Chapter Text
An unknown amount of time ago, on another world...
The Prisoner with wild, white hair and black clothes grunted in pain as the giant, rune covered and seemingly stone bodied and ugly giant known as a Spriggan forced him to the ground. The Prisoner's hands and neck were bound by shackles, while the bailiff of this makeshift court within a forest clearing held tightly onto the chain that connected them. To add injury to this insult of a trial, the Prisoner could also feel his manhood kicked repeatedly by the thorn covered boot of a rather foul-mouthed fairy. He assumed his assailant probably came from a brier as he ignored the tiny attacker and instead focused on the Four Judges seated infront of him, while the fifth spot on the bench remained empty as their bastard of a leader was most likely running late for some stupid reason.
To the far left, was a large man in a kilt that had a dark body that seemed to be made of Obsidian and hair that happened to be literal flames. While the Prisoner didn't know what kind of fae Aedan Peadar was, he did, however, know that Aedan was not only frightening in appearance to the prisoner, but personal experience had led him to know that this judge had frightening power as well. After all, The Prisoner was quite lucky to survive the attack Aedan had performed with just a step, while the rest of his army was decimated during the recent war. Of course, as the glaring prisoner in black saw Aedan glare right back at him, he quickly moved his gaze to the smiling man next to him.
The second judge, Rio, was handsome enough with his shaggy brown hair, ocean blue eyes, and nice clothes, but the prisoner knew full well that under the large hat he wore, that Rio was hiding a blow hole. As the second judge was, in reality, an "Encantado" or a pink river dolphin that could shapeshift into a man and had a habit of kidnapping people to bed with in his underwater domain, or worse, turn them into more Encantado. While Rio normally went after women, even the Prisoner on trial this day considered the vile fae to be a worse criminal than himself. After all, while he was being tried and punished for trying to undo the work these judges did to try and "fix Fae Society for the better," he at least never tried to force himself onto a woman in mind and body like Rio would have. Not to mention that in the Prisoner's mind, the blasted dolphin had the worst temper of the lot, considering that anyone who rejected him would be enchanted into joining him anyway, while those that tried to protect a poor woman from him would be cursed with insanity, illness or even death!
Why Rio Golfinho was made a judge for this trial was something the Prisoner did not wish to think about, though the way the dolphin leered at the female faeries that were gathered in the clearing as part of the gallery made him pray that the monster would get his just desserts.
Deciding to move on before his rage made him want to strangle the perverted bastard, the Prisoner then looked towards the third judge that was seated- a pink haired male fae in red clothes and a crown of white roses, while his back bore butterfly wings that seemed ethereal as they were translucent closer to where they joined at the shoulder only to become as clear as glass along their length. The floral faerie's kind green eyes and expression made him look rather attractive, though the Prisoner simply flinched at that thought and immediately assumed that it was mostly for women. After all, a man like himself had no business being attracted to a mere Rose Faerie like Salvador Spectralis Ghostwing.
From what the Prisoner could recall about the fae, it was said that Ghostwing was born from a nobleman's garden, where a rose bush that was the pride and joy of that noble one year produced blooms that were clear as uncolored glass. Of course, early on in Ghostwing's life, he was much, much smaller than the man-sized fae he was now until somehow, he had managed to gain new power. The rumor was that it was because he took vengeance on a murderer, but personally, the Prisoner didn't believe that story. However, as he didn't exactly have time to contemplate what the truth might have been, he just hesitantly turned his glare towards the fourth Judge.
Calina Zavriel, a lovely woman with long black hair, a blue sari over a white gown, pale green wings resembling those of a luna moth, and finally eyes as blue as a clear sky on a sunny day. She was once a faerie godmother under the old empire, and once, the Prisoner had been in love with her. However, with the loss of her rank upon the discovery of her preference for sleeping with monsters, and the children she bore them, he was not just heartbroken, but he didn't even believe it until he saw her five children. The eldest was the son of a wind demon, Calina's second born was the daughter of some sort of spider-monster from the Usaginaba Isles known as a "Su-Chee-Goo-Mo" from what he had been told. Though he had also seen the two younger children were twins fathered by a Leviathan of all things, at the moment only Calina's third child was present for the trial- a red haired boy with golden eyes, claws like a lion, leathery wings and the tail of a scorpion. As the Manticore-sired middle son was standing by the bench to be close to his mother rather than sit in the gallery, the Prisoner didn't even need to think too long on what the glare he gained from the child was even about.
Suddenly, he was forced to rise to his feet by the Spriggan Bailiff, as the final judge had finally arrived- a man with long, white hair hanging freely, leather boots on his feet, long pointed ears and a rather casual looking outfit consisting of a plain violet shirt with brown pants. Of course, as those icy blue eyes of the leader of this new fae society locked with the Prisoner's own mismatched pair in green and brown, he knew full well who this late arrival was and his hatred seethed as he growled.
