「Imagine」Appears

「Dangerous Woman」!

Jasmine’s stand manifested in front of her, quickly sending a punch towards「Imagine」. However,「Dangerous Woman’s」fist simply went through the enemy stand.

“My, aren’t we impatient?” said the stand, “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I am merely an auditory and visual illusion. You cannot strike me, even with a stand”

「Imagine」was dressed like a circus ringleader. Its “suit” and “hat” were green in color. It wore a pair of white gloves. It carried a wooden staff with a gold sphere at the end that the stand rested itself upon. The stand’s face was like a robot’s, grey and lacking any facial features other than eyes which were ovular and green in color and a fake, curly mustache.

“Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to more formally introduce myself,” said the stand as it bowed, “I am the mascot of the stand「Imagine」. It is my job to explain to you the rules of the tournament and to tell you where your next battle will take place”.

“Well in that case, can you explain why those two have the same number?” Asked Josiah.

“In due time, Mr. Joestar,” replied「Imagine」, “but first, I need to address why I have suddenly appeared”

“And why would that be?” asked Jasmine.

“The reason I have appeared before you,” said「Imagine」as he dramatically posed, gesturing his hands upwards, “is because the tournament has begun!”

“NANI!?” exclaimed Sam and Sofie simultaneously, laughing immediately afterwards.

“What!? Already!?” asked Jasmine, half panicked.

“Yes indeed,” replied the stand, “with the addition of those two children, there are finally enough contestants to fill out a bracket that is satisfactory to my user’s desire”

“So it’s a thirty-two contestant bracket, then?” asked Josiah.

“Indeed, Mr. Joestar,” replied the stand, “It is a thirty-two contestant tournament consisting of five rounds of one-on-one battles to the death”

“So why do we have the same number if that’s the case?” asked Sam.

“That’s because the two of you are considered a single contestant due to the duality of your stands” replied「Imagine」.

“Are there any other contestants who are actually multiple people?” asked Sofia.

“Sorry, but I cannot disclose information on your opponents at any time, lest I put someone at a disadvantage”

“So we’ll be going into each battle blindly?” asked Josiah.

“Indeed you will”

“Speaking of which, how will we know who our opponents are and where will we fight them?” asked Jasmine, who had calmed herself down.

“A very good question, Ms. Carrey!” replied the stand, “You see, prior to a match, I will tell you a place where you and your opponent must go. These meeting spots will vary, but in most cases they will be otherwise unpopulated areas. A battle begins when both combatants enter the area”

“So the environments we’ll be fighting in will vary?” asked Josiah.

“Exactly”

“What happens if we’re unable to reach the designated area?”

“Your lives will be forfeit, Mr. Joestar,” replied the stand, “But do not fear! With the help of other stand users, my user has made arrangements to make sure that no one will have any trouble reaching the designated locations, no matter where the destination is!”

“Well in that case, where are our first battles taking place?” asked Josiah.

“That is to be determined, Mr. Joestar,” replied the stand, “You see, some stand users may enter an alliance of sorts. And my user would like to prevent fighting amongst allies, at least in the early rounds. So to prevent that, he is going to wait and see who teams up to determine the best bracket possible”

“So the brackets aren’t randomized?” asked Jasmine.

“No, each battle is chosen by my user”

“Wait, so if we’re on the same team, we won’t have to fight Nii-Sama?” asked Sofia.

“Unless you all get to the later rounds, no, you won’t have to”

“Ah, that’s such a relief,” said Sam.

“In that case, I’d like to join that team of yours, Joestar,” said Jasmine.

“Good, that certainly simplifies things,” replied Josiah.

“You know, you shouldn’t call JoJo Nii-Sama Joestar since technically we’re also Joestar,” said Sofia.

“Wait, those are your family!? You sent your own family into a death tournament?” exclaimed Jasmine.

“Well of course we’re family,” said Sam, “I mean, we’ve been calling Nii-Sama this whole time”

“What does that even mean?”

“Its Japanese for ‘honored big brother’,” replied Sofia.

“They’re your younger siblings!?” exclaimed Jasmine, “You’re seriously messed up, you know that?”

