P H A N T O M B L O O D
"I'll hit the ceiling or else I'll tear up this town, tonight I gotta cut loose."
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6th November 1880, the night everything changes.
"I tracked down the antidote, father took it just moments ago," Jojo says solemnly, placing the candelabra in his hands on a table.
Thunder booms and a brief light flashes in the room, illuminating the statue of the Joestar's guardian angel looming over the three of you and the fear on Dio's face.
What had happened to his arm in the three days you were gone?
You stand nervously beside Jojo, quiet for once and glancing between the two guys you loved. Fuck.
"Dio this pains me greatly. For years you were my brother and now I've got no recourse but to turn you in. I'm sorry really," Jojo continues and Dio scoffs, sitting down opposite you both.
"I'm sure you don't believe a word of it but, I'm telling you the truth." Jojo finishes, fixing Dio with a remorseful look, you make sure your hand is in holding reach.
"Even now you show compassion," Dio's voice is soft when he finally speaks. There's some sad sort of emotion in his but you're not sure if it's real, with him being a fibber this whole time and all.
"Jojo, I've been a devil but grant me this one wish," The marigold blonde continues, causing Jojo to gasp while you cringe nervously, "Allow me to do the right thing once in my life and turn myself in."
Oh. Well, that's unlike him.
"My wicked deeds nawr at me! The poverty I knew as a child ate away at my moral compass until greed was all that remained!" The Brando yells out and it really does seem like he's sorry. He must be sorry, right?
"I'm the lowest of the low, your father took me and I repaid his kindness with poison!" At this point, the blonde begins to cry.
You glance away from him, guilt sinking like a weight in your heart. A heart so previously filled with love for Dio. Did you still possess such damnable feelings? Three days should totally be enough to erase eight years, right?
Ugh, but he's so cute when he cries.
Despite yourself, you look back at the blonde. Why had you been born like this? One pretty boy cries and all of a sudden he can do no wrong. Were you that horny or had your own moral compass been eaten away after all the times you'd eaten out Dio?
"The only reason I came back was to surrender myself! If I wanted to flee you would've never laid eyes on me again," Dio sobs.
"I see your point," Jojo says simply, shocked at his evil adopted brother's not so evil behaviour.
"Please allow me to make amends." Dio continues and in all your guilt-filled, self-doubting oogling, you notice his good hand reaching inside his sling.
"Dio." You warn, simultaneous with Jojo's own "Dio..." Filled with forgiveness for his evil murder bro who's totally sorry.
"Look alive master Joestar," Speedwagon says, revealing himself with a match, "He's trying to lure you in, like it not."
Wait holy shit, Speedwagon? When did he- How did he- Is the automobile outside his then? Speedwagon's speed wagon? He must've followed you here from London.
All three of you look at the hat bearing man, Dio angry, Jojo shocked and you pleasantly surprised.
"Right about now you're probably wondering who I am," Speedwagon pauses to blow out the match in a fluid motion, "Allow me to elucidate ya."
Goodness was he attractive. Maybe you'd be able to get over Dio easily after all.
"The name is Robert E.O Speedwagon. I had a hunch Jonathan's run of trouble might not be done so I followed him and (Y/N) back home. I like the two so I'm gonna offer up this little tidbit pro bono." Speedwagon smoothly begins to approach Dio.
"Living in the gutter you learn to spot low lives pretty quick if you want to see tomorrow. I've trained my nose to sort out the bad ones from the good just from a sniff," Speedwagon tutted slightly and you feel kinda hyped actually, hearing the soundtrack change to Speedwagon's funky little theme, "This fella reeks of brimstone and blood worse than anyone I've ever laid eyes on!"
Sure Dio smelt like rust, smog and oddly enough baked beans when he first arrived at the mansion but you didn't hold that against him, you just made nice orange-scented soap for him. Not whatever Speedwagon was doing
"He is pure evil, right down to his very bones!" Speedwagon kicks the candelabra at the other blonde. You reach out and grab it before it can hit Dio or the floor, considering it's made out of gold and if it broke on your watch it's out of your paycheck.