"Puck, you blasted traitor." the Prisoner then said to the white haired fae lazily resting his boots on top of the bench while leaning back in his chair and also getting the Judge's attention, "Why did you destroy our unified empire and send our people into chaos!?"
"Unified my ass." Puck said bluntly as he rolled his eyes, "Bowie, honestly. The Blue Faerie Empire was hell for the Fae. Only Godmothers could interact with humans and had to play nice to keep their power and rank. The rest of us? We had to hide in the shadows and were forced to be weak and unable to fight back while that blue hag kept most of the power for herself while only spreading a fraction of it among her Godmothers. She had forced us into a situation where things had to go a certain way or else in her mind one's 'story' would not end happily. This, combined with the propaganda that tyrant spread about 'only Godmothers may use magic on humans,' or 'Changelings are only used by traitors to the empire to cause trouble,' that 'mischief was frowned upon for a proper fae' and worst of all, that 'No fae can naturally gain power outside their rank, as it is impossible in the first place since magic can only be given or stolen' forced so many restrictions upon us as a fun loving race, that we were frightened to fight alongside the rebels that cropped up!"
As Puck stood and continued his speech, the other fae present listened intently while the prisoner, Bowie, merely glared at the man taking center stage.
"But we know now that the Blue Faerie's word was false, that her idea of a 'natural order' was not our way at all! We aren't an orderly empire of boring, strict, black and white views of rules, ranks, and regulations! We are tricksters, thieves, mischief makers, travelers, givers of blessings and curses, fun loving and most importantly, rather chromatic in my opinion." Puck then finished as all but Bowie himself cheered for the bowing, wingless fae who just hovered off the ground. Of course, watching Puck return to his seat and replacing his boots onto the bench with a smile, Bowie said nothing in response as he just heard the main judge add, "Now, with that out of the way let's get on with the trial, shall we? In fact, Aedan? Why don't you remind us all of why we're gathered here today?"
With that said, Aedan nodded as he rose from his seat, and held out a scroll to read from as his deep, intimidating voice rang out in a cold, emotionless tone that contrasted harshly with his fiery appearance.
"We are gathered here today, to judge the goblin who calls himself the Dark King, Bowie. Former general of the Blue Faerie Empire, an ascended fae like Puck and Salvador Spectralis Ghostwing themselves and a self-proclaimed king among the loyalists of the late Blue Faerie Empress." Aedan stated, "He is charged with the crimes of kidnapping Ethereas Ghostwing and Marduk Zavriel, attempted murder of the Storykeeper- who is unable to make it due to recovering from the iron burns given to her, and finally attempting to recreate the very empire destroyed seven months ago. Bowie, how do you plea?"
All eyes turned to Bowie then, the black king apparently stunned for a moment, before he spoke in anger. "I admit, I did order the kidnappings and I am guilty of trying to recreate the empire, but I never went after the Storykeeper. I don't even know who she is, or where she is even located. I may be a criminal immune to iron's burning touch to our kind, but I am not a murderer, unlike that perverted, sick bastard of a dolphin allowed to join you as a Judge this day."
"HEY!" Rio then shouted as he went into a series of squeaks and clicks common to his true form, while the other four judges simply exchanged annoyed looks about their comrade, apparently not having been none too happy to have him there at all.
"Well, if it counts as some consolation, Rio will be on trial tomorrow for the crap he's pulled, and in fact, is going to be kicked out for contempt of court." Puck said after signaling to Aedan to pick the dolphin up by the collar of his shirt, and punt him into a glass tank Puck had conjured up at the other side of the clearing. As a sign with the words "Time-Out Corner" appeared in front of the tank as well as a shield to keep Rio from escaping while forced into his true form of a pink dolphin, the remaining judges then whispered amongst themselves regarding Bowie's claim of innocence for one of his crimes.
"Well." Puck then said once the conference was complete, "Since Calina knows you best, we will take your plea of innocence for the attempted murder, and hold an investigation later. However, as you have pleaded guilty for the other two crimes that you are accused of... you will still be punished after you answer one question."
"And what would that be?" Bowie said, only to look on in confusion as the manticore-blooded son of Calina walked up to him, his claws clenched into fists and his tail ready to strike as it dripped poison from the tip.
"What did you do with Ethereas and my big brother?" the 10 year old boy then asked with such a cold voice for his age that Bowie actually shivered a bit. Then again, it could have also been the fact the boy was a half-monster freak of nature that did that- especially as the child's golden eyes turned into a glowing bluish-gray for a moment.
"Salvador's younger brother I sent away after he was brought to me. Where he ended up I don't know or care." Bowie said calmly as he collected himself, "As for Marduk Zavriel, I don't know what happened to him, as the people I sent to capture that half-breed never returned. I had assumed he escaped in all honesty, though if he hasn't returned to his mother, then if he is still alive he's bound to be around Fanterra somewhere."
