Chapter Text
August 15th, 2020
“Are we there yet?” A small voice spoke up.
“Joanne, we just left the airport. It’ll be at least another hour until we get to Aunt Jolyne’s.”
“I know, mama! I’m just so excited! I haven’t seen Josie in, like, forever.”
Erica simply laughed at that. “I understand, it’s a shame we live so far away from them.” Her eyes darted over towards her husband who was concentrating on the road in front of him. “Speaking of which, aren’t you happy to see your older sister, Josh?”
“Somewhat, I know she has a reason for inviting me over other than my niece’s sixth birthday party.”
“What makes you say that?”
“The stand files.”
Erica went silent after that, “Is something wrong? I mean, it couldn’t be another threat. It’s been nine years since then .”
Joanne listened in on her parents’ conversation. While she couldn’t understand what they were discussing with her limited toddler vocabulary, she did understand one word from it all: stand . That word is no stranger; she often heard it when her parents had people over or were talking on their phones. While she never quite understood what they were, they seemed really important to her parents.
Bored, Joanne pushed her head against the cool surface of the car’s window. Her own thoughts began to drown out the foreign words. She wondered what her cousin was up to at this very moment.
★
“Josie Anasui-Cujoh! Just what do you think you are doing, opening one of your gifts already?”
“But mooooom! Daddy said I could open this one!” Josie retaliated, holding the oddly shaped package towards her chest.
“Of course he did,” Jolyne murmured under her breath. “Judging by the shape of that package, I have a feeling there’s a reason why he picked it.”
Josie’s eyes twinkled in excitement, “Can daddy be here when I open it? I wanna see his face when I do!”
Jolyne scooped her daughter into her arms. “Sure thing, kiddo. I believe he’s still in the backyard setting up.” The pair walked to the back porch and, sure enough, there he was, struggling to finish the rest of the balloons.
“You know, Anasui, if I knew balloons were going to give you this much trouble, I would’ve used Stone Free to help with the rest,” Jolyne teased, putting Josie down. The small Joestar ran to embrace her father.
“No, no, I got it dear.” He smiled as attention turned to the new presence against his leg. “What’s that you got there, Jojo?” He asked, looking down and pointing at the gift in her hands.
Jolyne walked towards them, squinting. “You should know, my dear .” She crossed her arms. “You did say she could open one of her gifts early,” she chided, her voice becoming stern.
Anasui gulped, “Oh, that’s right! Why don’t you open it up, Jojo.”
Josie wasted no time and began to tear at the bright green wrapping paper. After all, it had to be important if her dad picked it to be her first gift to open.
A soft gasp erupted from Josie’s mouth, the stars in her tiny magenta eyes twinkling.
She squealed with excitement.“MOUSE EARS!” She pointed at the green and white stars that were scattered across the pair of Mickey Mouse ears. “Mom, they have stars on them too!”
Anasui took the ears and patted down his daughter’s hair before placing them on her head. “I knew you’d like them,” he smiled. “Happy Birthday, Josie.” He planted a kiss on her forehead.
Josie seemed content, reaching up with her small arms to feel the fluffy mouse ears. “This is the best gift ever!” she exclaimed.
Jolyne raised a brow.“Are you sure about that, Jojo? You have other gifts, ya know.”
Josie stuck her tongue out. “I am. They’re Mickey ears! What can top those?”
“Good grief, you sound just like your father,” Jolyne sighed, pulling out her phone to check the time. “We have an hour until everyone arrives. Anasui, I hope that you’ll be finished with the balloons by then.”
“You can count on me, Jolyne,” he assured. “But, before you go, I have something for you...” He stuck his hands out to reveal another set of mouse ears. “I figured I’d get some for us to go with Josie’s.”
Jolyne blushed. “A-Anasui! I’m not a child, I don’t need Mickey Mouse ears--”
Her husband retaliated. “Nobody is too old for Mickey.” He reached down to place a pair onto Jolyne’s head.
“I look ridiculous.”
“Lies. You look adorable.”
“You’re only saying that because you like Mickey...”
