"Stardust, a demonstration if you please?" she asked, just as Dio turned to regard her Stand with an expression of frank incredulity.
Stardust nodded at her, smirk widening as her Stand casually walked through the table that she, Dio, and N'Doul were all seated around, making for the single unoccupied chair that stood around this particular table; a table that was meant to be used for card games of up to four people. Grapping the chair with its left arm, Stardust swung it through the table a couple of times, before reversing its grip on the chair and setting it down on top of the table where the three of them were still seated.
"Quite the interesting power your Stand possesses, sister dear," Dio said, eyes calmly tracking Stardust as her Stand calmly made its way back through the tabletop to stand at ease behind her chair again.
"Yes, I'll have to consult with the Speedwagon Foundation," she said, leaning back in her chair as she studied Stardust in her own turn; the Stand itself blew a kiss to her, and Alice got the impression that it was winking at her even without visible eyes. "They've probably heard about something like this."
"Hmm, I suppose that I should do so, as well," Dio said, looking back at The World as the gold-and-green Stand preened behind him. "Still, I expect that you didn't come here merely to show me your Stand, sister dear."
"No, that's more your style," she said, smirking slightly as her capricious twin grinned at her; really, that was all the confirmation she'd needed.
Not that she'd really needed it in the first place, considering how long the pair of them had known each other.
"Come, I've set aside a place for us to determine just what manner of capabilities our Stands possess," Dio said, leaving N'Doul at the table while the pair of them made their way on through her brother's house and up to the room that he'd spoken so obliquely of possessing.
On their way up, the sound of a familiar set of light footfalls drew her attention to the appearance of someone she'd come to know at least reasonably well – if only in a second-hand sort of way – during the time she'd spent working in the Italian branches of her company.
"Enrico," she said, turning as the young priest made his way up to the pair of them. "Domenico said you'd gotten off somewhere again," she chuckled softly. "I suppose I should've expected a hopeless romantic like you to end up here."
"Yes," he said, smiling in that gently-abashed way he had. "I know that Domenico hardly approves, but your brother is a precious friend to me."
"Yes, I'm aware of that," she said, clapping Enrico's left shoulder as she and Dio made their way past him. "He's developed quite the following."
The pair of them shared a smile, as she fell back in beside Dio and the pair of them continued on their way deeper into Dio's Cairo holdings; there were times when she found herself recalling the few events from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that she'd been aware of Before, with a certain wry amusement for the fact that her capricious twin had still chosen to settle in Cairo for whatever reason. There'd been a theory floating around about that, she remembered, though she couldn't for the life of her recall anything more about it than the fact that it had existed.
Still, the fact that she'd basically thrown JJBA canon into an exploding sun with all of the changes she'd made meant that, whatever the article in question had said, it was a moot point by now.
When she found their path taking them through one of the places where Dio seemed to be keeping the odder pieces in his collection, Alice raised an eyebrow as she caught sight of a mostly-full dispenser of brightly-colored super bouncy balls.
"You're still keeping that old thing?" she asked, folding her arms as she turned to her brother.
"What? It is a reminder of a rather interesting time," her brother said, grinning unrepentantly back at her.
"You like being reminded that you were banned for life from FAO Schwarz?" she scoffed, folding her arms and giving her impulsive brother a firmly unimpressed look, even as the pair of them continued on their way deeper into Dio's Cairo holdings.
"To be fair, sister dear, Little Jojo was banned for life, as well," Dio said, unrepentant grin still firmly on his face.
"And, I suppose next you'll be telling me that that had nothing at all to do with your goading him," she said, giving her twin a Look that could have withered grass.
Dio's only response was a laugh, as the pair of them continued on their way deeper into her twin's mansion, finally seeming to arrive at their destination. There was, as seemed customary at this point, someone waiting for them there. Raising an eyebrow as she beheld the man's rather distinctive outfit, Alice turned back to Dio.
"So, who's Peter Pantsless, here?"
Dio laughed. "My sweet sister, this is my own retainer," her twin turned to the large, broad-shouldered, long-haired man standing in front of the double-doors that the pair of them had stopped in front of. "Vanilla Ice, this is my sister."
"My Lord Dio has told me everything about you, My Lady," Vanilla Ice – Alice firmly bit back a laugh – enfolded her offered right hand in both of his own. "I'm honored."
