#holycorpse

Plotted starter @shabcn

When Joseph stepped out from the blinding light, he was met with a cool breeze. A chilling breeze. Much different than what he had been used to whenever he was in Egypt not too long ago. The old man brought his arms up to cross across one another. A shiver ran down his spine. Why was it so damn cold? Taking a look around at his surroundings, he understood where the chill in the air had come from. The terrain around him was snowy, a frozen landscape everywhere he looked. The air crisp and thin, having his breath leave his body in white clouds of steam. (Of all the places to end up!) To make matters worse, night covered the landscape, making the wind that rolled in, bone chilling cold. Although what he didn’t realize was that there was another reason why a chill had gone down his spine. A sense of familiarity in this place. The more he looked around, the more that he felt like he had been here before. He understood that they could be taken to any point in time and any location within that time. It all just depended on what the next target was. Where the next part was located across time. At first glance, Joseph thought he had merely just walked into some quiet, snowy little village surrounded by tall mountains in the distance. However, now that he was getting a real good look around the location something told him that this place was one, he had seen before. It came in the form of a dull ache in his chest. It felt as though dread was tugging at his heartstrings and pushing forth an old memory that had long sense dulled over the years. A memory that he had never forgotten, but only learned to cope with as time went on.

(Oh no…)

His arms slowly came to drop to his sides as aged teals moved between the small homes and businesses of a town tucked quietly in the mountains of Switzerland, then out to the distance. The mountain range that spread across the land. Sure enough, there sitting on the edge of town was the ruin of a large rundown hotel. One that had in its glory days been some kind of tourist attraction, now nothing but a forgotten relic carved into the mountainside. His heart dropped at the sight of it. He thought he wouldn’t have to ever lay eyes on it again. And yet here he was. Why of all places would he be brought here to this site? Joseph didn’t even want to go near that place, knowing what it meant. Knowing what had happened there. And given the time of day, he could guess that that event would have just befallen him. This was the part where he had lost Caesar, forever. Arriving just moments too late to save his life and having the heartbreak of finding him. His realization. Joseph felt it all right in that moment. The ache in his chest so strong that it stole his breath away, allowing for the chilled air to sting his lungs. The old man had to lower his head, a hand moving up to press to his chest. As if this would stop the ache in his heart that he felt at that moment. It was like he was reliving it all over again. He could see the scene so clearly in his head, despite the fact that it had happened to him fifty years ago. What would have happened if he had ben able to save Caesar? He had asked himself this question many times over. Wondering again and again if he would have ever settled down with Suzie or if he would have stayed by Caesar’s side, growing old with him just as he had. He could never know. And more importantly, he was here for a purpose he didn’t have time to focus on that.

Just as he was trying to force these feelings down and move himself forward with the task at hand, his old eyes caught sight of something in the snow. A trail of footprints and fresh ones. Squinting at the sight of them, he followed their path. They appeared to lead out of town and towards the old hotel. They looked as though they had only been formed minutes ago. His heart leapt. Could it be? Joseph straightened up and looked behind him. There was no sign of his younger self or Lisa Lisa. That meant that they hadn’t figured it out yet. They didn’t know that Caesar and Messina had left for the old hotel just yet. Which meant right now he would be on his way to fight Wamuu. There was still time! And even though this wasn’t what he was there for, he had a feeling that his goal was probably hiding within that old hotel anyway. The next part had to be there. It only made sense for it to be given the circumstances he had come into this world. It was almost as though they had to go through trials to achieve finding another part. Each one, harder than the next. This was probably going to be the hardest thing he ever did. Especially if even in his advanced age and knowledge of Caesar’s fate—he ended up there too late. If his younger self wasn’t going to take this seriously until after he was dead, then he was going to fix that mistake for him.

The old man bounded through the snow after that, following the prints out to the old hotel. It was a good thing he used enough Hamon to stay in decent shape, otherwise at his age he wouldn’t have been able to make the trek. If his timing was right, he should arrive there just before himself and Lisa Lisa. Which meant that he should at least have a chance to do something about Caesar’s fate. Joseph knew now that when he had seen that light and heard his yell, it had been Caesar’s last. Back fifty years ago, he hadn’t actually realized this until he managed to get inside the damn place and found his bubble. He didn’t know why the time had been switched from day to night. But for some reason in this situation, he had been given a chance to stop the fate of the other before it was too late. Exactly what would happen if he did this, he didn’t know. The idea of time traveling was to let things happen the way it should. But he wasn’t sure he could stomach watching himself cry over Caesar’s death. He wasn’t sure he wanted to try and console himself and tell him that it would get easier with time. Eventually he would come to terms with his death, but it would always be a tender subject. His heart would never be able to fully heal from the loss of Caesar. Even now when he was nearing his seventies his heart hadn’t healed completely. Even despite having found a way to move on and have a family, his heart still held a hole in it where he had loved and lost Caesar.