Unfortunately, that wasn't a good answer for the young fae, as before Bowie knew it, the brat's stinger had gotten him right in the eye. Thankfully, it was pulled out by Aedan but, a bit of venom still made it into the prisoner's body, weakening him rather quickly as he heard voices while his vision blurred.
"Marik, what were you thinking!?"
"I wanted the truth mother! I... I don't believe that he doesn't know where they are!"
"Calina, settle things with your boy later, we need you to help pass Bowie's sentence, now!"
"R-Right!"
"Bowie, we will not let you suffer death- however, we will curse you with a form of stone until a black rose blooms upon the bush that Salvador was born from, and that rose mixed into a potion made from the blood of a wolf blessed by the wind itself. If that potion is poured upon your body, upon a night where the moon is as black as the clothes on your back, then and only then, shall you be released!"
******
Earth, 1971: Midsummer.
The nurses were all confused within the hospital, word spreading how a newborn baby boy had suddenly become very ill and had to be isolated to avoid that illness from spreading to the other newborns in the ward. However, the story seemed to get rather strange as when it seemed the child was about to die, the power suddenly went out, only to return moments later and the baby perfectly fine. No one knew if it was a lucky break, an act of god or something else, but the miraculous recovery wasn't the end of the strangeness. In fact, there seemed to be moments when some nurses checking on the baby would feel like they were being watched, or feel like they've walked through a spider web. Not to mention that during the time between the boy's birth and the day his parents were allowed to take him home, there'd be moments where doctors trying to examine him would have the electronic equipment suddenly stop working one moment before working fine the next, or feel like they were pelted with something when the baby cried until his mother or another nurse could come along to calm him down.
In fact, once the so called 'demon baby' was gone, the staff were very relieved, though no one knew what exactly it was that caused all that weirdness, and personally hoped that whatever was going on, wouldn't end up killing the baby Noriaki Kakyoin.
******
Fanterra, one week and 3 days ago, 1247 P.B.F.E. (Post-Blue Faerie Empire)
Richard Remus Lupo woke up around midnight, growling and feeling on edge as he smelled two things in the air- Blood and an unknown woman. Hopping out of bed in just his night-shorts, the elf-eared, golden eyed, silver haired and wolf tailed man ran through his home, heading straight to the master bedroom as he followed the scent, and also felt his fear growing.
"No, no, no..." the wolf chanted to himself as he grew closer and reached the door, "Please, don't tell me they broke the code... not to Allu. Not the night before his weddin!"
As he opened the door however, he could see the remains of his elder twin, blood on the walls and bed, the face he saw gagged being almost the same as his own if it weren't for the large brown spot over his right eye, and worst of all, the other wolf had been cut open and stuffed with stones. In shock, Ricky Lupo stepped forward into the crime scene, looking around in silence as he spotted something on the ground by the bed and picked it up.
A silver ring with a glowing, pale blue stone was what he found, untouched by the blood, and most likely left behind due to the murderer being unable to pick it up thanks to the magic that only let certain individuals even hold it. As he watched it morph into a pin in his own hand however, Ricky Lupo growled in anger as he clutched the heirloom tightly, before spotting a bright red scrap of cloth on the window frame, that was caught on a nail that had been halfway hammered in to help find intruders later if they escaped. Picking the scrap up and smelling the unfamiliar woman coming from it, Ricky Lupo glared out the window as he returned it to where it was found, and turned back to face his late brother.
"ALLUUU!" Ricky then howled loudly enough to wake up the whole manor he called home, and letting everyone inside know that a tragedy had occurred. When the rest of the household arrived, and saw the scene and the heartbroken brother of their leader, they all knew what needed to be done and so the other wolves like Ricky joined in his mourning and howled, while the more human looking members started getting ready to contact the city watch to try and investigate the murder, while also tending to the passed out bride-to-never-be on the hallway floor.
******
Earth, January 10th, 1989
Joseph Joestar woke up with a start in his hotel room, his body sweating heavily while his mind reeled a bit from the nightmare he had just a moment before.
~0~
In it, he had seen his late friend Caesar Zeppeli standing in front of an old tower surrounded by thorns. Following after his old friend though, had caused Joseph to find himself in a city that looked similar to Venice, though the locals were dressed in costumes and masks while preparing to begin some sort of festival. Of course, while he also saw someone who looked like his late mother and mentor in the ways of the Ripple, Lisa Lisa, announce the festival ready to begin, Joseph wasn't able to join in the fun as he felt Caesar grab his shoulder from behind before turning the old man to face him as he shook his head in silence- almost as if the festival wasn't why the two were there. Then, Caesar dragged the old man towards a gondola, and with inhuman strength managed to sit Joseph down in the boat before grabbing an oar and steered the boat down through the canals of the city.
"Caesar?" Joseph had said as he turned to look at his friend, "Where are you taking me? Just where are we?"
