Chapter 1: Icon
Malkuth, the Emanation of the Kingdom, the Third Realm of Heaven.
The suns shone overhead, dancing in the blue sky like flaming eyes, bathing the realm below in warm, loving light. Clouds drifted overhead, up and down, upside down, hovering over the impossible landscape below and above, the green of forests and grassy dales gently merging into the steel gray of mountains, the bright white of their caps glowing like clouds as the vast bands of landscapes rose high into one sky down into another. In realms such as this, 'up and down' was relative, a matter of subjective perspective, but its beauty was unquestionable. Tall columns of sweet smelling pollen and water vapor danced on the wind in the distance as an octet of figures made their way up a grassy knoll, various baskets and rolls in their arms. The figure at the head of the group, a huge, glowing figure in a pristine flowing robe, bounded ahead and crested the dale, standing atop it as he waited for the rest of the group to catch up.
"Jonathan!" A svelte, blonde-haired woman in a gorgeous azure Victorian dress called out, breaking into a run after him. "It isn't a race!"
He smiled, one of the few things that rivaled the suns in radiance. "Oh, but Erina, how else would I see your face when you set eyes on this view! After forty years, I think I've found our new favorite picnic site!"
"I believe that when I…" Erina began to say when she crested the hill, falling silent.
Stretching out before them was the endless, recursive landscape of Malkuth, the Sephirot of the Kingdom. Landmasses intersected, shared skies and clouds as waterfalls fell kilometers on perpendicular planes and into lakes of pristine, crystalline clarity. Animals of every kind known to man, and countless more lost to time, roamed about. Rainbows from the endless waterfalls shimmered in the air, each affected by the gravity of different lands, long arches overlapping in bands of color as the three suns shone through.
"It's beautiful…" said Erina, rolling a strand of blonde hair out of her face, the wind playfully pushing it back. "What a marvelous spot! Oh, Jonathan, thank you so much for arranging this!"
The glowing giant of a man chuckled bashfully. "Oh, I can't take all the credit."
"Please, Jonathan," said a tall mustachioed man in a silver-grey top hat, none other than Baron William Zeppeli, patting him on the shoulder. "As if any of us could have put this shindig together!"
"True enough, Baron!" Chimed in an exuberant man with long blonde hair sprouting out from under a bowler cap: the irrepressible Robert E. O. Speedwagon. He leaned in, a low smile on his face as he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the boggle-eyed young man following close behind them, who was obviously not listening to a word. "Or, to be more specific, only St. Jonathan could have gotten a soul that fresh up here."
Joseph Joestar's eyes darted about, his mouth open as he drank in the incredible view. He was young, looking to all the world to be in his mid-20s, ruggedly built and handsome as the eternal day was long. He walked with a curious stride, an unconscious, exaggerated spring in his step, as though he were expecting pain in his joints, an unpleasant shock up his spine, and quietly rejoiced each time there was none. To the untrained eye he seemed almost giddy. Those in the know, those who had been in this young man's shoes, would concede that he was hiding his elation better than most. He wore a pair of beige corduroy pants and a sensible white cotton shirt under a sports jacket, his long brown hair a tangled mass, tossed about by the sweet, fresh breeze.
"Close your mouth," said Lisa-Lisa, smiling playfully. "You'll swallow a fly."
Joseph's mouth snapped shut with a 'clop', turning to look at his mother. "Sorry, er, mum, I just… last week I was eating my heart medication with pudding and pissing into a leg-bag… now I'm… is that a pterodactyl?!"
A massive, crested creature swooped up from the tangle of landmasses underneath the dale on which they stood, hugging the ground. The plane-sized beast sailed over their heads in a rush of wind and a shrill, bleating shriek.
"Quetzalcoatlus, to be precise. Largest flying creature ever to grace the Earth," said an equally striking young man, as he swooped up behind Lisa-Lisa, kissing her on the cheek as his hands drifted up her hips. "But not the most beautiful. I have that creature right here!"
"Junior!" Lisa-Lisa tittered, a sound that never failed to make Joseph do a double-take. "Hands to yourself!"
"Can't help it," George Joestar II cooed, resting his chin atop her head. "Must be something in the air."
"Okay!" Joseph interjected, making the 'time-out' gesture while grimacing. "I know I haven't really earned the whole 'parental canoodle' squick factor most kids have, but yuck!"
