Summary: Jojo looks for Dio's remnants after their battle in Windknight's Lot and finds that his nemesis is still not destroyed. Instead of fighting him again, he accepts their fate to lead where it so wants to take them.

Notes: This will be part 1 of a longer story arc where I attempt to give Jonathan and Dio something like a happy life together.

1 */*/*

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Joestar?"

Speedwagon stares at the check-marked chimney hat that he keeps rolling around in his hands - a memento from the late Zeppeli and of all things they have gone through - because he is sure he'll break down in tears if he looks up at Jonathan. He thought… he was sure that as evil has finally been defeated, they will live the happy life they deserve. And Jonathan deserves it more than anyone else.

So maybe Speedwagon is a simple man, but for once happiness seems straightforward enough to achieve. For himself he has a single wish, to stay near his dear friend, offer him help and support, to make himself useful for him because he never managed to be that during the battle against evil. For Jonathan, he wishes love; marriage and family with Miss Pendleton. He wanted to help him rebuild his family mansion, so that it can be filled by life and laughter, washing away the horrors of death, blood, fire and monsters.

Although Speedwagon has never known his own parents or had any first-hand experience on how a loving family worked, he is still sure Jonathan would make an excellent husband and father. Strong, loving, reliable, modest. Surely Miss Pendleton would have been overjoyed to have him propose. She so obviously loves him - just thinking back on how happy she was to see him again, how she radiated affection as she was smiling up at him, the devotion she showed in treating his wounds when he was injured, fills Speedwagon's stomach with funny butterflies. They would have been the most beautiful couple on their wedding. Speedwagon would have stood next to Jonathan, as a best man, as his best friend, satisfied to be in his presence, filled with the knowledge that this powerful young man saved the world, defeated evil, and shown him that such scum as he used to be, can still become someone better.

"I'm sure, Speedwagon," he's dragged out from his how-it-should-be thoughts by Jonathan. "I'm sorry that I can't explain the whys to you, but I have to do this."

He nods miserably, as there's nothing else he can do. Jojo isn't staying in town, isn't getting married and isn't looking happy at all. He still has that determined aura about him, his expression focused and almost painful, the same look that he wore on their hunt for Dio after Zeppeli was slaughtered by his dark creation.

He had killed the monster, Speedwagon had seen it with his own eyes - yet for some reason it still isn't finished for him. There is no explanation, no fathomable reason - there are only Jonathan's solemn, even words, telling him matter of factly that he can't stay, can't be happy and carefree, but not sharing the reasons why.

"I'll need to go away for a while," he told him a few days ago. He seemed so troubled ever since they've returned from Windknight's Lot, but that was understandable given all that happened. He assumed the Joestar just needed time to be able to get over the dark horrors he has lived through, to get rid of nightmares haunting nights and dark memories troubling days. But when he sought Speedwagon out that evening, he looked calm, as if he only needed to make this inexplicable decision to find his inner peace. "I have a business only I can finish - until that's done, I can't involve anyone in my life. Least of all Erina."

"But where are you going?" he asked, desperately. "When will you be back?"

"I'm not really sure of it yet," Jonathan squeezed his shoulder, looking into his eyes. "But there's nothing you need to be cornered about, trust me."

"Don't say that, Mr. Joestar," he argued, trying not to feel powerless beneath that heavy hand. "Your burden is my burden. Surely, I can help, if you confide in me."

"I really appreciate that," his smile was honest, but his dark blue eyes remained sad. "However, there are some things I need to deal with on my own."

No matter how he pleaded, Jonathan didn't share any details with him and was unmovable in his decision to leave. So Speedwagon is here now, accompanying him to the outskirts of the town, saying his goodbyes, sadness and foreboding twisting his guts. Something is not right. Something is not right at all. He hates to feel this powerless again.

His friend, this man who showed him the light, who proved that one can be invincibly strong, yet maintaining kindness in his heart, who not just saved him, but changed his whole life as well, is leaving. He is feeling so weak and worthless, standing here, holding onto Zeppeli's hat as if that is the only thing keeping him on his feet, while Jonathan bids his farewell.

He doesn't take many things with him. A pack and a heavy looking chest, wrapped in a thick, black material. It looks too large and too angular to be carried around comfortably on horseback, and just looking at it makes Speedwagon uneasy. He can't bring himself to ask what is in it. Quite probably Jonathan wouldn't answer anyway.

So, he just watches warily as Jojo delicately picks it up and straps it on his back with great care. Speedwagon feels like screaming at him to put it down, thrown it away, burn it to ashes, because whatever he hides there, he's sure it's evil, can practically smell it, and he knows it's going to cause the Joestar harm, it already made him give up on his happily ever after.

"Mr. Joestar…" he tries to reason one last time, but he can see on the other's determined face that he made his choice already. Feeling terribly powerless, he just says instead, "Please take care of yourself. And write, so we can know you are all right."

"I will," he promises, smiling. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything! If there's anything I can do…"

"Can you look after Erina, please? I said my goodbyes to her, and it's not my business what she does with her life - but it would be good to know she is safe and…" his voice trails off, and for the first time he looks to regret his decision to leave. Speedwagon puts his hand on his arm in what he hopes is a reassuring manner. He wants to tell him to stay for her, that she needs him - as he needs him too, tell him that it could, that it should be his business what she does with her life, but manages just to nod.

"I'll make sure she never lacks anything," he promises and is rewarded with a smile.