“Jolyne, I’m pretty sure if I wanted to marry Mickey Mouse, I wouldn’t have to prove myself to his father.” Anasui remarked, lowering himself down to gently kiss her on her hand. How Jolyne’s blush managed to deepen even more was a mystery. While Anasui continued to place small kisses up his wife’s arm, Josie turned her head away in disgust. Her parents were so touchy with each other.
The sound of a car in the driveway caught the little one’s attention. She perked her head towards the source. Getting closer and closer towards the gate, Josie’s eyes met with a familiar pair of green ones. It couldn’t have been anyone else.
“Grandpa Jojo!”
The absolute unit of a man known as Jotaro opened the gate and scooped up the much smaller child. “Hello, Josie.” He always had a soft spot for her. Though, his rare moment of exhibited happiness was brief. Jotaro’s smile digressed to its usual neutral look when he made his way to the backyard’s deck. “Good grief, no wonder Josie ran off to see me,” he announced, causing Anasui to suddenly break away from Jolyne.
“Jeez, why do you have to scare us like that,” Jolyne pouted, her face growing hot once more from embarrassment.
Jotaro cracked a smile. “Isn’t it my job to scare you?” Josie giggled at his words, finding it amusing to see her parents reduced to a state of disarray.
“Grandpa, guess how old I’m turning!” Josie interjected, grabbing onto his signature hat to hold in her arms.
“Let me guess, this many?” he responded, holding up five fingers.
Josie shook her head. “Nope! I’m gonna be this-” Before she could finish, the hat disappeared from her hold. Looking back up, she saw it was back on Jotaro’s head. It was impossible that he could have grabbed it without her looking; the elder Joestar was quick, almost as if he could stop time...
Josie squinted at him, but she proceeded to finish her tale. “I’m gonna be six. That’s, like, this many.” She held up six of her tiny little fingers. Obviously, compared to Jotaro’s, her hands looked as if they belonged on a doll.
“Is that so? That’s a lot of fingers Jojo.” He flashed her a small smile once more.
The sound of more cars pulling into the driveway was enough for Jotaro to go back to his neutral state again. Even though it was not an enemy behind that gate, Jotaro still held Josie close to him. The first thing to catch his eyes was a familiar set of golden curls.
“Giorno... why is he here?” Jotaro asked, directing the question at his daughter.
“Dad, you do know the other reason to why I invited you here, right?” Jolyne responded, looking over at him.“Besides, I feel like we could use his assistance once more.”
Giorno entered through the gate, his turquoise eyes examining the yard. Seeing that the coast was clear, he walked over towards the others. A small child was following him in tow, her hand not leaving his grasp.
“Ciao, Jolyne.” Giorno greeted, bowing his head at the other, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“You’re telling me. I forgot you had a kid. Didn’t know you got around like that Gio.”
Giorno ignored the last part. “Yes, this is Aurora.” He stepped to the side to let Jolyne and others see the young one. The cautious child stared up at the older female, but her teal eyes returned to staring at the ground. Quickly, she tried to step behind her father to hide once more.
Giorno looked down at her, gently reaching to pat her head.“Forgive me, she’s shy around new people. Normally, she’s rather energetic when she’s with the others, especially Bruno.”
“Hey, Josie, why don’t you go show Aurora your room? I’m sure she’ll open up to you more if you show her your Barbie collection,” Jolyne suggested, abruptly elbowing her father to place Josie down. Groaning, Jotaro complied and set the little one down on the deck. Josie, now free from the clutches of her grandfather, walked towards the other girl. Josie held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Josie, do you wanna come play with me?”
Aurora stepped to the side, eyeing her carefully. “Sure…” she murmured, taking the other’s hand. With the excitement building up in her eyes again, Josie walked off with Aurora, the two disappearing inside. Giorno smiled as he saw them walk away, glad that Aurora found someone to play with.