"Hmph!" A young man with short blonde hair scoffed, his warm Italian accent offset by the cold derision in his voice. "Only an oaf like you would sneer at such a heartwarming display. Good to see you managed to reunite with your inner brat, old man."
"Caesar!" William Zeppeli exclaimed, outraged. "Mind your tongue!
"Hey, hey, hey!" Joseph said, a strained smile on his face. "Caesar was just ribbing! Harmless guy-talk, right, Caesar?"
Caesar snorted and turned up his nose.
"Right… well…" Jonathan cleared his throat and set down the picnic blanket. "Let's set up, shall we?"
The spread was humble considering the delights readily available in Heaven. Charcuterie and simple finger sandwiches made up the appetizer. An option of roast beef, boiled lobster, and rotisserie chicken serving as the main course, with side options of potato salad, spaghetti alla puttanesca, and garden salad. Deep red wines and crisp cold whites complimented the meal to perfection. For dessert was a home-made tiramisu, courtesy of Lady Erina herself, accompanied with a delicate, sweet ice wine from the family vineyard.
"Mmh…" Speedwagon grunted as he set the last morsel of tiramisu in his mouth, chasing it down with a final sip of ice wine, and dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a hanky. "Delicious. Lady Erina, truly, you have outdone yourself this time."
"Indeed," said Baron Zeppeli. "The royal chefs of Naples would weep, my Lady."
"Oh, please you two!" Erina giggled, waving them off. "I've been dying to try my hand at it for ages, I'm just glad it turned out alright."
"Better than alright, my Lady," said Caesar, wiping his lips with a napkin. "Everything was excellent, my compliments to the chef."
"Mmmph!" Joseph grunted, cheeks bulging, his lips smacking as he spoke. "Phwoar! Grammy, I camp phell yoo hao mush I mished yor cookin!"
"Joseph! What have I told you about talking with your mouth full?" Erina said, her voice sharp for a moment before melting back into her normal, gentle lilt. "And I missed seeing how much you enjoy it! Oh, it's so good to see you again, JoJo."
"Here here," said Speedwagon, raising his wine glass. "So good to see you back in the pink, lad. Old age, eh? Being a man of Joestar blood, it certainly was long odds to step out as you did."
"Hmph!" Baron Zeppeli snorted, frowning.
"Bet big, lose big, Billy!" Speedwagon chuckled.
"Did you two…" Lisa-Lisa said, her brow darkening with fury, "bet on when my son would die?!"
"We did." Speedwagon shrugged. "Not uncommon up here. The Baron and I bet he'd go out saving the world again…"
"Damn near did, too," chuckled Baron Zeppeli. "But for that grandson of his."
"I don't believe this!" Lisa-Lisa said, outraged.
"…And the Lady Erina bet her grandson would live a long, happy life and die surrounded by friends and family at the age of 100." Speedwagon said, smirking as he jabbed a thumb over at Erina, who was trying to hide behind her teacup. "Off by a year or two, but she still won."
"Mother!" Lisa-Lisa exclaimed.
"Oh, LiLi, please," said Erina. "I know it sounds a little morbid to you now, but after a while up here, where time and life and death are outmoded concepts, one begins to… expand their sensibilities. One starts to anticipate seeing their loved ones again, to look forward to a time when a mother can hold her children in her arms again and forever. From this side of things, death is not only natural and inevitable, but almost anticipated. I'm sorry if that seems morbid."
"A little… but I get it," said Lisa-Lisa, turning to an unusually quiet Joseph. "It really is good to see you again, Joseph. I never thought five years could have felt so long, but here we are."
"I was… pretty out of it for the last little bit, Mum…" Joseph said, quietly. "I didn't even register it when you, well, you know…"
"Foregone conclusion, really," George Jr. chuckled, clapping his wife on the shoulder as she pulled out a cigarette. "Hamon or no, two packs a day catches up with anyone."
"No regrets," said Lisa-Lisa, lighting up.
George Jr. laughed and kissed her on her blemish-less cheek before turning to his son. "And might I say, Joseph, it really has been a pleasure getting to know you… I'm proud to call you my son."
