"Would you believe me if I told you I was haunted? It sounds crazy, doesn't it? I was always a skeptic; some idiot showing probably edited footage was never enough to convince me. Now you might be thinking "Who's this wise ass, asking me out of nowhere about ghosts or something stupid like that?". Well, my full name is Jerry O Joestar, but everyone calls me JoJo. Because if you combine the first letter of Jerry with my middle initial, and the first two letters of my last name, it spells JoJo. People are weird huh?
Now that the supposed "wise ass" has identified himself, can I get back to what I was saying? I'm haunted, actually, me and a few of my friends are haunted. We have these… things that only we can see, it's hard to explain. They're kind of like ghosts? We've been trying to figure out what these are, but it's hard when half the time they just appear at random. Most often though it's when we get focused on a jam session. Oh, did I forget to mention that?
My friends and I are in a band. Pretty cool, huh? Since I formed the thing, I named it the "Joestar Group" after my last name. Usually, my friends would've hated that the name was focused on me, but they were able to overlook it since they think my last name is cool. Friends, am I right? We haven't actually gone anywhere with it yet, it's just a garage band, but we have fun with it. There's Beatrix on Bass, Kenney (but we all call him KJ) on Drums, Buddy and June on Guitar, and myself as vocals naturally. Where was I? Oh right, the ghosts.
None of us really know what to do about them, but they don't seem dangerous. We're meeting later today for a jam session. We're going to see if we can make any more developments about these ghosts of ours. JoJo signing off."
With a sigh and a click of a button, JoJo stopped the voice recorder on his phone. He had been taking notes on the ghosts haunting him and his friends, so he could make a big buck off of it to ghost hunter media. He kicked his legs out on his bed, staring at his ceiling lazily. He tensed up as he stared at the ceiling above him. There it was again.
Just out of the corner of JoJo's eye, he could see it, something purple floating beside him. It was hard for JoJo to make out details since he could only see it in his peripherals, but it was definitely there. It was purple, and only a torso. The ghost didn't move, or blink, it just loomed there, staring at JoJo out of his peripheral vision. He tensed as he waited, to see if this ghost would do anything to him. Seconds ticked by as the ghost just loomed, until JoJo felt his cellphone buzz. His eyes instinctively flicked down to it, and the ghost in the corner of his eye vanished.
With a tired sigh, he looked at his phone, looking for the source of the buzz that broke his brief contact with the spirit haunting him. A notification came in, he had a delivery to do. Being a highschool dropout, JoJo didn't have a lot of options in terms of jobs, but driving didn't require a diploma, just a license. So when he discovered working as a delivery driver for Uber Eats, he instantly gravitated to it. Money was money after all, he was fine just driving around dropping food off for people.
With a stretch, he hopped out of bed, not bothering to change his attire. He wore a baggy white t-shirt with the words "SHARED DREAM" written in big bubble text over a vaporwave background and loose nylon shorts. He didn't bother getting his shoes out, instead opting to throw on some neon colored sandals. His hair was platinum blonde; long, dense, and unkempt. He didn't really bother doing much with it, he liked it being long and messy.
He strolled out of his bedroom lazily, stopping by the upstairs bathroom to look at his reflection, cracking a toothy grin in the mirror revealed his most prominent piece of apparel, gold teeth grills. He wore gold plated grills with the words "JOESTAR GROUP" engraved on them.
"Nyoho~" he chortled, satisfied with his appearance. He left the bathroom and walked down the stairs, where his mother and sister were going about their own day. His little sister, Paula, sat in front of the TV, watching whatever show their mom had put on, she absentmindedly played with a toy telephone while she sat. JoJo couldn't remember where they had gotten the toy for the girl, but she loved playing with it. Paula was only 8 years old, whereas Jerry himself was 19. The siblings lived with their single mother, their father disappearing 8 years ago, when Jerry was only 11. He stepped between his sister and the TV, walking towards the front door, and eliciting a whine from his little sister.
"Moooovvee!" she complained, her voice light and childish. JoJo hated his sister's voice sometimes, it was like nails on a chalkboard.