Josie scrambled through the house, making her way upstairs as she continued to hold onto Aurora’s hand. There were two doors on the second floor. One was barren and plain, while the other was decorated in translucent glow-in-the-dark stars and planets. It was obvious which of the two belonged to Jojo. Josie opened her door with a simple turn of the knob and a gentle push, holding it open for Aurora to enter.
“Whoa... it’s pretty,” Aurora complimented, looking around. The walls were adorned with more of the space themed stickers that were littered across Josie’s door, as well as a few posters here and there. Though, the one thing that stuck out to Aurora was the framed picture on the dresser. “What’s this?” She inquired, stepping closer. Josie perked her head.
“Oh, that? That’s my favorite picture! It’s of my family,” she grinned, stepping on the tips of her toes to reach up for it. “I don’t remember anything about it, but Mom says this is when I met my great-great-gramps!” After successfully managing to snatch it off, Josie sat down on her bed with it, gesturing for Aurora to sit with her. The date on the photograph read:
September 15th, 2017
Josie pointed at the man in the center of the photograph, “That’s him riiiiight there.”
Aurora squinted her eyes at the man, taking in his appearance. His hair was a soft grey from his old age, but the wide grin on his face seemed youthful. He was dressed in a suit, seeing as everyone else in the photo was wearing some form of formal wear. On the old man’s lap, there were two girls. They were much smaller than him and couldn’t be any older than three or four. “Is this you?” Aurora asked, pointing at the girl sitting on the right.
Josie nodded. “Yep! At least, that’s what Mom told me.”
Aurora then looked over at the other girl. She looked somewhat similar to Josie. “Then, who’s that?”
Josie smiled. “Thaaaaaat’s Joanne. She’s my cousin. I don’t really get to see her a lot because she lives far away.”
“You two seem close,” Aurora added, continuing to observe the picture. Moving away from the old man and the girls, her eyes fell upon her father. His golden hair, which Aurora was used to see being down, was tied back in a neat and organized braid. However, the man beside him was much more interesting in terms of looks, sporting an interesting pompadour and a wide smile that mirrored the old man in the center. The last two people in the picture were the adults she met outside. Yet, with all of these familiar faces, one question remained in Aurora’s mind: where was she in this photo? Obviously she would remember Joanne and Josie if she was there, right? Why did this picture feel so familiar to her?
Josie tilted her head at Aurora, taking note of the other’s confusion. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m just thinking.”
“Oh, okay. You just looked upset.” Josie replied, giving the other a small hug.
Aurora tensed at the unexpected action, but allowed the younger girl to continue. “Thank you, Josie,” she murmured.
Josie got down from her bed and headed towards her dollhouse. “Would you like to play with these? I have a lot of them!”
Aurora nodded and got down from the bed, placing the family picture back on the dresser. She strode towards Josie and her dolls and sat beside her. Josie had already picked one out and was occupied with brushing its hair. Aurora snatched one with short pink hair, which reminded her of her mother.
“So if you wanna change her clothes, I have a bunch on the second floor,” Josie added as she continued to brush out the hair of her Barbie.
★
While the girls were in the house, it was time for the adults to have their conversation. Jolyne and the others sat around the table on the deck.
“So, who else are we waiting for?” Anasui asked, tying the last balloon onto the deck’s rail.
Jolyne looked over at him. “My brother and his family. He has the files on him, after all.”
Giorno sighed. “These files you keep bringing up... I assume they’re related to stands?”
“Yeah, at least from what Josh is telling me. He’s the one with the brains after all,” Jolyne added, pausing to take a sip of her iced tea.
Anasui appeared behind his wife, leaning down to leave kisses on her head. “Aww, babe, don’t say that. I think you’re smart.”
Jotaro coughed. “You know, I wasn’t expecting this much PDA at my granddaughter’s birthday party.”
“I wasn’t expecting my father to make so many snappy remarks.”
A new voice chimed in. “And I wasn’t expecting my older sister and father to be fighting this early in the afternoon.”
Jolyne jumped. “Holy shit , Josh. Don’t sneak up on us like that.” Her glass of tea almost shattered against the wooden deck if it wasn’t for Stone Free catching it at the last minute.
