Jōtarō didn't exactly know why he headed for Enya's quarters.
She was dead now, and, as far as he knew, she had been at Dio's mansion in Cairo way more than at her hotel, except for the night the Crusaders fought her.
Also he doubted he'd find the arrows at the hotel; it made more sense for them to be hidden somewhere in Dio's mansion since he would pick his minions and only then would she give them a stand.
- Ora!
Star Platinum had summoned himself and was staring at Jōtarō.
- What? the young man sighed as he opened a closet. How the fuck can you actually know if they're here or not, when we've not even looked yet.
- Ora?
- What do you mean, "not now"? We are looking now, cause I said so! Shut up.
- Ora ora!
- What?! ... No, I am not hugging Polnareff again. He's a pain in the ass and I have too much on my mind, you should know that!
The purple stand raised his arms in an exasperated gesture, scolding him with his ocean blue eyes.
- Ora, he minced. Ora ora ora!
The young man lowered his hat on his eyes without answering and moved to look in between two hanged robes.
Star Platinum kept quiet for some time while searching the room as well.
- O-Ora... he finally whispered in a broken voice.
Jōtarō sighed again.
- ... I know.
- Found something already?
Goddammit, when he put his mind to it Polnareff actually could move quietly. Jōtarō did not see him come in.
- Mmh.
The Frenchman sent out Silver Chariot to the next room and opened a chest to help search around. His friend vaguely glanced at him from under his hat, and found he had stopped crying. For now, at least.
- I don't think we're gonna find anything in here, Polnareff muttered. That hag sure was senile but she wasn't stupid. Either the arrows are well hidden, or she sold all of them. They must be worth a fat load of cash.
- From what I've understood she was in charge of awakening stands, Jōtarō retorted. So she must have kept one in here, or at Dio's mansion.
The older man clenched his fist, biting into his trembling lip.
- Then I hope it's here cause I am not going back there. That'd really be best if we could avoid Egypt.
Without warning Jōtarō threw a punch into the wall.
The stone cracked and he shoved his hand back into his pocket, without even looking at the injury caused by the strength of the blow.
Polnareff stared at him wide-eyed.
- Oh putain, I thought Star would take care of that part! You seen your hand?!
- Mmh. It's fine.
- ...
The purple giant gave his user a tired look (Jōtarō was so careless that Star was beginning to find it really, really annoying) and took over from there.
- Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ORA!!
A soft 'click' was heard between two blows and the floor opened like a trapdoor, revealing a hole about three feet deep.
A faint, golden glow peeked from the bottom.
Both young men looked at each other, dumbfounded.
- ... That was too easy, Polnareff uttered, almost refusing to believe his own eyes.
He knelt down and was about to reach for the artifact when Jōtarō caught his arm and forced him back on his feet.
- Wait. If that's really one of those arrows, we have absolutely no idea what effect it might have on us.
The silver-haired shrugged and called back Silver Chariot for him to use his rapier as a lever. But Star Platinum did the same as his user and stopped the armored stand.
- But-...!
- Shut up. That arrow awakens stands but we don't know what it might do to ours.
Star smashed the stone tiles all around so that Jōtarō could jump into the small hideout and have a closer look.
The bug, sculpted close to the tip, confirmed it was indeed one of the arrows they had been looking for.
The brunette took off his gakuran jacket and wrapped it around the arrow.
When he got out of the hole he handed it to Polnareff for him to take a look as well. The Frenchman immediately felt overwhelmed by a wave of fury, as he wondered if it was the one that gave Cream to Vanilla Ice; if it was the one responsible for the massacre of Abdul and Iggy.
His eyes quivered as tears threatened to spill again.
He moved a trembling hand toward Jōtarō, as if mesmerized by the arrow.
- Let's destroy it! he shouted. Let's burn this hotel down!! Gold does melt, right?!
The Japanese teen shook his head in disagreement and set his jacket with the arrow on the floor.
- I don't know. I'll call Jiji, we'll have that arrow studied by the Speedwagon Foundation and THEN we'll go search for the other ones.
- But-
- There's a phone at the reception desk, you stay here and keep an eye on the arrow. And don't do anything stupid.
The older man opened his mouth to protest, then closed it and let out a frustrated sigh.
He glared daggers at his friend, then at the artifact which tip shone under the lamp. He shared an uncertain look with Silver Chariot, who shrugged in a fatalistic gesture. Then the armored stand narrowed his eyes and took a step back from the arrow.