"Yeah, yeah you little-" he cut himself off when he saw Paula staring at him expectantly. He had gotten in trouble in the past for using bad words around his little sister, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. He just sighed and got out of Paula's way, the child excitedly going back to her TV show. "Punk." he grumbled, but Paula simply ignored him. Before stepping out, he decided to check on his mom, who was lounging in the dining room, deciding what she wanted to make for dinner that night,
Diane Joestar was a strong woman. The man she loved had vanished, dead for all she knew, leaving her to fend for herself and her two children in the middle of southern New Jersey. Despite this, she never broke her smile, always being cheery and friendly to everyone around her. Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, she had a smile on her face, and a lot of people in town had become friends with her.
JoJo stepped into the dining room and saw his mother fiddling with her phone absently, She smiled at him warmly.
"Going somewhere dear?" She asked, noticing he had thrown his sandals on.
"Got some deliveries to do, Ma." he responded, looking in the fridge for something to snack on during the drive.
"You should put some proper clothes on hun," She advised. "It's October, not the middle of summer, you look like you're about to go to the beach." she said, eyeing her son up and down.
"I'll be fine" he dismissed, "I fixed up the Crazy Train's heater yesterday, it'll keep me warm. I won't be out long." He reassured his mother, grabbing an apple out of the fridge. Diane rolled her eyes at the corny name her son had given his van.
"That rust bucket's gonna blow up one of these days, I wish you had picked a better vehicle to buy." she said worriedly.
"It was the cheapest, besides, it's got spirit~" he said, closing the fridge. "It's got a simple frame, so repairing it, and modifying it is easy," he added. "I can save money to focus on expenses for the band." He concluded. Diane glared a little bit. She wasn't exactly happy that her son had dropped out of high school to pursue a dream of running a band with his friends, but she respected his decision as an adult. He paid his fair share of the house, and helped take care of her and his sister, so she couldn't say he was doing nothing.
"Alright dear, just be careful, alright?" she said caringly. JoJo nodded and gave his mom a quick hug.
"I'll be back in a flash Ma~" he reassured, before heading out the front door. As he left, Diane couldn't help but stare at her son, and the purple ethereal being floating beside him, seemingly unknown to him. Diane once again smiled, this time in a knowing manner.
"I can't wait for him to awaken his…" She said, looking to her left where an angelic like figure floated loyally beside her. The figure wore a large shroud of white light, concealing a pale robotic face that vaguely resembled a human skull. "He has it, just like his father and I, he just hasn't woken it up yet~ He just needs the right push~" she said, containing her excitement. The angelic figure simply nodded its head. Diane looked at her daughter in the living room. "I wonder when she'll awaken a stand…" She said curiously. She could definitely tell her daughter was capable of awakening one, she just wasn't sure when.
JoJo stepped out of his house, embracing the cold autumn air with a smile. Fallen leaves crunched beneath his sandals as he walked towards the garage, where two vehicles were parked. One was a nice and tidy car, belonging to his mom, and next to it was an aged and slightly dilapidated minivan, belonging to JoJo. Across the back of the van, he had spray painted the words Crazy Train across it. He smiled as he approached the van.
"Alrighty, let's get this show on the road." He said as he pulled a keyring out of his pocket. The keyfob which held the van's car key on it initially had 3 buttons: a lock, an unlock, and a horn button. However, JoJo had added a 4th button, which he only marked with an exclamation point. He held the keyfob carefully, making sure not to press the exclamation point button as he unlocked the Crazy Train.
The Crazy Train beeped to life as JoJo opened the driver's seat door. The door creaked open painfully as he hopped into the driver's seat. The faded leather seat lurched as he flopped in it, but managed to stay intact. JoJo retrieved his phone from the pockets of his loose nylon shorts, and threw his feet up on the steering wheel, checking to see what orders he had to do today.
"Let's see here… Michael J, David B, Reese and Margaret W," he sneered at that listing. "Great, I have to swing by those fuckers…" he bemoaned as he continued reading the list. "Alyssa G, Nomu H, must be foreign, and uhhhh," he raised an eyebrow at the final name on the list. "Denver? What kind of name is Denver? Who the fuck names their kid after the capital of Colorado?" He snorted.