Jonathan mounts his horse and waves his final goodbye. Speedwagon stays on the road, staring after him as his back becomes a tiny dot, then disappears behind trees, before he finally finds the strength to walk back to town.

Miss Pendleton waits for him, sitting on a bench not far from his flat, looking as alien to the shady neighbourhood in her clean, proper clothes, with her carefully braided her and porcelain, unblemished skin as Speedwagon felt that time he accompanied Jonathan to the Joestar manor. Her eyes are a bit puffy and red, but she is no longer crying. Speedwagon manages a strained smile, feeling awkward in her presence, just as he always is around ladies, not that he ever spent any quality time around real ladies. He welcomes her in, and she stands in the middle of this tiny, dark flat he's renting like an angel descended from heaven straight into the gutter, bright and immaculate, untouchable by dirt. It is unseemly of her to visit him without any chaperone of course, but she doesn't seem to care about that. Despite her delicate frame, she must be a tough woman. Didn't Jonathan tell him that she lived and worked alongside her doctor father in India as a nurse?

"He will be all right," he attempts to be reassuring, even though he's upset himself. "I don't know anyone as strong as him."

"Thank you, Mr. Speedwagon," she smiles at him. "You are such a good friend of his. I know he can take care of himself - it's just that I'll miss him. I just met him, and I'm losing him again, and I don't even understand why."

"Ah…" he's at loss for words but she doesn't appear to be waiting for an explanation from him. It's so sad - she and Jonathan should be together. He's never seen a man and woman so perfect for each other. But he knows the reasons no more than she does. "Neither do I," he confesses, fiddling with the hat in his hands again. "Mr. Joestar is a man whose destiny is probably incomprehensible for someone like me. But I want you to know Miss Pendleton, that I promised him - and even if I didn't promise I still would - that is, to do anything for your comfort. So, if you need anything, or if I can help with anything…

"Thank you, Mr. Speedwagon," she smiles at him, and his heart skips a beat. "That is most kind of you. Maybe you could tell me about your journey together, to help me gain some sense of his disappearance."

He nods hesitantly, unsure if he should share the horrors they have encountered during their chase after Dio. Would she even believe those tales? Even for him, with every day they become rather a nightmare where the details become foggy with time, than actual events that happened with him. But does he have the right to keep it from her?

Because he can't shake the feeling that Jonathan leaving is still part of that dark journey. If he has any suspicion, why he decided to part ways so abruptly- and he has - it is unreasonable and improbable. Though Speedwagon has known Dio to be evil ever since he cast his eyes on him, could practically smell it on him, although he caused all the grief in Jonathan's life, ever since their childhood as he learned, he was now gone for good. He saw the Joestar rip him up, melt him with his Hamon, he saw his remnants, turning into ash as the Ripple energy consumed him, falling into the abyss from the tower. They were rid of the devil. They saved the world from him. So, this feeling that the vampire still has control over his friend's life, that he has to be the reason of his departure needs to be wrong, simply the product of his worrying mind for such a good man that Jonathan is. Surely there is a simple reason behind it that has nothing to do with darkness, bonds and tears for the defeated demon. The world can't be so cruel to keep his friend, who's a creature of the light, captured in Dio's dark nightmare.

2 */*/*

Although it is already dark outside by the time Jojo books a room at an inn, he makes sure to carefully pull the curtains close, to block out light and any curious eyes that may peer in. He puts his burden down on the table and stares at it for a long-long time. It's harmless looking enough. An unmoving, silent package. The temptation to never open the crate, never to look inside is undeniable.

But he can't do that. With a sigh, he unfolds the dark cloth covering the massive wooden box and takes out the basket from inside. Amber eyes glare at him through straw bars, fury evident in them in the flickering light of the oil lamps.

"How are you, Dio?" he winces hearing his own voice. That really sounded inanely stupid given the situation…

Rather surprisingly in his current condition, his archenemy still manages to turn his face away. Living seven years with him, Jojo recognizes the gesture as sulking.

He sits down with a sigh and just stares at what is left of his adopted brother. A head. A very much still living head. Which is sulking. Which has been hissing at him during the ride to stop shaking him around.

He just never gives up. Surely, even in his weakened state, he is plotting against him again. Spinning creative ideas to take his vengeance on Jojo for chopping his head off, for locking him up, for carrying him around like a sack of potatoes. If the Joestar hasn't known him so well to make sure he is locked up for good, he surely would have attacked him already at his first chance.

But he knows Dio. He learned how he is the hard way. Nobody else have ever seen the Brando so clearly as he does. Not his father, praising him, not his lackeys, admiring him, not the girls on the balls who were pining after him. No, Jojo sees him without that layer of poisoned charm, sees him being selfish, wild, ruthless and cunning.

Maybe it was because he knew Dio so well, maybe it was sixth sense or fate that made him descend the tower in Windknight's Lot while Tonpetty and the others destroyed the stone mask. He told them he just needed some time alone to think. He expected to find something left of Dio and he wanted to say goodbye to him in a proper manner. Bury him, talk to the grave, to try to sew the strange emptiness closed that his death left in him. But he found Dio's minion, that Wang Chan was faster than him, already looking for and finding his master's remnants. He didn't think twice about dashing after him and ending his miserable existence with his Hamon. He reached for the package the wretched creature dropped with an ominous feeling twisting his guts.

