Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kars moved about Air Supplena's rooftops stealthily. With the island being so far away from the mainland, there was nothing illuminating the place at night. It was almost pitch black. That was optimal for him. Kars could see perfectly in this lighting – humans, not so much.

Joseph was his target. Compared to Caesar, he was much less proficient with hamon. Kars would be able to easily take down either, but it'd be less of a hassle with Joseph. This had to be swift.

Soon enough Kars located his target. Joseph was out on his bedroom's balcony, gazing at the sea. Talking to himself, of course. That'd make things easier. Joseph wouldn't be able to hear anything over the sound of his loud, obnoxious voice. Kars waited and watched Joseph, forming a plan in his head.

"–How did Esidisi even find us? We could've been anywhere in the world! And now we're gonna have to relocate...That's gonna cut into my training, ugh! The weather here is really nice too... I'm going to miss this place."

Kars inched closer, getting ready to strike. Joseph was foolish to leave himself so defenseless like this. Quite a commendable feat, seeing that he'd managed to outwit Whammu of all people into giving him an extra month to live.

Joseph's hand trailed to his neck and chest absent-mindedly. He was suddenly quiet. Kars tensed, waited. "This ring feels so cold. Can't wait to get rid of it." He yawned, moving to return to his room. "It's late. Better finish packing my things away and get some sleep in. Knowing her we're probably going to leave at the crack of d-"

Kars launched himself at Joseph, bringing him to the ground. Immediately one of his hands found itself at Joseph's neck, wringing out any cries for help, as well as his hamon. Joseph was completely helpless.

His choked cries and hands clawing at Kars' arm didn't slow Kars down in the slightest. With ease, he dragged Joseph back to the balcony's railing. It was made of stone, strong and sturdy. That'd do.

Kars swiftly brought Joseph's head down on the railing. He went limp. As expected, everything went smoothly. It was impossible for a human to truly stand up to a Pillar Man, with hamon or not.

Paper had been brought along. There was no point wasting time searching for some in the room. Unceremoniously Kars dropped Joseph to the ground, sitting beside him. He dug a stony claw into Joseph's arm, drawing blood. That would be his ink. Only the most fitting for the occasion.

It didn't take long for him to write out the message. Leaving the note on Joseph's messy bed, Kars picked up his human luggage. He left as swiftly as he had come.


Couldn't Joseph see the importance of today? They had to get going. While everyone else was ready to leave, he hadn't bothered to show up! Caesar briskly walked up to Joseph's door, and knocked on it.

"Hey! You're really late! Everyone's waiting on you!" Caesar waited for Joseph to complain, talk back.

There was nothing. Dead silent.

Caesar knocked again, louder.

"Don't ignore me!"

Once again Caesar was left hanging. Nobody had the time to play Joseph's stupid games.

"I'm coming in – don't even complain about me invading your privacy. We don't have the time."

Thankfully, the door was actually unlocked. Caesar turned the handle and wasted no time opening it.

The room was cold, and silent. The doors to the balcony were open, curtains fluttering in the wind. Joseph was nowhere to be found. Caesar slowly walked in. Something was off. He couldn't pinpoint what, but his gut feeling screamed that something seriously bad had happened.

There was a piece of paper on Joseph's bed. Taking care not to disturb the half packed boxes, he went over to the bed and picked the paper up.

The Red Stone or Joseph's life. Come to where we had our first encounter tonight to discuss the trade.

It was clearly written in blood, turned brown with time.

"...Shit."

Chapter Text

The first thing Joseph became aware of was a splitting pain in the side of his head. Then, the odd chill that permeated the area. He groaned. Slowly starting to wake up, he moved a hand to his head. Or, he would've, if they weren't tied up.

Tied up...? Joseph thought back to what he could remember last. They were going to leave as their location – and so also the stone's location – had been compromised. Esidisi had found them somehow, and fought Joseph and his instructor. So early into training too! The fight had destroyed the mask though, and it was the only one Lisa Lisa had, so at least that was a plus. Joseph was getting distracted. Where was he? Oh yeah, he remembered now. It was night. He'd been talking to himself, complaining about the situation. And then...

Oh. Oh no.

Joseph shook off the lingering grogginess, eyes snapping open. The building was derelict. Unfamiliar. The bed he was on looked and felt like it was on the verge of falling apart. Kars was standing beside the doorway, resting himself on the wall. He gave Joseph a sly smile upon noticing he was awake.

"Had any nice dreams while you were out?" He asked teasingly.

"Cut the bullshit. What is this?! This goes against our promise! How can I train if you've kidnapped me?!" If Kars had kept him alive instead of killing him, then something was up. Joseph didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

"We've had a change of plans. Whammu's not happy about it, but I'm sure he'll make do. He'll make sure you have your fight, don't worry."

"What are you planning to do with me?" Excluding the headache from getting his head slammed against stone, and the ropes that were just a little too tight on him, Joseph was untouched. It almost felt like he was being taken care of.

"Oh, nothing much. Just holding you ransom for the stone. Once we discuss the trade tonight, I'll give you back the next."

Joseph's heart sank. Holding him (or anyone when it came to his coach) hostage was about as effective as holding a pebble hostage. The outcome of this wouldn't leave Kars in the nicest of moods. And that wouldn't bode well for him.

"...And if Lisa Lisa declines the trade?"

"Pfft. She wouldn't. You're a strong fighter with a lot of potential. Anyone can see that. She wouldn't toss you away. She's most likely going to hatch a plan to deceive us and get you back – of course, I'm preparing around that."

"If she doesn't agree to the trade," Joseph said again. "What are you going to do?" Kars gave Joseph a look, one he surprisingly couldn't pinpoint the emotion of.

"It would be foolish to let you go just like that. But if she were to refuse for some odd reason, I'd simply get the stone's location from you. And whether you come out of that unharmed is up to you." Kars said nonchalantly.

So more of being uncomfortably tied up and some extra beatings added on top. Not for him. The location of the stone changed anyways. Sometimes Lisa Lisa would wear it as a simple accessory, and sometimes she'd stash it away somewhere. Even if he wanted to, Joseph couldn't give the stone's location.

He didn't have much choice for anything here. Stay and suffer, escape, or try to escape and fail. Then suffer. Only one of those things seemed appealing, and his chances were slim. The chance was still there, though.

Joseph began building up hamon within himself.

"You don't think it would be moved? You think she'd tell me where it would be?" Joseph laughed. "You think I'm really worth something in her eyes? Worth enough to trade the stone over?! I thought you'd be smarter than this!" Questioning Kars' choices this way would be sure to make him angry. People don't think as well when they're mad.

"I can see right through you. You're trying to rile me up, questioning me like that. It won't work." Joseph internally cursed. Esidisi outsmarting him and making him panic in battle, now this? Either he was losing his edge or these Pillar Men were smarter than he was giving them credit for. He'd have to create another plan then. Kars sighed. "You do make a good point, with moving where it's kept. Getting the information out of you would be pointless. I'd find some other use for you. Turn you into a vampire to be used against your allies. Or for food."

Kars left silently. Didn't even deserve a goodbye, huh? Joseph pushed his annoyance to the side. There were more important things to focus on. Such as the ropes. He had to remove them. With his hands and legs tied up together like this he wouldn't be able to do much. Headbutts, maybe. But that wouldn't get him far. Alone, Joseph took a good look around.

The room was bare. Wooden planks boarded up the windows, blocking out almost all the sunlight. Those were useless. With his legs tied up like this, he wouldn't be able to even get over to the window. Paintings still hung on the walls of the room, but they had rotted and withered away with time. He couldn't reach them anyways. The bed he was on was the only other thing in the room. And just to his luck, there were no sharp edges to its bedframe that he could use as a way to cut the ropes. Joseph wracked his mind for solutions.

The idea he thought of wasn't the fastest, but it was the only one that had a chance to work. Joseph set the rope around his hands in his mouth, and began to gnaw. His teeth would surely be sharp enough to whittle through it, fiber by fiber. Once he got his hands free, undoing the other rope would be a cinch.

"...What are you doing?" Not Kars' voice. Whammu's. Joseph looked up at him, not stopping. He didn't have time to waste.

"Breakin' free." Was his muffled reply. There was no point lying. It was obvious what it was.

"You're not going to break free. They're too thick." Joseph ignored him. Sure, anyone would look at his position and think it was a hopeless endeavour. But Joseph was different. He was tenacious, strong-willed. He had the entire day to focus on this. He'd get out. Joseph heard and felt Whammu's heavy footsteps as he approached and sat beside the bed. That was a much kinder gesture than Kars watching him from a distance as if he was just some animal; Regardless, he'd keep on chewing the rope down. Due to their size difference, Whammu still loomed over Joseph.

"I apologise. You should still be training, not kidnapped. I didn't want this to happen either."

"Why let it happen?"

"I had no say in the matter. Kars and Esidisi have the say, my opinion and choices only truly matter if they allow it."

"That's stupid."

"Isn't it the same with you and your mentor?"

"That's also stupid."

"Mhm. Alright then. At least you have the clarity not to contradict yourself."

Joseph paused to check what his efforts had bore. It was wet from his saliva, but nothing else. He thought he would've managed to do something by now, with the way his teeth and jaw were aching.

"Like I told you, you won't be able to escape like that. Everything's been planned for." Joseph growled in response, flopping down on the bed angrily. "Kars is kinder than you think, JoJo. He truly does mean well by this."

"Really? There's nothing kind about kidnapping a guy, tying him up and leaving him in a freezing cold room, is there?"

"There are worse places he could've left you in here. This was the best choice he had. He's holding you for ransom, harming you wouldn't do him any good."

"Are you sure you're not saying this because you haven't experienced anything better?" Unlike the other Pillar Men, Whammu seemed to be decent. It felt almost tragic that he'd have to be killed down the line. If not for their circumstances, Joseph would be happy to call him a friend.

"I am not. You've only known him as an enemy. I've known him as an ally. I've known him all my life, thousands of years - you've only known of him for a little over a week. I think my say has more weight behind it, no?"

Joseph huffed. "I guess."

"Anyways, I came in here to ask you: Is there anything I can do to make your time here more comfortable?"

"Other than setting you free." Whammu added on before Joseph was able to get the words out.

"Ugh, alright then..." Joseph grumbled. He thought about it for a little while. Unlike his conversation with Kars, where it felt like they were both grating together at every concievable moment, his conversation with Whammu had flowed comfortably. Even when they had their little conflicts there was no true malice behind it. Just simple disagreements. Being left alone wouldn't be nice. He'd be forced think about the inevitable, what Kars would do to him once his expectations were ruined. Having company would be better.

"Can you stay with me? It's nice talking to you. Better than being alone."

"I can do that."

"Thanks. How's Esidisi doing? We did quite a number on him before he retreated."

"He'll live. At the moment, he's healing. Despite the interruption of your training, you've grown stronger. I'm impressed."

Joseph chuckled. "Well, it wasn't all my work...But I don't mind the praise!"


Caesar paced around his room. They'd be leaving soon to get to the mainland. He scrutinised everything about him, scrubbing out any flaws. This wasn't the trade - it was a discussion. That was odd. You don't usually discuss a trade like this. There were many possible reasons for it. It could be so the Pillar Men could plan against any plans they made. It wasn't as if the enemy could be trusted. Likewise, they couldn't trust the Pillar Men. This could be an ambush to take them all out. Joseph might be dead right now for all they knew.

Caesar prayed that wasn't the case.

He had to be prepared. Had to have enough on him to use as weapons alongside his hamon in case it was an ambush. He couldn't go looking any degree threatening, if they really were genuine. That might provoke them, turn a good situation sour.

Joseph was better at things like this.

In the end he went with just bringing extra soap along. Best to go with what he knew to use effectively. It was discreet, too. Finally satisfied with what he had, he left to meet up with Lisa Lisa.

They left in silence. Comfortable silence, but silence nonetheless. Only the sound of the waves clashing against their boat accompanied them.

"I hope JoJo's alright." Caesar couldn't help but imagine. How were they treating him? Had he been tortured for info? Worse? Would Joseph even be the same, once they were reuinited?

"If he's strong, he'll manage." His mentor curtly said. She might be like a mother to him, but his blood still boiled at her words. She was stern, harsh when training, and he didn't agree with that. It was understandable though. This? Not so much. Did she have to be so uncaring when Joseph was in such danger? Caesar bit back his tongue. Now wasn't the time. The rest of the trip there was in uneasy silence, worries looming over Caesar's head.

Chapter Text

Travelling from Switzerland to Italy was a small feat to Kars. He was able to traverse land on foot much faster than any human could ever dream of, even with their vehicles. Even so, he was still expecting the hamon users to at least be on time. He stood there, silently observing his surroundings. Nothing had changed since he was last there. The place was untouched, still completely in old ruins. The blood splattered on the floor from Joseph's and Whammu's fight had dried and lingered. So much hassle could've been avoided if they had just slain the two hamon users there and then. If some sort of ambush was being planned, then they wouldn't have many good places to hide.

After enough time had passed for Kars to wonder if they were even going to come at all, they arrived. Lisa Lisa in a formal set of clothes, their fabric tight on her skin. It left no chances for it to get caught on anything, great for combat. Caesar had seen much better days. No longer was he neat and composed. His clothes were dirty and his hair a mess. Probably worried sick for his precious friend. They'd be eager to get Joseph back.

"It's just you here? Alone?" Caesar asked.

"Of course. I don't want to seem intimidating at all. This discussion is meant to be balanced, equal. And besides, Joseph isn't the sort of person you can leave without heavy supervision. He's already attempted to escape."

"We've brought nobody else along. It's only us." Lisa Lisa's face betrayed no emotion. "Shall we begin?"

"Of course." The night was long, but not long enough. Getting caught at daybreak wouldn't be a pleasant experience. Would he survive? Yes. Would it also be an incredible inconvenience to be stuck who knows where for half a day? Also yes. "For your convenience, we'll keep the trade location in Rome. Though, where we are now is surrounded by populated areas, where it'd be hard to deliver a human without raising suspicion. To make it easier to transport Joseph without any inconvenience, I propose that-"

"You can keep him." She said nonchalantly. Kars paused. Caesar tensed, eyes shooting to his mentor.

"Excuse me?"

"The Red Stone of Aja cannot fall into your hands. If I have to sacrifice Joseph, then so be it."

"What were you expecting?" Caesar suddenly chimed in. "If you Pillar Men had the power of the stone, you'd cause mass destruction! JoJo and I were going into hamon training fully knowing that we could die in our fight! We're not giving it up!"

Kars growled. He wasn't sure what exactly to focus his anger on. His plan had failed, which was bad. His mind flickered back to Joseph. Joseph had told him that he wasn't worth enough in Lisa Lisa's eyes. That his plan would fail. Of course, Joseph was trying to rile him up, to goad him into doing something foolish. But for him to be correct too...Kars couldn't tell if he was more angry over the fact Joseph was right and he was wrong, or if he was more angry for Joseph.

No. That was too far, too much compassion and sympathy. He wouldn't give that much care towards a simple means to an end. That would be weakness.

Back on track. Kars wouldn't do that with Whammu. He would give up a lot for the stone, but not Whammu. Not anybody. He'd find another way. He had. That was the whole point of the sudden change in plans, the ransom. And then...this.

"I'll simply find another way to get the stone." Kars snarled. "I've waited thousands of years for this - I can wait thousands of years more if I need to."

There was no more reason to stay. Kars leapt up and left. His leaps took him high into the air, and far. Jumping from building roof to building roof was the fastest way of moving. He dreamed of the day where he wouldn't have to do this anymore. The day where he'd be able to give himself wings so he could soar over the land to his heart's content. Or, the day where he could stroll in the sun's warm, welcoming rays, taking as long as he wanted. He'd make sure that day came soon.

Kars' mind returned to the biggest problem at hand: Joseph. Clearly now, his pathetic attempt at escape was out of desperation to save his own skin, not to get back to his "allies". He wouldn't have to worry too much if he somehow escaped. Still, he was left with the dilemma of what exactly he was going to do with the human.

Joseph's fight with Whammu still had to happen, that was for sure. So that meant no killing...yet. There definitely were better ways to use him than simply just eating him. Turning Joseph into vampire to control him, and using him against the remaining hamon users, perhaps? No, him being restricted to the night would cause more hassle.

...Persuasion? After being abandoned, Joseph would surely be full of anger and hate and spite. With a bit of sweet-talking Joseph would be sure to join them. Persuasion it was, then.


Pent up stress and tension was still leaving Caesar's body as they made their way back to Air Supplena. Kars being denied the stone could've ended up a lot worse. The stone was safe...for now. They had gotten back onto Rome's main streets, still populated though it was the dead of night. Dim streetlamps illuminated their surroundings. Caesar was unpleasantly reminded of his time on the streets. The streetlamps had been both a blessing and a curse. Beacons that showed him safer streets. Objects that exposed him to the world, painting a target on his back. His mind wandered back to Joseph. His beloved friend was still stuck with those vile beasts. How were they treating him? With some sort of decency and respect, hopefully. Joseph was there for ransom; Kars' furious reaction was too genuine for him to be lying. The Pillar Men would at least make sure Joseph was kept relatively unharmed. However, hurting him mentally was likely free game. Joseph was tenacious, strong. But even the strongest things could break after enough damage. Caesar swallowed.

"We really made Kars mad, didn't we?" Caesar attempted conversation. "You're great at acting, you know. When you told him that he could keep JoJo, I ended up thinking you were serious at first!"

"I was."

Caesar's face fell. "What...?"

"We can't let the stone fall into their hands at any cost." Lisa Lisa said coldly. "If Joseph's death keeps it out of their hands, so be it."

That was logical, sure, but... "You saw potential in him! You're losing a good fighter! Can't we make a plan to steal him back?!"

"That's too risky."

"I thought we were all prepared to die for this cause. You can't go back on your word like that and say that rescuing Joseph is too risky!"

"It's an unnecessary risk."

"Unnecessary?! I-"

"Caesar. I know you care for Joseph a lot. I don't want to lose him either - Like you said, he's a great fighter with a lot of potential. Sometimes, sacrifices simply need to be made for the greater good. I would think you'd understand that more than anyone else."

Caesar's blood boiled. "Don't you dare bring them into this. They both did that willingly, to save somebody else! JoJo wouldn't have even seen what's happened to him coming!"

"There's nothing you can do about it now, anyways." Caesar wouldn't take that as an answer. He could do something, so much more than nothing. Caesar hadn't treated Joseph kindly in the slightest when they had first met. He had judged him based on his family and what they had done to his, failing to see the reason why his grandfather had done what he did in the first place, blinded by his own anger. He was quick to anger, and he was easily blinded by it. And despite that, when Whammu was going to kill him, Joseph diverted his attention, and led him away. Caesar had treated him with nothing but mockery and spiteful words, and Joseph responded with nothing but kindness. He was everything Caesar could only aspire to be.

"JoJo has a family. People that care about him. They're going to lose him if we don't do anything!"

"And what about every other family in the world? They'll lose loved ones if the Pillar Men obtain the stone." Lisa Lisa countered. "...I have a daughter, Caesar. I haven't seen her in so many years, I doubt I'll even be able to recognise her. Even so, she's stayed in the forefront of my mind. I had to leave her to fight the Pillar Men and protect the Red Stone, to protect her and the world she lives in. We're protecting the world for so many. You can't let this man you've only known for a week get in the way of that."

That week meant a lot to him.

If it were the other way around, Joseph wouldn't sit idly by and let the Pillar Men have their way with Caesar. He'd fight tooth and nail and claw and fang with everything he had, just to get Caesar back. Caesar should do the same. Caesar would do the same. If Lisa Lisa was so content with abandoning Joseph, then she should be fine if Caesar left her, right? She had Loggins and Messina. If the lack of Joseph didn't matter, it wouldn't matter if he ceased to be with her too, right?

He wouldn't leave just right here, right now. The rage frothing in him screamed at him to do just that, but for once he pushed it away. He had to get better at that. One day blindly following his rage would cause him his downfall. He had to wait until they got back to Air Supplena before leaving. He needed to go as prepared as he could. He couldn't hold his own against Whammu in their first encounter, and now he'd likely have to fight all three on his own. Everything had to be accounted for. Joseph's things were still on the island too. It'd help cheer him up, to have his cherished belongings after being isolated for so long.