“Hey, they willingly entered, so is it really that big a deal?” said Josiah, “Besides, what’s done is done. You should be more worried about how you’ll address us since we’re going to all be traveling together for a while”

“You should call Nii-Sama JoJo, since first names are a little too personal,” said Sofia, squinting at Jasmine.

“I really don’t wanna know what you mean by that,” said Josiah, “But yeah, call me JoJo. I don’t like being called Josiah”

“Noted,” replied Jasmine.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I will now take my leave,” suddenly said「Imagine」, “I will appear to you once again once the brackets are set. Until then, go ahead and assemble your team, and feel free to get help from any stand users that aren’t in the tournament”. And with that,「Imagine」faded away.

• • •

“By the way JoJo, did you speak with the man I had brought with me?” asked Jasmine as everyone left JoJo’s office, including himself.

“What man?” he asked.

“Wait, he hasn’t been in that car for the entire time, has he!?” exclaimed Jasmine, asking nobody in particular.

“No, I welcomed him into the manor,” said Denver, “He’s currently in the study”

“You welcomed someone into the house without telling me?” said JoJo.

“Well, I normally would have asked you about it first, but...” said Denver as his voice trailed off, “I think you should come this way, Master JoJo”. Denver began to lead JoJo to the study. JoJo was curious as to why Denver would invite someone into the manor without asking him first. Once he entered the study, however, he quickly found his answer.

In the study sat a man wearing a cheap, tacky brown suit and tie. He appeared to be in his forties. His hair was long, silver, and messily styled. His eyes were a bright green. Across his face was a rough beard. This face was a face that JoJo recognized.

“Denver,” said Josiah with an irate tone, “how long has he been here?”

“For the last three hours”

“That’s three hours too long,” said JoJo, “Get him out of my sight”

“But JoJo, it’s been so long, don’t you-“

“I want him out of my sight, and that’s final!”

“Josiah, I get that you’re mad, but I can explain” said the older man.

“Explain what, Daniel? That you were somehow justified in leaving your children alone when the oldest was only twelve!?”

“I don’t want to convince you that I was justified, I just want you to understand, son”

“Fine then, what’s your explanation?”

“I-“ started Daniel, “I couldn’t stand to be in this house. It reminded me way too much of your mother”

“Seriously!?” exclaimed JoJo, “You expect me to believe that cliche answer!? I’d sooner believe and forgive you if you said you ran off because you fell in love!”

“But it’s the truth, Josiah!” replied Daniel, “But it’s more complicated than that, of course. Truth is, the reason it reminds me so heavily of her is because of my stand”

“And what do you mean by that?”

“My stand has the ability to travel back in time, though it has heavy limitations, one of those being that I can only sometimes choose what time to go to”

“So why did you not want to stay here, then?”

“Because if I had stayed here, I would’ve gone back to that day,” replied Daniel, “and I would’ve taken you all with me”

“What do you mean, take us all with you?” asked JoJo, his irate tone slightly fading, though still present.

“My stand,「Hotel California」, turns the building I’m in into a time machine that effects everyone inside,” said Daniel, “I didn’t want to risk all of you seeing your own mother die”

“So why didn’t you just not use your ability?”

“Because it can automatically activate with emotional distress”

JoJo fell silent. He was coming to a loss of words.

“Why didn’t you just take us with you then?” asked JoJo, his irate tone nearly gone.

“I don’t know,” responded Daniel, “I guess I wanted to punish myself for not being a good enough husband”

“Well I hope you felt properly punished, then,” said JoJo, his irate tone returning, “Do you know how distressed Sam and Sofia were when you left? For the longest time they would cry themselves to sleep wondering when their “Papa” would return to them”

“Josiah, I’m sorry..,”

“If it weren’t for Denver, they probably still would be,” said JoJo, “Hell, even now I’m worried that they lost something back then”

“I’m really sorry...”

“I hope you are,” said JoJo, “I really shouldn’t forgive you, but I think I can give you chance to earn my forgiveness”

“Wait, really, son?”

“Yeah, and it involves your stand,” replied JoJo, “So tell me more about your「Hotel California」.