"Jojo..." Dio whispered. "You're going to doom us both?!" The light was already fading from his eyes. "No!" Dio roared. "You cannot do this to me!" The shrapnel Jojo had pierced his neck with cut off a lot of his tendrils, and Jojo's own grip, only getting tighter, somehow, as he died, stopped even more from coming out.

But just one, just one, that stretched, reaching for the cushion his head had been sitting upon. With just that one tendril he didn't have the strength to free himself from Jojo's grip. He didn't have the strength to fight back, or behead Jojo, or pull his head to the relative safety of his coffin.

But the mask was light enough.

And he knew, from experience, what putting on that mask would do to him. At this point, it was a gamble. All of it, a wild gamble. But there were flames everywhere, with only the ocean below and, soon enough, sunlight above. Even if there was only the short-term goal of making Jonathan's possibly-dead body jerk enough to release his arms, it would be enough. The vein forced the mask over Jojo's face, and there was more than enough blood already there to activate the stone claws.

Sure enough, Jojo's arms shot wide open as Jojo's body underwent transformations. With the Vampiric power of mutation and resurrection, it was possible that it would work even if Jojo already was dead. Taking the chance immediately, Dio grasped the wreckage around him with his veins, in a mad dash to reach his coffin. Slamming into the side, he quickly pulled himself up and reached for the lid. Pushing upward with the strength of multiple veins, he stared in horror as the coffin's lid didn't move in the slightest. "No! NO!" Whipping veins against the wood over and over in his rage, he was only stopped when he felt two familiar hands grip the sides of his head.

"Dio."

The vampire head couldn't turn around and look behind him, but at the same time, he didn't want to. He had never, never heard that tone of voice come from Jojo. Even when Jojo was trying his hardest to kill Dio, he had never spoken with such hatred. "J-Jojo?" He managed, overcoming his fear. "How do you like it? My power? Eternal youth, strength like you've never seen, absolute control over your own flesh, is it not wonderful-"

"Sunlight Yellow-"

"Jojo! NO! Don't do it!" He roared. "Please, just think a moment, are you really going to kill me, with our bizarre friendship?" he felt the sides of his head burn with the presence of Ripple power just inches away. "What about Erina? Jojo, your wife, who was willing to die for you! You can be with her again, forever!"

"...Dio." Jojo said quietly. "Why did you do this to me?"

"It was the only way to make you let go." Dio answered truthfully. "Now, open the coffin! The ship will blow any second now!"

"No." Jojo answered coldly. Putting Dio's head under his arm casually, like a bundle, he picked up the coffin with his other hand. "Erina must survive. Truthfully... I do not know if I could resist her blood at this moment." He said, his disgust with himself apparent in his voice. "She needs to be safe, above all."

"Jojo, you aren't going to just kill me, right?"

"Dio, I thought you had more respect than this?"

"I tried to make you something greater than yourself!" Dio exclaimed. "You must agree, you feel incredible, do you not?"

"I do. This body is incredible." Jojo admitted. "I was dying mere moments ago, yet now-" he kicked open the wall of the ship, and did so again for the next wall, making a straight line for the hull. "-I'm tearing through wood and steel as if it were nothing." Reaching the sea, and sensing the impact was coming, he pushed the coffin out into the water, then jumped in himself after it. The next moment, the ship exploded in a roar of sound and fire, knocking vampires and coffin across the water.

"Good, Jojo. Now take us into the coffin, as I'm sure you know, we won't survive in the sunlight."

"..."

"Jojo!"

"I don't think I could resist biting Erina and that child."

"Then we'll turn the woman and drink the child!" Dio growled. "Perfect, is it not?"

"No." He growled. "There is going to be no more killing today, Dio." He narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Then what?! Are you just going to have us burn then?!"

"I'm thinking about it." He said honestly. "I was ready to die before."

"But this is your second chance!" Dio urged. "You owe it to Erina, don't you?! Wait until she's away from the baby then, and then turn her! You could live together, forever! Are you going to give that up, just to kill me?"

Jojo frowned. "I can kill you without killing myself." He said. "I still know how to use Ripple."

"Jojo, you wouldn't, not when I'm defenseless-"

"You're never defenseless Dio! Even reduced to a head, you managed to murder all of these people!"

"...I... Jojo, please! We're brothers! I saved you!"

"Just to save yourself." Jojo growled. "But..." he turned toward the coffin. "...These urges, this body..." he narrowed his eyes at Dio. "You're going to help me, Dio."

"Of course Jojo!" Dio agreed. "You may not believe me, but I am satisfied with this! You're the only one I respect, more than anyone else in the world, you're the one who should stand by my side as the Lord of humanity!"

"You are going to help me control these urges for blood. This... violence, and hunger. When I can think clearly, then I'll decide what to do with you."

"Jojo..."

"Dio, despite everything, bizarrely enough, even after this... transformation, I hold some fondness for you." Jojo admitted. "I'm not going to do something I may regret when I am myself again."

"Sentimental." Dio said, sneering. "But wise."

Jojo began pushing the coffin forward, kicking hard with his legs to propel himself and the coffin forward. "How long will we have to go until drinking blood?"

"...Blood is a restorative." Dio explained. "We are immortal, Jojo, but we cannot reach our true strength unless we are given blood. We will waste away without it, but will not die."

"Then we are not going to be drinking blood."

"Oh come on, Jojo. Who just said they wouldn't do things rashly? Let us get to shore, and then we shall decide on life style changes. We are Vampires, Jojo. We need blood. And not every human needs all of theirs. You have all of your precious friends, do you not? I'm sure, if you asked nicely, each would give you a little sip, when you needed it. And being the protector of justice and trouble magnet you are, I'm sure you'll find unsavory individuals like myself?"

"...for now. We're going to get this coffin to safety."

"What about the Sun?"

"We'll hide underneath." Jojo said gruffly.

"That won't be perfect, we'll still be burned."

"It will have to do, Dio."