"Right, then," she said, nodding as Vanilla Ice opened the door to what seemed to be the same kind of sparring-ring that she'd had installed in all of her own larger holdings – those that had a significant presence of Treadstone agents and agents-in-training within their walls – and the three of them made their way inside at last. The World was the first of their respective Stands to reappear, but Stardust was only a few moments behind in manifesting itself once again, and a third that obviously belonged to Vanilla Ice made its own appearance known not soon after. Vanilla Ice's Stand… well, pretty much every one of them was unique, so the thing clearly fit the pattern in that regard.
But, it was also substantially less humanoid than either Stardust or even The World; really, it resembled a goblin, more than anything else, or possibly someone's idea of a demon.
"So, what; we just send them in the ring to spar?" she asked, figuring she'd at least some idea as to how things were going to go from this point on.
"Yes, sister dear," Dio said, smirking in that way he did when he was particularly pleased.
"Very well, then," she said, gesturing for Stardust to take its own place in the ring alongside The World and whatever the name of Vanilla Ice's Stand turned out to be.
=SC=
He, Dio, had found himself wondering just what manner of abilities his sweet sister's Stand would possess ever since he'd first laid eyes upon the oddly-attired figure that had appeared at dear Alice's side after he'd given young Enya leave to fire that strange, stone arrow at him. Even knowing that the Stand seemed to have a rather odd way of interacting with the matter all around it he, Dio, still found himself craving to know more about just what manner of divine power had been granted to his dear Alice through the links of blood and Destiny that had been forged about them when the pair of them had been born.
And also he, Dio, found himself wondering about the links of Fate that he himself had forged when he'd taken some of his sweet puppy's bones into his own body; still, that kind of thing was for later.
When his World threw the first punch, a blow that would have felt like nothing more than the lightest of taps when it connected with his sweet sister's Stardust he, Dio, was hard-pressed not to show his startlement as his World's fist passed cleanly through the lower torso of his dear Alice's Stand, and then that selfsame Stand all but sauntered right through the body of his World as it stood in the same kind of shock that he, Dio, was feeling as Stardust stepped through his World's back and out the other side of his Stand.
Stardust, then, held out its right arm out and he, Dio, found himself nearly reeling in shock as some kind of white sledgehammer appeared in that same hand.
"What is that?" he, Dio, demanded, turning his attention to his sweet sister.
"That's The Duke," his dear Alice said, a slight, amused smile on her face as the pair of them continued to observe the goings-on between their respective Stands.
"Your Stardust possesses a Stand of its own?" he, Dio, asked, turning to his dear Alice in confusion.
"Apparently so," his sweet sister said, folding her arms as she clearly considered the pair of Stands currently before them.
"How strange," he, Dio, said as he himself considered the trio of Stands that the pair of them had been granted by that marvelous Stone Arrow that he had allowed Enya to fire at him.
=SC=
When she and Noriaki made their way down to the dining room of Mr. Brando's mansion, the pair of them came across someone that seemed to be another one of the man's friends.
"Good afternoon," she said, as the blind man tapped his way over to the counter where people were obviously meant to prepare food for themselves, coming to stand beside the pair of them as she looked for something for herself and possibly Noriaki – depending on his own, personal tastes – to eat.
The sound of another pair of footsteps behind her drew Loreena's attention, and she found herself startled for a moment by the sight of Noriaki's own phantom guardian, before she remembered that Noriaki tended to do that kind of thing when he met new people. Really, it was a big part of the reason the pair of them had ended up staying with Mr. Brando in the first place.
Still, there was the simple fact that a blind man wouldn't react to Noriaki's phantom guardian in the same way that someone who could actually see it would.
"It sounds as though we have something more in common than simply our association with Lord Dio," the blind man said, a rather enigmatic smile on his face.
Loreena almost asked him what he meant, before she found herself all the more startled by the sight of what seemed to be a tendril made of water – of all things – shoot its way up the length of the blind man's body, before curling around his shoulders.
"Wait, you have one of these, too?" Loreena found herself asking.
"Yes," he man said, turning to the pair of them with a kind, though still sort of mysterious smile on his face. "It would seem that fate does indeed draw Stand users together," he continued, the smile on his face widening just that much more as he seemed to study the pair of them, for all that his eyes clearly didn't work.
"Stand users?" Noriaki asked, making his way over to where the pair of them were standing, phantom guardian following in his wake. "Is that what other people call us?"
"Yes," the man said, smiling kindly at the pair of them, though his expression had changed slightly when he'd seemed to realize that he knew something they didn't. "Those that follow in our footsteps, that stand by us even when no one else will, are indeed called Stands. Mine goes by the name of Geb," he said, turning to face the pair of them more squarely, even considering the obvious signs of blindness that she and Noriaki could see all the more clearly, since the man had his eyes open and uncovered for some reason or other. "And, my own name is N'Doul. Might I know your names, and the names of your own Stands, as well?"
