Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Holiday Road, Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!
Near the tail end of the Nevada equinox lives the bright and beautiful city of Las Vegas. With a population of 507,832 people, it is one of the most recognizable cities in the entire US, next to New York, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Due to its size, Las Vegas also contains a city within the city, smack dab in the center. The Rhayader district. The district is known for its professional and educational pursuits, as well as a location that thrives not on gambling but more on shopping, public parks, and community efforts.
One may expect a tale set within sin city would be a story from rags to riches, but that’s not true.
If you want a story for the money, go to Hawaii for that.
No, this isn’t about that. This is a story about facing your traumas head on; a story of fighting back against the sin within the city itself.
And it all begins…in a little fast food joint.
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May 24th, 2002.
On the outskirts of the Rhayader district lies a tactile fast food restaurant. Holiday Road. Inside, whilst flipping burger patties, a man wearing a two-toned jester hat was minding his own business, working a 9-5 job for minimum wage. At a glance, his presence would make one think he had an air of confidence, but in actuality, in his position, he wasn’t the most astute individual. His soft, fluffy brown hair, wrapped around his shoulders as his warm coffee-colored pupils danced from the grease to the patties.
Brown hair, brown eyes, brown patties, and said brown patties will be placed on brown buns. Brown, brown, brown, that was playing on the fry cook’s mind as he flipped another patty, letting the greasy cornstarch infested cow meat sizzle on the oily grill.
However, his thoughts of American meat soon snapped out as a co-worker tapped his shoulder, causing the man to jolt just a fraction. Turning around, the man looked back at his co-worker with a confused look. “Hey, so, boss told us to switch. Part of my training and such. Could you help the customers up front?” The co-worker stated, causing the deep fried jester to nod, walking to the front counter with assurance.
As he walked to the front, his name tag glistened just slightly in the beckoning sunlight. ‘Jon Fox’, it read.
As he got to the front, standing idly by the cash register, politely looking at the customers in the eyes. “Hello, welcome to Holiday Road, home of the famous Las Vegas Fab Burger. How may I take your order?” Jon said, his voice calm but with an underlining sense of character, his work apron covered in grease as he stands waiting for the customer’s orders.
“Yeah, clown boy, I want uhhhh…” One particularly rude customer trailed on.
“Oh hell yeah the french toast burger is back! I want that shit!” An energetic customer stated, though they did look like they just came out of a particularly bad breakup.
One customer even was…a cat? “Blyashka!” It mewed out, causing Jon to wonder who taught this creature that wandered into the restaurant Russian.
“May I have a prawn patty burger, please?” Finally, a customer that wasn’t a weirdo or overly sweary. Jon’s favorite kind of customer.
Though, Jon did wonder why they even sold such a bizarre item on the menu. A burger made out of prawns. Actually, it wasn’t prawns, it was shrimp. The company legit lies, but no one can actually tell. Anyways, Jon rang up the order, “Alright, so that means your total is $4.80.” He states, causing the man to pull out his wallet.
“Well how about them apples,” the customer says, “I thought it was gonna be a lot more expensive.” Placing the money on the counter, he looked back at Jon with a light smile before going to his seat, “I’ll let you keep my change, since I like your hat. Have a good day, kid.”
Oh wow, a compliment. That kind of got Jon blushing, though it wasn’t the first time he got a compliment about his apparel, but still, it made him quite happy hearing it. The man even left 80 cents, which is a pretty good tip all things considered.
“Hmmm…maybe with this cash I could buy some gummies or a candy bar.” Jon mused quietly to himself, stuffing the coins in his pants’ pocket, “Or maybe, like, five Hershey kisses. That’s a pretty good investment considering how weirdly expensive they are. Honestly the possibilities are end–”
“Jon.” He hears a voice behind him, causing him to swiftly turn his head, seeing his boss standing behind him. “Quit talking about pawn shop tier sweets and get back to work.” The older lady stated, adjusting her sunglasses. Feeling intimidated, he quickly went back to work, looking back at the counter with a worried glint, “O-Ok Ms. Sunny, will do!”
Ms. Sunny, in response to his nervousness, simply shrugs, huffing a sigh. “You young people really are strange.”
Well, going from a compliment to a dismissal wasn’t really on Jon’s agenda, but, fine, whatever. Just a few more hours and he’ll leave this joint. Suddenly Ms. Sunny walked back to him, hand on her hips. “Oh yeah, aren’t you leaving college for the summer?” She asks, causing Jon to nod in response. Adjusting her glasses again, she pats the jester boy on his back, before walking away, “Well, since you have been such a good worker, I might as well give you a little graduation gift. You have the rest of the day—no—rest of the week off. You can put the apron on the coat rack in the closet and clock out.”
“O-Oh! Thank you!” Jon said aloud to Ms. Sunny, before dashing off to the supply closet and putting his apron on said rack.
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One of the many spots in the Rhayader district is McBaise Park, home of one of the oldest trees in Nevada. Nicknamed the park’s ‘big boy’, the tree stands tall and proud in the middle of the roundabout, surrounded by shops galore.
One could say McBaise Park is a glorified outdoor mall, but to others, like Jon, it was a good place to relax after a long day. The sun shone in the clouds, about to dip in the horizons into nightfall. It would take a few hours though for that to happen, so Jon found no qualms in hanging around by the tree.
As he stood, leaning against the large plant, he softly pressed his lips against the edge of his soda can that he held with gentle fingers, wrapping around its aluminum basing.
“Hm…tastes like bacon.” He muttered, before taking another sip, “I swear, they always change the flavor of this cola. Last year it tasted like ham, and the year before that it tasted like bakkwa.” After drinking it, Jon crunched the drink in his hands, and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
As he did that, his flip phone in his pocket started buzzing, causing him to stutter a bit as he pulled it out. The call was coming from his boyfriend, Edweena Asonarose! Wow, how can he possibly resist a call from his beloved? So, he pressed his thumb on the answer button, and brought the phone up to his ear.
“Hey honey!” Jon said with a blush, “What are you doing?”
Through the receiver, his lovely husband’s voice rang out, serenading Jon’s ears, “Oh nothing much JoJo, but guess what, I got a new parttime job at Golden Records. Where are you right now?”
His voice, as sweet as honey, made Jon smile like a flustered dork. He truly loved Edweena with all his heart. “I am at McBaise Park right now.” He sang, “Funny how you got a job at a place I sometimes frequent.”
“Well, guess whenever you wanna buy a record you will always see my handsome face.” Edweena teased, his voice reaching down an octave for a second, “Maybe you should come over! Work has been a little slow so maybe you can spice things up.”
“Oh, yeah, sure! I can swing by, it’s practically across the street from where I am at.”
“Great!” Edweena mused, “See you in a bit.”
The call hung up, which made Jon want to just book it. However, he stopped momentarily when he heard a rustle from the tree behind him. He curled an eyebrow when two little boys ran up to the large plant with frowns, one, with black hair, angrily looking at his friend. “Dude! Why did you kick the ball into the tree!?” He complained loudly.
“You said kick it hard!” The other boy, a blondie with a flower pin, added, “I didn’t know I would kick it up there!”
Before the two would start scraping at each other, Jon approached with a soft smile. “Hey, I think I can help get that ball out for you. Want me to?” He offered, causing both boys to smile.
“Yes please! Thank you, sir!”
With a nod, Jon went back to the tree and began to hop to where the ball was. Ugh, he hated his height, the ball was pretty high up. Guess he should climb.
He grabbed onto the bark and started trudge up the shaft, before making his way right to the branch the ball was on. With a swift grab, and subsequent pull, the branch broke, freeing the soccer ball. The little boys picked up the ball, running off, not without yelling a little ‘thank you mister’ while they headed back to the nearby park.
Well, a little detour never hurts. Now time to get back to Edwe–
“AH!”