His friend however said nothing and simply smiled as he looked down at the seated old man, before looking ahead as he continued to pilot the boat down the canal. While they traveled in silence, Joseph would see people in red cloaks battle against a very large pack of wolves on a bridge between the two sides, a gale coming up as the largest of the wolves howled towards the humans in red. Though the strong winds didn't seem to bother the gondola, Joseph would still stand up to try and help the people in red, only for Caesar to stop him and force him back down into his seat, shaking his head once again.
"You want me to just stand by while people are in trouble!?" Joseph had snapped, only for Caesar to stop the boat and point towards the battle now behind them, causing Joseph to see that the people in Red were slaughtering the wolves, while the giant wolf leading them was only protecting his pack. Apparently the people he thought were in trouble, were actually causing it instead. Unfortunately, before Joseph could comment and make an apology, he felt the boat suddenly rise as it began to come out of the water and actually fly through the air itself, rising above the city as Caesar kept it moving like it was still on the canal, and acting rather calmly at the strangeness.
Looking over the side of the gondola, Joseph would notice that the city seemed to be mapped out quite differently than the Venice he had been to in the waking world, with canals forming twelve interconnected rings with a castle in the very center. Of course, before the old man could ask just what was going on, the view would change as he and Caesar flew over the land below, the young man still remaining silent as Joseph kept watching various scenes play out on the ground below.
First, he saw Polnareff losing both of his legs to a red King chess piece that had come alive and gained two faces- one of a boy the other a man. Though his friend lived, the Frenchman would be picked up by a large turtle and carried back to town after the two-faced king left.
Second, Joseph watched Avdol fight some sort of monster in a cavern, only to be grabbed from below by another monster and dragged down into an abyss. The only thing that was left behind were the man's arms, and a red feather.
Third, he saw what looked like Iggy encountering a huge, hairy black beast with fiery red eyes and its body surrounded by floating blue will-o-wisps and heavy iron chains. Though the two were in a town, all the windows were boarded up and the doors locked, while a feeling of terror went down Joseph's spine as he saw the two glare at each other in silence. He could see Iggy had been fighting for a while, and though on his last legs seemed determined to protect something wrapped up in cloth from this giant monster. The monster however, only looked at the bundle Iggy was protecting before it decided to leave it alone as one of the chains on its body shot out at the small dog and grabbed Iggy's neck. As the dog was lifted up in the air, Iggy would die for a moment, before it's body would shudder and painfully shift as Iggy fell to the ground, the chain it had on its neck breaking off the monster before merging with its captive. As Joseph saw Iggy's body grow in size before the dog's blue eyes began glowing a bright blue, he felt rather uneasy seeing the little pain in the ass with a strong will become a tamed follower of the larger beast as the two ran off together howling in the night as they brought justice to a murderer, and forced his soul to travel with the now demonic Iggy as a new blue flame hovered near the mutated dog.
Fourth, he saw Jotaro chained onto an altar at the top of a mountain, a wicked priest taking his grandson's soul out of his body before the young man's skull broke apart to reveal some sort of creature with a head shaped like a crescent moon. Then, a young woman and a man she was with appeared too late, and angrily attacked both of them only to be killed as well. Joseph, worried then saw the creature and the priest ascended to the heavens and nearly attack the flying gondola, had a young boy not appeared out of nowhere and saved both Joseph and Caesar with the ghosts of the dead at the child's aid.
Finally, the gondola would descend towards a desert cave and go through the entrance as Joseph saw the glowing crystals around him show things such as innocent people turning to stone, the deaths he had witnessed on both his own adventure against the Pillarmen and his adventure with his grandson so far, the lies he had to tell his grandmother so she wouldn't worry about him and unfortunately the moment of weakness he had years ago when a business trip to Morioh led to him to cheat on his wife with another woman. Once he and Caesar reached a large chamber, the gondola would finally stop and land on the ground gently and Joseph would see his friend step off the boat and silently signal that the old man follow him. Stepping out of the gondola and doing so, Joseph would notice that Caesar would seem a little different as they walked towards the other side of the chamber, but couldn't exactly figure out what it was until he saw what Caesar had wanted him to see.
A glass coffin containing his daughter, her body consumed by the deadly vines of her stand as she seemed to have died.
"No..." Joseph had said, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks as he then saw a new one appear holding a four year old boy with a diamond shaped like a cracked heart fused into his chest. "NO!"
Pounding his metal fist on the stone floor as he fell to his knees, Joseph felt himself grow older then and there as he looked towards Caesar, only to freeze where he was as he saw his friend had turned into a disfigured corpse when he wasn't looking.
"You... failed them..." Caesar said, his voice coming out wrong as he pointed a finger towards Joseph, "Your daughter... your secret child... you were too slow. Just as you were too slow to stop... me..."
"I... I still have time!" Joseph protested, his body deaging as he stood up and glared at the monster before him, "Even if it kills me, Jotaro, Kakyoin, myself and the others will save them before it's too late!"