- On est d'accord, his user mumbled while fixing a silver strand gone loose from his hairstyle. S'il arrive une merde, ça sera pas de notre faute.
~
- Get me Joestar Estates in New York, Jōtarō told the operator.
- Please hold the line.
- Joseph Joestar speaking? Is that you, Jōtarō?! About damn time! I was really starting to believe you'd have Polnareff call every time! How's it going, are you in Pakistan yet? Found anything interesting?
The Japanese teen told him about their discovery, and had a hard time talking his grandfather out of dropping whatever he was doing to catch the very next plane to Karachi.
- Hey, I am not an excited kid, Jōtarō! the old man protested, clearly outraged. I just know it's hard to retake the trip in these conditions, after... after that whole Dio mess. I do understand, you know! I also-
- Yeah, yeah, you told me a hundred times already. You know everything about arrows and ancient stuff, it's like the Aztec fitness gods, you kicked their asses real bad, you saved the world and you're the best. What-fucking-ever. Anyway-
- The Pillar Men! Joseph corrected. The fitness go-... You have got to be kidding me. Stupid kids, always over-exaggerating everything!
- Anyway, Jōtarō repeated, raising his voice.
- "Anyway", for starters if you hadn't interrupted me you'd know that's not even what I was going to say! Next you'll say "I don't have time for your shit".
- I don't have time for your sh-... yare yare daze.
Jōtarō hated that stupid trick. He let out a tired sighed and lowered his hat. What in hell had he done to deserve such an insufferable grandfather...?
Anyway, he was not the one paying for the communication, so if the old fart wanted to spend the next three hours bitching about nothing, well, that was not Jōtarō's problem.
The young man was about to put down the receiver and leave when Joseph caught his attention again.
- I know what it feels like to lose someone you loved.
The receiver cracked under Jōtarō's grip.
For a second he had stopped breathing.
The Englishman's voice, filled with regret, was gut-wrenching.
- Even after fifty years... I still think that if I had been stronger, Caesar wouldn't have died to save m-
The telephone set exploded in a million pieces the second it hit the wall.
- So what did Joseph say? You called the Founda-... Jōtarō?!
Polnareff furrowed his nonexistent brows as he noticed his friend's menacing aura, and immediately feared they might have been found by an enemy stand.
Jōtarō had stormed into the room, eyes completely hidden underneath his hat, and he had stopped dead in his tracks, right in front of him.
The Frenchman spun around, adverting his eyes in all directions to localize the source of such a behavior.
- Jōtarō, the fuck's going on?! he asked, gripping the younger man's shoulders to have him react. What was that shattering noise I heard?!
The Japanese teen shoved him away as he called out Star Platinum, which grabbed the arrow with his bare hands.
Polnareff blinked a few times, completely lost.
- Joseph wants us to destroy it? He knows how? Just say something, merde!!
- I wasn't strong enough.
And just like that, Star Platinum dug the arrow into his own chest.
- JŌTARŌ WHAT THE F-
~
Jōtarō awoke with Polnareff's screams (and slaps).
He leaned on his elbows and raised blurry eyes on the Frenchman.
His head was spinning and his mind was racing.
What had just happened?
Polnareff was gripping his shoulders and shaking him like a plum tree although he was now fully awake. Mere seconds might have passed, or had it been hours? How much time had he been unconscious for...?
Time.
- Star Platinum The World! Jōtarō exclaimed, coming back to his senses.
Polnareff froze as time stopped.
The brunette turned toward his stand.
Star Platinum was studying the arrow with a shit-eating grin.
His user sighed. If only Star could be serious for a second, and actually act like him! Did he really have two brain cells or what? It seemed like the arrow had had absolutely no effect on-
... hold on.
Jōtarō glanced at Polnareff again.
The silver-haired was still motionless... whereas he was pretty sure the nine seconds were over.
Time had not resumed.
Nine seconds.
The record Dio had laboriously managed to achieve after a long, exhausting training ever since he had acquired The World.
- Ora!
Star Platinum brought Jōtarō back to earth. The purple giant was giving him a thumbs up.
The bewildered young man moved closer and looked him over from head to toe.
- Ora? Star asked in surprise, as if he did not understand his surprise.
- What's this arrow done to us...? How come time hasn't resumed when you're not even focused...?!
The stand flexed his biceps and wiggled his brows.
- Yeah, no shit, of course it's made us stronger since we're not dead! Jōtarō retorted in annoyance.
He had uttered the words without thinking, but actually it was double or quits.