Suddenly, a wasp buzzed right by Jon’s face, causing him to unclutch the tree and fall down on the grass below. The devilish yellow thing started to fly down towards him, like it wanted to freak him out as much as possible, which did a lot in terms of getting him way more anxious. “S-Shit!” He yelped out, covering his eyes with his hands. As he does this, a bright, fiery red aura surrounds him. Soon enough, small, red heads that have little sharp bits at the top begin popping out, with one having a yellowy crown imprint in between its slanted eyes, not to mention having hands.
The little heads began to surround the wasp. “Kill that thing, Red Vox!” He commanded, causing the little Red Vox heads to pin the wasp in every direction. The main Red Vox proceeded to punch the wasp, causing a portion of the bug’s head to turn into glass.
As Jon prepares to kill the insect, he starts to feel a tad nauseous just thinking about it. Not because he was gonna kill something, but because of some deep dread that there would be a calamity that would occur if he were to kill it. But…he pushed that feeling down, allowing Red Vox to smash the bug’s head in.
The bug soon fell out of the air, landing at his feet. He quickly got up and stepped on it, repeatedly, breathing heavily. After a few good stomps, he wipes a drop of sweat from his brow, taking a quick sigh before walking away. “Woo~...that was intense. Hate those things…”
He sped walk away, approaching Golden Records with a feeling of calmness in his sails. At least, for now, he can relax without needing to worry about a vicious wasp.
Right?
Well…no. No he cannot relax.
The gory remains of the bug soon rattled before blasting a dark, negative photon light upwards, causing a large, shadowy creature to morph out. It looked almost like a scarecrow, with a pointy hat that had a crown symbol on it. Its head almost looked like it was made out of marker, abstract and linear as its white, ring shaped eyes glowed ominously, looking in the direction at where Jon went.
As it stared, it raised its claws up a bit, its jointed limbs creaking with a determined sound. “Avenge…revenge…new queen…” It repeated, before floating upwards, its cloak flowing like the wind, “Crown…is now activated.”
It turned into a black streak before dashing off, ready to slay Jon Fox for killing its user…a wasp queen.
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Chapter 2: Two Against Nature Pt. 1
Entering into the record store, Jon was immediately hit with a waft of used cardboard, plastic, and nostalgia. He had occasionally been to Golden Records before in the past when he was a kid, so the smell of the album covers mixed with the vinyl records themselves gave him a sense of warmth that met no bounds.
But his mind was instantly situated at the man working at the front desk. His dearly beloved.
Edweena was working the front desk, fiddling around with the cash register before noticing Jon, his blue afro bobbing slightly as he got happy to see him, “Yo! JoJo!” He blurted out, waving a hand at his boyfriend. Seeing Edweena happy like that made Jon’s heart swell with pure bliss. “Edweena!” He ran up to him while he was at the front counter.
With initiative, Edweena and Jon shared a kiss, enjoying each other’s company greatly. After pulling away, Jon wiped his lips, getting the blue lipstick stains that latched on. He grinned, both hands on the counter, “I am surprised you managed to get a job!”
“Heh, yeah. With jobs in Vegas kind of being rare to find these days, I am honestly pretty lucky to get the job.” Edweena sighs, before shrugging, “Though, it wasn’t my first choice. But hey, gotta make sure my resume has something whenever I get better work.”
“True, true.” Jon nodded, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am gonna go look through the records.”
“Alright. Pick out whatever you like, dear.”
With that, he made his way to the shelves of records of various types. Some new, most old. A good divide between the classics and the modern. As he flipped through various rock and pop albums, he pulled out a used copy of Rubber Soul by The Beatles.
“Oooh…don’t have this in my collection yet.” He muttered, mostly to himself. “I think I might get i—“
“Did you check the record’s condition?”
“Hm?” He looked around for who said that, before looking down and seeing a rather short lady wearing a red witch hat with white spots. She had tan skin, with blonde hair that covered a portion of her face. Despite her height, she exuded a level of authority that made Jon’s eyes widen. “I said,” she dictated, “did you check the record’s condition? It’s a used vinyl, and so you should check its condition. See if it has any scratches and such.”
For a second, Jon didn’t know how to proceed with this interaction, but he might as well humor her. He opened the album and looked at the black—plastic disc, checking it over to see if it was in good shape. There was a scratch near the end of the second side, and it was a bit dusty, but overall it wasn’t in the worst of circumstances.
He put the vinyl back into the sleeve, looking back at the strange mushroom lady again, “Uh…thanks?” He inquired.
“Why are you saying thanks?” She asked, hands on her hips, “I am just giving you simple advice on record buying.” She shrugged, before leaning forward near the shelf, “Though, if you still want to give me thanks then you should do it with actions, not words.” She remarked with crossed arms.
“Oh, well, what do you need help with?”
She pointed towards a shelf, over by the Latin section, “Over in that row there is a copy of Tito Puente and His Concert Orchestra. I tried to get it, but I couldn't reach it.” She directed, moving towards the row, “Could you possibly get it for me?”
Jon swiftly nodded, going over to the section to grab the album off the shelf. Handing it to the little lady, he smiled as he passed it to her. “Hear you go.”
Grabbing it from him, the lady proceeded to walk away, probably to give it to Edweena working at the cash register. But before she could leave fully, she looked back at Jon with a glint in her brown eye. “See, a mutual exchange. That is how saying ‘thank you’ ought to be done. Not with words, but with actions.” She spoke with a level of calmness, “Life should not be about the ‘what will I do’, instead, life should be about just doing. Words are useless in the wave of the process that is interactions.”
“Uh…yeah sure.” Jon replied, brushing the back of his head with a free hand. He didn’t expect to have been told that by this mysterious lady. Guess it was another one of those oddballs that are in Las Vegas. There were some bizarre people on occasion. “Um…if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?” He asked, curiosity killing his cat.
The lady turned around fully, hand on her chin, “My name is—” She suddenly stopped when she saw something on the album that Jon was holding, “Oh, uh, I think you got something on your vinyl.”
“Huh? What?” Jon’s eyes immediately widened as he saw a weird, scarecrow-like being in his copy of Rubber Soul. With quick suddenness, the entity leaped out of the cover, its jointed limbs reaching straight out of the 2D surface. Jon yelped, dropping the album as the figure slowly emerged, intimidatingly.
“Avenge…revenge…new queen…” It exclaimed as it fully emerged out of the album cover. Jon stepped back, sweat beading out of his head as he looked at the monstrosity before him. “Crown shall kill you. Jon Joestar Fox.” It announced, before using its claws to reach out for attack.
“W-What the hell is that thing!?” Jon belted out as he shielded himself with his arms, bracing for impact.
However, the impact never came, as he looked up to see…Edweena in front of him. Alongside his dearly beloved…was a strange, robot-like entity without a lower body, coated in white and pink. Its metallic, jointed limbs grabbed onto Crown’s, halting the entity from its attack. “Who are you to stop Crown?” The entity calmly asked, causing Edweena’s face to grow angry.
“I don’t need your authority in stopping you, fuckface.” He hissed, “If you want my boyfriend, you gotta get through me, and my Strawberry Alarm Clock.”
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Chapter 3: Two Against Nature Pt. 2
In our solar system, there are many strange occurrences. Meteorites with strange, out of this world properties. The fact there might be distant life out there. And most bizarre of all…oridinary life with the most unordinary abilities. Perhaps, if someone were to find out about such abilities, they too will attain them.
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Jon was obviously shocked at the sight of…that thing.
Crown…that’s what it calls itself. Well, whatever Crown was, it was terrifying, and the fact it wanted to kill him made Jon back away whilst Edweena kept grabbing at it with Strawberry Alarm Clock.
Edweena then turned, facing him with a grimace. “Jon…” He exhorted, “...go into the back. Now.”
“...B-But h–”
“I said now!” Edweena decreed loudly, causing Jon to immediately do what he was told. Quickly rushing out, he hopped over the front desk and into the staff only room, leaving Edweena and the mysterious short lady alone with this mysterious entity.
With that, Edweena ungrappled Crown before barraging it with a loud of punches. “BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!” Edweena’s ability cried out as it dished out hit after hit onto Crown, causing the strange being to be launched into a nearby wall. However, much to his dismay, the being simple floated back up, almost as if not a single scratch was laid on it.