By the time he arrived, he found the wall had already fallen in. So, the fight had already moved inside. Time was running short. He didn’t hesitate though, climbing through the rubble to get inside the old hotel, coming upon the scene. There was already a good deal of blood left on the floor of the lobby, but from what he could tell, Caesar was still alive. Maybe barely, but alive. And then he saw it, the large chunk of debris that had become his tomb. It came loose from somewhere above, breaking apart and heading right for where Caesar was to meet his final resting place. Joseph stepped forward though, throwing a handout to extend the purple vines. Hermit Purple came shooting out of his forearm, wrapping around the large chunk of debris first. The thorny vines constricting around the rock like a snake that had trapped its pray. Sparks of Hamon exploded all along the purple vines, spreading across the rock before it finally broke apart, exploding and raining down in small bits of debris and dust. Well, it wasn’t a graceful saved, but he had stopped it from crushing him. Calling back his stand he moved over towards him. By now, his other self should be arriving to the scene. The old man knelt down though beside the fallen Caesar. He hadn’t bled to death already had he?

Night had fallen over the Mediterranean, the sea breeze that came in was chilling, though the air was salty. The days were counting down until he would have to face their enemies. It was getting closer and closer to crunch time. And now that he had learned a little more about what they were after and its importance, it meant that training hard was his focus. Joseph could not let the Stone of Aja fall into the hands of the Pillar Men. It could be the end of humanity if it did and that wasn't something he was about to take, if he could help it. It was more than that, of course. He didn't much have a choice but to defeat them--if he wanted to live, that is. With the poisonous rings that had been implanted around his heart and throat, if for whatever reason he didn't meet his end of the deal, they would kill him within minutes. To say that he wasn't at all nervous about it would be a little bit of a lie. But the young man wasn't going to let that detour him from sharpening his skills. Again, not that he was being given much choice. The training they had him undergoing was incredibly intense, so much so that he could easily pass it off as some form of legal torture. Now that the sun had gone down, training should be over for the day. But with the days becoming more and more numbered, he wasn't ready to call it quits until his body couldn't take anymore.

(It's nearing the end of the thirty days now. If I don't work twice as hard now than I still might not be strong enough to face them.) 

The benefit of going on after the island had gone dark was that now he  didn't have to worry about the glare of the sun beating down on him. Of course, concentrating his Hamon was still no easy task. The mask that sat securely over the lower half of his face ensured that taking in air and controlling his breathing was not an easy task. It had been an annoyance when he first arrived to Air Supplena Island, but by now he had gotten used to it for the most part. On the hottest of days though, where the sun was high in the sky, it did make breathing difficult. It was those days that he found himself struggling a little more to focus on keeping his breathing even. Which meant that his instructor only made things harder for him. Something that Joseph always found to be incredibly irritating. He understood that all of it was for his own benefit and in the long run having the mask on would help him be able to control himself easier, but that was part of why he had come to hate his instructor and the training that he was putting him through. Perhaps when it came time for the final exam, he would thank him for all the hell he'd been subjected to. But on days like that, he could hardly think of anything but punching the man in his face. If the situation wasn't so serious, he might have been more inclined to do something like that. Joseph had gotten himself into trouble for less, after all. 

(At least it's quiet now, so I don't have to worry about that horrible man giving me a hard time.)

He took a deep breath, which was something of a feat through the mask he was wearing. The way it was constructed was something like a gas mask, so getting air to come through it was not an easy task. He had learned that the hard way when it was first put on his face. If he couldn't remain calm and steady his breathing, he wouldn't be able to get enough air to his lungs. That meant that he could easily pass out if he wasn't careful. Now that it had been a couple weeks though, even with the work it took for this to happen he had gotten used to the labor of the task. Standing perfectly still, he inhaled deeply. He kept his arms raised so they were positioned above his diaphragm, helping to bring the air into his lungs. What he was doing was concentrating on channeling his Hamon into his hands. Visualizing the energy surging through his body and coming out through his fingertips. It took a deep breath in to start before he released the air slowly, exhaling. At the same time this was happening the life energy rippled through his body until yellow sparks touched along his fingertips of each hand.

