“Never again will I let you drag me anywhere else,” Dio growled, snapping yet another rubber band from his hair before tossing it in the alley. He ran a hand through his hair to try and fix it as you chuckled.
“Oh, hush will you?” You said, glancing at him over your shoulder with a grin.
“You’re not the one-”
“Shut up!” You suddenly hissed.
“What?”
“Hide!” You said in a quiet voice.
“There’s nowhere--Oh for the love--” Dio grabbed you and pushed you up against the wall, placing his arm in front of your head, and leaned over you, shielding your face away from view. He glanced in the corner of his eye and watched as Elijah and a black-haired girl walked past.
“You need to drop it. If they said to leave them be, then do it. I’d hate to see Vex’s bad side,” She said.
“They’re running with a mongrel!” He hissed.
“At least they’re better off there then they were here,”
Elijah’s response was cut out as they passed earshot, and soon out of sight. Dio removed himself from you, watching as your eyebrows furrowed, and you scoffed.
“Idiot,” You spat, rolling your eyes.
“Indeed so,” Dio mumbled. “That reminds me, I have something for you,” Dio said suddenly, making you raise your eyebrows at him.
“Huh?” Dio reached into his pocket and pulled something out. For a moment, you couldn’t see what it was, but as he opened his palm and allowed the chain to drop, you saw the brass circle swinging back and forth in the air gently. “A pocket watch?”
“Your last one got stolen, did it not?” He asked, extending it to you.
“I don’t want it,” You said. “It’s yours.”
“Take it, Y/n,”
“I don’t want it,” Dio sighed and stepped forward, pressing it against your chest.
“It’s a gift. Consider it part of your payment,” He said.
“You don’t owe me anything,” You said, catching it as he dropped it.
“Then you owe me,” He said, grinning at you. “Maybe you’ll finally be on time now,”
You chuckled and flipped it open. A picture of a two-tailed mermaid was in the center, and under it were the words ‘Tempus Fugit’ written in red ink. The hands ticked with every passing second and you felt your fingers lightly dip in the back. Flipping it around, you saw something etched into the back.
“‘April 6, 1888. To my partner in crime: maybe this will help you with your deals of time. Yours truly, Dio Brando’. Well, isn’t that sweet,” You said with a lopsided smile. “Thanks, Brando,”
Dio grinned. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” You sighed. “Lead the way,”
…
You watched as Dio stumbled down the alleyway with a bottle in his hand from your spot against the wall. Your hood covered your face, hiding it away from anyone’s view. As Dio stumbled around, you had to give him credit; he could play the part of a drunken man pretty easily. But you suppose he’s watched his father do enough of it, and maybe some of his own.
“Watch it, boy!” An older man barked, making you return your gaze back to the blonde as he knocked into a pair of men. “Or have you no respect for your elders?” Dio didn’t reply but raised the bottle back up to his lips.
“Oo! Look at the baby toddling around past bedtime, sucking on that bottle like it was his mother’s tit!” One of them cackled as they began to taunt the blonde.
“Look at the man when he talks to you!” The second man laughed. “Didn’t your old man teach you right?!”
Dio immediately reacted and bashed the bottle against the man’s mouth with a furious glare. The man cried out in pain and shot his hands up to his lips as he stumbled away. The second man looked at Dio in shock and surprise, before it washed away into anger.
“Just for that, I’m gonna tear your face clean off ya!” He yelled, pulling out a knife.
“Oh, your threat has me quaking in my boots,” Dio said sarcastically, lips curling into a grin. “You old guttersnipe. How will I escape this moment of mortal peril? What do you say we use this?” Dio’s hand reached into his cloak and he pulled out the Stone mask. The second man growled and charged at Dio.
“Just die already!” He yelled. Dio stepped around him effortlessly and pressed the mask against his face.
“Let’s see what you can do!” He exclaimed, shoving him back into the first man. The knife pierced through his friend, making his blood splatter across the mask. You pushed off the wall and walked towards Dio as he watched carefully.
“If I didn’t know better,” You said as you stopped beside him. “I’d say you looked excited.”
Suddenly, light burst from the mask, followed by a gush of wind. Dio stepped in front of you and shielded you away from it.
“W-what is that light?” You asked. “Is it coming from the mask?”
Dio turned as the light faded, and the man fell back into a pile of old crates that broke under his weight. Dio approached the man and tapped his side with his foot and scoffed, clearly disappointed.
“All that spectacle for nothing? Useless,” Dio spat off to the side. “That was boring,”
“Careful, Brando,” You warned with a frown. “It might not be done doing….whatever,” You said, walking towards the man. Dio scoffed and walked away to retrieve his fallen hat.