"We're not leaving Air Supplena. Kars wanted to use Joseph as ransom, so they clearly don't know that the stone is on me at all times. There's no need to move location."

"Hmph. Alright." He'd leave first thing tomorrow morning.

Chapter Text

Joseph heard Kars before he saw him. Due to his size, his footsteps were already heavy. However now they really shook the ground. Clearly, he was angry. Of course, the negotiation hadn't gone in his favour. And as a result, that was going to be taken out on him, one way or another. Kars stormed into the room.

"Told you I'm not worth that much in her eyes." Joseph said casually. He'd make a game out of it. Just how much could he piss off Kars before being killed? If he was going to die (or worse) he should at least have some fun. "Should've taken my word!"

"I can't believe she just let me have you like that!"

"C'mon Karsy, don't leave me waiting in anticipation for what you're going to do to me! That's not how you treat guests, is it?" Kars sighed.

"How do you always manage to be so insufferable?" Within moments the stony skin on Kars' arms split apart and crumbled, ivory blades protruding from them. They sparkled, a faint whirring noise coming from them. Fun!

It wasn't like Joseph was unfamiliar with death. He'd had close calls with it many times before. This simply was one encounter he couldn't escape. Horrifyingly enough, he was used to the situation. Accepted it, even. Kars lunged for him and...

The blades didn't even graze him. The ropes fell onto the bed, shredded up. This- this was his chance to escape! Somehow!

Joseph leapt up, darting past Kars. He turned around. As he expected, Kars had reacted accordingly, beginning to chase after him. Kars had the advantage here. He was larger, faster, completely unoutrunnable. He knew the layout of the place; Joseph didn't. He'd have to incapacitate Kars or something for his attempt to actually have a chance. He had nothing of his on him. No clackers, no scarf, nothing he would be able to use well here. Joseph weaved in and out of the way of any attacks that came his way.

He'd been stuck in this room long enough to know every inch of it. Not even his incredibly intelligent self could find anything of use in it. It was just him and his fists. Fists that, quite frankly, wasn't going to do much against a beast like Kars. That monstrous height (almost double his height, oh my God!) meant Kars had monstrously long limbs too. Kars could reach Joseph easier than Joseph could reach Kars. Closing in for an attack was a no-go. Which sucked, seeing that hamon could only be used in physical combat.

A sidestep done too late. Kars caught him, sending them both crashing to the ground. Everything was a blur. Joseph scrambled to do anything at all. A couple of hamon-charged kicks to the stomach didn't faze Kars in the slightest. In moments they were on the floor, Joseph pinned under Kars. Kars' grip on his arms was tight, bordering on painful.

"Can you calm down?!" Kars snapped. Joseph thrashed in Kars' grip.

"No, not really! This position isn't exactly the best position to calm yourself down in!"

"You're the one that's made me do this!"

"You're the one that used weird as hell arm blades to cut the ropes!" Joseph yelled back. "You could've, I dunno, untied them instead?!"

"I didn't harm you with them, did I?!"

"You could've! You started attacking me when I tried to run! Besides, you're harming me at this moment in time! Are you trying to crush my arms right now?!"

Kars' angry glare softened. He loosened his grip on Joseph's arms. Still enough there to keep them pinned down, but not enough to hurt. "I didn't attack you. I was simply trying to stop you from leaving. Is that better?" He asked. A...genuine act of concern? From Kars? With him? Joseph? Joseph Joestar? Things just couldn't stop getting weirder, could they?

"It'd be nicer if you let me go, but this is good. Doesn't hurt anymore." Joseph replied, voice now level.

"I don't trust you enough to let you go yet, so this'll have to do. You did put a smoldering dent in my stomach, after all." Joseph glanced down Kars' body. The wound was much larger than he was expecting it to be. His hamon must've developed fast! That was great! "Now let's get to the point: I want to have a talk. About what's just happened."

"Nothing you do will change her min-"

"Join us."

"Wh- Huh?" That was about the last thing Joseph expected to come out of Kars' mouth.
"Of course, you can use the stone once we obtain it too if you desire." Ah. So that's what Kars had now banked on. He was assuming that Joseph would have enough anger and hurt in his heart to switch sides. How ridiculous!

"I'm not helping you get the stone. I just..." Joseph thought of home. Mere months ago, before he even knew of the existence of the Pillar Men. His family was small. Erina and Speedwagon and him, and then the new and very much welcomed addition of Smokey. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough for him. Joseph thought of Erina's cooking. Sure, Suzi's was lovely and nothing short of deserving the most sincerest of praise, but it simply lacked the homely feeling Erina's did. It'd be a lie to say he didn't miss it all, didn't crave it. "I just want to go home. I never wanted to be a part of all this. I just wanted to keep my family safe. I'm not getting involved in this mess more than I need to."

Kars relented. He moved off of Joseph and let his arms go, setting him free. Joseph sat up, rubbing the back of his head. The impact of falling had given him a throbbing pain there. What was it with Kars and giving him head injuries? "I guess I can't win you over yet-"

"Ever."

"As I was saying," Kars continued. "I can't win you over yet, but you're still going to have to stay with us. You managed to snag Esidisi's antidote ring without killing him, but you still have Whammu's ring inside you. And he will have his duel, whether you want to or not. And as of now, you don't have anywhere else appropriate to go."

"Ugh, really?" Joseph groaned. "Living with you for the next month? That's gonna suck..."

"Likewise." Kars replied bitterly. Joseph stood up and stretched. Being tied up like that had gotten his muscles stiff.

"You giving me free reign here? I can go around and do whatever?"

"You're going to be staying with us for quite the while. It's as much of your home as it is ours." Neat. Nothing more awesome than having a home that was quite literally falling to pieces.

"I'm gonna take a look around." Joseph announced as he began to adventure, Kars trailing after him.


Caesar was almost ready to go. It was easy to pack, seeing he didn't have much in the first place. He hadn't bothered with anything except for training to defeat the Pillar Men, really. That, and swooning women he found on the streets (and then everything else that followed after that). Regardless, the lack of hobbies meant that there was no struggle on what to bring and what to leave. All he had was the essentials, and some weapons. That left plenty of space for Caesar to bring along Joseph's favourite things. Once he was rescued he'd be overjoyed to have his things back. He headed to Joseph's room.

"Hey!" Suzi's voice. She was running down the corridor, her own bags packed. "I'm going to come with you, Caesar!" Once she found out about Joseph's fate, she'd gotten the angriest Caesar had ever seen her. It didn't come as much of a surprise that she had decided to leave and find Joseph too. Still...

"You don't know hamon, Suzi. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't care!" She bristled. "I don't want to stand around and do nothing when JoJo's in danger! I'll find a way to help, with hamon or not!" She was about as stubborn as Joseph when she wanted to be, and just like Joseph Caesar wasn't in the mood to fight back. Besides, the company and help would be appreciated.

"Alright then. I'm going to take some of JoJo's things with me. Want to help me out?"

She smiled. "Of course!"

Joseph's things were half-packed, so it took a while to find the things that hadn't been packed in the mess that was his room. Caesar didn't understand how Joseph managed to function with a room like this. Somehow, in all the disorder, he could find whatever he wanted with ease. Then again, Joseph was simply Joseph. Lots of things about how he was didn't really make proper sense to Caesar (and sometimes Joseph himself, too). That was simply something the two had to accept and work with. Caesar packed away most of Joseph's comic books - the great thing about them being thin was that they took up so little space - and his clackers. The clackers would make for a great weapon if they needed to fight against the Pillar Men with Joseph there. Which was a very likely case.

"Caesar, we should bring this too!" Suzi was holding a scarf, green and yellow. He had seen Joseph wearing it about once or twice. "He really loves this scarf. He'd be super happy if we brought it with us, I'm sure of it!"

"Really?" Suzi nodded.

"It means a lot to him. He's so protective of it, I had to persuade him to let me wash it!" She giggled, reminiscing. "JoJo was so scared I'd damage or ruin it in some way, it has to have a lot of sentimental value to him. We can't leave it behind." That explained why he had seen Joseph wear it only a few times then. With all the training and fighting it'd be bound to get torn. Or worse. Having it stashed away in his room like this would mean that it'd be shielded from the dangers of Air Supplena, available to him whenever he needed it to be.

"We'll have to treat it with the upmost importance, then." If Suzi hadn't been there to find it and bring that up, Caesar would've left that beloved scarf behind. And who knew what Lisa Lisa would do with Joseph's belongings, now that she had left him for dead? Give them away? Destroy them completely? Certainly not anything Joseph would be happy with.

Soon enough happy with what they had, the two began to make their way off the island. Caesar walked slowly, letting the sight of the place soak in for what would probably be the last time. This had been his home for so many years, his salvation from a life on the streets. A place where he could have a warm and safe place to sleep at night, with meals guaranteed every day.

And now he was leaving it all behind.

He had Suzi with him, at least. And the Speedwagon Foundation would help out too. Though...maybe not yet. It might not be the best course of action to announce everything that had happened in the past few days to Speedwagon and make him panic. The stress wouldn't be good for the poor man's heart.

"Don't worry about us having a place to stay. I've got a home on the mainland we can stay at until we know where to go." Suzi reassured Caesar as he looked back at the island.

"It's not that...just going to feel a little homesick once we leave, I think." He couldn't waste time. The longer Joseph was missing, the bigger the chance he'd be dead by the time they found him. Or, an even worse fate. Caesar felt sick at the thought of Joseph being turned against his will, used like a pawn in the Pillar Men's conquest.

He tore his eyes away from the island. They both had a lot of work to do. 

Chapter Text

After dropping their things at Suzi's house, the two found a cafe to eat at, and discuss their next move. The whole leaving and finding Joseph thing was an in the moment thing. Wherever he was a complete mystery to them, especially since they had no leads.

Caesar sipped his coffee, deep in thought. It wasn't a particular favourite of his, but its bitter flavour kept his mind grounded and focused. The cake he had would clean his mouth of the unpleasant aftertaste too. His mind was drawing blanks. The world was a large place, and those beasts could cover a lot of land in a short amount of time. Joseph could be all the way in Russia or something for all they knew.

"I can't think of anything. And it's not like they're going to reveal their location to us." That depended on if they had a set location in the first place anyways. For all they knew, the Pillar Men could be moving about to escape being found. Unlike the hamon users they had no need to stay at a certain place for an extended period of time. Yet another advantage they had...

"Well, they can't be anywhere in the world, can they?" Suzi said, using her straw to play about with the ice cubes in her lemonade. She'd opted for something cooler, saying that waiting for a hot drink to become cool enough to drink would be too distracting.

"Hm?"

"Think about it. If these Pillar Men can't go out in the day, then they can't be too far away can they? If they tried to cross the sea from America to here, the sun would end up destroying them."

"You're right! They'd have to be fairly close to get to where we are and back within the night. And by not travelling on the sea they'd always have a place to hide from the sun if they needed to!" That reduced their places to search by a lot. They were likely on the same continent. And though continents were large, a single one wasn't as large as multiple of them.

They could narrow it down further. It'd have to be a place convenient for the Pillar Men. Where was convenient...? With all that was brewing, them being in a country run by the Axis would make it easier for them to get to and from Italy. If they weren't already in Italy, at least.

"It'd be easier for them to be in an Axis-run country. So that leaves us with here, Germany..." Caesar listed off all the countries, feeling sicker the more he listed. They had conquered a concerning amount in the past few years. War was brewing, inevitable at this point. And with the way they were gaining power, Caesar wasn't so sure it'd end well.

"What about Switzerland?" Suzi suggested. "They've always been in a state of armed neutrality. It looks like it's going to be the same now." Caesar hadn't thought of that. With it bordering Italy, it'd be a great place for the Pillar Men.

"Yeah, that too. Not too sure how we're going to work out where exactly in the country they are though..." Caesar was lost in thought again. Surely they'd be trackable somehow...?

An idea popped into Caesar's head. "The news! It'll rat them out to us!"

"You're right! If they need to eat people, the news will start reporting on missing people eventually!"

"We'll have to keep up with the news then." Caesar had never bothered to buy newspapers since he got off the streets, and when he did, it was simply for keeping himself warm, either as padding or by burning. Never had he read one before. He, ashamedly, didn't know how they worked. Did the different brands cover different news? Did they only give news locally, or did they give global news? Suzi would understand it all better than him. She could handle that, and Caesar could watch and learn. And then he could act as if he had always known how newspapers worked, and Joseph would never be able to tease him about it ever.

Joseph.

The thought of him was both a comfort and something that made him ache deeply inside. Caesar shouldn't have gotten attatched. Not when Joseph had been put up to an impossible task where he'd certainly die. And yet, how could he not? As irritating as Joseph could be sometimes, he truly had a heart of gold. His shenanigans, if not sometimes ridiculous, put a smile on Caesar's face. Joseph pushed against him in the best of ways - their friendly rivalry had pushed Caesar to better himself in every way he could, desperate to not lose to the Joestar. They melded together so well it felt as if they were inseparable.

And here they were. Separated.

"...Suzi."

Her silent but attentive look spurred him to continue. "What if Joseph's dead when we find him."

The silence was unbearable as Suzi grasped for an answer. "Well...we'd at least be able to put his body to rest nicely. He'd appreciate that. He'd appreciate the fact we're trying to save him in the first place."

Caesar hummed in acknowledgement, taking a small forkful of the cake and slowly chewing it. Despite it being one of his favourites, he had no stomach for it. Caesar didn't waste food.

The very possible what if of Joseph being dead was enough to make his stomach churn. He got along with Joseph the way he simply couldn't with anyone else. He'd been an idiot and let Joseph worm his way into the deep recesses of his tattered and wounded heart. He cared for Joseph like he had no other person before, so hard and deeply it was almost overwhelming. And all in the span of a fucking week.

And now Joseph had been torn away from him, possibly forever, and Caesar had been left writhing.

And there was always the chance that an even crueler death awaited Joseph than at the Pillar Men's hands. They could've always found a better use for him. They could've turned him into a zombie or vampire, puppeted by them to do their bidding. A bloodthirsty monster. One that he'd have to put an end to.

He finished off his cake, its nauseatingly sweet cream burning itself into his mouth until he was sure it'd never leave. Caesar couldn't tell if he would prefer this or the aftertaste of his coffee.

Suzi had finished with her drink long ago, now sucking up the small puddle of water at the bottom of the glass that her ice cubes had become.

The noise was deafening. The cafe was almost empty, too crowded.

"I-I'm going to go pay. Need some air." Caesar blurted out, standing up.

What followed after was a fuzzy blur to him. Rome's fresh air helped to calm his nerves as he walked with Suzi. She held his hand, squeezing it tight. A reminder that he wasn't alone.

"I promise you it'll go well, Caesar. You'll be able to save JoJo - it's not going to end up like the rest." She said quietly. A promise she couldn't guarantee. Caesar clung onto it desperately, it being the only glimmer of hope he could find. It would go well. It had to go well. He'd see Joseph's happy face again.

Chapter Text

"You can keep trying to persuade me and I'm still gonna say no to helping you."

"You've been with us for a while now, Joseph. Surely by now you'd realise we're not lying about not using the stone's powers for evil."

Back and forth.

"A while? Three days isn't that long! Besides, even if I did fully believe you, I just think that having the power of a God isn't the best thing for anyone to have!"

Back and forth.

"It's our only way to be able to experience the sun–"

"You've gone thousands of years just fine! You don't need it!" Kars couldn't accept reality, could he?

"Sometimes I consider turning you just so you can know how it feels like." Kars spat, defeated. "You'd be a useless ally to us then though."

"I wouldn't call you three my 'allies'." Joseph leaned back against the warm stone wall, the scent of smoke hanging in the air. As much as they (well, Kars) were trying to push Joseph into helping them for their own personal gain, they also did bother to try and make his stay a pleasant one. It wasn't always through the best methods – Joseph shouldn't have even bothered asking where they got the luxurious furred coat from, or how they got the money to buy food for him from – but it was appreciated nonetheless.

The dining room, now repurposed into a storage room, was Joseph's favourite room in the abandoned hotel. It was the only room with a fireplace, and so it was the only place where he could keep his hands and feet from freezing off. He'd sleep in there too, if only the floor wasn't so hard.

And also because he wouldn't be able to tick off Kars as much. It wasn't like Kars could complain if Joseph needed another person to sleep with because he'd be too cold otherwise, could he? If Kars really needed him that badly, he couldn't lash out or get annoyed with the way Joseph snored and drooled in his sleep, could he? Because of course the snoring and drooling was something he couldn't control. It definitely wasn't being exaggerated on purpose. Definitely not.

"Then what are we to you, if not allies?" Joseph shrugged.

"Hell if I know. I don't particularly want you dead, but I'm not helping you either. Acquaintances, I guess?"

"Acquaintances work." Kars unsheathed his bone blades, glinting in the fire's light. He was meticulous with the cloth he used to clean them. Every little groove was accounted for, no detail missed.

"You're an incredibly baffling and irritating person." Not the worst insult Kars could've come up with. "How are you not filled with hatred for what's been done to you?"

Joseph had to think about that one. When Lisa Lisa had thrown him down Hellclimb Pillar, he'd ranted on about how he'd beat her up in revenge. He always talked about the full extent of his hate for her and the sort of training she put him and Caesar through. Those were very bad things she'd done to him. This was much worse. Of course he hated her. He despised her for the way she treated him. Yet.

"Oh, I do hate her. It doesn't mean I'm going to go and betray her, or kill her. It's just...people care about her. And I care about those people. I don't want to hurt them in the pursuit of vengeance or anything like that."

Kars rolled his eyes at the statement. "You do remember that Caesar also didn't care about what happened to you in our hands?" He tiredly said. Joseph very much did remember that, with the way the fact had left such a deep wound on his heart. Sure, they had only known each other for about a week – almost half of that stuck in the Hellclimb Pillar – but the bond they developed in that time was a strong one. One of the closest bonds Joseph had had, if he was completely honest. They could fight and fight, just to laugh it off later. Joseph would always have Caesar's back, and Caesar would always have Joseph's.

Until now.

Even though Caesar had left him for dead, Joseph couldn't bring himself to ruin Caesar's life in any way. Lisa Lisa was like a mother to Caesar. He wouldn't tear that away from him no matter what. "I'm not going to hurt him out of spite."

"Compassion like that makes you weak, Joseph. It'll kill you one day. You'd do best to discard it, or at the very least tone it down." Kars lectured. As if he had anything worth listening to.

"Yeah, alright." Joseph said uncaringly.

"Whammu wanted to speak with you. He'll likely be on one of the higher floors." Being dismissed after failing to persuade him, just like always. Joseph couldn't tell if he was relieved that Kars didn't bother to make any more conversation outside these events, or annoyed that he apparently wasn't worth doing anything else with. As much as the hate was mutual, couldn't he be more than simply just a means to an end in Kars' eyes? Clutching his coat close to his body, Joseph left his safe haven.

The cold hit him the moment he left the room, but his coat helped stave off most of it. Its furred insides helped trap the heat of the fireplace in. He had that, at least. In his few days of being in the ruined hotel, he'd managed to memorise the layout quite well. It was mostly the higher floors that he still needed to work on. That, and also the fact that parts of the building tended to collapse at times. Like every building did casually, of course. The hallways and routes would then be blocked off, either permanently or until one of the Pillar Men bothered to deal with the debris. And Joseph for the meantime would have to find other routes. How fun! He couldn't wait for the unlucky day where this godforsaken building would decide to fall apart on top of him and turn his body into an unidentifiable mess on the floor!

Joseph hated it here.

He found Whammu not too long after starting his search, in what would've been some sort of bathroom. The Pillar Man was sharpening his obsidian claws on a piece of stone Joseph could only assume was from the building itself, as if the claws weren't already sharp enough.

"You wanted me?"

"Yes. It's about our battle to the death." Whammu said, setting the stone down. Ah. In the mess of everything that was happening the fight hadn't crossed Joseph's mind at all. Death truly had him ensnared in its web. Every time he managed to escape, he was immediately hit with another situation that'd lead him to an early grave. No wonder why Joestars die young.

"Oh. That."

"If you were to fight against me at the time we decided on, you'd certainly die. Your hamon training's been interrupted, and you have nobody else to train you in it. So," Whammu tore the ring on his lip off with ease. The torn flesh melded itself back together with a blinding speed. "I want you to take the antidote early."

