Chapter Text
It was raining, like any other gloomy day. There was a particular rhythm to its pitter patter, he mused. Something like the sound of a human heart through the heart rate monitor echoing in a white, cold hospital room. The gloomy day reminded him of endless hours of waiting, clutching a nonresponsive hand with his own and praying for hours for some movement, any. He lost count of how many times he brushed away the greasy blond hair for a hope that those eyes would open. The dark bags under the eyes could match the dark clouds overhead, skin as pale as the morning fog. The man lying on that narrow hospital bed was like a rainy day in New York.
“JoJo, would you like to say a eulogy?”
Joseph jumped when he felt the warm palm of his uncle on his shoulder. He blinked and watched as the grave was covered in dirt, the casket no longer in sight. He glanced at the grave stone.
In the loving memory of Caesar Zeppeli
Beloved friend, student, hero
May 1918 – June 1939
If there was another thing the rain had in common with a heartbeat it was that it would stop eventually.
“JoJo?” His uncle squeezed his shoulder gently. Joseph nodded and licked his lips, stepping forward. He opened his mouth to start, but his thoughts were blank. What did one say in this kind of occasions? What was there to say?
“I… I had the pleasure to know Caesar for one month.” His voice cracked, so he cleared his throat, trying to get a grip. “It was a short while but I can talk for a life time about our memories.” It was getting harder and harder to come up with things to say. “We… didn’t get a long… first, but after we put our differences behind us… we got really close. I liked him.” He winced, who said that? “He was brave and passionate, and he was a proud man.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know what else to say but… you will be missed. I know I will miss you.” He smiled sadly. He looked at his uncle who nodded, he stepped back for Lisa Lisa give her speech. He stood beside Suzi, who was wiping her tears with a handkerchief. He held her hand and squeezed it gently. She looked up at him with fresh tears falling from her eyes. She leaned her head against his shoulder, clutching his arm tightly.
Joseph stared at the grave again, not quite believing what happened. He hoped that Caesar would pull through eventually, but in the end, he couldn’t. He wondered if things would have gone differently had he not crossed that invisible line so carelessly that day in St Mortiz.
Maybe Caesar would have been here? Alive?
No… Caesar wouldn’t want to come to New York for living. Perhaps he would come for a visit or two, but ultimately, he wanted to live in Italy. He wanted to settle down with a lovely lady, make a big family and live next to a sunflower field where his kids would play all day. He spoke about it fondly one night, while they were both tipsy on the scotch Joseph snatched from the cellar.
“Listen JoJo, when you find your special someone, you hold on to them tight and don’t let go! If we defeated the pillar men, I will find my special signorina and make one big authentic Italian family with her.”
If…
“JoJo… let’s go.”
Joseph blinked and looked down at Suzi. She looked worried. He shot a quick glance around. Lisa Lisa had finished and already moving towards her car along with Messina. Uncle Speedwagon was waiting for them in front of their car. Oh, he missed what Lisa Lisa said. He squeezed Suzi’s hand gently, giving her a reassuring smile.
“Yeah. We don’t want you to catch cold, then I have to wipe away your snotty nose.” He joked good naturedly. Suzi gasped, looking scandalized.
“Excuse me?!” She huffed. “First of all, I wouldn’t let anyone see me in a less than perfect shape. Secondly, it’s the least you can do after I nursed you back to health back in Venice.” She puffed her cheek. He chuckled and kissed her cheek gently.
“What would I do without my amazing wife.” A little smile creeped on her face, her cheeks turning into a pretty shade of pink. She loved it when Joseph called her his wife, and Joseph loved how cute she looked when she was pleased with herself. It was a win-win situation. He wrapped his arm around her and guided her back towards their car. He casted another glance towards the grave.
He wondered if Caesar would have been impressed if he saw how he acted towards Suzi. He would show him he wasn’t a brute, like Caesar had claimed on countless occasions.
Uncle Speedwagon extended his hand expectantly as Joseph got closer. Joseph frowned in confusion, looking at him quizzically.
“The keys, JoJo. You’re a bit out of it today.” He said sadly, his kind eyes filled with concern. Joseph nodded and handed him the keys. He got into the car along with Suzi, letting his uncle take control of driving. He looked at the grave again, through the window, feeling his heart clenching again.
Lately he had been musing about a lot of ifs. The possibilities which the word brought with itself, the possibilities of what could have happened. The word had been echoing in his head ever since he learned about Caesar being in hospital, asleep in a coma that he would probably not wake up form.
Well, technically, he didn’t, his mind provided unhelpfully.
It got worse when he visited Lisa Lisa one day at May, and her stoic façade was cracking with an underlying grief.
“ If he was awake, he’d be celebrating his twenty-first birthday today.”
She said it oh so quietly, sipping away her wine. Despite how hushed her words were, he felt his world shaken by them.
If he was awake.
