
"You all deserve to be happy, now that I know you're safe from the Pillar Men. Because that's how I want you to know you all matter to me."
Jotaro brushed away a fresh batch of tears, and looked up with a smile.
"So, what's on at the movies?" He said, and Joseph smiled straight back, happy that he could bring joy to those he loved.
Meanwhile, on the other end of Manhattan, Kylie was at a rather unusual roller rink. It was decorated like a 50's throwback, with a jukebox and even an attached diner, and Kylie looked like a walking anachronism in her fluffy pink jacket and short denim skirt. Even more anachronistic was Santana, who was just in his usual loincloth. However, he wanted to look good today, so he was wearing his jade skull earrings, and some golden arm cuffs.
"Have you ever, like, done this before?" Kylie asked, lacing up her skates as Santana pulled on his rental skates.
"No. Did not exist... 60,000 years ago..." He replied. "We play-fought for fun, as Kars wouldn't allow any other games." Esidisi would, letting them play tag and "mermen" when Kars was away and he was childminding, but said games had to be a secret, as Kars was vengeful when crossed, and never tolerated disobedience.
"Oh, gee, you are gonna so love this." Kylie said as she got to her feet. She helped Santana up, feeling the putty-like texture of his skin as she took his hand, and led him onto the rink. Lots of people were slipping and sliding over on the skates, and Santana turned to Kylie with a confused look.
"Why do they fall? If they aren't good, why they do this?"
"Because it's, like, super fun! You don't have to be fantastic at something to enjoy it." Kylie replied, and Santana grinned.
"I am bad at rollerskating- so maybe I can have some fun with it?" He asked.
"Let's go have fun then!" Kylie grinned. She headed out onto the rink, with Santana at her side.
About an hour later, both Kylie and Santana were laughing. They'd skated into one another several times, but skating into Santana was akin to hitting a large pillow, as he simply squashed around her. Bruised but smiling, the two of them skated off the rink, pulled off their skates, and headed to the diner attachment. There, Kylie ordered mozzarella sticks, chicken wings... an extra-extra large strawberry shake with two straws.
"We can share." She smiled. Santana absorbed half the snacks, and put his lips to the straw.
"Sweet... And pink." He grinned as he got a taste of the treat.
"Yeah, it's totally good, isn't it?"
"Did not mean drink." Santana added with a wink. Kylie blushed at this, and turned from his gaze.
"Awww, you big charmer... I like you."
"I like you... And skating... And food. I really like food." Santana replied.
"I'll just have to get you some more snacks then, shouldn't I?" Kylie said, waving down the waitress. "Misirlou" was playing from the Jukebox, and Kylie moved so that she was sitting next to Santana in the booth.
"Whilst we're waiting for the food, why not tell me about your flesh mode?" She asked. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach- or his extendable ribs, either or.
Far to the south of Kylie and Santana, Mexico City was still as alive as ever, despite being the middle of the night. Many artists had come from this urban jungle, the latest being Esidisi, who'd been collaborating with a certain Mr Kishibe to recount his tales of raising two sons in the prehistoric times. He was also getting down the old tale of Puzi-Ryut, which was apparently "Gonna be the next Queen Elsa!" According to Rohan's short silver-haired spokesman. Esidisi was slowly healing his relationship with his sons, as they'd both suffered under Kars. It was hard for them to reconnect after so long, but slowly, like a tree reaching for the sky, they aimed to rebuild their shattered relationships.
"Do you ever miss Kars?" Rohan had asked one day, from over his drawing board.
"I miss who he once was, I yearn for the memory of him, and I mourn what he could've been. But as for who he chose to be- I don't. The memories are sweet, but he certainly isn't." Esidisi replied, fiddling with one of Rohan's stray pencils. Kars was still under captivity of the SPW, in the way that a prisoner on a life sentence might be, yet he hadn't made any attempts to escape. It was as if knowing how Esidisi saw him now had shattered his resolve. Maybe, deep down, he still loved Esidisi- but that love had burnt out, killed by selfish, single-minded ambition. Esidisi knew that he'd never meet anyone as amazing as that young man with the purple hair who'd shown him a weird mask one night- but he was glad that he'd never have to see the murderous maniac that had berated him under the light of the moon, on the night that changed everything.
But he wasn't ready to talk about that. One day he would, but it hurt to talk about what Kars had meant to him. So Esidisi simply talked about his sons and Puzi-Ryut instead, turning his back on the man who had owned-and broken- his burning heart.
Esidisi wasn't the only pillar man in Mexico City. Wamuu walked the streets at night, hand in hand with Roberta. Since she was now head curator of the museum, she'd been invited for a conference at the Mexican National museum of Archaeology. The knowledge of the nature-linked pillar men had made several world leaders drastically reconsider their prior treatment of the environment, and as the Amazon rainforest grew, as did Roberta's love for Wamuu. He was eager as anything to accompany her to Mexico- after all, it was his home and birthplace- and even applauded after she gave a speech at the conference. He loved her tattoos, her smile, her love for rollerskating, and he even loved the fact that her favourite film WASN'T actually Drawing Restraint 9, that was just what she told people because she was too embarrassed to admit her true favourite film. Her favourite film was actually Monster High: Ghouls Rule, something that he found adorable. Likewise, Roberta was absolutely head over heels for Wamuu. She'd ridden with him in a chariot, spotted for him whilst he bench-pressed the entire weights rack at the gym, and nothing tastes better than his cooking. The couple walked hand in hand through the streets of Mexico City, lit up pale silver in the moonlight. They were heading to the Pyramid of The Sun, as Wamuu was eager to see the history of his homeland after 2,000 years away. However, as he was nocturnal, it made things a little awkward. However, the pyramid opened late, and the couple sat in front of it on a blanket, gazing up. Roberta's eyes sparkled at the sight of it, just like how the ring (a new addition) in the lip of her Mayan calendar tattoo shone.
"I've missed home. Everything here is new to me, but it's also so familiar." Wamuu lay back on the blanket, and Roberta lay against him, resting her head on his pectorals.
"I've always wanted to come here. Who knew you'd be the one to bring me?" She grinned.
"Oh no, Roberta. You're the one who brought me home." Wamuu replied, kissing her softly. Roberta grinned, and put her arms around his shoulders.
"After this, Wham... Wanna go to the Azul house? It's where that artist I like used to live. And after that, I think there's a churreria on the corner that offers a discount to anyone over 7 feet tall..."
"You read my mind, Morning Star." He replied. "But first, I think I want to stay here with you. It's my favourite place to be, no matter where you are."
"And you beat any dusty old museum or old crumbling ruin, Wham." Roberta said, kissing his forehead. And then, just then, on a little blanket beside a huge pyramid in a city of 20 million- everything was right with the world.
Joseph lay in his hospital bed, the machine on his arm beeping and beeping. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and when he opened them, he saw something that he hadn't seen in nearly 70 years. Strands of spiky brunette hair hung in his eyes, and a familiar figure stood in the doorway, in front of a bright light.
"You coming, Joseph? Suzi's here too." Caesar said, putting out his hand for Joseph to take. "You've made peace with the pillarmen, you've fulfilled everything you said you wanted to do, JoJo."
"I'm coming, Caesarino. Oh, how I've missed you..." Joseph replied.
And he stepped out of the darkness, into the light, and towards the man he loved.