A Bizarre New World, Chapter One: Cat’s In The Cradle

[grampagen]

With the others taken outside, the doors were locked once more and Hironobu resumed with the video.

||For someone who was seemingly so full of confidence in everything else in his life, Johannes seemed at a loss for words, visibly struggling before he spoke.

"I... I understand there is nothing I could possibly say that could make up for everything you all have gone through. No excuse in the world could make what I did sound good nor sane. To apologize through this tape and not face-to-face would be belittling your intelligence and dignity, so I will spare you my pleas. I have asked you all to come here not to relieve the lingering demons of regret and remorse I might feel at the time of this recording, but to ensure a better future and perhaps... and understanding."||

It was with those words that each one of them was handed an envelope and a file folder. The latter was filled with every document associated with them: birth certificates, social security, photos, letters, signs that he had been keeping tabs on them. Lucy's folder, in particular, was quite thick, and within she would find countless reports detailing attempts to find her exact location after she had been taken.

The envelope held only a check, each worth one.billion.dollars.

||"This is not an attempt to buy back any wrongdoings," Johannes said, the recording starting up again, "This was what you would have gotten regardless of upbringing. Still, should you chose to reject it and wash your hands of this, I understand."||

When handed the folio with her name on it, Suzie pored over its contents with some puzzlement on her face. Information available to the public...not for nothing, but anybody could get ahold of these-

The neat little pieces of documentation gave way to the next piece within the folder. It was thinner, yellow newsprint and crinkled at the edges, and as she pulled at the corner it held a nostalgic scent like sandalwood. Just like the old house on Dover. Hunching forward, she slowly tilt the folder up and investigated its contents: a drawing in black crayon of a smiling, jagged-whiskered mouse. A childhood pet when she was four years old.

"...hah..."

Photograph prints filled with long ago birthdays, interspersed with more doodles she thought were lost. Evidently I ought to be more thorough with my rubbish, she mused dismissively. As the child's features sharpened and her smile faded, the drawings changed to fanciful things like zombies and esoteric things like Seals of Solomon in white gel on black paper. And when she happened upon a picture of herself during her blonde phase when she was seventeen, she was mortified.

Silently, she replaced the papers, closed the folder and sighed. Nothing too out of the ordinary, that's where she came from. Mum had remarried, and Farrokh for all his fussing and nitpicking for propriety's sake never run out on them. All being told, she'd been rather lucky to have such a conventional life.

"...a cheque? Oh."

$1,000...000...000...?!

A whimpering sound like a deflating balloon escaped Suzie, and this folder might as well have been the heaviest thing in the world as she stiffly keeled over.

||He paused, as if allowing them to recollect their thoughts, and proceeded, "What I am proposing next is entirely your decision. I have little room to ask any requests, nonetheless demand participation. Consider this an invitation to join your old man's legacy, but before I will get to the nitty-gritty, I must warn you; by accepting this, you'll be throwing away any chance of safety you might have."||

Pausing the video once more, Hironobu addressed the crowd, "As of this point, you have reached the point of no return; your last chance to go back to your current lives with your inheritance. As Mr. Joestar said, you have no obligation to continue on and are free to opt out without any questions asked. Do not let curiosity put you into any unneeded risk, the ordeals you endured getting to the estate is nothing compare to what waits for you once you accept this invitation. Think long and hard about your decision."

Silence fell over the room for but just a moment before several people rose from their seats, some sheepish, others apathetic; among them were the two familiar faces of laid-back King and anxious Sonny. Gently guided by the staff, the doors were unlocked, only to be locked once more once they left.

Now was the time to choose.

By now practically curled into the fetal position on her chair, Suzie, hand covering her face as she tried to just....breathe, peeped one eye between her fingers.

What am I doing here...? She was about as safe inside this house as she would be anywhere outside of it. Now with knowledge of the Stands and the seemingly violent reactions they invoked not just from other people but sequestered within herself, safety was something that was already tossed in the bin. I'm...I'm trapped...oh God...

Had he seen this coming too? Yet that wasn't the worst part. In the space between beats of her hummingbird heart and her dragging breaths, with this ghoul shadowing her, she realized there'd be nothing but trepidation to return to either which way.

So despite being rather bound up within herself at the moment, a short, sideways nod was pulled out of her.

[The Dog]

With the others taken outside, the doors were locked once more and Hironobu resumed with the video.