He would visit every day, hoping beyond hope that one day, he would wake up. But as days passed, Caesar got weaker and frailer, his health in constant state of decline. In the end, his body couldn’t carry the burden of keeping him alive. It wasn’t like they didn’t try to preserve his physical state. The Speedwagon Physicians tried their best ways to bring him back with the technology they had already in their hands. However, medicine wasn’t progressed enough for them to keep him living.
They tried everything.
Joseph gritted his teeth.
Not everything.
Joseph didn’t know where the idea came from, but it gained more appeal by each passing day. They tried everything but this. And now that Caesar was already dead…
He was dead.
Joseph closed his eyes painfully, feeling his eyes sting. He had hard time accepting Caesar was gone. It was hard to cope with that painful truth. He couldn’t shake away the guilt that gripped him, nor the constant nightmares that haunted him every night. He discreetly rubbed his eyes.
“JoJo, do you want to join me? I’m going to the foundation to check up some paperwork. You can give me a hand.” His uncle looked back at him through the mirror sternly. “And I don’t mean your prosthetic hand.”
“You have to admit it’s a funny joke.” Joseph chuckled weakly. Speedwagon shook his head, a fond smile appearing on his face.
“You told it too many times, it lost its appeal.”
“Nonsense, you’re still smiling uncle.” Joseph teased good naturedly. “So, we’re dropping off Suzi?” He looked at her to make sure it was ok with her. She nodded.
“Yeah, and then we’ll be off on our way. You wouldn’t mind if I borrowed your husband, my dear?” he asked her gently. Suzi shook her head.
“No, Mr Speedwagon. He’s all yours.”
“Thank you, my young lady.” Uncle Speedwagon nodded and drifted his eyes back to the road. Suzi scooted closer to Joseph, holding his hand gently in hers.
“You ok?” She mouthed quietly. He nodded first, then he shook his head. She lifted his hand and kissed the knuckles of his fingers.
“You’ll be fine.” She whispered, smiling reassuringly. He swallowed thickly and nodded, bringing her hand close to his lips and kissing the back of it.
“Thank you.” He mouthed back. She smiled brightly at him and kept holding his hand until they got to their new flat. Joseph got up and opened the door for her, kissing her goodbye. He got back in the car, sitting beside his uncle.
“Ready?” Joseph nodded. He watched the building moving past as they drove further away from the city centre and more towards the outskirts. It was discreet and far away from main city to hide their main affairs, but close enough that it wasn’t far from civilization. Joseph believed they needed an office inside New York, it would make managing the work from afar easier. Speedwagon said he would sleep on it, but Joseph knew that he was tempted to execute it and he considered that a little victory.
Speedwagon parked the car in the parking lot and turned it off. He faced Joseph, his eyes scanning the young boy’s face. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, why do you ask?” Joseph kept his face neutral.
“I don’t know,” Speedwagon shook his head “It’s just… I feel you’re in a faraway space.”
“It was a shock… to all of us.” Josephs shrugged. “We all hoped he would pull it off, but he didn’t.” he kept his eyes down, away from his uncle’s inquisitive gaze. He heard him sigh.
“Yeah.” Speedwagon nodded and opened the door and left the car and Joseph followed. They got into the building. It was massive and Joseph wondered how his uncle never got lost. There were too many corridors, and the whole organization was like an elaborate maze. Joseph made sure he followed the older man and never let him leave his sight, he didn’t want to get lost. It would be embarrassing.
“What was it that you wanted to do here, uncle?”
Speedwagon glanced back at him. “We found some people in the old hotel Cars and Wham took as their lair. They are vampires.” Joseph was taken back by surprise, he didn’t know. “We are looking into ways to bring them back to their normal state. Some of them show some kind of promise, but there are wicked people I have no hope for them to ever reach humanity ever again.”
Joseph was hit again by the onslaught of that sweet promise that has been whispering in his ears for a long time. The if that had him plagued for endless nights and colourless days. It could be so easy, as simple as just snatching one-
“-which is why I want you use your Hamon. They pose a constant danger to our scientists if they are left like this for a long time.” Joseph blinked, having missed the most of the conversation. He tried to backtrack to understand what was being said to him.
“Wait… you want me to kill them!?” Joseph stopped, looking at Speedwagon with incredulity.
“What- no. JoJo, were you not paying attention? We can handle that part with the UV lights we keep in the room.” Speedwagon shook his head. “I need your Hamon in controlled doses to see if it affects them positively.”
“How would that work?”
“Back when we went after Dio, Jonathan was facing the black knight Burford, he hit him with a direct Hamon overdrive. It made him retrieve his humanity, but it ultimately killed him.” His face became pained upon remembering his old friend. Joseph caught that expression on his and granny Erina’s face way too many times. Joseph wondered if his face would be showing the same expression if he thought about Caesar. He shook his head. Now was not the time.
