madimpossibledreamer

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: They start traveling through the back areas of Xibalba.
Word Count: 1459
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS

        Josie is used to wandering through areas where everything wants to kill her, so she’s generally unphased by this little tour. She’s had her Stand for a long time, and it hasn’t really changed how it works over time. The others are a little more spooked out, which is fair, she supposes.
        It does mean she approves of the vibes, more. This is an area that understands the use of actual original traps and the ancient sanctity of keeping the vibes. Then again, with the way this Balam is talking about it, it’s possible as deities they literally can’t change things up, but still. Worth it, in her opinion.
        It’s clear they’re taking the back ways. There’s areas where they basically have to crawl or walk through sideways. Somehow the panther-entity manages to look dignified every time, but she supposes with cat DNA that’s a pretty high priority, or something. No way he’d want to be caught looking ridiculous; that’s a fate worse than death.
        They’re not all there, Josie notices, but it looks like both Buffy and Cousin Jotaro are trying not to draw attention to it, so apparently Uncle Kakyoin and Aunt Shizuka are off doing something they don’t want Balam to know about. Probably scouting, given their specialties, and a sensible precaution, given that they’re still not sure they can trust this bloke—deity? Talking large cat? No Cheshire grins ‘round these parts, though. At least, not on the outside. Maybe he’s celebrating how he’s pulled the wool around their eyes on the inside, or something.
        She’s getting a little goofy, but that always happens when she’s worried and trying not to think about it. Given how the kids reacted, that might be something she has in common with her kid. With her kid. A phrase that will never stop being weird, but it’s no less welcome for all that, just confusing. Hopefully one she can keep saying for a long time, too.
        Then again, Uncle Kakyoin had been acting a little weird, a little preoccupied, since he’d taken that nap on the plane. Although, thinking about it, that was a pretty ballsy move to begin with; he’d experienced the Plane Curse himself. Though maybe Hierophant could be a parachute or something? ...Didn’t Buffy say something about Johan’s Stand having something to do with dreams?
        She pulls out B3. Cousin Jotaro glares at her and glances at the panther, who at least hasn’t reacted. If...he?...can see the Stand, he’s got an excellent poker face. If she was really being blatant about it, she’d motion like she was going to smack him in the face. ...She’ll leave that for later and think about it in the meantime. Most couldn’t resist a flinch, in a case like that, and if they don’t it tells you either they have nerves of steel or they really can’t see Stands, and either way that’s useful information. On the other hand, she’s already ticking off Cousin Jotaro, which isn’t exactly a difficult proposition in the first place, even if his temper has supposedly cooled a little since he was a teenager, not that she’d been there for that bit, and also it’s a little hard to picture. And while she might be used to this lone wolf kind of thing, she’s not alone and she’s going to have to fight with everybody. Over the years, she’s learned that the best teamwork happens when you’re not all mad at each other.
        Cugino Giorno launches smoothly into a conversation about the way life—or whatever you’d call it, really—works down here. From the sound of it, Balam’s being just as cagey as before, but then, getting actual answers from him isn’t the actual point. She might be a betting woman, but she absolutely wouldn’t guess Giorno wouldn’t be able to get something, probably without the target even noticing. He’s good at that kind of thing.
        Papa kind of rolls his eyes, bites his lip, and launches into a somewhat loudly enthusiastic conversation with Uncle Okuyasu about video games, which, well. Stealthy, they’re not, but it was an open question how a large group like theirs was gonna keep that up anyway, and Uncle Okuyasu isn’t exactly the guy you go to if you’re planning that surprise party, and she’s kind of itching for a fight. The only reason she’s not actively seeking one or picking one is they’re on a time crunch and even she knows that’s a bad idea.

        She gets B3 as close as she can to Buffy and is, once again, impressed, because the Slayer’s clearly uncomfortable, but she doesn’t visibly flinch or anything that might draw attention to what they’re doing. Which might be reckless but hey, this is who she is, how she works. No use trying to change it up now. She does bother to whisper with Stand so no one else can hear, though. No use drawing any more attention to it than she already has. She might be reckless, but she does think this kinda thing through. “Hey, Xander appeared in your dreams or whatever, right?”
        And he’d learned Hamon somehow, if she’s remembering correctly, which he definitely hadn’t known before, even her vague memories are good enough to tell her that, so that’s actually some measure of hope. Unless he’s, like, cut in half, or crushed under rock, that should be enough to keep him going long enough for rescue. She’d had a natural talent with it, ever since she was a kid, just like Grandpa Joseph, but she’d never formally trained or anything. Sitting still wasn’t exactly her style, so training would suck. Probably why she ended up with the ultimate escape Stand.
        It’s easy enough to roll out of the way of another section of collapsing floor and even look cool doing it. She didn’t even lose her hat, though that required using an extra hand. Buffy manages it only she manages to make it look effortless, actually using—hang on, is that the fabled sword of Luck & Pluck? No wonder Aunt Shizuka was pretty much losing her shit.
        Anyway, she uses the sword as a kind of vault pole, counting on the natural bend of the sword to catapult her further with absolutely no fear that it’d break the sword, then picking herself up and dusting herself off like it’s nothing.
        Holy eldritch terrors, that was awesome! Sure, half their party’s stuck on the other side, but still! That’s what these ancient death traps are all about!
        ...and whoops, she absolutely could have used B3 to help. Sure, Buffy-chan managed it fine on her own, but still. That’s kind of the whole point of working together, and she’d missed her chance. She’s gotta get better about this.
        “Hang on, I got this!” Uncle Okuyasu exclaims with enthusiasm as Balam turns to look quizzically and Cugino Giorno actually pauses his distracting monologue to turn. His expression doesn’t change, but the way he’s looking each of them over, he’s definitely checking for injuries, the worrywart.
        The Hand makes an appearance, swiping and pulling her uncle safely across the pit, then turning and doing the same for the rest, even if none of them quite have Buffy or even Josie’s landing. Cousin Jotaro, meanwhile, has deepened his glare and is pulling his hat down far enough that it’s clear he kind of wants to crawl inside and disappear.
        Balam doesn’t look like he’s looking at the Stands, but he also doesn’t look like he’s trying not to, which, again, if it’s an act, it’s a pretty good one.
        Buffy’s whispering, and she’s kind of ticked, too, but they couldn’t just afford to wait. Well, they could, and maybe she could have been a little less conspicuous, but still. “Yes. He’d ended up in my dreams somehow, or I’d ended up in his, because it seemed he recognized the Japanese house we were in. And he definitely had a Stand—like, a red metallic ninja, maybe, though I only caught a glimpse.” Yeah, that’s probably important; it’d suck if they showed up for a rescue only to attack his Stand by accident. And then she sighs and shakes her head and just walks over to help up the ones The Hand had helped.
        ...Josie would kind of prefer yelling, to be honest, though maybe it’s a good thing in the long run. Disappointment might sting more, but at least their morale’s probably better this way. They’re all still on edge, but arguments just make it worse.
        But as she she stretches and waits, she thinks she might be catching a glimpse of the passage widening ahead, maybe even a room. Maybe there's more traps, maybe even treasure? Things might be looking up a bit.