Chapter 28: The Star-Shaped Birthmark

The world was white once more, now that MC found himself in Memory.

"What… the hell happened?" MC asked himself once his eyes adjusted to the light. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, he quickly took a bearing on his surroundings.

And amidst the white around him, one person was standing against him that caught his eye.

"JoJo!" MC yelled, running up to the sandy-haired boy. "You're alright!"

"I'm not."

MC immediately stopped his sprint the moment those words left JoJo's lips.

"I'm really not fine," JoJo chuckled, looking to the blankness of the white space around them. "Geez, so is this what every Load Save like?"

"Well, not exactly," MC said with a slight frown. "This is just memory. You somehow got me here."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing," JoJo said. "I don't really remember it all too well, probably because I'm not supposed to be in that realm in the first place. But in any case, I'm glad I brought you here."

"Why?" MC asked. "I mean, I'm not complaining, but why bring me here?"

"It's because of my lifelong dream and goal," JoJo confessed with a smirk, turning back to MC.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, my legacy as a Joestar," JoJo explained. "I'm supposed to be the one to stop the world's enemies. I'm the one who was supposed to be the hero of this story. But I guess… I can't really be that kind of guy anymore."

"What are you talking about?" MC asked, walking up to JoJo and reaching out for his shoulders. To MC's surprise, his hands simply phased through his body.

"I don't have too long, MC," JoJo said, ignoring how MC's hands were still inside his chest. "I'm going to be deleted soon. And there's nothing you can do about it."

MC staggered back upon hearing JoJo's words, pulling out his hands and looking incredibly horrified. "W-What?" MC stammered out, barely able to find his voice. "Y-You can't… Y-You have your legacy! You can still fight! You can keep fighting against this guy and-"

"It's useless, MC," JoJo interrupted with a sad smile, making MC recoil in surprise. "You don't think I tried? I really did. I tried everything in my power to break free of him. But he's taking away my strength while he's deleting me. There isn't anything we can do about that."

"JoJo, please," MC dropped to his knees and looked to the ground, stricken with the inability to accept his words. "You can't. You can't get deleted as well. All the girls are gone. I can't lose you too. Please, don't go."

JoJo noiselessly stepped up to MC and knelt in front of him. "I won't," he said to him, making the weeping boy jerk his head back up to him. "I won't really be gone."

"I'm not going to die without fulfilling my legacy," JoJo continued. "You should know that by now."

"B-But how?!" MC asked, looking at his knees once again. "How are you going to keep up your legacy if you're going to get deleted?"

"Before I tell you, I need you to promise me something," JoJo said, leaning in closer to MC.

MC held his tongue, having a hunch about what JoJo would want to ask about.

"I need you to avenge all of us," JoJo said. "I need you to fight back against Wallace, and win."

And that was exactly what he was afraid of.

MC felt his knees quiver on the white floor, making him fall down on to his hands as well. He could quickly feel the bile rising in his throat, merely from the thought of having to face that monster once again.

"I-I can't!" MC yelled out in defeat, balling his fists on the ground and gnashing his teeth together in frustration. "I can't beat him! No matter what I do, I just cannot win against him!"

JoJo sighed out loud and stood back up. "MC…" he started, then paused for another minute.

"Well… I know where you're coming from," JoJo finally continued. "I wouldn't want to have to fight him either. I'm only asking you to do it because you're the only one left."

"Please…" MC begged, looking up at JoJo from the floor, tears flooding out from his eyes. "D-Don't let me fight him again…"

JoJo grimaced upon seeing MC's state, then quickly tsked, looking to the side. "You know, if this were any other moment, then I'd ask where your dignity went," he said, with barely repressed spite poisoning his words. "But… since I fought him as well and I know what he's done… I can understand why you're like this. So, here's the deal."

"Grieve as much as you need to," JoJo continued, looking back down at MC with a grim expression. "Mourn us. I know you'll need to do it. You're not like me. You're not unable to simply ignore your emotions. That's why you can take as much time as you need. But in the end, there's only one other thing I will ask of you."

"Come back someday," he carried on. "Promise me that you will return and fight against Wallace once you have had enough time to mourn us. If you can promise me that, then I will finally be able to carry out my legacy."

MC paused, taking in JoJo's words.

'Face him someday in the future?' MC thought. 'Will I ever be able to face him again without thinking of the ones he took from me? Will I ever be able to stand up to him? But… I have literally all the time I need with my Stand. Could I get stronger, maybe? Could I train some more, and maybe find enough skill to defeat him despite how powerful he is compared to me?'

"I… I'll try," MC said with a grimace, finally standing back up and wiping the tears from his eyes. "I can't guarantee it, b-but I'm not g-going to leave you be like that. S-So… I promise. Someday later, I w-will f-fight him again."

JoJo solemnly nodded. "Thank you, MC," he said. "I don't really know how much this would have hurt me if I were in your shoes, but I can see that it was difficult for you. You have my thanks for accepting."

MC chose not to say anything in response once again, still reeling at what he had just promised.