He wasn't even surprised seeing Dio's head in it. He had his eyes closed, as if he was only sleeping. He didn't look dead and Jojo was sure, despite all logic, that he indeed wasn't.

He should have finished it there and then. The nightmare has dragged on for long enough. But he had killed Dio twice already - once when their family home burnt down, once in the tower. He just didn't find it in himself to kill him for a third time. The pain of seeing him as he fell down from the spire, dissolving from inside as Ripple energy burnt through his flesh was still so vivid on his mind.

No, it didn't make any sense then, and is making even less sense now if Jojo thinks it through - Dio is not simply dangerous, he is evil incarnated, but… they have this undeniable connection, this bizarre way the threads of their fates intertwined and to rip it apart again and again and again… Jojo had just no more strength left for it, bruised and battered after their last fight. Dio was, for the moment, harmless - he was unconscious, powerless - he couldn't just destroy him completely.

He feels bad for keeping it a secret, but he had no means to explain to the others why he was doing it. Hell, he couldn't even explain it to himself.

He kept the head wrapped in a cloth for a day, afraid that it will wake up, afraid what it will do. But by nightfall he came up with a solution, imperfect as it was. He put Dio in a loosely woven basket he found in the desolated village, with large holes to see-through between the stripes. On top of it he wrapped a fine net he could fill with Hamon. Over the thing came a thick, dark material to protect it from the sun and watchful eyes.

Back in his hometown he spent all his nights staring at the head, falling asleep in his chair when exhaustion finally won. It showed no activity - Dio didn't look dead though, only unconscious. Yet, for a few days he thought that he will never wake up again. Maybe, he thought, Dio is stuck somewhere between life and death. Maybe there is nothing left for him to do, but to make him cross to the other side. To dissolve him completely in Hamon or in the rays of sun.

He almost convinced himself that he could do it. That he would be free - he could finally spend time with Erina, gather his courage to ask for her hand and, assuming she said yes, live a happy, simple life together, free from Dio.

Then one night, when he had already fallen into a light slumber, he was jarred awake from his neck-hurting position by a hiss of his name.

"Jojo…" Dio was glaring murderously at him, managing to squeeze so many emotions into those two syllables. Anger, hate, accusation, pain. Nobody but him could utter Jojo as a curse so perfectly.

"Dio…" he replied, leaning forward. He had no idea what to say to him and it looked that the vampire was also content with just staring at him. What an endless night that was.

Having no idea what to do, Jojo carefully wrapped up Dio before dawn break and uncovered him at nightfall.

"Why am I here, Jojo?" Dio asked him the second night after his awakening. "What do you plan to do with me?"

Jonathan replied honestly, telling him how he found him, how he couldn't bring himself to destroy him completely and how he was now his responsibility.

Arguing with a severed head was the most absurd thing, yet he did it again and again every night after that. Dio demanded be let out from his imprisonment. Promised Jojo to take his life as soon as an opportunity arose. Hissed dark threats about taking his body, and ruling the world forever using it. Other times he flattered him, pleaded him to open his cage, to end the Hamon barrier, promised him might beyond what he could imagine, eternal youth and fabulous wealth. It didn't seem to cross his mind that Jojo could easily destroy him. Although it wouldn't have been surprising for him to lose his sanity after all that happened, Jojo had the feeling that the vampire just knew him too well.

Jonatan needed a plan. He couldn't just stay in his hometown, nor could he hope to fulfil his dream of rebuilding the Joestar mansion, to live there with Erina. He just couldn't afford to stay near his loved ones. Dio knew his weaknesses too well, and he was bound to go after Erina or Speedwagon given any opportunity. Although he has been incapacitated for the moment, he was, and forever will be, dangerous.

There was nothing else left for him to do, but to leave. He felt terrible, for not giving his friends any explanation, but that was for the best. He won't endanger them. Dio is his burden, and he isn't shying out from carrying that weight.

"Where are we, Jojo?" said burden asks, obviously having enough of sulking.

"We are travelling, Dio," he answers, repressing a yawn. Staying awake with the head at all nights has started to take its toll on him.

"Yes, I could tell that," the head sneers. "You were shaking me around whole day, it's a wonder I didn't get sick. Did you choose a crippled horse on purpose?"

"I can just cover you back, you know," he replies mildly. "You don't have to entertain me every night with your complaints."

"Hah! The least you can do is to listen to me, now that you have reduced me to this state."

"I'm listening, Dio," he gives in, feeling that going down on the road of pointless arguing is just too much for tonight.

"Hmm," the vampire hums, and there is no telling if he is put off with him not following their quarrel patterns or is actually satisfied with him giving in. "So, where are we, Jojo?"

"We are on our way to London."

"London?"

"I need to do some archaeology research and I hope to find material in one of the libraries."

"A research on what exactly?"

"Ancient cultures..."

Dio raises an eyebrow at him, but he doesn't feel like elaborating. To be honest, he would be hard pressed to do so - he wants to find some information on the stone mask, its origin and maybe some reference of it being used before, but it's for lack of anything better to do than with real purpose. His reasoning with his own self if that he should do what he can to ensure nobody else becomes a creature like Dio, ever again. But really, he just doesn't want to sit awake on all nights for the rest of his life, playing who-blinks-first with Dio's decapitated head.

He doesn't really think any research can give him a solution for the current situation. He just needs some occupation, so he won't go mad with this terrible secret, with his decision on allowing Dio to live. If you can call his current existence "life" at all.

