Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

'... What is that?'

Jonathan swallowed a groan as he slowly came back to a conscious state. Though his eyes were closed, his mind raced to catch him up again on what happened before he fell unconcious, again.

He had woken up surrounded by grass, he found out he was back home, he found weird photos in his backback, they-

Oh... right.

Dio, the corpse parts, the anomalies, his... decendants, it all rushed to his head again in the form of a pounding headache.

He felt an undrescribeable wave of sadness hit him, and if it were for him, he'd stay on the slightly wet grass until the dirt swallowed him, cause really, what else did he have left? He was all alone, forced back into his own time, he had forgotten them, which meant they would forget him and everything that happened, which just added up to the crushing feelings that kept hitting him and making a mess in his mind, heart, stomach, everywhere.

However, he felt it again, the thing that made him stir awake. He felt a preassure on his back, it was small but definitely there, and it suddenly dug into his back, and... where those claws?

Tiredly and reluctantly, Jonathan forced himself to open the one eye that wasn't covered by the lush grass. Like always, it took a second for his vision to adjust, but when it did, he saw nothing but the green field that surrounded him.

He started to wonder if it was just his head messing with him, but there it was again, and this time, it was accompanied by a sound.

A sound that sounded exactly like a bark.

He immediately tensed.

There was... a dog? On top of him? Could it have been one of those dogs that was homeless and sometimes wondered onto his property? There used to be a few stray dogs that would often stop by, he would always feed them despite his father's protests and they would play with Danny.

That's the only explanation he could think of, because there's no way that the dog is his dear friend who's currently buried in the distance.

There was another bark, more preassure added onto his back, and Jonathan realized he would just have to do it, he would have to turn onto his back, face the mysterious dog over him, add the fact it's not Danny to the ever growing list of crushing disappointments, and call it a day.

With what little energy he had left, which was barely anything really, Jonathan laid a hand on the ground and pushed, making himself turn over onto his back.

For a moment, the sun blinded him, forcing his eyes to close again. Repeating earlier movements, he weakly brought a hand upwards, shielding his eyes somewhat.

He could sense the animal was next to him now, on his right to be precise.

All it took was a glance to the side for him to suddenly reel back with a surprised yell, ignoring the protests from his beaten body as he sat up violently.

The word left his mouth in a rush, "D-Danny?!"

The great Dane barked again, tail wagging behind him, and all Jonathan could do wad gawk with his mouth open.

"H-How- What?!" He began to sputter, his mouth working faster than his brain, which was currently frozen in shock, "How?!"

Tears were starting to gather in his eyes, his heartbeat became erratic, his shoulders shook, and Danny just tilted his head to the side, confused.

For once, Jonathan didn't want to ask how, and didn't want to know why, he just hoped that whatever this was, it was real.

Laughing as the tears ran down his cheeks, he opened his aching arms, silently inviting Danny into a hug.

Danny let out a joyful bark as he rushed into Jonathan's arms, and as soon as Jonathan hugged him, happiness erupted from within his chest. He laughed, eyes closing despite the tears continuing to fall, and fell backwards again, this time with Danny on his chest, "I-I missed you so much, old friend!"

Danny kept barking happily and licked Jonathan's cheek, making the Joestar laugh even harder, "Ah, do not worry, these are happy tears!" 

He let his head fall back on the grass with a smile, his hand coming up to to scratch Danny behind the ears, "I really don't understand how you're here right now, I want to assume it has something to do with defeating Dio and restoring the lives he stole, but whatever it is, I am so happy it's brought you back to me..."

His voice cracked at the end, more tears threatening to spill, but Jonathan just sucked in a big breath and let his hunched shoulders relax, the motion of softly petting Danny always had a calming effect on him, this time was no different.

Danny tucked his head on Jonathan's cheft, seeming to have sensed the mood change, and Jonathan's smile somehow became wider. Danny was always a sharp dog, being able to sense Jonathan's moods easily, it's been that way ever since they got past the initial rough stages of their friendship.

But... what should he do now?

The alternative world Dio was gone, however, he was sure his world's Dio was still alive in his time, which meant he had to find him and finish what they started.

Speedwagon and Mr. Zeppeli- he should definitely try and find them. If he managed to remember everything he had gone through just now, he could make them remember too.

And speaking of, do... do his descendants remember him?

Jonathan held back a sigh.

"It does not matter if they remember or not, as long as they're alright and well, that's all I care about."

... Oh, who was he kidding?

His stomach filled with dread at the thought of them forgetting him, Jotaro had said he wouldn't, but Jonathan said the same thing, and look how easily he forgot him.

Finding out about them was one of the best things to ever happen to him, and he lost them all so easily, he was only able to properly say goodbye to Jotaro, not that that it brought him much comfort to be honest, he missed them terribly, along with the friends he made along the way.

He was supposed to visit New York with Joseph to eat street food and visit Morioh with Josuke and his friends and visit Italy with Giorno, he was supposed to meet Holy in Japan with Jotaro and help Jolyne sort thought her issues, he was supposed to make Gappy know what it felt like to be in a family, he was supposed to keep trying to get Johnny out of that constant depressive and angry mood he was always in and sit down with older Joseph to keep sharing stories, he was supposed to be there for them and he failed, miserably.

He knows it's irrational to feel like it's his fault, he didn't know once Dio was defeated this would happen. But it hurt, and it hurt so bad, to find and loose them like that.

Danny suddenly nudged at his chin with his nose, breaking Jonathan out of his thoughts, "Ah, sorry. I just feel so... tired," At that, he twisted his head a bit, confirming that the mansion was indeed still there, "Perhaps we should go inside. Maybe a bath and sleep will do me some good..."

A groan escaped his lips as he struggled to sit up, with Danny hopping off him. He rotated his stiff shoulders, frowning at how beaten and in sore he felt.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly got to his feet, his legs still felt like jelly and numb. He looked around briefly, and realized his satchel was still on the ground, he almost tensed when he saw the photographs scattered around.

Gritting his teeth, he doubled over, gently picking up each slip, until finally he picked up his bag and put them inside. He stood unmoving for a few seconds, his fingers gripping the leather as he peered inside, the flower and faces and smiles looked back at him almost mockingly.

He shook his head and closed the satchel, slipped it on, and began to walk towards his home, Danny in tow.

-------------------------------------------

Something felt... off.

As soon as he stepped inside, he could tell something wasn't right.

The main room looked spotless, just like his descendants and friends had left it, however, the house itself, it lacked that... empty feeling he'd been getting lately. 

Jonathan looked around, brows furrowed. 

Why... did it feel like he wasn't alone?

"Is... Is there someone here?" He mumbled to himself, looking around briefly.

He suddenly heard a faint sound, from the dining room maybe?

Ah.

Perhaps it was one of the servants.

Even if he didn't know what he would do with the home after his father died, he didn't have the heart to fire their house workers. Afterall, they all had families to support and expenses to pay.

With Danny following close behind, Jonathan made his way to the dining area. Gently, he opened one of the double doors, sticking his head inside, "Pardon me-"

The words died on his lips.

And he froze.

Again.

"... Huh... ?"

The figure Jonathan's eyes were currently bulging at was sat at the head of the table, calmly reading from the newspaper, a cup of tea placed in front of him, next to a tray of biscuits.

"Fa... Father... ?"

The word left his trembling lips with great difficulty, since Jonathan was quite literally frozen on the spot. Similar to when he saw Danny earlier, his heartbeat spiked, his legs shook, his mind was racing, a constant chorus of what how what what is this how what is happening- repeating itself violently.

The Joestar finally noticed his presence, looking up at Jonathan with a blink, "Ah, Jojo. I was wondering where you were! Come, lunch is almost ready."

... What?

Jonathan's mouth opened and closed several times, he barely registered the fact Danny squeezed through his legs and ran to George, making the latter laugh, "Good boy Danny, I knew you would find him easily."

George pet Danny before giving him a biscuit, smiling, "Now, run along, I must speak to Jojo alone."

Danny barked happily and did as told, all the while Jonathan still stood on the doorway, unmoving.

George looked at him, brows furrowed, "Jonathan? Why are you standing there with your mouth open?" Come, sit."

He closed his mouth with just too much force, but his legs carried him forward, however he didn't sit down, he collapsed in front of George, "J-Jojo?!"

His shoulders shook.

"I... I am so tired... I can't tell if this is my imagination again, if I am still on the verge of dying, or if I already died," He looked up at George, his eyes full of unshed tears, "Please... please tell me this is real..."

"Jojo," George frowned, taking a hand and placing it atop Jonathan's head, "I do not know what's going on, but I assure you, this is real. Are you alright? What happened?"

Jonathan breathed deeply, letting the tears fall, "It is a very long story..." He reached up and grabbed one of his father's hands, gripping it slightly as a smile formed on his lips, "I-I missed you so much!"

His voice was extremely shaky, emotion flooding through him at a fast pace- happiness, confusion, fear, anxiety, relief- it was all meshing together inside him.

Both father and Danny were alive somehow, how could he even begin to comprehend this?

George blinked, "Missed me? Where did I go?"

Jonathan didn't know, honestly.

And as much as he wanted to sit down and think about this rationally, to explain everything that had happened, to find out what his father remembered that night Dio stabbed him, to just be happy for a while, he felt another wave of exhaustion hit him.

But he didn't care.

Forcing himself up, he took a seat close to George, still gripping his hand, "Oh father, where do I even begin?"

"How about answering this first, are you alright? You seem positively exhausted!" His voice was full of concern, making Jonathan smile.

"I am now," How could he even begin to describe the happiness and disbelief imploding in his chest right now? "Father, what do you remember last? Do... you remember what happened with Dio?"

George's stare hardened slightly, "Hm. A bit, yes. However my memory is a bit foggy, I do not recall what happened after he got shot. I believe he has not been caught yet. Why do you ask?"

Oh wow, alright, so he didn't remember... dying? 

'Perhaps that is for the best...' Jonathan thought, "No particular reason, really. I am just... so happy, that you're alright!"

More than that, he wanted to cry out of relief and hug his father and fall to the ground in a screaming fit of joy and just explode from all the happiness coursing through his veins.

George chuckled, "Of course I'm alright! I swear, you behave so strangely sometimes."

Jonathan let out a small laugh to supress a yawn, "I suppose I do..."

And then it dawned on him, the fact Danny was back and his father was behaving so normally about it, Dio... Dio killed Danny years ago, long before the incident a few days ago, so how...?

Should he even ask?

Because if his father's memory was distored, and it branched into nothing moments before Dio turned into a vampire, was it possible that Danny coming back to life also distorted the memory of his death?

The exhaustion was getting worse the more he thought about it, all he wanted was to crawl into his bed and sleep for the next four years, honestly, "Father, I will explain later, but for now, could you accompany me to my bedroom? I just... wish to sleep."

The elder looked at him in concern once again, like all he wanted to do was ask Jonathan what was wrong, but he held back, nodding instead, "Of course, my son."

And so, George stood with Jonathan in tow, the latter never letting go of his father's hand, a small part of him still doubting any of this was real and if he let go of his hand, the whole thing would collapse in his mind and he would wake up for real.

After a few minutes of walking they reached his room, and Jonathan, although reluctantly, let go of his father's hand and fell face flat on his bed, a pleased groan almost left his lips as he felt the plush pillows against his face.

He heard George chuckle, "I cannot wait to hear that explanation of yours."

Through the drowsy-ness, he felt his boots being taken off, his satchel rolled off his shoulders, and a soft hand going through his hair, "Sleep well, Jojo."

And for the first time in a while, he did, considering the fact he wasn't fighting for his life.

-------------------------------------------

He awoke with a start.

It took him a minute to gather his surrounding through bleary eyes, but when he did, he let out a soft sigh, nuzzling back into the pillows.

He realized it was raining, the droplets were knocking against his window in a calming pattern that almost lulled him back to sleep.

Almost.

Ignoring the drool stain on his pillow, Jonathan sat up, yawning slightly. 

For once, his mind didn't rush to show him everything that had happened, which was a nice change, if he was being honest.

He thought about the earlier events: Danny and father. 

It was... real... this time, right?

Right?

He hated the anxiety creeping up through his chest, so with determination to put those fears to rest, because yes, for once everything seemed to be alright, he slipped out of bed, not bothering to put his shoes on because all that mattered was finding father and Danny and confirming that they're okay and alive and there with him and it's not just another figment of his imagination please not again-

His bare feet padded along the carpeted hallway softly, automatically taking him the room to where his father loved to be in the most, which was the library.

It didn't take him long before he stood in front of the wooden double doors, and Jonathan found himself breathing deeply.

'Relax Jojo, everything is alright. This time... this time is different, in a good way, I can feel it...'

Gripping the doorknobs, he ignored the way his fingers trembled slightly, and ever so slowly, he opened the doors, peeking inside a moment later.

Wooden bookshelves littered the room, countless books as far as the eye can see. Giant windows adorned the walls with velvet curtains tied at the sides, displaying the current rainy weather, and in the center of it all, was a sight that made Jonathan break out into a relieved smile.

George was currently sitting in his favorite armchair, pipe propped between his lips as he read a book, his eyes moving across the pages at a languid pace.

The scene reminded Jonathan of his dream, except this was real, the fact made his heart soar.

Jonathan then made his way to the available arm chair next to his father's, and when the Joestar finally noticed him, he smiled, "Ah, I see you've woken up. How do you feel?"

"Much better," He sat, letting the soft material of the chair comfort him, "I apologize if I worried you."

"I would be lying if I said you hadn't," George chuckled, removing the pipe from his mouth, "I could not find you earlier, and then when Danny did, you were, and are, wearing the strangest clothes I have seen, and you sounded like you were on the verge of a mental breakdown."

Jonathan winced, "I'm sorry about that, father. I did not mean to cause you concern."

"As long as you're alright, that is all that matters. However, you did say you would explain, I'm very curious as to what has happened."

Ah...

Oh no.

When he said that earlier, it truly seemed like the best course of action, but now he wondered just how the heck was he supposed to explain all that happened?

Especially the Dio thing.

His father, er... must have revived... without recalling that Dio had stabbed him, nor that he turned into a vampire and killed all the officers and burned their home down with his body still trapped inside-

George must have sensed his hesitation, because then he said, "It's quite alright if you cannot tell me. Like I said, as long as you are alright, that is all I care about."

Jonathan nodded gratefully, mulling over his thoughts, "Let's just say, I traveled to many places after that night, and met many people. So much has happened, my brain is still scrambling to remember all of it, honestly." He chuckled, albeit a bit humorlessly.

"You were gone that long?" George blinked, confusion rolling off him, "I swear, I last saw you on the night of the incident, that was... erm, when was that again?"

'Like a few days ago? Maybe a week?' Jonathan winced internally.

George continued, "You do seem very tired, however. You don't have to worry about telling me straight away, take your time."

Jonathan visibly relaxed, "Thank you, father. I promise I'll tell you soon, but..." He sighed, eyes drifting to the gloomy weather outside, "I have to take care of something first, I will tell you as soon as I return, though!"

It was stupid, the fact he only just returned, got father and Danny back, and yet he was already leaving, but he had to, Dio was still out there, he... he had to find him like he intended to originally before he got swept up in the anomalies. Otherwise, his father, Erina, Danny, Speedwagon, Mr. Zeppeli, his mates, his home- nothing will be safe.

George's cristaline eyes turned to him critically, "I assume you are talking about Dio?"

He tensed slightly, "Yes, I have to find him."

A nod, "I understand. However, Jojo, please go easy on him... I know he has caused much harm, but at one point, he was our family. Do try to bring him alive and well so that the authorities can deal with him accordingly."

... How was Jonathan supposed to explain he was gonna, most likely, kill Dio? Because as much as it hurt him... that was the only way.

"Alright, father."

He hasn't lied in a long time, not since he was younger when he would lie about the the fact he would sneakily eat chocolate while everyone was sleeping, only to come up with last minute excuses and lies when the servants would find melted chocolate crumbs on the floors.

He forgot how bitter it felt in his throat, to lie right through his teeth, and how painful the coil in his stomach was.

George seemed relieved, "Good, I know you will try your best, Jojo. Now, come!" With that he stood, smiling at Jonathan, the edges of his eyes crinkling, "You missed lunch unfortunately, but dinner should be ready soon."

Jonathan grinned, "Did I sleep for that long?"