Whammu softly placed the ring in Joseph's hands. Dumbfounded, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Are you sure? This was a serious promise, with you using the wedding ring and all." It wasn't the best thing to say in almost immediate retrospect. People don't typically ask someone to reconsider doing an action that would save their life.

"I do not want you to die before reaching your full potential. The circumstances are both out of our control. We cannot feasibly carry out our sides of the promise anymore." Joseph rubbed his thumb over the intricate patterning carved into the golden ring.

Whammu must really trust him, to do this. To get rid of the last thing that was caging Joseph's freedom away. Without the threat of the ring killing him, there was nothing stopping him from doing whatever he wanted, ranging from simply leaving to go home happily or stabbing them all in the back, quite literally. Joseph would make sure that this act of trust and kindness would be paid back one day, in whatever way he could.

"Thank you, Whammu." Undoing its clasp, Joseph brought the ring to his mouth. The chilly liquid inside was as unpleasant as the last, sweet and sour and bitter and salty all at once. It was slow to run down his throat, coating it with stickiness. A funny tingly feeling grew where the wedding ring was, signifying its destruction. That obstacle was done and over with. Many more laid in front of him.

"I will train you in combat. I cannot help much with your hamon, but I will try my best." Joseph held his tongue. More work? Here he was, thinking he was finally free from that. It was better than the alternative, at least. Unless this was training for a fight to the death anyways. Joseph hoped that wasn't the case. Whammu left the room, waiting outside it patiently. "Come with me. We have to train outside. Any combat in here would likely cause the building to collapse."

Training in the cold. How joyous and wonderful!

Joseph wondered how much longer he could use fake joy and pep to get through his terrible situation for. It wasn't like Joseph wasn't used to it – training late into the night down in Italy made him very accustomed to it. Didn't mean he wouldn't mind being subjected to it (probably) daily again.

Daily? Wouldn't it be nightly? He lived with the Pillar Men for the time being, he hadn't seen the sun in ages. But then, people also used day to refer to the whole 24 hours... No, why did they use day to refer to the whole 24 hours and the time period where the sun was in the sky? It would make more sense to call it different things, wouldn't–

"JoJo, are you even listening?" Joseph became aware that they were already outside. And that Whammu had been talking to him for who knows how long. And he hadn't been listening at all.

Great.

"No...sorry...I just. Zoned out..." Joseph sheepishly apologised, resting a hand of his on the back of his head awkwardly.

"That's fine. You have no need to apologise. You can simply listen now." Whammu said, shifting and getting into a battle stance. "I want you to fight me until one of us yields. No hamon, no tricks. A simple fistfight will suffice."

Joseph brought his fists up. Wouldn't be too hard. "You do know you're much stronger than me physically, right?"

"Yes, and I will be holding back to accommodate. This is just to test you and see what needs improvement." Nothing too bad then. That was good. He was still getting used to this nocturnal lifestyle, and he wanted to sleep more than anything right now.

The fight began.

Going for the face was useless. Whammu was too tall to reach the face without the aid of a weapon like his clackers, and he didn't want to get too brutal for a training/sparring match. The stomach was the next best place. Soft, full of vital organs, a critical weak point. Not that the organs probably mattered much to Whammu, if he even had any like humans did there. Regardless, it was the place that would be best to attack.

Some hits got in, some blocked by Whammu. The shock of the hits ran up Joseph's arms, almost electrical. It hurt. He could deal with it. He could keep going. He would keep on pushing through. Whammu's attacks were strong, but he could block them just fine. The few that hit him ached, threatening to leave bruises. With hamon, they'd heal fast. Nothing to worry about.

Joseph tuned time out, focusing on the battle and the battle alone. Even the cold seemed distant.

He was beginning to grow exhausted. He needed to push it away. Keep attacking. Joseph needed an advantage.

"Is using our legs allowed?" He asked.

"No. That'll come into play another time. And no, you wouldn't be able to kick my legs out from under me. I doubt any human is strong enough for such a feat."

"How did you kn– Agh!" An unprotected punch to the stomach and Joseph keeled over. He clutched the part that had been hurt protectively.

"You're throwing yourself into the fight too much. You're giving your all in every attack. That's the main issue here." Whammu explained.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Joseph breathed heavily, recovering.

"No. You end up tiring yourself out and hurting yourself. Holding back in battles sometimes is as important as going all out."

Joseph guessed that made sense. Usually the downtime in his battles was just him monologuing and setting up traps. He had never seen any issues with every attack being all out due to it. In a duel to the death monologuing and setting up traps seemed unlikely. He'd have to practice this to have a chance at survival.

"That's all for now. I don't want to push you too far, and I could tell that you were exhausted before we even began. Are you able to get up?" Whammu asked.

That was it? Really? Just one fight? A single fight where his flaws were pointed out to be improved on later? Really? It seemed too good to be true.

"...What's the catch?" Joseph slowly sat, then stood up. The coat did well to protect him from the snow. If he wasn't wearing it, he may as well have frozen.

"There is no catch. No point in throwing you into intense training immediately. How are you meant to learn and build upon your skills that way?"

"Hm. Good point." If that was the case, then why did Lisa Lisa throw him into the deep end off the bat? Were they really that short on time? Or did she think that giving Joseph no other option but to learn would cause him to learn faster? That would be a question he'd never get an answer to. No way of asking her now, if she even bothered to give him an answer.

This time, Joseph made sure to pay attention and talk to Whammu on the way back.

"I doubt you'd be able to slay me after your training anyways." Whammu said, deep into their conversation. "You're incredibly smart when it comes to combat, however. I think that could give you the extra edge needed to actually win, whereas other opponents would be guaranteed to die."

"Oh? How so?" The conversation had continued further than they had both expected, and now they were both exploring the hotel for any secrets or places that had been missed so far. Joseph's idea of course. He loved an adventure.

"My Divine Sandstorm. Nobody has survived a direct hit from it. Nobody could survive a direct hit from it. And I think you have the smarts to work around the attack and live."

"Yeah...how does it work again?" Joseph asked, fishing through dusty boxes. The room they were in had been glossed over, not fully looked through. There were a couple of books in there, though they were worn down with time. Finding a legible one they could read together was their goal.

"Strong winds caused by the turning of my hands. The hands themselves, if the target is unlucky. Shreds skin and tears muscles to pieces. It could break bone, if the person being hit by it didn't have much in the way of protection."

"That's...nice." Joseph would settle on that response for now. Not much else to say when a previous (current?) enemy explains the brutal nature of their special attack.

"How about this one?" Whammu help up a book. A recipe book from the looks of it. He handed it to Joseph, who flicked through the pages. The pages were yellowed but it was legible. And it was...

...Handwritten. Handwritten! This wasn't just some recipe book! This was a special one-of-a-kind! With special foods with special recipes... Joseph had to commit this entire book to heart.

"Come on Whammu, let's find somewhere comfy to read this!" Joseph said happily, keeping the book close to his chest as he began his search.

Chapter Text

The town the Pillar Men had decided to reside in was certainly one for the rich. Full of tourist traps, a significant amount still open so late into the night. It must be some sort of holiday resort. Joseph explored his surroundings as the Pillar Men followed behind. Like Santana, they possessed the ability to manipulate their bone structure to an extent, enough to allow them to pass as human beings. In their formal attire, they fit in with the small amount of people who were still out at this time.

The shops didn't catch Joseph's eyes. Extremely overpriced yet extremely tiny sweet treats in bakeries, keychains and postcards in other shops...where was all the stuff that was worthwhile? Any books to buy and read? Board games to help pass the time?

On second thought, playing a board game with the Pillar Men would end in disaster. Kars was too competitive to truly have fun. And Joseph wouldn't lie, he was competitive too. It wasn't like they were on the best of terms either. They'd be at each other's throats before they were even halfway through the game.

"This isn't as fun as I thought it would be..." Joseph muttered. "Nice to not be cooped up though."

It'd be fun if he was here on holiday. He could buy trinkets to add to his collection at home. Technically, he still could if he wanted to. The Pillar Men didn't care how their money was spent, as it all went on Joseph anyways. It just felt odd, to do that while living there for who knows how long. And there was the unanswerable question of if he was even going to go back home in the first place. Everything in the future was uncertain, unstable. Past him would've expected him to have the time of his life, doing whatever he pleased without a care in the world. Surprisingly, he felt the opposite about it all. Much of his will to do anything had slowly been sapped away. What was the point of starting a book, when there was a good chance you'd die before reaching its end? Why get excited for something if you knew that death could be hanging right around the corner, poised to take your life before you could get to enjoy it?

Man, everything was really starting to weigh down on him. It wasn't like him to be so morbid and depressing. Time to do one of his specialties – run away. He would distance himself from those sad ones and find something else to occupy his thoughts.

Finally, after too much time for it to be acceptable by Joseph passed, something caught his eye. A building, one that was renting out saunas for periods at a time. For a ridiculously expensive price. Saunas were warm. Hot, even. So, so incredibly hot... It would be his salvation from the freezing cold that was everywhere, even if just for a little while.

He rushed over, desperate. Just as he expected, the time meant that almost all of the rooms were free. Joseph chose a room that the man at the counter said had a good view of the scenery. He'd make sure that absolutely everything was worth it. Oh, how he'd been craving something like this!

"Seems that you've found something fun to do after all." Esidisi said.

"Sure have! I'm finally going to be free from the cold!" Despite growing up in England of all places, Joseph despised dreary, cold weather. Warm and sunny weather was more up his alley instead. Though he couldn't experience that sort of weather here in Switzerland, the sauna would be enough for him.

Before using the sauna, they had to shower first. To get rid of any muck on them so they wouldn't dirty the sauna or something, Joseph didn't really bother taking in the details, only the rules. He could endure it and the extra wait it brought. Joseph started to undress, and-

Ah. He remembered that the Pillar Men didn't know about his body. Nobody knew, except for Erina and Speedwagon. Joseph had considered telling the residents on Air Supplena too (binding his chest for hours on end during training was really starting to get to him), but after everything, that clearly wasn't going to happen.

It's not like they'd care, right? They treated Lisa Lisa with the respect a warrior should have, and she was a woman. They wouldn't treat him any differently, surely. Still...

He couldn't waste time and hold them up. If he acted like nothing was wrong or off, then maybe they wouldn't notice. That, or they wouldn't bother to question it. Yeah, that'd work.

Finishing undressing, Joseph quickly got under one of the shower heads. The water that puddled on the ground and fell through the draining grid by his feet was obscene. When was the last time he bathed? Ew. At least he was clean now.

The Pillar Men paid no attention to Joseph's body, thankfully. It'd be an awkward thing to explain to them. Anyone, really. Hastily, Joseph got into the sauna. The heat of the water burned a little at first, pleasantly. Its warmth crept into his body, hacking away at the icy chill that had settled into his bones.

"Aah... This feels great..." Joseph sighed. He'd stay in this forever if he could. He sunk himself into the water deeper.

"This is more pleasant than I was expecting it to be." Kars said. His long purple locks floated on the water's bubbly surface. It was ridiculous how he managed to hide it all underneath his headwrap. Joseph had been clueless to its existence until a couple of days ago. He had been looking for Kars to ask if there was any food left for him to eat, as he had been feeling peckish. In the end he did find Kars. And walked upon Esidisi tenderly caring for his hair in the process. Something that was definitely not meant to be seen by him. To say the atmosphere between them both was awkward for a while after would be an understatement.

"The view is nice too." Esidisi pointed out, gesturing to the vast white expanse on the other side of the glass. The snow on the trees glittered in the moonlight, and stars covered the sky, much more than they did in the city. Joseph had never seen anything like it. Nice didn't even begin to describe it – though maybe the novelty of the scenery had worn off on Esidisi after experiencing it for thousands of years.

Joseph, funnily enough, felt alone. He'd gone from one group that only saw him as a way to protect the stone to one that only saw him as a way to obtain the stone, but he preferred the company of his previous one. Suzi and Caesar would happily chat to him about the scenery with as much excitement and interest he had. They'd be much more fun to talk with too, their conversations being casual and not a mind game trying to manipulate Joseph into doing things he had no desire to do.

He'd never see them again. Even if he got out of this fine, who was to say that they'd still be at Air Supplena? Would they want to see him again anyways? Suzi maybe, she wasn't there when Lisa Lisa announced that she was leaving him for dead, so who knew where her opinions lied. Caesar. To ever see him afterwards would be horrifically awkward. He very well knew that to see Caesar after this would be a ridiculous idea. A part of Joseph still couldn't accept it. They had a bond, a unique one. He cared for Caesar in a way he had never with anyone else, and it felt mutual. And then he had been thrown away. Joseph knew that Caesar was one to put logic over emotion – most of the time at least. But for him to do that with not even an ounce of reluctance... It made Joseph sick. His heart may as well have been ripped out. Was their connection really worth that little in Caesar's eyes? Is this what Caesar's flings felt like, once he moved onto other people (that was an odd comparison to make. Their relationship wasn't like that in the slightest, was it?)?

"You look down, JoJo." Whammu pointed out. "I thought you were enjoying this?"

"Yeah, I am." Joseph replied, dragged away from ruminating on his thoughts. "I was just thinking about Caesar."

"Really? You still waste time thinking about him?" Kars scoffed.

"Shut up."

"He doesn't care for you anymore. Discard any feelings you have for the man. Save yourself the suffering."

"Maybe doing that is easy for you, but I'm not heartless."

"I'm not heartless, you're just a fool."

"You two should try to get along better." Esidisi said. "You're both going to be insufferable to live with in the long term."

That was enough to stamp out the brewing argument. Kars cared about Esidisi enough to stop, and though he wasn't as nice as Whammu, he hadn't done anything particularly outrageous to Joseph. Not on the level of kidnapping, anyways. Neither him nor Whammu deserved to suffer in any way from his and Kars' spats.

"I assume we'll be visiting here quite a lot, JoJo?" Whammu diverted the conversation.

"Of course! How could I not?" It had quickly become one of the few things Joseph looked forward to every time he woke up.

"I assume you'll be planning your return soon then - our time's up."

"Huh?! Already?!"

"Yes. Twenty minutes. I've been counting in my head."

"Only twenty minutes? That's so short!"

"It's for safety reasons, to make sure people don't overheat themselves."

"That sucks..." Joseph mumbled as the Pillar Men left the water. He hesitated to follow.

"During my hunts, I spotted a restaurant I think you'd like. Please allow me to take you there." That was Whammu's polite way of asking him to get up. He was hungry anyways.

"Fine, fine, I'm getting up..."

Chapter Text

Today, the news finally gave Caesar and Suzi something.

Caesar reread the newspaper's cover story again and again, to make sure that absolutely nothing was misunderstood. St. Moritz, a place in Switzerland that tourists loved to go to, had had a lot of disappearances occur in the past few weeks. Caesar vaguely recognised all the names listed in the article, them being people from wealthy families. No wonder why it was a front page story, then.

"Suzi, I think this might be it!" She peered over his shoulder, reading the article for herself. Though she was behind him, he could feel her face light up.

"We have to go investigate! Let's go let Speedwagon know!" She said excitedly. After paying for the paper in the shop (they needed a copy for future reference, after all) they rushed home.

Suzi's place had been tidied up a lot since they first arrived there. The place was no longer dusty, and it had been spruced up a little, a vase of flowers by the windowsill viewing the sea.

Knowing Speedwagon's number off by heart, Caesar dialed him. The phone rung once, twice, before being picked up.

Caesar spoke before Speedwagon had a chance to. "We need your help."

"Caesar?" Speedwagon started, sounding surprised at who was on the other end. "What's wrong?"

"JoJo's been kidnapped by the Pillar Men, but we're pretty sure-"

"What?!" Speedwagon fumbled over his words. Maybe that wasn't the best way to break the news to him.

"Let me start from the beginning..."

Caesar recited the events of the past few weeks – the kidnapping, the abandonment, him and Suzi leaving to go find Joseph, and then now.

Speedwagon cut him off when Lisa Lisa's name was mentioned.

"Lisa Lisa's your hamon teacher?" He asked to confirm, something like concern or fear edging his voice.

"Yes...? Did I not tell you that she was my hamon teacher when we first got into contact with each other?"

Speedwagon was quiet for a moment. "...Does she know who JoJo is? That he's a Joestar?"

"No, I don't think it was ever brought up." There were things not being said, a bigger picture. One that Speedwagon seemed to be trying to obscure. "Why's it important?"

"Oh, good heavens..." Caesar didn't know what face he pulled at the sound of that, but from the look on Suzi's it certainly wasn't a good one. "Well, Caesar, Lisa Lisa's...very close with the Joestar family, to put it lightly. It's a long story. If she knew who JoJo was I'm sure she wouldn't be doing this..."

Still not the full picture. "If she's so close with the Joestars, how come she doesn't know that JoJo's a Joestar?"

"She cut off contact with me and the Joestar family around seventeen years ago. Said it was to try keep us out of anything to do with vampires and the stone masks. Lisa Lisa...I don't think she knew him long enough to make the connection and realise." How tragic. She'd left the Joestar family behind to protect them, only to leave one to die at the hands of those monsters. Caesar would feel bad for Lisa Lisa, if the act of giving Joseph away wasn't so abhorrent in the first place.

"Ah... Well, once we get Joseph back we'll be able to tell her. Maybe it'll finally knock some sense into her."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Caesar." And so it wasn't a good idea. He hadn't uncovered the full story yet, that much was apparent. But he definitely wasn't going to uncover it all today; There were more important things to attend to.

The two discussed how they'd get Caesar and Suzi to St. Moritz, and after a formal goodbye Speedwagon hung up. He usually ended his calls more informally and friendly, but these weren't usual circumstances. Time really was of the essence here.

"The Speedwagon Foundation are on their way. We need to get ready."

"What happened?" Suzi asked, dying to be in the loop. Caesar relayed the information back to her while they packed their things again, including the information on Lisa Lisa's connection to Joseph.

"Oh, that's horrible..." She said sadly while expertly putting her clothes into her suitcase. He'd have to ask her how she did it; It seemed like she could conjure extra space up out of thin air. "Nothing's gone right for anyone here, has it?"

"Not even for the Pillar Men." As far as Caesar knew the Pillar Men were still stoneless. If anything changed, he'd certainly know. Everyone would know, with all the chaos they would wreak with its power.

Caesar still didn't have many possessions to pack away, and so he helped Suzi with what she had left. "But soon enough, things will start going our way. The Pillar Men will be defeated and the stone protected. JoJo will be saved, and we can go about our lives happily and put this all behind us."

The last part felt like he was spitting a lie.

Something deep inside of him knew he wasn't going to get out alive. That was always the way the tale was spun – why would it change for him, of all people? He was a Zeppeli. They came. They helped the Joestar. They died for the Joestar. They became a footnote in the Joestar's legacy.

Even in cases like Caesar's father, they still managed to lay down their life for someone, very much before their time. The odds were stacked against against Caesar horrifically, and Joseph, a Joestar, was involved. And he was so incredibly devoted to Joseph. Tragically kindhearted and noble under all that crass... How could Caesar not grow to respect and care for him (the more he thought about it, the more it felt like there were other feelings mixed in with his feelings of respect) as badly as he did?

"Would I be able to stay with you, once this is all over?" Suzi asked. "I don't want to go back to Lisa Lisa, but I also don't want to go to live on my own. I've been living with others for so long, it'd feel wrong to be alone."

"Of course! You don't need to ask. I've enjoyed living with you. I don't want to change that."

She smiled warmly. "It'll be nice. We can finally do whatever we want, stress free... Oh, and JoJo can join us too! We'll be an inseparable trio!"

Caesar listened to her as she happily ranted on about the beautiful future she had conjured up in her mind. It was so vivid, for a moment he almost thought it possible.

He couldn't let false hopes like that cloud his mind. A future like that simply wasn't possible. He'd fulfil his duty to save Joseph, and die. That simply was his fate.

Though, he guessed it wouldn't hurt to indulge in fantasies just a little bit.

Chapter Text

Joseph's training with Whammu was much more enjoyable than his training with Lisa Lisa. For once, he actually looked forward to doing work. So when Whammu said he wanted to try something new out, he was all ears.

"This time I'd like to spar with you blindfolded. Sight's an important part of combat, so I feel like we should train without it, to hone our other skills." Whammu explained.