"Well, my name is Loreena McKennitt, and this is a friend of mine," she said, turning to look over at Noriaki for a long moment, and while he didn't actually say anything, she got the feeling from the look on his face that he wouldn't mind her speaking for him. "His name is Noriaki Kakyoin. Our Stands don't really have names, though," she said, as her own Stand appeared, raising itself up into the two-legged, dual-wielding form that made it easier for it to see and interact with people.
Or to fight, but she didn't see that kind of thing happening anytime soon.
"Hmm, well that simply won't do," N'Doul said, a disapproving expression appearing on his face as he seemed to study the pair of them, even without the use of his eyes. "Every Stand needs a name; I'll have to speak to Lord Dio about this."
Lord Dio? she wondered, biting back an incredulous sort of smile as N'Doul turned and left the room. "Well, that was kind of strange," she said, as Noriaki sidled up to her and the pair of them began looking for some food to prepare for themselves.
"I didn't know he had one of these, too," Noriaki said, looking out the way that N'Doul had gone when he'd left. "And, he called them Stands?"
"Yeah," she said, considering just what it was that N'Doul had said, when he'd been talking to the pair of them. "Still, you could have introduced yourself when we were talking," she continued, turning to look at Noriaki more squarely, even as the pair of them continued searching for something to eat. "That, back there, well it was a bit awkward."
"I know," Noriaki said, and Loreena thought she could see a brief shudder run the length of his back; she definitely noticed the increased rigidity of his posture, though. "And, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just not used to meeting new people."
"I guess I can't argue with that," she said, reflecting back on the lingering awkwardness of their own first meeting.
=SC=
When she and Dio had finished testing the capabilities of their own Stands against each other – he'd gained access to time-stop, just as she'd been expecting – she and Dio made their way back up and out of the sparring room where she, Dio, and Vanilla Ice had been working to discover the capabilities of Stardust, The World, and The Duke. Vanilla Ice hadn't stopped staring at her, in that way that suggested that he didn't approve of one aspect or another of what she was doing, ever since she'd revealed the extent of The Duke's shape-shifting capabilities.
"I don't quite think your retainer approves of me," she said, low enough that only another vampire would have been able to overhear their conversation, as she and Dio continued on their way up through his Cairo holdings.
"I don't think he'd expected that you would be given access to two Stands, sister dear," Dio said, smiling in that way he had as the pair of them made their way out of the underground sections and back up into the livable, more public areas of his mansion. "Truly, even I hadn't been expecting such a thing," her capricious twin continued, chuckling in a reflective sort of way.
"I suppose," she allowed, folding her arms neatly behind her back as she and Dio continued on their way.
The sound of familiar footfalls drew her attention as she and Dio lapsed into a comfortable silence once again, and Alice looked up to see the form of N'Doul making his way over to the three of them.
"N'Doul," she greeted, taking note of the way the blind psychic – rather, Stand user – seemed to have something more than simply a greeting on his mind.
"Lord Dio, Commander," he said, nodding to Dio and then to her in turn. "A certain matter has come to my attention."
"Oh?" she asked, giving N'Doul her attention as the agent fell into step with their trio as they all continued on their way. "How much of a concern would you say this is?"
"Nothing that would concern the company as a whole," N'Doul said, sounding as though he wished to reassure her as quickly as he could. "Still, it seems as though the Stands that those children Lord Dio invited into this place along with us have not been granted even names."
"Oh?" Dio asked, turning his own attention to N'Doul. "I'd had the feeling that those two had only truly discovered their abilities when they met, but I'd hardly realized that something like that could be the case," her capricious twin said, a look of interest on his face. "I shall have to do something about that."
"If you insist," she said, turning her attention toward the next matter that was going to be of import to their rather eclectic family.
There was the matter of getting ready for Jotaro's birthday, given that it'd be coming up in a couple months – and Dio fully enjoyed springing those kinds of things on every one of their family members, no matter how old they got – and they were clearly going to have at least some kind of elaborate celebration in order to mark the occasion of his fifteenth birthday. It was just the kind of thing her brother did, really. Hell, he was fully willing to pack up and head back over to England to celebrate Jonathan's birthday at the old Joestar estate.
Still, she'd always known that her brother was more than a bit sentimental, particularly in that way.