"You did," George chuckled, "The current weather is hiding the sunset, I'm afraid. But that's not important, come along now!" 

His grin turned into a smile as he stood, "I must admit, I am rather famished."

"Is that not always the case?" George laughed, already heading outside.

It was then that Jonathan realized he didn't tell him to put his shoes on, or scolded him for being barefoot, or told him to wash up like he used to back when Dio still lived here, when he did everything better than Jonathan and outclassed him in every aspect possible, back when he had someone to be compared to constantly.

And Jonathan remembered, as his father laid in his arms, dying, the regret in his voice, the hushed apologies he whispered because the blood was crawling up his throat, for the way he treated him, for being so strict and harsh on him.

He... must be feeling guilty.

The thought made his chest hurt, but it's okay, they'll talk about it eventually, maybe even later, and he'll show him he has zero ill feelings towards him about it.

And as Jonathan followed his father, the contentment of his family being returned to him was almost enough to outwage the ache for the family he lost to time itself.

Almost.

-------------------------------------------

"Bloody hell, I can't believe I forgot all about that!" Speedwagon shouted in shock.

A few days had gone by in the blink of an eye since Jonathan was thrown back into his time. He had spent two days inside his home, spending valuable quality time with father and Danny, trying to make up for the lost time, he and his father had the talk about all the regret George felt and how he treated him and they pretty much ended up crying together. 

Fast forward to day three, he had located Speedwagon and Mr. Zeppeli, the three meeting up where he and Erina had first encountered the Hamon warrior, and before the two could even greet him, he immediately started asking if they remembered what had happened.

And of course they didn't, so Jonathan began to explain as best as he could, even showing them all the pictures that were once strewn in his satchel. Keyword being once, because yesterday he had rummaged through the attic and managed to find one of the empty photo albums that were reserved for specific occasions.

The one he took was white with gold lining on the edges and was meant to be used for future photos of his children and family, but, well, he wasn't gonna be alive long enough for that now was he?

So he sorted the photos into the plastic sleeves, including the few copies he had of the same ones, all the while trying not to cry, and later used a pen and ink to write "Beloved Memories" on the cover, with a star shape next to it.

That brought him to now, sitting on the lush grass with Speedwagon and Zeppeli, and a few confused shouting and headaches later, they finally remembered.

"I'm quite surprised we forgot about all this," Zeppeli gripping his chin, "Did you forget as well, Jojo?"

"I did," Jonathan nodded, hands gripping his pant leg slightly, "I had woken up outside with no recollection of it, until I saw the photos in my satchel."

"Good thing those were taken, otherwise we woulda' been left in the dark," Speedwagon said, "But I gotta say, I'm most surprised at the fact sir Joestar is alive!"

"As was I," Jonathan sighed, "And with Danny as well, I have no idea how they're alive. You two haven't forgotten about Dio, right? That he killed father and turned into a vampire?"

When they shook their heads, he continued, "Well, father forgot. His memory seems to cut off just moments after Dio was shot, he believes he simply escaped. Danny died years ago, and yet father seems to not remember that, it's as if Danny has been alive all these years."

Zeppeli frowned, "That's very strange, especially the fact he doesn't remember neither his death, Dio turning into a vampire, or Danny's death."

"I don't know how it is possible, honestly, but," He couldn't help but smile, "I cannot deny I'm extremely happy about it!"

"I'm happy for you, Mr. Joestar!" Speedwagon slapped his shoulder, his voice as boisterous as always, "And I assume we're gonna continue our plan to find Dio?"

Jonathan nodded, "Yes. He is still out there, we have to find him like we intended to originally before the anomalies ocurred."

"We were just arriving to Wind Knight's Lot, correct?" Zeppeli hummed, brows furrowed, "It took us almost a week to get there, but I realized something when Jojo made us remember... the dates don't match."

"The dates?" Speedwagon blinked, "What do you mean, Baron?"

"Well, I realized the date in which we departed last time, isn't the current date. Today is precisely one week before the date we decided to depart for Wind Knight's Lot," He looked at Jonthan sharply, "If I'm correct, today is just two or three days after the mansion indicent."

His breath hitched, "R-Really? We got sent back two weeks ago?!"

"If I'm not mistaken, yes."

"Christ," Speedwagon muttered, a hand coming up to rub his temples, "I'll be cursing Dio 'till the day I die..."

Jonathan doesn't curse, but that statement was extremely relateable in his opinion, "So what do we do, then? Should we head out now or wait or-"

And then, he felt it.

He paused, his brows furrowing at the strange sensation that suddenly started crawling all over his skin.

Huh?

"Jojo? What's wrong?" Zeppeli and Speedwagon looked at him in concern.

"I-I do not know..." Jonathan looked around at the field out of instinct, "I feel a strange sensation all of a sudden..."

Something.

He had to find something.

Why was his gut instinct screaming at him that he had to find something- find what exactly?

He stood suddenly, his oceanic eyes eyes scanning the field intently, missing the way his companions shared a nervous glance.

His feet started moving in no particular direction, head twisting around to look at the grass, the trees, the sky and water and fences and just anything that might catch his eyes because what was he even looking for-?

Oh.

No way...

He almost fainted when he saw it nestled among the blades of grass, glowing dully, the resonating sound wavering slightly as the wind blew by-

Jonathan fell back in shock, not a single sound escaping his lips, even if his jaw moved up and down.

"Jojo?!" Zeppeli and Speedwagon rushed to him, "What is it-"

And then they saw it, the item a mere distance away from Jonathan, and they almost fell back with him, "H-How is that possible?! A corpse part?!" Speedwagon yelled.

"I-I- What?!" Jonathan stuttered, scrambling to his feet next to his two companions, "How is there a corpse part here?! Dio had absorbed them all- where did it even come from?!"

"Calm down!" Zeppeli scolded, despite the small drops of sweat forming on his forehead, "Nothing will come out of us yelling or loosing our composure, let's just sit, relax, and think calmly!" He then sat on the grass.

Jonathan and Speedwagon stopped panicking at once, and following his lead, sat down as well, "Good. Now, Jojo, what were you saying about Dio?"

The Joestar took a breath, "Well, I was not there when it happened, but when he... took their souls, I believe he took their corpse parts."

"Did he take your part too? And Jotaro's?" Speedwagon asked.

He blinked, "Ah... no, actually. I don't remember that he did..."

"Mhm..." Zeppeli rubbed his chin in thought, "Could this be your part, perhaps?"

Jonathan's brows furrowed, "But how did it even stay with me? The holy corpse parts originated from Johnny's universe, they never existed here, so I would have assumed they all went back to his world."

"Was it with when you woke up?" Speedwagon asked, eyes glancing back nervously to the part.

"No, I am sure it wasn't!"

Zeppeli looked around briefly, "Is this where you first found the holy corpse?"

"No," Jonathan shook his head, "We found it when we reached Wind Knight's Lot."

The corpse part resonated again, making the three look at it wearily, "You lot don't think that... this means Dio's alive, right...?"

Speedwagon's question made Jonathan stiffen up.

Is... Is that what it meant? Was this why they were thrown back earlier than when they left? Had it somehow 'reset' and they had to go through the same hell again?

"Perhaps you should take it, Jojo."

Jonathan snapped his head towards Zeppeli, "H-Huh?!"

The Hamon warrior looked back at him calmly, "There's a reason this is here, even if we do not know what that reason is. Even if you don't know what lies ahead, you must move forward, put your fears at ease, and fight!"

The words made Jonathan's eyes widen, but a sense of justice flowed through him instantly. Mr. Zeppeli always had that effect on him, his words made Jonathan want to get up and fight even if he was beaten and torn.

"He's right, Mr. Joestar!" Speedwagon said next, "Whatever happens, we'll be right here with you!"

"Mr. Zeppeli... Speedwagon..." Jonathan smiled, brows furrowed as sudden determination overtook him, "Alright!"

At once, all three stood, and Jonathan nodded at them before facing the corpse part. He suddenly felt his palms get sweaty as he clenched his fists.

He was nervous, rightfully so, numerous possibilities floating around his head. What if Speedwagon was right? What if, somehow, Dio was alive again? Or what if someone got their hands on the Holy Corpse like Dio did? But they were right, whatever happened, they could take it on!

So, with a deep inhale, Jonathan's trembling hand rose at the same time his feet moved, and slowly, heart pounding and mind racing, his fingers soon enclosed around the part. Just like the first time, a zap of energy surged through his arm, but otherwise, nothing else happened as he carefully brought his arm back.

"Is something supposed to happen?" Zeppeli asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I think a rift had appeared when we found it?" Speedwagon answered, lips pulled into a frown, "I know for sure it brought us to the Joestar mansion."

Jonathan's head twisted around, eyes scanning the field, when- "Oh! Is that not it?" He suddenly pointed to a spot near the river's edge, where, indeed, a bright light could be seen.

The three immediately rushed to the spot, and as they got closer, Speedwagon rose a brow, "It's... in the water?"

He was right. From a distance, it appeared to be on the edge of the river, but upon closer inspection, the light appeared to the floating just above the water surface near the edge.

"What now?" The former thug asked.

"I... guess we go through?" Jonathan said uncertainly, his anxiety was spiking at the thought of leaving father, Erina, Danny, his home, behind, "Mr. Zeppeli and I can carry you over the water, and we'll cross through-"

"No."

Jonathan's head turned to Zeppeli abruptly, "H-Huh?"

The Hamon master looked at him calmly, "It's clear you should be the only one to cross, Jojo. I can tell you're afraid of leaving your father and Erina behind, and I agree your fear is very rational, your home may be attacked again, same with your beloved. I believed earlier it was best for all of us to stick together, however, I'm convinced you must cross alone."

"M-Mr. Zeppeli..." The Joestar's brows furrowed, thinking. He had a point, something could easily happen here, and nobody would be able to stop it since them three would be, well, wherever this rift took them, or worse, Dio could come back and hurt father, or Erina.

Suddenly, Speedwagon slapped him on the shoulder, "C'mon Mr. Joestar, don't worry about us! We'll make sure to keep your home safe and miss Erina safe."

"But... what of our trip to Wind Knight's Lot? We still have to defeat our world's Dio!"

"That can wait," Zeppeli said, "Remember, we're two weeks behind compared to before we found the corpse part, we're due to go to Wind Knight's Lot in exactly a week. Therefore, you have time to go through the rift and investigate why it's here again. Perhaps this is why we got sent back at a different date."

Jonathan gasped, "R-Really? That's why? But..."

"It's alright, Mr. Joestar! You can do this, we'll hold down the fort here, trust us!" Speedwagon yelled cheerfully.

"I..." Jonathan stared at the rift, mulling over their words. They were right, it appeared he had more than enough time to investigate the rift, and he wouldn't have to worry about the situation here, it'd be fine with Zeppeli and Speedwagon staying behind. So, despite the anxious feeling of travelling alone, he nodded, "A-Alright, hopefully I will return soon!"

Giving them a slightly wobbly smile, they bid their goodbyes briefly before Jonathan turned to the river. Focusing Hamon onto his feet to cross the surface was easy, but the trek to the rift was nerve wracking.

No matter how much he tried to figure out why this was happening, again, he kept coming back to the possibility of alternative world Dio being alive, the thought frustrated him incredibly.

Soon enough, he was in front of the rift. It really looked like it was submerged in the water, despite it's rays shining over the liquid. The Holy Corpse pulsed in his hand, making him nod to himself, "Alright... here we go again!"

Steeling his nerves, he surged forward, the light quickly enveloping his form. This time, he could feel the water rippling around him, curling around his body, and then, he disappeared.

-------------------------------------------

"Woah!" Jonathan could only brace his hands forward to break his fall as he landed on his knees harshly, "Ouch..." 

He looked at the grass below him for a few seconds before raising his head, taking in the new sight in front of him.

... Ah? Where was this?

It was night time apparently, he could tell that much due to how dark it was, but he was able to make out a small body of water, a bridge, and... a house? Building? It seemed like a house for sure, it looked really long and wide, but it didn't have additional floors it above it.

He looked around, noticing trees and flowers decorated the area, was this yard? 

Humming in thought, Jonathan stood. He decided to place the corpse part in his satchel like before, and after looking around once more, called out, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

The only answer he got was the lapping sounds of the water and the breeze swaying by. Honestly, the silence made him more nervous, he still felt like a swarm of zombies or Dio himself would jump out at him from nowhere.

Preparing himself for the worst, he raised his fists, Hamon barely cackling along the surface of his skin. Focusing on his surroundings, he cautiously began to move forward, straining his ears for the slightest of sounds.

It wasn't long before he was crossing the bridge, stopping momentarily to examine the water below. His eyes widened when he spotted several colorful fish swimming around, the sight making him grin slightly.

But suddenly, he heard footsteps in the distance, making him raise his fists again. He had no idea who was here, but he had to be extremely careful.

He kept walking forward, eyes squinting as the darkness seemed to get even darker. It must have been a cloudy night, because he couldn't see any moonlight at all.

And then, out of nowhere, he could make out a fist flying straight at him. Yelping in shock, he lunged back before it managed to hit him, but then another surged forward. Quickly, he raised his hand and caught it, blocking with his free arm when the other hand flew at him, "H-Hey! Hold on!"

Abruptly, it stopped.

Jonathan stepped back warily, trying to make out his attacker. He could tell they were tall and well built like him, did he accidentally land in someone's property?

But then, a few streaks of moonlight shone through the cloudy sky, landing right above the person a few feet away from him, and when Jonathan saw their face, his jaw fell.

Right there, clad in nothing but black pants and a white shirt, looking just as shocked as he was at the moment, was...

"Jo... Jotaro... ?"

...

"... Gramps, is that... you?"

Was he dreaming again?

His fists dropped immediately, his mouth opening and closing as his mind raced. Did... Did the Holy Corpse actually take him to Jotaro's time?!

He couldn't hold himself back, not when his heart was screaming with joy, and most importantly, relief, at the fact Jotaro remembered him.

Without warning, he ran forward, tackling Jotaro in a hug, "Jotaro!"

Jotaro flinched in surprise, the impact almost making him fall, but he soon returned the embrace, muttering a small, "No fucking way..."

After a few seconds, Jonathan pulled back, grasping Jotaro's shoulders, "I-I can't believe it! I am so happy to see you!"

"Me too, but how the hell are you here?" Jotaro's usually stoic voice was wavering slightly, "I thought... I thought I'd never see you again after the fight."

He grinned sadly, "So did I. But uh, I actually found this earlier..." He slipped a hand inside his bag and pulled the corpse part out, chuckling nervously when Jotaro's stare hardened, "I have no idea why it appeared, or that it would lead me here."

"..." Jotaro could only stare at the part, his eye dangerously close to twitching, "Yare yare... don't tell me Dio is somehow fucking alive?"

"I hope not..." Jonathan sighed as he placed it back, "I mean, my time's Dio probably is, but I do not think the Dio we fought is. But I really don't know why this re-appeared in my time."

Jotaro sighed, "As long as he's dead and gone, I don't care. But I gotta admit, I'm glad to see you again." His lips quirked up slightly, making Jonathan smile back.

"As am I! I truly missed you and the others a lot." He then looked around curiously, "Is this your home?"

Jotaro nodded, "Yeah. Sorry I attacked you, Hol- my mom, heard a noise and thought there was an intruder or some shit."

"Oh, my apologies!" Jonathan laughed apologetically, "I did not mean to scare anyone... I was truly confused as to where I landed."

"Yeah, I didn't get the chance to bring you back here..." Jotaro frowned subtly at that, but then he looked up, his aqua eyes swirling with an emotion Jonathan couldn't quite name, "Did you forget about what happened?"

Jonathan stiffened up slightly, "Yes..." His eyebrows scrunched up together, "Truth be told, I forgot everything that happened. But then I found all the photos Giorno had given me, and I remembered."

Jotaro stared at him for a second before nodding, "I figured you did. Gramps forgot too, so I imagine the same goes for my friends. I don't know why I didn't either, but..."

He looked at Jonathan, grinning very slightly, "I'm glad I didn't."

Jonathan smiled back, "I'm quite glas as well. But are you alright? No injuries?" He briefly looked over his descendant, relieved to see he looked fine, and with a chuckle he said, "It is very weird to see you without your hat, or your black clothes."

Jotaro huffed, a sound that almost seemed like a laugh, "Yeah yeah. C'mon, let's go inside."