Joseph had decided he wasn't going to be trying any hard tasks while it was dark now. With the sun having gone down, there was a shadow that had been cast across the island. Which meant that trying to see well in his training arena may prove to be a little dangerous. The only reason for this was because there was a large, circular pit that sat at the center of the satellite island he was training on. This pit was lined in full with sharp, pointed spikes. He'd been working on crossing this pit on his feet by the use of his Hamon. And little by little he had managed to move across it without too much trouble. Although right now, he still couldn't walk very quickly across it without worrying about falling in. The loss of focus meant impaling yourself on the spikes below. Lucky enough for him, he'd been able to regain his focus in time before the sharp points could penetrate all the way through the soles of his boots. At night, where this pit was lost in the shadow of darkness, he wasn't sure it would be a good idea to try it. If he lost his focus even for a second, he wouldn't be able to clearly see all the points below to catch himself. The light of the moon reflecting off the sea and the few lights that lined the island did help to give it some light outside. But that was it for the most part, everything else was dark. 

"Holy shit! That guy is...!" Voices from behind him caught his attention. Joseph glanced over his shoulder to find a group of individuals approaching him. The same group of people he had pissed off not just moments before ducking out of the place and making for the street. Only now it seemed like they had caught up to him. And the only person nearby who might be able to help him out was a strange looking fellow. Well beggars couldnt be choosers right? He needed a scapegoat to get out of this sticky situation that he had managed to get himself tangled up in and this guy looked like he might be able to help.

"Hey there you are!" He called out to the dark male, approaching with a smile as the small group neared them. He gave a nervous laugh. Safety in numbers. "Listen, I dont suppose you would mind helping me out of a sticky situation, right? My friends over there arent too happy with me at the moment."

This he muttered to the stranger he had approached, giving a subtle nod in their direction. He could figure out what was up with this guy at a later date. First he would like to keep his head attached.

Plotted starter @ancnas Joseph/Joseph

Joseph took a look around as he stepped out of the rift he’d passed through. These rifts had started showing up in their world not that long ago. And after a little bit of investigating it by the use of Hermit Purple, he had found out exactly what it was that they were dealing with. Dio had surfaced again or at least it seemed that way. The catch was that this was not the Dio that they had only just defeated in Egypt. From his understanding the Dio that they were facing against now was one that had come from another world. A parallel one to the one that they lived in. That world’s Dio had actually achieved his goal, but now it would seem that that hadn’t been enough. He didn’t know exactly how but it appeared that he had learned of the other worlds that existed. And now his best guess was that he was trying to use his stand to overwrite all of them and recreate a world—his world. There seemed to be only one way to defeat a power that strong and that was to collect these corpse parts that had been scattered all across time because of Dio. The rifts had started appearing in order to enable them to pass through them to these other eras. Opening whenever another part was collected. The catch was that they never knew where they were going to end up or when, until after they got there. Another thing was that sometimes when one or more people entered the rifts, it seemed that they could be separated to a time where they would be most needed. At least that was his assumption on how the whole thing worked. Joseph was still trying to piece the story together, honestly.

This place that he had ended up though. There was something familiar about it. He couldn’t quite place it, but he felt like he had definitely been there before. Stepping out of the ring of light, it faded and disappeared behind him. Sealing him into this world until he was able to find the next part and leave. First, he had to sort out where and when he had ended up. After that then he could go onto search for the corpse part. If it brought him here, then it had to be somewhere in this world. Joseph had to find it before their enemies did or else things could get much more complicated for them. Without that power he didn’t think that they would be able to stand up against Dio’s new stand ability. But getting their hands on the part was proving to be difficult in itself. Not to mention their foes appeared to be allies of their’s that had been persuaded to turn against them. That only made things worse, especially since that this rule seemed to apply even to those who had already met their demise. Being brought back into the world just to be used as a tool to hurt their friends? It was probably worse than having to fight a new stand user to begin with. As if this whole thing couldn’t get any worse than it already was. His hope was that he wouldn’t run into anything like that, here. Although he was getting a weird feeling just from being there. Not because of the anomalies that circulated the whole circumstance but because he was certain he had been here before. Since this whole thing had started, he couldn’t say he had traveled to many places he recognized, but this one was different. Just where was it that he had ended up?

Stepping out of what looked to be like an old, structure, he found himself on a paved arena. At its center was a circular shaped pit. At first glance, he didn’t think anything of it. But doing a second take, he realized what he was looking at. (I know this place!) There was no mistaking that pit of spikes that he had to deal with fifty years ago. There was no way he would have been able to forget having to learn to walk across those things without piercing the soles of his boots or falling in. He couldn’t count how many times Loggins had made it look so easy by casually running or jumping across it like it was nothing. And yet he struggled to so much as take a step forward at first. It was the same location that he had faced off against Esidisi all those years ago. The place where his instructor had met his untimely end, too. The night he was to take his final exam from his Hamon training here had been that same night that his fight against the Pillar Men had officially began. He hadn’t really thought about it in years, considering that he didn’t actively practice his Hamon all the time anymore, at least not on its own. Any more his Hamon was distributed through his stand, Hermit Purple. That meant that the era that he had been sent back to, was the one of his own history. Backwards in time, fifty years ago to Air Supplena Island. The island he trained on for just short of a month with Lisa Lisa and Caesar. There was an odd feeling of nostalgia that him now that he realized where he was. He remembered how much he hated the place and the training he had to go with back then. But Hindsight was everything. If he could tell his younger self to treasure the moments, he had here with the people he cared about…

(Just wait until I get my hands on them. I'll make sure they pay for ever messing with me.) 

