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The warm evening sun shone down on the four of you, the smell of freshly cut barley flowed through the air and the townspeople appeared blissfully unaware of what was and could happen.
"Everyone is hard at work. Things still appear peaceful. But I know Dio is around here somewhere." Keeping his eyes peeled for anything that may pop out at the group Jonathan remanded alert, since exiting the tunnel his posture remained tense yet fluent.
"He has to be, otherwise what was the point of dragging us out to some random town." Inputting your own thoughts and lacing your hands behind your back, you watched the buff male give a nod in agreement. "Which is why we have to keep an eye-" Your words were cut off by a high-pitched short scream leading you to turn sharply in place.
Eyes now trailing over the hunched over form of Speedwagon and Zeppeli fretting over the blond.
Turning around as well Jonathan spoke checking up on the two, "What happened?"
"Um, well, Speedwagon has been begging me for a while. So I thought I'd help him create just a little Hamon and my finger kind of slipped. I'm terribly sorry, Speedwagon" Hearing the raven haired man's explanation you couldn't help but facepalm, for being trained in the art of Hamon for so long a slip up like this wasn't something you'd expect.
"Are you alright Speedwagon?" Trailing over to kneel in front of the man you extended a hand offering it as some form of help, though the gesture was forgotten quickly as the sound of a rope being cut filled the air followed by a kid soaring over the ground snagging the bag beside the two of you.
"Hey!" Without much thought and knowing that the bag contained the group's funds you tracked through the water moving through it to the best of your abilities. A disgruntled huff left your lips upon watching Zeppeli prance by using ripples as stepping stools, but a noise of surprise left you upon being raised out of the water and onto Jonathans shoulder. The navy haired man also making an attempt to use his newfound hamon ability to cross. "Thanks."
Stopping once he'd reached the other side Jonathan softly set you down on the ground moving to deliver a hamon filled punch to the cliffside, the rocks in response appeared to vibrate in place before the child thief was knocked off the wall falling right into Jonathan's arms.
"Wow, nice catch!" Praising the man you couldn't help but give him a small round of applause stopping only as the kid began speaking.
"H-Huh? What's going on? Who are you?"
"Something's wrong with the boy. Did I use too much hamon?" Hearing Jonathan ask that you drew closer observing the kid yourself. Nothing seemed to scream 'danger' but there was certainly something about the situation that made you feel off.
"I don't think it's that. There's something else going on. Look around." Seemingly reading your mind Zeppeli threw his attention towards the setting sun, something the four of you really should've been paying more attention to considering who your enemies were.
"This is...!" "A graveyard!" Finishing Jonathan's sentence your eyes trailed themselves across the assorted gravestones before feeling the ground beneath you rumble and a hand pop out latching itself onto Jonathan. "It was a trap!"
"Indeed it was and that boy was under some sort of hypnosis." Finding himself in a similar position to Jonathan, Zeppeli pursed his lips in thought, expression hardening.
"Jonathan, (Y/N), above you!" Pointing towards a tall pillar of rocks, Speedwagon maneuvered the group's attention towards the top where a figure stood, blond hair could faintly be seen from below and now you understood the off feeling from before.
"The sun is gone. Time for your lives to go with it!"
"Dio!" Both yourself and Jonathan stared up at the blond in shock, the latter recovering from it much quicker than you did considering it seemed like more creatures began emerging from the ground.
"(Y/N), stay close. We don't know to the extent of what these creatures are capable of." Instructing that Zeppeli pivoted in place, hitting one of the creatures as it popped out from the ground, his eyes lingered over where the blond stood. "So that is Dio. It is my assumption that he and his zombies can't operate during the day leading to this kid being hypnotized in order to lure us into an area where he has the advantage. A man of such guile must not have the mask. We have to destroy him somehow!"
Looking up at where the mentioned man stood you shuddered lightly seeing that he'd already been looking down at the group, a coy smile could faintly be seen strewn out across his face.
A rumble once again shook beneath your feet and a cluster of zombie knights emerged, turning your head as you called out towards the boy still touched within Jonathan's arms. "Hey kid, what's your name?"
"P-Poco!" "Alright Poco, well hold onto Jonathan here and we'll make sure you come out of this unscathed alright?" Knowing that you speaking compared to the others would better comfort the small boy he gave you a quick nod being shifted to hold onto the back of Jonathan.
"We?" Although he knew you were a moderately alright fighter Jonathan couldn't help but worry, his eyes fell onto your small frame beside him before seeing you tug out a set of silver rings attached to one another via a larger section.