"I honestly can't tell if you're a simpleton," the head sneers at him, and for some reason that makes Jojo smile.

"I have never been as smart as you, Dio."

"But you were never as stupid as you made me believe either, were you," he now studies him with eyebrows drawn together. Jonathan waves away the ridiculous urge to apologise for being smarter than he appeared to be. "So, tell me, Jojo - what are you planning now?"

"I'm not really planning anything," he admits with a shrug. "We'll just go and… we'll see."

"Then just - let me go," he says on a low, hypnotic tone. For a moment it's easy to ignore that he's a monster, a severed head of an undead demon and Jonathan is thrown back in time. Back in their adolescence, when Dio could so masterfully convince him of anything, always leaving him in doubt and feeling ashamed for feeling suspicious. But that moment passes. He stepped out of Dio's shadow for good on that fateful night when the Joestar home burnt down, when his father died from the knife that his adopted brother wanted to kill him with. He is no longer intimidated or confused by Dio.

"You know I can't do that," he replies quietly.

"Are you planning your vengeance? Don't be fooled by my current state! If you try to…"

"You don't need to be scared of me, Dio," Jojo says gently. The blonde doesn't reply immediately. There's a heartbeat of time when his expression is unguarded. Jojo by now got used to seeing only his head, can look at him unflinching through the straw bars of his prison, can look into his eyes and read his uncertainty, his fears, his perplexity. Then he closes himself up behind his usual haughty behaviour. Jojo is amazed by his ability to turn his nose up and look down on him even in his current state.

"Don't make me laugh," he sneers. "You are still only a mere human, while I've become so much more."

Not wanting to get into another argument as they have been doing most on their nights, Jojo just leans back with a sigh and tries to make himself comfortable in his chair, preparing for another long, sleepless night, watching over Dio to make sure he doesn't try anything.

3*/*/*

Dio sighs in annoyance. He shoots an angry glare at Jojo, but the man continues to ignore him. He's hardly said a word to him in two days - since Dio managed to convince him to let him out of his Hamon-strengthened cage, attacked him and was -once again- defeated by him.

In retrospect, it wasn't the best idea. Dio is in a weakened state, and Jojo proved to be capable of overpowering him even when he was at the height of his power. But he just couldn't stand it any longer, the uncertainty, the feeling of not having any control over his fate, the fear that anything can be done to him and he's powerless to defend himself. He also had enough of the continuous hunger he feels despite not having a body to feed.

It was like being thrown back into his childhood. When he was at the non-existent mercy of his father, too small to defend himself against his hurtful words and bruising blows. When he could do nothing but watch helplessly as his mother withered and died. When he was so feeble that he couldn't even keep the food he usually had to steal, from the older and stronger street urchins. He decided then; he will never let others dictate his life ever again. That he'll always be the master of his fate, that he won't be a tool for others, but rather he'll be the one to use people to gain what he wants.

And he has always kept this vow. He learned how to be in control and loved it. It has always been so easy to find weak minded people and bind them to his will. Jojo though… he was an interference. More than that - their fates seemed so closely intertwined, he couldn't be simply pushed to the side, couldn't be stepped over, threaded upon.

Without the Joestars, Dio wouldn't have been able to leave the gutter so easily when his father finally died. Without Jojo, he wouldn't have gained the power of the stone mask. But it was also Jojo who rendered him to this state, he was he one preventing him to rule over the whole world.

That was what prompted him to throw away his usual cautiousness and to take his first advantage to attack him. Because he was undeniably wary of him - maybe even afraid of him, yet irresistibly drawn to him. In fact he has never wanted anything more than to claim Jojo's body, to make it his own, to make it - make them - live forever. That's the perfect solution of weaving their threads of fates into one.

But he should have been more patient, should have listened to the calm, reasonable part of his mind telling him to wait for his chance and not for the rush of excitement that the idea of robbing Jonathan of his life caused him. Jojo was obviously expecting him to attack, even if he let himself be talked into letting Dio out. Now he's back in the damn cage, and the Joestar apparently decided to punish him with silence. He doesn't seem inclined to end Dio's existence, although he has to be aware how easily he could do it right now. So Dio is no longer afraid… rather just bored.

"Jojo...Jojo!" he breaks the silence. The other man draws his thick brows together, but he doesn't raise his glance from the book he's reading. He's started to stay awake at night, probably to watch over Dio, and sleep at daytime, maybe not even pulling the shutters closed, to make the sunshine impossible for the vampire to try to break out. If he could, Dio would throw something at his stupid head, to make him stop ignoring him. But he can't, so he just sighs, and fidgets.

"Jojo…" he tries again after a while. "Jojo, I'm bored."

The man finally turns to him with a sigh.

"What am I supposed to do with that, Dio?"

"What are you reading?"

"It's an archeology book about ancient Aztec empires."

"You and your pet projects, Jojo…" he sneers with distaste. "I would have thought you had enough of treasure hunting fairy tales by now."

Jonathan does a strange thing. He touches Dio's cage with tender fingers, sliding them down on the straw bars with a faraway expression. He, of course, doesn't touch his head inside, but it still almost feels like a caress, and the sensation it's causing is still akin to a shiver, although he has no body to feel it with.