He sighed, and sat up straight. "Alright, only 6 deliveries, should be easy enough." he said, sticking the key into the Crazy Train's ignition, and starting it up. The van's engine grumbled to life, and he felt a blast of heat as the recently repaired heater roared. "Ah, good, it didn't die this time." He said happily as he felt the warmth covering his body. The tires spin roughly as he pulls out the driveway, turning left, and he heads down the road.
He clicked the radio on as he drove, putting some energetic music on as he drove. He rolled the windows down, and cranked the music to max, blaring music to everything around the van. He retrieved a vape from the glove box, specifically non-nicotine, and took a hit from it as he drove. He held the small box in his lips, it was an orangish yellow and magenta. Gummy bear flavored smoke entered his lungs as he drew from the vape. The most notable thing about his vape was the rather ugly looking drawing of a monkey on the center of the vape.
He had bought a vape with an NFT monkey on it as a joke, mostly, but he liked the flavor, so he'd take it. That didn't stop his friends from constantly making jokes at his expense about it though. He drove carefully down the open roads of Skyland, New Jersey, making his way to the different restaurants he had to pick up food from.
Skyland was a small and cozy town on the south end of New Jersey, a town of little renown. Many buildings were run down or abandoned, and the few facilities that still operated in town were nothing of note. JoJo rocked out to the radio as he kept driving, Skyland's prized landmark, Madeleine Mountain, towered over the horizon. Madeleine Mountain was a 2,000 ft tall mountain that Skyland prided itself on, relying on mountain climbers and natural tourism to fuel the town's economy.
There weren't a lot of restaurants in town, so most of the delivery food JoJo had to get, he had to go out of town for. Meaning his entire trip started in Skyland, went out of town, just to come back into town. It was a little tedious, but JoJo wasn't complaining, as long as he got paid. He drove to the next town over, not once turning his radio down, despite the numerous glares and shouts from passerby.
Skyland was small enough that the surrounding towns weren't terribly far, so it was a brief drive to pick up the foods ordered by the various people on his list. Place by place he drove, collecting the orders, and loading them into the roomy, yet run-down van he owned. After the final order was picked up, he drove back into Skyland, changing up his music choice. The Crazy Train had a disk player in it, and he had been burning recordings of Joestar Group music onto disks to play in his van. As he put on his own group's music, he leaned his chair back as he drove, proud of his marketing scheme.
The first two deliveries were uneventful, he placed the bags down at the doorstep and knocked on their door, leaving before anyone could show up. The first two houses he had been to were for Michael J and David B, so with those names off of his list, he groaned as he knew where he had to go next.
"Great… the Witherspoons." he grumbled. Reese and Margaret Witherspoon were a very affluent and wealthy family that lived in town, and were commonly known as incredibly stuck up. They looked down upon everybody in town, and most of the townsfolk stayed out of their way if possible. JoJo himself had gotten particularly on their bad side for one specific reason.
"I wonder what Beatrix is up to…" He mused aloud as he drove. Beatrix Witherspoon was the sole offspring of the Witherspoon family, and she just so happened to be friends with JoJo and a member of the band. Needless to say, Beatrix's parents weren't exactly happy that their daughter was mingling with 'lessers'.
JoJo grabbed his phone, paying no mind to the mostly empty roads ahead of him, and pulled up Beatrix's contact number. He was careless, but he wasn't stupid, so he instead opted to call Beatrix rather than try texting and driving. He placed the cellphone to his ear and heard the ringing, before an answer.
"Hello?" came a rather terse female voice from the other end.
"Hey Bea! I'm driving by your place, you home? I figured we could hang out for a bit before the jam session later, better than being around your stuffy ass parents, eh?" he laughed.
"Sure, I've got nothing better to do, any excuse to not be near those fucking people is an excuse I'm willing to take." she said in response, causing both to laugh a bit.
"Alright, I'll be there in 5, just keep in mind I have a few more deliveries to do when you get in, alright?" he said casually.