Joseph's body within the dream had now become the one he had in his youth after the battle with Kars, and as he watched the corpse with such a ferocious intensity, he flinched when he saw it smirk and begin to morph into first Caesar as a human man, before his friend changed further into a human looking yet still somehow alien version of his friend, the marks on Caesar's cheeks actually spreading and turning into runes as Caesar's fingers became clawed and he began hovering off the ground. As a horned mask appeared to cover the top half of his face however, Joseph honestly became frightened as he wondered just who or what this was that had been pretending to be his lost friend.
"I see." the figure then said quietly, before giving a worried frown towards Joseph, "Please be careful in the future Mister Joestar. Otherwise, it may be you who ends up in a coffin after all."
The last thing Joseph would feel before waking up, was something stabbing his chest and squeezing his heart.
~0~
Shaking his head of the thoughts about his nightmare, the old man would turn on his side to look at the clock next to his bed. Seeing that it was 2:30 AM, Joseph Joestar wondered just what that dream was caused by. Stress from what was at stake if they failed? Guilt leftover from the death of Caesar Zepelli as well as guilt over his affair? What the hell did the wolves and people in red represent in his psyche, along with the other things he saw in his nightmare?
"Now's not the time to be psychoanalyzing myself." Joseph then thought to himself, "I can go see a shrink after we've dealt with Dio and saved Holy... and Josuke."
******
Fanterra, one week ago, 1247 P.B.F.E.
The time had come. The woman in a slightly tattered red cloak looked up at the night sky while she held two bottles in hand, one a clear flask filled with a thick, red liquid mixed with black rose petals while the other was a clay bottle that had the image of a manticore crossed through with a line on the side.
Watching as the full moon overhead started to be eclipsed in shadow, she thought about the fact that ever since she first read about the figure before her while studying magic in Spherean, she had felt an odd compulsion to free him from his stony fate. She didn't know what caused it or why, and right now she didn't care. All she did know was that tonight was the night to perform the ritual, and thanks to that perverted dolphin faerie she had hunted down, bound to her will and interrogated thoroughly before ending the creep's life, she knew how to do so. She had to search for months, finding the exact rosebush that had spawned the fae known as Salvador Spectralis Ghostwing before using magic to make it bloom the rose she needed for the potion. While she was a bit surprised the plant still existed after over a millenium since the curse upon the Dark King Bowie had been cast, she just chalked it up to luck or maybe even destiny on her part, before going back to her home city of Bella Aquae to get the wolf blood.
Sure, she had to murder the current leader of the Lupo Family to do so, but in her mind, she was also doing her own family a service by committing the deed before the blasted wolf could breed. Had she not been in a hurry, she'd have slaughtered every wolf she could on her own, but sadly, her efforts had caused her to be disowned. So what if she went against the Code of Conduct for the Blood Feud? The Reds shouldn't show mercy and hold back while their enemies got to have the chance to marry and have children like normal humans, they should have slaughtered all those wolves no matter what. After all, they were simply beasts in the end, even if they seemed to be mostly human.
The woman then drew her self out of her thoughts of disgust against the people who abandoned her for trying to make sure the feud ended in their favor, as now the moon was fully eclipsed. As she cast a quick spell to let her see even in this pitch black darkness, she smiled as she opened the bottle with the rose and blood potion with her teeth, spat out the cork and took a moment to decide how to apply it. Remembering that she didn't have long though, she then simply dumped the contents of the first bottle on top of the statue, before taking a step back and kneeling before it as she spoke.
"It is time for you to awaken, my master."
As the eclipse overhead began to end however, the woman watched in horror as at first, the potion didn't seem to work. However, as more light shone down from above, her fear turned into relief as she smiled while cracks began to form upon the stone, before just falling away to reveal the man underneath it.
"-GAH! Fucking hell that hurts! Stupid freakshow of a brat!" Bowie then said as he fell to his knees, unaware that he had been released from his prison as he cursed and held a hand over his eye in pain. Of course, as he then felt something be forced into his mouth and some kind of liquid go down his throat, he soon used his free arm to strike at whoever was doing this to him while he pulled himself away.
Of course, as he realized he could actually move his arms again, he stopped and looked around, his right eye forced shut as he saw an unfamiliar woman in a red cloak on the ground, and while he couldn't quite see her face, seeing the bottle she held in hand did help him figure out what happened. A tiny bit anyway.
"Okay." Bowie then said as he took a deep breath, "Who are you, How long have I been imprisoned, and what did you just give me?"
"Amelia Red." the woman said with a smile as she stood up, "You've been imprisoned in stone for twelve hundred and forty seven years, and I gave you an antidote to the manticore venom."
"... Thank you." Bowie said as he blushed a bit out of embarrassment, while not quite aware he was covered in blood and rose petals. However, as he immediately collapsed on the ground as hunger and a need to sleep caught up with him, the dark king's new servant simply sighed as she picked the man up in her arms and with the use of magic, teleported them away from the clearing to her safe-haven. After all, he was going to need some time to recover before making any plans of revenge or conquest, as far as she was concerned.