"You know," he says at long last "the stone mask came from that area. Maybe I'll be able to decipher more information on it. Understand more where and how and why it was created. Maybe…" he trails off. He looks tired, so worn out as if just staying awake is taking too much out of him. It's strange to see him like this, not bursting with life, ready to stand up again and again, even if life - with Dio's active contribution - has thrown him down in the mud repedetaly.

"What happened to the mask, Jojo?"

"We destroyed it. It can cause no harm, ever again."

"Then why the research? What do you hope to find?" There's no answer - Dio suspects Jojo himself doesn't even know. "What do you plan to do with me?" he presses. "You don't want to let me out of this ridiculous prison. You apparently don't want to kill me. Just what do you want to do with me?"

"I don't know, Dio, all right?!" he buries his face in his hands. He hasn't looked so lost since they were twelve and the blond could still bully him.. "You are a danger to the world. But how could I kill you again? I just want to go home, but home no longer exists, because we burnt it down! I just want…" he cuts himself off. Taking a deep breath he pulls himself together, radiating the focused determination he did on the night Dio transcended humanity or when he dealt the almost-fatal blow in the tower. "We are stuck together. I can't let you go, I'm not killing you, as you've said. I've no idea yet what we'll do… but I'll figure it out in time, I'm sure."

And they are indeed stuck together, aren't they? Dio is at Jojo's mercy and for some reason apparently not even Jonathan has an explanation for, he also thinks he is his responsibility. If the roles were reversed, Dio wouldn't show any kindness. If he didn't kill Jojo, then he would enslave him. He planned to do that, drain his blood and insert his own vampiric extract into him. He would have become one of his zombies, without a free will. That would have been most satisfying. Having a Jojo, who's only wish was to obey him, kneeling at his feet. Killing on his command. Voicing no objection whatever he wanted to do with him - and Dio had some creative ideas.

But that wish was a weakness as it prompted him to make an uncareful move. Apparently all his unwise moves centered around his desire to best Jojo.

He wonders what the Joestar wants to get out of this whole situation. If it's not to kill him, than to humiliate him maybe? Does he want to ridicule Dio, rub it in that he won in the end? Does he want to torture him, keeping him like this, without letting him feed on blood? Dio thinks he can get on for very long without - he'd need it to claim a new body, but as a head only, he probably would continue to feel the hunger but never actually starve. But Jojo can't know that. So maybe it is his cruel side showing finally.

That would make more sense than his "I don't know". Still, he knows Jonathan not to be cruel. How weird it is to trust Jojo on this. Dio doesn't appreciate or fully understand honesty. No wonder he could never really get Jonathan. It's upsetting to think that this oaf knows him much better than the other way round.

He must have been silent for a while - time doesn't quite flow as a vampire as it did when he was human, and that's especially true since he's in this state - as Jojo went back to reading. Or maybe he's just sleeping with his eyes open, the way he stares at his book without turning a page. Dio has no mercy, so he doesn't let him rest.

"So, as I have no choice but to be in your presence," he muses, feeling a malicious spark of pleasure as Jonathan jolts awake, "you could have the courtesy to entertain me. Or do you plan to bore me to death?"

"Dio… what do you expect?"

"You could give me a book," although he's not sure how he would hold it or turn a page, in his small cage. "Or read out to me, at least."

"This is about the old South American empires as the Spanish found them. Will that do?"

"If you don't have anything more sophisticated…"

"It's the only one I have with me right now."

Jojo reads it out to him, pausing to muse over bits he finds interesting, telling Dio details he's not particularly interested about. Yet, it's not a terrible way to pass time - they even manage to discuss bits and pieces, about the Aztec, the Inca , their rituals. It does seem like a harmless conversation, which Dio can't help but find ridiculous under the current situation. He only plays along as he doesn't want to go back to the boredom of silence.

What have they used to talk about? All kinds of silly little things as far as he can remember. Once they have settled into their seven years long ceasefire period, the forced friendly chit-chat became unavoidable. They weren't even unpleasant, just meaningless. He never quite managed to win Jonathan's trust - he miscalculated how he really was when they first met, he assumed the spoiled Joestar boy will be easily intimidated, that it will be a piece of cake to push him to the side, to have him fall into despair.

He was wrong, as he learned the hard way. Jojo had his sneaky little means to find happiness when by all means he was meant to be miserable, and when Dio took even that from him, he snapped and beat him. The bloody brute.

After that Dio was much more careful. He lost his temper too easily, and that exposed him. But the damage was already done, and Jojo remained suspicious of him.

Funny how that suspicion led to his exposal of poisoning that old fool Joestar, which in turn led to him using the stone mask on himself, fulfilling the fate he always hoped - knew - he had; becoming something much more superior than a mere human, a being who had the chance to rule the whole world.

That is the thing with Jojo. Since they met, he has been, directly or indirectly, the cause for all dramatic turnpoints in Dio's life. There is no logical explanation how he can play such a role, why their fates are so strongly intertwined. But is undeniable. It is happening again right now, after all.

As he thinks it through, a strange feeling of peace fills Dio. For the time being, it is maybe all right to be held captive by Jojo like this. For all intents and purposes, this very well might be their destiny. They will, he assumes, fight again. He will conquer over Jojo finally. But right now he doesn't have to struggle - he is sure that things will go in a direction they are supposed to go. Which means that he will end up as victor of course.

4*/*/*

"Are you looking for company, my sweet?"

Jonathan blinks in surprise at the young woman who made herself comfortable on the chair beside his.