It was with those words that each one of them was handed an envelope and a file folder. The latter was filled with every document associated with them: birth certificates, social security, photos, letters, signs that he had been keeping tabs on them. Lucy's folder, in particular, was quite thick, and within she would find countless reports detailing attempts to find her exact location after she had been taken.

The envelope held only a check, each worth one.billion.dollars.



Pausing the video once more, Hironobu addressed the crowd, "As of this point, you have reached the point of no return; your last chance to go back to your current lives with your inheritance. As Mr. Joestar said, you have no obligation to continue on and are free to opt out without any questions asked. Do not let curiosity put you into any unneeded risk, the ordeals you endured getting to the estate is nothing compare to what waits for you once you accept this invitation. Think long and hard about your decision."

Silence fell over the room for but just a moment before several people rose from their seats, some sheepish, others apathetic; among them were the two familiar faces of laid-back King and anxious Sonny. Gently guided by the staff, the doors were unlocked, only to be locked once more once they left.

Now was the time to choose.

Jamie looked through the contents of the file folder, flipping through photos of her, including photos from when she graduated from college, candid photos of her at work, and many more. As she reached the last one, she flipped it down and her eyes widened as she saw it: a copy of her birth certificate. There, in block letters, was the name she was given at birth, Scott Washington Hall. It included the other things one expected on a birth certificate, including her mother's signature, the date of her birth, the time, height, weight, the name of the hospital, and such.

As she stared at it, Jamie's hands began shaking ever so slightly.

[Yun Lao]

"As of midnight tonight, the Speedwagon Foundation's databases will purge any intimate information pertaining to you, which leaves the only files on record the same ones in your hands. When you leave this estate, what you do with those and the checks is up to you, as per Mr. Joestar's wishes. Just as some of you may wash your hands of this, the Foundation will be doing the same -save for one exception- so we will not be accepting any of your checks."

Extending a handout, one of the staff members gave Hironobu an hourglass, which he placed on the table before them.

"With that said, I must repeat my suggestion that you all should give great consideration to what you plan to do. As of right now, the reading has concluded and you are all free to leave any time, richer in monetary, knowledge, and in ... esoteric gains. Those who linger by the time the last grains fall will be consenting to Mr. Joestar's offer and the video will continue."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Vivian kind of just... stared at the check for a minute before raising her hand.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"Boris," Jinny reflexively turned her attention to him, "a plane ticket shouldn't cost too much. I can help you with that if you want. When your mother arrives, I'd suggest setting up a bank account in her name with the money. Then make sure to hire a financial advisor to help her mange it. I know of someone I would recommend highly."

" Yes, I would appreciate that, thank you," Boris said.

[Yun Lao]

Vivian kind of just... stared at the check for a minute before raising her hand.

"What is it? Wait, if it's a meat-related question, I'll go ahead and say that I have not done any dollar-per-meat calculation although I was tempted. "

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"As of midnight tonight, the Speedwagon Foundation's databases will purge any intimate information pertaining to you, which leaves the only files on record the same ones in your hands. When you leave this estate, what you do with those and the checks is up to you, as per Mr. Joestar's wishes. Just as some of you may wash your hands of this, the Foundation will be doing the same -save for one exception- so we will not be accepting any of your checks."

Extending a handout, one of the staff members gave Hironobu an hourglass, which he placed on the table before them.

"With that said, I must repeat my suggestion that you all should give great consideration to what you plan to do. As of right now, the reading has concluded and you are all free to leave any time, richer in monetary, knowledge, and in ... esoteric gains. Those who linger by the time the last grains fall will be consenting to Mr. Joestar's offer and the video will continue."

"Well, do to Jinny's suggestion. I will use my check to set up a bank account for my mother in my mother's name and hired a financial advisor to help my mother manage it," Boris said.

[Tami]

"As of midnight tonight, the Speedwagon Foundation's databases will purge any intimate information pertaining to you, which leaves the only files on record the same ones in your hands. When you leave this estate, what you do with those and the checks is up to you, as per Mr. Joestar's wishes. Just as some of you may wash your hands of this, the Foundation will be doing the same -save for one exception- so we will not be accepting any of your checks."

Extending a handout, one of the staff members gave Hironobu an hourglass, which he placed on the table before them.