“What the hell are you!?” He shrilled, his fist clenching. Meanwhile, the girl with the witch hat was stepping back, jaw clenched as she seemed to be reaching into her pockets for something.
Crown, with enough grace and speed, dashed off, clearly aiming for the door of the backroom. However, Edweena reacted to such a tactic quick enough, grabbing onto the being’s neck. “I said!” He bellowed, Strawberry Alarm Clock’s grip tightening around Crown, “What the hell are you?”
“...Crown.” It muttered, “The stand of the McBaise Park’s wasp hive. Jon Joestar Fox had killed Crown’s user, and thus, Crown must take revenge and birth a new queen inside of him, for that is the nature of Crown.” It then became a black streak, moving up and escaping Edweena’s grasp. It floated high and mighty above him, its claws ready to do some major damage to its intended target. “Crown has no use in harming you, Edweena Asonarose. Crown’s only mission is to kill Jon Joestar Fox.”
Edweena snarled, but it was out of his range. What a pain in the ass.
Crown turned into a streak again, dashing off to the backroom, disappearing out of sight. Edweena yelled out as he ran towards the door, before stopping, hearing footsteps behind him. Shifting around, he saw the short witch lady, walking up next to him.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll help too.” She stated, cracking her knuckles. This just caused confusion for Edweena, especially considering this was a complete stranger. Why did they want to help at all in this? As if reading Edweena’s mind, though, the girl tipped her hat, “I have no reason why. I don’t need one. I just don’t really like seeing someone’s loved one die.”
“Oh uh…ok then. But, wait, are you a stand user?”
“...Of course.” She breathed out, “Whatever you may need from me for this encounter, I’ll provide.”
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Chapter 4: Two Against Nature Pt. 3
1988.
A five year old child laid in a hospital bed, barely awake as his breathing was shallow through the ventilator, his heart beat just ever so slightly slower than what it was a week ago.
The child had brown hair, wearing a blue hospital gown, his fever high and on the rise. Looking over him were a few doctors and nurses, performing tests to see exactly what was wrong with him. A doctor shook his head, before adjusting his glasses. With a weary sigh, he exited the hospital room with a slow step. Just outside the boy’s room was a woman with curly brown hair looking down. Her thumbs were twiddling amongst each other, her face worried and tired.
She clearly had a ton of sleepless nights.
She looked up to face the doctor, who was holding a beige clipboard in his gloved hands. The woman stared, bags under her hazel eyes, before muttering out an ask. “How’s JoJo?” She coughed, leaning forward with a look of anticipation.
The doctor shook his head, looking away from the clipboard. “I am sorry.” The doctor groaned, “We’re trying our best. But his condition…it’s not something we know how to handle. This is not a regular fever.”
The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with an inconsolable frown. “Listen…” She began, slowly, “…Jon…he’s my only son. Due to complications, me and my husband Ford cannot have children anymore. He’s the only one.” She looked back up, tears welling in her eyes, “I cannot lose my boy…he’s too young.”
The doctor nodded. “We understand, and we’re trying our best.” He looked back at the clipboard with a grimace, “But his breathing has gotten more ragged with each passing day, as if he is deteriorating. His condition is abnormal at best.” He put the clipboard in his coat and pulled out a paper sheet, “His conditions are extremely worrying, and bizarre. We’re not sure how we could help further, but we do have one more suggestion for you, Mrs. Fox.” The doctor handed the woman, Jon’s mother, a piece of paper, regarding the Speedwagon Foundation. “Perhaps contact them. Supposedly they have ties to more supernatural aspects such as what Jon is going through, so I suggest giving them a call.”
The lady looked through the paper, before glaring daggers at the doctor. “That’s it?” She questioned, “You all are gonna just…give up?!” She shouted.
“Listen, ma’am, we’re trying our best but he has been here for nearly 50 days. We’re practically at our wits end with his condition.”
“And?!” Jon’s mother lashed out, “Your final gambit is for me to send my son to some nut job scientists?!”
“Miguela, please. We tried everything.” His voice put an emphasis on ‘everything’. “He’s getting worse. Our last shot is to send him to people who might have a better shot at getting him better.”
Without warning, Miguela Fox grabbed the doctor by his coat, tears falling from her eyes. “Why?! Are you all just that incompetent?! My son is DYING!”
The doctor stayed silent, not daring to get her off of him. Her clutch wavered, before she fell on her knees, sobbing deeply, as if she was feeling the worst pain imaginable. “I just want my son to get better…is that too much to ask?” She gasped out, tears streaming down her cheeks, her mascara staining downwards, “Just let luck be on my side…just this once…”
As she sobbed, the doctor looked down at her, his eyes filled with contemplation and sadness. He had seen plenty of families grieve over their loved ones like this before, probably dozens of times at least. But the sting never goes away. The only thing he can hope for is that his recommendation of the Speedwagon Foundation may help out. If not, then he just wishes that some divine grace could save Jon. He wasn’t a religious man, more so agnostic, but the doctor, if need be, would pray for the boy’s well being. It might not work, but it would be better than nothing.
And, perhaps, in a twist of fate, luck did come, as suddenly a nurse opened the door to Jon’s hospital room, smiling with a surprised look on her face. “Dr. Wang!” The nurse blurted out, “Come quick! Jon’s suddenly recovering!”
The doctor and Miguela rushed into the room to see Jon, awake and well, on the edge of the hospital bed without the need of the ventilator anymore. Almost immediately his mother could tell he was much better already, seeing his skin, originally pale, now with a nice flush to it all.
“JoJo!” She yelled out in tears of joy as she hugged him tightly, “Oh thank god you are ok!” She practically screeched, caressing his hair.
“M-Mom…” Jon whispered, hugging her back. He wasn’t crying, but he was definitely shaking. Poor guy, must’ve been scared to death from what just happened.
“Here have some water.” A nurse said, handing Jon a plastic cup filled with the aforementioned liquid.
Jon nodded, getting the water from the nurse. He was rather thirsty, so he delicately drank. After sipping down the last drops of water, he was about to hand the cup back to the nurse. However, while reaching out, his and the nurse’s hands slip off the cup, causing it to fall on the ground.
Much to everyone’s surprise, the plastic cup…shattered like glass?
“W-What the…?” The nurse muttered quietly under her breath, staring at the shards on the ground.
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1992
“So then I said, ‘You bozo don’t want a piece of me’!” A young, teenage boy, around 15 or 16 years of age, was sitting next to two of his friends on a rather nice couch. His long, silver, and wavy hair, swept to one side, laid flat on his head as he drank a kiwi flavored soft drink. His friends were also snickering, also drinking soft drinks.
However, next to them, eating a late TV dinner, was a slightly older Jon Fox. He was around 8-9 years old at the time, and things have considerably improved over the years after his nearly 50 day fever. Apparently, from a distant cousin, Joseph Joestar, he wasn’t the only one who fought through a harsh fever, as Joseph’s daughter, Holy Kujo, also fought through one for the same amount of time.
The reason why? DIO. Apparently a 100+ year old vampire who had a blood vendetta against the Joestar bloodline, attained what was known as a ‘stand’, the physical manifestation of the fighting spirit. Apparently DIO stole the body of a Joestar ancestor, and due to blood relations, managed to get a ton of people in the Joestar family to awaken stands of their own. Some simply got them with no set backs, but others, like Jon and Holy, didn’t have strong enough wills in order to combat the sheer energy their stands put on their body.
Jon’s mother and father didn’t quite know how to process the info, but they believed it.
For a few reasons. For one, it was rather odd that his dad, Ford Fox, and Jon himself shared the same star shaped birthmark. They didn’t know why they both had it, but they just figured genetics. Apparently everyone who is a descendant of Joestar blood has the mark, which sort of made the two boys a bit bitter. Their shared bond of their unique mark…wasn’t really unique after all.
At least Jon had some bragging rights for having a unique stand ability compared to his cousins.