Joseph smiled and opened his mouth to speak when a pair of absurdly muscular, glowing arms scooped the three of them off the ground and into a crushing embrace. St. Jonathan pulled them close in a crushing embrace, inspired tears streaming down his chiseled cheeks. "A fractured family reunited! Moments like these are the true essence of Heaven!"
Erina patted her enormous husband on the arm, smiling serenely. "Put them down, dear."
"Can't… breathe…" Joseph croaked, going a little purple.
"Oh!" Jonathan said, blushing. "Sorry."
Jonathan set them down and dusted them off. Joseph straightened out his jacket, and whispered to Lisa-Lisa. "Even his BO smells nice."
"He smells good to everyone, something to do with being a Saint." She whispered in return, pausing for a moment. "For me, it's citrus and rosé. You?"
"New Car Smell and Teak."
"Ooh."
Speedwagon sipped his wine, pretending he didn't notice the momentary glance Lady Erina shot him. He pretended to cough into his glass, excusing himself and stealing a look at Jonathan, who returned the regard. Speedwagon ran his finger along the brim of his hat. Jonathan nodded and clapped his hands, a sound not unlike a thunderclap, grabbing the attention of the group.
"Gracious me! It would seem that there is one slice of tiramisu left!"
Sure enough, a single slice of the scrumptious cake remained.
"Now, while I'm sure we could share, where's the fun in that?" Jonathan grinned, pointing to a nearby mountain, its white-capped gray bulk skirted with lush, green forests. "How about a little friendly competition to aid digestion? First to the top takes the cake!"
"Capital idea, Jonathan!" William Zeppeli said, fist connecting with his palm in a crackle of Hamon. "By any means?"
Jonathan snapped his fingers, producing sparks of golden energy. "Any which way you can!"
Lisa-Lisa smirked at George. "Team-ups allowed?"
"Encouraged!"
"And the opposite?" Caesar asked, glancing at Joseph.
"If you like?"
Joseph grinned. "I'm game. Hey, Uncle Speedwagon, Granny Erina, you coming?"
"Oh, heavens no!" Erina said, sipping her tea. "You lot have fun, I'll cheer you on, Joseph."
"Struth!" Exclaimed Speedwagon, patting his belly. "I sampled the platter too well, I think. As excellent as that meal was, I'd rather not see it again!"
"Wait," said Joseph, squinting. "You can get indigestion in Hea–?"
"Enough talk!" Baron Zeppeli cried, pointing to the mountain top. "It's a gentlemans' challenge! First to conquer the peak gets the cake and the glory! Cooperate or compete, just give it your all!"
"Khooooo~" William inhaled through his nose, golden bands of energy glowing about him. "Begin!"
William Zeppeli shot into the sky, his legs extending unnaturally, pushing him forward in a tremendous arc through the air towards the forest.
"Zoom jump!" Cheered Speedwagon. "Excellent form, Baron!"
Baron Zeppeli pulled into a ball and somersaulted through the air, setting down on the forest canopy at speed. The dainty green leaves of the trees keened and sparkled as Hamon rippled out across their petals. With the grace of a prancing Springbok, William hopped from leaf to leaf, clearing tens of meters at a time.
"H-hey!" Joseph exclaimed. "No fair!"
"All's fair when cake's on the line, Son!" George II said, taking off across the field. "Hup!"
"Let's see how much of your Hamon training you remember, Joseph," said Lisa-Lisa, following after her husband.
"Uh-oh…" Joseph mumbled.
"What's the matter, Joseph? Been slacking off?" Caesar sneered, clapping his hands together. "Rainbow Road Overdrive!"
Caesar threw out his arms, sending forth a torrent of shimmering, incandescent bubbles. The bubbles spun into flattened ovoids, sending out blinding beams of reflected sunlight. Joseph yelped and covered his eyes. When his vision cleared a moment later, Caesar was gone.
Speedwagon pointed towards the mountain. "Over there, Joseph!"
Joseph looked up and gasped. Dozens of meters in the air was Caesar, walking on nothing at all! No. Upon closer inspection, Joseph could see that Caesar was projecting a bubble ahead of himself for every leap and bound, the spinning bubbles' excessive centripetal force flattening it into a meter-wide discs, giving it just enough air resistance for Caesar to jump off of and onto another, forward towards the forest and following after his grandfather.