"Very well, now onto what I want to tell you," JoJo smiled and lifted his right hand, bringing it back across his torso to grip onto his left shoulder. "This birthmark of mine, it's the mark of every Joestar. A sign of the legacy that we would follow. I always thought that my legacy would be to defeat my enemies, but I had never expected it to turn out like this."

"Turn out like what?" MC questioningly echoed.

"MC," JoJo said, keeping eye contact with the amber-eyed boy in front of him. "I've realized that my true legacy lied in having to hand it over to someone who could truly achieve its requirements themselves."

"Wait, no," MC widened his eyes, making the gold of the amber in them shine in surprised fear. "You're… You're not suggesting…"

"Yes, MC," JoJo grimly nodded. "I cannot fulfil my legacy myself, so I'm going to hand my burden over to you. Of course, if you're willing to accept it."

"How… How would that even be possible?" MC asked, not hiding the fear in his eyes.

"I don't know for sure, but I think there's something about this place," JoJo said, gesturing to the white world around them. "It seems to tell you what you need to do. Haven't you felt that before?"

MC paused for a moment to think about those words. "Well, yes, I think so," MC said, nodding. "I mean, I wouldn't have been able to save Sayori if I just… didn't instinctively know what to do."

"Exactly," JoJo smiled at him and folded his hands across his chest. "The same way, I just know what to do. I just need to know… are you ready for it?"

MC shuddered for a moment and looked away.

'Am I ready… to inherit the Joestar legacy?' MC asked himself. 'Me? Someone who couldn't even save any of his friends? Will I really be able to live up to this legacy myself?'

"MC, I can literally hear you doubting yourself," JoJo said with a chuckle, making MC suddenly stammer out at him. Waving him to silence with a hand, JoJo took another soft breath and closed his eyes. "Just know this…" he said, now opening his eyes to look up at him, showing the tears in his eyes as well. "Out of all the people I've met, you were one of the best. Seriously, I cannot think of anyone better to inherit this legacy from my hands. Most people just look for their selfish desires and stuff like that, but not you. You always value those that you are close to and are willing to do anything for them. Yes, you're dense about some stuff, but that doesn't deny the fact that you are, quite literally, the most selfless person I've ever met."

MC's expression soured at JoJo's words. 'Me? Selfless?' he thought to himself. 'I'm running away from this fight because Wallace killed everyone I cared about! That's such a selfish thing! How can he call me selfless?!'

'But…' another voice in his head spoke up. 'Isn't JoJo counting on me as well? Can I simply ignore his last request? The promise I had just made?'

After thinking about it some more, and still, against his better judgement, MC turned up to look at JoJo. "I'll do it," he said with a curt nod. "I don't… really want to, but I'll do it anyway."

"Excellent!" JoJo smirked at him, revealing his gratitude for the choice MC made. "MC, really, thank you for this."

MC slowly nodded. "Should we… go back for this thing?" he asked, the fear returning to his eyes. "Because… I don't think I'm ready to let you go yet."

As MC kept looking down in remorse, a hand suddenly touched his shoulder.

Slowly lifting his head up at the familiar touch, he saw that JoJo was placing his hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"You're… You're touching me?" he asked, bewildered at the action.

"I can't do it for long," JoJo admitted. "So, make sure to use this well."

MC didn't bother to waste any time, and immediately shoved his arms around JoJo's tangible form and sobbed into his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his blazer behind him. JoJo somberly wrapped his arms around MC as well, letting the tears from his eyes fall out as well.

"Goodbye, MC. Thank you for everything."

MC opened his eyes, now back in the Breach.

"You still there?" Wallace spoke up from nearby. "Huh. What happened? This dude's arm just put your hand into his head. What's that about?"

MC looked back at Wallace, the reality of the situation falling back on his shoulders. Easily as well, seeing the still wrapped form of JoJo in front of him.

However, this time, the form in front of them was writhing around.

"What?" Wallace said, tensing the leashes he was keeping on him to keep him still. "He's supposed to be out of it by now!"

Suddenly, the leashes on JoJo's upper body burst open all at once, revealing the last few dregs of his aura and the outline of his form, still looking at MC.

"Shit!" Wallace yelped as he worked on rewrapping his body to complete the deletion.

JoJo, however, wasted no time as he quickly tugged on one of MC's green strands with his left hand, tugging him forward. Once MC was within arm's reach, he quickly used the same motion from earlier to reach his left shoulder with his right hand.

And he ripped out his own left shoulder.

As MC and Wallace stood stunned by his sudden action, JoJo ended up pulling MC even closer and immediately reached out with his right hand, the silhouette of his left shoulder still on it alongside the pale star within.

And without wasting another second, JoJo proceeded to push that silhouette onto MC's own left shoulder.

MC yelled out in agony, his own aura rejecting the foreign aura seeking its way in. However, JoJo still held on to the shoulder while quickly bringing up MC's strand that he picked up from earlier. Without taking his hand off, JoJo swiftly wrapped MC's shoulder in that same strand, locking JoJo's left shoulder on top of his.

MC gasped as he felt the external being finally merge into his own left shoulder. He felt it start to burn as the birthmark wormed its way into MC's being.