The younger Kujo sibling chuckled and approached the deck. Josh was almost a spitting image of his father, if it wasn’t for the lack of a physics-defying hat. He set his stuff down at the table and took a seat.
Following behind him was his wife, Erica. In her arms was a young girl who was holding onto her mother closely.
“I’m sure you all remember Erica and Joanne.” Josh speaks up, gesturing to the two. Erica gave a small wave to the group and set Joanne down onto the deck. “It’s nice to see you all again.”
Joanne glanced up at the adults, turning her attention towards Jotaro. Quietly making her way over to the old man, she gently grasped his leg. “Grandpa… do you know where Josie is?”
Jotaro peered down at child, giving her one of his rare smiles. “I believe she’s in the house, Jojo.”
Without a beat, Joanne rushed into the house.
“Looks like someone was excited to see their cousin,” Jolyne smirked.
“Tell me about it, it’s all she could talk about during the car ride. Those two really are inseparable,” Erica added, taking her seat beside her husband. “It seems that even while they’re states apart they can sense each other.”
“It reminds me of you two,” Jotaro commented, glancing over at Jolyne and Josh.
“Are you kidding me? I wanted to destroy Josh. There was the one time he stole my Britney Spears CD and replaced it with one of those audiobook ones.”
“In my defense, it kept me from listening to your deafening covers of “Toxic” over and over again.”
The two siblings stuck their tongues out at each other, looking for a fight.
Jotaro coughed, hinting that the siblings should break it up. “You two are adults now, act like it.”
“Says the guy who still sleeps with a dolphin plushie.”
Jotaro sent a stern glare her way. “ Jolyne. ”
Jolyne backed down, not wanting to deal with her old man and his stand.“Hmph.” She redirected her attention. “Where are the files anyway, Josh?”
“Right here-- ah, Erica is much better at organizing than I am,” he admitted amidst his struggle to gather the folders. Erica shook her head at her husband’s clumsiness and passed out the files instead..
“You remember the deal with Father Pucci and the Green Dolphin Street Prison. As of late, he has been declared M.I.A. by the Speedwagon Foundation. Though, I don’t believe he would get that far, recalling the condition we left him in after our final match,” Josh muttered, thinking back the climactic fight that took place 8 years ago. “However, while looking into his location, a few Speedwagon Foundation members reported the discovery of some bizarre notes.”
Erica stepped in. “These notes allude to the existence of “remnants” of DIO, who are referred to as the Disciples of DIO.”
Jotaro tensed, skimming the notes once more. Even when his body was turned into pure ash, DIO had his ways of returning. As if he were some incurable disease, DIO seemed to latch onto the Joestars and never let go. He came back in the form of his sons, a deranged priest, and now a group of followers? Good grief.
“Much like Pucci, we have no way of finding these so-called disciples and their location. As of now, they are also M.I.A.,” Josh added, looking down at his paper. “The notes the Speedwagon Foundation found about the disciples seem to refer to the rebirthing of a god. It can be assumed that they are referring to DIO, but that is certainly impossible, seeing as he is dead.”
“Jeez, DIO’s followers never give up, huh?” Jolyne inputs, taking a sip of her tea once more.
“My father, as malicious as you described him to me... I still wonder what his true motives are,” Giorno murmured, observing the image of DIO on one of his papers.
★
As the adults continued to chatter amongst themselves about the odd situation at hand, the sound of a girl shrieking created a sudden silence. Giorno turned to face the sliding doors, only to be met with Aurora running towards him. Holding onto his legs and shaking, she refused to let go.
“ Mia bambina , what’s wrong?” He asked, gently prying her off of him and lowering himself down to her level.
Aurora looked up. “P-P-Papa, it’s Josie… She… She...”
The rest of the group gathered around the two, worried thoughts racing through their minds.
Aurora found it hard to speak when her eyes were filling up with tears. “She fainted and she won’t get up! I didn’t know what to do, papa, she was fine and then it happened.”
Giorno leaned in for hug, trying his best to comfort his daughter. Looking over at the others, he could see Jolyne and Anasui wasting no time in going after their daughter.