"Yes, we. I didn't ask Erina to borrow her father's old brass knuckles for nothing." Pointing that out and lacing your fingers through the items built-in rings you could see Jonathan take in what you'd said, his need to insist that you stand aside was still present but he knew that even if he could convince you- you'd find some way back into the fight.
"She's a capable lady JoJo, don't fret!" Practically reading the navy haired man's mind Zeppeli ran past the both of you. "Meaning let's move you two!"
"Yes Sir!" Responding in unison your small group began making its way up the hillside, creatures lurched out left and right but it was beginning to dawn on you that they targeted both Jonathan and Zeppeli more than you.
Stopping just before the base of the pillar Zeppeli pointed a finger up at the blond, "Dio Brando...We've never met before. But I say this to the mask that has awakened you. We finally meet." A snap sounded before he continued. "Hey, baby! Do you plan on fighting from that perch? Come on down!"
Observing the tophat wearing man below Dio folded an arm in front of himself, "You're a cocky one for an insect. I am the pinnacle of life. A new being that will create the future and only one other is allowed into that future. I am incapable of sinking down to a human level." A deep purple aura surrounded the man and a wave of malice was sent towards the group.
"I've never felt such malice! He already fancies himself a tyrant!" Proclaiming that Zeppeli took on a new stance bracing himself for anything that might happen.
Observing how the group reacted to the wave of malice Dio raised the helm of his top displaying a patch along his torso, "This is the only scar that has yet to heal after my fight with JoJo. Come, conjurer! Let your blood salve this wound!"
Gripping the brim of his hat Zeppeli spoke, "How many lives have you taken to erase those scars?"
In response, Dio's lips curled up into a coy smile once again, "How many slices of bread have you eaten?" The question was enough of an answer itself and you could feel your blood run cold at the thought of innocent people dying.
Missing what the dark haired man was saying you tuned back in just in time to watch Zeppeli scale the rock pillar effortlessly, a punch was sent through the air following that but it appeared as though Dio had caught it. Chunks of ice now formed along their arms with the blond evading the effects.
"Zeppeli was it? Your energy comes from the flow of your blood. So if your blood vessels are frozen you're powerless." A devious smile stretched out across Dio's expression from what you could see. "Know that I have absolute control over my body. I vaporized the moisture in my left arm. When it vaporized, it sucked up the heat, flash freezing your arm, and now!"
"I'll smash through your arms and your skull like a vas-"Dio's words went unfinished as did his oncoming punch as a metal item was caught within his free hand and a hand blocked his own. The culprits of which were you and Jonathan, the both of you working through a quickly thought out plan to help Zeppeli.
"Dio, I'm ending your madness!" Keeping himself as a barrier between the blond and Zeppeli, Jonathan remained aware of where you and the man in question currently were. He was against the whole 'climbing the side of the pillar' but it was either come with you or watch you.
"I feel Dio's wicked blood flowing through his hand."
"I'll take that as a compliment. But you did quite well in stopping my fist, I must say I'm impressed but then again I know something like this isn't your kind of plan." Clicking his tongue in a knowing manner Dio figured you must've been lingering around somewhere coming up with another little plan. "JoJo, if I were you, I'd keep my hands to myself."
Keeping his arm in a frozen state Dio watched Barron wind up for a kick, the reason of which was due to Jonathan's hand gradually succumbing to the cold temperature. Being the type of man he was, this sort of move was expected from either of the two, what wasn't expected however was the dull force targeting the pit of his elbow forcing his arm to bend even in its frozen state.
Having quick enough reflexes the blond managed to still land an attack on Barron before his hand snapped up to grip the forearm of his most recent assailant.
(E/C) hues met nearly luminescent ones and a fanged grin was spared your way, "My my who knew you'd be the only one to actually land a hit on me." Beginning with that his voice danced along each word spoken, all the while his eye trailed along the length of your arm coming to rest upon the metal trinket clutched within your hand. "Ah well, I can't say I'm surprised. You tended to do things your own way anyways."
Tightening your jaw as he spoke you gave your arm a tug trying to see if there was any possibility of freeing yourself from the man's cold grip. "Let go, Dio."
Allowing his eyes to dance across your face his grip on your arm remained tight, other hand moving to pry the remaining brass knuckle from your fingers before tossing it below.
"Or what? What are you going to do my dear?" Upon seeing the way your eyes trailed around the area he couldn't help but smirk triumphantly.
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Four more chapters yall