Joseph thought to himself as he headed down the street. Admittedly, he didn't really recognize his surroundings. The town was completely unfamiliar to him and even the way everything looked, seemed a bit strange. The buildings, the billboards, the vehicles, even the people all looked incredibly different than what he was used to. Although he supposed that was bound to happen. From what he had been told by the Noble One, he was going to be seeing a lot of strange things whenever he went looking for his enemies. Those things aside, he needed to keep a clear mind and focus on what was at hand here. It was up to him now to ensure that everything got taken care of. Not that his master didn't have anyone else who could have handled the situation, but Joseph had been told that the whole reason he had had to go through so much recently was because of a group of people that were looking to ensure the world's destruction. As if the Pillar Men weren't bad enough, now he was having to deal with this too? Well, he was just going to have to make fast work of this so he could get back to what he really should be doing. It was one thing after another though it seemed. Joseph felt like he had only just accepted the fact that he had been poisoned and was training his life away under some torturous circumstances. Now, someone else was threatening the world as well? And to make matters worse, from what he had been told, the threat was much worse than just the Pillar Men. 

(This place sure does look strange. Well, whatever it shouldn't be too hard to find them.) 

His stride was casual while he mused through his thoughts, trying to think of what he might do once he found the people he was looking for. Going over in his head again, he recalled who it was he had been told to look out for. They would be a suspicious looking group, probably including an angry-looking young man and an older fellow. The descriptions had been a little brief, but he had been reassured that he would know who he was looking for when he found them. All he had been informed of was that these people were linked with his enemies and only more suffering would ensue if they were left to live. Being skilled--as it was pointed out--he had been chosen to go after them. Joseph couldn't have felt more proud of that fact. (You're damn right I'm the best there is! I'll show him.) And he his pride wouldn't let him slow down until he was successful with the mission he had been given. Even if he had no idea where his master had sent him, he wasn't going to question it. Once the threat was taken care of, then everything could go back to normal. He could go back to focusing the real problem that he had been facing. If these people really were keeping Lisa Lisa and Caesar from him and causing more vampires to appear, then it only made sense that everything would go back to normal once they were defeated.

Of course, unknowingly to him, there was something that had been planted deep into his brain. A small, fleshy star stuck to the top of his forehead, just below his hairline. Joseph didn't realize it, yet but it was because of this flesh bud that his thoughts were clouded. It was the reason why he was so easily believing the words that had been given to him by this mysterious man he had met. If it hadn't been for the help of the brainwashing flesh bud that had been inserted into his brain, the absurd things that he was being told might not have made sense to him. The thing about these things though, once they had been inserted, any other thought outside the ones that were being fed to him didn't make much sense. It was as though the corrupted thoughts running through his mind had become his own. And of course, Joseph believed them to be without knowing any better. In his mind, he had been sent out on a mission to find the group responsible for taking hold of the people he cared about and threatening the world with destruction. They were a bigger threat, if not equal to that of the Pillar Men. That was the fact and nothing else at that current point in time was going to convince Joseph of anything different. He was geared and ready to fight the first suspicious person he came across. 

Joseph himself, was catching the eyes of other citizens as he passed, though he didn't seem to pay them any mind. Teals would briefly glance over each face as he walked by them, only for a huff of slight frustration to leave his lips. None of them seemed like anything out of the ordinary. That was strangely funny coming from someone who was dressed in a button down shirt, suspenders and a tie. He wore his red jacket over it, but the sleeves had been pushed up to his  elbows. To accompany this strange out-of-date appearance, he was wearing a pair of knee-high boots over his blue jeans. It didn't seem to be registering in his mind that nobody else around dressed the way he did, at least not anymore. There had been mention that he would be traveling through rifts, so he only passed this off as the strange things he was going to see that had been mentioned before. He strolled down the street, with his arms folded up behind his head, fingers interlocked. It only made sense for him to appear casual while he was scoping out his enemies--even if the civilians seemed to be staring at him as he passed. 

(It would have helped if I had more of a description...)

WTF GAARA DIED

bad boy for sure and ghostmob underdog