Jotaro was already turning and walking away, making Jonathan hurry after him, "A-Ah wait, Jotaro! Will your mother not be scared if she sees a stranger in her home?"

"She probably will, yeah," Jotaro agreed casually, hands going into his pant pockets, "But I can't just leave you out here, so I'll explain who you are. She knows about you, from Joseph, so it'll be fine. Plus, I gotta call the old man now so she might as well know."

Jonathan nodded, "Alright... I hope I do not frighten her too terribly."

"So do I."

-------------------------------------------

As he was taking off his boots per Jotaro's request, he heard a shriek.

He whirled around, alarmed, only to find a woman a few feet away.

"Calm down Holy!" Jotaro yelled, cringing at how loud her screaming was, "Damn it, shut up!"

"Jotaro!" Jonathan gasped, realizing who the woman was, "Do not speak to your mother like that!"

"How else do you want her to shut up?!"

"J-Jotaro, who is that?!" Holy asked nervously.

Jonathan smiled warmly at her, "Hello there. I did not mean to scare you, my name is Jonathan Joestar!"

Her posture immediately changed, "Jonathan... Joestar?" She gasped slightly, moving towards him quickly, "The Jonathan Joestar?! My papa has told me so much about you!"

"R-Really?" Jonathan looked at her better now that she was closer- aquamarine eyes, blonde hair, pale skin, he could definitely see some of Joseph in her, "I hope they were all good things!"

"They were!" She nodded, entwinning her hands together, "He would tell me so many heroic stories about you when I was younger! He would always talk about how strong and amazing you were!" She then paused, gasping, "Oh, I haven't introduced myself! Nice to meet you, I'm Holy!" She gave a polite bow.

Jonathan smiled gently, giving a somewhat awkward bow in return, "Thank you, you're too kind. It is very nice to meet you! Jotaro told me about you, that you are my great granddaughter. It makes me really happy to be able to meet you. And ah, I apologize for scaring you." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh no no, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have yelled without asking first. It's been so long since I've seen a photo of you, I truly forgot what you looked like, grandpa!"

Warmth rushed through his heart at the name, making him smile even wider, but then Holy asked, "But... how are you here right now? You were born so long ago, and what papa said happened to you..."

Her tone turned somber and confused, which made Jonathan frown. She must be talking about the fact Dio stole his body...

"It's a long story," Jotaro supplied, running a hand through his hair, "But he's fine, okay? And he needs to stay here for a while, it's important."

Holy actually brightened up at that, "Oh, of course! I don't understand how you're here right now, but I'd love to have you stay for a while! Would you like some tea? Are you hungry?"

"I'm alright, do not worry!" He then looked around curiously, taking in the low table, cushions, floors, and sliding doors, "Your home is really different to mine, it's quite intriguing."

Holy giggled, "Thank you! Jotaro, show him around, okay? I'll go prepare a bed for him!"

"W-Wait, I really do not mean to be a bother-"

"Nonsense!" Holy waved him off, "You're my great grandpa! This is the least I could do, so please don't worry!"

And before he could argue further, she excitedly turned and hurried off, making Jonathan laugh, "She is very sweet."

Jotaro grumbled, "C'mon, I'll show you around a bit, but I need to go call gramps."

"Is Joseph not here with you?" Jonathan asked as they began walking away, taking in Jotaro's home with curiosity. The sliding doors were perhaps the strangest part, he had to admit he wasn't used to having such an open home like this.

"No, he went back to America yesterday," Jotaro said, walking down the wooden hallway quickly, "But I'm sure once he hears this he'll come right back."

Jotaro then stopped in one of the rooms, sliding the door swiftly and stepping inside, "I should warn you right now, Holy is gonna do everything in her power to make you feel welcomed," He went to some shelves, squatting down as he looked for something in specific, "So don't blame me if you somehow end up in a yukata or eating a bunch of rice."

"Yu... kata?" Jonathan followed him in, once again looking around the small room curiously, "Oh but, how are you going to contact Joseph if he is on another country? A telegram would take far too long wouldn't it?"

Jotaro paused his search, turning to Jonathan with a raised brow, before realization hit him and he shook his head, "Phone call."

He turned back to continue searching, answering before Jonathan could even ask, "It's a way to communicate using a device."

Jonathan's mouth formed a small 'o' in amazement, "That's very interesting! You truly have amazing inventions."

Jotaro chuckled, picking up the phone and marking Joseph's home number, "How long will you be here for, gramps?" He asked as it began to ring. 

"I... really do not know," Jonathan palmed his neck in a nervous gesture, "The rift disappeared completely, so I assume until a new one appears? Honestly, I truly was expecting to come face to face with Dio or something..."

Jotaro would've answered, but then a gruff voice picked up the phone, "Hello, Joseph Joestar speaking."

"Gramps, it's me."

"Jotaro! Aw, miss your dear grandpa already eh?" Joseph's voice could be heard on the thing Jotaro was holding, making Jonathan's eyes widen enormously, he couldn't believe such an amazing device existed!

Jotaro rolled his eyes, and Jonathan shook his head fondly with a small smile at the scene, "Yeah sure. Listen, I need you to get back here, asap." 

"What?! Are you insane?!" Joseph yelled, making Jotaro cringe and pull the phone back away from his ear, "I barely got back to New York hours ago, why the hell-" He gasped, "Oh no, no no, don't tell me something happened to my baby Holy again?!"

"Calm down, old man! She's fine, it's something else."

"Something else? What the hell could be so important besides Holy that you need me to fly back to Japan?"

Jotaro glanced at Jonathan, "Here, find out for yourself." 

He then passed the phone to Jonathan, who took it confusedly, "Um, what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Just talk to it."

Jonathan could hear Joseph yelling on the other end, so taking a deep breath, he imitated Jotaro and brought the phone to the side of his head, "Joseph, hello!"

Joseph's yelling ceased immediately, "Uh... who is this?"

"Um... Jonathan Joestar."

Jonathan heard him gasp so hard he choked, going into a coughing fit immediately, "J-Joseph, are you alright?!"

"W-What kind of sick joke is this?!" Oh, he sounded angry, "Who the fuck are you?! Where's Jotaro?!" 

Jonathan looked at Jotaro, panicking, and Jotaro sighed heavily before taking the phone back, "Joseph, use Hermit Purple on a camera. You'll see it's true."

"Jotaro, what-"

"Just fucking do it, gramps!" He yelled, making both Joseph and Jonathan yelp.

Joseph grumbled for a moment but shuffling could be heard nonetheless, and after a few minutes, he muttered, "Okay, here we go..."

Something breaking could be heard, along with an electrifying sound, "Jotaro, I swear if this is some sort of prank-"

Jotaro was getting irritated, "Gramps, please just fucking wait for the goddamn photo."

A few minutes passed, and then Joseph spoke, "Alright, I got the photo, what did you-" He suddenly stopped mid sentence, breath hitching, before letting out a scream, making Jotaro facepalm. 

He started speaking incredibly fast, asking too many questions, and just all around freaking the fuck out, which made Jotaro snap, "Old man, calm the fuck down! Just get here as soon as you can, I'll explain everything when you do cause it's a really long story."

They exchanged a few more words before Jotaro hung up, sighing as his hand came to rub his temples, "I really didn't need a headache at fucking one in the morning."

Jonathan winced, "I'm truly sorry for all the trouble, I did not know it was so late. And um, is Joseph alright? I'm quite concerned for him!"

"Don't worry about it, and don't worry about him either, he's a drama queen but he'll be fine once he gets here."

Jotaro then turned to leave, motioning Jonathan to follow him, and he began to lead the way again, "And I've barely been sleeping anyhow, my mom's been on my case about it so you did me a favor."

Jonathan immediately looked at him in concern, "You haven't been sleeping properly? Are you alright?"

The teenager looked at him, eyes unreadable, before he looked forward again, "Been having nightmares, about Cairo and what happened."

His tone seemed curt and tense, it practically screamed that he didn't wanna talk about it, so all Jonathan could do was place a hand on Jotaro's shoulder, "I understand, the same occurred to me when father died. But just remember you are not alone, alright?"

Jotaro looked at him again, but his eyes showed... relief? This time, "Yeah... I know." He gave him a miniscule grin.

Jonathan smiled back before they continued, settling into a comfortable silence. Jonathan had to admit, the quiet atmosphere that surrounded Jotaro's home, accompanied by the occasional sound of the nocturnal animals and the nearby body of water, was really comforting. And he had to admit, while his home was a total opposite of his in every way possible, it was beautiful.

"Oh, Jotaro! Grandpa!" Holy suddenly appeared around a corner, holding some folded clothes in her hands, "I just finished up your sleeping mat! Here, you can use these to sleep!" 

Jonathan quickly waved his hands, "N-No, really, it is alright! I really don't wanna bother-"

"You're not!" She pushed the clothes towards him, "You're my great grandfather, and also my guest, you're no bother at all!" Holy's usually kind eyes had turned into pits of determination, making Jonathan realize this was a war he could not win.

He laughed, taking the clothes from her hands, "A-Alright, thank you."

Holy smiled, pleased, "You're welcome! I really wish I could talk to you more grandpa, but I'm still feeling a bit ill, so let's talk tomorrow, okay? Goodnight!" With that she leaned forward and kissed Jotaro's cheek (which made him grunt, but he didn't reject it) before doing the same with Jonathan. She then side stepped them, walking away until she disappeared around another corner. 

Jonathan blinked, touching his cheek, "I assume that's a normal thing to do in this time?" He asked as they resumed walking.

"You mean the kiss? Yeah. Why?"

"Back in my time, that is considered very improper if you aren't engaged or to marry the person." He then thought darkly, 'Not that that stopped Dio...'

Jotaro snorted, "Well, get used to it, my mom is really affectionate." 

Before long, they came to a stop, "Well, this is my room."

Jotaro stepped in first, and Jonathan followed soon. His room was surprisingly neat, it was colored a very subtle shade of green, the walls had a few scrolls up in a language he didn't understand. There was a low table with books on it, cushions, what Jonathan assumed was a closet on the other wall, and- huh?

Jonathan blinked, looking at what seemed like two bedsheets with pillows on the floor, and Jotaro let out a small laugh, "I'm gonna assume these are new for you."

"Y... Yes?"

His answer made Jotaro snort, "You probably have some kind of fancy beds back in your time, but these are our beds. I know they may not look comfortable, but they are."

Jonathan nodded, "I see! I've always wanted to travel to different countries to learn more about their cultures and such, so this is very exciting for me." He began to bounce excitedly at the prospect of being in Japan, a totally new and foreign place, "Can I...?

He trailed off, but Jotaro understood what he meant, letting out an amused laugh, "Go for it."

Jonathan felt like a little kid again (and no, he didn't mean when that Stand literally turned him into a child) as he kneeled before the mat, placing the folded clothes gently on the foot of the mat before he lowered himself down, burrowing into the pillow and gripping the bedsheets, "It's so fluffy! And soft!" For once, he didn't bother to maintain his mannerism, laughing as he got wrapped up in the blanket.

Jotaro rose a brow, but couldn't hold off his own laugh, "Right, well I'm gonna go get us some snacks or something, you can change while I'm gone."

Jonathan nodded, "I shall be here!"

Once Jotaro left, sliding the door closed behind him, Jonathan sat up, laughing still, "I swear, I am such a child sometimes..."

He sat there for a minute, just taking in the fact he was here, with Jotaro and Holy, soon Joseph, and he really hoped he could stay for a little while, but he also hoped he wasn't stuck here forever.

Shaking his head, he gingerly got up, making sure to tidy up the bedding, and then proceeded to grab the clothes. He smiled gently at the fact his great granddaughter seemed so nice and warm and kind, she reminded him of Erina, if he was being honest. Speaking of, he really hoped she was alright...

He quickly took off his purple shirt and gray pants, along with his belt and gloves, and folded them carefully. After setting them down, he picked up the first article of clothing, it seemed like a shirt, it's color being a dark shade of blue.

Jonathan was pleasantly surprised when it fitted him snugly, assuming it was Jotaro's, and silently thanked he and Jotaro had such a similar build. Then came the pants, they were a black color, just like the ones Jotaro sported, and he had to admit, they were incredibly soft as well, and fitted him nicely too.

He felt really strange, he's never worn clothes so... casual, like these before, but it was very interesting.

He then sat atop the mat carefully, looking around Jotaro's room once more. It really felt surreal, that he was here, and that Jotaro remembered him, and honestly, a very small part of him was afraid this wasn't real. After all, there were endless explanations as to how all this could be unreal, he could be dreaming, or hallucinating, or it was the work of  a Stand, or maybe he was dead.

Jonathan shuddered at the thought.

"Stop it..." He shook his head almost aggressively, as if trying to shake the very thought out of his head, "Everything is fine, at least for now, I know I will die eventually, but... there is still lots of time before that!" Nodding to himself, he spent the next few minutes tidying the bedding even more and putting his clothes into his satchel.

The door slid open, "Hey."

"Welcome back!" Jonathan grinned at Jotaro as the teenager stepped in, his hands carrying a few colorful packets and what looked like... cans? "What are those, Jotaro?"

"Food," Jotaro went to the small table, depositing the contents on it before he sat, "C'mon."

Jonathan quickly stood, trailing after him, "You did not have to! But I must say, I am excited."

"Of course you are," Jotaro suppressed a smile at Jonathan's behavior, choosing instead to place a zabuton on the other side of the table, "You can sit on that, usually you have to sit on your knees but I don't give a crap about that kind of thing."

Jonathan nodded, eyeing the cushion curiously, "Are these your chairs? I've noticed there's numerous of these around your home."

Awkwardly, Jonathan sat, knees folded under him despite what Jotaro said, "Yeah, you'll get used to it."

He then took one of the bags and opened it, "So, how were things back in your time?" He offered the bag to him, and Jonathan peeked inside, seeing a bunch of... thin circles?

"Well," He reached in carefully and grabbed one, pulling his hand back to twist it around curiously, "My father and Danny are alive!"

Jotaro's eyes widened, "Damn, really? That's great actually, was it because of what happened?"

"I believe so, truth be told I really do not understand how they are alive, especially Danny since he died years ago, but..." He smiled widely, eyes crinkling at the edges, "I am really happy about it!"

Jotaro actually smiled properly for the first time in days, "I'm happy for you, gramps. Oh, and you're supposed to eat that, by the way." He pointed at the chip still clutched between his fingers.

"Oh! Right, my bad," He chuckled, "But, what is this, exactly?"

"Potato chips," Jotaro brought a few  to his lips, "Barbecue flavor, try them."

"Potato... chips?" Carefully, he placed it in his mouth and chewed, eyes widening, "W-Woah, this flavor is somewhat intense! But, it's good!"

Jotaro snorted at his excitement, but just like before, it was really infectious, "I told you. But about your dad and dog, I think it really was because of Dio and shit." He looked to the side, cheek resting on an open palm, "My friends- you know, Kakyoin, Avdol, and the dog, Iggy? They died when we confronted my time's Dio, but when we were said goodbye on the passaway, and I got sent back, they were alive and in a hospital, being treated for the fight with Dio."

Jonathan gasped, "That's incredible! I am so glad they are alright, but hearing you say that, it definitely seems like what happened and the anomalies are responsible..."

Nodding, Jotaro reached for the other items, the cans, which Jonathan now noticed were very colorful, "Well, as long as they're not dead, I don't care how it happened," He offered one to Jonathan, "Want one? It's cherry flavored."

"Oh, thank you!" He took it carefully, twisting it around in the air, "What... is it exactly? Aside from a can."

"It's cola, basically what Joseph gave you in the turtle, but flavored," Jotaro explained, taking the can back for a moment to crack it open, "This is how you open it. I would have brought beer but I figured you wouldn't let me drink it." He let out a small laugh as he handed the can back.

Jonathan almost dropped the can, "B-Beer?! I think not, mister!"

"Point proven." Jotaro shook his head fondly, watching as Jonathan eyed the can with intrigue.

The Joestar laughed before closing one eye to peek into the can hole with the other, "I never thought I would be so interested in a can before." 

Then, holding it carefully with both hands, he brought it to his mouth, tilting it slowly, until he had a mouth full of cherry cola.