At first, his ability to turn objects into glass was rather scary, especially for his father. Ford Fox, thought he was doing some kind of elaborate prank, or magic act. Perhaps it was magic, because it was definitely supernatural with the amount of times Jon’s silverware during family dinners just turned into glass.
Soon enough, though, Jon got more in control of this ability, and it even manifested into a physical form. Though he did wish others could see it too, but it wasn’t too bad. Jon wasn’t really a lonely child. A bit introverted sure, but not shy by any means.
Also, Joseph Joestar gave his parents some cash as a sort of ‘sorry’ for the pain that DIO caused for them. $10,000 dollars, plus a job offer to Ford that paid pretty well. Basically, Jon’s family went from just well off to being pretty rich. Not lavishly so—his home was certainly not a pent house—but his family now could afford some pretty nice things, such as a flat screen TV.
And also, now, a babysitter. The loud mouthed, bratty, teenage boy was Jon’s babysitter when his mom and dad were working, usually on weekends.
The boy, Sonic Youth, was…decent. Really it was more like Jon was babysitting him more than the other way around. He would always ask Jon to bring him stuff, like a sandwich or a very specific soda brand that not many places even sell. It was pretty weird having a teenager mooch off of Jon like that, especially whenever Sonic Youth’s friends come over, but Jon didn’t really have the heart to tell him to screw off. At least it made him get some exercise, and it taught him how to make a pretty good grilled ham and cheese sandwich for his age, so hey, take the good with the bad.
Meanwhile, whilst Jon was eating his microwaveable meal, watching cartoons late into the Saturday evening, Sonic Youth was chuckling with his friends whilst telling stupid stories. “So yeah, I kicked the guy’s ass. Totally. Definitely.” He drawled before elbowing one of his friends—a leather coated blondie—to share a story of their own. “Alright, what did you do during this week, Cambia?”
The aforementioned Cambia grinned sharply, before pulling out a box of cigars from his coat, showing it off. “Check it! Stole this from my old man!” He bragged, causing an ‘oooh’ from one of the other boys in the room.
Sonic Youth, though, wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Dude.” He began, “I am not smoking in my employer’s house. They’d kill me if there is even a whiff of smoke in this place!”
Cambia proceeded to stare at him as if he made a bad joke. Though, what came out of his mouth caused the two teenage boys to look even more stunned. “Cigars are for smoking?”
“Yes?!” One of the boys, a man named Coheed, gasped out loud, his frizzy black hair bouncing a bit, “It’s tobacco!”
“It is?” Cambia looked at the box again before looking back at his friends, “I thought only cigarettes were for smoking.”
“Oh my god…” Sonic Youth groaned, “I am literally failing English right now and sometimes I feel like Einstein when I am around you.” He clasped his hands together, sighing deeply at his friend’s incomprehensible incompetence. “Ci-gar…” He intensified each syllable, trying to get a point across, “…Ci-gar-ette.” He shot him a glare, “Do you understand now?”
Cambia looked off to the side, as if he wasn’t listening. “Uh…” He muttered, “What’s your point?”
If this was some kind of comedy anime, Sonic Youth would have a vein on his head so big that a little blood would spurt out due to frustration.
“Cigarettes. Are. Small. Cigars.” He blurted out, “The ‘ette’ part means ‘small’! You smoke cigars!”
Cambia made a small ‘oh’ sound before nodding, “I understand now.” He giggles a bit, “Guess my dad is the real idiot though. Dude only uses them to give me burns for my grades.”
Suddenly, silence ripples through the air, louder than loudness. Even Jon, despite initially glued to the CRT TV, was looking at Cambia with a concerned brow. Even at his young age, Jon knew that what Cambia described was not right at all.
“What?” Coheed breathed out, “Your dad does what?”
“Yeah yeah, I know, it sucks.” Cambia tried to brush off their concerns, “Which is why I stole the cigar box from him! He won’t burn me any more, haha!”
Without warning, Coheed dashed off his position on the couch and grabbed the shoulders of his friend, causing him to yelp. The box clatters to the ground, not opening, but definitely rattling a few bunts around inside it. “How long has he been doing this?” He whispered out, his face incredibly serious.
“Huh? Why are you asking me?”
“Just answer the question, Cambria.”
“Uh…probably ever since I was 10.”
Coheed was dumbfounded. How could his friend not tell him or Sonic Youth that he was being abused for 6 years? “Cambria…6 years…ugh…” Coheed groaned, his brow furrowed with a mix of disgust and sadness. Disgust for his friend’s piece of shit father, and sadness for his friend.
However, their brief intermission of inconsolable feelings were stripped away when the creak of the stairs rang out. The three teenage boys looked back to see Jon, holding the cigar box, walking up the stairs.
“Jon? What are you doing?” Sonic Youth asked, getting off the couch to see what the kid he was babysitting was possibly gonna do with that box.
The two other teenagers joined in, following Jon as he strode up to the second floor of his house. Opening the door to his bedroom—a room themed around medieval fantasy—he went to a window and opened it up.
Before he would do what he planned, he turned his head to the three teens, particularly towards Cambria. “Do you guys want me to destroy it?” He asked, his tone having a sort of spark of determination that was rather unexpected.
Coheed and Cambria stared at each other, with Sonic Youth looking at Jon with confusion radiant in his eyes. “JoJo, I don’t think you should—“
“Why not?” Jon questioned, “I don’t think Mr. Cambria should be getting hurt like that. Don’t burns hurt a lot?”
Cambria looked off to the side, as if he was embarrassed for being abused. “Yeah, so? I don’t think we should destroy my dad’s smoke box. I mean, if he finds out it’s gone then…” His face went pale with worry, a grimace on his lips.
“Well, if we don’t destroy it, then wouldn’t he be even more mean? At least if we destroy it, you could have an excuse and say some thief broke into your house, or some other kind of lie.”
“Y-Yeah but…” Cambria wanted to rebuttal, but couldn’t think of any snap back. So, he stared at Jon with a lost look to his eyes. “…Just…Just at least let me see.” He stated, stepping closer to peer out through the window of Jon’s room.
Without a heavy heart, Jon proceeded to toss the box out the window. As the box landed, it shattered like a vase, causing Cambria’s eyes to widen.
They didn’t know of Jon’s stand abilities, for they weren’t stand users. However, Jon didn’t mind that. As long as he did a good thing today, he might as well not explain his magical properties. If anything, he didn’t quite know WHY he did what he did. Perhaps it was hearing the stories of how the Joestar family beat DIO, or just from a sense of justice. But either way, he did something good tonight.
——————————————————————
1993
“Hey JoJo!” Sonic Youth blurted out at McBaise Park, “Got that soda I ordered you to get me?”
Jon, holding a canned soft drink, stared up at Sonic Youth, mouth parted slightly, “Uh…”
With a light scoff, Sonic Youth grabbed the soda can from Jon’s hand, “Oh quit with the whole ‘uh maybe’ act now. Seriously, you’re like nine years old.” Sonic Youth proceeded to take a sip from the can. Immediately, he noticed something was wrong, and looked at the label. “...Pork Soda?”
“U-Uh I was trying to tell you about Sonic Youth!” Jon stammered out, “T-They didn’t have any Kiwi Maddog in the vending machine!”
Sonic Youth glared at him, eyes peering down with what seemed to be hate. Then, in a heartbeat, they softened, with Sonic Youth shrugging, drinking the soda again. “Meh…whatever.” He murmured between sips, “It’s better than dying of thirst in this ninety degree weather.” He then peered back at Jon, his lips parting just slightly at the edge of the can. “Uh dude…where’s your drink?”
“What?” Jon asked.
“Your drink.” Sonic Youth pointed to Jon’s empty hands, “Aren’t you thirsty too? Or hot? I mean it’s the middle of June, kid!”
Jon shrugs, kinda not knowing why he didn’t think to buy one too. “I don’t know, I just…figured I should only get you one since you asked.”