Though, as long as she was able to be by her master's side, she didn't care how long it would take.
******
Earth, January 17th, 1989
It was finally over. Their mission to save Holy Kujo, and by extension the world itself from DIO had been accomplished and though the final battle was harsh, it was won in the end. However, it wasn't a perfect victory as the Stardust Crusaders lost half their number, but as the morning sun destroyed the remains of the villain who caused them so much trouble, Joseph Joestar and his grandson, Jotaro Kujo knew that their comrades deaths had not been in vain.
"This is it..." Joseph said as the ashes of both Dio's head and Jonathan Joestar's body scattered in the wind, "Dio has stolen many things, from many people. Everything he had was stolen from others over the course of the last century."
"So many people who will never come back..." Jotaro said, while his grandfather nodded sadly in agreement.
"That's right." Joseph then said, though he did choke a bit as he continued, "Too many... Too many important people... The things we've lost can't be compared to the importance of the Earth... but because of them, we're still alive."
Jotaro just gave a nod in silence, the stone faced teen knowing full well what his grandfather would say next. Mainly because those same thoughts went through his mind as well.
"Kakyoin! Iggy! Avdol! It's all over..."
~0~
"Air France Flight 92 to Paris... Passengers now boarding. Please proceed to gate 18." The speakers in the airport announced, while Joseph and Jotaro were busy having one last chat with their remaining ally from this adventure, Jean Pierre Polnareff.
"So, you're returning to France no matter what?" Joseph said to Polnareff, while Jotaro remained silent, "You have no family there though. Why don't you come back with me to New York?"
Polnareff took a moment to think about the question, the mulleted young man squatting as he checked his bag one last time, before smiling at his two friends.
"Mr. Joestar, France is still my homeland, even if I don't have anyone there to return to. It doesn't matter where I go, I'll always end up back there." he said, before standing up, "Please, contact me if anything happens. I'll fly there immediately."
"I'll be lonely." Joseph said, while both Polnareff and Jotaro were silent towards the comment for a moment.
"A lot of terrible things have happened... but I'm happy." the Frenchman then said to break the silence, "It was a great adventure."
"That's right." Joseph then said in agreement, "I had a fun time, I mean it."
Polnareff then placed a hand on both Joseph and the still silent Jotaro's shoulders, sharing a grin with Joseph as the old man placed a hand on Polnareff's arm while Jotaro did the same.
"Then I'll be seeing you guys!" he then said before letting go and throwing in a last pair of jabs towards his friends, "Cheap old man! Live long! And his lousy grandson! Don't forget me!"
"I'll see you later." Joseph then said with a sly grin while he pointed at Polnareff, "Even if you're tired of seeing my face, you forgetful idiot!"
"I couldn't forget your ugly face even if I wanted to." Jotaro said with a small smile as he finally spoke and also joined in the fun, "Take care..."
"See ya..." Polnareff then said as he turned to leave, and so after all three dropped the smiles for a more serious look, Jotaro would lower the bill of his cap over his eyes, while Joseph slipped on the headphones of his walkman, and slipped in the tape "Get Back" by The Beatles into it, before they went their separate ways.
For now, their journey had come to an end, and as Jotaro and Joseph waited for the announcement to board their plane, it seemed that they wouldn't have to get into another adventure for a long time.
~0~
Elsewhere in the airport, while the farewells between men were going on, three young women had just grabbed their bags after getting off their own flight. While two of them were lovely enough and dressed for the desert sun- among other things, their third companion was rather average looking in comparison, wearing a long, lightweight, black and white checkered scarf around her neck, a plain white, sleeveless, button up blouse and a knee-length blue skirt with white tennis shoes. Tucking some of her silver hair behind her ear, the 19 year old young woman nervously looked around as she pulled her bag along, noticing some people staring at her and most likely wondering how she could look so young with her hair the color it was, while making sure the old, rolling suitcase she dragged along behind her didn't end up hitting her heels.
"Why did I let Pat and Bonnie drag me along for this?" she thought to herself as she bit her lip, while her short stacked, brown haired friend, Bonnie Taylor got in the girl's vision out of nowhere and causing her to jump to a halt. Especially since it looked like she had her "Go to hell" look going before Veronica even did anything! "Oh, uh... wh-what is it Bonnie?"
"Veronica." Bonnie said, while their other friend Pat Benny just silently stood there looking bored as she crossed her arms, "I just want to remind you that we are on this trip to have fun and relax. No looking like you're paranoid about every shadow, no mentioning vampires or whatever the hell you're afraid of, and definitely no freaky crap with water, oil or whatever other stuff you might touch. And for the love of God, Veronica, don't cause another incident like the trip we went on last year to Italy with your folks."