"Robbie!" You gasp at Speedwagon. Dio dodges some of the ashes headed for him and stares at you spitefully and you take the candelabra and back the fuck up, "...Please continue."
The gang leader does as you say.
"Is he a victim of circumstance you're wondering? Not on your life! He's been evil since he drew his first breath!"
Okay, maybe not exactly what you meant... Was Speedwagon hyping Dio up? Lightning lights up the room for a moment and Speedwagon walks over to a suspicious-looking curtain.
"But don't you fret because I've brought you a friend! Remember him?" Speedwagon pulls out a short looking man who you recognised as the druggist. It seemed Dio recognises the man as well because he gasps.
"This man confessed to selling you the poison you used on father," Jojo asserted. He, Speedwagon and the druggist doing some odd pose while you carefully put down the candelabra on another nearby table.
"I've heard enough," The suspicious-looking curtain pulls back fully to reveal Lord Joestar, an inspector and about four police officers.
Now all three of you twenty-year-olds were shocked.
"You break my heart," Lord Joestar says sadly, "Why Dio? From the day you arrived I have loved you as though you were my own son."
The aristocrat ends his sentence by breaking into a coughing fit. Poor dear. Er, poor boss.
"Father, you're too weak to be down here," Jonathan says quickly, helping his sickly father towards the stairs.
"You're right. I'll return to my chamber, I don't want to see my boy in chains. Do what you must Jojo," The old lord confirms, heading up towards the stairs using his walking stick.
"I will," Jonathan responds immediately.
"Is this how it all ends?" Dio asks, rising from his seat and drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"He won't see the inside of a cell this night," The druggist says from next to you and Mr Joestar pauses his exit to hear the apothecaries words, "I read his face and the trio of moles on his ear. The devil smiles on him and grants him luck."
"Can you read my face?" You ask the small man, before blinking and turning away from the apothecary and back towards the arrest.
Just in time too.
"Jojo I want you to be the one to put the cuffs on me," Dio utters.
In all honesty, it was hard enough for you to be a top in victorian society, it was even harder when Dio says shit like that.
The blonde continues, "Please brother."
"Alright," Jojo turns around and takes the cuffs before inching closer to Dio. You find yourself backing away, some weird instinct yelling at you to make a run for it.
Stupid instinct, trying to protect you instead of Jojo.
"Be careful, he's a crafty one." Speedwagon says vaguely, as though he himself wasn't referred to as 'the sneak'.
"Jojo, it was hubris which lead me to this ignominious end. This fall from grace has taught me well. However one may scheme and disassemble, my downfall tonight is part of the human condition," The marigold blonde says almost smugly, "A condition I now forsake."
The anemone's night-boding flower, has sunk its pale head on the ground.
You want to leave, this is all super bad. You need to leave.
"Forsake? What do you mean?" Jonathan yells in shock, backing away from the blonde.
You can't leave Jojo.
"You see I am about to become so much more!" Dio pulls out the stone mask you had been polishing throughout your life and aims a knife at the blue-haired boy you'd known your whole life. Oh no, oh no, "Help me shed this mortal skin!"
"Mothers mask! But how?!" Jojo gasps, quickly chorused by all the other named characters in the room.
"Watch out!" Speedwagon yells.
"Get away from there Jojo! Damn it!" You cry.
"Fire at will men!" The inspector orders.
All three of you end up mashing your words together in a symphony of, "FUCK."
"Jojo your blood is the key!" Dio yells victoriously, plunging the curved blade into noble flesh. Only it was the father who slumped and not his son.
Dio had stabbed lord Joestar.
"Oh my god!" Speedwagon gasps.
"FATHER!" Jonathan yells out in a horribly pained sort of way. Catching the frail old lord before he hits the floor.
Dio laughs maniacally as he puts on the stone mask and smears it with the dying lord's blood. Continuing to laugh as the mask lights up like a disco ball and he's surrounded by sparkles.