Hell, him having time-stop with his Stand fit just as well with the general mind-set that her twin was operating under: Dio was the kind of person who wanted to have everything stay the way it had been when he was happiest. Really, she'd have been surprised as all hell if he hadn't been thinking about how he could have saved Jonathan back during their battle with Kars on that volcano, if he'd been in possession of his Stand back during the earlier parts of their lives.
Making her way back into the main room of the mansion, Alice continued over to the ornate phone that Dio had clearly bought for himself when he was settling into this place in a long-term sort of way. Picking up the handset, Alice dialed a number that she'd come to know very well during the course of her life.
"Good morning!" called a gruffly familiar voice; Alice smiled gently.
"It's coming up on that time of year again," she said, leaning lightly against the wall nearest to her as she settled in for a conversation of some length or another.
Joseph chuckled, wicked grin coming over the line as loud and clear as it would have been if she'd been speaking to her grand-nephew live and in person. "Yes, Aunty, it is."
"I suppose you and Dio have been collaborating?" she asked, smirking slightly as she and Joseph settled into what had become a rather familiar routine over the intervening decades.
"Something like that," Joseph said, shades of an unrepentant grin to rival any of Dio's in his voice.
"Well then, I suppose I should come and pick you up soon, then," she said, feeling rather amused by the implications she was hearing in Joseph's voice as the pair of them continued their conversation.
"Well, you are the only one of us with a private plane," her grand nephew said, the amused grin that he had to be wearing coming through loud and clear in his voice.
"Yes, I suppose that is a better reason than most," she said, smirking back at Joseph even though the pair of them couldn't see each other over the phone she was currently using.
When the pair of them said their goodbyes for the moment, Alice turned and made her way to where she could hear the voices of Dio and N'Doul as they spoke about what the fact that Loreena McKennitt's and Noriaki Kakyoin's Stands didn't seem to possess names of their own.
"A moment?" she called, during a lull in their conversation as the pair of them continued speaking.
"What is it, sister dear?" Dio asked, his usual smile appearing on his face as the pair of them turned to regard one another.
"I'm going to go and pick up Joseph," she said.
"Oh, of course," her brother said, grinning widely as he turned to look her way. "Our little Jotaro is going to have birthday soon; I shall have to do something for the occasion."
"Something besides the big party he's going to grudgingly tolerate?" she retorted, smirking back at her brother as the pair of them spoke.
Dio laughed, and she turned to make her way out of the house to meet up with Straizo, so that the pair of them could begin making their way to New York so that she could pick up Joseph and the pair of them could then make their way to Japan in turn. Once she'd made it back to Straizo and the car where her fellow vampire had seemingly been waiting, Alice gave the man instructions to bring her back to the airport where her private plane had been landed when Straizo had brought her to Cairo in the first place.
When she and Straizo made it back to the hangar once again, Alice made her way into the passenger cabin, settling herself down while Straizo prepped the plane itself to lift off.
Their journey to New York was just as short as the latest jet engines that her many and varied companies could make it, and Alice was soon able to make her way into the private hangar that she'd ordered built back when she'd first come to properly establish herself within the city.
=SC=
Humming tunelessly to himself as Roses drove him to the private runway that Aunty Alice would be arriving at – or, given what kind of speed her private planes were capable of, had probably already arrived at – Joseph settled back into the cushy seats in the back of his limo, grinning as the thought of just exactly what he was going to do when he and Uncle Dio were able to start making proper plans for how they were going to celebrate Jotaro's upcoming birthday. Sure, it might have still been a few months before it actually came up, but there was really no harm in getting things prepared and ready.
"Thanks, Roses!" he called, climbing out of the limo and making his way into the hangar proper. "Aunty! Thanks for picking me up like this!"
"I'm glad to see you came so promptly," Aunty Alice said, her soft chuckle echoing in his direction even as he turned at the familiar, light sound of her footsteps.
"Well, I'd hardly go and miss something like this," he said, grinning widely at his aunty as she made her way over to him. "Oi. Suzy! It's time to get up and go!"
"Coming, Jojo!" the bright, chipper voice of his wife of more than half a century preceded her as Suzy made her own way out of the limo to join up with the pair of them. "Oh, our little Jotaro is going to be fifteen soon!"
"Right," Aunty Alice said, smiling at the pair of them as she made her own way over. "Let's get underway; there's still a fair bit of ground to cover."
"Right, Aunty!" he called, grinning as he hurried onto the plane behind her, with Suzy following quickly behind him as they all got themselves settled in the cabin.
Once they were all in the air, looking down on the city as it seemed to shrink to the size of a model railroad, Joseph popped his ears as they leveled off above the clouds, looking out over the sea as they started crossing over it.