Jotaro really couldn't help but laugh again at the sight of Jonathan's puffed up cheeks full of cola. He then swallowed the drink, and after a moment, grinned, "It is... very bubbly and sweet! I quite like it!"

"Might as well make the most of your stay," Jotaro continued to eat the chips slowly, offering the bag to Jonathan occasionally, "I really can't figure out why you have a corpse part, though..."

Jonathan frowned at that, nodding, "Neither can I... Like I said, I thought perhaps Dio was back again, or a new enemy like him, but it has taken me to your time, and I have no idea when I'll be able to leave, the rift disappeared and I have not felt the part resonate since..."

A wave of anxiety hit him, at the thought he could be stuck here permanently. It's not like he wasn't absolutely thrilled right now, being here with his descendant, but his own friends, his home, they were back in his time, he only got father and Danny back, he couldn't just stay here forever and never seen them or Erina, Speedwagon, Mr. Zeppeli, again.

Jotaro noticed his sudden mood change, "Hey, it's gonna be fine. I'm sure it'll appear again eventually, fuck knows why it's gone though, that never happened before."

Jonathan shifted around before nodding, "Yes, I am sure you're right..." His brow furrowed for a moment, but then he looked up, smiling, "Besides, I cannot be upset about it, after all, you are here! I have missed you and the others terribly these past few days... I even arranged our photos into an album and ended up crying myself to sleep with it on the first night of my return..."

"That's..." Jotaro blinked, "Really depressing, but yeah, I get you..." He looked to the side, coughing a bit, "I uh... missed you too... don't tell anyone I said that."

Jonathan didn't mean to, really, but he couldn't help the laugh that escaped him, "S-Sorry, it is just really endearing hearing you say that."

Jotaro almost choked on his drink, "Endearing? Yare yare..." If he had his hat on right now, he'd be pulling it down to his fucking mouth, so instead, he just ate his chips a little bit faster.

The Joestar held back another laugh, choosing to take another sip of his drink, before realizing something, "Oh, Jotaro?" At the other's grunt, he continued, "You said earlier it was one in the morning, it is very late isn't it? You should try to rest."

"Can't..." Jotaro grumbled, eyes glued the outside view of his room, wondering just when he decided to trust Jonathan Joestar so damn much that he basically could tell him anything, "Nightmares, remember?"

"Yes, I remember you said that earlier... so what do you then, if you avoid sleep because of them?"

Jotaro shrugged, "I stay awake all night, then I pass out come morning, then Holy wakes me up a few hours later, repeat. It doesn't keep them away but it's better to get them for three or four hours instead of the entire night."

"Jotaro..." Jonathan frowned deeply in concern, "I... I am so sorry that you are going through this, do you... wish to talk about them?"

Jotaro looked at him. Like, really  looked at him.

How was he supposed to tell him all he saw was blood?

He already had dreams like these before, in between their journey to find Dio, he would see their enemies in his dreams, he'd see their blooded and bruised corpses, he'd be the one who did it of course, but he could handle those.

But when he was thrown back into his time, they became an absolute hell.

It wasn't just their enemies he saw anymore, he saw Kakyoin and Avdol and Polnareff and Iggy and Joseph and everyone he had met due to the anomalies, as in, his fucking family, dying left and right and dropping like flies.

And every night, it was something different.

Sometimes he'd see Kakyoin with a hole in his stomach, sometimes he'd see Avdol and Iggy's corpses, he'd see Joseph dying before his eyes.

Sometimes, he'd see Jonathan getting decapitated, he'd see Dio killing his mom, sometimes it'd be him killing Jolyne and his friends and family and allies, those were the worst.

How was he supposed to explain that to Jonathan?

"... Jotaro?" Jonathan furrowed a brow before he reached over, planting a hand on the teenager's shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts, "Are you alright?" 

'No, I'm literally fucked up and can't stop having nightmares and I keep seeing my dead friends everywhere and I keep seeing you without your head-'

"Yeah," He answered instead, "Yeah, sorry, got lost in thought."

Jonathan sat back, still concerned, "... Are you sure? Your hands are shaking..."

Jotaro looked at him in surprise, looking down at his hands a second later, surprised to see he was right, the hands around the can and bag were trembling slightly.

Damn it.

"It's... It's hard, gramps..." He suddenly deflated a bit, letting go of the bag, "I know I seem like an uncaring bastard with no fucking emotions but all of this has affected me so bad, I don't even know where to begin. The nightmares are the worst, cause I can pretend nothing happened during the day, I can pretend everything's normal and everything's fine, but I can't do that when I sleep, and I can't tell anyone about the new ones because nobody fucking remembers."

He paused, breath slightly altered, "I know for sure it's like their deaths never happened, like they lived all along and we all defeated Dio together, but that's not what happened, but why the hell am I the only one who remembers?! Why am I the only one who was to endure all this-"

He would've kept ranting, if it hadn't been for the sudden sound of a metal being crushed, and it was only when he felt the liquid spilling over his hand did Jotaro realize he had, quite literally, crushed the can in his grip, making him sigh and Jonathan yelp in surprise, "Fuck's sakes..."

Jotaro could only stare as Jonathan reached forward, carefully unclasping his hand from the crushed can, "I understand, Jotaro," He began, putting the can to the side, his hands then going back to grasp Jotaro's hand, "I had many nightmares as well, when Dio killed Danny, father, when he tried to kill me. I truly understand, and while there is nothing I can do about your nightmares..."

Softly, Hamon started to emerge out of his hands, cackling over Jotaro's, leaving the Stand user transfixed on the energy, only half aware it's purpose was to dry the liquid on his hand, "I must make you understand one thing... You are not alone, alright?"

His hand dried after a few seconds, but Jonathan remained his hold, and Jotaro was almost scared to look up at him, to find out what kind of expression awaited him.

"Jotaro," Jonathan called out, leaving Jotaro no choice but to look up, and, well, he kinda expected that, Jonathan looking at him with appreciation and worry swirling in his eyes, "Even if I cannot stay here forever, don't ever think you are alone. I'm with you, just as is your mother, Joseph, your friends. I know it is important for you to face your battles on your own, and perhaps you think how you feel is invalid, but it's not!"

He then let go, pulling back to smile widely, "Trust me, you are surrounded by people who understand how you feel, and even if they don't, they will still try to help you! Do not shoulder the burden alone, alright? But if you want to, that is alright too, just remember you have people who would do anything to help you! And even if the world is against you, they will be there for you, just like me."

If Jotaro was an emotional person, he would have probably cried, and honestly? He'd be lying if he didn't just get a sudden stinging behind his eyes that only lasted a second.

He was shocked, to say the least, his eyes were wide and his mouth had subtly fallen open, "Gramps... I..."

He didn't know what to say, words were never his strong suit. He wanted to tell him 'thank you', or a 'thanks' at least, but he was struggling to form words past the slight knot in his throat.

Jonathan tilted his head, grinning, "I know, you do not have to say anything. It really is late, but if you don't wanna sleep, we can jus talk about anything you'd like!"

Jotaro mulled it over, before nodding, "Okay."

And so they did, for a long while. Jonathan said and asked whatever came to his mind, and for once, Jotaro actually put it effort to keep up with a conversation, even if he didn't sound as enthusiastic as his ancestor.

And like Jonathan said, they talked about anything and everything they could, most of it coming from Jonathan as they shared the chip bag. They talked about Jonathan's home, England, and what it was like there, about their favorite colors, their favorite foods, music, sports, their families, (yes, Jonathan got slightly mad at the fact Jotaro's dad was almost always gone), Jotaro talked a bit about Japan and his school, which then led to Jonathan talking about how he was studying before all this happened.

"Archeologist, huh?" Jotaro nodded, "Yeah, I can see that happening."

Jonathan laughed, "So did I, until Dio turned into a vampire. But I try not to dwell on that too much. What about you, Jotaro? Is there anything you wish to study?"

Jotaro shrugged, "Kinda. I don't know if it'll happen, but Holy kept bugging me with thinking about a career a few months ago and I guess I gave it some thought..."

Jonathan inched forward, looking at him excitedly, which made Jotaro shake his head and laugh, "I haven't really told anyone but... I wanna study marine biology, if possible."

"Wow!" Jonathan gasped in surprise, looking even more excited than before, "That is an amazing choice, do you enjoy the ocean and it's creatures?"

He shrugged again, "Kinda, yeah. Joseph used to read me this book about sea creatures when I was a kid, I think that's where it started. I used to always look for sea stars or any other sea animals when my parents took me to the beach, and even if I don't do that anymore, I still like the ocean a lot, and I guess I do keep an eye out to see if any creatures are stranded on the sand... don't tell anyone that."

Jonathan laughed, "You keep saying that like I'm going to go shout to the world you like the ocean or that you missed me. But I think that is wonderful! I am very proud of you, I think you will succeeded beyond your expectations!"

"Which are low as hell."

Jonathan shook his head, "That is because you yourself are making them low. Do you really think you won't manage to pursue that goal?"

Jotaro tried not to freaking shrug for the third time, "I really don't know, it just seems unlikely, okay? Me, a marine biologist? A delinquent like me probably has a better chance to end up in jail again before that happened." 

"A-Again?" Jonathan really wanted to ask... he shook his head instead, "You're not a delinquent, stop saying that!"

Jotaro gave him a deadpan look, his face almost screaming "Really?", but then a yawn interrupted him, and it was only then did Jonathan realized the sky outside was getting lighter, "Jotaro, we really should try to sleep."

Jotaro followed his gaze, "You can sleep if you want, I'm gonna stay up.

"You need to rest too!"

"I don't want to."

"But you need to, Jotaro," Jonathan frowned, "You are exhausted, I can tell even if you try to hide it."

Jotaro didn't even try to act surprised, "So?"

"You cannot avoid sleep forever, sleep is vital for everyone, no matter how strong you are."

"Unless you're a vampire."

"Unless you're a vampire- Wait what?" Jonathan buried his face in his hands, "That is not the point..."

Jotaro almost laughed, "I'm right though."

"Well, yes, in a way..." He removed his hands, sighing, "I cannot force you, but please reconsider. I know how unpleasant it is, to have nightmares, but again, you can't avoid sleep forever, if you keep this up your health will deteriorate and it will only get much worse."

Jotaro had to stop himself from sighing.

This was Jonathan, he didn't do this to nag him, he genuinely cared and was worried about him.

"Fine..." He eventually grumbled, rolling his eyes at Jonathan's way too enthusiastic smile.

And so, they began to prepare for bed. Jotaro left momentarily to throw away the cans and bags, while Jonathan sat on the mat, placing his satchel right next to the pillow. He grinned to himself, happily, "I do hope I can stay here, for a while..."

He looked at  his satchel, picturing the Holy Corpse inside, "Mhm... I wonder if it could take me to the others' times as well...?"

The thought made hope bloom within his chest, it was definitely a possibility, right? If it brought him to Jotaro's time, maybe it could also take him to his other descendants time!

Jonathan began to daydream, endless scenarios of reuniting with them swirling around his head, only to be interrupted by Jotaro entering the room, "Are you even tired, gramps?"

Jonathan blinked up at him, "Well, it was daytime back in my time, but truth be told, I am a bit sleepy. Perhaps it's due to it being night here."

Jotaro rose a brow, "Are you seriously gonna force yourself to sleep?"

"It would not be right if I stayed awake while you tried to sleep," Jonathan nodded to himself, sure of his reasoning, "It will be alright, do not worry!"

A sigh, "Right, okay."

Jotaro went about the room, sliding the doors closed, turning the lamps off, before finally settling on the bed, "Who would have thought my first sleep over would be with my great great grandpa."

"I feel old every time you mention that," Jonathan laughed as he slipped beneath the bedding, "I don't even feel like a grandfather."

"And a dad, don't forget that one."

"And a father, yes," He smiled up at the ceiling, "It is amazing, though. I am forever grateful to have been able to meet you all, since I will not get the chance to do so in the future."

Jotaro's lips turned downwards into a frown, "But now you know, you can change it and kill Dio for real."

"Yes, I suppose you're right..." Jonathan trailed off, the feeling that he was forgetting something, however, was crawling up on him, but he pushed it down, "We should rest now, goodnight Jotaro! And if anything happens, I shall be here!"

Jotaro breathed in deeply, although subtly, so Jonathan didn't notice, "G'night, gramps."

He didn't want to admit it, but Jonathan was right, he was fucking exhausted, evident by the fact his eyelids were slipping down on their own and he just knew there were bags starting to form beneath his eyes.

After a few minutes of futile resistance, Jotaro's eyes closed fully, the sounds of the flowing water outside and Jonathan's breathing lulling him to sleep.

-------------------------------------------

Jotaro flinched awake, shooting up straight on the futon. Just like previous days, he woke up panting, sweating slightly, evidence he had a nightmare again, but... what exactly did he dream again?

He blinked, confused and in a daze. He always remembered what he dreamt, in graphic detail to be exact, but now he just... didn't?

He shook his head, wiping the small amount of sweat off his forehead, and looked next to him.  Jonathan was indeed there, laying on his stomach, the bedsheets all tangled up around his legs.

His mouth was hanging open, drool smeared on the pillow, and Jotaro couldn't help but snort amusedly at the scene. 

Twisting his head around, he looked at the clock, surprised to see it was almost... one?! Holy shit, was it really that late?!

And that... that was the longest he's slept in a while.

His brows furrowed, and after a few minutes of just sitting there, staring at his lap, he decided to stand up. Carefully, he slipped out of the room, making sure he didn't wake Jonathan up, and walked down the long hallway, knowing where exactly he would find Holy at this time of the day.

The feel of grass and dirt beneath his feet didn't bother him in the slightest as he walked onto Holy's garden, locating his mother quickly enough, "Holy."

Said woman, who was currently crouching in front of a blooming flower bed, jumped slightly, "Oh, Jotaro! You scared me," She stood and turned to him, decked in her favorite coveralls and sun hat, "Good morning!"

"It's noon," He corrected, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Holy pouted, "Aw c'mon, how could I when you were sleeping so soundly? You and grandpapa looked so adorable! And it looked like you were having a better sleep than you have these past days, I couldn't just wake you up."

She... had noticed?

"Hmph..." Jotaro sighed, "Okay, well I think I slept enough, I'm gonna go wake Jonathan up."

"Okay!" Holy patted the dirt off her knees and thighs before perking up, "I'll make you and grandpapa something to eat! Also, did you call papa or something? He called earlier and he seemed so panicked, he wanted to talk to you but I said you were sleeping, so he told me to tell you he'll be here in a few hours."

"I told him about Jonathan, that's all," He then turned and began to walk away, "Oh, and... thanks, mom."

Holy blinked, surprised, but Jotaro had already walked off before she could respond.

She then smiled, eyes crinkling softly at the edges, "You're welcome, my sweet boy..."

-------------------------------------------

"W-Woah, this all looks amazing!" Jonathan gaped at the display of food in front of him, awed. 

It had been an hour or so since Jotaro had woken him up, with him being extremely embarrassed at how he had woken up drooling and messy haired. He and Jotaro had then scoured around his room for a new pair of clothes before Jotaro led him to the bathroom for them to freshen up. Jotaro had to, more or less, explain to him why there were stools and why the bathtub was wooden, and Jotaro was surprised he even knew what the showerhead was.

After brushing their teeth (Jotaro giving him one of the toothbrushes Holy kept restocked for guests) and changing clothes, with Jotaro wearing a red shirt, black slacks, and his coat and hat, and Jonathan a long sleeved white button down shirt with black pants, Jotaro led them to the dining area, where Holy had already set up their "breakfast".

Holy giggled at his excitement, "It's really nothing! Just some rice, miso soup, natto, eggs, tofu, fried fish, just basic stuff really! I also made tea and coffee since I didn't know which one you would prefer, and there's also fruit on the side if you want some!"

Jonathan looked at her in amazement. Was she really trying to play off the stocked table of food in front of him as nothing?!

Jotaro however, was already sitting on a zabuton, "Gramps, come sit."

Jonathan shook his head, "R-Right! Thank you so much, Holy!"

Holy smiled brightly, "It's no problem! I'm gonna go prepare papa's room again, if you need anything just let me know." She then sauntered out of the room with a spring to her step, making Jonathan smile.

Carefully, he sat next to Jotaro, looking at all the dishes in wonder, "I must say, this is all very strange to me, I did not know you had rice or fish or soup for breakfast! It smells incredible, though."