That sounded fun, if not a bit hectic. Though the more Joseph thought about it, the more he could see issues with it.

"Sure, I don't mind it. But have you thought about how we'd sort out any issues if anything went wrong?"

"Kars and Esidisi are watching over us, for one." Joseph glanced behind him. The two were watching from the sidelines, but still close enough to quickly intervene if anything was to happen. "Your hamon is also definitely not strong enough to defeat me with a single hit."

Now fully willing, Joseph took the long strip of fabric from Whammu. "Why don't you have one?"

"I can't trust you to simply close your eyes and keep them that way."

Joseph huffed, putting the fabric over his eyes and tying it on tightly. "I guess you do have a point..."

He got into a defensive position. Best thing to do here was focus more on protecting himself than attacking. Once he got used to the lack of sight he'd become more aggressive. "Ready?"

"Let's begin."

Sound was his ally here. The snow crunched beneath their feet, giving away Whammu's general position. He'd be able to tell what direction an attack would come from this way.

A punch, blocked just in time. Joseph hopped back. His hamon came to mind. Breathing steadily, he created a small reserve of hamon within him. Taking care not to use too much he sent it out into the ground.

The world echoed back at him. He could almost feel the surroundings, faint images in his mind. He could "see" how the dormant frozen grass crackled and flattened with Whammu's footsteps. And very very vaguely, he could "see" Whammu too. He must be picking up on the life energy in the things around him then.

This would give him an advantage – a fair one too, no cheating or trickery involved! Whammu attacked again, and he dodged with a duck. Joseph took the chance the attack gave him to deal out one of his own. Darting forward he landed a blow on Whammu's chest. He got out of there as quickly as he closed the distance. Whammu would definitely be able to hit him with that amount of closeness.

"Well played." Whammu said. They continued their spar for what felt like hours. And with his stamina improved with his training over the last month, Joseph was still in top form.

Whammu lunged, managing to get a hit in. The attack to the stomach forced the air out of Joseph, and his image of the world spluttered out. Joseph staggered backwards.

The followup attack was blocked. He couldn't afford to be hit again, not in this state (he really was getting serious with this, wasn't he?). The one after that, too.

But not the one that was aimed at his face. Because of course he didn't think to protect that.

That one sent Joseph to the ground, clutching his head. "Owww..." For once the freezing cold of the snow was welcomed with open arms. If that was Whammu holding back, what was his full strength like?

"Are you alright?"

Joseph gave a thumbs up, using his other hand to try undo the knot on the fabric. "Just hit me a lil hard. You...win again..."

"I'm sure you'll win against me eventually." Whammu reassured, aiding Joseph. With a loud ripping noise, the fabric fell to the ground. Guess that was useless outside this one specific situation then. Joseph stuffed it into his coat pocket anyways, just in case. His tendency to keep little trinkets had never done him wrong.

"That's a nice thought. Though..." Joseph took a moment to think about their spars together. Sure, it was training to improve him and make him a better fighter, but it certainly didn't feel like work. Work was hard, boring, dreadful. Spending time with Whammu like this? It was a little tough but enjoyable.Very enjoyable. And it was something he actually looked forward to. A rare occurrence these days. "I...don't really care about beating you? I guess?"

"Isn't that what all this is for?"

Head feeling better than before, Joseph stood up. "It is, yeah, but honestly? I just look forward to spending time with you like this. It's nice."

Whammu smiled. "I would never have expected you to grow to enjoy being here."

"I wouldn't say I enjoy being here – you lot might be fine with it, but living in an abandoned building sucks! I enjoy spending time with you." Joseph looked at Kars and Esidisi. They were speaking, but quiet enough for Joseph to not understand it. "And them too, I guess. It's fun to piss off Kars. It's so easy to annoy him!"

"Or maybe you're just incredibly annoying to be around."

"H-Hey!"

"Whammu's right." Kars called out, a devilish smirk on his face. "You're the most annoying human I've met!"

"You're lying!" Joseph shouted back.

"He's not, you're simply ignorant of the truth!" Esidisi joined in, because of course the world had to turn its back to him and leave him to fend for himself.

"I'm not! You all just enjoy being mean to me!" Joseph childishly kicked the snow. A thought came to mind.

"Whammu?"

"Hm?"

"You ever had a snowball fight before?"

"I've never heard of it." That was perfect! He'd be able to teach Whammu something for once – and have the advantage of expertise.

Joseph crouched down, gathering snow. He made sure to position himself in a such a way that he would be able to get up quick. Just in case Whammu caught on to what it was. "Well the gist of it is that you gather snow and make it into a ball like this." He stood up, steeling himself. "And then you-"

He threw the snowball with all his might at Whammu's face. His face showed no emotion in that typical Pillar Man way.

"Thank you for the visual demonstration, JoJo. This is clearly a playful fight, but I won't be going easy on you."

"Bring it on!"

For once his small size gave him the advantage. He easily darted out of the way of the icy projectiles Whammu threw his way. Being closer to the ground meant that he could make snowballs much faster than Whammu could. That meant he spent less time being vunerable.

Whammu was large, an easy target. If Joseph somehow had terrible aim (which of course he didn't, because he was awesome like that) Whammu's size made him practically unavoidable. Joseph wouldn't ignore the fact his snowballs seemed to be doing nothing, though. Whammu brushed them all off as if it was nothing. And by the way Whammu's snowballs stung when they rarely landed, Joseph knew that wasn't right.

His mind was steely however. He wouldn't give up. Even the sturdiest of stones eventually broke down and crumbled after being battered with wind and rain for so long. This was simply the same. It'd just take longer for Whammu to be worn down compared to a human. Just like a normal fight.

"I'm sure you won't mind if we join, Joseph?" Kars said, as him and Esidisi made their way onto the battlefield. "After all, this is just a fight for fun, is it not? You shouldn't be annoyed at us joining."

Oh, he was definitely doing that to make sure he lost. "Of course you and Esidisi can join in, Karsy!" Joseph said with a lot of faked happiness in his voice, the one him and Kars loved to use when pissing each other off.

"Oh, you're so kind and welcoming, JoJo." Kars replied, tone as fake as Joseph's.

Things got a lot harder.

Now it was a three against one match. That was completely fair. Because a single human equalled the strength of three Pillar Men, of course.

Snowballs were harder to dodge. They came from so many directions Joseph didn't know which way to move. Trying to make his own? That was a no-go. If he stopped for a moment he'd be pelted into oblivion, that was clear enough. Collecting the snow that clung to him from the ones that hit – which were now quite the few – would have to do. He was Joseph Joestar, and Joseph Joestar made the best of every situation. He always could see the positives in any situation, no matter how bad they were. That's how he always pulled through.

The snowballs kept on coming, and it eventually became harder and harder to dodge. Exhaustion came to a human much faster than it did to a Pillar Man, after all.

Having had enough, Joseph decided to surrender in a way fitting for a jokey, no stakes fight. He melodramatically put the back of his hand on his forehead like a damsel in distress. He let himself fall backwards, the thick snow softening it. Before, he wouldn't have even thought about doing such a thing. Though he still loved warm sunny weather to this, he had gotten used to it all.

"Ah! I've been fatally hit! Whammu, you fiend! You and your cohorts have betrayed my trust! Agh...I can't tell if my wounds will take me...or if...the cold will..." Joseph closed his eyes and went silent, to sell the bit.

Someone kicked some snow on top of his "corpse". "I'll let the cold do the honours." Kars' voice said, kicking more snow onto him. Of course it was him, the bastard. Joseph waited a little longer, and then–

"Blegh." He stuck his tounge out. Just like every dead thing does.

"He truly was an honourable warrior. May his soul rest in peace." Whammu said.

The cold had seeped in enough that Joseph was beginning to worry that he really would be put to death by it. Brushing the snow off of him, he slowly sat up. "Alright, it's getting cold. No more of that."

"The dead rises!" Esidisi continued the bit. They didn't see each other that much, but he was certainly one for pranks and jokes and trickeries. Very similar to Joseph in all the best ways. By now they had grown an appreciation for one another. If Esidisi decided to continue the bit, Joseph had no choice but to comply.

He cackled maniacally. "You really thought you were done with me that easily? I'm Joseph Joestar! I always think two steps ahead! I knew you'd betray me, and so I used one of your stone masks prior to this fight! I'm a vampire, a beast of the night! Hamon means nothing when I have such tremendous strength!"

"You're saying that like we don't eat vampires. You're just an easy snack for us now." Kars pointed out. Joseph's upbeat demeanour deflated.

"Ah...you're right. Should've said I used the Red Stone..."

"It's sunrise soon. We better get back inside." Ah, the sun. Having lived with the Pillar Men for so long, he hadn't been able to properly appreciate the sun's rays. With any luck the day he could appreciate them again would come soon. For now? He had a book that was in desperate need of reading.

Chapter Text

"You wished to speak to me?" Whammu stood in front of Kars, who was about to dig into his meal. Quite literally, from the looks of it. Though Pillar Men could easily absorb humans, it seemed that Kars wanted to savour his meal this time around.

"I would like you to talk to Joseph about his physical requirements. Humans like him usually experience the menstrual cycle, don't they? I want to prepare for that in advance rather than have to sort it out in the moment." Kars bit into the top of the humans head. His strong jaws made quick work of the skull. He eagerly ate the bone, now lapping at the blood that had begun to rapidly well up from the wound. Not a drop was lost or wasted.

"You're unable to do this?"

"He's much more comfortable with you than anyone else. You're the best to ask him about it." Comfortable felt like an understatement. Joseph was always eager to stay by his side, preferring Whammu's company to being alone. At this point they may as well have been chained to each other, with Joseph rarely ever leaving. Even then, his absence was only for the apparently very important task of annoying Kars. If he wasn't in the picture, Whammu was sure he'd never have time to himself. "If he was comfortable bringing it up to all of us he would've done so when we first went to the sauna."

"Did you want me for anything else?"

"No, that's all. You're dismissed." With that Kars began to consume the corpse with earnest. Whammu silently left, allowing him to enjoy it with privacy.

Joseph would be in the storage room, most likely. He had no other place to be, after all, and he certainly wasn't terrorising Kars.

Whammu thought about the future as he made his way downstairs. Their presence was definitely starting to be felt by the occupants of this area, with the way the people they ate always were the cover story on the newspapers. The hamon warriors would catch wind sooner or later, and they'd make their way here to catch them with surprise. As much as he had grown fond of this place, they'd have to move soon.

Joseph was asleep on the floor, exactly in the room Whammu expected him to be. A book was resting crookedly on top of his face. He must've been reading it as he fell asleep. How he managed to stay asleep after having such a large item fall onto his face of all things was something Whammu would never know.

"I guess I'll just ask you later then." Taking care to not wake him up, Whammu moved Joseph onto the old table in the room, making sure his position was comfortable. It wasn't much of an upgrade, but an upgrade nonetheless. Joseph was diurnal, and them nocturnal. Though he had gotten accustomed to the flipped cycle, it didn't mean he was completely used to it. Any sleep was important to his wellbeing. Important enough for Whammu to leave him be. Kars could wait a few hours to get his questions answered.

"Sleep well, JoJo."

With that task put to the side for the moment, Whammu moved onto his next. The building clearly had structural problems due to neglect. Though he'd be fighting an unwinnable battle, he was willing to do repairs in any place possible. Just to make the place safer for Joseph until they found somewhere else to go.

First, he'd check the ground floor. An open space, clearly meant for people to go and book in and out of the hotel, and wait for their booked rooms to be available. The room was held up by large stone pillars, ones that were likely a critical part of the building's structural integrity. To check, repair, and reinforce those was a priority.

It didn't take long for him to reach the ground floor, with the storage room close to the stairs. Whammu took his time inspecting the pillars. It was important he noticed even the smallest of details. From what he could see, the pillars were fine. The only sort of reinforcing he could do was if he fixed the ceiling cracks. And that looked to be impossible.

No reason to waste time thinking of a solution. There was definitely places that needed attention much sooner than that. Whammu went to leave.

And then the door opened.

He swiftly stepped out of the way of the small line of sunlight that peeked in through the gap, turning around.

Caesar, the other hamon warrior, quietly entered. The two immediately locked eyes.

Whammu didn't move. To battle Caesar would be dangerous. Dispatching him safely and quickly would require the use of his Divine Sandstorm. Any sort of combat in here would make its structure issues worse, but that attack would definitely cause a collapse. It wasn't like he could stop the attack once it started to mitigate the damage either. He and the other Pillar Men would survive the collapse and be relatively unscathed, as long as it didn't end up exposing them to the sun. Joseph however... He'd have no chance.

From the looks of it, Caesar was on his own. It'd be foolish to go without Lisa Lisa by his side. Maybe he had had a change of heart, and was willing to tell the location of the stone for Joseph's safety?

Caesar silently sent a flurry of bubbles his way. Whammu dodged it easily.

So that's how it was, then.


There was only one building in St. Moritz that looked suitable for the Pillar Men. An abandoned hotel, a decent way away from the town. Far enough to give them solitude, close enough to pick off whoever they pleased easily.

No time to wait. No more preparation could be done. Caesar made his way to the building, Suzi at his side.

"Are you sure you don't want me coming in? It's going to be hard, you against all three of them alone." She asked for the thousandth time that day.

"You don't know hamon. It's too dangerous."

"You fighting all on your own is dangerous too!" She pouted. "Can't I help without hamon somehow? I know I can work out a way to help!"

The help would be appreciated, of course. But the cons very much outweighed the pros. Enough people had died for his sake, and he wasn't going to risk Suzi becoming part of that group.

"You've helped enough by getting me here. I wouldn't have been able to get here if I didn't have you with me. Hell, if I went to save JoJo without you, I would've ended up homeless again! You've helped enough."

That answer seemed to satisfy Suzi. Not fully, but it was enough.

"Well...what do I do if things go downhill for you?" Suzi followed up with, quietly. An important question to ask.

"...You'd have to find a way to save JoJo and not fight the Pillar Men. Sneak in and save him when they're out hunting or something."

"That's doable." It had to be. "JoJo's smart. He'd help in getting us both out, after I find him."

"He'd know the layout of the building much better too. You'd be able to get away from a – I don't know – a strategically placed banana peel or something!" Caesar joked, to lighten the mood. Suzi laughed at it. And soon her laughter tapered off.

"Don't let that end up being the case, Caesar. I want all of us to survive this. Don't go and die on me."

The wind suddenly felt freezing, icy cold creeping down his spine.

"I won't. I promise." The moment the words left his mouth guilt settled upon him heavily. He had barely trained his hamon since their first encounter – he would be sloppy, ineffective. Caesar only survived the first time because of Joseph and his tricks. He wouldn't be that lucky again.

The best he could do was weaken them enough to make things easier for Suzi. And if worst came to worst, at least Joseph would know he was cared about enough to have someone attempt to rescue him. He could give Joseph that, at the very least.

They finally arrived at Death's front door. Caesar steeled himself.

"Wait here for me, alright? And if- if I take too long and the sun starts setting, just leave."

Suzi nodded solemnly. "If you took that long you'd be dead, anyways."

"Yeah."

A silence between the two.

Suzi pulled Caesar into a hug. It was tighter than he was expecting. After a moment of surprise, Caesar returned it. He soaked up the moment. He hadn't had one of these in ages. And this'd probably be the last one he'd ever have. Caesar had to make it count.

He pulled away eventually. He didn't have time to waste. Especially not time to waste being vunerable right outside the enemies' home.

"Stay safe."

"I will." Caesar took a deep breath, and opened one of the doors. He did it slowly, and only enough to let him slip through. The sunlight could be an aid, but it was the Pillar Men's biggest weakness. They would be too smart to allow themselves to get destroyed by it that easily. Sneaking in quietly and using the element of surprise to get the upper hand would give him a better shot.

Whammu was there. A surprise attack was out of the question, then. They stared at each other, silent. No time to waste. His special technique would do the trick.

Caesar sent a flurry of bubbles Whammu's way. Instead of cutting them with the wind (thankfully), he opted to sidestep them. That was alright. The more he wounded Whammu and the longer this went on, the more tired he'd get. Being tired makes you sloppy. And if you're sloppy, you get hit more. That would be his key to victory.

Whammu closed the distance, going for a kick. Caesar jumped back. To fall was to die. He had to keep away for now. His bubbles would suffice for ranged attacks.

More were sent Whammu's way. The Pillar Man swatted them, seemingly not bothered by the hamon that ate away at his skin.

"Your hamon has barely strengthened since we last encountered each other. Your skills are predictable too. What have you been doing all this time?"

Monsters like Whammu didn't deserve to be conversed with. This was a fight to the death, nothing more. The breath wasted on that could be used on better things, like his hamon.

Those bubbles burst on contact. He needed something that could go deeper, let the hamon work its way inside easier. His grandfather had a technique that turned wine into flying discs that could cut deep. He could use that.

He concentrated his hamon completely to his fingertips, allowing him to mould the bubbles into shape before letting them loose.

They flew faster. More precisely. It could be better with practice, and Caesar was certainly a more hands on type of learner. Whammu let them hit him too. If Caesar didn't know any better, he would believe that Whammu was curious to see how the attack would work, how it would damage him.

Actually, on second thought, that probably was the case. Even considering the other Pillar Men, Whammu was quite the odd one when it came to combat.

The bubbles left thin gashes on Whammu's body, glowing like lava from cracks in a volcano.

"Interesting technique. Making the bubbles into discs to send the hamon deeper is a clever tactic, to compensate for how weak your hamon still is. Maybe if you trained more, that technique might've proved an issue for me. I wish that you had taken your time to become a warrior at full potential." A lecture, during a fight? It was almost like Whammu was trying to piss him off.

Caesar wouldn't let his anger blind him. That would only seal his fate faster. Instead, he'd let the the fury and vitriol buried deep within his soul fuel him. The Pillar Men were the source of every problem his and Joseph's family had. They had taken so much from people, and Caesar wasn't going to let that happen any more.

His bubbles stung Whammu's skin like spiteful words in the heat of an argument. Whammu's small bursts of wind hit him like they were chunks of stone. Caesar's hair clung to his face with sweat, kicked up dust adding to the grime he had accumulated during the ardous battle.

Smoke rose off of Whammu's charred body with his skin crumbling like a beast that had clawed its way through hell. He looked raring to go still, but that had to take time to heal. Even if he couldn't kill Whammu, severely wounding him would be enough. Getting one of them out of the picture in any way would be good for Suzi.

Whammu launched a blast of wind. Caesar dodged, letting the wind hit one of the pillars instead. Whammu sent more at Caesar. Caesar dodged. Rinse and repeat.

The sweat was diluting the soap on Caesar's clothes. The bubbles he produced were flimsy and fragile. Exhaustion was creeping in. He was going to lose. Soon. Caesar wracked his mind for anything that would give him an edge.

His scarf couldn't conduct hamon, it was a normal everyday scarf. That was out of the question. Joseph's clackers were all the way back in the hotel. It would've been good to catch Whammu off guard, and he should've thought to bring them. The area was barren, save for dust, dirt and debris. Nothing he could use. No way he could trick his way out of this.

Caesar was well and truly fucked.

An attack hit him this time. Caesar was sent flying, head hitting the floor with a sickening crack. The sharp pain in his head consumed all his thoughts, his vision swimming. Shakily, he rose up to face Whammu with dignity. This was how he'd go, then. Dying an unwinnable battle against the monster that had plagued his bloodline for years. Just like his father and grandfather had.

"Though you did not improve much in the time between our encounters, you were still someone enjoyable to fight against. Your efforts were valiant. I will not let your memory fade away." Whammu's respectful speech washed over Caesar, much like everything else at the moment. He simply stared blankly at his opponent. "Farewell, Caesar."

Of course, the Divine Sandstorm. That was Whammu's favourite. Blood loss would take him fast, at the very least. It began to tear at his skin as it started up, the feeling almost numb in Caesar's hazy mind.

He almost didn't hear his name being screamed out, and how Whammu reacted with...shock to it. He barely registered the force that sent him tumbling out of the way of the attack.

The world spun. Caesar couldn't get up, not yet. He'd been through worse without medical assistance. It'd settle enough, and he'd leave and recuperate. If he was able to get out, at least.

The roar of the Divine Sandstorm died down. The stench of fresh blood hung in the air. Ragged breathing filled the room. One step. Two steps.

Joseph's mangled body collapsed to the ground beside Caesar's.

