Jinnah International Airport, 36 Days to Save Holly
"Kakyoin, Polnareff… Be careful." Joseph tenses up as he senses more bodies in the fog. He looks around slowly, scanning the perimeter of what he can see.
20…30…40…
The bodies moved like zombies but…
"Emerald Splash!"
A rain of emerald stones blasts out from Hierophant Green into the fog. Breathing, Joseph focuses his thoughts on what he can feel on the tarmac.
The body falls, and if it were a zombie, that should…No…that's not right…
"Chariot!" Polnareff rushes forward a bit to engage with the encroaching horde, with Kakyoin by his side.
"Wait, you two!" Joseph shouts, hoping to stop them from getting too far apart. "Let's think this through!"
"You said it yourself, Mr. Joestar!" Polnareff, now deep in the mist, shouts with some effort, more than likely lunging with Silver Chariot as he yells. "This is a time for action!"
"That's not what I said!" Joseph wraps a layer of Hermit Purple around his knuckles, already crackling with Hamon.
"Mr. Joestar, a moment." Avdol puts up a hand to stop Joseph from charging in after the others, before summoning his Stand. "Magician's Red! Clear the air!"
A ring of flame emanates out from the bird headed Stand, expanding larger and larger so as to push back the fog surrounding them. The air clears, if only for a moment, giving Joseph and the others a clear look at what they're up against.
…I see…
"Kakyoin! Watch out!" One of the figures slashes at Kakyoin, a long screwdriver in hand. Thanks to Polnareff's warning, Kakyoin dodges by rolling to the ground and entangling the figure with Hierophant's tail.
"Get a good look, Mr. Joestar?" Avdol speaks calmly as he focuses on his Stand, the ring of flame dying out as another wave of fog rolls back over them all.
"Yes, Avdol. This is the work of an enemy Stand user."
"Yes, and?" Avdol responds with mild bemusement, but Joseph is quick to respond with an unusually quiet tone.
"Not just the fog. Those people…they appear to be a couple of hours dead apiece. The fog is rolling through their wounds like marionette strings…but they were people. A goddamned monster rolled through here…" Joseph's metal hand creaks as he clenches it in anger. "We need to find Jotaro…and the enemy user. Fast."
"Understood." With a different hand gesture, Avdol conjures a compass rose of flame while shouting out to the others in the fog. "Kakyoin! Polnareff! Go find Jotaro! Hierophant should make it easier. Mr. Joestar and I will be going after the Stand user!"
"What about these people? Can we save them?" Polnareff's voice shouts from deeper in the fog, his footsteps growing quieter and more distant. Glancing at Joseph, Avdol only gets a sullen look back.
"No, Polnareff. They're already dead. Don't hold back if you're in danger." Avdol watches as the life signs on the compass grow more distant, the shadows of Kakyoin and Polnareff long lost in the fog.
Jotaro. Even with Star Platinum's might and speed, even then…the user is trying to wear us out. Be careful…Run away if you have to. I doubt the Stand's range is beyond this airport. But still…we have quite the ways to go to safety ourselves.
Joseph follows Avdol into the fog, Hermit Purple readied. The light on the compass goes almost completely out around them, the shambling dead not showing up at all in Magician's Red's detector. A few stumble out of the mist and clumsily attempt to attack the two. But, with an outstretched hand, Joseph ensnares one completely with Hermit Purple and hurls it into another, before dashing forward and clocking another straight in the face with a Hamon-infused knuckle.
These people…
Each of the bodies is littered with perfectly circular holes. The few corpses he can see are of every walk of life. A stewardess. Teenagers, gawky and ill-dressed, probably for their first flight. Portly men of decadence. Deep in the mist, Joseph can only imagine who else fell victim to this Stand.
The person who did this…they're not just a simple assassin. They're an abomination. A kin to DIO himself, judging from this…this massacre. Did anyone escape?
The flurry of fists, vines, and kicks cuts through the thick veil of fog, air crackling with Hamon. They trudge forward, Avdol calmly walking with eyes focused on the compass before him. Joseph eyes dart all around, completely engrossed in the task of defending Avdol as they approach the airport complex proper. Or so they hope. Very little is visible in the fog…
Time passes…
"Mr. Joestar! Someone's up ahead!" Avdol shouts, but Joseph is still dealing with another group of puppeted bodies. He jumps up on one's shoulders, before kicking it in the back of the head to leap onto another. Reaching out behind him, he grabs another approaching corpse with Hermit Purple and flings it high into the air. Finally landing a knee into the body in front of him, he pushes out a burst of Hamon on contact, knocking away three more behind his target.