"Yeah, sorry it's not what you're used to." Jotaro said as he began serving the food for Jonathan, dumping rice, natto, and soup in different bowls, and then doing the same for the fish, tofu and eggs on flat plates.

"It is alright, I truly do not mind! I'm actually quite curious as to how it all tastes," Jonathan watched Jotaro push the plates in front of him carefully, "Oh, thank you!"

"Mhm," Jotaro hummed in acknowledge before repeating the process for himself, "Tea or coffee?"

"Tea, please!" 

Jotaro served him his tea, proceeding to serve coffee for himself. After that was done, he reached for the pair of chopsticks Holy had left out for them, "Here." He held one pair out to Jonathan.

And Jonathan, naturally, just blinked at the item in Jotaro's hand, "Are those... wooden sticks?"

Jotaro almost facepalmed at the fact he actually thought Jonathan would know what the hell chopsticks were.

"We use these to eat, they're called chopsticks."

"... Huh?"

Jotaro could literally see question marks coming out of Jonathan's head, "Do... Do you stab them into the food and pick it up?"

"... No, gramps," Jotaro almost laughed at the idea, but instead he shifted the chopsticks between his fingers, grasping them properly for Jonathan to see, "You hold them like this and pick the food up," He demonstrated by plucking up a small ball of rice, "See?"

Jonathan stared at his chopsticks in utter amazement, "W-Wow! I did not have the slightest idea this is what you used for utensils! But... how do you eat the soup?"

"Spoons," Jotaro pointed at the wooden utensils in the center of the table, "They do exist here you know, along with forks and all that shit. We just use chopsticks primarily."

He held out the other pair of chopsticks, "Here, I'll show you how to use them."

Once Jonathan grabbed them, albeit a bit hesitantly, Jotaro put his pair down and maneuvered Jonathan's fingers to grasp them properly, which turned out to take an immense amount of trial and error, but eventually, he was holding them correctly. 

Jotaro eyed his wobbly fingers, "Okay, so now you move these two fingers, and don't grip it too hard cause they'll-"

Snap.

"... break."

Jonathan cringed, "Ah, I am so sorry! I did not know they were so... delicate."

"They're not," Jotaro muttered as he stood, walking to the kitchen, "You're just too strong."

Rummaging around for a minute, he found the fancy silverware Holy kept for Joseph's visits, since the old man always refused to so much as look at chopsticks. 

He returned to see Jonathan looking at the broken chopsticks with a large frown on his face and his eyebrows scrunched together, he almost looked like a kicked puppy.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Jotaro said as he sat back down, handing Jonathan the utensils, "I'm surprised you could even grab them properly on your first try, it takes foreigners ages to get that right so quick."

Jonathan smiled weakly, "Thank you... I feel awful for breaking them, I hope Holy can forgive me..."

Jotaro snorted, "Of course she will, now let's eat."

Nodding, the Joestar began to dig in, following Jotaro's lead and starting with the rice and fish. He scooped a big portion of rice with fish bits and then brought the fork to his mouth, and after a few seconds, his eyes widened, "Ish really goof!"

"I'm gonna assume you said it's good."

"Mhm!"

Jonathan tried to remember all the table manners that had been drilled into him for years- elbows off the table, posture straight, no talking with your mouth full- but it was a futile effort, everything was just too good, and somehow, he knew Jotaro wouldn't care if he had less than perfect table etiquette.

So, with his elbows on the table, posture hunched slightly, he picked up a bit from every plate, thoroughly enjoying how rich in flavor the food was and how different it tasted to what he was used to.

It wasn't long before they finished, Jonathan now sipping at his tea calmly, "This tastes incredible too! What flavor is it?"

"I think it's green tea? I dunno, I like beer more."

Jonathan almost choked, "I-I recall you mentioning beer yesterday, you really mustn't drink so much alcohol, Jotaro! Especially at your age."

"It's only sometimes," Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, "Besides, I bet you've drank wine for dinner your whole life."

... Jonathan wondered idly just where did his descendants gained the ability to do sassy remarks like that.

Luckily for him, Holy walked in just at that moment, "Oh good, you've finished!" Her cheerful voice announced, "How was it?"

Jonathan turned to her, smiling widely, "It was amazing! I have never had Japanese food before, but everything was simply delicious!"

Holy giggled, "Aw, you're too kind! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!"

"I truly did, but I may have broken one of your chopsticks... my apologies."

The blonde blinked at the broken sticks and laughed, "Don't worry about it! I have loads of those in the kitchen, it's really no trouble." She then began to move clean up, stacking the plates upon each other.

Jonathan quickly sat up and tried to help her, but Holy softly batted his hands away, "Don't even try, grandpa!"

"H-Huh?" Jonathan sat back, "I cannot let you clean all this up by yourself! Let me help-"

"Jotaro's gonna help me clean up, so don't even think about it! You just sit back and relax, alright?"

Jonathan looked at Jotaro, who was currently rolling his eyes, "Yeah, whatever."

"Alright..." The Joestar watched as the two tidied up, "Are you sure I really cannot help?"

"Nope!" Holy said as she handed Jotaro the stack of plates, "I refuse to let my dear grandpa work."

Jonathan pouted slightly, making Jotaro shake his head, "Yare yare... actually, why don't you go feed the koi while we clean up? That sounds like something you'd enjoy, honestly."

Jotaro walked to the kitchen just as Jonathan asked, "Koi...?"

Holy clapped her hands, "Oh, good idea! The koi are the fishes in the pond outside, they need to be fed a few times everyday so me and Jotaro usually take turns. You can feed them now though, if you'd like!"

The sight from yesterday popped into his mind, when he saw the fish swimming in the water, "Oh! I think I saw them yesterday. Well, I'd love to! How do I feed them?"

"With this," Jotaro came back, throwing something in Jonathan's direction, which the latter caught easily. He examined the item, which looked like a jar, with really small spheres inside, "It's koi food, just open it and drop some into the water where they are."

Jonathan nodded, "I shall do my best!"

Standing up, Jonathan then ventured outside, eyes quickly locating the flowing water. With a quick pace, he reached the bridge form yesterday, finding the large pond a few feet away from it. As he got closer, he could see the fish swimming around gently, and he gasped silently at how beautiful their colors looked in the daylight.

Grinning to himself, he crouched in front of the water, bring the jar up and twisting it open, "Alright, here we go!"

As carefully as he could, he tilted the container, dropping some of the food into the water. Almost immediately, the fish swam to the surface, splashing some water onto Jonathan, "Woah!" He laughed gleefully, dropping some more pellets, "What a colorful group of fish! I have never seen fish like these before."

He laughed at their eagerness, and just to be on the safe side, dropped a bit more of the food, "I hope that is enough, I have never had pet fish but I assume they cannot be overfed."

Closing the container, he set it aside and just focused on the fish, watching contently as they went back under the water and resumed swirling around. A gentle breeze picked up, making Jonathan close his eyes. Everything here was just so peaceful, he loved it.

"Jotaro?"

Jonathan jumped at the sudden voice, but then his eyes widened. He recognized that voice...

"Jo... seph?" He twisted his head, heart beat increasing at the sight behind him, "Joseph!"

Said Joestar gasped loudly when Jonathan stood and turned to him, and even from the small distance, Jonathan could make out how hard he froze up, how sweat was starting to form on his forehead, and how violently his body started shaking, "Joseph...? Are you alright-?"

"How?! How the actual hell are you here right now? What- No, how do you even know who I am?!" Joseph yelled, voice filled with endless emotion, "I-Is this the work of a Stand?! Cause what the fuck?! You- You died, you died decades ago, your body- it-" He cut himself with a frustrated yell, hands coming up to grip his hair.

Jonathan could feel his heart crack at the display, "Joseph... do you really not remember?"

Joseph didn't answer, instead asking, "W-Where's Jotaro?"

"Hey," Joseph whirled around to find Jotaro approaching with a worried Holy behind him, "We could hear your goddamn yelling from inside the house."

"Papa, are you alright?" Holy came up tp him, putting a comforting hand on his arm, "It's okay! I was super confused at the start too when grandpa showed up yesterday, but he's literally so sweet and nice! Just like you told me he was when I was a kid."

Joseph gawked at her, "G-Grandpa? You accepted this so easily?!"

"Of course!" Holy nodded cheerfully, "I don't understand how he's here right now, but I don't want to question it, I just wanna enjoy it. I've always wanted to meet grandpa Jonathan cause of all the stories you used to tell me, and I finally got the chance to do so, so shouldn't I enjoy it as much as I can and not waste my time asking questions?"

Joseph gaped at her, "Holy..."

Her words shot straight into Jonathan's chest, making him equally gape at her, stunned. Did he really... mean so much to them, to people who've never even met him before?

"Old man," Jotaro cut in, "C'mon, I'll explain everything. You too, Jonathan." With that, Jotaro turned and began walking, Joseph following while cursing under his breath. 

Jonathan jumped slightly, "R-Right!" He walked to Holy, handing her the koi food jar, "Excuse us, Holy!"

He then hurried after them, missing Holy's worried glance. 

Jonathan could tell Joseph was wary of him, and he couldn't blame the elder Joestar honestly, so he made sure to stay back by a few feet, glancing worriedly at Joseph a few times.

It wasn't long before Jotaro led them into a small room, with Jonathan settling next to Jotaro on the floor and Joseph in front of them, "Alright, explain, right now."

His tone was as emotional and doubtful as before, but despite that, Jonathan could see a sliver of hope in his aquamarine eyes.

Jotaro huffed, but nodded nonetheless, "Firstly, after defeating Dio, when we were in the airport with Polnareff, a man called Speedwagon encountered us, and Polnareff had come back saying something was wrong. It turned out our dead friends were alive somehow, cause even though you forgot, Kakyoin, Avdol, and Iggy all died when we were fighting Dio."

"What?!" Joseph shot back, screeching, "T-They didn't die, and Speedwagon? He-!"

"Shut up! Let me finish, fuck's sakes!"

Joseph yelped and Jonathan jumped slightly at his yell, "Jotaro, do not talk to your grandfather like that!"

Jotaro looked at him with an exasperated look, "It's either that or having him freak out. Anyhow, we met a Speedwagon from Jonathan's time, so a young Speedwagon. He explained to us that a thing called Holy Corpse appeared in his time and allowed him and Jonathan to travel between light rifts. He came to us for help since Jonathan told him to get allies to help stop whatever the hell was going on."

He paused, letting Joseph absorb that much, and when the Joestar didn't yell again, he continued, "After that we started using the corpse to travel between different times, and we met different people. We met Jonathan, your younger self, my future daughter, the list goes on. The point is, it turns out a Dio from an alternative timeline where he finished off the Joestar bloodline came to our time to do the same. So we teamed up with all these people, our ancestors and descendants and their allies and shit to stop him, during the process we met with gramps Jonathan and unsurprisingly, we got super close to him, he helped us out a lot, brought us closer even, cause even though we're all related, there was a lot of tension. So honestly gramps, I'm surprised you forgot about him so easily."

Joseph's mouth was hanging open, his eyes blown wide, and seconds passed in tense silence before he could finally form words, "W-What?! That's- No, that's insane! There's no way that happened, I don't remember any of it!"

"I know you don't, and I don't know why you and Polnareff forgot, but you did, and so did Jonathan and I'm sure everyone else involved forgot too. But damn it old man, at least try to remember! Fucking think!"

"I am thinking! The only thing that happened at the airport was us returning to Japan! Nothing else!"

"Think harder! Cause it happened!"

"There's no way it did!" Joseph's tone started to turn aggravated, frustration visible on his features, "Alternative timelines? Another Dio? Our ancestors and descendants? That sounds beyond impossible!"

"Then how do you explain him?!" Jotaro pointed at Jonathan.

Joseph flinched at that, "H-Hell if I know! I have no idea who that is, but there's no way that's my grandpa Jonathan! Grandpa Jonathan is-!" He suddenly sat back, curling in on himself slightly, lowering his head so his hat covered his eyes, "My grandpa Jonathan is dead, you better than anyone know this, Jotaro. So fucking stop, I don't know how this guy looks so much like him, but if this is a joke or the work of a Stand, it's not funny..."

Jotaro grit his teeth, "It's not a goddamn joke or whatever the fuck, it's really him!"

Jonathan watched the two go back and forth, his eyebrows furrowing. 'This is going nowhere... how can we get Joseph to remember? Think Jojo, think...'

'How odd, is this a painting? And who are these people?'

His eyes widened, of course! Why didn't he think of that sooner!

Quickly, he slid his satchel off, his actions going unnoticed by the other two, and opened it. He rummaged around for a minute as he opened the photo album, finding the specific photos after turning a few pages.

Hastily, he stood, making Jotaro and Joseph look at him, "Joseph," He began, "Please look at these, perhaps they will jog your memory."

He offered him the two photo slips, which Joseph eyed warily, "I truly wish to try and convince you that I really am your grandfather, and that you are my grandson, but I won't be able to do so until you remember!"

He thrusted his hand forward, and as uncertain and untrusting as Joseph looked, he carefully grabbed the photo slips, "What are they?"

"Just look at them, please?"

Joseph looked at him, his eyes suddenly unreadable, but tentatively he twisted them over, a gasp leaving his mouth immediately, "What..."

He brought them closer to his eyes, looking frantically between both photos, "What the hell?!"

But before Jonathan could try to explain, Joseph hissed, dropping the photos as his hands shot up to grasp his head, doubling over in pain.

"Joseph?!" Jonathan tried to go to him, but a hand grasped his arm, and he looked back to find Star Platinum behind him, "J-Jotaro?"

"I think he's remembering," The teenager explained calmly, but not even he could hide the slight tensing in his  voice, "Give it a minute."

Jonathan frowned and looked at Joseph again, wincing at his withering form, "It is alright Joseph! It will pass soon!"

After a few painful minutes, Joseph went rigid, making Jonathan approach him carefully. He kneeled next to him, "Joseph...? Are you alright?"

All Jonathan could do was let out a small 'Oof!' when Joseph suddenly tackled him into a bone crushing embrace, nearly sending both of them crashing to the floor, but Jonathan quickly returned the hug, smiling widely when Joseph yelled, "G-Grandpa!"

Jotaro snorted, "Oh, now you believe me?" But not even he could withhold a small grin at the sight.

"I can't believe I forgot what happened, I-I'm so sorry!" Joseph wailed, sounding like he was on the verge of tears, "But it's really you! Holy shit!"

Jonathan didn't even mind the cursing, for once, "Do not apologize, I admit that I also forgot, the important thing is that you remembered! It is so nice to see you again, Joseph."

Joseph gave him one last squeeze before pulling back, his smile ecstatic, "I'm so happy to see you again! Shit, I'm really sorry for the attitude earlier, I seriously thought you were a poser or something, how the hell could I have forgotten the whole Holy Corpse mess?!" He then looked at Jotaro, "And why didn't you tell me about it as soon as we got back?!"

Jotaro shrugged, "Thought it was better than having to tell you our friends actually died, that and I thought you would remember on your own eventually."

Joseph huffed, "Well, you're right, it was better not remembering they died, but they're alive now, so it doesn't matter! But that is odd, are they alive cause of the Holy Corpse?"

"I think so," Jotaro answered, "It affected Jonathan's time the same way."

"Yes." The Joestar nodded as he picked up the photos gently, "My father and Danny are alive, despite Danny dying years ago. I believe the event is responsible, I just do not know how it is possible."

Joseph's eyes bulged out of his sockets, "S-Seriously?! That's amazing, I'm so happy for you, grandpa!"

Jonathan smiled, "Thank you. I was very confused about it, but Jotaro is right, if they were brought back, as were your friends, then the event with Dio must be the cause, and I am sure it applies to everyone we met, the friends and companions they lost must also be back."

"And I doubt they'll remember they had even died, nobody except me remembered from the start."

"And just why the hell did only you remember?" Joseph asked, frowning.

"You ask like I'd know," Jotaro sighed, "I have no idea why."

Joseph gripped his chin, "Well, it really is strange, but whatever! Grandpa, how did you even get here?"

Jonathan stood fully and walked back to his satchel, "I found this while I was with Mr. Zeppeli and Speedwagon," He reached for it and dug around, pulling out the corpse part a second later, "It opened a rift and it somehow sent me to Jotaro's time."

