Fates Hiccup

Before I begin the story, there are a few things I need to clarify since it will be confusing otherwise. First, the part with Erina saving Jonathan's body and Dio's head is taken from the spin off novel Over Heaven. Second, Jonathan's body not aging is from a personal theory of mine about the Deep Pass Overdrive, which will be elaborated on later since there is too much here already.

Enjoy and be sure to give your honest criticisms, harsh or otherwise.

Chapter One:

Fate's Hiccup

Erina Joestar's eyes remained shut as the vibrations from the explosion faded away and the gentle splashing of the waves against her steel cocoon took their place. Her breathing still erratic, she slowly opened her eyes to meet the pitch blackness of the velvet interior, her hands still gripping the interior fabric tightly. As she lay there, the faint smell of blood worked its way up her nostrils, reminding her of the tragic cargo she bore with her. The thought of her husband's corpse laying beneath her separated only by three inches of steel and velvet made her choke on her tears. She couldn't cry, she mustn't, not after what his final words were to her.

"Be happy…Erina."

A light cooing below her made her sadness fade away almost instantly as she looked down at the barely month old child next to her. Despite the darkness making it almost impossible to see, she smiled and wiped the faint presence of tears from her eyes, hoisting the child in her left arm as she used her right to push the heavy lid open. The morning suns glare hit her vision immediately, causing her to recoil slightly and look back down at the blood red interior of her safe haven. As the pale blue of the sea reflected the rays of the vigorous sun, her mind briefly went back to what had occurred not ten minutes ago. All she had wanted was to live a happy life with the gentleman of her dreams, to hold his deceptively soft hands as they watched their children develop lives of their own. The blame was ready to be set on one man, no, one monster who had destroyed that dream.

Regardless of her anger, she took a deep breath and lay back down in the casket, the mental image of Jonathan still hugging that demon's head below her filled her with many different emotions. The most prominent being anger.

"Miss Joestar, are you sure you are fine."

"Yes, thank you." She answered, smiling at the sailor whose eyes turned to look at the fancy looking casket behind her.

"Are you sure you wish to throw that back into the ocean? It looks rather valuable and-"

"Yes, I am." She said rather sternly, turning around "Would you please give me moment?"

The seaman opened his mouth to continue, but chose to nod respectfully.

"Of course, just let me know when you are ready."

Erina walked slowly toward the open casket, her eyes locked on the interior as she contemplated her next course of action. While she initially had no idea what manner of beast Dio was, she had caught a glimpse of the fangs in his mouth, telling her that he was a vampire. Knowing this, she bent down so as to grab the edge of the interior. All she had to do was open it, grab his head and toss it into the sea. However this thought crossed lanes with another, which told her to remember Jonathan's love for his adoptive sibling, even in death. This stayed her hand for but a moment as her grip tightened on the interior. A second later and she had opened the second compartment, her hand covering her mouth when she laid eyes on her husband's bloodied form below her. The feeling to vomit was swallowed down along with her sorrow when her eyes landed on the decapitated head still in Jonathans arms. Her shadow loomed over what was left of the blonde vampire and she was tempted to step away and let his head turn to ash right there. But she couldn't, as a part of her foolishly thought that her husband would witness the deed of Dio turning to ash before his eyes and she could not bear the thought of that.

With slow hands and anger in her heart, she bent down and gently moved her husband's hands so as to free the demon's head. Still warm, as if he was still with her, as if he was holding onto the dream they both shared. Her hands held Dio's head, the monster who had taken that dream away from her. His blonde hair felt like the finest silk and his skin was smooth to the touch, all of this betraying everything this man had always been.

"To Hell with you, demon!" she seethed, throwing his head as hard as she could. The instant he touched the sun, his immortal beauty began to turn to dust. Erina watched as his head disintegrated, the smell of burning flesh permeated the air. He was dust before he even touched the ocean.

Whatever regret she felt was too small, as she immediately turned away and situated Jonathan's body in the first compartment, where she had lain just a day prior. And after signaling for the sailors to lower the coffin back into the sea, she could only feel happiness. Now they can both rest in peace.

"Jojo."

Jonathan's eyes opened to the whiteness of his surroundings, confusion taking him as he looked around.

"Hello?"

"Behind you, Jojo."

The burly man whirled around, recognizing the voice almost immediately.

"Baron Zeppeli?" he questioned, his eyes seeking the source of the voice. A tapping on his shoulder made him jump slightly, turning to see the familiar mustached man. With a wide smile breaking through his previous frown, Jonathan went to hug his mentor, but found his arms go completely through the man's body. The baron chuckled.

"It's good to see you too, Jonathan." The mustachioed gentleman waved his hand "Come, let's talk as we walk."

Jonathan hesitantly nodded, his steps echoing in the white void while the baron's made neither taps nor clacks on the seemingly solid floor.

"Do you remember what happened before you woke up here?" He asked, stopping and turning toward the still confused gentleman. Jonathan put a hand to his chin in thought.