"B-But that wasn't my fault..." Veronica pleaded weakly as she remembered that while she and her friends- along with her parents and little sister had visited Italy, she ended up being blamed for a freak wave that happened while they were in Venice. While it was really her sister pulling a prank with her own freaky powers, Veronica still got the blame for it due to some past incidents she'd rather not think about. Though, as she saw Bonnie give her a disbelieving look, the 19 year old and oldest of the trio sighed and nodded in defeat. "I'll try... Can we just get to the hotel now? Remember, your dad's paying for the trip this time."
"Good girl." Bonnie said with a smirk as she headed along while carrying her suitcase along with Pat following behind with her own. Of course, as Veronica had to use her dad's old rolling suitcase for the trip, she had to just pull it along by a strap on one end of it, while also praying that nothing went wrong during their stay. In fact, as Veronica followed along, she ended up remembering what exactly caused the feeling of impending doom she had right about now, specifically a dream about a young man in green dying after getting a hole punched into his gut. She didn't see much of the murderer, or the dead man's other features besides what he wore, but it still didn't help her mood that much.
Unfortunately, Veronica would be drawn out of her thoughts as she realized that her friends were saying her name, while her bag just stopped moving on its own.
"Oh no." she said, getting a very bad feeling about this as she yanked as hard as she could on the stubborn bag and wondering what got it stuck as she felt like she was fighting against someone holding the thing in place.
"Veronica!" both Bonnie and Pat ended up saying, before heading over to their friend as Bonnie added, "Don't tell me weird crap's happening again already!"
"Looks like you owe me fifty bucks." Pat then said flatly as the suitcase started moving again, and ended up going in the opposite direction of where Veronica was pulling- and also ended up dragging their silver haired friend along with it.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Veronica then shouted as she was dragged along the airport floor by her own suitcase, for some reason being unable to let go despite how badly she wanted to. In fact, it almost felt like something had bound her hands together but wasn't quite sure what it was. Of course, as the suitcase was now moving fast enough that Veronica was actually lifted off the ground while she screamed, the people in the airport decided not to help out but instead just get the hell out of the way as Veronica managed to at least get a chance to look over her runaway bag to see two men in the thing's warpath, before closing her eyes and bracing herself for impact since neither of them seemed to be willing to get out of the way.
~0~
When Jotaro Kujo heard the screams, he immediately looked up before stopping his grandfather to get his attention.
"What is it now?" Joseph said a bit irritably as he turned his walkman off and took looked at his grandson. Of course as the old man then heard the screams as well, he turned to see a young woman with silver hair and a scarf being dragged along by her suitcase while also heading right towards them. Of course, as they also saw a black tendril wrapped around her hands and also dragging the suitcase along, the two immediately realized that it was another Stand User judging by the way no one else in the room seemed to notice the tendril as one or two people even stepped on it before the suitcase went past them. Of course as they both realized that the thing and its owner were headed right towards them, Jotaro simply summoned his own Stand, Star Platinum while Joseph prepared to use Hermit Purple to try and figure out who or what was causing this trouble once he found a camera to break apart for a spirit photo.
Or would have, if it wasn't for the fact that once Star Platinum managed to stop the suitcase, it also ended up sending the girl flying and hitting the old man hard enough that both of them hit the floor. Though, while the girl did manage to land safely on her rear, the fact that she was sitting on the man's chest was enough to cause Jotaro to look away out of embarrassment and lowered the bill of his cap over his eyes while a few onlookers just shook their heads and tried their best to ignore the situation.
"S-Sorry!" The girl said as she quickly got off of Joseph Joestar and did her best to help him up, "I-I swear, I don't know what happened with my suitcase! All of a sudden it wouldn't move, I tried to drag it by force, and then I ended up getting dragged along as if it came to life! I guess it managed to stop by hitting a bump or something, but er... w-well I hope you're not hurt!"
"Oh it's perfectly fine. Don't worry." Joseph said with a smile as he tried his best to salvage the situation, "Believe me miss, my grandson here and I have dealt with worse. Right Jotaro?"
"...Yeah, whatever." Jotaro said in annoyance once their attention turned to him, before noticing the tag on the suit case, and also noticing the tendrils that were wrapped around it were gone. "Anyway miss... Zeppeli? Here's your bag. Try and be careful, ok?"
Hearing the woman's last name caused Joseph to flinch as he also noticed the tag said "Veronica Zeppeli" along with her address, and while the young woman did happily take her bag back after thanking the man's grandson, Joseph Joestar was personally hoping that this meeting was a coincedence as she started walking away, before stopping again, and picking something off the floor.
"Oh, mister?" she said as she turned towards Joseph, the old man looking her in the eye as she shyly showed him something, "Did you drop this?"
