The world blurred around them and grew light. Erina gasped as the ground settled under her feet. She glanced around with wide eyes, taking in her surroundings; they had appeared in someone's backyard. It was well-maintained, with mulched plots growing both flowers and vegetables. A willow tree bent over her head, dappling the ground with sun and shadow that shifted in the breeze. She heard sizzling.
Dio pressed his back against the tree and hissed as the sunlight ate away at his skin. Erina unclasped her woolen shawl from her shoulders and threw it over him.
"Midnight in Britain is the morning in Japan," he said flatly, muffled beneath the shawl. "I'll have to keep time zones in mind next time." He raised his arm, careful to keep it under the fabric, and peered out at the backyard. "It's hard for me to see. Do you see any houses with Victorian-style gables? Or, actually, any houses with a big hole on the second floor."
Erina looked around for a few moments, then pointed. "Oh! That one. There's a tarp covering the siding."
"That's the one we want. Lead the way."
Erina picked her way over the vegetable plot and made her way to the street. "Is that your future house?"
"Sort of. That does remind me, though. We need to wait before we go in."
Erina gave him a concerned look. "Don't you need to get inside?"
"There's shade under the front awning. If we go right up against the wall then-" The front door creaked. "Get down." He tugged at her shoulder and crouched behind a Morioh postal box. "Look, but do it carefully. Tell me when I'm gone."
Dio opened Rohan's front door and walked down the steps, his umbrella leaned jauntily over his shoulder. Once he hit the edge of the awning's shade, he opened the umbrella and strolled down the street, headed away from Erina and Dio's hiding spot.
"Two of you?" Erina blinked. "Oh, of course. Is that a future or a past you?"
"Past, actually."
She frowned thoughtfully. "He's gone around a corner. I don't see you anymore."
"Perfect. Let's go."
Once inside, Dio pulled off the shawl and leaned against the wall. His skin was already mostly healed; he had only been in the sun for a few moments, and the shade from the tree had saved him from the brunt of it. He held the shawl out to Erina, who gave a short, nervous laugh. "You can keep it. You got, er… vampire stuff on it. Hold onto it in case of another emergency."
Dio looked down at the rusty smears left by his still-healing arm and scowled.
They had a while to relax in Rohan's empty house, but his encounter with the killer would happen around noon and Team Morioh would meet up soon after that. Then, they would go investigate the killer's house and past Dio would run back with the arrow, get Joseph's information from Rohan's address book, and go attack Joseph and try to get the second arrow.
Joseph was the reason Dio had returned on this particular day; he remembered that he had threatened to use his 'final Ripple' to destroy the arrow. Dio would have to time his intervention carefully. He couldn't change what his past self had done, but he might be able to step in as soon as his past self had been thrown into the cave with the Pillar Men.
There was also the matter of explaining himself to Jotaro and by extension Rohan now that he was back in a different body. A scarf to cover the lack of scarring would be enough to fool Rohan, who avoided Dio anyway, but Jotaro was a damnably observant person. If he thought something was up, he would likely tell Rohan to write in more rules, or, more likely, decide he was sick of dealing with Dio and kill him. Still, it was worth a shot. He rummaged through Rohan's closet while Erina explored the downstairs. He settled on a teal and emerald patterned Gucci creation (Rohan had taste, Dio admitted, but if asked he would refuse to specify if it was good taste or bad taste) and wrapped it around his neck.
He found Erina peering at the elegant furniture in the living room. "This is 1999? It's interesting that this type of furniture never went out of style. Or, that it came back into style. It reminds me of when I was young."
Dio smirked. "Oh, no, it is out of style. The man who lives here just has very particular tastes."
"Ah. You did only say this was 'sort of' your house." She frowned. "Are we trespassing?"
"Oh, no, we have an agreement. I have the honor of boarding in his basement. Anyway," he said as he held up a pair of binoculars that he had stolen from Rohan's study. "Want to help me with a stakeout?"
There were still several hours before Dio's past self would go to confront Joseph. Now that he was freshly sunscreened and had stolen another umbrella from Rohan (not the Burberry, he remembered, lest he cause a paradox,) he figured that the café would be a good place to pass the time and avoid running into his past self.
He watched with some glee as Erina floundered with the café menu. He pointed at the tea selection and she was still a bit lost until she spotted the much more limited arrangement of British-styled teas.