The room was silent.

Chapter Text

Whammu gazed at his hands. Small glowing wounds, blotted out by blood. Joseph's blood. He would grieve his friend later. For now, he had to deal with the incredibly massive problem that had just unfurled. His eyes trailed to the two on the floor.

Caesar was wounded, but nonetheless breathing, probably dazed. He would require medical attention to survive his wounds. Joseph died the moment he collapsed. He'd require a proper and respectful burial. And then the person he could sense outside now that the battle had died down would also have to be dealt with. Whoever they were, they were probably with Caesar.

The person outside first. Looking at the damage dealt to the room and the massive cracks that had spread across the ceiling, it would be best to get everyone to another part of the building before it collapsed. And that would likely be soon.

Whammu made his way to the door and slowly opened it, making sure not to expose himself to the sun.

"Please, come in. I promise that I will not harm you. There's been..." There wasn't any easy way to explain the events that had transpired. It all happened so fast, even Whammu was struggling to gain any bearings with it. "...an incident."

"And how do I know you're not lying?" The person shouted, stepping back. Smart. Her voice was one he didn't recognise. It wasn't Lisa Lisa, and Whammu didn't know whether that was good or bad. He had no idea what the fighting prowess of this person was, and she could decide to turn on him in an instant. If he were to make this situation any better, he'd have to give this person the benefit of the doubt and trust them.

"Unlike Kars or Esidisi, I do not break promises."

A moment of silence. Then, the person slowly entered. A woman, wearing a thick coat and gloves to stave off the cold. She didn't take her eyes off of him as she shut the door. Her focus was on his bloodied arms. Though most of it had been naturally absorbed to heal his wounds, a significant amount remained.

"JoJo's dead. He took the brunt of my attack to save Caesar." Whammu explained. He quickly added onto his statement. "I didn't mean to harm him. He was a great friend."

Her eyes widened, and she turned around to see the horrible view. Caesar had managed to move his upper half on top of Joseph's corpse, cradling it. He was silent.

The woman hurried over to the scene. She covered her mouth in horror as she got onto her knees and saw the grotesque details. The wind had cleaved into his body so erratic and deep that parts of it were barely recognisable anymore. At least he took it on from the side and not from the front like Caesar would have. The situation would've ended up horrendously gory.

"Oh my God..." She uttered. She took one of his hands and held onto it tight.

The ceiling cracked ominously loud. They'd have to move sooner than Whammu had hoped. He watched the two humans grieve as he pondered his next move. Joseph would need to be carried. Caesar too, possibly. The woman might be strong enough to carry one of them, though Whammu could easily carry both. Caesar might panic and attack if he was picked up and taken deeper into the building by the person who just attempted to kill him. However, separating him from the body could also be disastrous. Who knew how volatile his emotions would be, how they'd make him act? Caesar lashing out and possibly fatally wounding him would only make things worse. No ideas Whammu came up with sounded good. Trying to talk to Caesar would be his best bet. He moved closer, crouching down to their level.

"Caesar." Whammu started softly. Caesar raised his head to stare him down, eyes watering. He opened his mouth to speak, but Whammu swiftly cut him off. No time for arguments - that could come later when they were all safe. "The ceiling is going to collapse soon. We will need to leave, and I will have to carry both you and JoJo. Please don't panic or struggle. I promise that I will not let harm befall you."

"You were trying to kill me minutes ago." Caesar spat back, voice shaky.

"That was before JoJo gave his life up to protect yours." As gentle as he possibly could, Whammu scooped the two up into his arms. "We'll sort out your wounds soon." He began to walk, the woman sticking close to his side.

"I don't think I've seen you before. What's your name?" Whammu asked the woman. Best to get aquainted now.

"It's Suzi Q." She replied. He had heard that name before. If he was recalling his conversation with Esidisi right, Suzi was a maid that worked for Lisa Lisa that he had used as a shield during his fight on Air Supplena. A dishonourable act, but one that allowed him to come home alive.

"Esidisi's told me about you. Why have you come along with Caesar when you have no hamon of your own?"

"I wanted to save JoJo. I didn't want to sit around and do nothing while he was in danger." Unlike Caesar, she had no other reason to go and find them, other than to save him. Even though it'd put her at great risk. She must really care about JoJo.

"He would've loved to know that you came all this way just for him."

The ceiling cracked again. And again. Now up the stairs and safely out of the way, they watched as it all crumbled and caved in on itself. Miraculously, the walls were left undamaged, keeping the sunlight outside. That problem was dealt with. Next would be to tend to Caesar's wounds. A secluded room to have him reside in mind, Whammu continued on.

Caesar was surprisingly quiet. Whammu was certain that despite his injuries, he would have said something by now. Maybe his odd subdued demeanour was a good thing. Hopefully.

"How do you feel, Caesar? You missed the brunt of my attack but the wounds you've sustained are still grievous."

"How do you think I feel?" He replied, hostile as ever.

"I'm trying to ask you if you feel as if you'll die if your injuries aren't treated fast enough." Whammu reiterated.

"I've been through worse. I'll live."

"I can suture his wounds if you have anything I can use for it." Suzi piped up. Whammu hummed in acknowledgement.

"I'll see what I can find." For the past few nights Joseph had been talking about obtaining first aid equipment and the likes in case if something went amiss - humans couldn't regenerate like a Pillar Man could. Perhaps one of the others had retrieved those sorts of items on one of their hunts. He'd have to ask Esidisi. To Whammu, Kars didn't seem like the type of person to bother himself with arbitrary things such as that.

As if Whammu's thoughts were powerful enough to summon him, Kars came silently rushing down the stairs they were about to ascend. With his reflexes, he managed to stop himself from colliding into Whammu.

It took him no time at all to spot Suzi, as well as Caesar and the corpse that were being carried. Whammu heard as Suzi shuffled closer to him. Kars' face was unreadable, as usual.

"I assume that this was the result of the commotion that just occurred?"

"It is." Kars didn't take his eyes off of Joseph's body. Whatever was on his mind was something he kept to himself.

"I'll let Esidisi know what's happened." Kars moved past Whammu.

"Can you see if we have anything to treat Caesar's wounds with while you do? The help would be appreciated."

"...Sure." Kars said bluntly as he continued on. Whammu moved on, Suzi still sticking close to his side. Kars...took it all surprisingly well. At the very least Whammu was expecting a barrage of questions concerning what exactly had gone down, how Joseph of all people was the one dead. Perhaps that would come later. No point dwelling on it.


It didn't take long for Kars to retrieve something for Suzi to work with. The simple thread wasn't as good as the ones used to suture wounds, but it'd have to do. Esidisi had offered to simply cauterise it, but for obvious reasons Caesar refused to accept it. With how the slightest mistake could spell disaster, Whammu wouldn't want to take up the offer either.

"Try keep still!" Caesar's only acknowledgement was a hiss when the needle pierced his skin again. Whammu's attention moved to the corpse in the room.

Joseph was placed neatly on the floor. If not for the gashes on his body he'd be able to pass as simply being asleep. At Suzi's request Esidisi had gone to fetch him some spare clothes they had lying around from one of their victims, freeing him from the bloody rags of his old clothes. The process had been hard, rigor mortis starting to set in.

Kars and Esidisi lingered outside the room, discussing something in voices so low not even Whammu could hear.

This wouldn't end well.

It hadn't started out well either. But Kars had been too civil about the whole thing for far too long. Having lived with the man his entire life, Whammu knew Kars like the back of his hand. They were going to have differing ideals, something they rarely had. They would clash. The severity of it though, Whammu couldn't tell.

"I truly am sorry for killing him. If I had been able to stop my attack, I would've. JoJo didn't deserve to die like he did." He said.

"Maybe you shouldn't have kidnapped him in the first place." Caesar replied back coldly with. "None of this would've happened if you stuck to your word."

"It was not my choice to kidnap him – I had no say in the matter."

"You expect me to believe you? The person who's part of the self-proclaimed 'higher being' group, yet has made the world's biggest fuckup to date?"

Whammu opened his mouth to speak, only to get cut off by a barrage of words. "If you three are part of the so-called 'supreme species', then why are you struggling so much to deal with this situation?! If you really were the best beings out there, a single dead person shouldn't be this much of an issue to you! Couldn't you just‐ bring him back, or make us swap places, or something?! You should've‐"

Caesar gasped, moving to clutch one of his wounds.

"Don't move and tense like that!" Suzi scolded. "You'll reopen the wounds!"

As Caesar took a breath in and went slack again, Suzi shot Whammu an apologetic look.

"He can say what he wants to me. I've done this. I deserve it." To run away from punishments, no matter their form or severity, was to not learn from your mistakes. Caesar's words would be good to reflect on. They'd stick with him, just like countless of Kars' and Esidisi's.

Thinking of Kars and Esidisi, he should discuss alongside them. Silently he left the room, shutting its rotting door behind him. The conversation the two were having stopped abruptly, its contents kept private.

"I'm here to discuss JoJo." He stated.

"There doesn't seem to be a good way to deal with him, everything– absolutely everything has gone the worst it could've." Esidisi replied. "Can't believe the guy's gone and kicked the bucket."

"Really? With the way he acted, you're surprised?" Kars said. "I warned Joseph that his compassion would end up killing him. He didn't listen, and look at what he's become now. For a man that doesn't care for him too!"

"I do not think that's the case anymore. Caesar truly is distraught over this."

"Lying exists, Whammu. I wouldn't be surprised if Joseph taught him some things before I brought them apart."

"What benefit would lying about this give him? With his bitterness he's certainly not attempting to pull at any of our heartstrings. Lisa Lisa is also not present."

"I'm not sure, I'll admit that. But I saw for myself how quickly he tossed Joseph away. There was no hesitation in his actions. Not even I would be that fast to get rid of him. If he truly cared for Joseph, his actions wouldn't have been as genuine as they were."

"This is getting us nowhere." Esidisi butted in. "We should get JoJo to his family. They should have closure."

That was a good idea anyone could agree with. If only the essentially impossible to overcome obstacles weren't in the way. Whammu pointed out the issues in the idea; With their weakness to sunlight and need to wait it out, how would they transport the body before it decomposed? And how would they find out who Joseph's relatives were, and where they lived? He rarely if ever talked about them, preoccupied with other things. The idea was dropped.

"Alright then, we bury him here? Or we burn him, collect his ash and then deliver that to his family? Humans also do that with their loved ones." Esidisi threw more ideas up in the air.

"That sounds like it could work. But..." Whammu thought about Suzi and Caesar. They both cared for Joseph – Suzi to the point of facing certain death to save him, with her lack of hamon and combat training. They deserved to partake in the act of cremating. While Suzi could move about freely, Caesar still required rest. "We can't do it right away. Caesar and Suzi should be present, and he still needs to rest."

"Does it matter, Whammu? Caesar's an enemy. He'll die to my hands all the same." Kars said, staring at the door like he was itching to charge in there and finish the job.

"No, he won't." Whammu took a step to the side, using himself as a barrier between Kars and the door. "I won't allow you."

Kars stared him down. "You're going to go against me and defy my orders." A statement, not a question. A heavy atmosphere was brought alongside the words. Esidisi stayed silent, watching the situation unfold helplessly.

"JoJo gave up his life to save Caesar's. It would be dishonourable to disrespect a friend's dying wish like that." He tensed, ready for combat at any moment. "I'll protect him until I die. You'll have to kill me first."

Kars didn't reply. The silence that ensued seemed like it would go on forever. Whammu wouldn't take the first attack. He'd risk the disadvantage just in case Kars decided to back down. There didn't need to be any more bloodshed than there already was.

Kars took a step back, huffing. "He's not that much of a threat right now. It's not worth losing a warrior like you. I doubt your attempts to save him will prove fruitiful, anyways."

"He is very emotionally driven to a fault. You both saw how he charged to attack us after we killed his friend upon awakening." Esidisi pointed out. "His anger and grief over the situation may get himself killed."

"I will try anyways." Even if it amounted to nothing in the end, Whammu could live with knowing that he had tried his very best. His very best was better than nothing.

"And how do you expect to accomplish that?"

"We'll just have to mitigate the effects this will have on his mental state. Somehow. I do not mind him expressing his anger toward me verbally, but he'll need other outlets."

Kars observed silently as the two discussed. Esidisi, with his emotional control, would be a much better person to talk about this issue with anyways.

"I haven't had to grieve at all in my lifetime. I do remember friends and family members spending more time around each other however." Whammu nodded in acknowledgement. Suzi seemed to care about Caesar, and vice versa. Her company would help. As for his other friends and family members... Kars had backed off in his attempt to kill Caesar, but he definitely wouldn't be keen on letting Caesar go. Suzi would be his sole confidant. Whammu thought to suggest distractions, and the words died in his throat. What was there to use as a distraction, when everyone and everything here would remind him?

"Hmm. I believe the optimal choice would be to simply revive Joseph. It's not too late to do so." Kars finally spoke up.

The idea to bring Joseph back to life hadn't crossed Whammu's mind at all. Until now he had no idea the act was even possible; They had turned the living and the dying, but never the dead. Especially not one that had been dead for hours.

Esidisi frowned, looking the most disturbed Whammu had ever seen him. "He's gone, Kars. We don't tamper with the dead."

Kars responded with a dismissive wave. "We shouldn't bind ourselves to the rules of a dead culture. This is the best option, logically."

Whammu thought about the proposal. To bring someone he didn't like back... He had to have some sort of ulterior motive. To bring Joseph back they'd have to turn him. That'd mean that he'd be at the mercy of the person who brought him back, as long as they commanded him powerfully enough.

Anyone could figure out what Kars' plan likely was. Whammu wouldn't allow it to happen.

"I'll go through with it, but only if I am the one to revive him."

"That's fine. It makes the most sense. You were the one who took his life, after all."

Any ideas on what Kars' motives could be were disproved. This wasn't to use Joseph as a puppet, then.

Something still didn't sit right. Kars only backed down because Caesar wasn't a threat at the moment. He was stubborn, perhaps even moreso than Joseph was. He wouldn't want to genuinely help Caesar that fast. And yet he couldn't think of anything malicious that could come out of the idea now.

"I don't think the humans should be there to witness it. It won't be a pleasant sight." Esidisi said. "I'll go collect his body."


Whammu didn't want to do this.

Joseph, if this went how it should and he kept his memories, would hate what he would become. He always used to complain about the cold where they resided. He loved the warm weather, and even that simple source of joy would be taken from him. The nights were cold. Joseph shouldn't be a part of them. Esidisi had gone to get him before Whammu could elaborate on why he accepted the idea, and now it was too late to back out.

They had moved to one of the bedrooms in the building, situated fairly far from where Caesar and Suzi were. The noise would certainly reach them, though.

Joseph was laid out on the bed. He deserved more, but that was the best of comfort they could provide.

Whammu dug his claw into his forearm. With ease, blood began to flow out. It began to trickle down, dripping onto the musty covers.

"Stop wasting time." Kars urged.

Whammu could only hope what he was doing was the right thing. He extended his arm over the corpse, letting his blood seep into the gashes. It wouldn't need much to begin.

Then he stopped, and waited.

Chapter Text

Nothing.

Then burning. A searing sensation suddenly flared up in Joseph's body, like someone had dunked his side straight into lava.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he clutched his side. He couldn't scream. That'd make things worse, with how the pain was on his neck. It hurt to move anything on his side. It hurt to stay still.

It hurt.

A dull ache grew in his jaws and hands. Soon enough it spread to his legs. Curling into a ball, he whimpered.

He couldn't cry. He was a fighter, and he couldn't cry if he was in severe pain. That would cause issues. He'd been training with...

With...

Who? The person was foggy in his head, there but just not quite. The pain. He couldn't focus. He tried anyways.

Anything worked. If he remembered bits at a time, he'd surely remember who that person was. What happened last. How did he get like this?

The pain in his side was from...cuts. He thought, at least. That's what they had to be. He...fell. Pushed a blonde guy out of the way of an attack on the way down. His legs hurt. Back then. They hurt now, but for different reasons.

Things were slowly starting to come back as the pain began to slowly subside. He...jumped. Joseph was panicked. Yes, that was it. He had woken up to the noises of a fight, and gone to see, worried. Then... Whammu. His name was Whammu. Whammu was about to attack the other person with his special move. And he got panicked and upset, didn't have a lot of time. Joseph didn't run down the stairs, he had jumped over the railing to save time. And the fall really hurt his legs. If he recalled right, he was surprised he managed to get up in the first place with how bad the pain was. Maybe his legs got broken, fractured by the fall? Whatever it was, it caused him to stumble and fall when he could've easily tackled them both out of the attacks way. And then he was hit, and he lost consciousness too soon to remember anything else.

And how did that end up happening? Joseph pieced everything together backwards, broken memories slowly starting to come back. Lisa Lisa. The Pillar Men. Caesar and Suzi. Being kidnapped. Becoming friends (maybe? The purple haired one only saw him as a means to an end) with said kidnappers. Fun times. Sparring. Sauna. Snowball fight. Dying.

His mind wandered to a concerning question: If he died, then...how was he alive?

The pain suddenly disappeared, leaving him with a deep tiredness and a peculiar feeling that had settled deep in his stomach. Joseph shifted onto his back, slowly opening his eyes.

A familiar room. Still in that abandoned hotel. Made sense. To the right, by the door. Esidisi, Whammu, and the purple one that hated him. They all looked down on him with concern.

"How do you feel, JoJo?" Whammu said softly.

Something felt wrong. Different. Something wasn't there. He was missing something.

"I feel...weird. Tired." He muttered, his vocal cords somehow feeling stiff. Esidisi muttered something to the purple haired man.

"But you don't feel anything particularly bad? Say, nausea, odd head pains, that sort of thing?" The purple haired man – Kars, that was his name, Kars – asked.

Some of the sensations he felt were odd, sure, but...were they bad? The situation was brand new to him. Too hard to tell. Maybe it wasn't. Whatever he went through, it would be taxing on his body. Of course he was super tired and felt off. That made sense. 

"No, I'm good..." Joseph sat up. Caesar. Was he ok?

"Stop." Kars snapped. Joseph froze. Kars had never sounded so emotive before. "Do not get up and simply walk about. You have to stay and rest, and let us monitor you to confirm that nothing is wrong with you."

Like he cared what Kars had to say. For once he brought up a good point, but there were more pressing matters at hand. "Caesar, I- I need to find him and make sure he's alright!"

"JoJo, Caesar's fine. He's wounded but Suzi is taking care of it all." Esidisi reassured. "Please, rest. Nothing bad will happen to him, we promise."

Esidisi was trustworthy, more than Kars was. Anyone was more trustworthy than Kars, really. As much as he wanted to get up and see for himself, the old bed was comfy to lay on. And the worn out pillow did look very inviting, surprisingly enough...

"You better not be lying to me." Joseph relented, flopping back onto the bed. He stretched, the feeling returning to his stiffened muscles. He flexed his hands, hearing the joints crack from lack of use (He wasn't that old yet! Why were they cracking like that?!).

His hands.

They looked different.

His skin was paler than before, almost tinged blue. His nails were darker, almost black. Grown too. They looked like claws more than anything. Anxiety steadily grew in his chest.

Joseph moved his hand to his mouth. He knew what would be inside. Everything made sense now. He knew what he was. Still, he had to check. Just in case.

He ran his fingers over the teeth on his bottom jaw. As he expected. The canines had become bigger and sharper than they should on a human. They were just like the Pillar Men's.

What had he done to deserve this?

Joseph could properly despair over his situation later. Exhaustion was hitting him like a truck. He'd sleep for now. He had a feeling that was the only form of peace he'd get for a while.

Chapter Text

Joseph's body didn't feel like his own. Not like it really did in the first place, with...all that, but now the sensation was even worse. How could he try push past it all when all he could feel was the almost overwhelming desire to–

He didn't want to think about it. Not with Caesar in the room. Caesar shouldn't have moved, still recovering himself, but he had forced himself to Joseph's room to greet him when he woke up again. He had sat himself on the end of Joseph's bed, much too close for his liking.

They were oddly silent with one another.

"You seem like you're taking this well." Caesar broke the ice. "But I know that's not the case."