"H-hey!" Joseph exclaimed, taking off down the field. "Lousy little–! Wait up!"
Jonathan stood and watched the Hamon users as they struggled to best one another, in place of his usual smile was a muted, neutral expression. "That worked better than I expected."
"Thank you for giving us some privacy, JoJo," said Erina.
"Whatever it is you wish to talk about, you feel I cannot be privy to it, yes?" Jonathan looked down at his wife and best friend. "That if I knew the details, I would be honor-bound to intervene, lest I compromise my principles?"
They said nothing, looking away.
"Very well. I will honor your request for privacy," he said, turning away from them. "I'll be back shortly for my cake."
"Oh, you think so?" Erina said, playfully. "You've given them such a head start!"
Jonathan turned back to them, smiling gloriously. "Have I, now?"
Speedwagon chuckled and raised his glass, pointing. "My Lady, you must watch this."
Jonathan crouched down and, with tremendous power, launched himself high into the air. When he reached his zenith, the soles of his boots shimmered and glowed, the ripple of energy expanding out into the air, the shining paragon standing tall in the middle of the sky.
"Hamon can make you fly?" Erina said, somewhat perplexed.
"Look closer, My Lady." Speedwagon pointed to Jonathan's boots. "See that glow? He's not flying, he's standing on the air itself with his Hamon!"
"But how?" Erina turned to Speedwagon. "I thought only organic substances could hold a Hamon charge?"
"Ah, and yet there he stands! How? Here, some trivia: did you know that the largest river on Earth by volume is not on the ground, but in the skies above the Amazon Rainforest? It's true! The water flows as vapor over the forest in a torrent beyond even that of the mighty Amazon. These water particles would never condense into rain by themselves, so the plants of the forest open up their spiracles and exhale water vapor of their own into the sky. These exhaled droplets have in them all manner of fomites, tiny organic particles. These fomites have immense surface area and absorb water vapor like a sponge, causing raindrops to form and hydrate the forest."
"They make their own rain," said Erina, impressed. "Like cloud seeding."
"That they do, My Lady!" Speedwagon chuckled, pointing his cane up at Jonathan. "And it's into these tiny particles that JoJo is able to channel his Hamon, conducting it through the water vapor and forming a sturdy net from the particles on which to stand. He calls it Stairway to Heaven Overdrive!"
Erina scoffed and shook her head. "He would."
"Well, it's a working title," said Speedwagon, watching as Jonathan casually bound through the air towards the peak.
They contemplated the landscape in silence, the distant chirping of birds was the only sound carried on the warm, soft breeze.
"Well?" Erina said, finally. "Is it true?"
"The investigation into the Lionheart Organization is ongoing and I could be suspended for breaching confidentiality to a civilian, but…" Speedwagon sighed heavily, nodding. "From what we've seen, they seem to be investigating him. For a while it looked as though they were going to pass him over, but…"
"But what? What changed?"
"That I can't say, but if I had to guess, it could be a publicity stunt," said Speedwagon, doffing his hat and shaking out his long blonde hair. "Excommunicating the grandson of a Saint. That's big news. It also sends their message quite pointedly."
"I just don't understand! How can they do this?" Erina said, wringing her hands. "Surely there's a law against this sort of thing!"
"You know how it is in Netzah." Speedwagon shook his head, sighing. "The court of public opinion there is a touch more literal than on Earth. Many a good Saved have been evicted from the realm based on what is essentially mob mentality."
Erina hissed in disgust before centering herself, inhaling deeply. "So. What now?"
"Suzy-Q and Sir Joestar Sr. are presently working with their contacts to dig up character references and a roster of good deeds. We already know how Lionheart operates, we should be able to build a pretty good case for him, though we'll need one hell of a frontman and spin team."
"Dear old Smokey Brown should be able to help on that front," Erina said, some of the tension draining away from her voice. "He can smooze with the best of them, and his connections to… other…"
Speedwagon noticed her hesitation, the low look of concern spreading across her face. "What is it, My Lady?"
"Robert… what happens, exactly, when a consensus for excommunication is reached?"
Speedwagon tipped his hat and thought for a moment. "Well, and don't quote me on this, but as Netzah is the realm of the Saved, a majority consensus among the populus influences the realm itself to an extent. Any person with enough of the Saved against them could find their essence no longer compatible with the realm. Similar to how other realms select Saved and allow them to pass into them."