"Of course you're slacking on your job, fuckin bum." she jabbed. "But yeah that's fine, I'll see you soon." she said as she hung up. With a nod, JoJo tossed his phone into his shorts pockets, and focused back on the road. The open roads of Skyland laid before him, as his own band's music thumped out through his van's speakers. He pulled around a corner, and the house he hated above all was in sight.
The Witherspoon estate was a rather large house, that was a stark visual compared to the small rundown podunk houses around it. The house was kept in excellent condition, having been built specifically for the Witherspoon family. The house had a soulless white paint coat, which JoJo thought fit well for its soulless white residents. Except Beatrix, of course. There was still hope for Beatrix, and JoJo constantly made sure to keep her around his group.
He wasn't sure why Beatrix had even become friends with him in the first place but he wasn't complaining. One less stuck up rich person in the world, the better, in his eyes. He drove up to the large, posh looking house, and grabbed the food bag out of the van. He carefully walked towards the lavish stairs towards their house, but before he could even get to the door, it swung open, causing Jerry to glare.
Standing in the doorway was a tall, slender, pale woman in a traditional french maid outfit. The woman chose to keep her legs mostly exposed, only wearing stockings that stopped right before her knees, despite the cold autumn air, showing off pale curved legs. Her hair was black, long and flowing. She held a serving tray in one hand, and balanced a gem encrusted dagger in the other. She had a dominating aura around her, and any normal man would be smitten by her appearance, but Jerry knew better. He knew anyone connected to the Witherspoons was bad news, period.
"Joestar." the woman said plainly, casting a glare down at JoJo, clutching the dagger harder.
"Hi Selene~" he greeted in a mockingly friendly tone, hiding the distrust and disdain he held for the rich and anyone working for them.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't gut a rodent like you for stepping on private property." Selene said viciously. She spoke with a thick French accent to her tongue.
"I'm here to deliver your keepers the food they ordered." he spat back, holding the fast food delivery bag up so Selene could see it.
"Actually, the food is mine, I just pen it under their names so I don't have to pay for it." Selene said, swiping the bag from JoJo's hands. "However, I'm sure the master and mistress would be over the moon if I brought them the decapitated head of a constant troublemaker like you~" she said, licking the blade of her dagger threateningly.
"It's not my fault they're butthurt." JoJo replied, keeping his cool despite the clear threats. "It's not my fault I taught their daughter there's more to life than being stuck up and rich, oh wait I guess I am at fault~" he snickered. Selene just glared deeper, and reared back, ready to pounce on Jerry.
Before she could however, an arm from behind stopped her, gripping the arm she held the dagger in tightly.
"I suggest you return to work, Selene." A voice, clearly female, from behind her threatened. "Or should I tell mother you were using her money for fast food again?" She asked. Selene glared off to the side, before relenting, freeing her arm, and shooting daggers at Jerry once more.
"Luck is on your side today Joestar, but mark my words I will put your head on a spike one day." Selene said adamantly as she walked away into the large house. In Selene's place, a familiar, and less murderous face remained, Beatrix.
"Hey Bea! Ready to go?" JoJo asked, chipper as always, unphased by Selene's burning desire to kill him. Beatrix had short, bushy brown hair that she kept neatly brushed. She had a simple, but stern complexion on her face, and she had red irises. She wore a simple sweater and a comfortable pair of jeans. She looked much more presentable and put together compared to her friend who had on a gaudy outfit.
Beatrix walked down the front steps of her house, without breaking a stern glare at JoJo. When she reached his level, she stopped for a second, before punching him straight in the arm.
"OW! What the fuck?!" he reeled in pain.
"What the fuck were you thinking jackass?!" Beatrix fumed. "You know how fucking batshit Selene is! She was about to fucking kill you!" She raged.
"She didn't though, right?" JoJo asked, still reeling.
"That's not the point dumbfuck! What if I hadn't gotten here in time? She was absolutely ready to put a knife in your fucking throat, and you act like it's a game!" she scolded. "You could have called me when you pulled up, I would have been down sooner to make sure she didn't try anything." she said sternly.
"Okay Okay I get it, did you need to sock me in the goddamn arm though?" JoJo asked, still rubbing the spot Beatrix punched him.
