Singapore, 43 Days Remaining
Jotaro cracks his right eye open and glances at the digital clock on the bedside table. 2:04am. Those two had been talking for about seven hours now. All of it being related to Joseph's past escapades. And in between each story, of course Anne had to make him repeat half of it.
Good grief. Our flight is at 10.
"So, there I was, being led by my future best friend Caesar-"
"Like the Roman Emperor?"
"No, much cooler. If a little snooty."
"Woah."
"Anyway, we walk into this massive underground cavern underneath some ancient stone face or something, and we see these three guys imprisoned in rock."
"Oh, are these like that guy in Mexico?"
"Worse. These were the Pillarmen we were so afraid of…they had eaten all of the soldiers there, leaving only pools of blood. One had been freed, and using that blood he resurrected the other two from their ancient slumber."
"Oh no!" Anne seems to be completely engrossed in the story, especially after Jotaro had laid down and attempted to sleep.
"Oh yes! The three men emerged, the sheer menace of their power resounding through the room! And their names, their names will be in embedded in my mind 'til the end of time…"
"Wh-what were they?"
"Kars, Wham, and Esidesi."
"Hold on." Anne narrows her eyes. "Like the bands?"
"They're in a band?"
"No those are band names. " Anne begins to cross her arms, upset. "Are you making this up?"
"Hold on, do you not see this metal arm here? I've never heard of those bands you're talking about, either!"
Jotaro leans on an arm and sits up, "Anne, ask him what year he woke up to yesterday."
"Uh, okay…" Anne blushes a bit on realizing that he had heard her gush about this wild story. "So, what year was yesterday?"
"Well when I woke up it was 1939."
"What? Did you time travel?"
"Uh, yeah. But I hadn't gotten to that part of the story before you started spouting nonsense about the Pillarmen's intimidating names."
"You two. Go to bed." Jotaro grumbles as he rolls over on his side.
"Fine, I'll tell you the rest tomorrow." Joseph stands and cuts the light, before taking a pillow and laying on the floor. Anne lays down, muttering something inaudible. "Oh and Jotaro, we need to go to the hardware store tomorrow, I need to do a little maintenance on my hand."
"We're meeting with a Speedwagon worker tomorrow. He'll have parts. Now sleep." Joseph tinkers a bit with his hand before dozing off.
Gramps…I was wrong for thinking you were childish sometimes. You've definitely grown up.
Singapore, 1988
Joseph rushes down the stairs to the ground floor of the hotel, finding Jotaro glaring at him near the front door. The large backpack smacks against his shoulders as he runs, almost throwing him off balance.
"Where did you get a backpack?"
"Oh, that little girl said she didn't need it. She said she was gonna stay here in Singapore for a while, so she could just get another."
"And what do you even have to put in there?"
"Hotel towels. And soap. I mean they were barely used, I 'd hate to be wasteful." Jotaro eyes Joseph up and down, before flipping his trench coat and turning towards the door.
"Hurry up."
Time passes…
Jotaro strides through the crowds of Singapore, leaving Joseph to lag behind as people carelessly bump into him and his backpack. The shining buildings leave him dazzled with their height and brilliance. At every storefront, Joseph lingers and stares at the TVs showing products.
The world of the future…I wonder if anyone still listens to radio.
The two come up to an intersection, and above them is a sign with a pictograph of a plane on it. Jotaro had already instructed him on how a crosswalk worked. Well, it was more of a pulling him out of the oncoming traffic when the stop signal was up. But either way, this trial by fire technique definitely has deterred Joseph from straying too far away from his…grandson? It still feels odd to him so refer to Jotaro as such, seeing as Joseph just got married this year.
"Gramps, wait here. I need to get something before we leave." Jotaro then slips off into the crowd behind them, leaving a stammering Joseph standing in a pool of strangers as the crosswalk switches over.
"Hey, wait a minute, I have no ide-" Joseph finds himself pushed along with the flow of the crowd, and several minutes flow by until he can drag himself out of it. He stands there, panting from the effort and the tropical heat. In front of him, a large facility with several electronic displays on the front looms over him, hordes of strangers entering and exiting the main entrance. Several unfamiliar languages scroll across the ticker, until an English name appears.
