Chapter Text
You felt weightless as you dreamed, not feeling that familiar pull you had when visiting Dio's lair. Your surroundings fell into hues of greens and blues, smearing like paint on the walls of your mind. Even in this dream state, you felt nauseous as the hues turned to a sickly red.
It was if the trauma of the past few days hit you all at once- a longing in your heart growing at the thought of home and your family. You recognized a pain in your chest, but it was far away- not registering into your dreamstate.
“You need to stop.” A voice whispered near your ear, breathy and nearly strained. You whipped your floating body around, only to see the same figure that had choked you earlier- your stand? It's eyes bore into yours, but you noticed that it had no mouth to speak with. The voice came again, reverberating around you with more force. “You'll die if you don't wake up.” It stated blandly, as if not caring for your well-being whatsoever.
A look into its eyes told you the opposite. While its voice sounded akin to Microsoft Sam, it's eyes held panic and a familiar emotion of fear. It was scared, just like you.
“So you're real, then.” You didn't mean to seem defeated, but the words tumbled out of your mouth with a sigh. You floated towards it, reaching a hand out to touch it's bluish skin. It's eyes followed your hand, and from this close you could see dark bags under its eyes. Probably like yours.
Tired, Is the first word that came to your mind as you studied it. It's shoulders slumped down, and although it seemed humanoid enough, you spotted another pair of arms behind it's back. You placed a hand on its face- his face?- and frowned at how cold it was. A pair of closed eyes laid above his opened ones.
“ Do you have a name?” You asked, knowing that this wasn't the place to ask, but this whole interaction felt extremely important. He shook his head, following your line of thought. “ Insomniaeon, then. The whole choking thing was probably my fault..” You began to explain, but he shook his head and the same voice you heard earlier flowed through you with a sense of calm.
“ No. We were both scared,” You moved both your hands to his shoulders, nodding. You were surprised that you were taking this whole interaction well, reminding yourself that there wasn't anything you could do either way. “People are waiting for you.”
With that, you nodded and sucked in a breath, pushing yourself to the surface of your mind and forcing yourself awake.
You woke with a start, the familiar beeping of machines flowing through your ears. There was a shift within the room as a chair scraped the old tatami mat beneath it. With a shaky breath, you called out, and you felt a strong presence appear by your side. The voice hushed you as they placed a warm hand on your forehead. You recognized the deep voice as they began to speak;
“We'll be leaving soon,” Avdol sighed as you began to squinted in his direction, already moving to sit up. “Mrs.Kujo has also fallen ill. We've decided to travel to Egypt to stop the man who caused all this.” He looked away as a flare of anger graced his eyes. He shook his head before pointing to the night able beside you.
“There's food for you there. While we're gone, you should both rest- we know this...sudden sickness is targeting the Joestars, but perhaps it is affecting you too.” He made to turn, but you reached out to grab the man's hand before he could escape and tell the others that you were awake.
“No, I'm pretty sure I just had a breakdown. I'm not sick physically,” you admitted while a tiny voice urged you on in your mind. “I want to go with you.”
Avdol stood silent for a moment as you watched his judgment wane. The silence brought nothing as you let him go, and he gave you a simple nod and a ‘ we'll be leaving at ten tomorrow’.
You hoped that your decision wouldn't destroy you, and that at least you could bring a happier ending to your new friends.
That night, Jotoro shuffled into the room with a tray of dinner and a frown on his face. There's was a quick flash on concern as he saw you awake, staring at nothing while being as still as a statue.
He cleared his throat as he walked up to your bed, but you didn't stir. He placed the tray down where the other was, glad that at least you had eaten earlier. He had the empty plates in his hands as he turned to exit, not wanting to disturb you.
“How did it feel when you first got your stand, Jotaro?”
He swiftly turned to meet your eyes, noticing the redness around them. It took him a few moments to speak, his head tilting back to think.
“Scared.” He spoke simply, shrugging as he inched closer. He switched the subject, not wanting to dwell on forgotten feelings any longer. “We're going on a road trip. Tomorrow.” Jotaro's voice fell silent as he watched you nod, eyes slightly glazed over.
“Yeah, I heard. It's not really a road trip if you're not going by car.” you cracked a smile, a foreign feeling swelling up in your chest.
“This is more of an adventure, and it's already started.”