"We're still out in the open, Avdol. Do you think…"
"Jotaro? Perhaps. But whoever it is, they're coming closer…" Joseph sees the faint glow from the flame compass grow steadily brighter.
That's…that's a very fast sprint. Or a Stand.
"We have to be careful, Avdol. It could be another enemy Stand user…" Looking at the downed puppets in front of him, Joseph readies himself as they stumble onto their feet. Four of them start to slowly drag themselves towards Joseph and Avdol.
But Joseph just smirks.
Reaching out with both hands in front of him, he wraps Hermit Purple around all four bodies' legs and pulls, knocking them all on their backs. Then, while still holding onto the vines, he turns backwards and hoists the vines over his head.
"Get out of my way!" With a mighty heave, he throws all four of them clear over himself and Avdol, too far up in the fog for him to see.
Hah, they shouldn't catch up in a while. Oh god-
A loud pop rings out from Joseph's back. Right in the area he used to throw all four of them. A sharp pain shoots out from under his left shoulderblade, causing Joseph to straighten up to ease the pain.
"Agh, goddamned back!" Joseph stands there, writhing a bit from his geriatric back pain, before his ears pick up the sounds of extremely quick footsteps.
"Mr. Joestar, that person I detected is coming in fast." Avdol resummons Magician's Red, readying it into a battle stance. As the footsteps clamber closer, Joseph hears a loud, obnoxious, and grating voice shout from behind him.
"OUT OF MY WAY YOU OLD GEEZER! I'M GONNA DIE!"
Another sharp pain shoots through Joseph's back as the force of a fairly large man plows straight into the sore spot in his back, sending both of them to the ground.
As their weight settles, another loud pop is heard. The pain does not decrease.
Jinnah International Airport, 1988
What the hell is an old guy doing all alone out here? Is he the only survivor?
Joseph stands up and looks at the old man writhing on the ground face down. He then looks up to see a dark skinned man covered with jewelry and prayer beads. With a large, flaming bird-man hovering behind him, flame wreathing its arms like bracelets.
"Okay, so, I'm assuming that's a Stand, you were about to kill this old guy, and now you're going to attempt to kill me."
"Me? I'm more concerned about who you are." The dark skinned man's eyes narrow a bit as he speaks, his muscles still tense with hostility.
"Wait a minute…you…wait are you Avdol?" Joseph scratches his chin a bit as he tries to recall what Jotaro said about his travel companions.
So, fire one, Avdol. Green clothes, Kakyoin. Silver hair, Polnareff…
Joseph looks down at the old man, briefly puzzled.
Old man…
The old man rolls over, eyes flared with anger and pain.
"Hermit Purple!" And before Joseph can respond, he's wrapped in a cocoon of purple vines.
Oh. Me.
"Trying to assassinate me with a sneak attack, eh? Just what I'd expect from one of…" The old man pauses, having finally gotten a good look at Joseph's face. Their eyes lock. Joseph smiles a big, goofy grin, the collar of his Hawaiian shirt bunching up near his neck as the vines clench down on him. The old man's eyes bug out a bit more as his jaw nearly falls to the floor.
"OH MY GOD!"
"What is it, Mr. Joestar!?"
"This…this…" The old man stutters a bit as he speaks, before finally spitting out his words. "This enemy Stand user has disguised himself as me!"
"Hey, wait, hold on!" Joseph starts to try and wriggle out of Hermit Purple, but the vines tighten even more as he struggles.
"If DIO had done his homework, you would've gotten away with it. You may look like a younger me, but I would never wear something as stupid looking as that!" The older Joseph points at the younger Joseph's awesome looking Hawaiian shirt, or at least the collar that's visible from the writhing vines almost choking him.
"I swear, I'm you!"
"Mr. Joestar, don't you think this assassin is a little…incompetent?"
"Hey!"
"Hm…" Old Joseph scratches his bearded chin, thinking. "You're right. What was his plan? Just run up and tackle me? He must be planning something."
"Y'know, if you're just gonna talk about me instead of, I don't know, asking me questions, you'r-"
"Shut up, whatever your name is!" The elderly, possibly senile Joseph shouts with impatience at the younger, obviously fit Joseph.
"Joseph."
"Agh!"