“So, by giving them controlled waves of Hamon… you think we can bring them back to humanity?” his uncle nodded. “But… wouldn’t that kill them? You just said that it killed that knight.”
“That knight was a zombie” he pointed out. “The people we have in the facility are mostly vampires. And based on the hierarchy of the stone mask, they should show more resilient compared to zombies.” Joseph nodded, it made sense.
“Got it, but… why not asking Lisa Lisa? She’s a genius in the field of Hamon. She could be a better option than me.”
“She suggested you.”
“She what?!” Joseph blinked in shock.
“She said that she harboured too much hatred towards vampires that she didn’t think if she could control her powerful enough to keep it non-lethal.”
“Is this about how my father died?”
Speedwagon looked away, and nodded. “It… It was a traumatic experience for us. Despite how poised she is, she still can’t put that behind her.” He looked devastated. “Jorge’s death caught all of us by surprise. He was supposed to come home after that final mission, not to end up dead with no proper body to bury.”
Joseph inhaled deeply, thinking about what would have happened if he his father hadn’t confronted that vampire alone. The Joestars had the tendency to be reckless fools, he mused. Despite trying to come to terms with Lisa Lisa being his mother, he felt it was still too heavy for him to come to acceptance of it.
Now was no time to think about that, though. Maybe later, with all the other things that haunted his thought for the past few months.
“Alright. Let’s go ahead and give that a shot.” Joseph flashed him a smile. “Maybe I can use my charms and make those vampires into humans in no time!” he winked. Speedwagon’s frown turned into a disbelieving fond smile.
“JoJo, it’s not that easy.”
“We can always hope for better, though. Can’t we?” Joseph crossed his arms behind his head. “We had enough depressing events recently, I want to have little more positive outlook.” The old man’s eyes softened and nodded.
“Yeah, sadly that’s very true.” Speedwagon opened a door and beckoned Joseph to follow him. The room was moderately large, with some scientist moving left and right and chattering like busy bees. There was a big blue print on the wall, showing a large machine design. Joseph was by no means an expert in machinery; however, he instantly recognised the idea behind the device.
“Wait… are you going to use stone masks?” He asked incredulously, the man who had started a conversation with his uncle perked up and his eyes glittered up with glee.
“You are very close to understand the genius and the beauty behind this design, Mr Joestar. However, it’s not a stone mask, no.” The man grinned. “Clark Hampton.” He offered his hand as he introduced himself. Joseph took his hand and shook it, shooting his uncle a confused look. The old man smiled at him encouragingly.
“Alright, I would like an explanation before I get down into business.” Joseph looked back at the man in front of him.
“Of course, it’s only fair.” Clark nodded. “After the affair with Santana in Mexico and your encounter with Pillar men, we studied their scripture and the engravings left behind by their people. We also studied the stone masks they produced for the sake of their own transcending. According to our studies they are not much different from the regular stone masks we found in Mexico; however, they can pierce their skull if they used the super Aja red stone, otherwise, the spines of the mask would break due to lack of power.” The man motioned to the mask like design. “We established the areas which the spined of the stone masks targeted in the human’s and brain and decided to achieve new results by using a modern approach.”
“A modern approach?” Joseph raised his eyebrows.
“Instead of using the spines to stab the subject, we will use them to transmit radio waves to the targeted locations!” He opened his arms proudly. “The new masks which we built will lock on the surface of the skulls above the targeted area, and transmit a radio waves towards the brain.” He motioned at the graph of the mask. “we placed the Aja gemstones on the end of the spines to enhance the Hamon reception since it’s an extremely powerful conductor of Hamon.” The man smiled proudly. Joseph had his own doubts, but he couldn’t deny that the design fascinated him.
“The Hamon… it gets transferred from this section to this, according to your notes.” Joseph pointed on the blue print. “Did you use the wings of Satiporoja beetles for the wiring?”
“Very good, Mr Joestar!” Clark said excitedly. “It’s a pleasure to talk to another expert in this field. Yes. We used the Satiporoja wings to make the wiring. The transfer of Hamon energy would be immediate and controlled that way.” Joseph rubbed his chin in contemplation, studying the blue print further.
“This machine is a study of contradictions.”
“This is the genius behind it! We are hopeful that it would end up giving us fruitful results.”
“I see but-” Joseph stopped midsentence when his eyes fell on them. They were piled on the corner of one of the scientist’s desk, besides a mountain of paper works. Joseph had mostly heard about them and only saw one from afar once, the mask which Cars put on his face before his transformation. “Are those…?”
“These are the stone masks we retrieved from Mexico.” Clark provided helpfully andvpicked one of them up and held it in front of Joseph. Joseph swallowed thickly, and hesitantly touched the mask. The smooth surface was filled with cracks and deep engraving. The empty eye sockets stared back at him and he felt the voice that had been taunting him for months come back with a new vigour.