Seeing that she was holding a large, blue gem in her hand that looked like it had a tiny cross in the middle of it, Joseph couldn't help but mentally consider it a blue version of the Super Aja that caused a good bit of trouble in his youth. Though, he knew full well the stone wasn't his, and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, it's not." Joseph then said, causing the young woman to sigh and slip it into her shirt pocket for now.
"I see. I figured I'd ask since it's not mine either. I'll go see if there's a security guard or a cop or something around to help." she said with a nervous smile, "Oh, er, what's your name anyway? I figured I'd ask in case this story ends up getting back to my dad, and he's bound to ask questions when well, crazy stuff happens, so... I want to be prepared when I get back home."
"Joseph Joestar." the old man said while also watching the young woman's reaction , "And my grandson here is Jotaro Kujo. We're actually leaving Egypt today."
"Alright." Veronica said, apparently not finding the old man's name familiar. "Thank you mister Joestar, and you too Mister Kujo. I hope you're trip back goes ok."
With that said, the young woman then headed off with her suitcase to take care of her own business, leaving the two Joestar men to exchange a pair of suspicious looks as she did so.
"Think she's a stand user?" Jotaro said bluntly once they were sure she was out of hearing range, while Joseph shook his head.
"No, targeted by one maybe, but who or why I really don't know."
"Leftover minion of DIO?" Jotaro asked, causing Joseph to shrug.
"If it was, they'd come after us directly, not after an innocent bystander." Joseph then said as he started walking along again with Jotaro moving beside him. "Not to mention that I don't think there would be any left now that he's gone."
"So, what caused that mishap?" Jotaro asked, "Bad luck?"
"Possibly. However..." Joseph said, slightly worried about a Zeppeli showing up after the bigger problem was dealt with, while also having her own problem. As he recalled, Santana's remains were still in a special room at the Speedwagon Foundation, and kept under UV Lights set to a separate generator to avoid them failing during a black out and as a result, let the pillar man loose. Not to mention that as Santana was the only Pillarman left, Joseph didn't worry about there being others based on what he remembered about them. Of course, as he felt Jotaro didn't really need to know about that just yet, Joseph felt that he shouldn't bring up the fact that there may be something stronger than the vampire that managed to kill him for four minutes.
Besides, as far as he knew, Santana's master Kars was still out in space.
"However?" Jotaro then asked, drawing his grandfather out of his thoughts.
"Don't worry." Joseph then said with a smile, "I doubt it's anything to worry about."
Jotaro however, frowned at the old man, not convinced one bit as he spoke up. "So, why has it been so quiet for the past few minutes?"
Slightly confused, Joseph then looked around, before noticing that it was indeed too quiet for an airport as not even an announcement about the next flight boarding sounded in the area. Combined with the fact that everything seemed to have turned black and white while no one around them moved a muscle, both of them realized that something strange was going on.
"We better go see if that girl is okay." Joseph then suggested before turning around and heading in the direction Veronica had walked off in. Of course, as Jotaro followed, when they heard the girl scream again, they both ran for it. Of course, when they reached a point where the frozen crowd was too packed to even move through without potentially hurting anyone, the two men could hear the sounds of battle up ahead, especially as they saw a frozen body head towards them as it flew through the air.
"SHIT!" Joseph shouted while Jotaro used Star Platinum's power to help catch the unfortunate person and set them down on the ground. Acting quickly as he then summoned Hermit Purple before using it to grab Jotaro and grapple and swing both of them along the airport's ceiling to the surprise battlefield. Though as they got closer, they both saw the Veronica moving quickly while fighting with her scarf to attack a very unexpected sight.
A figure with gray armor and a black, membranous body that seemed to be using shadowy tendrils and black stones to try and attack the silver haired Zepelli, who seemed to be having no real idea what she was doing as she used her scarf to shield herself as best as she could while doing her best to deflect the attacks right back at her opponent.
"J-Just what is this thing!?" Veronica said as she managed to dodge out of the way of a barrage of black stones, only for her ankle to be grabbed by the monster. As Joseph and Jotaro managed to reach the ground though, they'd see what seemed to be a shadow of Kakyoin's Heirophant Green having fully esnared the girl and drawing her to it.
"You've got to be kidding me." Jotaro said, "I thought you said she wasn't a stand user."
"Well, I may be wrong on that!" Joseph snapped as he tried to attack the enemy stand with his own, only for Hermit Purple's vines to bounce off harmlessly as a runic circle appeared beneath the shadow stand once it had fully captured Veronica, who continued to struggle against the monster. However, as it started to sink into the runes, the girl seemed to spot Joseph and Jotaro, before attempting to reach out to them for help. As the two immediately acted however, they ended up running not just into the circle, but falling through it as well.
"I'm blaming you for this." Jotaro said to his grandfather in annoyance as they fell through the unexpected portal after the monster.
"Let's just hope this doesn't kill us! I'd rather not die a second time, you know!" Joseph then cried out before being blinded by the light around both of them and soon losing consciousness as both he and Jotaro found themselves dragged into another bizarre adventure.