Those arrows were much too valuable, there was no way they could have no effect at all on a stand. It was pretty obvious that either they would destroy it, or they would make it more powerful.
Jōtarō took off his hat and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
How fucking fortunate that it hadn't occurred to Dio to use an arrow on himself again... had he done so, the world sure would have been done for. To stop time for a mere nine seconds had been almost enough to kill off the Joestar bloodline, and countless other lives had been lost in the process too.
Jōtarō gritted his teeth, thinking back to Kakyoin.
He slowly inhaled and exhaled.
There was too much to take in right now, he didn't need to rant about the bastard he had burned down himself a year ago.
He glanced at his stand, who was waving his hand before Polnareff's still eyes.
- Okay, Jōtarō muttered. So now we can control time for as long as we want. Anything else?
Maybe he was supposed to know already, since he and Star technically shared the same brain. However it was no secret that he still had trouble communicating with his stand sometimes.
The purple giant was apparently expecting the question because he shot his user a stern glare, as if Jōtarō were acting stupid on purpose.
- ORA!! he shouted.
He set his hand onto Jōtarō's heart.
The young man raised a brow and took out his cigarettes and lighter.
- What? he grumbled while setting one between his lips. Yeah, I know we can control time and-
He dropped the lighter.
Hold on a sec.
What if controlling time wasn't only about stopping it, but also...
He slowly brought his own hand to his heart through Star Platinum's, whose grin was growing wider and wider.
- Wait, you don't mean...
- Ora.
- ... we could go back...
- Ora.
- ... and save Kakyoin?!
- Ora!
Star Platinum started a victory dance, then he began floating in all directions in his immaterial form, as excited as a kid at the fun fair.
He grabbed Jōtarō's wrist and shook him to bring him back to earth.
The Japanese teen ignored him, trying hard to think straight. Both his heart and mind were racing.
If this so-called new power really did turn out to be real, his heart was shouting for him to act as usual and to rush for the opportunity.
His brain, however, was whispering for him not to make a terrible mistake.
He stopped and listened to the latter.
A stand's power was unquestionable, that was just how it was. A stand was the manifestation of its user's life energy, and therefore stuck to their character. It was the case for Star Platinum, who would mostly punch through everything and shield the people who needed protection.
(Well, at least since Dio. Before the adventure Jōtarō did not really give a shit about people at all).
Star had acquired The World's abilities because both stands were alike. Jōtarō's blood was Jonathan's, whose body had been stolen by Dio. Even though their intentions were different, both Jōtarō and Dio would stop time to punch before their opponent had the chance.
However, to go back in time... was something else.
The brunette did not know so much about the countless science-fiction novels and movies that had explored time traveling. He was much more interested in marine life. (At least THAT was real, and dolphins were way more clever than a kid accidentally stranded thirty years in the past with a goddamn car, I mean, seriously. Granted, even if he was with a kinda real scientist, and that the plutonium thing actually maybe kinda did sound plausib-... wait, no, Jōtarō absolutely had not watched any of those American money-making machines and they were stupid. Let's get back to the topic.)
There were other issues.
Jōtarō did not believe in fate in general; nevertheless if they had managed to take Dio down, it was precisely because of Kakyoin's sacrifice, which had allowed him to uncover the truth about The World's power.
Also, all had been decided during the ultimate face to face with Dio, which Jōtarō would never have survived had Polnareff not showed up at the right moment to act as a diversion. And if Polnareff himself had survived his fight against Vanilla Ice, it was because of Abdul and Iggy's sacrifice.
Jōtarō's heart skipped a beat.
He lowered his hat.
What if saving them meant undoing what they had achieved at their lives' cost...?
And besides, how could he even save them? He could not simply pop out of nowhere when he was supposed to be in another place, and interrupt his friends' fight!
He needed a plan. A good plan that would work better than the world-famous Joestar technique, which basically consisted in running away when one blow was not enough to finish off a bad guy.
Jōtarō picked his gakuran jacket up from the floor and put it back on with a sigh.
- Yare yare daze...
His stand raised his fist at him with an insisting scowl. In the ocean blue eyes the young man saw his own determination.
He glanced at Polnareff's immobile but panicked eyes.
Star Platinum came in place behind his user, his almost immaterial frame passing through Jōtarō's body, and Jōtarō straightened up.
You know what? Fuck it. He had nothing left to lose, might as well try out that new ability. He would just do as usual and adjust to the action.
- Doubleback!
⬅︎---∣∣∣ To be continued...