He came to the pub for a drink and for some time alone to think, not really looking where he was going - ending up at this rather dingy establishment with its soggy tables and hostile-looking co-drinkers. The wine they serve here is nothing like the ones he was used to at home. One gulp of it was enough to make his throat burn and his stomach flip, so he rather just stares into his cup, creating little circles on the surface of the vile thing with his Hamon. Father always scolded him if he played with his food or drink, but the cloudy, reddish slop doesn't really seem drinkable for him, so he considers it all right. It helps him to think - about Dio, the stone mask, the clues he found about its origin during his research, and most of all - what on earth is he supposed to do with all of that.

"Err, ah, thank you," he stammers his reply, putting his cup down with some embarrassment. "But I'm all right on my own."

"Are you sure?" the unknown lady asks, scooting closer. "You look lonely and worried. I could make you forget your troubles." She puts a light hand on his arm, confusing him even further. "I could make you forget everything you don't want to remember."

He has no idea how he is supposed to react to that - he doesn't know much about women. When they were twelve, it was easy to talk to Erina - but she was really one of a kind. She was daring, funny, and it was just good to be in her presence. With her, it was natural for him to be honest, to be himself - with all his awkwardness, frustrations and childish hopes - because she was really interested in him. He loved her, because she didn't make a big deal of him being a boy and her being a girl, she just seemed to be happy to spend time with him without overcomplicating the situation.

The girls he met on the balls his father insisted he attended were greatly different. Jojo hold their interest when they learned he was the Joestar heir - but not for any other reason. They got bored with his talk about archaeology, dogs and horses or sports. If he asked them for a dance - and he did, because his father was always hopeful he will find love and marry one of them - they always accepted. Then they kept wincing when he stepped on their legs, frowned when he bumped into other dancers, casted long-suffering glances at other girls when their eyes knowingly met, until Jojo wanted nothing else but the earth to open up and swallow him.

He heard their whispers, how they wished Dio was the real heir, and not just the adopted son. It was hard to blame them, as the blond has always been the real star of these evenings: graceful, polite, witty and charming. Jojo never knew if he really enjoyed these balls or if he just played along, pretending so professionally what others wanted to see. He was a good actor, able to deceive even Jojo, who knew his dark side better than anyone else.

"I can make you feel so good that you'll never worry again," the young woman next to him purrs, her touch becoming definitely inappropriate as her fingers slide from his arm to his chest. It dawns on Jojo that she might be a prostitute.

What is the gentlemanly thing to do in such situation, he wonders. He's not even sure she's not just overly friendly - and slightly tipsy - although he can't help but notice how her dress is showing more than what usually is shown… She catches him staring at her ample bosom, and smiles at him slyly. He grabs her wrist when her caress slides down on his stomach towards the band of his pants.

"Thank you," he says gently, "but I'm not looking for company." He knows how their classmates at Hugh Hudson Academy often paid for the services of the local women. He disapproved of that - even if it was not always easy to keep the urges of his body in check. But to pay a woman with a few coins for using her like that was not a gentlemanly thing to do at all. The other boys always laughed at him when he declined their invitations to go along with them to the few establishments the town hold, but he kept to his moral code then and he's keeping to it now.

The suspected prostitute pouts at him. He releases her hand and tries to give her a friendly smile. There's some movement from behind his back, and the entrance door slams shut. Jojo reaches for his pack, just to realize he is robbed.

"Serves you well, limpdick," the woman sneers maliciously at him and he can only gape in reply. So much for him feeling noble.

The bartender shouts after him as he charges outside, so he wastes a few moments with stopping for a promise that he'll be back with the payment for the drink.

The thief is small and fast, and if not for the breathing technique he learned from Zeppeli, he would lose sight of him despite his longer strides. The other obviously knows the city well as he dashes through wide roads, narrow alleys and busy squares. People are all hurrying home on the darkening streets, so he has to push his way through the crowds. Lucky that usually it's enough for people to glance at him and give way.

They have been staying in London for weeks, and Jojo can now admit how he hates the capital. He longs for the countryside, for the long walks on the fields around the mansion, the quiet town nearby. It's dirty and crowded in the city, and something just always happens. He is attacked, he is robbed, he has to search for a crazy little Chinese man selling poison to his adopted brother.

He will ask Dio how he managed to cope with the awful place as a kid. Surely it wasn't easy. He feels even as an adult, even with more than enough money in his pockets, this place is barely liveable. How could a poor child manage, he has no idea.

The thief runs towards the docks and with the open space Jojo can finally catch up. The little man looks back over his shoulder as he gets near, takes in his size and throws his bag off, running away as Jojo stops for it.

He doesn't chase after him. Surely, he had his reasons. Cocooned as his life has been, he is still aware of poverty. His father always taught him to be considerate of people who weren't born as lucky as them.

He takes a deep breath of the wet, cool air. The wind is strong here, but he welcomes it. It only carries smell of fish and stale water, and he prefers that to the usual stench of London: filth, too many sweaty, unwashed bodies, grime from the chimneys. Surely it is the same here during the mornings and daytimes, but so late in the afternoon he finds the docks surprisingly peaceful. The River Thames is dark and majestic as it sloshes gently against its bank.

He walks around the port, letting the cold breeze calm and clear his mind.