"I believe I was on a ship with…" he paused, trying to recall the memory. When his head flashed with a familiar blonde's smug expression he gasped "Dio!" Suddenly, all the memories came flooding back. Dio's decapitated head, Wang Chan, the ship burning, Erina and the child. He looked up at his former mentor in a panic, who nodded reassuringly.

"Do not worry Jojo, she is safe." He put his hand to the bluenette's shoulder in pride. Another smile crossed Jonathan's lips at that and he sighed.

"That's all I care about, my life be damned." Zeppeli laughed at that, shaking his head as Jonathan tilted his head "What's so funny?"

"Look at your body, Jojo."

A poke to the ribs made Jonathan recoil slightly.

"You are still alive." In response, Jonathan's eyes widened and he rubbed his chest "It appears destiny is not done with you yet, my friend."

Jonathan immediately reached up to his neck, feeling for the holes Dio's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes left behind. To his astonishment, he felt nothing but the smoothness of his skin.

"B-but how? Dio shot me in the throat, did he not?" he questioned, looking down at his hands. Zeppeli crossed his arms and smiled at his student.

"Aye, he did. However, his aim was not as true as he wanted it to be." He pointed to his own neck "If he had only aimed a sliver to the left, then you would have most certainly used all your hamon in that final blow."

Jonathan's mind continued to race with questions and as he opened his mouth to flood his old master with them, the man turned away.

"Now go, Jojo. Go and fulfill your new destiny." His ever present smile stayed as he began to fade away into thin air, making Jonathan panic.

"Master, wait! Please, I need your guidance!" he yelled, reaching out to the fading baron. The mustached man said one last thing but Jonathan could hardly make it out before everything went black.

December 15th, 1938

"Hey guys, I think I found something!" Daniel yelled as he looked down at the sonar. His declaration caused the other three crew members to rush into the captain's quarters.

"Are you sure?" Andrea asked as she leaned on the overweight man's chair.

"Of course! This baby is genuine German engineering, it's never wrong!" he yelled, jumping out of his seat and sprinting to the bow " Victor, get that crane up and running and Antonio, get in your diving suit and hook that baby up!"

After some complaining from the two men, they did as they were told. Antonio suited up and, after some words of courage, he jumped into the sea and slowly sunk to the bottom. With his helmet light on, he slowly advanced past the many fish and crustaceans that dared cross his path. Eventually, he came upon the supposed treasure; a black as night casket that had been covered with barnacles and algae for who knows how long.

"You're a beautiful sight." He said with smirk on his face as he bent over to inspect the object. He scrubbed some barnacles off the locked hatch and tried to read the letters "D-I-O, Dio huh?" Just then, the cranes hook finally lowered down and he grabbed it, pulling some rope out of his pack and prepared to tie the coffin up. "Thanks for the treasure, Dio."

With a few tight knots here and a few covert twist there, he was finished and got atop the find, shaking the cable as hard as he could. A few seconds later and they both started to rise to the surface. Upon surfacing, the cheers from the other three were almost deafening as he leapt to the ship.

"Great work Antonio!" Daniel said and eagerly watched the black casket lower onto the deck. A loud thump later and the obese captain rubbed his gloved hands all over it. "This thing's airtight too! This asshole was buried with something expensive!"

"He must have been, this things locked tight." Andrea said, poking at the lock with her knife.

"No problem, I saw this coming." Victor said, coming back from the lower levels with a sledge hammer. It took about thirty minutes of swinging and ten minutes of chiseling, but they eventually cracked the lock.

"Feast your eyes, amigos!" Daniel said, his breathing short as he slowly opened the casket. Then everything went quiet when he opened it all the way, the calls of nearby seagulls breaking the silence for only a moment. Inside was a tall and very broad muscle man in an old looking, blood stained suit. Strangely, despite the blood, he did not seem to have any injuries.

"Daniel, what are we looking at here?" Victor asked as the chubby man looked over the dead aristocrat looking man.

"Looks like some rich pendejo who died a few days ago." He then began digging in the young man's pockets "Andrea, get over there and check his suit pockets."

She nodded and went to do so, carefully digging around the outside pocket first. The only thing she found was a handkerchief with a little bit of long dried up blood on it.

"Holy shit, look at this ring on 'im!" Daniel exclaimed, holding up the muscular mans huge hand. It looked to be made of the finest silver, seemingly untouched by the passage of time as it was still stainless. Inside the ring was a single, small ruby. Simple and beautiful at the same time.

"Damn, I bet that'll sell for a pretty…cent." Andrea started but stopped as her eyes began to widen in fear "D-D-Daniel! I think he just blinked!"

He laughed in response "You're seeing things! Come on let's-"

Daniel's heart nearly exploded when the supposedly dead man's hand grabbed his own. He looked down at the healthy looking man in terror as the previously thought dead gentleman slowly reopened his eyes. Their eyes met.

"Z-Zeppeli?" he gasped out, reaching up to touch Daniel's face.

Daniel fainted.

To Be Continued===