Singapore 1988

Joseph cranes his head up and spits out some gravel before looking at the voices in front of him. He sees three figures, two tall Japanese men and a small, dark-skinned girl, all standing a cautious distance away. Behind them is a spiky haired salesman in what appears to be some sort of food stand. Coconuts or something. What stands out more is the fashion. The small girl is in some sort of out of place overalls get-up with long brown hair under a newsie cap, and two men are dressed even wilder. The man on the left has muted red hair with a lopsided bang, dressed in a full formal jade colored uniform. The man on the right seems to have a permanent scowl underneath his short black hair, and is dressed in a full black trench and slacks despite the beating Singapore sun. This grumpy faced guy reminded Joseph of a mobster, but he looked oddly familiar.

Let's see, mysterious powers, weird colors, and oddly fashioned people. I'm either dreaming, in another dimension, or…

Joseph breaks the silence, "Hey so, do any of you speak English, perhaps?"

If these guys work for Miller I might be in poor form, but if I can get some info…

The man in black glares at Joseph, while the man in green steps forward. "Jotaro, a bit suspicious, isn't he?" , the man in green says in surprisingly good English. The small girl circles behind Jotaro's leg and clutches onto his slacks.

"Hey, aren't you the suspicious ones, I mean, look at those outfits!"

The man in the food stand speaks up, "Yeah I don't usually see Japanese school kids on this side of the boardwalk. Though I also don't see hippie Westerners either."

"What the hell's a hippie?"

Jotaro speaks up, nodding his head towards Joseph, "Kakyoin." Kakyoin squints his eyes at Joseph before noticing something on Joseph's back. Turning to look, Joseph is greeted by a purple thorny vine growing from his left shoulder blade.

The Singapore boardwalk fills with what can only be described as the sound of a dramatic man wailing in fear.

Joseph begins to roll wildly trying to grasp the vine, which is also flailing wildly. Both of the men looking on just seem to stare, nonplussed. Before long, Jotaro speaks up "Give up the act already."

Joseph springs up, indignant. "What do you mean the act? What the hell is this thing?" The man in green chuckles unsettlingly, "Jojo, this is obviously an assassin, as stupid as he sounds."

"Hey! I'm no assassin! I'm more confused than you two at this point. And where's that Birdman Miller?"

Jotaro takes a decisive step forward, threatening with just his gaze alone. Joseph recoils a bit, sensing something lingering below the surface of that determined expression.

I don't like that look. Seems like whatever this damned vine is gave a poor first impression…

Kakyoin giggles with an oddly high pitched tone, "You're obviously an enemy Stand user. Those look like Hermit Purple's vines, do you think he did something to your grandpa, Jojo?" Jotaro shoots Kakyoin a harsh glare, before taking one more step towards Joseph.

"Now hold on, I don't know who your old geezer is, I just fought with some guy on a beach at night, and now I'm her-" and before Joseph can finish a large purple figure bursts from beside Jotaro, fist careening towards Joseph's midsection. Fighting instinct kicking in, Joseph tries to dodge back and block with his prosthetic arm, but the pure speed of the blow crashes directly into and through his arm. A loud "ORA" bellows from the purple spectral man and the force of a dump truck rams Joseph back at least 20 feet into a palm tree. Nuts, bolts, and pistons scatter across the walkway as the palm tree behind Joseph topples back, snapped messily like a green twig.

Joseph peels himself up to stand, as he sees Jotaro wave the girl behind him away. Kakyoin seems to linger behind Jotaro. His arm is barely functional, maybe a thumb and pinky still in working condition. Pain surges through his spine and hips, and his balance wobbles as Joseph tries to regain his composure.

This isn't good, two on one. I can barely handle the first kid, who knows what the second one has in him. I presume both of them have those Stand things. Angry face over there seems to have the same type as Miller, from what I can see they stick close to their owner. No clue on Creepo over there. Seems like there's only one way out…

"RUN AWAY" Joseph screams at the top of his lungs as he sprints away down the boardwalk. "MAKE WAY, DANGEROUS MAN BEHIND ME, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"

In the distance, Kakyoin stares stunned at the snapped tree, oblivious to the metal bits on the ground. He nervously shuffles a step away from Jotaro, who turns and gives him a glare. The air grows tense, and Kakyoin's prior confidence seems to melt a bit. Just as Kakyoin goes to speak, the man at the food stand speaks up, "So, uh, no ice cream then?"

"No," Jotaro's tone is humorless and cutting. "Kakyoin, go check on Gramps. I'll go after the hippie." Kakyoin's eyes glaze a bit, but they snap back into focus a fraction of a second later. "Right, Jojo. I'll wait for you to get back. I'll make sure Joestar-san is fine, as well." With a flick of his trenchcoat, Jotaro casts one last suspicious glare back at the hastily retreating figure of his friend. "I'm sure the others can handle you just fine."