Dio has never talked about his childhood, and Jonathan never asked. The blond kid was so mean to him - he said and did so horrible things Jojo couldn't even dream of before, so he felt no urge to learn more about him, to understand him. How did he manage to get on day by day in London, why he never even mentioned his father, when did his mother die, was there always food on their table, or did he starve? Did he have to steal to eat? What shameful, dark secrets he carried, what happened to him to make him so hostile, aggressive and cruel? What fuelled his all-consuming ambition?

Spending a childhood in the slums of London was surely a big contributor for him to turn out the way he was. If Jojo had been stronger, if he made an effort to learn more about the other boy, maybe even tried to befriend Dio, surely, he could have done something to prevent him going down that dark road. He has no doubt that his adopted brother's life was difficult before he arrived to them to a degree that Jojo could never even imagine. But it's still not too late. He still has a chance.

He sits down on a rock at the bank and looks at the dark waves of the Thames. For the first time since he found Dio's still living head, he feels finally at peace. He thinks he understands now why they are here, why his life is still centred around Dio. Surely, their fate wants him to finally understand what made Dio the way he is. He can get to know him, understand his motives and will have the chance to try to explain why he sees the life Dio has chosen as wrong. The other man is his nemesis - their destiny is to fight each other but also to understand each other. It's the strangest thing to accept: nobody is as close to him as the blond. He has more than enough reason to hate him - yet he doesn't. He is ready to accept their undeniable connection, this bizarre friendship he feels despite everything that's been said and done. They are two sides of the same coin. If there is the slightest chance to save Dio's soul, he must try it. If there will be no other choice for him but to destroy the vampire in the end, he will probably die with him. But before he commits any unchangeable deed, he will try and try and try again to patch their torn relationship.

He clutches his reclaimed bag close to his chest. He has the tickets he purchased today inside, so he is very glad he could get it back. In two weeks' time, they are going to America. He was more than uncertain about the idea of the journey, but he's now sure it's the right decision. Things are not logical if they are concerning Dio, but it's all right.

Night falls rapidly around him, so he stands up, brushing off his pants. He needs to go back to the pub to pay for his drink and then he has to hurry back to the inn. He's can't shake off the absurd idea that Dio will be worried about him if he's late.

5 */*/*

He doesn't like to admit even to himself, but Dio is worried. Light doesn't shine through the drawn curtains on the window, the wooden box and the thick cloth covering his cage, but he still knows night has fallen long ago. It seems that he still has an internal clock, telling him when it's daytime and when it's safe for him to go outside to hunt in the dark despite how he can't do it right now. Without a better choice, he slumbers his days through and wakes at nightfall. Jojo is usually back by that time from whatever he's doing in London during the days, and keeps him company.

With his body destroyed by Jonathan's Hamon, the needs of that body are gone too. Dio doesn't really feel hunger, thirst, tiredness or lust - although he can still remember them, can recall and picture them quite clearly. They remain only in his mind though, so he entertains himself with different things he can't feel or do right now. For example, he likes to picture sinking his fingers into Jojo's neck, sucking out his life-force. He can remember how good it felt when he did it in the tower, the excitement of pleasure, the lust for more, to take it all. But he only remembers how it felt, he doesn't feel the all-consuming need to drain the other man dry.

So, he spends his time alone with recalling things, and with fantasizing what he'll do once he finally escapes his imprisonment. When Jojo is back, they talk and the Joestar reads the daily papers or a book to him.

It's really strange how easy it is to fall into habit even in this state.

Jonathan goes off to pretend he can do anything sensible about Dio during the day, when the vampire is dozing. He comes back by nightfall, takes off the cover from the cursed cage and talks to him, mostly about his research on the stone mask, but sometimes just of inane things, life in London, the crowds, the libraries, the strange fashion some people follow. They discuss the news, books they enjoy - rarely the same ones. They even played chess a few times, Dio telling Jojo where to move his pieces and beating him ridiculously easily.

Jonathan keeps him entertained, which adds another drop to the already volatile mixture of his cauldron of confusing emotions concerning his nemesis. He keeps him imprisoned, but he tries his best to make this imprisonment bearable. He could have easily destroyed Dio, could do it any day. Or, if for some unfathomable reason, he decided to keep him alive, he still could just lock him off somewhere, guard the place with Hamon, allowing him no company apart from the voices in his head. He could go and live the boring life of a so-called gentleman, forgetting about the dark secret of Dio's continued existence.

But in a typically Jojo-ish way - a stubborn, stupid, doing-the-right-thing-even-if-it-kills-me way - he took Dio on as his responsibility. As if he is a stray, probably rabid dog he decided to take care of in secret, totally ignoring the dangers. It is insulting of course and Dio refuses to feel grateful for allowing him to live and for treating him with this bizarre companionship. But there is this annoying sense of fatality he always felt around Jojo. The feeling that their lives entwines, have always entwined around each other's. Surely Jojo feels it too.

Dio is sure that he is meant to conquer over Jojo one day. But he also has to admit that he can't help but admire his strength, his tenacity and his determination. He is just a man, a mere mortal, but he still managed to defeat him twice. So, for the time being he just plays along, endures his imprisonment and waits for the right chance. He has infinite time, after all.

But after these weeks - maybe even months, he's no longer sure, he quickly lost his proper sense of time - he's grown to expect Jojo to keep his side of the play, and that includes arriving back to the inn in time. Where on earth that bloody moron is? He never missed to come back by the time Dio wakes. Isn't he afraid he will make his move and try to escape?