Joseph paled at the corpse, "T-The hell? It just... appeared? In your time?" 

"Yes, I truly do not know why or how did it. Considering this is originally from Johnny's time, I would have thought the corpses went back to his time," Jonathan twisted the piece idly before he slipped in inside again, "I had actually thought Dio had somehow survived the fight and was behind this again."

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna get a headache," Joseph rubbed his temples, "But Dio didn't appear, right?"

"No, I haven't seen him at all, If i remember correctly, he didn't take my or Jotaro's corpse parts when we were fighting, so I assumed it could have been that."

"Except a part hasn't appeared here," Jotaro said, "So I don't know why it appeared only for Jonathan. But honestly, whatever."

"W-What do you mean whatever?!" The elder Joestar's tone rose, "If there's even a slight chance Dio's alive then we can't just 'whatever' it!"

Jotaro rolled his eyes, "You worry too much, gramps. Dio's dead and gone, if he were alive he would have tried attacking us the moment Jonathan came here. So just shut up and enjoy it while it lasts, cause he sure as hell can't stay here forever."

Joseph seemed to calm down at that, frowning in thought, "I suppose you're right... grandpa, how long will you be staying?"

"Ah, I have no idea, truthfully," Jonathan replied, "I suppose it will be when the next riff appears. The Dio form my time is still alive, so I cannot stay here for too long."

At the mention of Dio, Joseph made a face, "Ugh right, your time's Dio. Well, I know you'll kick his ass easily, grandpa!"

Jonathan chuckled, not even bothering to correct his language, "Thank you, Joseph. I really am so happy to see you, I missed you all dearly!"

Joseph smiled brightly, "I still cant believe I forgot everything, but I'm really happy to see you too!" His eyes then widened, "Oh right, that reminds me! I forgot to tell you but Polnareff called when I was leaving New York, he said Kakyoin, Iggy, and Avdol were discharged from the hospital yesterday. One thing led to another and I told them to grab a flight here!"

Jotaro's brows rose in surprise, "Seriously?"

At Joseph's nod, Jonathan smiled, "Oh, that's great! I cannot wait to see your friends again, are they alright?"

"Yeah, they're all better now, they just had to stay in the hospital for a while! Actually, I was planning of going to one of those firework festivals here with them, to reconnect and all that. And we can take grandpa!"

Jotaro grumbled as Jonathan gasped excitedly, "A firework festival?! I have never heard of such a thing, but it sounds exciting!"

"Holy told me about them once, when we got back a while ago I was talking to her about what we could do together and she suggested going to that festival thing, apparently a few are held per week. I thought it sounded fun so I asked her to get whatever we need ready before I left, I have to go ask if there's one today," Joseph turned to his grandson, "What do you think, Jotaro?"

Jotaro was gonna protest, cause no, a crowded place with deafening explosions and screaming children did not sound like fun, but with the way Jonathan and Joseph were looking at him with literal fucking stars in their eyes, he could only sigh, "I wish you would have told me sooner rather than keeping it a secret, but if the others want to, then fine."

Both Joestars perked up, looking at each other excitedly, "Awesome! Then c'mon, we have to get ready!" Joseph said.

"Get ready?" Jonathan tilted his head slightly, confused, "What must we do to get ready?"

Joseph gripped his chin, "Well, I'm pretty sure we have to wear one of them- uh, what were they called?"

"A yukata." Jotaro supplied.

"Right, that! I think Holy has them ready," Joseph clapped, "I can't believe I'm getting so excited over something in this damn country!"

Jotaro was really tempted to question his statement (something along the lines of "Your daughter and grandson live here, you don't get excited to see us?") but Jonathan beat him to it with a question of his own, "What is a yukata?"

"It's a type of kimono, a summer kimono to be precise." Jotaro answered.

"Oh," Jonathan nodded, and then, "... What is a kimono?"

Joseph burst out laughing, and Jotaro sighed, "You'll see soon, C'mon, let's get all this shit ready before I change my mind on your stupid idea."

"Hey! It's not stupid!"

"Yeah yeah."

Joseph kept bickering, all the while all Jonathan could do was grin at the sight.

Now if they only explained what a yukata was.

-------------------------------------------

"Is that... a yukata?"

It had been a while since the three Joestars had agreed on Joseph's plans. Joseph had gone to tell Holy that they had agreed, and she had set about gathering their clothes plus an extra one for Jonathan.

"Mhm!" Holy was in front of him, holding what appeared to be a robe, it was a solid dark blue color with a wide cloth hugging the center and long sleeves, "What do you think?"

Jonathan tilted his head, "It's certainly... interesting, I have never seen clothing like it before! It reminds me of a dress in a way, is it comfortable?"

Holy laughed, "I guess you could think of it like that, and yeah it is! I can help you put it on if you'd like!"

He quickly shook his head in embarrassment, "N-No, that's okay! I am sure I can figure it out... somehow."

The blonde nodded, "Okay! Then I'll just explain how to put it on."

And she did, going slowly through the steps, and Jonathan did his vest to memorize it all; put it on without the sash, wrap the right side to the left hip, then wrap the other side over to the right hip, see if they match at the bottom, tie the sash around the hips, with a bow, and move it to the back.

Yeah, that sounded super easy... totally.

"Alright, I think I can do it," He sounded extremely unsure, but he couldn't just not try, "Thank you, Holy."

Holy smiled, "Of course! Let me know if you need any help, I'll be right outside." She then handed him the yukata and left the room, sliding the door closed behind her.

Jonathan looked at the clothes in his hands, "I hope I can do this..."

Shaking his head, he laid the yukata on the table and stood, starting to take off his clothes. After a few minutes, clad in nothing but his underwear, Jonathan eyed the clothes for a second before lifting it, "Alright Jojo, you can do this!"

He first slid the sash off, laying it on the table, and noticed the kimono opened completely without it, "Oh I see, that's what holds it together..."

Slipping it on, he bunched the sleeves up to his elbows so they wouldn't get in the way, and remembered what Holy had said, "Right side first," He followed his own words, "Then the left... and now the sash-"

He reached for it blindly, focusing on holding the left side to his hip, and when he felt it within his grasp, he quickly brought it to his waist, "Right, now... how do I do it with one hand?"

It seemed difficult, but he wanted to try anyhow, yet in hindsight, he really should have thought twice. He fumbled with getting it around his hips, and when he did, he couldn't make a knot with one hand, and trying to hold the yukata side with an elbow while doing the knot resulted in the yukata opening regardless.

He kept trying for a good minute, but ultimately, he sighed and placed the sash down again. Making sure he was holding the yukata together properly, he shuffled to the door and slid it open, immediately seeing Holy nearby, looking lost in thought.

He was about to call her, but then he caught sight of what she was staring at.

It was them.

In the distance, Joseph and Jotaro were walking with people following behind him, but Jonathan immediately recognized them, along with the small dog on the white haired man's shoulder.

They really were alright, thank goodness...

Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief, watching the small group walk until they disappeared around a corner. He turned to Holy, and seeing as she was still staring forward, he frowned worriedly, "Holy?"

She snapped out of her stupor at the sound of his voice, turning to him with a grin, "Oh, hey grandpa! Did you manage to put it on just fine?"

"Ah no," He replied sheepishly, "I need help with the sash, if that's not too much trouble. But are you alright?"

She nodded, "Yes, I'm okay!" She glanced back to where the group had been walking, something he couldn't quite name flashing across her eyes, before she shook his head and smiled at him, "Let's go get that tied for you!"

-------------------------------------------

About half an hour later, Jonathan stood outside the room, watching the sun as it began to set. In the end, he decided to leave his satchel on for the sake of convenience.

Holy was right, it did fit comfortably, but Jonathan had never worn something like this before, his legs felt trapped even if there was more room towards the bottom, and he was scared he'd rip it if he tried stretching them too much.

Holy had expertly tied the sash around his hips, he was thankful it wasn't too tight, but still, he felt slightly constricted, how could they wear this without any trouble?!

He wiggled his toes, glancing down at the socks and sandals she had given him to put on, and before he could dwell on how strange they felt, a voice interrupted his thoughts, "Yo, grandpa!"

He turned to find Joseph walking up to him in a dull green yukata with light green intricate patterns on it and an extremely dark green sash. His was tied slightly loose, giving him the room to slide an arm inside the yukata, the end of his gloves peeking out, and Jonathan could see what looked like backpack straps over his shoulders"I know this has to be new for you, but you look great!"

"T-Thank you, you look quite good yourself!" Jonathan smiled, looking down at himself, "I do admit, I feel very strange. I have never really... worn anything without pants before."

Joseph laughed, "I felt the same when Holy first forced to wear one of these damn things, but you get used to it."

"I hope so..." Jonathan chuckled, "Oh, I saw your friends walking by earlier, are they alright?"

At that, Joseph smiled, "Yeah... they're fine, they're just processing it right now."

"Processing?" Jonathan thought for a moment, before he realized what he meant, "Oh, I see! You told them about what happened?"

The Joestar nodded as he leaned against the wall, gaze glued to the floor, "Yeah... I didn't want to, but Jotaro said they deserved to know, even if it meant them remembering they died. Plus, it'd be really hard explaining who you are without them knowing."

Jonathan could see the tensing in his shoulders and the pensive frown on his face, "Joseph, what's wrong?"

Joseph perked up, but he didn't raise his gaze, "I... keep thinking about it. When they died, I mean..."

He took a shuddering breath, "I wasn't there when Avdol and Iggy died, but I saw Kakyoin die. He was okay, fine and alive one minute, the next he was flying through the air with a hole in his stomach, and there was so much blood grandpa, I-" He grasped his hair and slid down the wall, his form shaking, "Goddamn it..."

Jonathan gasped in concern and quickly kneeled next to him, a hand shooting to grab his shoulder, "Joseph, it is alright! I know it must be hard, but please try to think positively, they are alive now, and I know you did everything you could to save your friends!"

The elder shook his head, "No, no no no, I could have done so much more than I did to save him..." He then looked up, his aquamarine eyes becoming lighter as the setting sun hit him directly, "It was like Caesar all over again..."

Jonathan felt his gut twist, but he asked quietly regardless, "What... happened to Caesar?"

Joseph fiddled with the sleeve ends, frowning deeply and his eyebrows scrunched together, "Um... years ago, when we had to deal with the Pillar Men, he-"

He took a deep breath, "He went to fight one of them on his own, and he... he died, I got there too late. He was crushed by this giant rock, it was shaped like a cross and everything, I never saw his body, but I could see the blood flowing out from under it..."

As subtly as he could, he wiped the small build of tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes and croaked out, "When Kakyoin died, it reminded me of when Caesar did, cause it was the same shit. I couldn't save them, grandpa..."

He was clearly struggling to hold himself from breaking down, but when Jonathan brought him in for a hug, he could only try to cry as quietly as he could. Jonathan was in shock, he would have never imagined a powerful Hamon warrior like Caesar would... "Joseph, I am so sorry, I cannot imagine how horrifying it must have been."

As gently as he could, he pulled back and stared directly into his eyes, "But listen to me, even if you vividly remember his death, Kakyoin and the others are alright! And please, don't blame yourself, not for Caesar's death, not for Kakyoin's, not for anybody's. And remember, if the event brought back your friends and my family, then it's more than likely Caesar is alive and well in Joseph's time! Well, er, young Joseph's time." 

Joseph sniffled, laughing, "Yeah, yeah I guess you're right, even if he isn't here, as long as he lives in my younger self's time, that's all that matters..." He smiled at Jonathan, "Thanks grandpa, I'm really happy you're here."

Jonathan reached up and ruffled his hair, smiling equally as wide, "As am I. I... I am sorry, I couldn't be there for you and Erina... but she did such an amazing job of raising you, Joseph."

Joseph shook his head, "Don't apologize grandpa! You're here now, we defeated Dio, set your body free, Holy's safe, and everyone's okay, so that's all that matters!"

Shifting to a happier mood, Joseph hoisted himself up, offering a hand to Jonathan, "C'mon, the others have to be ready by now!"

Jonathan took his hand, "Right! But ah, they won't be uncomfortable with me there will they?"

Joseph answered as he helped Jonathan up (he pretended not to hear the pop sound his back made), "Of course not! Hell, they're even excited to see you again, so c'mon!"

The Joestar began walking away excitedly, any evidence of the prior scene completely erased, and Jonathan could do nothing more than smile fondly and shuffle slightly awkwardly after him.

-------------------------------------------

The first thing he heard as they rounded a corner was Polnareff's voice, "There they are!"

Jonathan steeled his nerves, smiling brightly instead as the small group approached them, "Hello!"

Just like him, they were all decked in the same clothes. Kakyoin sported a dark red yukata with horizontal and vertical black stripes, creating a checkered effect, and a black sash. Avdol had a gold colored yukata with different orange patterns across the sleeve ends and bottom, and a dark orange sash, plus his gold accessories. Polnareff had a solid colored black one with an equally black sash that was very loosely tied, and Jotaro had a dark blue one like Jonathan himself, except his had what looked like wave patterns across it, and his hat was missing.

"Mr. Joestar, it's so great to see you again!" Kakyoin said with a smile, "Ah wait- Sorry, I meant Jonathan. I forgot what you said about the name thing."

Jonathan laughed, "It is quite alright, do not apologize. But yes, it is so nice to see you all too, I hope you've all been alright?"

"Yes," Avdol nodded, "We made a speedy recovery thankfully, we just found out about the Holy Corpse event as well."

Polnareff shook his head, "I seriously can't believe we forgot about it, and that you didn't say anything, Jotaro!"

Said teen rolled his eyes, "Shut up, we told you now didn't we?"

Kakyoin sighed, "We remembered everything, including what originally happened with our fight in Cairo..."

Jonathan could feel the air tense slightly, and he didn't miss the way Kakyoin's fingers ghosted over his stomach, "I am sorry you all had to remember such horrible things... but if I may say so, I am very relieved you are all alive and well, and I hope in time you can heal from those memories."

Jonathan knew he wasn't the best at cheering others up, but he was relieved when he saw them perk at his words, with Joseph smiling widely, "Kind as ever, grandpa!"

He chuckled, "I try, but yes in all seriousness I am truly happy you are all okay, and I am very excited to go to this firework festival that Joseph mentioned!"

"I'm so excited too!" Polnareff yelled, "I've never been to one before! But did we really have to wear these? They aren't exactly the most comfortable thing, ya know."

"I do admit, they do feel rather strange," Avdol agreed, looking down at himself, "But I'm used to wearing numerous layers so they don't bother me as much."

Joseph huffed, "I already explained to you guys that this is what they usually wear for these things! We could have worn our regular clothes too, but where's the fun in that?"

Kakyoin nodded, "Yes, I personally think it's much more fun wearing these to a festival, besides don't forget then Holy prepared them for us."

Jonathan suddenly felt something push against his ankles, and when he looked down in surprised, a laugh erupted from his lips, "Well, hello there!"

He immediately kneeled in front of Iggy, opening his arms, and the small dog jumped into them happily with a bark. Jonathan stood again, carefully holding Iggy with a smile, a hand automatically going to scratch him behind the ears, "I missed you as well, Iggy!"

"Honestly, I wanna be surprised that Iggy warmed up to you so fast, but I can't," Joseph said with a laugh, "I'd be more surprised if he was hostile towards you like he was with us."

"Oh god, don't remind me." Polnareff groaned, flashbacking vividly to all the times Iggy bit him.

Jonathan rose a brow, "Hostile? But he's such a nice puppy!"

Jotaro snorted, "To you, maybe. Don't even get me started when the little fuck tried to get me killed in the desert on purpose."

Iggy barked aggressively at him, and Jonathan blinked, about to ask how could such a small and cute creature do that, but then hurried footsteps and a voice interrupted him, "Sorry I took so long!"

Holy jogged up to them in a light pink yukata with light blue and white flowers spread around it and a red sash hugging he waist. Her hair was swept to the side in a bun, a flower pin placed delicately atop it, and she was holding a small drawstring bag of an equally light pink color.

All in all, she looked beautiful.

"You look amazing, Holy!" Jonathan smiled at her, and the others nodded in agreement.

Holy giggled, "Thank you, grandpa! Now c'mon, let's get going!"

"Right!" Joseph nodded in excitement, "I hope it's as amazing as you say!"

They began walking, with Jonathan asking, "Have any of you ever been to this fireworks festival?"