"Like they did with Jonathan."
"Exactly, but in reverse."
"But… Joseph's only been here a week. Less, even! He hasn't earned access to any other realm." Erina turned to him, her eyes deep-set with worry. "If he gets excommunicated from the only part of Heaven he can exist in… what happens to him?"
Speedwagon said nothing, turning away from her and back to the phenomenal view. "Let's just concentrate on building our case. Get back to me once Master Brown agrees and I'll see to it that he and his team have full access to what we can dig up."
"Bless you, Robert!" Lady Erina said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. "You've always been such a pillar for this family! Bless you!"
'Don't thank me just yet, My Lady,' Speedwagon thought, morosely. 'For my part in this I am about as far removed from blessed as a Saved soul can get…'
Joseph leapt over a felled tree, effortlessly planting his feet on the solid wood and propelling him forward and through the air, diving through an opening in the foliage. He zigged and zagged about trees and branches, hopping over roots. Part of him was exultant at his regained youth, his vigor. The motion of his joints were smooth as silk, his bones felt unbreakable, his heart thundered in his chest at a steady, healthy tempo. He pushed his muscles as hard as he dared, joyous as they took it and gave more. Even his Hamon had returned to him, strong as it had ever been, that familiar tingle in his lungs that became a burning in his blood!
However…
He glanced over and saw his parents, George Jr. and Lisa-Lisa as they raced through the forest. Well, 'raced' may have been overselling it. If anything, they seemed to care not at all about the race. Joseph sucked his teeth and hopped over to them, somehow unable to gain despite the fact they were… dancing?!
Joseph gasped in shock as Lisa-Lisa and George quite literally waltzed through the forest, hand in hand and hand on hips as they turned, reverse-turned, even spinning and dipping through the dense foliage. How were they moving so damned fast?!
He looked closer and gasped, every time they brushed up against a leaf, or took a step, there would be the briefest, most brilliant flash of light, and the branches and roots and leaves would not only bend and fold around them, but propel them through the forest. They were using each other's Hamon to turn the forest into a conveyor belt! Well! Two can play at that game!
Joseph charged and overdrive and leapt into the air, forcing the charge to build in his feet. The second they touched the ground, the Hamon discharged into a root hidden deep underground, turning it into a high-powered spring. Joseph streaked up through an otherwise invisible hole in the canopy, not hitting so much as a twig as he did. His eyes burned slightly in the bright clear sky over the canopy. Another charge of Hamon surged into his feet as he set down on the leaves.
"Leafy Greens Overdrive!"
He kicked out and sent dozens of Hamon-charged leaves streaking into the air. He ascended the veritable staircase of leaves and twigs, hopping from each one like they were spring boards. He set down scores of meters away and began running on the forest-top, slowly but steadily gaining on Caesar Zeppeli.
"Pretty sneaky, sis!" Joseph called out. "But it'll take more than a few bubbles to get the drop on me!"
"Hmph!" Caesar scoffed, turning up his nose. "If I was aiming to get the drop on you, you'd still be on the ground!"
Joseph grit his teeth and began to retort when a single, glowing figure was skipping along on thin air. St. Jonathan strode onwards through the sky and towards the mountain.
"Show-off!" Joseph called out to him.
Jonathan looked down at Joseph and smiled, the air around him literally glowing. With a small exhale, the air beneath his feet shone like a star before discharging a titanic bolt of Hamon into the forest below. The forest began to grow, bulging and expanding upwards in a green bubble. With a distinct sigh of release, a torrent of moisture, pollen, and leaves shot up towards the Saint, encasing him in a cocoon of warm, living air. Another breath and the whole air pocket shone like the sun itself before streaking off into the air, gently arcing towards the peak. Joseph's knee subconsciously ached; he'd seen that kind of Hamon power only once before.
Not to be left behind, Baron Zeppeli leapt into the glowing column, quickly and expertly manufacturing a ram-air parachute out of leaves and vines, rapidly ascending the column, following closely on the tail of his former student.
"Whoa…" Joseph gawped at the display, before turning to Caesar. "Well, since that cake is out of the question, what say we have a little wager, you and me?"