And once JoJo was done wrapping it, he slowly pulled his hands away and let the rest of his body get wrapped up in Wallace's red leashes.

"I have no idea what that was about," Wallace said while tensing his leashes further with his left hand, his right hand massaging his left shoulder. "But you don't have a lot of time left."

MC gripped his own wrapped left shoulder as he saw the mummified form of JoJo once again. And for that moment, he unwillingly smiled.

"Goodbye, JoJo."

And the leashes compressed into nothingness, revealing that whatever was within was gone.

"I hope you remember my conditions, MC," Wallace said, now bringing Radiohead back into him. "I certainly hope, for your sake, that you respect them."

MC looked at where JoJo once stood, not knowing how to properly react to his death. He could feel the Breach dissipating, so he knew that he had to speak quick.

"I'm a Joestar now, Wallace," MC said, feeling himself drift away from him. "I may not do it now. But I am going to get stronger. And once I do, I will avenge everyone you've deleted."

And with that, MC went shooting back in time.

As he went back, he started to see sudden flashes of images running through his path.

'This is… just like what happened when I reverted Natsuki!' MC recognized.

Focusing on the fleeting images, MC noticed several things. First, there was an image of an incredibly old person with a white pompadour lying on a hospital bed, talking to an incredibly young sandy-haired boy. This image quickly changed to the same old man slowly dying with another group of friends who were about his age.

Then, MC saw something he hadn't expected. His own parents holding up a positive pregnancy test, younger than MC had ever seen them. This had changed to an image of the same couple talking to a doctor about something.

'What happened?' he pondered. 'What changed with Mom and Dad?'

However, he couldn't think on it any further, seeing how he was sent hurtling out of the Breach once again.

MC opened his eyes once again, then squinted immediately as he was blinded by the sunlight glaring in his eyes.

Once he adjusted to his surroundings, he noticed that he was back to his very first save. Before he even joined the Literature Club for the first time. He was standing outside his house, wearing his school uniform while cars were zooming nearby, and other students were moving out of their houses.

'Alright, anytime no-'

"HEEEEEEYYY!"

MC immediately brightened as he jerked to look back, hoping to see Sayori running up to him.

But to his demise, all he saw was two girls meeting up from the houses that were further away from them, their voices carried over by the breeze. Adding insult to injury, MC noticed that the house where Sayori lived was now entirely empty and boarded up, with a 'FOR SALE' board put up in front.

MC froze upon seeing these sights, going pale from what he had expected for far too long.

'Sayori, please,' he mentally begged. 'Show up. Let me see you again. Please, let me see you one last time.'

However, no one actually showed up. And that was the moment that MC would realize that he would always be alone.

Crestfallen, MC meandered back into his house. Opening his gate, he walked through the lawn, not bothering to close the gate behind him. Once he reached the front door, he portrayed no emotion on his face while he pulled his house key out of his pocket. Inserting the key and turning it, he pushed the handle down and opened the door. Stepping through and entering the dark safety of his home, the door closed and locked behind him. Now that he was alone, he immediately fell on his butt and leaned against the door, letting his tears overtake him.

However, what he hadn't noticed was that while he cried and held his head in his hands, his collar had drifted back. And in that process, a reddish star-shaped birthmark exposed itself behind MC's left shoulder.

A/N: Short chapter, I know. I didn't have a lot I needed to write here.

Now, I know you guys are waiting for an explanation. I didn't write it in the previous chapter because I wanted to keep the tone of the chapter, and a long-ass A/N would ruin it.

Anyway, as mentioned in the last chapter, there's a very good reason why this is happening. I have a certain direction I want to take the story from now, and the only way to get there is to make MC truly alone. To destroy him, if you will.

This is also a big sign of struggle for him. He had always relied on his friends, trusting them to have his back whenever he needed them. That's also why he worked so hard to set them all free. But getting rid of everyone that MC cared about in one fell swoop is a great way to establish Wallace's power and character and to destroy MC's psyche enough to keep him away from him and to doubt himself.

This is also the reply to IzuOchaShipper99's review. Don't worry, the story isn't done yet. There's more content to this still. That should be clear from how I had MC inherit the Joestar legacy from JoJo. FYI, I had planned that bit from the genesis of this story. I had originally planned to have only JoJo deleted and for this legacy transference bit to happen, but then I got to this stage and found that deleting everyone worked much better in the long run.

Anyway, my semester is restarting next week. I'm still stuck abroad, so I'll have to wake up at 3 AM just to keep up with tutorials and labs. I'll keep working on these chapters, but I'm going to finish them as fast as possible. I'm expecting about three more chapters. I've considered an epilogue, but now I think it's not required in my new direction. Mainly because it's going to change the note that the story ends on.

I am also incredibly bored. That's why I'm updating this so soon. I need to find a new anime or manga to waste my time with. I do have work to do, but I'm terrible with that shit. I need something to help keep my constant dopamine high go on. And no, not drugs or alcohol, I don't care for any of that.

Anyway, that's all for now! I hope you guys recover from the PTSD from these past chapters, and I'll see you all next chapter!