"With that said, I must repeat my suggestion that you all should give great consideration to what you plan to do. As of right now, the reading has concluded and you are all free to leave any time, richer in monetary, knowledge, and in ... esoteric gains. Those who linger by the time the last grains fall will be consenting to Mr. Joestar's offer and the video will continue."

Slipping the envelope in the folder, Jinny felt her ire rising slightly. "Fine. I get it, Johannes had something clandestine he was involved with and he didn't want any of it to get out to the public. Now that's he's gone, he's looking for someone to continue what he was doing. I assume that there is a possibility that we may have to take a hiatus from our normal lives in order to finish up whatever it was that he was up to. Though, as hard as you try, I doubt keeping this a secret is going to be as easy as either you or Papa Johannes thinks it will be."

Sitting back in the chair, arms folded, "Ever since my mother and her fiance were killed last December, all I had left was my art and my substantial inheritance. They were my only family. Going back to that life without them was likely to be lonely and boring. Art can't exist in that kind of vacuum, so I'm staying. If I don't, I'd regret it every day of my life."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"What is it? Wait, if it's a meat-related question, I'll go ahead and say that I have not done any dollar-per-meat calculation although I was tempted. "

"No uh... how do I use this?" Vivian asked simply.

[Tami]

"No uh... how do I use this?" Vivian asked simply.

"You don't have a bank account, do you?" Jinny asked though she would not be surprised if that question was answered in the affirmative.

She then added, "Did you find your date of birth in your folder?"

[Yun Lao]

Slipping the envelope in the folder, Jinny felt her ire rising slightly. "Fine. I get it, Johannes had something clandestine he was involved with and he didn't want any of it to get out to the public. Now that's he's gone, he's looking for someone to continue what he was doing. I assume that there is a possibility that we may have to take a hiatus from our normal lives in order to finish up whatever it was that he was up to. Though, as hard as you try, I doubt keeping this a secret is going to be as easy as either you or Papa Johannes thinks it will be."

Sitting back in the chair, arms folded, "Ever since my mother and her fiance were killed last December, all I had left was my art and my substantial inheritance. They were my only family. Going back to that life without them was likely to be lonely and boring. Art can't exist in that kind of vacuum, so I'm staying. If I don't, I'd regret it every day of my life."

Hironobu laughed, only for his mood to grow serious, "A hiatus? No. As mentioned before, what you've dealt with was nothing compared to what will be coming. You were targeted because you had the potential to know Mr. Joestar's plans and should you learn, the metaphoric training wheels are coming off. You'll be lucky if you get to go back home."

Pulling out a metal folding chair from the table, the executor of the estate sat down, "Don't misunderstand. If all of you choose to leave, Mr. Joestar's legacy will continue without you. It is only because he requested it that you have been given this offer to understand his work and continue off of it. Obligation, misplaced filial piety, curiosity; whatever reason you may have that keeps you here, you should disregard all of it and listen to the voice deep inside."

By this point, the hourglass was halfway done.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"As of midnight tonight, the Speedwagon Foundation's databases will purge any intimate information pertaining to you, which leaves the only files on record the same ones in your hands. When you leave this estate, what you do with those and the checks is up to you, as per Mr. Joestar's wishes. Just as some of you may wash your hands of this, the Foundation will be doing the same -save for one exception- so we will not be accepting any of your checks."

Extending a handout, one of the staff members gave Hironobu an hourglass, which he placed on the table before them.

"With that said, I must repeat my suggestion that you all should give great consideration to what you plan to do. As of right now, the reading has concluded and you are all free to leave any time, richer in monetary, knowledge, and in ... esoteric gains. Those who linger by the time the last grains fall will be consenting to Mr. Joestar's offer and the video will continue."

The little bitch didn't answer her question directly, but Sandra had a feeling she knew what was about to happen. Whatever that ghastly, ghostly book was, it had something to do with whatever the old bastard was about to say. With that in mind, she kept her ass glued to the seat. Those "stands" - or whatever the **** they were called - were nothing but trouble and could apparently do whatever the hell their user wanted them to do, if the bus driver from the day before was any indication. That meant that she could have possibly been sitting on a pretty powerful book.

If that was the case, then the least she could do was listen to what he had to say in case he explained what the hell those things were. If I stay, then I can't leave. ****.

She stood at a crossroads. She wanted nothing to do with any of that ****. One billion dollars was in her pocket. She could have just left and turned her back on everything having to do with Johaness Joestar. On the other, she had a feeling that the problems she inherited from him wouldn't leave her alone even if she did wash her hands completely of everything.