His big moment is quickly interrupted by the inspector yelling, "Shoot that maniac!"
The murderous blonde's quickly shot up by the cops and he flies back through a window and out onto the storm outside.
Was Dio dead now? So suddenly too.
You can't really help but feel yourself mentally clock out, standing shakily and breathing heavily as you watch Dio's body stay too still for him to be breathing.
Dio is dead? Dio is dead? Finished, expired, kicked the bucket, passed on, deceased, lifeless, late, extinct, gone, gone, gone, go-
"Jojo..." George croaks weakly, reaching a shaky hand up towards his son who gladly cradles the lord's hold on his face.
You stare at them silently from the side, eyes wide, breathing intensely. You failed to protect Lord Joestar. You failed Jojo.
"Father..." Jojo's eyes fill up with tears as he looks at his fading father's kind face, "This is all my fault, I should've blocked his knife. The mask... When I saw it I froze up and you paid the price."
The nobleman merely shakes his head and smiles like something silly had been said, "Take this ring. It was your mothers, Jojo."
"Father," Jojo takes his father's hand tighter in his.
You failed Jojo.
"Dammit, ain't a doctor on earth that can fix that. How'd that devil get the drop on us?" Speedwagon mutters angrily.
"It's all my fault!" The inspector cries, pressing his hands against his head, "If only I hadn't listened to you Sir Joestar!"
You and the mullet man beside you both turn to face the inspector, Speedwagon going so far as to gasp.
"If I had run his father out of town years ago like I'd a mind to, none of this would've taken place!" The inspector's voice cracked slightly and you assume he means the late Brandos. Right, Dio's dead. Your breathing constricts.
"Hold on whose father?" Speedwagon asks, confused considering of all the people with father's present.
"Back when I first joined there was a nare-do-well who tried to porn the very ring you now see on Joestar's finger," The inspector begins, "The suspect was Dio's birth father, Dario Brando."
"Sir Joestar thought he owed his life to Dario but he was sadly mistaken. Dario hadn't scrambled down to the mangled carriage that faithful night to look for survivors, but to root around for ill-gotten riches."
"He knew he didn't owe Dario Brando a damn thing but he took Dio in all the same." The inspector finishes and your heartaches.
Lord Joestar didn't deserve to die. Jojo doesn't deserve to lose his dad. You're their dutiful gardener, dammit, why didn't you take the blow?
"Father, hang on, the doctor's on his way now," Jojo says comfortingly to his father, even though no one had sent for any help.
"Jojo, don't hate Dio for what he's done. I am to blame for this," The Lord says, "I was hard on you because you're a Joestar. I went too easy on Dio and he might've felt I didn't care. Perhaps he did this for want of a father's love. Please, see that he's buried next to Dario."
Now you weren't going to interrupt the exchange but there was no way in hell you'd let Dio be buried next to that piss pot.
It was the least you could do for any of them.
"Father..." Jonathan whispers, savouring the love he's being given.
"Don't look so sad Jojo, where better to die than in the arms of my... Son?" The lord's hand falls from Jojo's face.
"Sir Joestar!" The non-aristocrats yell as lightning strikes once again.
"We have lost much this night. A noble man's soul has been taken from the world." The disheartened inspector says, looking away from the lord's body.
However, this seems to aggravate Speedwagon.
"You're wrong! All that was good in that man, he passed it along to Jonathan! Every bit of it! You can be sure Jonathan's going to live an upright life using what his father gave him!" Speedwagon turns his head upwards wistfully, "Rich folks are rubbish. Watching them flounce around I wanna throw the whole lot in the Thames. But not the Joestars."
"They're heroic and merciful and just. The whole damn lot are giants among men." Speedwagon finishes his speech only to glance outside and yell out in horror.
"What the hell? The body! Dio's corpse- it vanished!"
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R.I.P George and his swell moustache. I briefly mention the poem 'Come Harriet! Sweet Is The Hour' by Percy Bysshe Shelley with the anemones so let me know if you want to see the full version commented.
Hope you enjoyed!