Jotaro shook his head and rolled his eyes, although deep down he felt glad that you seemed okay, all things considered. He grumbled his signature “good grief” under his breath before leaving the room while you watched him retreat.
He knew, as did the others, that you were intent on joining the crew on the journey. He knew, for once in his lifetime, that he would be okay amongst his friends and family. He hoped (albeit quietly) that you would be safe too.
Sleep bared its teeth at you, catching you in it's claws as you faded into the depths of another nightmare. They came in bursts of colours and sounds, and if you listened closely, you could hear someone calling your name-
“-Wake up!” Something shook the bed and with a yelp, you landed on the ground. A deep laugh echoed in the room as you tried to sit up with bleary eyes.
“Come on, kid. We're leaving in half an hour.” You recognized that teasing tone from anywhere; Your eyes landed on the muscular figure of Joseph Joestar, who held a hand out to help you stand.
Once you got to your feet (with the grace of a penguin!), Joseph pat your shoulder and motioned to a change of clothes near the foot of the bed. You wordlessly thanked him as he retreated into the hallway to give you privacy.
You couldn't help but take a sniff under your arms, finding that you didn't smell horribly bad. You shrugged as you slipped into a pair of baggy jeans that were probably Mrs.Kujos, and a funky, multicolored shirt that screamed 80’s. After running a hand through your hair and slipping on your worn sneakers, you gave the room a once-over before exiting with your dirty uniform in hand.
As you stepped into the hallway, you couldn't help but notice your bag near the door, packed to the brim and ready to burst. Picking it up, you nearly doubled over with how heavy it was.
“Your friend came over to deliver that. She's waiting outside, if you want to see her before we go. We have to go through our initial plan, so it's best that we head out now.” You shoved your dirty uniform into one of the pockets of your backpack, unable to part with it due to how sentimental you were. You nodded at Joseph's words, not trusting your voice just yet.
After this, you wouldn't see your new family for a while- or ever again.
That thought made your stomach twist, flipping even more as you exited the house. You spotted Caroline and Suzy, speaking with Holly near the foot of the house. Immediately, you ran towards your best, and only, friend since you landed in this universe and threw your arms around her. She was quick to hug back before pulling away.
Her mouth twisted to form words, but you knew she didn't know what to say. You briefly wondered what Joseph told them about this whole situation as she gave you a big smile.
“You know, you didn't have to hide it from me.” She began, hands on your shoulders.
You sputtered. What? Had they told her about your stand and Dio? Or-
“If I knew you were going on an honors trip, I wouldn't have bought us two tickets to see Akira! There's goes that surprise.” You let out a strained breath as you recovered from the near-heart attack your brain almost caused. She laughed, seemingly mistaking your relief for disappointment.
“Guess you gotta go with your twerp of a brother, then.” Although weak, you were proud to hear that your voice wasn't as wobbly as you thought it was. You stared at her for a moment before pulling her into a hug again. “ I'm gonna miss you.”
“You'll be studying abroad! That's way more exciting than staying here. Plus, it'll be good to get away from those dumb girls,” She pat your shoulder before speaking lower into your ear. “I put a surprise in your bag. Don't open it until you get on the plane, okay? Take lots of pictures for me! And write often!” Finally, she let go, albeit reluctantly. You would miss this quiet life, although you wouldn't miss school. As if the past forty eight hours hadn't happened, you gave her a large grin.
“I promise.”
Your meeting Suzy was the same, although she was more teary-eyed. She mentioned that she had packed new clothes and such for you, along with your books. It would explain why your backpack felt like a ton of bricks. She held you for a long while as she explained how proud she was and that she hoped you would be able to get in contact with your parents soon. You only nodded in response and thanked her for being the mother you needed, and for being a source of strength for you.
You nearly couldn't contain the tears you felt prickling behind your eyes, but a soft voice in your head told you that it would be alright, which caused you to calm down enough to speak to Holy.
You could tell that whatever illness Dio caused had taken a toll on her. Her eyes drooped along with her shoulders, body shaking due to a non-existent chill. You thanked her for everything and wished her well, embracing her as gently as you could without harming her frail state.
“I'll make sure to get your son home safe, Mrs.Kujo.” you promised with a determined smile while she had only nodded her head and spoke a “ I know” in response.
You would get all of them home safe.
Even if it's the last thing you do.