"You'll be fine, c'mon." She said, helping him up.
"You're a dick." he jabbed.
"Yeah a lot of people say that, and you're a fuckin' hippie." she joked back, helping Jerry to his feet. The two shared a laugh, showing that despite their insults, they were still friends.
"Let's get back to the Crazy Train, I've only got three deliveries left, then we can hang at my place." Jerry said,walking back to the van in question. Beatrix followed behind him.
"We gonna pick up the others?" Beatrix asked, as she walked to the passenger door.
"Nah, I only picked you up because you were on my route anyway, the others will be by for the jam sesh later." He spoke, as he opened the driver's side door, it creaked with age once more. Beatrix nodded as she sat in the leather passenger seat, the chair groaning under her weight as did the driver's seat when JoJo sat down. He tossed the key into the ignition and started the van. The engine once more churned to life slowly, wailing to be put down as it wordlessly did the job it was forced to do. With the duo on the road, they chatted idly to pass the time.
"So, who and all do you have to deliver to?" Beatrix asked, looking at the remaining fast food bags in the back of the van.
"According to this, Alyssa, Nomu, and," he snorted again. "Denver" he said, giggling at the name.
"What the fuck kind of name is Denver?" Beatrix, asked, looking at JoJo.
"A pretty stupid one if you ask me." He said, snickering some more.
"What about the first two? Where are you headed for them?" She asked.
"Says on the app here…" he said, taking his eyes off the road again. "The next two orders are at the same location, and then our boy Denver is on the outskirts of town." he concluded, finally putting his eyes back on the road.
"What building for the first two?" she asked.
"Looks like that fuckin frat building." he said jeering a bit. Beatrix immediately knew what he was talking about, and glared a bit herself.
"Oh great, that frat building…" she sighed. The fraternity they were referring to was the Fraternity of Dionysus, a fraternity group that had been banded together in town, under the leadership of the aptly named Dionysus, but he preferred Dio for short. The fraternity had become rather well established, and was even looking to open up more branches along the east coast, but for right now they were held mostly in Skyland.
JoJo and Beatrix had no reason to mistrust Dio, for all they knew, he was a well intentioned man, with a nice physically fit body, who was just passionate about gathering people together. The fraternity even helped the town out with funding public works, through Dio's own dime of course. However, to the duo, it was something unseen or unspoken, something that made them just feel off about the man.
The Crazy Train eventually pulled up to JoJo's next delivery spot, the Fraternity building. The facility was rather large, and maintained well. It was boxy, but large enough to be open and house many fraternity members. From the ads JoJo had gotten in the mail, he was pretty sure there were many in door activities in the fraternity building like an indoor track, an indoor pool, and even a greenhouse.
"From what I hear, the fraternity makes income from selling fruits and vegetables, though I can assume that's not their only source of income." Beatrix mused as they got out of the van.
"Mhm, sounds right." Jerry responded, holding the two delivery bags. "Let's just get in and get out, this place gives me a bad vibe." he said, steeling his nerves. The two walked into the front entrance of the facility, noting the liveliness of the place. They could hear the distant sound of activity as men and women alike went about their day under the fraternity's unity. Jerry walked carefully to the front desk, where two people; a short peppy woman with pink hair, and a stocky Asian man, were sitting.
"Hello~ And welcome to the Fraternity of Dionysus!" The woman greeted, with a chipper and bright smile. "May I help the two of you today?" She asked.
"Yeah, I've got a food delivery here for Alyssa G., and Nomu H?" Jerry said, holding the food delivery bags up. The two receptionists nodded.
"That would be for us." The man addressed as Nomu said, taking the two bags, not once breaking a smile at Jerry and Beatrix.
"Alright then, let's get the fuck outta here." Beatrix said roughly, turning around, creeped out by the receptionist's constant smiling.
"Oh, leaving so soon? Wouldn't you two be interested in joining the Fraternity?" Alyssa asked. "You would love it here!" She said, not breaking her wide smile either.
"Um no thanks lady, we'll pass." Jerry said dismissively.