But what if they used the stone mask on him?
Joseph took a step back, shaking his head. Clark looked at him with sympathy and concern.
“It must have brought back some dark memories. I apologize.”
“No, no! It’s fine…” He scratched the back of his neck, staring at the mask. Their wicked smiles and empty eyes taunted him, echoing the sweet whispers of what if in his mind. Joseph swallowed tried to drag his eyes away from them.
“It’s just… there are many dark legacies intertwined with them.” He smiled weakly.
“I am aware. Mr Speedwagon had informed me. I am very sorry for your loss.” Joseph nodded. “Are you… do you feel you can give our device a shot?” Clark asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, this is the sole reason I’m here.” Joseph tried to shake away the dark thoughts. “I want to help.” Clark nodded and walked him to a new door.
Joseph was led into a large grey room with the complicated machinery placed in the middle, occupying the most space of the room. There was one tables at one side of the machine, along with a chair. Joseph assumed that was the place where he should sit and conduct his Hamon. On the other side, there was a bed with a large machine over the headboard of the bed, and it was only natural to assume that the vampire would end up there. Joseph would pulse his Hamon into the machine and it would get transferred through the stone mask replica towards the head of the vampires to cancel the effect of the stone mask.
It made his stomach coil itself into knots. What if it didn’t work?
What if it did?
Joseph sat nervously at the table, waiting for the ‘subject’ to arrive. He didn’t like the way they labelled these people. They might have been vampires, but in the end, they were people. He looked up when the door opened and a woman walked in. She looked like any normal woman he would encounter in street. Her ebony hair was gathered in a tidy bun, and if he ignored the eerie crimson pupils, her eyes looked kind. He kept his guard up regardless. There were many reports of vampires faking humane behaviours to attack the unsuspecting staffs, and Joseph didn’t defeat some vampire gods to become a food to a regular vampire.
The woman stood next to the bed, nodding her head politely. Joseph nodded his head back in greetings and watched as the scientists rushed to put his hands inside the contraption and secure it with a belt. Joseph felt restricted, and he didn’t see the necessity of involving his left hand since he couldn’t produce any Hamon with it, could he? He glanced at the other woman and he noticed the woman fidgeted nervously, holding herself in a tight posture. Joseph felt sorry for her. It must have been terrifying to get involved in an experiment she had no idea if it cured her or killed her. Joseph subtly cleared his throat to get her attention. Her eyes snapped to his, looking frantic.
“It’s going to be ok.” He said quietly. She looked taken aback.
“Really?” she asked desperately.
“They are good scientists; they know what they are doing.” He tried to reassure her. She smiled timidly and nodded. She lied down on the bed, and stayed still as the scientists put the mask on her face. Joseph couldn’t imagine how terrifying that feeling must be. He watched as they set the spines over her skulls and felt internally sick.
“Mr Joestar, you may begin.” Clark told him softly, holding his clipper close to his chest. Joseph nodded and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate and keep the nausea at bay. He allowed his Hamon to resonate through his fingertips, sending small waves of electricity towards the device’s sensors. The woman winced a bit at first but then gasped in surprise. Joseph looked up and stopped emitting the Hamon to check on her.
“Mr Joestar, please keep going.”
“But-”
“Please go on, sir! It feels amazing. I feel alive!” She exclaimed with excitement. Joseph was taken aback but as he saw how jubilant the woman sounded and how eager she was for more; he once again closed his eyes and concentrated his Hamon. He didn’t know what was going on the other side of the machine, what the woman was feeling and if the whole experiment was working; but he could hear the frantic scribbling both of the scientists made while they added notes to their clippers.
Joseph soon lost the track of time, focusing on the rhythm of his breathing. Deep inhales, deep exhales, he could feel the tingle of Hamon running through his fingers, tickling the palm of his hand. He tried to not focus on the lack of sensation in his left hand and keep his concentration on his breathing pattern. Each finger should produce the same amount of the current, no more, no less. Just like the hell climbing pillar.
It was much better than listening to that sweet tempting whisper in the back of his head.
“Mr Joestar, you may stop now.” Joseph blinked, snapping out of his mediated state. The scientists beside the woman released her and gently lifted the mask. She sat up shivering slightly. The woman in front of him no longer looked pale. She had a healthy rosy colour on her cheeks, and her eyes looked less like the eerie crimson and more like deep chocolate brown. Joseph’s mouth opened in a silent gasp. Did it work?! He shot the Clacrk a look. The young man smiled.
“I think it’s enough for today’s session. We will need to take our patient for further monitoring. However, we can declare this experiment a success.” Clark flashed a wide pleased smile. Joseph smiled back and waited as the young man opened the straps and the belts from his arms. He got and flexed his wrists to get the feeling back in them. He walked outside the room to see his uncle looking very pleased and proud.