Singapore Changi Airport. I guess this is it. I should probably wait inside, its roasting out here.
Joseph wanders inside, amazed by the bustling people around him. There's a slight breeze coming from somewhere above him, and he follows it to a bench against the wall. He doesn't see a fan blowing, but either way he's glad to have a break from the heat. Sweating, he sets the pack down on the bench beside him and opens the top flap, loosening the string that cinches the top tight. Sprawling out, his hand dips into the bag and pulls out a small hat, with which he begins to fan himself.
Singapore, 43 Days Remaining
Of course the bastard couldn't just stay put. I'll just leave him if he gets lost…
Jotaro grumbles to himself, clutching his hands in his pocket. The crowd parts as Jotaro plows through it, no one really wanting to get in this punk's way. He strolls through the front entrance to the airport, and spots the top of Joseph's head on the other side of the crowd. As Jotaro pushes his way through, he locks eyes with Joseph, who springs up and quickly moves his hands out of Jotaro's sight.
Clearing the crowd, Jotaro finds Joseph hurriedly hoisting his pack up. "Yare yare daze…"
"Hey, quit mumbling Japanese at me! Why'd you leave me alone back there?"
Jotaro simply rolls his eyes and hands Joseph a small Walkman. He pulls out some small, cheap headphones and plugs them in, before putting them on Joseph's ears.
"What the hell?"
Joseph paws at the headphones with his metal stump, but Jotaro calmly pops in a cassette and presses the play button. The sound blares in Joseph's ear, who at first has his eyes bolting open in confusion, but that gradually melts into wonder at the song playing in his ear. Jotaro lifts one side of the headphones, "Back in Black, AC/DC" Joseph grabs the headphone and puts it back on, rocking his head to the beat only he can hear.
Time passes…
Right at the gate, Jotaro spots a suited man holding up a sign written in Kanji, 'Jotaro'. The man notices his unique outfit, and waves Jotaro over. He takes some steps forward before checking behind him, and notices Joseph jamming out with his eyes closed. With a swift arc of his arm, Jotaro yanks Joseph with him as he approaches the man.
"Hello, Mr. Jotaro. Mr. Joestar has arranged for two tickets, one for you and one for a 'Ms. Anne'. "
"That's her." Jotaro points his thumb back at the wildly flailing Joseph, who is trying his best to dance to the music.
"Oh, uh, I see. "
"Ms. Anne needs the same parts that Gramps needs for his arm."
"Oh, yes, we did have a supply bag for him, please deliver it to him when you meet once more. Also, if you see him before we do, pass this message to him." The man hands Jotaro a small note and satchel. Jotaro snatches both and rips open the message. "Wait, that message is for Joseph Joestar!" Jotaro's eyes quickly scan the note, before stuffing it into his pocket.
He rotates his shoulder and slings the satchel behind him, "If he calls the Foundation asking about me, tell him we may have to take a detour." Jotaro grabs Joseph's shoulder and storms off toward the gate. Joseph's eyes go wide, and shakes his grandson's arm. He lowers his headphones and shakes harder until Jotaro turns around.
"The music stopped, was that it?"
"Flip the cassette over, we're boarding soon."
Time passes…
The two take their seat on the near empty plane. After the last flight, it seems the flight was reserved for them and them alone. Joseph flings the bag into the seat and continues to listen intently to the album in his ears. Jotaro sinks into his seat, and goes to close his eyes for takeoff. Just as he feels some sleep come over him, he hears some shuffling from the other side of his travel companion. He cracks his eyes open, and sees Anne emerging from the backpack.
Good grief. I have to babysit two children…
Anne rips off Joseph's headphones, and then grabs Joseph's shirt like a raptor. "It was hot as hell in that bag, you idiot!" The words are punctuated with a solid punch to the chest, which leaves exactly no impact on Joseph. He simply smiles as she backs off and buckles in.
"Y'know, I gotta say. Esidesi makes great music."
The plane takes off, and Jotaro lulls himself into an uneasy sleep.
If this plane goes down, I'm going to beat you down myself, Gramps.
END OF CHAPTER FIVE