"Oh, well at least take a flier, in case you ever think of changing your mind." she said, forcing a paper flier into Jerry's hand before he could refuse. "And if you are interested, this Halloween, we will be sponsoring and holding a public Halloween party, any and all are welcome!" she added, putting a second piece of paper on top of the first. "You two have a spectacular and wonder-filled day now!" she said cheerily before turning back to her food. Jerry and Beatrix high-tailed it out of the building before they got swamped with any more fliers.
"Okay, you too ma'am!" JoJo said respectfully as they dashed towards the exit. The duo bursted outside and headed straight for the Crazy Train, without thinking twice.
"Creepy…" JoJo said, as he sat back down in the driver's seat.
"Super fuckin creepy…" Beatrix added as she sat back in the passenger's seat.
JoJo pulled away from the Fraternity as soon as he could, not even bothering to look at the fliers as he just tossed them in the back.
"Some good fuel for a bonfire." He said with a shrug, before pulling out his vape to take another hit. Immediately upon seeing the ugly NFT vape, Beatrix immediately bursted out in laughter.
"You still use that butt ugly fucking thing?" she said in between laughs, as JoJo leaned back in his chair while driving.
"Yeah, problem?" he asked.
"It's fucking hideous!" she laughed even harder. JoJo just ignored her and dragged a puff from the box.
"Yeah yeah whatever, nerd, you're just jealous because mommy Witherspoon and her psycho pet maid won't let you have a vape." he shot back, causing Beatrix to look away in annoyance.
"Shut the fuck up." She said back, knowing she didn't have a good response. JoJo just laughed and continued driving.
"This Denver guy is pretty far out though, eh?" he asked, looking at his map. Indeed, the duo were driving to the far edge of town, near the border of the town itself in fact. As the van got closer and closer to the destination, JoJo and Beatrix couldn't help but notice that the empty buildings were getting more and more common. Sure, Skyland had a lot of abandoned buildings, but there was usually a couple more houses in between them, but out here, there was almost nothing.
"Jeez, I didn't even know this part of town was so run down…" JoJo said, looking around cautiously.
"Tell me the fuck about it…" Beatrix replied, also looking cautious. "Who even lives out here?" she asked as they reached the furthest end of town. There, just at the end of this little slum, was a lit up hovel, with a handful of lights on through the windows.
"That seems to be the place…" Jerry said, pulling up to the small dwelling, and parking the van. He grabbed the delivery bag out of the truck, and tossed the van's keys in his pockets.
"C'mon, let's get this done." He said, as the two walked up to the door. JoJo placed the bag down and knocked on the simple, aged wooden door. Before turning to leave. However, as the two turned to leave, loud shuffling came from within the house, before the door swung open.
Out of the door, an elderly man stepped onto the porch, a cane held at his side. He had thick facial hair, and wore a blue beanie. Around his body was a black leather jacket, and he wore sweatpants. A scarf was wrapped around his neck as his shrouded green eyes pierced into JoJo and Beatrix. He stared at the duo intensely for a minute, ignoring JoJo's gaudy appearance.
"You there…" He croaked. "Spare a moment of your time?" he wheezed out. Despite the warning signs, Jerry couldn't help but be intrigued.
"What's… up?" He asked curiously, much to Beatrix's chagrin.
"JoJo! Are you fucking crazy?" she asked rather quickly. "This musty old fuck is a complete stranger!" she spoke rather bluntly, but the old man didn't seem to care about her rudeness.
"I can… make it worth your time…" he said, slowly reaching into his large leather jacket. JoJo and Beatrix tensed, thinking he was going to draw a weapon, but stopped when they saw what was in his hand was actually a large stack of money. "Perhaps… 10 grand could… sway you?" he asked, raising a weathered eyebrow. JoJo's eyes practically erupted into fireworks when he saw the amount of money the old man was holding.
"JoJo…" Beatrix warned. "Don't let the money sway you…" she tried to reason, but Jerry heard little to none of it.
"Okay, now you have my attention old timer, what have you got in store?" JoJo asked, walking up to the old man. Beatrix scurried after him, still looking cautious. Beatrix grabbed his shoulder.