Kakyoin nodded, "Yes, I used to go often with my parents."

"Same, I haven't gone in ages, though." Jotaro continued.

"I've never gone to one," Polnareff said, "There's festivals in France of course, but I dunno what to expect from a Japanese one."

Holy and Joseph walked ahead of the group to open the gate, and Holy laughed, "Well, it's usually very crowded, and there's lots of booths with food and games. After a while, the fireworks show begins!"

Jonathan smiled, "Sounds fun! I did not know what to expect but truth be told, I was just very happy to be able to spend time with you all again."

"Awww, you're too nice, grandpa!'' Joseph waited for them to walk outside before closing the gates, "I'm so excited to hang out with you too!"

"Speaking of, how long will you stay here, Jonathan?" Avdol asked.

Jonathan pet Iggy as he thought, "Unfortunately, not long. I am sure Jotaro and Joseph already told you all how I got here," At their nod, he continued, "Right, well the rift disappeared and I do not know when it will come back, so I assume when it does is when I will leave... I truly wish I could stay, but the Dio form my time is still out there, I must stop him."

The air tensed at the mention of Dio, and Jonathan could feel they were thinking about the fact Dio steals his body and kills him, which brought an entire new wave of possibilities for him. If he knew he died, could he prevent it? If he did, would there be consequences? Would his descendants futures change, or would they not, because technically he was from a different time, he didn't come directly from the past to the future, or at least he assumed?

Before he could get to lost in thought, Holy spoke, "Hey, don't get so gloomy! We're supposed to enjoy the time we have now, right? There's no point in dwelling over something so serious right now, let's just enjoy ourselves after all that's happened!"

They perked up at her words, and Joseph nodded, "She's right, let's just have fun like how we did on our journey, we can think about everything later!"

"Right, so c'mon, let's get going!" With that, Holy began walking down the sidewalk, the others hurrying after her.

Polnareff asked, "Are we gonna take a taxi or are we gonna walk?"

"Walk! It'd be too troublesome trying to hail down two taxis for all of us to fit in, and besides, it's not too far away from here." Holy answered cheerfully.

It wasn't long before the group forgot the earlier conversation, falling instead into casual conversation, and as Jonathan began to chat with Kakyoin about his past outings to firework festivals, he relished in the utter contentment that washed over him.

-------------------------------------------

"W-Woah! So this is a fireworks festival?"

"Yep!" Holy giggled at Jonathan's star struck expression. 

Jonathan took it all in. 

From their spot, he could see how incredibly bright everything was. Holy was right, it was extremely crowded, people of all ages laughing, talking, yelling, some wearing regular clothes, others colorful yukatas like them. What he assumed were the booths Holy mentioned could be seen stretched out for what felt like miles, all ranging in different colors with brought, round lights strung in between each and people gathered at each one.

Polnareff was practically bouncing, "C'mon, let's go!"

He tried to run off, but Joseph quickly gripped the back of his yukata before he could sprint, "Hang on a second, will ya! We have to stick together, otherwise, we'll get separated."

"And we should plan what to do," Avdol continued calmly, "We have to wait until the fireworks begin, correct?"

Holy nodded, "Yes, they'll begin in about two hours."

"Aw man, what are we supposed till then?" Polnareff whined.

Kakyoin chuckled, "Entertain ourselves, of course. All the booths you see have different things to do, like games for prizes and food, and I don't know about you but I could really go for some takoyaki."

"Tako... yaki?" Jonathan repeated in an asking tone.

"Fried octopus balls," Jotaro supplied, hand carding through his hair, "You'll see what it is later."

Polnareff groaned, "Seriously, Kakyoin? We can eat later, we have to go pay some of the games!"

"If these booths have candy, I'm definitely going for those first!" Joseph nodded to himself, "So I'm siding with Kakyoin here!"

"Oh c'mon!"

Jonathan blinked at the scene, all the while Jotaro muttered a curse under his breath, "Let's just split up into groups."

"Oh, that's a good idea!" Holy agreed, "Since me and Jotaro are the only ones with yen, we can split into two groups, one for the food stalls and one for the game stalls."

Avdol spoke, "How will we regroup?"

Joseph turned to the landscape, eyes squinting, "Uhhhh, you see right at the bottom of that hill with the super tall tree?" He pointed at it for emphasis, "You can't miss it, we can regroup there, maybe after an hour?"

"Sounds good!" Holy looked at her watch, "We can find a spot to watch the fireworks from after regrouping. Okay, so who wants to go get food with Kakyoin and papa?"

Avdol waved a hand, "I'd like to eat first."

Polnareff silently mouthed 'traitor' as Holy turned to Jonathan, "What about you, grandpa?"

Jonathan mulled it over for a minute, before ultimately deciding, "I'm not particularly hungry, so I would definitely like to participate in these games you speak of!"

Polnareff pumped a fist in the air, "Hell yeah! See, Jonathan clearly has his priorities set out straight!"

The Joestar laughed, "I do hope they aren't too complicated, I have only played certain games at the carnival."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll do great!"

The two laughed, and Jotaro slightly, "Since I'm guessing you'll go eat with them," He said to Holy, "I'll go with these two."

The white haired man let out a victory shout, and Holy laughed, "You're right, I just can't resist the sweets they sell here!"

"What about you, Iggy?" Jonathan asked the puppy in his arms, "Do you wish to go with us or would you like to go eat?"

Iggy perked up at the question, and after a moment, he leaped from Jonathan's arms towards Joseph, to which the Joestar yelped and barely caught him, "Warn a guy next time!"

"Well, that settles that," Jotaro idly watched the people trickle past them towards the festival, "Let's go."

After bidding goodbye temporarily to Joseph and the others, Polnareff and Jonathan followed Jotaro closely, "Alright, take us to the games, Jotaro!"

Jotaro rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, you're way too excited for this."

"Actually, I think you aren't excited enough!" Polnareff shot back.

Jonathan laughed, "Are you not fond of these festivals, Jotaro?"

The teen shrugged, "Not really."

"I'm not even surprised," Polnareff snorted, "At least say you'll play some of the games with us."

Jotaro stopped in front of a booth, directly behind a couple who were partaking in it, and answered with a "Nope."

Polnareff groaned, "You're no fun."

Jonathan squinted up at the sign atop the stall, but seeing the familiar squibbles from the snack packets Jotaro had brought the previous night, he realized it was for naught trying to understand what it said.

As discreetly as he could, he tried to peer over the couple's shoulder, which was easy considering his height, and he was surprised to see what looked like fish swimming around in a container of water, "What kind of game is this?"

"It's a pretty popular one, you have to scoop up goldfish with like, a paper net thing, and if you manage to catch any you can keep them," Jotaro explained, "I figured Polnareff would like it."

"Sounds fun!" Polnareff moved in front of them, waiting for the pair in front of them to finish, "You think the fish will live through an airplane ride? Cause I'm definitely taking them with me to France."

"Assuming you can even nab some."

"Shut up!"

Jonathan was too busy watching the colorful fish to reprimand them.

After a few minutes, the couple left with a bag of fish, and after exchanging a few words with the booth dealer, Jotaro hands him the money and tells Polnareff to go crazy.

Jotaro and Jonathan stand to the side, watching Polnareff try to eagerly, yet carefully, scoop up the fish as they scurry through the water. "Do you wanna try it out after him, gramps?"

Jonathan shook his head with a laugh, "I can tell from just watching that I would be awful at it, I think the net would break almost instantly."

Jotaro crossed his arms, "I think you'd do good in the ring toss."

The Joestar perked up, "Oh, I have played that before! In the local carnivals I used to go to in the city. I used to win many prizes for Erina." At the thought of her, he couldn't stop a smile from forming on his face, he truly hope she was alright...

Before Jotaro could respond, they heard cursing, and upon looking at Polnareff, they realized his net broke. Jotaro smirked teasingly as he walked up to them with a single fish in a small bag, "Wow, you lasted a whole two minutes, congrats."

"Shut up! It's harder than it looks!"

Jonathan patted his shoulder, "At least you got one! You did better than I would have."

Polnareff sighed, "Thanks for the encouragement, why couldn't Jotaro have taken after you?"

Jotaro rolled his eyes, "You're the one who wanted to play games."

Once again they walked off, Jotaro leading, "You'll probably do better at the ring toss with gramps."

Jonathan grinned, "I am very excited to try that one out!"

"And you're gonna play with us this time, Jotaro."

The teen pointed to the fish, "Who's gonna hold it while you play, then?"

Polnareff scoffed, "It's literally one bag, I'm perfectly capable of holding it while tossing the ring."

"Please, Jotaro, it will be fun!" Jonathan said, although he couldn't try to pull off a puppy eye expression since he was too busy making sure he didn't bump into the numerous people passing by them.

Try as he might, he couldn't reject if Jonathan was the one asking, "Fine."

Jonathan and Polnareff cheered excitedly behind him, and Jotaro has to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes again, 'They're way too alike...'

After a few minutes they reached another booth, and yet again they stood behind a group of people who were currently doing the ring toss. 

Jonathan took the chance to say, "I'm impressed at how well you can navigate through this whole thing, Jotaro. I think I would have gotten lost ages ago."

Jotaro's lips quirked up, "Like I said, Holy used to drag me to these things a lot, I'm used to it."

"Still, it is impressive!" His moved up to ruffle Jotaro's hair, "I can imagine you feel strange without your hat, though."

"Extremely," Jotaro deadpanned, but not rejecting Jonathan's affection, "I tried to wear it but she wouldn't let me. And I think she knows about my possible career goal."

Jonathan retracted his hand, grinning at the strands that were now sticking up, and asked, "I think it's good she knows! But why do you think so?"

Jotaro immediately looked down at his yukata, then back up at Jonathan, "She got me a yukata with ocean waves, gramps."

Jonathan laughed, "She is discreetly supporting you! I think that is wonderful."

"Hey guys, we're up!" Polnareff cut in, already moving to stand in front of the stall.

Jotaro pulled out enough yen for two players, but then, remembering their earlier conversation, he sighed and pulled out enough for three.

After handing the old man in charge of the stall the money, he held his hands as he piled the rings on his palms, "It's easy enough, just aim at the prize you want. If the ring lands on it, it's yours."

He briefly counted the amount of rings, and proceeded to split them evenly between them, "Okay, three, two, one, go."

Jonathan scanned the rows of colorful prizes, and honestly he couldn't be too shocked when he realized he didn't recognize any of them.

"Hey, you're using Star Platinum!"

"And?"

"That's cheating!"

"No it's not."

"Yes it is!"

"Is not."

"Is!"

"Not."

"Argh!"

Jonathan laughed at their bickering before he let his shoulders relax and began tossing the rings at random prizes.

-------------------------------------------

"How much longer, Mr. Joestar?" Polnareff groaned, Iggy's added weight on his shoulder not helping him in the slightest, "We've been walking forever!"

"It's only been five minutes." Kakyoin said as he passed by the wheezing Stand user. 

"It's been longer than that and you know it!"

Joseph snorted, "We'll get there in a few minutes you big baby!"

Polnareff groaned again, but begrudgingly he stood straight and followed after them.

In the blink of an eye, the two hours had gone by in a flash. Jotaro, Jonathan, and Polnareff had spent the whole hour going from booth to booth, playing a bunch of games, and between Jotaro and Polnareff, they had won loads of prizes. 

It turned out that aside from the ring toss, in which he had won (Jotaro had to explain what the items were) a fan, a pinwheel, a small teddy bear, and candy, he wasn't that good at the other games.

True to their plan, they regrouped with Joseph and the others, and then they went to play more games. Jotaro had taken him to eat some of the food, and he had to say that takoyaki was amazing, and he really enjoyed all the sweets they sold.

Since the fireworks were due soon, Joseph told them he found a spot they could watch from, which ended up being up the hill where the tree was. So after stuffing everything they had won into Joseph's backpack, aside from Jonathan's own prizes which were currently in his satchel, they set off to walk the steep hill.

Jonathan's cheeks were already hurting due to how much he had smiled and laughed, but he really couldn't help it, especially with all the silly bickering.

He glanced to the side, eyeing the inside of the white fox mask placed delicately on the side of his head, and reached up to readjust it. Holy had spotted a rack full of masks with strange faces that one apparently could put on and wear, but he absolutely couldn't say no when she handed him one.

"Ah, we're almost there!" Joseph said enthusiastically, picking up his pace quickly.

"Fucking finally," Polnareff looked at the dog on his shoulder, "I am so not carrying you back down this goddamn mountain."

 Iggy only stuck his tongue out at him.

Finally, they reached their destination, which turned out to be a clearing at the very top of the hill, surrounded by lush trees, and a perfect view to the festival, sky, lake, and everything that surrounded the event, "What do you think? Was I was or was I right about the view?" Joseph boasted proudly.

"Woah..." Jonathan's eyes widened, taking in the view, "Everything looks beautiful from up here!"

"I know!" Joseph walked towards the edge and sat down on the dewy grass, "Our clothes might get a little dirty but it'll be worth it!"

The others followed his lead, sitting side by side, "How did you even find this spot, papa?"

"I figured there'd be something up here," he chuckled, "If firework shows back in America taught me anything, is that there's always a good spot to watch from at the top of the hills!"

Kakyoin laughed, "That's quite smart."

Avdol then spoke, "I must admit, this evening has been the most fun I have had in a long time."

"Agreed," Joseph let out a content sigh as he picked up Iggy from Polnareff's shoulder, "Now that we're all together again, we have to hang out more." He placed him on his lap, and after a moment of digging through his bag, he pulled out a pair of noise cancelling headphones and slipped them over Iggy's ears.

Jonathan really wanted to ask what that item was, but he decided not to interrupt the conversation.

Holy grinned, "You're all more than welcome to my home anytime!" She turned to Jonathan with an even bigger smile, "Same goes to you, grandpa, you should visit more often!"

The Joestar smiled, albeit a it strained, "I will try to much as I can!"

He could feel Jotaro looking at him, but then a deafening explosion halted the conversation, "It's starting!" Holy yelled excitedly. 

His eyes immediately focused on the sky, gasping silently at the colorful array of fireworks exploding across the sky. Each one seemed even bigger than the last, and he could faintly see that some of them exploded into shapes or created a certain pattern. It got to a point where the entire sky was full of the colorful sparks, as soon as one faded another quickly surged up to take it's place. 

He was awestruck.

Some of his companions were cheering and yelling in excitement, mainly Joseph and Polnareff, which prompted him to laugh and raise a hand to his mouth, yelling with them.

By the time it ended, his throat felt really sore, but he was beyond delighted. 

"That was awesome!" Polnareff yelled.

Avdol nodded, "It really was incredible, I'm glad it lasted such a long while."

"The best part is always the fireworks," Kakyoin dusted his yukata off, "I'm glad Mr. Joestar could find such a good spot to see them."

Holy turned to Jonathan, "Did you enjoy them, grandpa?"

Jonatan smiled widely, "Absolutely! It was magnificent!"

Joseph removed the headphones from Iggy's ears and stood, holding the dog carefully, "They weren't as good as the ones they do in America, but it was alright."

"Admit they were better than the ones over there, papa! You were even yelling and cheering!"

"Never!"

Avdol sighed, "I can't believe he still hates Japan."

Jotaro shook his head, "Yare yare, the eldest one is somehow the most immature one."

"I heard that!"

Kakyoin changed the subject, "Mr. Joestar, you brought a camera, right? It'd be great if we could take a photo."

Joseph immediately perked up, "Oh yeah, I did!" He quickly shuffled to his bag and squatted down, searching through the sea of game prizes, before he pulled out a brand new polaroid camera.

Star Platinum was already making a grab for it, "Since nobody else is around that we can ask, might as well just do it like this again."

Holy blinked at purple blob holding the camera mid air, "Jotaro? Is that the evil ghost spirit you were talking about a few weeks ago?"

"Yep."

Joseph chuckled, "Don't worry Holy, it's friendly."

After a few minutes of rearranging and moving, they quickly settled into their positions for the photo. Jotaro and Polnareff were sat in front of a standing Holy, Joseph, Jonathan, Kakyoin, and Avdol, precisely in that order, and Iggy was settled on Polnareff's lap. 

"Okay, everyone smile, or whatever." Jotaro said in an uncaring tone.