“Do you think it could be… that? ” Erica pondered, turning to Josh.
“It could be.”
Joanne was still upstairs, trying to shake Josie awake. Nothing was working. After Aurora bolted out of the house to alert the others, the little Joestar tried her best to stay calm. But, her cousin was looking awfully pale. She nearly jumped up at the sound of the two adults entering the room. She was relieved to see the familiar faces of her aunt and uncle. Jolyne rushed over and placed her palm on Josie’s head.
“She’s running a high fever. I knew this was going to happen, but I didn’t think it would happen today...”
Josie began to stir. “M-Mom…?” Her voice was faint and low. “I think I saw something. It was glowing and floating around Aurora.”
“Jojo, I need you to rest a bit,” Jolyne murmured, reaching over to pick up Josie and move her to her bed. “Anasui, can you keep an eye on Josie? I’ll take Joanne with me downstairs.”
He nodded, taking Jolyne’s place as she walked out of the room with Joanne in tow.
As she made her way back outside, Jolyne saw that Giorno managed to calm Aurora down. “I see you’re keeping a secret from us, Gio,” she retorted.
Giorno stared at her, confusingly. “What do you mean?”
“Your daughter having a stand? ”
Giorno sat back down in his seat, holding Aurora close. “It’s... a long story. Remember when we took that photo with Joseph? That’s when she caught that stand illness . I didn’t realize it was that exact one until we returned to Italy.”
“I see, it’s all coming back to me now,” Josh recalled. “I remember how pale she looked before the picture. Then she fainted out of nowhere.”
Giorno nodded. “While it has been awhile since then, Aurora has yet to use her stand often. Aside from the occasional glimpse Trish and I see, our little angel likes to keep hers hidden from others.”
“I hate to be the one to ask this, but may we see her stand?” Josh inquired, eyeing the little one on Giorno’s lap.
“Yes, if she’ll summon it,” Giorno replied, rubbing gentle circles on Aurora’s back as he whispered something to her in Italian.
Aurora grudgingly departed from her father and stood on the deck, avoiding eye contact with the adults. She closed her eyes and waited for her stand to appear. Soon, a tiny humanoid spirit materialized beside the child. It was a soft rose gold color and resembled Aurora a bit, seeing as this was the manifestation of her soul.
“This is my friend. Her name is Baby…” she murmured, stepping closer towards her father.
The other adults gasped at the sight of the baby stand. Josh, unlike the others’ state of shock, began to examine the small stand. “Does Baby do anything bizarre?”
Aurora tilted her head at the question, Baby mimicking her owner’s actions. “Sometimes she lets me do this.” She reached over to grab one of the empty glass cups on the table. After turning it a bit, there was suddenly a second cup in her hand. Setting the original cup back on the table, she began to toy with the duplicate. As Aurora touched the glass, it began to change in composition. It began to turn from hard and sturdy to soft and malleable.
Josh was quick to write down some notes on one of his papers. “Is this the first time you’ve seen something like this, Giorno?”
Giorno shook his head. “No. She has done this before... her stand and its ability reminds me of her mother’s and my own. While I have yet to see her create life, Aurora has taken a liking to inanimate objects.”
“Interesting. While stand users passing traits to their offspring is nothing unheard of, this is just fascinating! Baby seems to be like a fusion between Gold Experience and Spice Girl in terms of ability,” Josh observed, jotting down some more words before clicking his pen.
Aurora continued to play with the cup, watching the glass spring back whenever she flicked at it.
Joanne, however, was confused by the situation at hand. While everyone else could see this ‘Baby’, she could not. She silently watched as the cup wiggled in Aurora’s hand.
Stand. It was that same word again.
Stand. It echoed in her head.
Stand . Why did everyone except her know what it meant?
Joanne grew dizzy as she backed away from Jolyne and the others. The world spun and she fell onto the deck. As her vision grew darker, she briefly caught sight of some colorful figure floating by Aurora. The last thing she heard before blacking out was her mother shouting her name.
To be continued.