“Well done, JoJo! This experiment wouldn’t have succeeded without your help. Thank you.” He held his shoulder and squeezed it in gratitude. Joseph smiled widely.
“I’m pleased that I’ve been of help. Do you think we can revert all of them back?”
“Hopefully.” Speedwagon said softly. “We need to monitor the first person for a while to see if it would cause any side effects, but otherwise, I don’t see how this could stop us from revert them back to human.”
Joseph felt pleased, smiling softly. It worked, there was a hope. His eyes fell on the masks again. He could feel the gentle whispers of temptation in his head, the little what if getting stronger and stronger.
It could work.
It worked with that woman. She was becoming human, who said it wouldn’t work on other vampires? Who said it couldn’t be used to bring people back to life, give them another chance? This was a breakthrough, and Joseph thought that it would be far too foolish not to exploit it.
Right?
There was a loud noise, causing the chatter in the room to stop. Joseph looked at the source of the noise and saw an awkward gangly boy smiling sheepishly as he was trying to collect the metallic boxes that had scattered on the floor as fast as possible. Joseph’s interest got picked when he noticed the glasses that were encased in ice, some of them broken on the floor. They contained blood. Joseph’s eyes widened.
“Jeremy! Look at what you have done!” One of the scientists scolded the boy and the rest soon gathered to clean up the mess. Joseph glanced back at the masks, then back at the commotion.
Surely, they won’t miss one mask. There were so many there and they were just pile uselessly one upon another. Joseph furtively dragged himself towards the desk. He reached his hand to pick one. Then stopped.
What if he was wrong? What if this was beginning of a disaster? This mask left him with a heavy burden and a dark legacy. It killed his grandfather and father. It nearly killed him.
It killed Caesar.
Joseph screwed his eyes shot. Wasn’t that the more reason to pick one up? To get back what the mask had stolen? It was only fair, wasn’t it?
He picked one and snuck it into his jacket discreetly. He looked around carefully to see if anyone noticed. No one did. Everyone was busy with the spilled blood samples. He tried to act neutral, crossing his arms and looking at the frantic scientists trying to gather the remaining samples and place them back into the metallic boxes. His uncle looked displeased, shaking his head as he asked the scientists to find a better method for transporting the boxes through the facility. Joseph bit his lips.
“Uncle, do you need me for something else?” the old man looked at him and shook his head. Joseph extended his arm.
“Can I have the car keys? I will wait for you outside.”
“Are you sure? It’s quite chilly out there.” He handed him the keys regardless, despite looking concerned.
“I need to clear my thoughts a bit. I’ll be fine! Don’t worry!” He smiled reassuringly. Speedwagon didn’t look appeased but he nodded.
“I’ll be here for a while. I don’t want you to catch a cold. How about you head back? I will ask one of the boys to drop me back home.”
Joseph nodded. “Ok. Good, I’ll see you later then?” the old man nodded and Joseph walked out of the room. He hadn’t realised that he had held his breath until he closed the door behind him. The whole sense of dread along with the metallic smell of blood made him feel light headed. He walked briskly through the corridors towards the entrance of the building. He quickly stepped into the car and slammed the door shut, leaning his head against the steering wheel. For some reason he couldn’t shake the sense of that he was doing something very wrong. Simultaneously, he couldn’t bring himself to put the mask back either. He wanted to know if it would work.
No, he needed to know.
This entire affair reminded him of the story his grandmother told him about the first sin the humans committed. Approaching the forbidden fruit, the apple. Adam and Eve, getting tempted by some evil forces and giving up their resolve and promise, falling into the quicksand of the darkness and cursing the entire humanity with the burden of their sin.
Was Joseph going to burden his decedents with the same curse? He took out the mask out of his jacket and stared at it. It smiled back ominously; the empty eyes lifted in amusement of some hidden morbid joke. This mask had brought so much devastation, endless grief and a curse upon their family that caught up to Joseph. Joseph thought he might have lifted the curse.
But the curse wasn’t lifted, was it? He gained victory, he had defeated the pillar men and saved the humanity, but at what cost? So many people had died, far too many. This mask… it appeared out of nowhere and caused devastation upon two generations of two families, if not more, and as the final touch, it took that one last life.
That’s why he had to do it. He was going to snatch back a little something of all the things he had lost.
He threw the mask towards the backseat and started the ignition and pressed his foot on the gas, driving backwards outside of the parking and straightened the car before slamming his foot back again on the gas again and driving in the highway recklessly. He could hear his laboured breath echoing loudly in the car cabin. His hands were shaking on the steering wheel. He knew that the warm summer breeze had nothing to do with the way the sweat was pouring down his face. The further he drove the less in control he felt, and he decided to press the brakes before he got himself killed in a car accident. He pulled aside, turning the key off. He closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing with the exercises that were engraved in his conscious. He felt calmer after taking some deep breaths. He swallowed thickly. He glanced back the mask. He felt it leering back at him with its wicked smile, fangs protruding further. He barely suppressed the shiver running down his spine.