"I'm listening…"
Joseph cackled and pumped a fist. "First of us to the top buys the beer!"
Caesar regarded Joseph for a moment, his expression cold, before breaking into a not-quite-friendly smile. "You're on!"
With that Caesar exhaled and the branch bearing the leaves he was standing on snapped outward like a catapult, sending Caesar streaking through the air.
"H-hey!"
"You didn't think we've been idle, did you, Old Man?" Caesar cried, sprinting across the canopy. "You may have ended the vampire threat on Earth, but for us Hamon-users the war has only just begun!"
"War?" Joseph said, pushing hard to catch up to Caesar. "Caesar! Wait!"
Joseph exhaled, charging the branches under his feet with Hamon, causing them to spring out and catapult him through the air once more.
"Two can play at that game!" Joseph called out, flipping into a downward axe-kick, his heavy boot streaking for Caesar's head. "Let's see if I can knock some sense into that blonde blockhead of yours!"
His foot pressed into something, the air thickening and enveloping his leg, light catching on the surface in an unctuous ripple: a massive Hamon-infused soap-bubble. "What the–?!"
Caesar smirked over his shoulder as Joseph hung suspended in the air. "Please, I could smell you coming a mile away! You still stink of the nursing home! Here, let me… clean you up!"
Caesar leapt into the air and kicked out in a blinding roundhouse. The bubble bent, deformed, and just when it looked like it would pop, it glowed with a keening surge of Hamon. In an instant, the bubble snapped back into shape, launching Joseph high into the air.
"You didn't even see what I was up to with all that ridiculous jumping about!" Caesar shouted. "I was throwing bubbles left and right!"
Joseph screamed as he bounced off of a score of nigh-invisible soap bubbles like a pinball, the Hamon charge in each stinging him as they popped. "CAAAEEESSSAAAR!"
As Joseph tumbled through the air, he remembered his breathing, sending Hamon surging through his fingers. He pulled into a somersault and regained control of his trajectory, reaching out and grabbing onto the last bubble, his sparking fingers adhering to its frictionless surface. "Ha! Neat trick, but you'll have to do better than that, pal!"
"Will I?" Caesar shot his hand out, sending a trio of dense, spinning cutter bubbles. "Heads up!"
Joseph yelped and kicked out, deflecting the three discs. "Whoa! Hey! What're you trying to do, slice me like salami?!"
"Now that you've sudsed up, why don't you…" Caesar called out, grinning maliciously. "TAKE A BATH!"
Joseph looked down, his eyes widening. He was no longer over the forest, but over a huge gulch, at the bottom of which was a raging river. The deflected discs screamed back towards Joseph, finding their true target, the bubble to which he clung. With an anticlimactic 'pop' the bubble collapsed into a squirt of soap.
"Uh-oh."
Joseph screamed as he plummeted downward, into the valley and towards the white rapids. "YOU NO-GOOD SUNNUVA–"
Just moments before Joseph hit, he discharged Hamon into the humid air above the frothing white water, thickening it and slowing his descent. Joseph tumbled across the river's surface, his Hamon enhancing the surface tension enough to bear his weight. The talented Hamon-user steadied himself and stood tall, rushing along the rapids on a platform of glowing, rippling water.
"Nice try, Caesarino!" He called up to his rival standing atop the canopy. "Unlike me, you're all wet!"
Caesar simply stood, perched atop a single leaf. He smiled down at Joseph and pointed down the gulch.
"What're you pointing…" Joseph turned to look down the gulch, his eyes opening wide. "...At?"
At a rapidly encroaching point down the valley the river fell away. For a moment it looked as though the river fed into a normal waterfall, but to his horror he realized that the river itself bent downwards, flowing through the valley bottom and into another plane altogether, and looked to be taking Joseph right along with it!
"OH NO!" Joseph cried, turning around and running in the opposite direction, unable to overcome the swiftness of the river. "Shit shit shit!"
"Enjoy your tour of Malkuth, Joseph!" Caesar called after him, laughing. "This river runs by all the best tourist attractions!"
"Caesar, you smug piece of–"
"My beer of choice is Forst Kronen," Caesar shouted as Joseph slowly but surely rounded the downward bend. "Ice cold!"
Joseph grit his teeth and growled as he went over the bend. "Okay, that's it! Time to get serious! [Hermit Purple]!"