"Of course it isn't the case. Why would it be?" Joseph replied, more bitterly than he intended.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No."  Nothing would be able to stop the need that burned deep inside him, one that was so strong it almost felt like he was losing his mind. The fact that he could somehow smell the life energy coming off Caesar didn't help. His senses had heightened, he had been aware of that change soon enough – Joseph certainly didn't think it'd be that much of an enhancement.

"Yeah. Thought so. Don't know why I asked." They fell silent again. Wasn't fun to talk. Wasn't fun to be left alone with his thoughts either. The future had never looked so bleak before.

Caesar moved up a little on the bed. An idiotic action. Why get closer to the threat?

After a moment's pause, Caesar softly put one of his hands over Joseph's. It would've been nice, in any other context. In another world, maybe Caesar would've done this while Joseph was in hospital, recovering from his fateful fight with the Pillar Men. His hand would've been a comfort, soft and pleasantly warm. Not something to remind him of what he now was, heat radiating from it feeling like fire to his icy dead body. And in that other world, Joseph would've allowed it, enjoyed it. He wouldn't hate it like he did now, pulling his hand away. "Don't do that. Don't get close. I could turn on you in an instant."

"I have hamon. I can protect myself if I need to."

"I don't think you'd use it. You wouldn't want me...hurt." The last word took a while to settle on. Caesar's words recited by Kars rattled around his mind. They had since he had heard about them, haunting him whenever he had the time to let his mind wander. Caesar made the effort to see him. Caesar also left him at the mercy of the Pillar Men, who would certainly have killed him if they ended up being how they all expected them to be. Caesar abandoned him.

Caesar ended up coming for him anyways. For once he went against Lisa Lisa and somehow found out the location of the Pillar Men, to save him. That change of heart should have fixed things between them. And yet the feelings Joseph felt for him were in stark contrast, constantly fighting to quell the other. That wasn't something he was wanting to deal with on top of everything else. He'd rather be back at school with a bunch of work nearing their deadlines. That would be less stressful and overwhelming.

"You wouldn't want to hurt me." Part of Joseph did. The other part of him recoiled with disgust at the thought. "I wouldn't kill you with it, only make sure you wouldn't be able to do anything. You...mean a lot to me."

Joseph tried to hold his tongue. "Don't say that."

Caesar didn't respond. "You know what you did."

They fell into an uneasy silence after that, Joseph mentally kicking himself. Caesar did the logical thing. No point in being saved if it caused the world you lived in to be ruined. Still. There was no hesitation, in a situation where he'd assume Kars was telling the truth. And he apparently meant a lot to Caesar?

If Joseph was willing to push Caesar out of the way to save him and sacrifice himself, then why did he feel such a burning hatred towards the damned man?

Why did none of his emotions make sense?!

Maybe it was because he was tired. Or something. Ever since his revival he'd felt nothing but sleepy. Not even his consecutive naps could do anything to dent the feeling. Maybe that was also an issue. Probably was. Joseph Joestar was not a man that gets a break of any sort from anything that happens at all. Naturally.

"...I'll leave. I hope you feel better later, JoJo." Caesar said, just about managing to get up and walk out the room.

Joseph was alone again.

Well, that friendship was down the drain. Just like all the other short-lived ones he'd had before he gave up. All because he said things in the heat of the moment without thinking properly about it.

Maybe this was better. If they weren't friends, they'd see each other less. If that was the case then maybe he wouldn't be able to hurt Caesar.

Joseph's moment of solitude was short-lived, with Suzi entering the room with a bag in her arms.

She placed the bag on the bottom of the bed. Joseph sat up. The contents of the bag were clearly for him. Maybe it was pastries from the bakery in town or...something. Oh, those pastries... Joseph was very quickly hit with the deep craving for an apple strudel. The mere thought of it made his mouth water. He needed one. Badly.

"Do you, uh. Have an apple strudel in there by any chance?" Joseph asked foolishly. The chances of there being an apple strudel there was slim to none.

Suzi shook her head. He slumped slightly. He'd have to get one later when he could, then. "I just went out to get this bag from our hotel room. I can go grab you one though, I don't mind going back!"

"No, you don't need to do that for me. I'll live without it." Joseph might want to indulge in the delectably sweet pastry, but it wasn't worth forcing Suzi to go back into the freezing cold of Switzerland for a single one.

"I think everyone needs to do a lot of things for you, JoJo." She frowned. "You've been through a lot."

Suzi dropped the topic, opening the bag up and delicately sifting through its contents. "Before we left, we packed some of your stuff. Here you go!" She pulled out a couple of his beloved comicbooks, leaving them beside him as she searched for other things.

Joseph picked them up, quickly flipping through their pages. Every page was just how he left it. No tiny tears or anything of the sort. They would be good to take his mind off things, even if only for a little while.

Some of his clothes more suited to the cold were dumped onto the bed too, as well as his clackers. Joseph fiddled around with them for a moment, enjoying the comforting weight they provided. Now that he couldn't use hamon, they wouldn't be of much use to him outside of being simple playthings. Unless he used them to bash someone's head in, though he could probably find something more efficient than those.

For a moment, Joseph wondered if he had gained the strength to crush someone's skull with his bare hands. He tried to dismiss the thought. He couldn't think like that, not with Suzi in the room. Not with the urges that was giving him.

"I'm sure you'd like to wear your own clothes over the ones you're wearing now - The pillar men just scrounged those up for you. It doesn't fit you in the slightest!" Joseph looked down at himself. Between all the sleeping and self loathing he hadn't thought to check out the new clothes he'd been adorned with.

They were definitely fancy, perhaps even too fancy. Certainly not the sort of flashiness he liked to sport in his outfits.

"You're right. This looks horrendous on me. I'll get changed a bit later. Don't want to have to kick you out."

Suzi hummed in acknowledgement, preoccupied with searching through what must be other clothes of his. "Where is it..." She muttered to herself.

"Aha!" Suzi exclaimed. "Here it is!"

She triumphantly pulled the item out of the bag. Joseph's eyes widened when he recognised it.

It was his scarf, the one Erina had knitted for him so long ago.

"Had to leave the best for last!" Suzi said happily, extending her arms out for him to take it. "I've made sure to keep it perfectly safe!"

He was at a loss of words. Sure, they both had that talk ages ago about how it was sentimental to him, but to have her bring it along with her...

Tentatively, he took the scarf from her hands. It was as soft and comforting as he remembered it. Bringing it closer, he examined every single piece of wool. Every part of it was interlocked the way it always was. Not a single blemish to be found on it.

Joseph bundled his scarf up in his arms. He rested his head on it, feeling more at peace than he had been in a while. It almost felt like he was back home, and everything was alright.

"Thanks, Suzi. This...means a lot to me." He settled on saying. That would be enough.

"No problem! You're my friend. I'd do anything for you." Joseph rubbed the fabric of the scarf idly as the two sat in silence.

"You've been sleeping quite a lot today. Do you feel any better?" Suzi eventually and carefully asked.

"I...don't know. I don't think so. I'm still exhausted, somehow. Everything has just been- bad." Joseph would keep the new issue of his relationship with Caesar to himself for now. That was something he should fix (or, finish off) on his own. No need to have Suzi stuck inbetween the issues both of her friends were having with each other.

"I know I can't fix that, but if there's anything I can do to make you feel even a little bit better, tell me."

"Of course. I don't think there will be anything, though." Joseph looked at his hands. With his claws as big as they were, curved and sharp, he had to be careful to not tear the scarf. When he had woken up earlier, he had gnawed at them in an attempt to whittle them down. Even with his stronger and sharper teeth he hadn't managed to make a single dent. And if he managed to break them off somehow, he wouldn't be surprised if they regrew back with haste, like any other injury to his body would. "I can't change what I am now. I can't go back. I'm stuck like this."

"Your scarf made you feel better."

"That's different." The scarf was something he'd always had. He could still remember when he was young and the scarf, much too big for him at the time, dragged behind him whenever he walked like a really odd and ineffecient cape. It was special. Nothing else would be like it.

"I'm sure we'll find something eventually." Suzi said, hopeful as ever. As far as Joseph could tell, she was the only one clinging to optimism in the situation. That was a trait Joseph wished he had.

There was a knock at the door. After not hearing any sounds of objection, Kars let himself in. Great.

"I don't believe you two are particularly busy?" He asked.

"What do you want."

"You need to be taught how to hunt. I'm going to teach you." Kars said nonchalantly.

Joseph almost gagged at the thought of what Kars was proposing. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that.

"I'm not doing that." Kars stared at him.

"You have to."

"No, I don't."

"If you don't eat, you'll eventually lose control. You'll go for the closest thing that's edible. Surely, you want to keep Caesar and Suzi safe?"

Joseph hadn't thought about that. Yes, he wanted to keep them both safe. But a person – probably an innocent person – would have to die for it. That outcome wasn't good either.

He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he murdered either of them. As vile as it was, it'd be easier to push past eating a complete stranger.

"...Fine. Let me get changed first. Don't want to wear this anymore."

Suzi stood up. "I've been meaning to talk to Whammu. Is he busy?" She asked.

"None of us are too busy at the moment. I don't know of his exact whereabouts, so it's up to you to find him."

"Thank you." She turned to look at Joseph. "...Don't beat yourself up about this. It's not your fault."

Suzi left. She was right. It wasn't his fault that he was like this. He was simply doing what he needed to do. It was still sickening, depraved. Joseph began to undress himself as soon as the door shut behind Suzi. At least he'd have time to prepare himself for it all.

Chapter Text

Kars leaned back against the wall, hands in his pockets as he patiently waited for Joseph. The night was cold as usual, stars boring holes in the sky deadeningly. What a tiring sight.

Joseph made the decision to buy some sort of pastry before the hunt, claiming that he "really really really craved it". As an undead being, he wouldn't experience cravings for useless, human foods. It was almost pathetic to watch him try hold onto his humanity. Then again, he was turned against his will. It would be a shaky adjustment.

The act was taking up more time than it should. The night was fresh and they had hours to spare, but it was best not to waste it. The nights to come would be incredibly busy, with the unwelcome human guests.

Kars felt something brush around his legs. Looking down, he spotted the culprit. A black cat, with eyes coloured like topaz. Long haired, snow clumping to its fur. The feline didn't seem to mind.

What an elegant specimen. Kars slowly crouched, careful not to startle it. The cat headbutted his hand, nuzzling into it. It soon allowed Kars to pet it all over, pressing against him affectionately.

Its fur certainly didn't cover up any collar, Kars could tell now. This one was likely a stray – with how friendly it was, it certainly wasn't raised in the wild. Perhaps it had made its home around here, feasting on the leftover food thrown out at closing time. Not the healthiest thing for a cat to eat, but considering how the area was, it was likely the only option it had.

Kars was wondering about what he could do to help the disadvantaged creature when Joseph loudly and suddenly left the bakery, talking about something trivial. The cat reacted in a moment, dashing off. Of course Joseph would scare it off.

"Aw man, it ran away before I could even get close!" He pouted. "They always run away from me..."

"That's because you're loud. You keep making them think you're a threat. Did you get what you came for?"

Quickly forgetting the despair of scaring off the cat, Joseph nodded. He enthusiastically brought a paper bag up to Kars' face. "I got five!"

"Good for you. Eat them as we walk. We shouldn't waste any more time."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, we're...doing that." Joseph said quietly. The two began to walk, Kars keeping an eye peeled for any potential targets.

Many opportunities came and passed. Joseph wasn't used to his own abilities. And unlike the children Kars raised, Joseph didn't have the built in instinct to kill in the first place. It'd be a very difficult first hunt if Kars went with what he deemed an easy target. An incredibly vulnerable individual would have to do.

Joseph was unnaturally quiet. Even after wolfing down the pastries he'd opted to keep his mouth shut. Very unlike him to not even complain.

Best to spend the downtime gauging how well-equipped Joseph was in the first place. "Have you been looking out for opportunities yourself?"

"Yeah. Don't wanna, but..." His attention moved to a lone woman walking down the street. "We're looking for someone weak right? And on their own so we don't get caught."

So he at least had the logical part down. "How are you going to take down your prey?"

Joseph looked up at Kars. He was almost expressionless. "I don't know. Strangling, I guess?" A good guess for someone who didn't know better.

"The best course of action would be to break their neck. There's less of a struggle. It's discreet. Of course, once you get used to yourself, you can find something that works better for you."

Joseph took long to reply, now focused on dragging his feet through the snow. "Why are you the one teaching me all this stuff?" He muttered.

Esidisi and Whammu had gotten unnecessarily attached to the Joestar. For a being that originally would have been part of a mere sliver of a fraction of their lifetimes, the two had grown to care for Joseph. Putting time aside for him, getting to know him, bonding with him. It was incredibly pointless, and all it would do was make them softer on him now. Kars had no useless attachments to Joseph. He wouldn't cut Joseph any slack. Kars would not aid in killing the prey, nor would he aid in dragging it somewhere discreet for Joseph to eat. The reality wouldn't be sugar-coated for him. This was the only way to make sure Joseph was well-equipped for his new life.

"Does it matter who teaches you?"

"I don't like you."

The conversation was a distraction. Kars didn't reply, returning to evaluating every human that they passed. He made mental notes of ones that struck him as familiar. Those he could learn the habits of, and pick them off easier when he needed to.

On the other side of the road a man staggered and stumbled, using the building for support. Clearly, he'd had too much to drink. A very vulnerable target that wouldn't be able to fight back.

"Joseph." He stopped in his tracks. Kars gestured to the drunkard, who had now managed to get to an alleyway and heave his guts up. How vile. "I've found you something suitable."

"Ah." His feet stayed planted to the ground when Kars began to move.

"Do not waste this chance."

"I know...it's just..." Joseph stared at the man. "...wrong."

"I recall you eating venison before, at that one restaurant we went to."

"That's different."

"How? A living thing's been slaughtered for your pleasure and survival. This is exactly the same." Kars could see the similarities between himself and Joseph – they both had a burning determination and incredible tenacity when they put their minds to something. Just like Kars, Joseph had the power to become something to be reckoned with. His upbringing with humans had clearly squandered that potential, however. The humans thousands of years ago had been more down to earth. Back in his youth, Kars despised how the Pillar Men had a mutual relationship with humans and the damned hamon tribe. Only now he was older and mature could he see that the friendship between predator and prey was closer to being natural than what humans did now. Believing that they were completely separated from the natural order of things, free to alter the ecosystem however they saw fit as if it had no consequence. It was almost enough to make Kars decide to terrorise all of humanity once he obtained the stone.

Almost.

"Well-"

"Do I need to drag you myself?" Kars asked coldly. That was enough to spur Joseph to join him. He waited and watched as Joseph made his move.

The kill was swift for a first attempt. Joseph had quickly grabbed the man's head after silently sneaking up behind him, doing the deed in moments. The technique could be improved, but that could come later. This would do for now.

"You know what comes next. How do you plan to transport the body somewhere secluded?"

With some struggle, Joseph slung the man over his back. From an onlooker who wouldn't know better, it would look like Joseph was simply acting as a sort of support. A great idea.

"If anyone asks, I'll say that he's a blackout drunk friend of ours we're trying to drag back to our hotel room." Joseph gave a meek thumbs up.

"That's smart. It should get us through." People had started coming less and less, population of the area thinning out as they started to notice the disappearances. That was one of the many reasons Kars preferred the life of a nomad. For once, the lack of people would prove itself useful.

"You're strong enough to carry him yourself." Kars said, walking off. Joseph followed behind him, footsteps leaving heavy crunches in the snow.

"I don't know how you've been putting up with this urge all of your life." Joseph grunted, voice sounding strained. Perhaps his lack of anything sustainable to eat rendered him weaker than normal. "It's driving me insane."

"I'm surprised you're still lucid."

"Huh?"

The fatal wounds Whammu had dealt were nothing short of overkill. Alongside bringing him back to life, his body had to work on repairing the damage. "Your revival would have used up almost all of the life energy reserves in your body, considering all the healing it had to do. The dangerous lack of it is what's giving you the cravings and urges. I believe that even I would struggle to stay level-headed in the state you're in."

"...Damn."

"It's also the reason why you've been so tired too – Your body is on the verge of becoming comatose."

"Whuh?! It can just- do that?!" Right. Humans didn't get comas as casually as the undead and Pillar Men did. Of course the concept would sound outrageous and foreign to him. Kars waved his hand dismissively.

"It's not anything you should strongly worry about. As long as you're taking care of yourself, you should never reach that point. And if you were to reach that point, your body would simply rouse the moment anything sustainable comes close."

Joseph made a pathetic little noise in response to the information. "Makes sense."

With the steady pace they had been making, they were almost home. Nobody had stopped to question them, luckily. Not that it would've caused much issue, but it would cut into precious time. Time was not to be wasted, especially not tonight.

"Kars?"

"Yes, Joseph?"

"Can we...not go back to the hotel yet? I don't wanna eat in there. Not with Caesar and Suzi inside." An understandable request.

"Where do you propose we go instead then?"

"Hmm...How about the forest? The one behind the hotel. I want to have at least some cover."

"That can work."


It didn't take long for Joseph to find somewhere deep enough in the forest where he felt comfortable. Having taken off his scarf, now in Kars' possession, he worked on removing the corpse's clothes. They would only get in the way. Once done, Joseph sat awkwardly on his knees.

Kars let out a frustrated sigh. He tried to remind himself that Joseph wouldn't have been taught this stuff growing up.

"You'll want the organs first. The nutrition they hold is a significant amount more than what the muscles and bones hold."

Joseph nodded, swallowing thickly. He moved his hands over to the stomach, resting them there. "This is...going to be a mess."

"Use your claws to create an incision on the stomach, then open it up. It'll be neater than if you simply tear it open."

"Thanks."

Kars studied Joseph meticulously, searching for any flaws in the method. Joseph did as he was advised, his claw seamlessly cutting the stomach open as if it were paper. He stopped to watch the blood left on his claw run down his finger. Hesitantly, he brought the hand closer to his face.

Then, he licked it.

Slightly more vigorous than before, he began to dig in. He didn't seem to care about the mess that much anymore, with the way he was starting to shove his arm in elbow-deep to retrieve organs and entrails. Joseph was doing alright. He wouldn't require any more assistance. Kars ignored Joseph's actions, turning his focus inward.

It wouldn't take long to teach Joseph anything else that he would need to know. So all that was out of the way. The issue of Suzi and Caesar was something that needed to be sorted. Suzi wasn't a threat; She lacked hamon, and had only come along to save Joseph. She could live. As long as she didn't get in the way of his plans, Kars couldn't care less. Caesar, on the other hand...

Kars had never held pure hate in his heart for a human like he did with Caesar. A constant thorn in his side. First an irritant upon awakening, who proceeded to get worse as time passed. Kars didn't hate Joseph. Hate was too strong of a feeling to be wasted on someone as lowly as a human. He didn't exactly appreciate Joseph being around either. Regardless, Joseph's presence was something he had grown accustomed to. Joseph had been around for long enough that to Kars it'd be weird to not have him around, forced to be wary of anything the human would try pull for fun. It was stable. It was something.

And then Caesar had to have changed his mind, heroically storming into the great maws of Death in order to finally defeat the Pillar Men and save his so-called friend. Kars had finally found something stable while he worked towards his bigger goal. Caesar had come and completely upheaved it, due to his childish indecisiveness. The act was infuriating enough for Kars to not have thought things out properly in response to it all.

Bringing Joseph back wasn't the most logical decision. Quite the opposite, in fact. At the time, he'd simply been basing his choices on what he thought would hurt Caesar the most. Not once did Kars consider how Joseph would feel about it all. He really should've. He seemed to be coping well enough, though.

"I..." Joseph pulled Kars out of his thoughts. He stared at his hands (presumably licked clean, with how they lacked any gore and viscera) and the now empty ground. Joseph had completely devoured the man, only leaving the clothes and a a few splatters of blood as evidence. That could be easily gotten rid of. Not enough to be an issue.

He stood up, hands on his head, pacing. Perhaps he was not coping as well as Kars had thought. "I've just eaten a person."

Kars wanted to point out Joseph was only stating the obvious, but Joseph continued before he could get a single word in.

"I-I'm going to be stuck like this forever. Everything's gone to shit and- God, I don't know what to do..." His voice cracked as tears began to well in his eyes.

This was...unexpected. Joseph was being vulnerable, to the point of tears. That didn't happen. Not with Kars, at least. Their relationship was built on simply tormenting the other, a simple back and forth. Joseph should not trust him with worries. And yet...