He was terrified.
Still, he couldn’t find the power in himself to deny the idea in his head. He had been fighting it for so long, and now he found no reason why he still should. Caesar was no longer alive, there was no longer any possibility of him pulling through.
There was a chance to revert back the whole vampirism.
Why should he deny himself the chance to fix his mistake?
He leaned his head to the steering wheel. He closed his eyes, he failed Caesar back then. This was the only way he was going to make it up. He lifted his head and looked ahead of him at the wide road.
He would do it.
He started the car again and drove back into the highway, feeling oddly calm despite all the nervousness that was bubbling inside him. He stopped the car in front of his apartment complex, locking the car and running upstairs. He rang the bell. Suzi opened the door with a bright smile.
“Hey!” Her smile soon turned into a frown as she touched the side of his face. “Are you ok? You look pale.” He nodded, licking his dried lips.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He walked in, taking off his jacket. “Something smells good! What did you make?” He tried to steer the conversation away from himself.
“Oh, nothing… I just felt a bit homesick, so I made some Sarde in saor.” She smiled as she walked towards kitchen.
“What’s that, I don’t think I’ve ever ate that back in Italy.” Joseph followed her. He hadn’t lied, the smell was delicious, but his nervous stomach recoiled at the rich smell. He didn’t think he could stomach it.
“Oh, it’s a traditional dish. It’s basically made of sardines marinated in vinegar, onion, pine nuts and raisins. It’s sour sweet. I’m quite fond of it.” She smiled; her eyes getting distant in some nostalgic memory.
“I’m sure it’s lovely, Suzi. Thank you.” He kisses her cheek gently. “If things weren’t bad, I would have taken you back for a visit.”
“I know…” she sighed sadly. “Who would have thought? We got rid of the pillar men only for the war to come out of nowhere and ruin our lives.” Joseph held her hands and kissed them gently.
“As soon as things calm down, I’m taking you back. I promise.”
“You better do” She smiled playfully, feeling a bit better. Joseph smiled back at her.
“Of course! I would do anything for my wife!” He placed his hand dramatically on his chest.
“Anything?” She taunted. “Really?”
“Yes! You know I love you.” Joseph enjoyed it endlessly how her cheeks would colour whenever he told her how much he loved her. Still, she didn’t waver.
“You mean you would do the dishes after dinner?” She crossed her arms, looking at him from under her lashes.
“Let’s not get carried away.” Joseph raised his hands.
“I knew it!” She threw her head back and laughed. “All your claims for loving me is nothing but a big fat hoax!” Joseph held his heart as if he got shot.
“Sweetheart, you’re wounding me!” She shook her head fondly and handed Joseph the plates. He set the table along with her and they both sat down. Joseph waited while Suzi said some prayers, then stabbed his fork into the food. He knew the food was amazing (everything Suzi made was amazing), but his stomach protested and he felt sick after the first couple of bites. Suzi saw his reluctance and put down her fork and knife, reaching for his hand.
“You don’t like it?”
“No… it’s not that. I’m just… I’m just nauseous is all.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “How about I make you some ginger tea? It will help your upset stomach and you can try to sleep a bit earlier tonight.” Joseph looked away, hating that Suzi could see his vulnerability.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong today.”
“It was a hard day, JoJo. It’s ok. You need time to process it and it’s fine.” She smiled. “I think reading some of your comics could help.” He smiled wryly.
“Yeah… I hope that too.” She got up but Joseph stopped her. “No, you keep eating. I’ll go lie down. You can make me that tea later, there’s no rush.”
“You sure?” She looked worried.
He smiled and nodded and got up, putting his untouched food back in the casserole. He left the dish in the sink and went to the bedroom. He took off his shoes and loosened his tie before he let himself fall back on their bed. He stared at the ceiling, watching the lights shift every time a car passed by. There was a pressure behind his temples, he closed his eyes and rubbed them gently to ease the pain away. It didn’t do much. He gave up and kept his eyes close, throwing one arm over them. He counted his inhales and exhales.
One, two, three, four, five, inhale. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, exhale.
One, two, three, four, five, inhale. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, exhale.
Again.
Again.
.
.
“I thought you would understand.”
Joseph looked around in the black space around him, frantically searching for the source of the sound.
“Caesar!?” He called looking around, left and right for the Italian to show up.
“I thought you would understand why it would matter to me, but I was wrong.”
“Caesar, where are you?!” Joseph anxiously ran towards the source of the sound. He collided with something in the dark, causing him to fall down. He looked up to see Caesar, bloodied at battered, just like how he found him near the stairs after his battle with Wham.