A quartet of thorny purple vines streaked up from the valley, weaving themselves into the sandstone of the valley.
"What?!" Caesar exclaimed, outaged.
"Your next line is…" Joseph said, smirking as he pulled himself up. "'Bringing your Stand out in a Hamon duel?! Have you no shame, Joseph?!' Right?"
"Bringing out your Stand in a Hamon duel?! Have you no sha–what?!"
"Thanks to [Hermit Purple] I know exactly which root in the ground belongs to which tree!" Joseph said, golden light sparking through his hands as he exhaled. "By way of 'for instance', here's a bit of Hamon for your trouble!"
Deep underground, Hamon surged into the lace-like fingers of the huge tree's root. The Hamon streaked up through the root, the trunk, and finally, a specific branch. Caesar turned around just in time to see a mass of green leaves and solid wood swinging at him. Like swatting a fly, the branch caught Caesar across the midsection, sending him cartwheeling through the air and over the gulch. Caesar roared in outrage as he plunged towards the river, flipping midair and landing feet-first on the water, not so much as making a ripple in its surface. By sending alternating charges of positive and negative Hamon through his feet, he held a single pillar of water still in the rushing river, glaring up at Joseph as he hung from the sheer cliff overhead.
"You've really polished up your Hamon training, Caesarino!" Joseph called down. "But you really must read more comic books!"
With that, Joseph leapt off the cliffside and cast out his glowing purple tendrils, grabbing onto a point far ahead. With a hoot and laugh, he swung down the valley and towards the mountain. "Spider-Twunk, Spider-Twunk/Has a sweet ass/ but's still a hunk!"
Caesar growled and squeezed his fist so tight his knuckles popped like gunshots. "Immature… infantile… BRAT!"
His breath exploded from his mouth as Hamon screamed around him, a pillar of water catapulting him after Joseph. He cast out bubbles ahead of them, leaping and bounding off of them.
High atop the mountain peak stood St. Jonathan and William Zeppeli, the cold wind and ice dancing around them on gusts of frigid wind. Both as Saved and Hamon-users, they were beyond well-equipped to deal with the cold.
"Well?" William Zepelli said.
Jonathan blinked. "Well what?"
"You've got that look," said the senior Zeppeli. "That look that says 'storm's a brewin''."
"There's a look?"
"What troubles you, my friend?"
Jonathan held out his hand, the golden vines of his Stand weaving between his fingers. "It's [The Passion]. It whispers to me. Presents to me the threads of Fate."
"Whispers? Threads?"
"Plans. Motivations," said Jonathan, clenching his fist. "Designs on my family. I dare not ask it for specifics, for fear of where it might take me."
"You fear for yourself?" Asked Baron Zeppeli, knowing full well the answer, but knowing his friend needed to hear it from his own lips.
"I fear for Heaven." Jonathan heaved a sigh. "People tell me I am righteous. That I am a paragon. A Saint. Humility bids me to dismiss them, but… I know if I were to pull at this particular string, if I knew of its path, I would be honor-bound to intervene. I know doing so would spare those whom I love the greatest suffering, but guarantee even worse for an unknown multitude of innocents. There are plans within plans that I must, of my own volition, remain blind to."
"Perhaps those weaving these strands of Fate know this," said Zeppeli, reaching up to set a hand on Jonathan's rippling shoulder. "Could it be that manufacturing your reticence is their design?"
"Almost certainly," said Jonathan. "But the culprits, I fear, know more than I, and their reasons for doing so, while saddled with pragmatism, are ultimately just. Am I beholden to the greater good, or the good of my family?"
"I cannot say, my friend," said Baron Zeppeli, shaking his head. "But ask yourself this; would anyone you care for, anyone you've come to love, not give themselves for the betterment of all? Would they not sacrifice their immediate comfort to right a great wrong? Sacrifice is a preserve of the Joestar bloodline, as part of them as the birthmark upon their shoulders."
"True enough, Baron." Jonathan looked out at the fantastic realm of Heaven, of Malkuth. Life and natural beauty as far as the eye could see and beyond. "I sense the coming times will put that trait to the ultimate test. Things are coming to a head, and if any of us are to survive, I fear that only a terrible sacrifice will do."