Sonic Youth glares at him for a second before sighing, combing through his pockets to pull out a five dollar bill. “Seriously, I babysat you since like last year. You’re not this stupid. I know you.” He crammed the dollar bill in his hands, “I know you’re loaded but here. Buy something for yourself.”
Jon nodded. As he left, Sonic Youth noticed something fly onto his arm.
A wasp.
“...Ew.” He swiftly swatted the bug away, killing it.
Whilst Jon was inserting the money in the vending machine, something rustled in the bushes beside him. Though, he paid no mind, grabbing the soft drink from the dispenser drawer.
Though, he would notice when a cutesy voice rang out. “Howdy!”
Jon instantly yelped, dropping his soda on the pavement. Looking around, he sees a face that’ll become very familiar in his future. It was Edweena himself, though much younger, and certainly rather different than what he’ll become in the future. He hadn’t transitioned yet. In fact, he wasn’t aware he was even in a closet to begin with. Perhaps that is how it goes for a lot of children under the umbrella. An acute unawareness of a future to come. Call it fate, gravity, or a freedom, Jon and Edweena would cross paths many times in the future before they fully understand who they are within their adulthood. But for now, they were kids, still trying to understand the basics of life.
Edweena, shocked he scared the boy he just met, leaned in closer from the hole he dug out from the bushes, “Hm? Did I startle you?” He asked, brushing off a leaf from his afro puffs. Jon nodded, causing the young Edweena to get an apologetic glint in his eyes, “Sorry. Probably should’ve been a bit quieter than. My name is Edweena, by the way. Edweena Asonarose.”
Edweena then flopped out of the bush, brushing off leaves and a few twigs from his shirt and skirt. “Saw you earlier today at Walmart, and I thought you looked pretty cool.” This caused Jon to blush from the flattery of the comment, smiling softly, “O-Oh thanks.” He responded.
“No worries. I mean, you even have a star tattoo! That’s sick!” Edweena points out, causing Jon to look at his shoulder. He was wearing a tanktop today, causing his star shaped birthmark to show. “Oh, no this ain’t a tattoo, this is actually a birth mark.”
“A birth what now?”
“A birth mark. It’s like a thingy that some people get when they are born. I think it’s something about pigments in the skin.” Jon explained, though Edweena seemed more confused. “There are pigs in your skin?” He then started to poke at Jon’s birthmark, making little ‘oinks’ in the process. He was smiling earnestly with each poke, his blue eyes dancing up and down Jon’s face and his birthmark, “You’re a funny one. What’s your name?”
“O-Oh, my name is Jon Fox. But people call me JoJo.” Jon said, causing Edweena to stop poking at him. “JoJo? That’s a neat nickname! Boys always get cool nicknames. I wish I was a boy.” He blurted out, “I hope we get to play a lot soon! I’ll make sure to remember to greet you whenever I see you!”
Jon nodded, “I’ll be sure to greet you too.”
Edweena then climbed back into the bush, one of his afro puffs getting slightly tangled in the branches. With a groan, he tugged the twig out and waved goodbye to Jon. “Bye JoJo!”
And just like that, Edweena was gone, back to wherever he was doing.
After Edweena left, Jon picked up the dropped soda can from the pavement. As he did, though, someone shrieked from the distance, causing him to look in the direction where the sound came from. When he looked, his eyes widened, dropping the soda can once again as he saw a bunch of people surround where Sonic Youth once was. He knew something was wrong.
“S-Someone please call an ambulance! This kid has really deep scars all over his face and skin!” A woman yells out, causing Jon to shutter at what might’ve happened. Did an animal attack him?
Either way, Jon needed to see what happened. He was no doctor, nor did have any method to help, but maybe he could have some kind of aid. So, in a mad dash, he ignored the dropped soda, for his babysitter’s safety was much more of a priority.
Maybe he really does look out for him more than the other way around.
As Jon squeezed past the crowded people, with a huff of air, he looked down at Sonic Youth, with a warm smile. “H-Hey, a-are you alri—
—
—————“
In that moment, Jon blinked and all around him were people screaming and yelling, as he stared down at…something.
It looked like Sonic Youth.
Didn’t smell like Sonic Youth.
Smelled like iron. And decay.
There was something warm on his face.
Touch…touch…
Oh, it was blood.
Blood of Sonic Youth.
The noise was muffled.
Jon felt weary.
Wait…
What is that coming out of Sonic Youth’s corpse?
…
A wasp?
——————————————————————
2002
Jon was in the backroom, seeing Crown sneak its flat body away into the door’s crevice. Seems like not even a shut door can keep it out from killing him.
“Jon Joestar Fox.” It began as it slowly inched out of the door, “Crown is very sorry that your death is taking far longer than Crown thought.”
Jon shook his head, a bit weirded out by Crown’s sheer politeness. “Ah it’s fine…heck you don’t have to kill me! W-We could even be buddies!”
“Oh, Crown thinks you must be mistaken.” Crown argues back, its voice echoing through the room, “You do not have a say whether you live or die. You simply just die.” It points at him, indicating his presence, “After you killed the wasp of the McBaise Park hive, you mistakenly caused Crown to be summoned. And so, by virtue of my nature, summoned Crown to kill you and rebirth a new queen inside you. It’ll start the cycle anew. Death and rebirth.”
Then, the stand leaned, almost as if becoming slightly docile, “But, this is very interesting, Jon Joestar Fox. You are the first stand user Crown has ever faced. You see, Crown existed for a long time. Before the Bronze Age in fact. A meteorite crash landed in a wasp hive in an Asian peninsula, and through it, Crown was born. And through generations of cycles, Crown has seen plenty and all. But one thing Crown never saw was a stand user. For all the times Crown saw empires rise and fall, wars being waged, and fears stretched upon each of Crown’s victims, Crown has suddenly felt…joyous. You, Jon Joestar Fox, a first of what might be many for Crown’s cycle. A stand user. A shame you must die, but in a way, it’ll be an honor to kill you. Crown knows the queen that’ll spawn from within you shall be healthy. Perhaps healthier than Crown’s last victim in 1993.”
Jon breathed in slowly, taking in Crown’s words, before furrowing his brows. For some reason, Jon has always had a heart for justice, even if he wasn’t the bravest man on earth. And, the fact that he was staring at the embodiment of something rather…dark and twisted. It made him get a pit in his stomach. It didn’t matter that it wanted him dead, Jon was taken aback by the sheer fact it had killed many before. How many? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions?
And yet no one tried to stop it?
Ages of humanities probably lost due to this…this thing. With a determined glint in his eyes, Jon pointed at Crown, frowning at the stand’s presence, “I am flattered you find joy in the fact you’ll kill me, but don’t take it the wrong way.” Little Red Vox heads started to appear all around him as a red aura coated his body, “It’s not an invitation for you to make my corpse into your brooding ground, you ghostly bastard!” Jon spat out, “You’re going to have to work in order to get me! I ain’t going down without a fight!”
With a pose, Jon summoned forth his stand’s full potential.
“Red Vox!!!”
——————————————————————
Chapter 5: Two Against Nature Pt. 4
“So be it Jon Joestar Fo–” Before Crown got to finish, the door slammed open, causing the stand to be thrashed a bit. Recovering its bearings, the stand looked to see who opened the door and saw Edweena standing, with the mushroom girl by his side. “Hey, don’t think I am gonna let you easily take out my boyfriend just like that!” Edweena yelled out, summoning his stand by his side.
At seeing his two heroes, Jon smiled happily, briefly losing his guard, “Oh my goodness! Edweena and lady-I-don’t-know-the-name-of! Thank you!” However, from his guard being down, it gave Crown an opportunity to dash forward as black streak, briefly merging into a nearby poster, and back at Jon to get a clean and easy backstab. Immediately seeing this, Edweena quickly yelled at Jon. “J-Jon! Quick! Duck!”
Looking behind him, he saw the stand about to slash at him. The stand was just so fast that Jon couldn’t react in time!