What his chances are to break free? The cage is tiny, enveloping all that remained of him. Outside the basket there is the net vibrating with the Joestar's cursed Hamon. Truth to be told, Dio doesn't fancy feeling the burn of it through his flesh ever again. He remembers way too clearly how unbearable it was, the force of it as it dissolved his body, how it was preferable to cut off his own head to escape from its destroying light.

He wonders if something happened to Jonathan, when would the Hamon around his prison disappear. If, let's say, he is stabbed in the back when walking through some dark alley in the city and he bleeds to death, would the Hamon he infused the net with die along with him? Or would it live long after him, leaving Dio imprisoned, until someone comes into their room and opens his cage? He feels infuriated by the thought. How dare Jojo be so careless? If he dies, Dio might easily be exposed to sunlight, not being able to protect himself by any means. He claimed he feels some kind of responsibility for Dio, yet he is late, leaving him in doubt whether he's alive or dead.

By the time Jojo finally arrives back, Dio is fuming.

"Where were you?!" he demands the instant the cover is pulled from the basket.

"I'm sorry I'm late Dio," Jojo apologises way too lightly. "There was an issue I had to take care about."

"Hah, took your time, didn't you? Never mind that I'm stuck here waiting for you."

"I'm really sorry," Dio thinks the damned idiot is disguising a smile, and that makes him even angrier. "I was robbed and I had to chase after the thief through half of London. Exaggerating of course," he adds as if that wasn't obvious.

"How stupid can you be," Dio sneers. "The city is dangerous. You walk around in your expensive clothes, radiating you never knew poverty, what did you expect?"

"I'm careful, Dio, I was just distracted for a moment. There was this woman and ugh…" he trails off, blushing slightly.

The vampire raises his brows. He's not sure if he should be annoyed or entertained by this act of innocence. He always considered Jojo to be a naive fool, but he was proven wrong on that account, wasn't he? Stupid, pampered noble boy he showed himself to be, he still was the only one knowing Dio enough to suspect his schemes.

"A woman, ehh," he drawls. "You were always quite a delinquent when it came to girls."

"What? No, I'm not… This was different. She was, I think, a, well… a prostitute and she…"

"You kept me waiting because we were idling with a whore?" he doesn't have to act being offended by that.

"No!" Jojo denies vehemently, now red at the face. "You… why don't you stop twisting my words?"

"Hmph," as much he can, he turns away, showing he's still annoyed by the other's lateness. He wonders if Jojo realizes what a bizarre conversation they are having. He need to get a new body for himself to put their relationship on equal footing again. This wait during the days and depending on Jojo's mercy so much is maddening.

The thought gives him a pause. His plan is to kill Jojo, and to claim his body. Because that would be the perfect vengeance but also because nobody but him is worth to serve Dio like that, to become one with him. Nothing has changed, hasn't it? He shouldn't be thinking about seizing any other body just to talk to Jonathan as man to man. They are not equal - although Jojo proved his strength, he is still only human, while Dio is something much more. It's distracting to be so close to him on all nights, to talk to him only, but he shouldn't lose sight of his plans. He shouldn't forget that his destiny is greater than what the Joestar could ever dream of.

"Uhm, Dio…?" Jojo drags him back from planning his bright future to the present of the cage in the dark room. "I have some news to share."

"News?"

"Yes. Remember, we talked about the ancient empires of the Americas? And how the stone mask is coming from somewhere in Mexico. I found some further clues and that convinced me that it might be worth to visit some old ruins. So, I decided - we are travelling."

"To... Mexico?"

"Well, to New York at first. And we will make our way from there. I… A ship is going in two weeks' time. I bought the tickets today." He takes them out from his bag, brandishing them in front of Dio's eyes.

"Is someone accompanying us?" the blond asks with suspicion.

"It's for the two of us, Dio," Jonathan smiles at him with unexplainable warmth. "We are going to see the world."

"You realize that I don't need a ticket, do you? Right now, I'll count as a package."

"That just… didn't seem right. I mean, even if you are… a head… you are still a person. It would have been wrong not to buy a ticket for you."

He feels oddly satisfied hearing that, but does his best not to let it show on his face.

"If you have that much money to waste, you should rather get me a more fitting carrier. This basket is really unworthy to hold someone like I, Dio. It's very selfish of you for not thinking of getting something better for me yet."

Jojo doesn't rise for the bait, just continues to smile and promises he will look into that as well. He looks quite elated with his decision on their overseas travel. Dio wonders why is that. Surely there are people he cares about in England who he is leaving behind. It would make more sense for him to be saddened to travel so far with only Dio as company.

His spirit seems unbreakable, making him naive and optimistic, but that is just as much his strength as it's his weakness. He just never stays on the ground if beaten, never remains depressed for long. Dio knows he should find this cheerful determination annoying, but in truth it always fascinated him.

Jojo said they are going to see the world, and Dio thinks they indeed will. This travel surely will give him more opportunities to escape. Does Jojo realize that? He has to. But there is no escape from fate, they both learned.

"See the world, you say? Make sure I will actually see something of it."

As it started to be his habit, Jojo touches his cage with light fingers. He probably means it as a friendly pat on the shoulder. It's an endearing, yet frustrating gesture - it's almost like a caress, yet it is not. A promise of something he doesn't quite understand.

"It's going to be alright, Dio. I believe this journey is what we need. Let's see how it goes, shall we?"