“It’s useless, Y/n. Just leave it be and let’s be off,” He said. You glared at him over your shoulder and knelt down in front of the man. As your hand reached for the mask, the man suddenly shot up and grabbed your throat. You choked out a gasp in surprise, eyes going wide from the quick action. Dio spun around and exclaimed your name.
“Impossible!” He yelled, watching as the man forced you to the ground and hovered above you. You scrambled for your blade at your side with one hand and held his face with the other to keep his face away from yours as the mask cluttered to the side. His skin had turned a pale green color, his eyes were purple, and his teeth had all sharpened. His strength seemed to be increasing by the second, making it harder for you to struggle against him. Finally, you felt your fingers brush against the handle of your blade. You wrapped your hand around it and pulled it’s from its sheath before jamming it into the base of his neck. He cried out in pain and faltered as you removed the dagger from his neck and kicked him back, scrambling to get to your feet. This person was no longer a human. He was a monster.
“Don’t just stand there you blundering fool!” You yelled. “Grab that blade and kill this damned thing!” You quickly ducked as it swung at you. It’s hand slammed against the wall, making the building crack.
“Y/n!” Dio yelled reaching to grab you as the stone from the wall broke apart and burst out towards you. Both of you were blown back by the blast and slammed into the concrete railing near the canal. You groaned and Dio grunted in pain from the impact. You attempted to push yourself up but fell back down again from the pain in your wrist and hand. Glancing over, you saw the creature walking toward the both of you again.
“Dio,” You said in a warning tone. “He’s still coming after us!”
“I see that, dammit!” He hissed, sitting up as he held his shoulder and winced in pain. “Jump in the river,”
“Are you mad?!’” You exclaimed. “You’ll get hypothermia, it’s too cold!”
Dio went to shoot back a reply but was cut off as the creature suddenly flashed before him, and sunk his fingers into’s Dio’s neck. Your eyes widened and you scrambled to get to your feet again as Dio yelled in both surprise and pain.
“It’s odd,” The creature said. “I was drinking through the night, but suddenly I got such a brutal thirst.” Your eyes widened as you realized he was draining Dio’s blood by the way his face paled so. The creature’s face began to shift, and it suddenly looked normal again. It must have been because of Dio’s blood. The more he drinks, the more he’ll become human-like, and the less Dio would. Dio screamed in pain, and suddenly you came to your senses.
“Hands off him you bastard!” You yelled, kicking him in the side. Dio fell to the ground as the creature hissed and rushed at you. You stumbled back as he knocked against you, raising your arms to block his. You growled at the force he exerted, struggling to keep his hands away from your neck. You brought your leg up and kneed him between the legs. Monster or not, he was still a man. He dropped for just a moment, but it was enough for you to shove him away. You slashed your blade across his neck, slicing it open, but he didn’t falter this time. You ducked under his arm, stepping around him, and stabbed your blade into his shoulder before jumping away again. It was almost like a dance, how swiftly you dodged his attacks and moved around him effortlessly.
However, your fight was ended once the sun rose, and the rays landed on him. He screamed as his skin began to burn and he was suddenly turned to ash. His clothes dropped to the ground at your feet as you stepped back before falling down. You panted with wide eyes, before flashing your gaze to the blonde and his name fell past your lips in a whisper. You jumped to your feet and ran towards him, dropping on your knees beside him.
“Are you alright?” You asked, heart still slamming against your chest. Dio raised a hand to his neck and stiffly nodded. You glanced back at the pile of clothes and frowned.
“The sun destroyed him,” Dio muttered as you stood up and held your hand out to him.
“Well,” You sighed, pushing some hair away from your face as you glanced down at the mask and the bloody dagger beside it.
“At least we know what the mask does now,”
...
The door to the manor was pulled open as thunder rolled behind you, and a string of lightning struck against the ground, illuminating your face for a brief moment as you turned around.
“Something isn’t right here, Brando. It’s...too quiet,” You murmured as the blonde paused in the doorway.
“I agree,” He muttered, stepping into the house.
“Tread lightly. I’m getting a bad feeling,” You said, glancing at the dark walls as you trailed behind him.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Dio called, his voice echoing through the seemingly empty hall. “Why’s it so bloody dark?”
A match was struck against the side of the box, making both you and Dio look over as the dim light illuminated a face as they lit the candles on the stick in their hand. Jonathan.
“Jojo?” Dio asked. So the man survived Speedwagon’s antics? Surprising. Jonathan was smarter than you thought.
“You’re a poisoner, Dio Brando,” He said. “I have all the proof I require and then some.”
Dio growled quietly and you tensed up. Things were going to get way worse from here. You could only imagine what was going to happen next.
Bloody hell.