"JoJo, come on, this dude's fuckin creepy." Beatrix tried to reason. The old man just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Witherspoon… huh?" He said, batting an eye. "I recognize your mother, you know." he said gruffly. "It's pretty funny to see such a rebellious foul mouth punk come from such a stuck up bitch…" he said laughing, before erupting into a cough. This caused Beatrix to step back.
"Excuse me?!" she said, sounding offended.
"Ohhh… did I hurt the little rich girl's feelings?" he added with a cough. "Heh… heh… hack hack" he coughed some more. "You can run along then little punk, or join your friend here for a cut… of the money." He said tersely, looking at Jerry. Beatrix twitched a bit, a vein starting to form on her forehead.
"Ohhh boy, she's about to go off." JoJo said, backing up a bit. Before Beatrix could lash out however, the old man spoke up again.
"Instead of throwing… a tantrum, why not put your mouth where the money is…?" he said tauntingly, causing Beatrix to fume even more.
"IT IS SO FUCKING ON!" she roared furiously. The old man nodded, a bit of a smirk on his face.
"The name's Denver… but I'm sure you knew that already…" he said as he turned around. "Follow me…." he opened the door and walked inside, allowing JoJo and Beatrix to enter after him. The two followed the ragged man into his abode.
Denver's small little hovel was hard to call a house, it was more of a garage, or as Beatrix would call it, a trash heap. Scattered across the floor was several empty beer bottles, cigarette butts, ancient newspapers, and fast food cartons. The two teens reeled back in disgust at the sight before them, but Denver seemed unfazed. He led them to a sort of neat section of his small home, there were only two rooms.
"Whoa…" JoJo said, taking in the room before him. Lining from floor to ceiling wall to wall was a massive collection of video games, old and new alike, neatly lined up on shelves. "This has gotta be one of the biggest video game collections I've ever seen!" JoJo said, wasn't as interested in the video games, but still fuming from the man's jabs from earlier.
"Like what you see kid?" Denver asked gruffly. "I guess you figured I'm a bit of a gamer of course, and after all this time I guess that I'm a connoisseur of sorts." he said. "I've been collecting these for a long time…" he said with a sad smile. Beatrix noticed, in a small corner of the room, was a table with a few medals and an old and battered military uniform on it, but didn't feel like questioning it.
"So what did you want?" JoJo asked, getting back on point. "What do we need to do for the 10 grand?" he asked excitedly. Denver smiled earnestly.
"Well.. as of recently, I've started to dabble in game development myself…" he explained. "And I want you two to be… testers… shall we say." He explained. "Test three of my games and you two will walk out with 10 grand, that's 5 grand each. No strings attached." He explained carefully, setting the money on the table. JoJo couldn't help but stare at the money longingly, feeling greed consume him.
"Sounds easy enough, when do we start?" He asked, looking pumped to make easy money. Beatrix just nodded, hoping to prove Denver's insults wrong.
"I am so going to win that fucking money…" she said angrily. "Nobody insults ME.. insulting people is my fucking job…" she mumbled in a rage.
"Excellent, we can start right now… 「Pac-Man Fever」..." He spoke ominously, causing the two kids to look at him with confusion.
"Pac-Man… what?" Jerry asked. Before either teen could react however, they suddenly felt something close around their necks, something cold and plastic feeling. Beatrix and JoJo collided into each other as something was closing around them. All they could see was blue, and then white, and then nothing.
Where Beatrix and Jerry had been once standing was a vaguely humanoid figure, with long, tube-like appendages, standing on its hind legs, with a bent haunch. Its eyes were a pupil-less yellow, two half circles with a triangle pointed upwards taken out of them. Its ears were pointed and sharp, and its jaw was equally triangular. Its feet had three toes, and were connected to thin straw like legs. The creature walked forward, putting its lengthy arms down, and looking at what was now laid before it. Denver just looked on with a smile.
"Good catch little buddy…" he spoke to the creature, before walking Jerry and Beatrix had been now sat a small pocket sized LCD game, its cheap white plastic glimmering slightly in the room's light. Denver just chuckled gruffly, holding the small device in his hands. "Let's see what you two can do… Have fun testing in there…" he said with a gruff smile.