When the time came to pay for their order, he stopped time, took money from the register, started time again, and handed it right back to the cashier. Having The World back was great.
Erina sipped at her tea. "So, what are we watching for?"
"At some point, later today, I get pulled out of this year. I need to stop something from happening right after that. I just need to be careful about the timing and I can't remember when exactly it happened."
She tilted her head. "You've already lived through today and you can't remember it?"
"In my defense, today happened to me a century ago," he replied with a scowl. "I remember a survey saying that most people can't remember what they ate for lunch last week. Can you?"
"No need to be testy," she murmured into her tea.
Most of their time at the café passed in awkward silence. Well, at least it was awkward for Dio. Erina had taken a few books from Rohan's house and was reading them intently. He leaned over and saw that it was a history reference book. "Are you planning something?"
She glanced up at him. "Hm?"
"You're reading a history book from 1999," he said. "You're from 1915. You now know more of the fate of the world than anyone from your time."
"I mean," she answered with a guilty smile, "wouldn't you want to know?"
"Do you want to change any of it?"
"Do I want to? Sure. But I don't think I could. You were so careful about avoiding yourself earlier," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe I could change something small, I don't know. But if I changed anything too big, this book wouldn't be here for me to read, so I never would have gone back to change it in the first place."
"Hm." He rested his chin in his hand and thought. She returned to reading, and a few silent minutes passed before he spoke up again. "You're probably strong enough to have a Stand."
She frowned. "What?"
He pursed his lips. "Then again, having an outsider perspective can be useful."
Erina gave him a tired stare. "Talk to me, not at me, please. What do you mean by standing?"
"Remember the Ripple? A Stand is a lot like that. It is a manifestation of your fighting spirit. Instead of just giving yourself energy, your Stand can be totally separate from your body."
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Like the Amherst poltergeist. The one Hubbell wrote about."
Dio's face screwed up with surprise. "You read that superstitious trash?"
"You're one to talk, Lord Ruthven. Maybe the poltergeist was a Stand." She held up the history book. "Are you saying I could make this float with my mind?"
"Not quite." He sighed and crossed his arms. "It's more like… imagine crossing a poltergeist with a guardian angel. A Stand will protect you, but all Stands have their strengths and weaknesses, blessings and curses. For example, I knew a man who had a Stand about the size and shape of a saucer. It was small and couldn't do much but crawl along the ground, and even then the ground had to be wet to allow it to travel. But the Stand had the ability to make anyone it touched want to fight. They would grow so angry and energized that they would fight themselves to death."
Erina looked concerned. Dio leaned forward and grinned. "Sounds powerful, doesn't it? The problem was that the Stand acted automatically. It affected friend and foe indiscriminately. That isn't always the case, though. Some Stands have effects that are wide-reaching, while others are incredibly specific and precise. It all depends upon the person."
"You have one, then?" she asked.
The World appeared and lifted the history book out of Erina's hands. The Stand held the book for a moment before placing it on the table. Dio grinned at Erina's wide-eyed expression.
"Ah, so I could make that float with my mind," Erina said, "if I had the right kind of Stand. Does yours have a special ability? Is that how we traveled here?"
"That's a secret." He pressed a finger to his lips. "It's considered incredibly rude to ask someone what their Stand can do."
"Psh." She snatched the book back and returned to reading. "Fine."
"But I'll tell you anyway," he said with a dramatic sigh. "My Stand isn't much of a secret anymore. It can stop time, and in combat, its speed and precision is nearly unparalleled. And yes, my Stand is how we traveled here."
"Ah." She did not look up from her book. "Nearly unparalleled?"
Dio rolled his eyes and stood. "It's starting to get dark. We have to go watch for myself."
The window Dio had used to break into Joseph's suite was on the third floor and tucked around the back end of the building. They found a bench along a street that was away from where past Dio would have walked but where they could still easily see the window. Erina watched carefully with the stolen binoculars while Dio kept the umbrella positioned to keep the last rays of the sunset away from his face.
He figured that it wouldn't take too long to spot himself, but the sun was taking its sweet time sinking beneath the horizon. Erina's head nodded low but she woke herself up with a sharp inhale.
Dio squinted at her. "Are you falling asleep?"