Time passes…

I may be hedging my bets here, but if this is still Singapore there's a chance that the dry docks are ahead. Maybe some of Speedwagon's pencil pushers who can lend me a phone. I have a feeling this Jotaro fellow is going to be quite persistent. That blow to the gut earlier really did a number on my leg. Well I guess it was more the impact with the tree.

The walkway beneath him goes from gravel on sand to asphalt as Joseph sees the dry dock complex ahead of him. He can barely make out the black speck behind him, undoubtedly the monstrously strong school kid from earlier, but it still too close to take it easy. If he wasn't mistaken, there was a warehouse building just outside that led into a Speedwagon Foundation Lab below the basement level.

Seems I was right about this still being Singapore, but everything is different certainly. Definitely more developed. Less impending invasion target and more tourist trap. Maybe I can get a souvenir for Suzi Q…wait what am I thinking? That kid hit me harder than a Pillarman, I have to think of something quick.

Joseph examines his left arm as he runs. He can feel something pulsing beneath his skin, and on closer inspection notices some small purple thorns poking through his bare arms. No pain accompanies the sight and, as if reacting to being noticed, the purple vines from earlier surface and start to writhe.

This is… odd. They seem like a part of me, and judging from both Miller and that Jotaro kid's usage of theirs… These should be able to interact with the real world. I'm guessing only people with Stands can see them, but can still be affected. Still… damn. That kid's so called Stand packed a serious punch.

Up ahead, just before the warehouse building on the outskirts of the dry dock complex, a weathered wall stood in the way. It was about eight feet high, with brick and barbed wire guarding against intruders.

That's new. Still, should be no problem.

Joseph focuses his breath, and lands a foot square on the wall ahead, intending to launch himself up and over. The boost from his inner Hamon energy thrusts him into the air, though a burning pain surges through his entire spine. He gasps out, breath stopping short and the twinge of pain throwing off his trajectory. In the fraction of the second it takes to twist himself around midair, Joseph sees that he has essentially lobbed himself perfectly so that he'll land directly on the wire. Ahead of him is the backside of the warehouse, an old window directly in front of him, if about twelve feet away. Time begins to slow around him, the wire below him tauntingly awaiting his landing.

Oh come on. I survive ancient super vampires, a volcano, and invisible spirit men only to die on some barbed wire. Hell even if I live, I'm not going back home with a nasty belly scar, I've worked too hard on this figure for it to go to waste. That damn kid did this to me with one punch? If I was just a little closer I could Zoom Punch my way to that window ledge… If I could just reach…

Joseph's left arm strains as he tries desperately to reach for something to pull him over. He doesn't have enough time to unwrap his scarf to grab onto anything, and his short shirt doesn't cover enough to provide protection through Hamon strengthening. He looks down, teeth clenched and eyes wide. Yet his vision gets yanked with the rest of his body, being pulled towards the warehouse window. His eyes follow his left arm towards his hand, which is gripping a purple vine. He sees the vine has extended and wrapped itself around some exposed rebar beside the window.

Y'know I don't remember the warehouse looking this beat up.

His arc guides him right between the first and second stories, and his feet firmly plant on the wall like a rappeler's. Joseph turns and smirks, before seeing the black dot behind him has gotten bigger and has started to gain ground. He panics and starts to look for a way down, but a voice authoritatively shouts out below him. "Hey, you, get off that wall and come down with your hands up! This is a Singapore Air Base, authorized personnel only!" The voice below is a gruff army man, dressed in a brightly colored green camouflage, clearly Singaporean military. The military man is unarmed, however, and appears to have been taking a leak behind this warehouse.

"No hablo ingles, lo siento!" Joseph begins to pull himself up and into the building, the vine doing an incredible job of holding his weight. He can hear the man below zipping and shuffling below as he shouts "Ven aqui ahora!" Joseph does not understand him at all.

Joseph crashes into the dusty glass, sending shards skittering across the worn concrete floor ahead. The area around appears to be an upper level storage deck, where one would see smaller boxes stored instead of racks and pallets on the main floor below. Yet the place was empty, minus the newly arrived scantily clad Englishman. Condensation off of heated steam pipes drips into various puddles around the empty concrete deck and the warehouse floor below, echoing a concerto of ages of neglect. Joseph's eyes squint for a moment as he crunches some numbers, before settling down on the edge of some rusted metal stairs that lead down to the main floor.

I have ten minutes, give or take. If I can make my way down to the lab below here I should be in the clear. Even if the lab's empty like this place, I doubt that mafia high schooler is going to find me if I can find the way down quick enough. I need to test out these vines too, there's no way I can take him head-on. Now, let's look around and see if we can prepare for the guest.

END of CHAPTER ONE