What to do, what to do?

[The Dog]

"As of midnight tonight, the Speedwagon Foundation's databases will purge any intimate information pertaining to you, which leaves the only files on record the same ones in your hands. When you leave this estate, what you do with those and the checks is up to you, as per Mr. Joestar's wishes. Just as some of you may wash your hands of this, the Foundation will be doing the same -save for one exception- so we will not be accepting any of your checks."

Extending a handout, one of the staff members gave Hironobu an hourglass, which he placed on the table before them.

"With that said, I must repeat my suggestion that you all should give great consideration to what you plan to do. As of right now, the reading has concluded and you are all free to leave any time, richer in monetary, knowledge, and in ... esoteric gains. Those who linger by the time the last grains fall will be consenting to Mr. Joestar's offer and the video will continue."

Hironobu laughed, only for his mood to grow serious, "A hiatus? No. As mentioned before, what you've dealt with was nothing compared to what will be coming. You were targeted because you had the potential to know Mr. Joestar's plans and should you learn, the metaphoric training wheels are coming off. You'll be lucky if you get to go back home."

Pulling out a metal folding chair from the table, the executor of the estate sat down, "Don't misunderstand. If all of you choose to leave, Mr. Joestar's legacy will continue without you. It is only because he requested it that you have been given this offer to understand his work and continue off of it. Obligation, misplaced filial piety, curiosity; whatever reason you may have that keeps you here, you should disregard all of it and listen to the voice deep inside."

By this point, the hourglass was halfway done.

Jamie had turned from the birth certificate as she heard him say that at midnight tonight all intimate information regarding her, regarding who she used to be, would just... vanish. Save for what she had in this file folder. She didn't doubt that the Speedwagon Foundation had that level of power, but it was still shocking to think that soon Scott Hall would disappear, and only Jamie Valentine would remain.

She barely heard him speaking about this offer to fully go in whatever was going on with Holy Diver and the strange woman from yesterday, or return to her old life as a nurse and leave all of it behind her like a bad dream. To 'take the red pill or blue pill', as it were. But did taking the 'blue pill' really mean those things would just leave her alone? Would they somehow just forget she existed if she left and returned home? Or would they come and kill her anyway, and possibly those close to her just to be sure?

The more she thought on it, the more it seemed there was no choice: she had to take the 'red pill', whether she wanted to or not.

"D-do we even have a choice in this? If we go home, will those who've been after us just leave us be if we go home? Or will they kill us anyways, just to be sure?" Jamie asked, speaking her concerns aloud.

[Tami]

Hironobu laughed, only for his mood to grow serious, "A hiatus? No. As mentioned before, what you've dealt with was nothing compared to what will be coming. You were targeted because you had the potential to know Mr. Joestar's plans and should you learn, the metaphoric training wheels are coming off. You'll be lucky if you get to go back home."

Pulling out a metal folding chair from the table, the executor of the estate sat down, "Don't misunderstand. If all of you choose to leave, Mr. Joestar's legacy will continue without you. It is only because he requested it that you have been given this offer to understand his work and continue off of it. Obligation, misplaced filial piety, curiosity; whatever reason you may have that keeps you here, you should disregard all of it and listen to the voice deep inside."

By this point, the hourglass was halfway done.

"Anyone can go back home, eventually. Even if they go back home different from when they left. But that is the nature of life, isn't it? Stand still and stagnate, or move forward and risk changing into something new." Jinny smirked at his arrogance, then shrugged, "As is said, home is wherever you are. It's not a building, it's a family. I lost my family, so maybe now I might find a new one, or maybe I might make a new one, or maybe neither. Regardless, a door has opened and I would be foolish not to step inside regardless of the risk."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"Anyone can go back home, eventually. Even if they go back home different from when they left. But that is the nature of life, isn't it? Stand still and stagnate, or move forward and risk changing into something new." Jinny smirked at his arrogance, then shrugged, "As is said, home is wherever you are. It's not a building, it's a family. I lost my family, so maybe now I might find a new one, or maybe I might make a new one, or maybe neither. Regardless, a door has opened and I would be foolish not to step inside regardless of the risk."

" I'm not going back to my home. Life as an Ex hitman is quite boring, safe, but boring. Certainly not going back to the home where I was born and raised for obvious reasons," Boris said.

" Jinny, what financial advisor did you have in mind