“I should have known… look what you did to me.” Joseph watched with horror as the blood trickling down from Caesar’s wounds started to flow beneath him. He soon realised they were back at the abandoned hotel; the blood slowly covering the dust and debris and kept rising up, Joseph struggled against the rising crimson liquid, the metallic scent making him gag.
“It’s all your fault, JoJo. It’s all your fault.” He looked at him coldly. “You left me to die, now I leave you to despair.” Joseph struggled as the blood rose past his neck, getting higher and higher and higher…
He got up with a start, breathing heavily, checking around the room with wide eyes. It was just a nightmare. Suzi was fast asleep beside him under the covers. He saw the tea on the bedside table.
He fell asleep. How long?
He calmed his labour breathing, trying not to wake up his wife and dragged himself from the bed towards the door, gently closing it behind him.
He sat in the living room, lighting up a candle. He watched as the fragile flame danced on the wick, lighting the room dimly. He let out a shaking breath, trying to control the tremors that went through his fingers. The prosthetic was clacking noisily, and he could feel his stub twinging with ache. He rubbed his left arm up and down, trying to relax his arm to free it from the pain. It wasn’t working.
Joseph got up and opened a cabinet and got out the wine bottle he bought along with Suzi. It wasn’t his taste, but it was the best he could have for now. Joseph poured some for himself in glass and threw it back. He winced at the sharp burn that hit the back of his throat, coughing inelegantly.
“You don’t throw it up, you should sip it elegantly, dolt.”
Joseph groaned lowly. He wasn’t leaving his head. As if the dream wasn’t enough to shake up his nerves. It wasn’t the first time he had one like that, and certainly, it won’t be the last. He was so sick of seeing Caesar dying or see him angry with him, seeking revenge. He just needed some sleep.
Just a little sleep.
It wasn’t likely he would get some tonight, not with Caesar haunting his dreams like how he haunted his thoughts. He buried his face in his hands. He wasn’t going to sleep…
Might as well do something.
Anything.
Joseph swallowed thickly as his thoughts got drifted back to the stone mask on the backseat of his car. He needed to get rid of that wicked thing, it was corrupting his thoughts further than it should. He got up and walked towards the door. His shoes were back in the bedroom. He didn’t want to go back in there lest he wake up Suzi. He would have to make due. He put on his boots, picked the car keys and closed the door behind him gently. He walked down the stairs, then walking towards his car. He got in and picked up the mask. He just had to crush it under the tires.
He couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He stared at it while his mind came up with most elaborate pictures of how he could save Caesar with it, how easy it was to bring him back. All he had to do was to put the mask on Caesar’s face and coat it with blood.
It was so easy.
He would no longer be haunted by those horrible dreams.
He would no longer carry the burden and the guilt that was weighing him down.
Joseph swallowed thickly. He put the mask on the seat beside him and started the engine. He started driving. He didn’t see where he was going, his mind fogged with all the possibilities and the anxieties that were eating him up. He came to himself when he stopped in front of the cemetery.
It suddenly felt so real. He was really doing it, wasn’t he?
His heart was jackhammering in his chest, he felt it might burst out in any second. He grabbed the mask again, clutching it tightly in his hand.
“Sorry…” He apologized to no one. “I don’t think I can take it anymore.” He opened the glove box and took out the gun and the dagger that was hidden in that compartment. He tucked the gun in the back of his trousers, while he held the dagger beside the mask and snuck into the cemetery. He found Caesar’s grave and put down the mask and the dagger beside the grave. He went to search for a shovel and he found one near the church, along with an oil lamp. He picked them up and went back to the grave.
He was breathing heavily. Between all of his wild and bizarre ideas this one was the worst. This was a threshold he wasn’t sure he wanted to go past. His eyes fell on the engraving.
In the loving memory of Caesar Zeppeli
Beloved friend, student, hero
May 1918 – June 1939
Twenty-one years. That was far too short. Caesar had a rough life, struggling all his life to find a salvation from the curse. Caesar didn’t want much. All he wanted was to have a happy family.
Like the one Joseph had.
Joseph felt his eyes burn; he didn’t deserve any of that. He got to live, get married and get his own little house to live his life happily ever after; whereas Caesar was to rot six feet under the ground. After all he went through, that wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t.
Joseph clutched the shovel with a new surge of determination and started to dig up the grave. The soil was still soft, they just had buried him that afternoon. It had been barely a day. He kept digging until he got to the coffin. He brushed the dirt and mud away, staring at the mahogany wood. He touched the surface with a shaking hand. This was it. This was the moment. He took a deep breath and used the shovel to force the coffin open. He pushed the lid away and stared.
Caesar was lying there, peacefully, hand place on top of on another above his chest. His hair was immaculate, just like he always kept it. His dark blue suit was sharp and the brisk white shirt stretched above his torso without a single wrinkle. His birthmarks looked blue under the moon light and the oil lamp casted soft shadows on his face, his golden lashes shining under the golden light. Joseph felt his breath catch. If he didn’t know for certain that the Italian was dead, he would have had hard time to believe it. His face looked smoothed at and calm, just like when he fell asleep after a long day of training. The more Joseph stared at him, the harder he could come to accept he was dead.