But, with quick enough of a trigger finger, Edweena managed to use Strawberry Alarm Clock’s ability upon his boyfriend. His stand pointed forward, and from its finger, Strawberry Alarm Clock fired a blue liquid, splattering it on Jon’s head right before Crown’s slash could land. Once the slash did land, though, it barely made a dent in Jon’s flesh.
“Wait…What?” Crown assessed, turning its head to the side with light streaks of blood on its claws, “Normally Crown’s slashes can cut deep into the skin of any living creature. But those cuts…” Jon’s cheek bleed from three scars, but they were small. Almost like cat scratches more than anything. Painful, sure, but not fatal. “They are practically just scrapes. Crown is confused…How did Jon Joestar Fox endure such an attack?”
In a way, it would get an answer, as Jon started to shiver and shake, not from pain but from…
“EEEEE-EE!!! I-I DON’T KNOW!” Jon moaned out in a bundle of tears, his eyes changed from a warm brown to a cold dark blue, “I-I FEEL SO SAD!!! WAAAH!!!”
Edweena ran up to Jon, bringing him out of the way with a triumphant smile, “Don’t worry, JoJo, this all according to plan.” He exclaimed, “My stand ability, Strawberry Alarm Clock, has the power to change any emotion. However, the emotions my stand grants have a strange effect where they increase and decrease something for a person. Think of it as a status condition in an RPG.” He briefly wipes off a tear from Jon’s face, flicking it off to the side, “So, your emotion I gave you happened to be sadness. You might not be as strong as you once were, but you’ll take a lot more hits. These emotions don’t last forever, and usually take a minute to end, but right now you’re practically a wall.”
“O-Oh…ok.” Jon simply accepted the situation. Better not to question. As he continued to cry, him and Edweena stared at Crown, who was floating menacingly, clearly anticipating their next input. Looking behind him, Edweena saw the mushroom lady leaning against the door frame, watching what’s happening. “Hey! Why aren’t you helping?” He asked, causing the woman to look off to the side, “Just assessing the situation.” She stated monotonously. Edweena just sighed at this, hoping that the girl could at least do something. Well, whatever, guess he and Jon are gonna do the heavy lifting while she thinks of some plan.
His stand shot out a red liquid from its finger tips onto Edweena, causing his blue eyes to flash a fiery red. His brow narrowed, teeth snarling like a rabid wolf. Edweena was mad, much more than he was prior.
Crown raised high up into the air, floating with a scary amount of grace, “How foolish you are Edweena Asonarose. You cannot save Jon Joestar Fox, no matter how hard you try.”
“Well I think what you’re saying is bullshit!” Edweena yelled, clenching his fists, “Jon will survive!”
Jon nodded, still crying, but ultimately determined to live, “Y-Yeah, I will survive!”
Though, despite his saddening confidence, Jon, in fact, did not know how to handle Crown. He didn’t really even have a plan. What could stop a stand that wants him dead? What might Jon use in this room?
Looking around, Jon found just the thing! A box full of used records, still not put out. Perfect!
“Edweena!” Jon yells in a sniffle. Edweena turns to him, growling with anger, “WHAT?!” Despite his bite, Edweena didn’t mean to bark at his boyfriend like that. It was just due to his heightened anger. He was on the offensive with no regards to the defense. “I-I got an idea! Go to one of the records in those boxes and when I give you a signal toss one of them to me!” With a nod, Edweena agreed, running over to the used records box.
Preparing for the worst, Jon, stood his ground. “Hey Crown!” He called out, “Come on and get me!”
Right then and there, he dashed away, causing Crown to give chase, springboarding around into different posters and papers strewn about in order to get the catch on its intended target. However, despite Crown’s speed, it for some reason couldn’t be able to catch Jon, slashing wildly just by an inch away from the cutting mark.
Even Edweena was confused by the sight of Jon speed blitzing away from the savagery. “How in the world is Jon dodging Crown’s attack? I know he’s never been the speediest so…wait a minute!” Edweena notices, seeing the soles of Jon’s shoes. The soles were fractured, like glass, possibly due to Jon’s own abilities being at play. “Oh I get it…I think I remember Jon mentioning reading about an event that happened a week ago in Quebec. Apparently a dust storm hit a highway within the city, causing a car accident to occur from the dust, causing the roads to become all slick, and thus older cars had a harder time getting through. And, in a way, if glass is repeatedly broken, then it’ll start to become something akin to dust eventually. He is making himself slippery and hard to catch!”
Edweena could certainly admire his boyfriend’s handiness, especially in this dire situation.
And, in a way, his admiration caused him to notice Jon’s signal immediately. A raised thumbs up. With a lot to lose, Edweena threw him a used record, which Jon caught as swift as a baseball player’s swing. “Red Vox!” He yelled out, causing his stand to turn the record’s cover into glass. And with that, he kicked the now glass object, causing shards to fly out.
Undeterred by this, Crown simply just moves forward into the debris, which was exactly what Jon wanted. “Red Vox! Reform!” In just like that, many mini Red Vox heads surrounded the shards that Crown was weaving through, and in a split second, turned the album cover back anew, as if it had never been broken. Because of this, Crown got bisected, cutting most of its body and arms off.
“Hm? What?” It mused calmly, looking down at its torn body, “Oh, Crown’s body just got split. Nothing to worry about, Crown can just reattach Crown’s limbs. So it’s all fi—“ It wasn’t fine for the stand, as Jon immediately went in for the attack, using his stand to punch Crown repeatedly in its now offenseless body.
“TOROROROROROROROROOOO!!!” Jon and Red Vox both cried out in tandem, punching Crown multiple times on its body.
It seemed like everything was going well! They were winning! Maybe with a few more hits in, Jon could—
“Halt.” Crown practically roars out soothingly, punching Jon in the face in the process. When the hell did it reattach its limbs??? Jon was just beating it up!
As Crown’s punch landed, Jon was flung backwards into a box of records, crash landing through cardboard and now broken vinyl. “JoJo!” Edweena yelled out, before looking back at Crown with anger, “What the fuck?!”
“How much does it take for you two to learn that Crown is unstoppable. No matter how much you tear Crown apart, Jon Joestar Fox’s fate remains the same.” Crown mused, pointing at Edweena with its claw. It wasn’t taunting him, but its sheer existence caused Edweena to shake with rage. How dare it come into his life and try to take the one man he loved? Who did it think it was?!
“Argh! Shut the fuck up about your stupid fate bullshit!” He barked out, “Why don’t you attack me instead!? Huh?! You wussy or something?!”
Crown shook its blackened, ink-like head, arms behind its cloaked back. “Lack of acceptance is a pitiful thing you have Edweena Asonarose. Besides, Crown has no priority for you. You didn’t kill the queen, and thus, Crown doesn’t care about your existence. You are nothing to Crown, merely in the way of Crown’s cycle.” It explained, clearly meaning what it said. After all, it hadn’t attacked Edweena at all. It never even countered anything that he tried to do. It was as if Crown only saw the world as a target on the specific person it was meant to kill, and everyone else were merely blocks in the way of its pursuits..
As Jon laid, groaning, he sat up, wiping the blood from his lip, breathing heavily after surviving that intense hit to the face. “Ok…I-I am alive…that’s good.” He breathed, but his breath hitched as he realized something…something that he always feared. “W-Wait…it said the l-last year it was summoned was 1993…t-that year, my b-babysitter…”
The blurry memory of Sonic Youth’s corpse flashes in Jon’s mind, causing him to lurch forward in fear and disgust. “I…o-oh god…and…and the wasp…i-it was…”
Crown. Crown had always been around. Crown caused the trauma that Jon had to witness. Crown was the thing that made Jon deeply afraid of wasps.
And now, Crown was here to put one last nail in the coffin. Jon’s coffin.
He breathed heavily, grasping his hair as his eyes shook back and forth, trying to think of anything—a plan of some kind, but only drawing blanks. Despair was taking over. He felt trapped. He felt sick. Everything felt like it was spinning. Was this what it feels like to be so close to death? It was horrible! This was horrible! This was a nightmare! This was—
“Hey.” Jon heard a voice.
