Standstill Bonds

Chapter 32 ~ A Message from the Other Side

The next evening, Jotaro sat silently beside Josephine on the floor. The steady beeping of the monitor echoed the rhythm of her fragile heartbeat, a constant reminder that she clung to life, albeit barely, unaware of the battle being waged for her. His hand moved tentatively,  fingers stroking her scalp and hair as he spoke to her, the memory of doing the same for his daughter resurfacing.

"Jolyne always loved this when she was very young," he murmured, his voice nostalgic and sorrowful.

A knock at the bedroom door drew his attention. Expecting one of the Speedwagon doctors, he called for the visitor to enter. To his surprise, Giorno Giovanna stepped into the room, bowing respectfully. Jotaro nodded in greeting, his hand still resting on Josephine's head. Giorno's gaze shifted to the her, a solemn expression flooding his face as he muttered something sympathetic in Italian.

"Pardonne il disturbo. Buona sera." Giorno greeted, his voice calm yet carrying an underlying sense of determination.

Jotaro's face subtly churned in confusion, and Giorno quickly cleared his throat, translating himself. "Oh, forgive me, I said my apologies for disturbing you and good evening."

"Good evening," Jotaro replied. "You're not disturbing anything."

Giorno knelt down and he continued in his Italian but this time addressing Josephine directly with a soft spoken voice. "Mi dispiace, cara mia. Spero che tu possa sentire che stiamo facendo del nostro meglio per aiutarti." ("I am sorry, my dear. I hope you can feel that we are doing our best to help you.")

Though Jotaro didn't understand the words, he could hear the empathy in Giorno's tone, and he appreciated the sentiment. Giorno then turned his attention back to him, trying to ease the heavy atmosphere somewhat.

"Your mother is truly remarkable," Giorno commented. "Amidst all this, she's holding everything together; even making dinner for the doctors. She's a good person."

Jotaro only nodded, his thoughts still tethered to Josephine. Giorno, maintaining his respectful distance, placed his hand over his heart, "I mean what I said before, I promise to do everything I can to help in this battle. My vow to protect good people has brought me here, and that promise extends to her."

-

Josephine's consciousness found itself enveloped in a void of darkness, surrounded by muffled voices echoing in the emptiness. An indeterminate sense of motion or stillness left her disoriented, unable to discern between weightlessness and an unseen force anchoring her. The lines between existence and nothingness blurred, leaving her questioning whether she was alive or dead.

For what felt like an eternity, she struggled against whatever held her there. Finally, with a strain, she forced her eyes open; only to find herself submerged in an endless ocean. The sky above was featureless, no sun, no stars. There was no wind, no sound, other than the faint ripple of water around her that didn't even feel like water, only a cool veil.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice shaky, maneuvering herself to a standing position, the water settling at her thighs.. The sound echoed strangely, as if bouncing off invisible walls.

Her mind raced, piecing together the last moments before she found herself here; The encounter with Pucci, his stand... The memories ripped away. Horror gripped her heart.

"Oh my god... am I dead?" Her voice trembled, fear overwhelming her.

A voice suddenly answered from behind her, strong and edged with an ironic amusement, "No, kid, you're not. But you gave it your best shot."

Josephine turned sharply on her heel. Standing there, radiating a soft, ethereal glow, was a young woman who looked only a few years older than herself. Her deep emerald green hair, streaked with thick blonde highlights, framed her face. Her outfit was stylized, almost battle ready, and the energy surrounding her gave off a powerful presence. She exuded a strange familiarity, though Josephine had no idea why.

"H-hello? Who are you?" Josephine stammered.

The woman crossed her arms and gave a smirk. "Jolyne Cujoh."

Josephine's heart lurched. "That's... impossible! You're dead!"

"Yeah," Jolyne said, her smile fading into something more solemn, "I'm afraid so."

Josephine's mind reeled. She took a step back, struggling to process the situation. "What's going on? Where are we?"

"This is Pucci's void," Jolyne explained, gesturing around at the endless water. "When I died, I ended up here. You're not dead, but your consciousness is stuck. Unless my old man gets your Stand back before your body gives up, you'll be trapped here, just like me."

Josephine felt a wave of panic rising within her. "Why did this happen?" she asked, her voice small.

"It's that bastard Pucci. He's got a thing for causing trouble for the Joestar bloodline as you know by now. You got tangled up in it, and now, it needs to be fixed."

Josephine tentatively asked, "So... is it true? Your soul has been trapped here on its own ever since you died?"

Jolyne looked down into the water as she thought of her solitude, and answered with a somber, "Yes."

"That must be so lonely."

"It is. But not nearly as painful as watching over my old man, seeing him blame himself for what happened to me and shutting himself off from new people for years, until you came along."

Josephine's expression morphed into one of surprise, "You've been watching us the whole time?"

Jolyne nodded, "Yes, it's the only thing I can do here, aside from wandering this ocean."

She went on to explain how she witnessed Josephine and Jotaro's initial meeting and the subsequent evolution of their friendship. Jolyne expressed her relief, "I'm glad someone was finally able to do it. There were times I wanted nothing more than to leap into the real world and slap my dad silly to get him to stop wallowing."

Expressing her shock at not being informed about Jolyne by Jotaro himself, Josephine admitted, "He never told me about you - you know, I found out from Pucci of all people."

"Dad's never been good at talking about things. It's partly what caused our relationship to be so strained for some time. I thought he had more or less abandoned me growing up, but I didn't know he was busy keeping enemy Stand users away from our family, he wouldn't tell me or Mom cause he didn't want us involved."

Josephine's eyes reflected empathy. "A memory like that must have been so painful for him to think about, let alone admit out loud, especially if he carried so much self-blame for it."

As the revelation settled, Josephine continued, "As soon as Pucci told me about what happened, everything fell into place. Mr. Jotaro's reluctance to mentor me, telling me not to follow trouble, his harsh scolding when I did. It makes sense now, and in no good way."

Jolyne's expression turned sour, her fists clenching as she spoke with disdain about Pucci's actions, "That bastard Pucci took everything from me. My friends, my life. And now, he's trying to do it all over again. I can't move on from here until he's stopped."

Her voice carried a touch of despair as she continued, "I'm stuck in this limbo, forever separated from my friends who found peace. It's a fucking lonely existence. But hey," she tried to inject a note of dark humour, "at least I've got some company now." She gestured towards Josephine, a small attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

Josephine, feeling a mix of emotions, walked over to Jolyne. She hesitantly reached out, unsure if she could actually touch her. Her hand came to rest on Jolyne's shoulder, feeling a firm warmth under her touch as she connected with Jolyne's soul. With a determined expression, Josephine gave her a promise, "When my stand is returned, I will make sure to help end Pucci forever. I promise I'll free you from this."

Jolyne's eyes seemed to glow a touch brighter as she answered, "You have no idea how much that means to me, kid. Being trapped here, unable to move on, it's... it's a kind of hell, heh, ironic isn't it? But if you can stop Pucci, if you can set things right, I'll finally be free."

Josephine, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the situation, nodded in understanding. "I'll do whatever it takes. Mr. Jotaro and the others won't let this stand. We'll defeat Pucci, and you'll be free."

Jolyne's eyes softened with gratitude, "Thank you, Josephine. You're a lot like my old man you know, stubborn as hell. I can see why he's taken a liking to you. Just make sure you kick Pucci's ass for me when you get out of here."