He took off his right glove, throwing it aside carelessly. He gently smoothed away couple of stray stands of hair away from his face. He felt an overwhelming grief getting hold of him. He swallowed around the lump in his throat feeling hot tears falling down his face. He opened his mouth to say his name but he couldn’t let out his voice, ending up making a croaked broken voice. He covered his eyes, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. He wiped his tears as best as he could with his sleeves but they still kept pouring down. He made a low wounded noise, crumbling on top of the dead man. He looked at the blurry image of the Italian through his tear-stained eyes.
“Cae- Caesar…” He stuttered. “You…” He took a long breath to compose himself, but it ended with another wet sob. He gave up on trying to sound put together. He leaned over him, cupping his face.
“Caesar… why…” He asked with a broken voice. “Why didn’t you wait… why didn’t you try to convince me?” He demanded softly. “if only you waited… you wouldn’t be like this.” He pressed his forehead against his. “You wouldn’t be dead. Why… why didn’t you wait for me…” he felt as if his chest was constricted and he couldn’t draw another breath.
“We were supposed to be together through all of this, remember? You said it yourself… you did! You said you won’t… die easily.” He gasped. He gently rubbed his thumbs over his birthmarks. “If only you explained… if only you trusted me enough…” Joseph screwed his eyes shot. It hurt, it hurt so much and it was getting harder and harder.
“I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry for pushing you to this… I’m sorry.” He smoothed back his fringe, pulling back to rub his thumb gently over his cheek. “I will try to fix this the best I can… I will.” He promised. “I’m sorry for doing it like this… there’s no other way. I tried my best to hold you alive but you still slipped through my fingers…” He said hoarsely. “This is the only way I can fix it. You’ll be furious, I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
He got up and picked the stone mask and put it on Caesar’s face tenderly. He kept apologizing like a mantra, he didn’t have anything better to say. He picked the dagger and slashed his palm. He looked at the blood blooming over his skin, the slight sting barely registering. He breathed heavily as he gently smeared the blood over the mask. He jumped back when the mask’s bone spines snapped into Caesar’s head, a bright light flashing and nearly blinding him. Joseph covered his face with his arms and closed his eyes. He pulled his arms down once the light subsided, watching the dead man with wide eyes filled with dread.
A moment passed.
And another.
And another.
The bone spines of the mask snapped back, causing Joseph to flinch. He lifted it with a trembling hand. Caesar’s face remained smooth and still as death. Joseph watched him numbly, waiting for him to open his eyes, move.
Anything.
It didn’t work. Joseph got up with wobbling legs, climbing out of the hole he dug. He didn’t notice that he was clutching the mask with his prosthetic. It creaked under the pressure. Joseph felt another wave of devastation hit him. He glared at the mask and the blood that almost got dried up above it. Of course, it didn’t work, why was he surprised. This stupid ancient artifact brought him nothing but despair and grief, the only legacy it carried was endless loss and corruption. He pulled his hand back, ready to throw the damned mask somewhere far away from his eyes when he heard it.
The little rustling behind him.
He slowly turned, eyes wide with anticipation and disbelief. Caesar was sitting, looking around in confusion. He blinked and looked up, noticing Joseph standing in front of him, outside of the grave hole.
“JoJo?” He asked in confusion, voice rough from disuse. Joseph opened and closed his mouth but he couldn’t let a single word out. He was alive…? It worked? Caesar kept staring at him, looking equally perplexed. His once light green eyes gave place to eerie orange orbs glowing slightly in the dark. His fangs looked sharper and longer, shinning under the moon light.
Caesar narrowed his eyes, his eyes falling on the stone mask clutched in Joseph’s hand. He stared at it and Joseph could see him slowly coming to the conclusion. his eyes widening in anger, horror and disbelief.
“JoJo… what did you do…?” he demanded with panic edging his voice.
Joseph didn’t know what to say. He stepped back, staring at the mask. It worked… it worked! Caesar was back! He was alive again!
Caesar got up, and he clung to the muddy walls as his knees gave out. Joseph saw him staring at his black claws with horror. He looked around and saw the grave stone, staring at it in a silent shock, his muscles going lax. Joseph knew from experience that reading your own gravestone wasn’t the most pleasant experience anyone could have. He tried to say something but he stopped himself. It was a terrifying scene to watch, how Caesar’s muscles slowly began to tense one by one. He turned his face sharply back to Joseph, his face dark in fury. Joseph fell down when he tried to take another step back. Caesar dug his hand into the pile of dirt around the grave dragging himself up. His mouth opened in a snarl.
“Joseph, what the fuck did you do?!”