A woman.
He looked up.
“Hey, I am talking to you.” He saw a brown skinned hand wave across his eyes, “You in there? That stand didn’t give you brain damage?”
Jon nodded his head. Oddly, seeing that mushroom lady again, talking to him…it was nice.
Much better than spiraling.
“Good, good.” She drawled out, fixing her short coat vest she wore loose, staring at Jon, she waved at him, “Hi. Me again. So, after an analysis, I think I might have an idea on how to beat this stand.”
Jon stared at the lady, in awe at the sheer volume of her leading edge. It totally anchored the young adult away from his panic and fear. “W-Who…who are you?”
The lady tipped her hat, her light brown eye glinting with the soft light from outside coming from a nearby window. “I am Dre. Just Dre. Don’t forget it, because with this favor, you’ll owe me again. That’s how the world works, right?”
——————————————————————
Chapter 6: Two Against Nature Pt. 5
Dre stepped forward, looking at Jon, now actually eye to eye due to him sitting down. “I have dealt with similar dangers to this one, so I am a bit of an expert you see.” She crossed her arms, having an air of confidence, “I can be your teacher, rookie. But it’ll cost you.”
“O-Oh like money?” Jon asked, causing Dre to rub the bridge of her nose, “No, cabrón, not money.” She looked off to the side, “I am thinking of something else. Something a bit personal. I’ll explain later.”
Meanwhile, Edweena was using his stand to punch Crown repeatedly, stalling the stand’s assault on his boyfriend. Strawberry Alarm Clock beeps insistently as it rams its fists onto Crown over and over again. “Take this bastard!” He yells out, while Crown effortlessly takes the hits. It seems that it cannot feel pain. “Again, Edweena Asonarose,” Crown muttered out, “you are merely delaying the inevitable.” However, he was not taking any of that, as Edweena grabbed its neck, straddling it before revving up a punch.
“SHUT UP!”
With a swift right hook, Crown got knocked right into a poster across from Edweena. It was a moment of respite for the young man, as he breathed a sigh to catch his bearings. Then, he realized that Jon was probably in pain after being punched like that. “Oh shit! JoJo!” He ran towards the rubble to see Jon sitting down with Dre, “Are you ok?” He asks, pity playing through his blue eyes.
Jon smiles, despite the stressful situation, and was happy to see his boyfriend. “I-I am fine, just a tad sore.” He affirmed. With a light blush from how cute his boyfriend was, Edweena happily breathed a breath of fresh air, “Oh good…!” He then saw Dre, “Oh, and hi?”
Dre beckoned Edweena to come behind the rubble of boxes and records, indicating for him to join up with her and Jon. With a nod, Edweena did just that, sitting next to his boyfriend and the girl who he barely knew of. “Ok, so, I have a plan, but I am not sure how to execute it.” She murmured, before realizing something, “Oh, sorry, should introduce myself to Edweena. I am Dre. Sometimes I forget to tell people my name.” She lightly coughs before continuing, “Anyways, plans. We need to figure something out while we have downtime, pronto.”
“I-I don’t know.” Edweena shrugged, “I mean, it’s not like the average stand. It does have a user, but from what it says it only activates when its user is dead. It kind of just regenerates on the fly. And I can’t really damage it despite my stand’s strength, so honestly I have no clue how to stop this thing?”
“Wait a minute…” Jon muttered, “We’ve always been aiming for its body, haven’t we? Not the head…” He rested a hand to his chin. Edweena looked at him with a raised brow, a bit frazzled by what Jon was saying. “I hit him on the head?” He stated, confused.
“So did I.” Jon agreed, “But…we need to DESTROY the head, not just hit it. I mean think about it, it’s technically undead. Just aiming at the body ain’t gonna kill something that’s already dead. You gotta destroy the brain.” He summons Red Vox, looking resolute, “But we gotta capture Crown…so, here is what we’ll do.”
——————————————————————
Crown slowly merged out of the poster, its inky, marker-like face a paleographic mess as it slowly reformed. “Crown didn’t expect for Jon Joestar Fox to last this long…” It murmured, floating directly towards the wreck of boxes that it punched Jon into. It was mindless in its pursuits, despite its drive for conversation. It was as mindless as its user. It has only one goal in nature, and that’s it. No dreams, no passion, no hopes.
And certainly no peace.
It didn’t care about any of that though. If it did care, it probably would, but it was born from a creature that cannot feel complex emotions, or perhaps any emotions at all.
As it floated above the boxes, it spotted something that’s rather good that happened today. Laying on Edweena’s lap was Jon, his eyes closed. Tears were running out of Edweena’s face, causing them to splatter on Jon’s. The fact he didn’t wake up from the liquid raining down on him could tell Crown just as much.
“It seems like Jon Joestar Fox has finally passed.” It whispered, floating down to inspect, ignoring Edweena’s teary face, as well as Dre for some reason beside them. Crown just supposes since she was in the room, she is a part of their collective weeping. Not like that matters to Crown.
Nothing matters.
Other than the rebirth of its new queen.
“Your body shall be the perfect breeding ground for Crown’s user, Jon Joestar Fox. Ironic how you died not by Crown’s carnage, but via collateral. A bunch of broken pieces for a broken man.”
But as Crown got closer, it noticed something. Edweena’s eyes…they weren’t sad. They looked…determined?
“Hm? What are—”
Suddenly, without warning, Edweena summoned Strawberry Alarm Clock, grabbing Crown’s neck. His eyes were a deeper shade of blue than what was normal for the young adult, tears streaming out at a rate that seemed almost hyperbolic.
Edweena wasn’t sad. Well, he was, but not because Jon was dead.
No, Jon was alive, as he shot up his eyes in a snarl. “Now Dre!” He yelled out, causing Crown to struggle against Edweena’s grapple.
Strawberry Alarm Clock chucked the stand to the ground, and before it could get up, Dre swiftly grabbed what looked to be a piece of wood from her pants’ pocket, and turned it into a wooden pistol. She fired a bunch of shots all around Crown, spraying what seemed to be a bunch of dust.
Initially, Crown was very confused as to what their plan was, not until a bunch of mushrooms grew out from the floor and proceeded to curve inwards and around Crown, causing it to be pinned to the ground tightly. “You’ve just been trapped by my L’Via L’Viaquez.” She hissed, stepping forward as she twirled her gun in her hands.
Edweena and Jon stood up, looming over Crown as it struggled in vain. “Why…Why can’t Crown escape?” It whispered aloud, calm, yet clearly bamboozled. “You said it yourself.” Dre mentioned, “You don’t harm other living things other than your target.”
“But…But then why can’t Crown transform into a streak?”
Dre tsks, pointing her gun at the stand’s head, “Simple, dumbass. L’via L’viaquez can turn any piece of wood into any gun I desire, shooting out any type of cordyceps in any way I wish.” She pokes the mushrooms binding Crown discreetly, almost like she’s taking appreciation for them, “These, here, are Lycoperdon perlatum, aka the common puffball. Cute, ain’t they? Obviously they don’t grow as long as this, nor as instantly, but exaggeration ain’t that uncommon in the world of stand users.” She slightly shifts a mushroom—a smaller one not wrapped around Crown—and wiggles it a bit, before squeezing the mushroom’s head, causing the hole on top to spray out a multitude of spores, “A mature Lycoperdon perlatum can produce billions of spores whenever disturbed. And, through your struggling, you disturbed so many of them that the spores most likely entered your body, meaning if you transformed, you’d kill billions of new generations of fungi. Since it’s your nature to only slaughter your target and not any other life, I knew exactly what type of mushroom to use in order to get back at your one weakness.”
For the first time, Crown didn’t have any remarks. Probably simply processing this information as it laid there,
“Got no more words to say? Good.” Dre tapped Jon’s arm, “It's your time to shine. Go get it, tiger.”