"Mr. Joestar. Let's hear him out. If he doesn't tell us what we want to know, we can see how well his Stand protects him." Avdol smiles a devious smile as flames curl around Magician's Red's fists.
"Hey, now, I've already been attacked by one Stand and about twenty something zombies today! Give me a break!"
"First things first, where's Jotaro?" The vines tighten as the older, crueler Joseph talks.
"Agh! I left him with the car! I can run faster than him, so I figured he'd catch up by driving here!"
"Car? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Listen, I was attacked by a valet, so I was trying to run outside of his Stand's range. Jotaro is fine, but I really hope Anne stabs that guy. Like in his left hand, hopefully."
"…" Both Avdol and Older Joseph stand in silence, shadows covering their eyes.
"So anyway, how did you get so old?"
"Mr. Joestar."
"Yes?"
"Were you always an idiot?" The older, more weary Joseph sighs, and puts a hand to his forehead.
"Sadly, I used to be a massive idiot."
"He seems harmless, even if he's lying."
"Yeah, and I think my brain is being assaulted by a very tiny Stand." The younger Joseph cheerfully replies.
"You." The older Joseph glares at his younger self. "You were talking like you were traveling with Jotaro and Anne. Jotaro's been holding out on telling me something. Was that you?"
"I mean, he hasn't told you? We've been traveling together for over a week now…"
"A week?" The vines loosen a bit at this response, but still cling tight.
"Yeah, it's like I've spent more time with him than you have!" Joseph says this, smiling stupidly.
The older Joseph's eyes flare up a bit at that.
Okay, probably not the righ-
Joseph finds his face mashed into the concrete as he gets slammed into the ground. On the plus side, the purple vines have stopped restraining him. But he does feel rather warm…
"Explain yourself, now."
Turning over, Joseph sees Avdol standing over him, flames pointed directly at his face. Joseph coughs nervously a bit.
"Ahem, so, you see…"
Jinnah International Airport, 36 Days to Save Holly
"You tried to shoot a steam cap at my grandson?"
"OUR grandson."
"Ugh…"
Time passes…
"So, instead of formulating a plan, you went up into the mountains and almost got zapped into time AGAIN."
"To be fair, Jotaro dragged me there."
"Ugh…"
Time passes…
"Let me see if I'm understanding you." The older Joseph stands, still pinching the bridge of his nose after hearing about the exploits of his supposed younger self. "You got transported in time, met up with Jotaro, followed him all the way here, taught two children Hamon, then ditched them because you got attacked?"
"Yes, though you did recruit Jotaro in the first place and I'm not even twenty years old yet, so I'd say YOU are the irresponsible grandfather."
"Mr. Joestar…can we believe what he says?" Magician's Red eases up on the flames, and the younger Joseph sighs in relief.
"Unfortunately…" The older Joseph sighs as well, but in frustration. "Until we find Jotaro, we have to. I'm just sad my grandson had to travel with such an-"
"Idiot?" A wave of joy floods the older Joseph's mind as he hears Jotaro's voice behind him. "Jiji. Are you alright?"
"Yes, despite this idiot's best efforts."
"You keep calling me an idiot, but you're me." Young Joseph scrambles to his feet, rubbing his temples a bit.
"Don't remind me." The older Joseph glares at the younger one, before turning to Jotaro. "Jotaro, what do we know about the enemy?"
"The one affecting him has an indefinite range. Any damage done to the user is reflected to Jojo. Not only that, he's on a timer. The longer we don't deal with the Stand, the more brain damage he takes."
"Urgh…" The younger Joseph collapses back onto a knee, clutching his head with both hands.
"We should deal with that one first, Anne is trying to corner the user. Or kill him. It's hard to say." Jotaro shrugs as he walks over to the younger Joseph.
"If it's in his empty skull, Hermit Purple and Star Platinum might be our best bet… Avdol." The older Joseph turns to Avdol with a knowing look.
"Understood, Mr. Joestar. I'll go after Anne and the user. Based on the direction, it shouldn't be hard to find them."
"They went towards the inside of the terminal." Jotaro offers his hand to the younger Joseph as he speaks to Avdol, but the kneeling man is in too much quiet pain to notice. Avdol nods in recognition before rushing off in the direction that Jotaro and the younger Joseph came from. The older Joseph approaches his grandson, and puts a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so glad you're safe."
"I'm not." The younger Joseph weakly croaks.
Both Jotaro and the older Joseph look down in disdain.
Idiot.
END of CONVERGENCE 1