Kars surmised that he should probably help here. That's what Joseph wanted. Probably. And for some odd reason, Kars wasn't as opposed to the idea as he thought he would be.

"There's no need to live this life. If you really wanted to, you could simply wait and let the sun destroy you."

Joseph stopped pacing, turning to stare at Kars dumbfoundedly. "Did you really just suggest that to me?"

Kars stared back, face deadpan. "You've died before, and you were brought back against your will. You should be allowed the choice to die again if you wish. The suggestion isn't as bad as what it would usually be. Not in your situation."

"How's it even meant to help in the first place?! Everyone'll just end up having to deal with the fact I'm dead! Again!"

The small shock of what Kars had said to him seemed to have worn off, Joseph doing nothing but freak out and panic. Kars was really not the one who should be dealing with this. Esi, or even Whammu would be better. Kars took a breath in, preparing something to say as Joseph muttered things under his breath.

"Joseph, talk about your problems with me. I'll help."

"Can you leave me alone and not try to manipulate me for your own benefit for once?!" Joseph spat.

Hm. That was something completely different to what he had said.

"Where on earth did you get that from?"

"I've lived with you for the past month or so! You've done nothing but hound me!" Joseph made a good point. Still, Kars couldn't simply be there and not do anything. That would be ridiculous and a waste of time.

"I'm being genuine, Joseph. I truly do want to help."

"I don't want your help! Y-You're the reason that I'm like this in the first place! If it wasn't for you kidnapping me, things would've gone like they should've! Instead all- all this has happened instead!" Joseph shouted.

Kars had been regretting his decision for a while now. It had the complete opposite effect he was wanting. If he'd known how things would've ended up, he would've simply killed Joseph that night, and Caesar too. Less hassle in the long run.

"If you don't want my help, then why are you lamenting out loud?"

"I don't know!"

A beat passed.

Kars took a few steps towards Joseph. "Look, if we just–"

It took him a moment to process the fact that the sharp pain in his right arm was Joseph biting him at full force. He should've expected something like this. Strong emotions were always messy.

"Calm down!" Kars set his hands on Joseph's shoulders, pushing him down to the ground and pinning him. He could ignore the fact that the act made Joseph tear a whole chunk out of his arm. It would heal. Not the issue at the moment. "I'll let you go when you're calm enough."

Joseph stopped thrashing for a moment, his chest heaving.

He mustered the strength to force himself up, somehow overpowering Kars. Joseph seemed to be stronger than Kars had anticipated. The man had just eaten, it'd make sense for him to be stronger than–

Kars was forced onto his back with a slam, Joseph now straddling him. He should've done that back when he was on top.

One of Joseph's hands stayed on Kars' chest. It was oddly forceful. This was the sort of strength Kars would expect from another Pillar Man, not a lesser being like Joseph.

Something felt wrong.

"Joseph-"

Joseph punched him. And punched him again. Too far gone emotion-wise to be reasoned with at this point, then. The attacks were simply an emotional outlet. Not the best outlet, but an outlet nonetheless. Perhaps after this outburst, they'd actually be able to talk to one another normally.

Another punch. One that hurt.

Kars was knocked out of his train of thought by the splitting pain in his head the attack gave him, as well as the burning ache in his muscles.
Every attack from Joseph after that was paired with the same strength, with barely any room to breathe. Kars could barely focus. It took all he had to cling to a simple train of thought.

No, Joseph couldn't be using hamon. Using hamon of this strength would've killed him almost instantly. He wasn't that proficient with hamon anyways. Then...

Was it...electricity? That was the only conclusion that made sense. It also wasn't normal. Joseph shouldn't be able to electrocute him like that.

Faintly, in the back of his mind as Joseph continued the assault, Kars realised that he was going to die. A simple, harrowing fact. Not even a Pillar Man would be able to take this sort of damage.

It was ironic, wasn't it? He'd kidnapped Joseph to ensure that he and his allies would all come out alive in their journey to obtain the stone, and that choice had eventually led to his demise. They'd simply have to get the stone without his help. Kars could only hope everything would go smoothly without him there.

Kars stared blankly up at his assailant. Joseph stared back, looking like a complete disaster. He may as well have been dragged through a thicket.

The barrage halted, Joseph getting off of Kars so fast he may as well have leapt up. He let out a guttural cry of agony. "What the fuck am I doing?! This isn't going to help at all!"

In what was a very logical choice Joseph punched the closest tree as hard as he could. Better than Kars at least. He'd just managed to survive that, hanging on by a thread. He wouldn't be able to get up for a while. Not with these injuries.

Joseph immediately clutched his hand in what could only be a response to pain, hissing curses under his shaky breaths. That wasn't right. The attack should've been painless for him.

Joseph began to pace again. Very quickly he stopped, staring at Kars. He was threateningly silent.

It occurred to Kars that perhaps the results of the violence inflicted upon him, paired with his decision to stay perfectly still to allow his body to heal, painted quite a horrible scene. He prepared to speak.

"I'm fine... I'm recovering." Kars managed to muster despite how every muscle ached horribly. Joseph let out a heavy breath. Finally he sunk to the floor, sitting down and curling up into a ball.

Only a slight upgrade from the senseless violence, but an upgrade nonetheless. He'd deal with Joseph once he could get up. For now, Kars would look back and assess.

Joseph's existence as a whole was anomalous. The strength was abnormal, as well as the electricity (if that was really what it was and he really did have some control over it). He certainly wasn't some sort of all-powerful being, the tree punching had certainly shown that.

Perhaps he had become part Pillar Man after his transformation? That would explain the strength and the seemingly present ability to use electricity. It wouldn't explain the weakness, however. The lack of any other features typical of a Pillar Man – no patternings, no horns, no pseudo stone skin and no digitigrade feet, to name a few – raised a few concerns about the idea.

This was frustrating. One couldn't come to a conclusion on a topic like this with only one subject to study. He'd need multiple people who were in the same circumstance as Joseph, to compare similarities and differences. Without that, blind guesses were all Kars had.

Regardless, Joseph was a threat. Kars had almost died, and that was an accident. If Joseph realised his strength and decided to train and perfect his new abilities...he might be on par with the Pillar Men. With his smarts, surpass them even. That was an enemy Kars did not want to face.

Deeming his body healed enough, Kars slowly sat up. Instinctively he moved his hand to the still aching part of his head. He felt blood, still somewhat sticky, soaked into his hair from where he assumed the wound was. From what he could feel, the wound must've been large. Or, more time had passed than he thought. Breaking his head open from a few simple punches...

There were better things to worry about. Kars had a proper look around, regaining his bearings for the area. Joseph's scarf, forgotten in the scuffle, was lying on the ground in quite the lonely manner. Kars picked it up. Examining it further, he miraculously found no damage done to it. Thank the heavens for that. Kars moved, sitting himself next to Joseph.

What a night this was.

"Joseph." No response was given. Of course. "Joseph, here's your scarf. It hasn't been damaged."

That was enough to get his attention. Joseph perked up slightly, lifting up his head meekly from resting them on his knees. Silently, he took it and returned to his original position, the scarf's bundle kept close to his chest.

"I still want to talk to you – I truly meant what I said when I told you I wanted to help you. You don't seem the most willing to talk at the moment, though. I'll wait."

With that said, Kars turned his gaze to the sky. It was mostly covered up by the evergreen trees and their large branches and leaves. From what he could see, dawn still looked to be far away. Joseph should have time to recover, and for them to talk in privacy. If not, then they'd simply have to make do. Kars could dig them a burrow of sorts if the situation got dire.

Joseph shuffled closer. Without much hesitation he rested himself on Kars. Quite a shift of behaviour to what he was doing with Kars minutes ago. Logic didn't seem to be in Joseph's repertoire at the moment now. Kars would allow the action. He didn't care to dole physical affection out, nor did he care that much to receive it. It was simply a neutral action to him. If it helped Joseph, then so be it.

After some thought, Kars rested his hand on Joseph's head, slowly running his hand through the messy hair on top. "If you don't want me to do this, let me know."

The act seemed to have its expected effect, with Joseph slowly slackening in what Kars assumed was relaxation. Eventually, he swallowed and cleared his throat. He spoke.

"...Thanks. Sorry for attacking you, I just - I don't know why I did it. It was stupid."

"You haven't killed me. Don't beat yourself up about it. Emotions are nonsensical, and they make people do irrational things. I should've expected it."

"You're...very calm about this."

"Panicking or being angry at you would only exacerbate things further." Such a simple concept, and yet Joseph seemed to not be able to wrap his head around it. Was the concept of getting rid of detriments really so foreign to him?

"It's still weird."

"We are getting off topic. You're willing to discuss your issues with me now, are you not?"

Joseph sighed. "I guess. I doubt it'll help, but I don't see you leaving me alone if I don't."

"You start with whatever topic you think is most important."

Joseph was quicker to reply than Kars expected him to be. "The vampirism. That's the main issue. That's the source of almost all my problems." That would be a hard one to fix. One solution had already been suggested and rejected. Not many others came to mind.

"Well," Kars started. "Then you might need to simply give yourself time to adjust, and things may not be as bad as you've viewed them so far; You've been transformed for less than a day, remember."

"I don't think it'll get better." The other option it was, then.

"If that's the case, use the stone when we obtain it."

Joseph perked up at the mention of it. "The stone? You'd let me use it? Really?"

"Being confined to the night is a terrible fate. I would only wish that pain on my worst enemies, and I don't see you as an enemy."

"...You don't?"

"You'd be dead by now if I still saw you as an enemy. Esidisi and Whammu enjoy your presence, so I tolerate you. To me you're...an acquaintance." Certainly not a friend. That was too much care and effort put into someone who would only bring him down. Caring any further than that would be weakness.

"Ah. Right. I see. I still don't agree with using the stone but...I'll think about it."

That was as settled as it could be. Surely the other problems could be improved by focusing on different aspects of the issue. "What next?"

Joseph played with his scarf as he spoke. "I'm...uncertain about the future. Was before with you kidnapping me and me having to fight Whammu and everything, but now it's just worse."

"Make some goals and work toward them. Give yourself some sort of structure until the rest of your life becomes stable."

"You're the shittiest advice giver ever."

"How so? You haven't even had the chance to try it out."

Joseph let out a curt, almost spiteful laugh. "I had goals! I had stuff I wanted to do with my life!" He took a breath, calming himself down. "I wanted to have a family with someone. Settle down. Have a nice job, a nice house. Maybe even have a pet too. And now all that's been ruined."

The dream was salvageable. "Some of those might be hopeless with your current situation – if you choose to not take the offer with the stone – but not all of them are. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to settle down with. One that'll love you regardless of your condition."

"That doesn't leave me with a lot of options, you know."

"It's better than not having any at all. Do you...have anyone in mind, if you're not already partnered?" Kars tentatively asked, hoping Joseph wouldn't come out with the answer he was dreading.

Joseph was quiet for a moment, all of a sudden shy. His words came out as a sheepish mumble. "Well...Caesar. I think. I mean, I like Suzi and she means a lot to me and I'd love for her to live with me. But I like Caesar in a different way. So it'd make more sense for it to be him."

What a terrible choice in partner. Kars wanted to simply tell Joseph that to his face, but with what had happened earlier it was a risk too great. Staying agreeable until things died down would be the best way to go about the situation at hand.

"Why not live with them both?" Kars suggested instead. That was a good alternative. "If you want to have a family, you'll want the extra help when raising a child, if you choose to have any. They're more difficult to raise than you realise."

"I guess I could, I could definitely afford a house with enough- Wait." Joseph turned to look up at Kars, who finally removed his hand from Joseph's head. "You worded that like you've raised a child before."

"...I have?" Kars replied, slightly taken aback by the sudden change in topic. "Has Whammu not mentioned it to you at all?" Joseph's eyes widened.

"Huh?! Whammu?! I-I thought he was the same age as you and Esidisi! He doesn't even refer to you as his father?!" He practically shouted, his previously sad demeanour lost from the shock of the new information. Kars shook his head.

"No, he's much younger." Judging from how Whammu looked as a baby, almost missable in the sea of corpses, Kars would say that he had been only a few hundred years old. His brother, even younger. "And a word equivalent to "father" or "mother" doesn't exist in our language. Instead he would simply refer to us with greater respect. The intentions behind that do not translate well into this language, and so he simply calls me and Esidisi by our names."

"God, that's...I can't believe you're a father."

"It sounds ridiculous to me as well."

"Does that mean Santana's also your son, or..?"

So that's what they called him. No point calling him by his true name to Joseph. That'd only confuse things.

"Yes, he was."

"Oh."

"Do not feel regretful for killing him. It was a simple matter of life and death. You had no choice. I'm not mad at you - if I were, you'd have known much sooner than now."

"But wouldn't you be upset that your son's dead? Don't you, y'know, miss him?"

That was a hard question to answer. Santana wasn't around that much in the first place. When he was old enough and trusted to do whatever he pleased without supervision, he'd go off for months at a time to do things Kars knew nothing about, even now. Sometimes it'd be years. Santana would bring back trinkets and souvenirs every now and again, which was the only thing Kars could use to piece together where Santana had gone and what he had done. Maybe it was his tendency to do that that made this simple question so hard to answer. Even though Kars knew he was dead, deep down it felt like Santana was simply just away. Gone for a very long time, like usual.

"I guess I do. But that is something for me to deal with, not you. Besides, we are getting off topic. This is meant to be about you, not me."

"Right! Yeah! We're talking about my issues, not whatever's up with you!" Kars didn't have anything up with him, but that wasn't the big issue at hand. He wouldn't correct Joseph, in case the conversation derailed again. Joseph had the tendency to get distracted easily, Kars had noticed during their time together. "Where was I...Hmm...Oh right! Suzi and Caesar! I guess what you said could work, but..."

"Have you had an argument of sorts with him? Despite him coming to save you and you giving your life up for his you sound like you're not on the best terms with him."

"I guess you could call it that." Joseph explained what had happened mere hours ago between them both. It certainly wasn't an argument, but it also wasn't anything good.

"So you ran your mouth at him, and said some stuff that you think has created a rift between you two." Kars couldn't believe how Joseph hadn't come to the solution himself. "Then...simply talk to him? Apologise? Explain that you're still upset over it but you don't truly hate him?"

"But part of me does hate him."

"Because you're upset."

"...I'm scared to talk to him."

"You could fight against us as a human that had barely any grasp on the art of hamon, and yet you're too scared to talk to your friend?"

"That's different! Besides, even if we did make up and everything went well and we got together...that doesn't mean that he's going to like me. All of me, I mean."

"Nobody's perfect."

"No, I don't mean like that, I mean-" Joseph gestured to himself. "All this."

Ah. So that was the main issue here. His body. Something, that for whatever reason, Joseph was very keen on keeping hidden.

"If Caesar truly cares about you, that shouldn't bother him. If he changes how he feels about you because of it, then he simply wouldn't be worth your time in the first place."

"You'd be surprised how badly people've reacted to finding out about it. I've dated before, and the other person always tells me that they love me and they want to spend their life with me. And then one way or another they find out. They're always so...disgusted." Joseph said, sounding the most defeated Kars had ever heard him. "One girl wasn't disgusted, but she was so weirdly intrigued by me that I broke up with her anyways. I'm...still a little surprised my family is alright with it."

"Like I said," Kars repeated. The situation was ridiculous and he may as well be in hell. Why was he giving Joseph relationship advice out of all things? It was like a fish giving instructions on how to use lungs – not something he should be doing at all. "If he changes how he feels about you – especially after all you two have gone through – then he's not worth your time in the first place. You'll find someone better than him."

"I guess you're right..."

The conversation died down after that. Kars patiently awaited Joseph to throw another issue his way. None came. Kars was about to ask if there was any other problems he was willing to talk about when Joseph finally spoke up.

"You're really calm about me being this way, you know." Joseph said softly. "Is this a thing that you've seen before, with other Pillar Men or something? Is there...a name for what I am?"

Kars shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of, no. You're the first person I've seen to be this way. I simply do not see the fuss in having something as arbitrary as a body type determine so much about somebody. You introduced yourself as Joseph Joestar, a man, and so I will treat you as such. You know yourself better than anyone else does."

"That's...actually really nice of you to say. Thank you."

"No problem." The reason for Joseph telling Kars thank you for saying the simple truth (surely monotremes and oviviparous animals would have revealed that not everything in life was black and white?) was one he couldn't work out. "Do you have anything else you're willing to talk about with me?"

"Nah. Don't think so. This talk's surprisingly helped. More than I thought it would. I think I can keep going." That was all Kars needed to hear. He stood up, stretching his limbs.

"Then we have no need to be here in the middle of the woods. Come on. I have things to do."

"Alright, give me a moment to get up! Jeez!" Good to know Joseph had gotten back to his normal, annoying self.


The walk back was uneventful, thank the heavens. Kars had been through enough for the next hundred years, let alone a single night. All that had happened was Joseph worriedly and repeatedly asking if Kars was sure he knew his way out. That was to be expected from the Joestar, so it wasn't that much of a bother.

"I don't understand how you've memorised the way back so fast!"

"I have hundreds of thousands of years of experience." The act was almost instinctual at this point. The answer shut Joseph up for around a minute and twenty seconds. That was the longest he hadn't talked for since Kars started counting.

"Kars?" Joseph spoke up yet again, probably to ask or say something ridiculous.

"What is it?"

"Why'd you help me?"

Now that was a question worth an answer.

"I have things I need to do. The stone still isn't in my possession, so I must continue working toward it."

Joseph huffed. "God, you're hopeless." Kars turned his head to look at Joseph, eyebrow raised.

"Hopeless? That's a strong adjective to pull out of nowhere."

"I know that you don't care about me, but I was hoping you were helping for some reason other than that stupid rock. Altruism, or something. But everything you do is for the stone." He said bitterly.

"I work hard to achieve my goals, Joseph."

"This isn't working hard! You're obsessed with it!"

That was something Kars couldn't deny. The thought of finally obtaining the jewel stayed in his mind most of the time. After being trapped in the night for thousands of years, anyone would crave what was their only way out.

"You'll eventually understand why. Being confined to the night will wear you down."

"It's not that! I'm–" Joseph paused for a moment, stopping himself from filling up with rage. "I'm worried about you."

Any surprise that Kars felt wasn't shown. "You shouldn't worry about me. To you, I'm not something worth worrying about. That level of care is unnecessary and will only put you in danger."

Joseph groaned. "You get worse the more I hear come out from your mouth. You're insane."

"I'm not. That's simply the logical thing to do."

"We're getting off track! Like I was saying, I'm worried with how much you obsess over the stone. You base everything you do off of it, for God's sake! This whole situation exists because you kidnapped me to either give up the stone's location – which I can't really do because Lisa Lisa sometimes wears it as jewellery and sometimes she doesn't and I don't know where she puts it when she isn't wearing it – or be used for ransom!"

Joseph took a quick and deep breath in, unaware of his critical slipup. The stone had been on Air Supplena the entire time. Kars stored the information away for later.

"I thought you doing that was already pretty bad, but doing things as simple as trying to cheer someone up so you can get back to trying to get the stone faster?! Come on! You can't just base your entire life over it!" Joseph may as well have been shouting in Kars' ear at this point. This was certainly a lot of passion.

"I don't."

"Oh, really? Tell me, what will you do after obtaining the stone that isn't experiencing the sun? If the stone were to break, what would you do then?"

Kars thought for a moment.

"I have no need to think about those yet. They have not happened."

"So you admit you haven't given a single thought to a life after using the stone or if the stone broke? Which proves my point?" Joseph asked very haughtily.

"I did not say that at all."

"Then tell me."

Kars had no idea as to how his patience hadn't run out yet.

"They do not concern you."

"And now you're avoiding it! You know I'm right and you refuse to admit it!"

"Believe what you want to believe."

Joseph grumbled something underneath his breath, slowing his pace down so they were once again separated. In a decent amount of time they got back to their home. Due to the collapse, a hole had been broken in the outer wall, a temporary doorway until they found better living conditions.

"Kars." Joseph finally spoke up again as he was going to go his own way.

"What now?"

"Start planning for your life after the stone. I'm not good at a lot of things, but I can read people. With you basing so much of your life around obtaining the stone, once you have it you'll be at a loss and everything will fall apart before your very eyes. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Esidisi and Whammu. My care might not matter to you, but I'm sure theirs do."