Jon nodded, walking around to Crown’s head, looking down at the stand as it laid there silently. With a furrowed brow, he leaned down, staring at Crown’s ringed eyes. “Everything is inevitable, right? Everything begins and ends. And through it, so will you. My end will not be by your hands. No one will die because of you again.” His tone was low, angered. He clearly wanted to drive the point home.
“Jon Joestar Fox.” Crown responded, “Soon, you shall perish. Perish until you’re nothing but rot and decay. But, Crown wonders, if it’s not Crown’s duty to kill you, then what will? Will your fears catch up to you, or will you excel against anything?” It mused, almost like it was intrigued to find out, even if it knew its fate would be final today, “Strike Crown down. There is nothing left but kismet.”
It would be Crown’s last words, as, without a word, Jon summoned Red Vox. The stand touched Crown’s head with a red finger, causing the stand’s head to turn into glass. And with one lined up strike, Red Vox socked Crown’s head, shattering it into pieces.
The rest of Crown’s body soon disappeared, leaving behind a legacy of blood shed. If it weren’t for what happened earlier today, who knows how many more lives would’ve been lost.
In a few moments, there was only silence, before Edweena quickly ran up and hugged Jon, laughing at the fact his boyfriend was alive. “Oh my god! I cannot believe that worked! That was insane!” He held onto Jon’s face, squeezing his cheeks with stars in his eyes, “You went all serious and stuff too, like you were an anime protagonist! How about I treat you to some Hurley’s, like, right now!”
“Ahem.” Dre alerted, causing the two lovers to glance her way.
The cordyceps that bounded Crown before were disappearing, with Dre crossing her arms in the threshold. “Did you forget, Jon?” She stated firmly, “You owe me.”
——————————————————————
Chapter 7: Supper's Ready
Within the Rhayader district lies Hurley’s Diner, a small, quant, old school dad rock themed bar and breakfast spot that’s a bit of a local favorite. Especially for Edweena and Jon. Mostly Edweena though, as he gulped down a hearty plate of spaghetti noodles, served with spicy marinara sauce. “Mmmm! This pasta is the best!” He ate another forkful, savoring every bit of it. Jon watches whilst eating some bacon and eggs. Dre, meanwhile, was enamored by how fluffy her short stack pancakes were. It was kinda cute how this lady who helped take down what could essentially be considered a grim reaper could be so awe struck by something rather simple. Edweena, meanwhile, wiped off some sauce from his lips, smiling happily.
“I fucking love Italian food!” He loudly proclaimed.
“Damn straight.” Jon nodded, “That pasta does look very good.”
“You wanna bite or something?” Edweena asked, “Just a fair warning, it does have beetroots and radishes in the sauce. I could try to get some of it off for you.”
“Erm…” Jon’s face immediately became a grimace, now looking at the pasta like it just called him a slur or something, “…no thanks. I’ll just have my stuff.”
“Suit yourself. More bangin’ spaghetti for me!”
“Yeah, my food is great too. Which got me thinking.” Jon mentioned, waving his fork around, “Home owned businesses are way better at food service than big businesses. Like, this diner serves way better breakfast than something like Denny’s or Waffle House.”
“JoJo, why are you comparing Denny’s and Waffle House?” Dre genuinely asked, raising an eyebrow, “Waffle House is phenomenal.”
“…No?” Jon shook his head, in clear disagreement with the shroom lady, “It’s Waffle House. Waffle House is not phenomenal. I have been there a few times and I swear the food service there always screwed me over.”
“What do you even order at Waffle House for the food service to be bad?”
“The waffles?”
“YOU EAT WAFFLES AT WAFFLE HOUSE?!” This seems to genuinely bewilder, and even somewhat anger Dre, stabbing her butter knife into the pancakes with a harder than necessary force, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“Because it’s WAFFLE House! Why wouldn’t I get the waffles at Waffle House!?”
“Do you get burgers at Burger King!?”
“Yes!” Jon barked, “What are you saying Dre?! Of course I am gonna get the food the literal restaurant is named after!”
“The food the company is named after is ALWAYS the worst thing on the menu!”
“Girl, shut up!”
“This seems like it’ll bloom into a nice friendship.” Edweena chuckled, not quite phased by the VERY important argument being had here. His remark, though, caused the two to stop, before Dre sat back in her seat, huffing a sigh. “Well, wrong opinions aside, let’s discuss the favor. This dinner date is nice and all, but I just scratched your back, and I think you should scratch mine as well. Properly.”
She takes a bite of her pancakes before continuing, “There is something I have been meaning to ask you. Have you ever heard of the Thela Hun Ginjeet Tribe?”
“Thela huh what now?” Edweena inquired, causing Dre to mutter a silent groan, “The Thela Hun Ginjeet Tribe…hate repeating myself.” She whispered that last bit very quietly, “They’re a mob group. Ran by two men who, let’s just say, I met personally with.”
She taps the table with her fingers, drumming upon it with nothing but contempt in her eye at just the fact she mentioned them. “Moses Orchid, and Milos Williams. Those are the two I am after. The rest of the Thela Hun Ginjeet Tribe as well, but mostly those two.” She takes a bite of her pancakes before she goes on, “I am aware it is a lot to ask, but I need at least one of you guys to help me out. I saved you from near death, and so you should be able to fight against crime lords. And it’s not like you can’t fight. I saw how you two did it.”
Edweena halted mid bite, before swallowing, shifting his eyes a bit, “I-I…ummm…I am sorry but, I am not risking my life to take down a mafia. I have dreams, y’know? I want to live a life, get good pay, and have a family.” He gestured to Jon, who seemed oddly silent, “And I doubt Jon would do something so risky as we—“
“I will risk it! Even if it costs me my future!” Jon yelled out, his eyes filled with a furious determination.
At the sheer display, Edweena dropped his fork, causing it to clatter to his pasta. “W-What?!” He yelped out, “Jon did you lose your mind?! You cannot be serious! At least tell me why!”
Jon took a deep breath before leaning forward, meeting his eyes with his lover’s. He could get lost in Edweena’s eyes for hours on end. Blue, deep, filled with love and hope. They were almost cat-like, which he found adorable.
“It’s because…” Jon began, “When I was a kid, more precisely when I was five, I garnered a fever. A fever that would’ve killed me if it wasn’t for a few brave men who traveled across the world to cure me. But that is not all, as a few years later I would get a babysitter named Sonic Youth. When he babysat me, he would make me do stuff for him like order pizzas or make sandwiches. He was honestly kind of a dick, but a dick who cared if you opened yourself up a bit. Especially if you care about him. But then, from what I can understand, he must’ve killed a wasp that day he died, because Crown surely must’ve been the one to take him out. I was too late to save him, so his death scarred me, almost to the point where I feel like I cannot save anyone ever.” He took a small sip of his glass before continuing, “When a wasp flew away from his corpse, I got a fear of them. Not because they were loud, could sting, or what have you…it’s because they represented the thought of people, loved ones, dying to factors they had no say in. Lives ruined, people losing themselves in the wake of post-mortem. All of that represented in that insect. I would kill every wasp that ever gets just a bit too close to me in a panic, and because of that habit, I end up nearly being like Sonic Youth.”
He breathes a sigh, before putting on a smile, “But now, since Crown is gone, I feel like I am done being in shackles made out of fear. Even if I couldn't save Sonic Youth, you know what I will save?” He pointed to himself with his thumb, a determined grin playing upon his lips, “I will save everyone in Vegas! There are too many great people here, none of them should be seeing the wasps I saw!”
For a second, there was silence, but Dre nodded, finished with her plate of food, “Well that is certainly a good motivation in taking down a mafia.”
Edweena nodded too, still clearly cautious, but willing. “Well, if Jon’s going to do this I might as well too. But mostly for his sake. I wanna make sure he’s safe, y’know?” His voice was calm, but there was definitely a slight waver to it. He must still be weighing his options.
“Well, hey, more the merrier.” Dre shrugged, “I guess we’re a team now. I’ll go ahead and give you my contact info. Tomorrow, call me, so we can stop those bastards once and for all.”
It was time for the real adventure to begin…
To Be Continued…