Jonathan shook his head fondly and smiled widely, setting a hand atop Jotaro's hair to ruffle it, knowing the action usually triggered a grin from the teen. Holy gripped Joseph's arm and did a wink with a smile, Joseph smirked and did a thumbs up, Kakyoin and Avdol grinned, Polnareff smiled and held Iggy up, paws in the air, and like Jonathan had thought, Jotaro couldn't hold back a grin.

Star Platinum quickly pressed down on the button, and after the flash subsided, floated back to Jotaro and gave him the camera. The others quickly gathered around the still sat Stand user as he rapidly waved the photo around to clear it up.

When it did, Jotaro held it up for them to see, "Not bad."

Jonathan grinned, "It looks wonderful!"

"We always take the best pictures," Polnareff nodded to himself, "We should make a photo album or something."

Joseph hummed, "That's not a bad idea, actually!"

A yawn escaped Kakyoin's lips, "Yes, but perhaps we should plan it out tomorrow, I just realized how exhausted I am, and it's getting late."

"Oh yeah, you're right," Jotaro then stood, "The fireworks are usually the last part of the festival so we should head back."

With a few nods, the group stood and moved towards the clearing opening with idle chatter, but Jotaro stopped when he realized someone was missing. He turned to find Jonathan still standing near the edge, the chilling wind blowing through his hair and yukata sleeves, his back to Jotaro.

Jotaro waved the others away before walking up to him, "Gramps?"

Jonathan didn't even bother trying to hide his frown, "I... have a feeling I will have to leave soon..."

"You mean... through a rift?"

Jonathan closed his eyes, "Yes. It hit me just now, this strange feeling I can't explain, the same one I got when the Holy Corpse appeared."

Jotaro found himself frowning too, "I see..."

Jonathan continued, "I know I have to leave eventually, but I feel so frightened... what if am never able to see you or Joseph again? What if the net rift just takes me back to my own time and it never appears again?" He sighed heavily, "I know I must be brave and move forward, but the thought of never seeing you two or Holy or our friends... it scares me."

Jotaro nodded, "I get it. But don't think like that gramps, I'm convinced you'll be able to come here again, as long as you have that corpse part it'll be okay."

The Joestar breathed in deeply, "You're right, sorry for getting in such a sour mood."

"Don't even mention it, I..." Jotaro looked towards the landscape, tying to gather his words properly, "I'm... scared too, that you might never come back, but you will, I know it. So try to think positively, okay?"

It must have been extremely difficult for him to admit that he was scared, but the fact he did it to ease his mind made Jonatan smile in utter appreciation, "Thank you, my grandson."

Jotaro patted his shoulder, "Anytime. Now c'mon, the others are waiting."

Nodding, Jonathan followed after him. He was right, as long as he had the corpse part it was more than likely he could come back, he just had to hold on to that hope.

-------------------------------------------

Jonathan felt it before he even saw it.

He immediately paused, shoulders hunching up, which quickly drew the others' attention, "Grandpa? Are you okay?" Joseph asked, his tone laced with concern,

Jonathan felt lightheaded, and rather than answer the question, his eyes scanned the empty streets, just a few feet from Jotaro's home-

Ah, there it was.

He sighed, "The rift... it is right next to the gates."

At that they turned around at once, eyes widening at the sight.

Just like he said, a bright light was emitting right next to Holy and Jotaro's home.

Thei atmosphere tensed incredibly. 

"... What does this mean?" Holy asked uncertainly, confused as to the sudden change.

His heartbeat was erratic, uncertainty began swirling in his gut, his palms got sweaty, yet despite all this, Jonathan turned to her with a smile, "It means I have to leave..."

Holy gasped, "W-What? What do you mean?"

Joseph breathed in deeply, "It's hard to explain, Holy."

"Can we go with him through the rift?" Polnareff asked, "I mean, from what Mr. Joestar told us earlier back at the house, there's a chance this could mean trouble!"

"We can't," Kakyoin said, his jaw set and his tone serious, "We don't have a corpse part ourselves, neither does Jotaro, nor do we have the turtle to carry us anymore. It'd be way too difficult trying to travel all of us with just one."

"And I cannot let you come with me," Jonathan said, closing his eyes, "I am unsure of where it will take me, I refuse to put you all in any type of danger or situation where you may possibly not be able to return here."

Silence immediately took over.

Jonathan could tell they were struggling to say something, and he was too busy trying to push down the jumbled mess in his chest to try and speak further. 

Jotaro finally broke the silence, "Well... we should probably change out of these, and get ready for gramps to leave."

That seemed to snap them out of it, and with a small nod, Jonathan walked forward, the sounds of the hesitant footsteps behind him nothing more than an echo in his ears.

Slowly, he made his way inside, walked over the bridge, down the hallway, turned around a few corners, and more or less dragging himself to the room where he had changed. 

As he began changing, he couldn't help but frown.

He shouldn't be feeling like this.

He should be grateful.

He got the chance to see Jotaro and Joseph again, to meet Holy, to reunite with the friends he had made, he got that and so much more.

So why...?

Why was he so sad?

It had to be the uncertainty. 

He had absolutely no idea what was in store for him.

There was a chance he could never come back here again, that after he crossed the rift he'd be back home, that the Holy Corpse would disappear, or that he'd come face to face with Dio and the whole nightmare would begin again.

It was that aspect of not knowing that made him nervous and anxious and sad, cause the thought of never seeing them again frightened him.

But he knew, he couldn't stay here.

He had his own family and friends to get back to, and there was a chance the rift could maybe take him to his other descendants. 

But that was just it, all he had were speculations, nothing concrete no matter how hard he wished that his next destination was another place where one of his descendants would be.

His head was starting to hurt, it felt like a war was happening in him.

To stay, or to leave?

He knew what the answer was, it only made his gut drop harder.

With a sigh, he put his boots on and grabbed his satchel, gripping the straps tightly.

He headed for the door, taking one last look at the folded kimono he left on the table with the fox mask. He only thought about for it for three seconds before he walked back and grabbed the mask, ultimately sliding it into his bag.

Completely on autopilot, he trudged back the way he came. He knew he took a lot of time changing, so he wasn't surprised that the others were already waiting outside, devoid of their yukatas, wearing what looked like casual clothing, and with serious expressions.

He suddenly felt terrible for making them look so down, "Ah, come on now, do not look so glum! I am sure I'll be able to visit soon again!"

He really tried to sound cheerful, but it came out a bit strained, and judging by the lack of change in their demeanor, he knew he wasn't doing a convincing job.

Once again, Jotaro broke the silence, "Let's just get on with it."

Before he could ask, they suddenly rushed to him, which made him let out a surprised yelp when he was pulled into a group hug, "We're gonna miss you so much, grandpa!" Joseph wailed, teetering on the edge of crying.

Jonathan felt his eyes watering, even more so by the fact that even Iggy appeared to be hugging him, judging by the tiny paws clutching his ankle.

As best as he could, he wrapped his arms around them, "I will miss you all so much as well!"

After a few minutes, they pulled away, and Joseph sniffled loudly, "Can I have another hug?"

Jonathan merely opened his arms with sad smile, and Joseph all but collapsed into him, hugging him tightly, "I-I really hope you can visit a-again soon!"

His cries made Jonathan's heart ache even worse, but he tried to ignore it as he patted the elder's back, "I promise I will."

Joseph then pulled back, stepping back, "O-Okay, let's move on to the individual goodbyes..."

Holy walked to him, immediately hugging him, "It was so great to meet you, grandpa, I'll miss you so much!"

He hugged her back as gently as he could, trying not to apply too much force, "I will miss you too, Holy! It was incredible meeting you," He pulled back, hands on her shoulders, "You truly are a wonderful person, it makes me so happy knowing we are family."

The blonde wiped the small tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes, "I'm so happy we are! I really hope we can talk more next time..."

Kakyoin stepped in next, "It was really nice meeting you, Jonathan. Mr. Joestar had told us so much about you as we traveled together, it's amazing knowing everything he said was true. I hope we can meet again." 

He offered a hand, which Jonathan took and gripped tightly in a handshake, "I equally hope so as well, Ka... kyoin," He smiled proudly at the fact he pronounced his name right, "It was great meeting you, do take care of yourself!"

As soon as Kakyoin moved back, Polnareff pulled him into a surprise hug, his grip almost crushing, "Come back soon, okay?!"

Jonathan chuckled, returning the embrace as best as he could with his arms trapped, "I will try! Take care, Polnareff!"

After a few seconds, Polnareff pulled back, and with one last part to his shoulders, stepped back.

Avdol then walked to him, extending a hand like Kakyoin had, and as Jonathan gripped it, the Stand user laid his other hand atop theirs, "It was truly an honor meeting you, Jonathan Joestar. Thank you for everything and for fighting to save us."

Jonathan smiled, "No need to thank me, I did what I had to for my friends."

He suddenly felt something push against his legs, and when he looked down, he saw Iggy at his feet.

With one last grin to Avdol, he carefully kneeled on the ground, "I will miss you as well, Iggy."

Iggy barked, jumping onto his lap, so Jonathan took the chance to hug him lightly, "Hopefully next time I can bring Danny so you two can meet." He chuckled at the idea, and just when he was about to let Iggy down, he realized something, "Where is Jotaro?"

"Right here."

At the sound of his voice, he let Iggy down gently and stood, fully intending to give the teen a hug, but he paused when he realized Jotaro was holding what looked like a folded piece of paper towards him, "Jotaro, what is that?"

Jotaro huffed, a habit he had when he was embarrassed, "I wanted to give you this. It's something I wrote about you when I was a kid for a school project," If he had his hat, he would definitely be gripping it right about now, especially since he could hear Holy saying 'Awww!' in the distance, "Just- take it, I want you to have it. You can read it later."

A warmth spread through his chest as he took the paper, "Thank you...!" And within a second, Jotaro found himself in a tight embrace, though he wasn't surprised in the slightest, honestly.

He hugged him back just as tightly, trying to keep his emotions in check, but the task proved difficult, "I'm really gonna miss you, gramps..." 

Jotaro wanted to ramble.

He wanted to thank him for supporting him, for being so strong, for the help, the advice, the cheering on, for believing in him, for encouraging him, for taking the time to understand him, for forgiving him, for being proud of him, for being there.

But instead, he could only say, "Thanks for everything."

It was more than enough for Jonathan, "You do not need to thank me, but I must say thank you for everything as well. I truly cannot express how grateful I am for being able to meet you, I am so proud to be called your grandfather and that you are my grandson."

With one last squeeze, Jotaro pulled back, sighing, "It's gonna be really dull without you here, everything and everyone is so boring."

"Hey, we're here too y'know!" Polnareff yelled.

"Like I said, it'll be super boring without you around."

"Hey!"

Jonathan couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, I truly am dreading separating from you all... but it is alright, I want to believe that I will be able to come back, and as long as I have that belief, I will make it happen!"

Jotaro cracked a grin, "Good, I'll be holding you to that."

The Joestar reached back, pulling his satchel down to put the paper away for reading later, and got an idea. Carefully, he pulled out his photo album and flipped through the pages quickly, until locating one of their group photos that he luckily had a few pictures of, "Please take this!"

He handed Jotaro the photo, the latter couldn't stop his eyes from widening slightly, "Damn, it's one of the first pictures we took..." He genuinely smiled, "Thanks."

Jonathan mirrored his smile, "We should take more at some point!"

"When you come back, definitely. I'll make sure to save you a copy of the one we took earlier."

Jonathan nodded, "Yes, that'd be wonderful!" He then felt the part resonate within his bag, making him sigh. Right, he had to leave... He turned to the others, "Well, I suppose I should get going... thank you all for everything, please take care of yourselves!"

They began to say their last goodbyes, "Bye, grandpa!" Joseph waved his arms high above his head, "Tell granny Erina that I love her a lot and miss her!"

"Be careful!" Kakyoin said.

Polnareff waved an arm almost in the same manner as Joseph, "So long, Jonathan!"

"Good luck on your journey," Avdol gave him a thumbs up, "If there's any trouble again, we'll be here ready for it."

Iggy barked at him happily.

Holy yelled, "Goodbye, grandpa! I'll miss you!"

Jotaro gave him a pat on the arm with a smile, "See you later, gramps."

Jonathan smiled brightly, letting out a joy filled laugh, "Yes, I will see you all later!"

With that, he took a deep breath and turned towards the rift. Nodding to himself, he walked towards it, heartbeat increasing tenfold. Way too soon for his liking, he was standing directly in front of it.

Deciding to take a few more seconds to compose himself, he turned his head to his friends, his comrades, his descendants, his family, and gave a small wave.

They all waved back eagerly, even Jotaro, and he smiled at the sight despite his heart clenching.

'It is now, or never...'

So, turning back to look at the rift, Jonathan curled his fists, stood straight, took a deep breath, and then...

He walked into it.

As soon as he disappeared, so did the rift, leaving the group in utter silence.

That was, until Joseph sniffled again and aggressively wiped his eyes, "Argh, I miss him already!"

Holy sighed, "Me too... but papa, don't cry!"

"I hope he stays safe," Avdol said, "And that there is no danger ahead."

"I hope the same," Kakyoin looked at the starry sky, "But he's strong, he'll be aright."

"He better be!" Polnareff put his hands on his hips, "He promised he'd come back eventually, so we just hafta wait!"

Holy giggled, "That's right! Now come on, let's go back inside before we catch a cold!" With that she started to head inside, the others following soon after. 

Joseph was about to head in when he realized Jotaro hadn't moved, and that he was staring at the spot where the rift had been.

Wordlessly, he walked up to the teenager, eyes zeroing in on the spot as well.

"He's gonna be fine." Jotaro mumbled after a few minutes, and Joseph realized he was trying to convince himself.

"Of course he will, he's a Joestar!" He crossed his arms, nodding, "He's gonna be fine, and he's gonna come back, don't you worry."

Jotaro huffed, running a hand through his hair, "I'm just... worried about the fight he's gonna have with the Dio in his time."

Joseph understood now, "Ah, yeah I get that, but remember, he knows now, I'm sure he'll defeat Dio for good and he'll be alright."

Jotaro sighed, "I hope you're right."

"Hell yeah I am! By the way, what did he give you?"

Finally tearing his eyes from the sidewalk, Jotaro looked at the photo in his hand for a moment before handing it to Joseph, "One of the photos we all took."

Joseph gasped in excitement, a smile erupting on his face as he examined the photo, "Well, I'll be damned! Heh, we look like a real family, don't we?"

Jotaro couldn't deny it, "One fucked up, crazy, insane family, yes."

"Rude!" Joseph fake gasped, but handed him the photo back, "And to think, I thought you had softened up and changed your foul mouthed ways!"

"Pfft, says who?" Jotaro rolled his eyes, "C'mon, let's go inside."

"Sure. Race you there!" He suddenly took off into the house, giggling loudly like a little kid.

Jotaro shook his head, "Yare yare..."

Unable to resist, he looked at the photo again, specifically at Jonathan and how happy he looked, surrounded by a family he never got to meet and yet a family he came to adore and love in just a few measly hours.

'Thank you for saving my life! I am forever in your debt. My name is Jonathan Joestar. If I may ask, who are you?'

Jotaro grinned at the memory, "The most gentlemanly soul that ever graced the earth, huh?"

He chuckled at the words he had written on that paper years ago. He didn't know why he remembered that essay on the spot, just as they finished hugging, or why he all of a sudden wanted Jonathan to have it, but he quickly sneaked into the house and, just like he had thought days ago back at Cape Canaveral, he found it in a box in the back of his closet, mixed in with his other school works.

Snapping back to the present, he took one last look at the sidewalk before making his way inside.

Joseph was right, Jonathan would be more than okay, nothing bad will happen in the rifts, cause the alternative world Dio is dead and he surely won't lose against his world's Dio now that he was aware of his fate, and he was strong as hell, he was more than capable of defeating any possible enemy that crossed his path. He would definitely come back at some point with a bunch of stories about whatever adventures he would have crossing the rifts.

Even if he was still confused as to why a corpse part appeared in Jonathan's time, he couldn't deny that he was was beyond grateful for it, and he really hoped he got to keep it. And who knows, maybe at some point he'll end up in Jolyne's time and he'll try bringing her along for his next visit, or he'll try bring someone else from their family, or hell, maybe he'd try taking Jotaro himself through the rift too.

Anything was possible in this bizarre life of theirs, after all.