"...Alright then, JoJo."

The two went their own ways. One, to Esidisi to finally rest. The other, to Caesar to make amends.

Chapter Text

Kars rested his arms on the windowsill, gazing at the sky. It had been a hassle to tear the wood planks off of the walls, and it came to mind that perhaps he could've done this outside instead. There was no way he would be able to board the window up again in time. The room would be lost once day broke.

The sky was the same as it was outside. Stars on a black background, accompanied by clouds and a full moon. Kars had seen it hundreds of thousands of times. He wracked his mind for a way to appreciate it.

Once the stone was in his possession, he'd only be able to use it once. The sun would be a brand new experience for him, once. And then it'd become mundane, just like the night. In some aspects, Joseph was tragically right; Kars had only really planned to experience the sun and nothing else. If he couldn't appreciate what he had now, what would happen when the feeling of the sun upon his skin became the norm?

The sky being illuminated in its own way could be seen as a form of beauty, Kars supposed. The sun wasn't there to engulf the sky in its light, painting it apparently blue. The true colour, the colour of what was beyond the earth, was exposed instead. A view of a forbidden expanse, something he'd never be able to enter and explore. That was...pretty. Something that could be appreciated.

The moon, and the stars were something unique to the night. They were never the same, especially with how much Kars moved locations. The moon's pallid glow came from the sun itself. It reflected the sun's light off of it. The life energy that came from it as a result was watered down enough to make it survivable. When Kars thought about it, the moon had been his only connection to the sun for all his life. At the very least, it deserved some modicum of respect and appreciation.

Kars stared, and thought, and waited.

This was proving harder than he thought. Not a single feeling was sparked within, the way Joseph claimed occurred to him. There was no mind-blowing awe or revelation. Only the thought and decision to admire the night. This would take some work.

Work was something Kars wasn't particularly inclined to tonight. Enough had happened already. It would be in his best interests to relax and rest. Taking the time to carve a warning into the door (tomorrow night he would board the windows back up), he returned to the room he typically slept in. After laying down, it didn't take long for Kars to get crushed with the weight of another Pillar Man on top of him.

"Good evening, Esi. How has the night been for you?" Kars hadn't been able to lay like this with Esidisi for a while, with how Joseph got in the way. Only now did he realise how much he missed it. He wondered if the heat from Esidisi would be what the sun would feel like upon his skin.

"It's been quite uneventful. Excluding, well, you know. The Joseph stuff." Kars hummed in acknowledgement. It had all transpired last day and tonight, and yet Joseph being killed and revived felt like it had happened years ago. "How's he doing? Hunt go well?"

What an incredibly loaded question. "He managed to take down and eat a person with minimal help. Then, we got into an argument and a fight."

"He attacked you? Honestly, I'm a little surprised with how long it's taken for him to snap at you. You tend to get on his nerves a lot, and tonight's taken quite the toll on him."

"I certainly was the one to set him off. Looking back, I was quite inconsiderate of how he was feeling, and stressed him out further than he already was." As great as he was, Kars was not without flaws. It would be foolish for anyone to think otherwise. Clearly, he still needed to work on things.

Kars thought about the rest of the fight. The supposed electricity, at least. If Joseph had control over that, it'd be similar to Esidisi's boiling blood. Both were controlled by physiological parts of the body. Perhaps Esidisi could help Joseph to manage his abilities? It was worth bringing up, anyways. " He is also...abnormal, to say the least." Kars started, unsure of how to exactly word things.

"Hm? How so?"

"He managed to electrocute me during our spat. It seems that he has some power over it. It's incredibly dangerous."

Esidisi was quiet for a moment. "...And he's not become a Pillar Man?"

"No. He looks just like a turned human to me."

"Hmm. That's quite the peculiar issue. I'll speak about it with him later. I might be able to help him grasp and hone it. Anything else of note?"

"He also accidentally slipped me the Red Stone's location. Lisa Lisa keeps it with her at all times, it seems. We'll either find it on her, or wherever she keeps her things on the island."

Kars was lying on his stomach and so couldn't see Esidisi's reaction. However, he could feel the smile painted on his face.

"That's wonderful! I'll prepare for the journey tomorrow night. It'll be a cinch."

Tomorrow night would be preferable, of course. Obtaining the stone as soon as possible was Kars' priority. However, with Joseph in the picture...

"There's no need to. Give it a fortnight or so. JoJo still needs to properly get used to everything."

"Are you serious?!" Esidisi moved himself off of Kars, prompting him to shift onto his back. He watched as Esidisi meticulously scanned him for any sign of a joke. "This- This is the closest we've ever been to the stone and you're deciding to wait?"

"It's only the logical thing to do. Nothing good will come out of thrusting him into such a situation right after everything else that's happened to him."

"Couldn't we just leave him here though?" Esidisi asked, opting to lay beside Kars now. "I'm sure he'd be in good hands with Suzi and Caesar."

"No. Not doing that." Caesar had ruined enough; Kars didn't want to leave him alone for an extended period of time just yet.

"Alright then. I'll trust your judgement." Esidisi replied, moving onto his side and closing his eyes.

Kars did the same, trying his best to get comfortable. The mysteries and the trials and tribulations of tonight would haunt his mind and keep him awake, but any rest would be helpful.


Joseph came upon the room Caesar was in easily. The heightened senses helped in tracking someone down quite the bit; This was probably the only time he'd be thankful for it. To his surprise, Caesar was still awake, reading a book, one of the old cookbooks Joseph had read before. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure he'd read every single book in the hotel at this point.

Silently, he made his way to Caesar, lying down next to him. Other than a quick awkward glance, Caesar paid no mind to him. Guess it was up to Joseph to make conversation. How horrible.

"So, uh...this your bedroom for the time being?" Cool. Casual. Didn't sound awkward at all. This was going great.

"Mine and Suzi's. Too cold to even think about having separate beds." Caesar replied curtly, sounding almost as awkward as Joseph did. At least the feeling was mutual.

"Yeah, it's ridiculously cold in here. We might as well be sitting outside shirtless." The ground could open up and swallow him, and Joseph wouldn't care. He'd be quite happy for it, in fact.

"I don't know how you were able to manage like this for so long." Caesar said quietly, after a delay.

"I didn't really have a choice." Joseph slowly settled on for a reply. "The Pillar Men tried their best to help me, at least."

The small conversation died off there. Joseph stared at the ceiling, and Caesar went back to his book. There were many cracks in the ceiling, grown larger with time. They looked worse than he last remembered it. Did Caesar's and Whammu's fight damage the whole hotel?

Joseph still felt tired, oddly enough. It wasn't as bad as before, where he could barely even keep his eyes open, but it was still bad enough to be irritable. Didn't Kars say the tiredness was because he didn't have much life energy left? Surely, he shouldn't feel this way anymore? Unless it wasn't enough...

As much as he wanted to nap, he had work to do. If he left the rift between himself and Caesar for too long, it would be unrepairable. Joseph couldn't leave the atmosphere staying so awkward. He wracked his mind for something to say, something that hopefully wouldn't lead back to the whole incident. Joseph certainly had a lot to tell Caesar, but it was way too early to bring it up. Something more casual would have to do. Probably.

"Uh...What're you planning to do after this?" That was a casual, normal question.

Caesar shrugged. "I haven't really planned that out. I've been training to protect the stone and defeat the Pillar Men for so long, I haven't bothered to think about it yet."

And so the conversation died immediately. Joseph went back to thinking. Perhaps, asking about what Caesar and Suzi had done before getting here might be a good thing to ask? Surely there'd be an interesting story there, one that could spark a proper conversation...

"I might go find my siblings, actually." Caesar said as Joseph was about to speak.

"You have siblings?"

"Four of them. We got separated at such a young age, I don't know if we'd be able to recognise each other. I just need to know that they're alright, really."

Joseph gave a hum of acknowledgement, planning on how to respond. The details had to be a touchy subject. Caesar gave him an answer to his question, but that didn't mean that he wanted to reveal his whole life story to him just yet.

"How is it, having siblings? Growing up as a kid, I always wished that I could have a brother or a sister to keep me company and to hang out with." The mansion he grew up in was nice, but way too big for just him and Erina, with the occasional visit from Speedwagon. All the rooms and corridors felt much too big. No matter what Joseph did, the place just felt...lonely. Too empty, especially with his parents dying as early as they did and leaving the place two short. Having a sibling wouldn't have fixed it, but maybe things would've been better.

"It's...nice. We didn't have a large home so we all shared a room. I don't think that helped us with our tendency to argue – we always fought over space and who slept where on the beds. It sounds like a horrible experience but...I wouldn't have given it up for anything in the world." A small smile grew on Caesar's face as he reminisced about the past. "We always had each other's backs. Looked after each other when nobody else could."

"I hope your search goes well, Caesar." Joseph yawned. Maybe he should go to sleep. It'd be morning soon, and as far as he knew all the changes to him would have made him nocturnal too. Maybe that's why he was so tired.

"You tired?"

"People do typically yawn when they're sleepy, Caesar. What do you think?" Joseph asked, hopefully not sounding aggressive, but instead more jokey and playful.

"C'mon JoJo, you know what I meant." Caesar replied, playfully in the way they would spit insults at each other during sparring. It was almost nostalgic.

"Do you mind if I sleep here?" Joseph asked, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Of course not. I'm sure Suzi could fit somewhere. " Caesar took a moment to clear his throat. "Do you...want me to read to you?"

Joseph looked up at him, confused. "That's a cookbook, not a story book?"

"In my experience it's the sound of someone's voice that helps people get to sleep, not what they're saying."

"I guess you could... But shouldn't you go to sleep as well? You should be resting."

Caesar shook his head. "I don't feel like I can sleep right now. I'll sleep later."

"Alright then, go ahead." Joseph flipped onto his stomach, suddenly deciding to sleep in a different position. He hugged the pillows he had. Caesar flipped through the pages of the book until he found a recipe he liked, then began to softly read. Sometimes he interjected with his own thoughts and opinions on the recipe.

As he fell asleep, Joseph noticed just how sweet Caesar's voice sounded.


It was incredibly late, very much past midnight. It was in her best interests to sleep right away, but Lisa Lisa couldn't bring herself to do so just yet. She gazed out at the inky black sea from her balcony, silently sipping on a small glass of wine. Its strong taste cleared her mind.

She wondered what Caesar and Suzi were doing now. They'd been gone for a while now. Lisa Lisa doubted that they had found Joseph. By this point in time the man was certainly dead. She could only hope that they were alright, and that the Pillar Men hadn't done anything to them.

Perhaps she was too harsh on Caesar with the initial conversation after the discussion with Kars. Caesar always took things seriously when it came to the Pillar Men; His fervent attitude towards training for the past few years showed that well enough. Joseph must've meant more to him than she thought, for him to be the reason that Caesar abandoned what he'd been training so long for. Her choice was simply what seemed best in the moment. Even now, Lisa Lisa couldn't think of a way she could keep the stone safe and save Joseph.

Joseph was on her mind a lot these days. When she was training with Loggins and Messina, her mind wandered to how Joseph would use tricks and twisted words to gain the upper hand in his fights. Caesar, even with his experience, was no match for him in most of their fights. He had potential. Potential that was now forever lost.

Thoughts of his family also crossed his mind. Caesar brought him to meet her with nobody else present, and he'd never mentioned family in his short time on the island. They'd never get closure. She wouldn't ever be able to give them the apology they deserved. As much as his death would protect countless other families from grief, it didn't make the pain his family would feel any less important.

Finishing off her drink, Lisa Lisa decided that she'd plant some flowers in his memory. There were better things she should do, but this was the only feasible one. She'd continue training people in the art of hamon, in case of any problems that might happen in the future. She'd be able to maintain the garden for years to come. His memory would remain there, as it deserved to be. Joseph didn't go down fighting to his very last breath, but his death should be respected all the same. It helped protect the stone and humanity, after all.

Lisa Lisa went to bed late, mulling over the past and the future.

Chapter Text

"In the day, the scenery's really pretty! Makes me wish I brought a camera with me on this trip." Suzi chatted absentmindedly to Joseph as she searched through her belongings. Determined to make the most of things, she'd gone out for a few hours to enjoy the tourist destination they were holed up in. "The sun makes the snow sparkle."

Joseph had never been outside the hotel in the day. With all the other troubles in his life he never really stopped to consider what it'd all look like under the sun's gaze. He'd never see it, now.

"Didn't make it any less cold though! It's just as freezing at night as it is in the daytime! I prefer Italy's sun – it's warmer than the one here!"

"Oh, you'd hate Britain then. Down in the south you barely see the sun, and when you do, it doesn't do anything at all against the wind!" Joseph replied. "I hate it there. The first moment I get, I'm moving somewhere warmer."

"Got anywhere in mind?" Suzi asked. "Hmm...where did I put my hairbrush... Ah! Found it!"

Joseph pondered the question. "Maybe...maybe America? Lots of opportunities there. I wouldn't mind living in Italy though, if it meant I got to stay with you and Caesar."

"I wouldn't mind moving to America if that's what you wanted! I'd love to see the sights there. But...I also like the familiarity of home...it's so hard to choose!" Suzi brushed her wavy hair, wincing as the brush tugged on knots.

"Well, you've got a while to decide. Besides, we can always ask Caesar for a third opinion." Joseph paused for a moment. "You want help with your hair? It's a bit of a mess. I'd be able to have a look at it from behind."

Suzi stared at him, tilting her head and frowning. "You want to brush my hair?"

"Why not? Saves you the stress of doing it."

A moment of thought later, Suzi placed the hairbrush in Joseph's hands. They both sat down on the floor, Joseph behind her. He hadn't had long hair for a couple years now, only really needing to use a comb. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to remember. Picking a part of her hair and holding it around partway through, Joseph began to brush, slowly working his way up with every knot he brushed out. Holding it at the middle of its length like that would make the hair tug less on the scalp whenever the brush ended up getting stuck on something. Things would take a little longer, but he didn't mind. It would only mean that he'd have more time to talk with Suzi.

"I'm not sure what he'd want to do. I've known him since he was sixteen, and somehow he's still an enigma most of the time." Suzi sighed. "I feel like I barely know him even now."

"He's been in training for-" Joseph stopped to count on his fingers. "How old is he?"

"Turning twenty-one in May."

"Ok, so that's four years. That's a long time. Does he never talk about himself?" He didn't expect Caesar to be so supposedly reserved. With how he acted before the whole getting-kidnapped-by-Kars thing, proud and egotistical almost if not all of the time, Joseph thought that he'd love to talk about himself.

"He'll talk about things that have happened recently, or why he likes this or that, but nothing else. It's all so shallow."

Joseph thought back to a couple of days ago, when Caesar brought up having siblings to him. The only info Joseph had on them was that Caesar had been separated from them at a young age. It hinted towards a past that wasn't the best, so it'd make sense if he didn't really want to speak about it. Maybe the problem it came from was bigger, and it wasn't some one-off situation from early childhood like Joseph assumed.

"Did anything happen to him as a kid? He mentioned something about his siblings before, and he said that they were separated. I didn't want to ask about it in any more detail in case. Didn't wanna push too far."

"A lot did – that I know about. I don't want to tell you about it behind his back, but I'm sure he'll tell you if you asked!" Suzi replied. That'd give him something to do later on then. Before Caesar and Suzi arrived he'd been getting sick and tired of the place. Same corridors, same rooms (almost all the rooms were practically identical too!). Same everything. Even the things he did like to do would get stale eventually. Having them to talk to was the only sort of freshness he got these days. Or would nights be the better phrase because he was a vampire now? What a conundrum!

"I'll speak to him later, once he's done doing whatever he's doing with Kars." Kars had offered to examine Caesar's wounds, to see how they were healing. As proactive as he was, Kars probably wanted to make sure the gashes weren't getting infected and creating issues for later. Probably.

There was definitely something more going on.

He could very much tell that Kars didn't like Caesar. His body language made that much apparent. Instead of doing it himself, he could've gotten Whammu or Esidisi to do it. Something was wrong. Joseph just couldn't work out what.

Suzi's hair had almost been fully brushed through, a small section left to do. It was silky smooth, and fun to run his fingers through with how the strands parted seamlessly between them. He could play with it forever.

"I'm almost done. Any hairstyle you want it done up in?"

"Leave it down, please. I don't like sleeping with it tied up."

Joseph finished, setting down the brush and admiring his work. Even after all these years he still had it!

"Thank you!" Suzi ran her fingers through the strands. "I'm surprised you're so good at this. You don't seem like the type."

"I do pride myself on being a jack of all trades!" Joseph replied. "Besides, I've wanted a family since young. If I ever have a daughter, I'd want to be able to do her hair into any style she wanted."

Joseph let the small silence sit, picturing that idyllic future. One that was almost out of reach. Almost. Like Kars said, the dream could be salvaged. Something was better than nothing.

He had more important things at hand to think about too. The fate of the Red Stone and the Pillar Men still hung in the air.

"Aww, that's so sweet of you! Whatever children you have in the future will be lucky to have you as their dad." Suzi stood up and flopped onto the room's old bed, stretching and getting into a comfortable position. Joseph didn't know how they managed to be even the littlest bit comfy nowadays. The sheets were moth eaten to hell and back! The mattresses might as well be springs at this point too.

They were better than the cold hard floor. Joseph soon followed Suzi. Now being a vampire, Joseph definitely wasn't going to be sleeping at the same time as Suzi and Caesar. Their sleep cycles were annoying to work around, but they did their best. Joseph definitely stayed awake longer than he should've the past few nights. He could feel its toll – that desperate itch was back, and slowly growing.

Perhaps he should focus on something else.

"So, what have you and Whammu gotten up to?"

"He's been training me!" Suzi said happily. "Your death made me think about things. If I could fight, then Whammu would've had to fight both me and Caesar. And maybe you would've had more time to get there and break up the fight before it got to...you know."

Joseph turned his head to look at Suzi. "Please don't think all that was your fault."

"I don't! It was nobody's fault. Just a bad and unlucky situation. Still," She sighed. "I don't want to sit on the sidelines when I could make a difference. I want to help out more."

That was understandable. Her lack of fighting skills had definitely caused issues before. Joseph still remembered how Esidisi used Suzi as a hostage, allowing his getaway from the island. Esidisi had told Joseph later that it was just a scare tactic and that he'd never hurt Suzi, and scary it was. Downright terrifying, more accurately. None of them knew the man that Esidisi was at the time. Instead, an evil monster had Suzi in its grasp, and they were all helpless. Joseph had felt nothing but despair at the time; What had Suzi herself felt like, being the hostage?

"Whammu's a good teacher. I'm sure you'll be a great fighter in no time."

"I've already made so much progress! I can't really put on muscle here to make myself stronger, with there being no weights or anything, so he's not just teaching me to punch and fight in that way." Suzi began to ramble about how Whammu suggested ways to improve her effectiveness in combat without putting on lots of muscle. They settled on teaching her how to use an array of weapons in battle; Swinging ones like bats were the first to be focused on out of the lot. The perfect posture, the best way to swing and the most vital points to hit, that sort of stuff was what Suzi was taught.

"He's going to teach me some martial arts soon. I can't rely on weapons all the time." Joseph agreed. Using weapons was all fine and dandy until you were disarmed. To be a great fighter she'd need to be able to adapt to any situation.

Joseph hoped that she'd never have to use what she learned. Enough fighting had happened already. He was sick and tired of it now: The blood, the violence. The death, when it got that far. Now that he was transformed Joseph would see more than enough of all that. He still couldn't get the gorey images of his first victim out of his head.

It was inevitable. Lisa Lisa would forever guard the stone with her life, most likely raising other hamon users to take her place once she passed, and Kars would do anything he could to get the stone. And just his luck, Joseph had been caught up right in the middle of it. So caught up in it, it in fact had felt like forever since the fight over the stone hadn't been ruining his life. Kars would drag him along to their final battle for the stone or something, Joseph was sure. He (surprisingly) seemed to care about Joseph's wellbeing, with how sincere and kind he'd been during that mental break – in his own unique and messed up Karsy way, of course – but that didn't mean Kars didn't see him as more than just a tool he had to frequently upkeep.

But that would be later. In the here and now, it was just the two. Joseph, and Suzi. Moments like these were to be cherished. He had to make the most of them.

"Wanna play twenty questions?"