She yawned. "You appeared at my house at midnight, so I had already been awake for a long day, and this is another... twelve hours of being awake, I think. I'm trying to pay attention as best I can. I should have said something, but..." She peered through the binoculars. "This is exciting. Oh!" She pointed. "You!"
Dio shielded his eyes with his hand and looked out. His past self was gripping the frame of the window with one hand. With the other, he gave the window a powerful shove upwards, snapping the locks and forcing it open.
"Let's go." He stood and motioned for Erina to follow him. His past self slipped inside the window and left their sight.
They approached the house and Erina craned her neck to look up at the open window. "Am I going with you?"
"Yes. I still need your luck." He paused. "I'll have to carry you."
She let out a long sigh. "No taking the front door?"
Dio grabbed the siding and scowled back at her. "Just hang on to my shoulders or something. My Stand won't let you fall."
She grit her teeth and looped her arms over Dio's shoulders. He was glad that he didn't really need to breathe; her forearms pressed harshly against his throat. He dug his fingertips into the plasticine panels of the siding and began to climb. Once they were a few feet away from the window, he used one hand to tap Erina's arm. "We won't fit through together. I need you to let go of me and my Stand will carry you inside.
"I wouldn't die from here," she said, mostly to herself, as she peered down at the ground. "Just the third story. Broken leg or hip. Maybe spine."
"It's not going to drop you," he said with a frown. He climbed up another foot, close enough that Erina could easily reach the sill. "Go."
She reached out with a shaking hand while keeping one arm wrapped tightly around Dio's neck. She gripped at the windowsill hard enough to make her knuckles go white. The World appeared and hooked its arms beneath hers. She inhaled sharply as it lifted her up and supported her as she shimmied through the window.
Dio hauled himself in soon after. He could hear himself arguing with Joseph. He glanced over at Erina, who had gone a bit pale.
He scowled. Having Erina hear his past self threaten to throw Shizuka off the roof wasn't one of his proudest moments. He shook his head and motioned toward the hallway, then crept forward with his back against the wall. He peered around the corner, then ducked back. His past self had just fallen to the floor after Joseph grabbed him and threw off his balance. Joseph crawled halfway onto the couch and light sparked between his hands as he held the arrow. His past self threw himself forward, trying to tear the arrow from Joseph's hands—
Time stopped, but he could still hear Erina moving behind him.
"Ah," Erina whispered with shock, "three of you?"
The double had appeared right beside Joseph. He grinned as the past self faded out of existence. He took the arrow from Joseph and looked up, locking eyes with Dio. Dio felt a creeping dread, but his double only lifted a hand in greeting and smiled.
Time began again. His double disappeared. Dio called forth The World and stopped time himself. He looked back at Erina intensely, and she took a half-step away from him and frowned.
"You can move in the stopped time." He stared at her and she looked back in confusion. "Oh. Wait. Let me see your hand again."
After a moment of hesitation, she held out her hand. Dio peeled off the smiley face sticker and she went still.
The stickers could also bring someone into the stopped time. That was good to know. He pressed the sticker back onto her skin and she blinked at him. He waved his hand, motioning for her to follow him as he went around the couch and faced Joseph, whose hands were still shining brightly with Ripple energy.
Time began again. Joseph looked down at his empty hands in bewilderment. "Where—?" He looked up at Dio and grimaced. "You were just—" He spotted Erina and the energy between his hands sputtered and began to fade. "Granny Erina? But… you look like when I was a kid. Oh my God!" He clapped his hands over his face. "I've really lost it. I'm seeing things from childhood. Shit! I can't be going senile now!"
"Granny?" Erina murmured.
"Joseph, calm down." Dio crossed his arms and leaned over him. "When's your birthday?"
Joseph stared off into the middle distance as he focused. "September 27, 1920. My name is Joseph Joestar, the current year is 1999, the current president is—"
"Five years off." Dio glanced back at Erina. "This is your grandson."
Joseph looked at her in complete befuddlement. Erina stared back with wide eyes. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "George survives the war! He must settle down and then have you—" She paused, her breath hitching in her throat, and she lifted a sleeve to her eyes. "I'm so glad. It's nice to meet you, Joseph, though I suppose you've met me before."
Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and glared at Dio. "Oh, my father, George? Is that who you're talking about?"
Dio stopped time. Erina barely had time to look confused before he snatched the sticker from her hand. He approached the frozen Joseph and slapped the sticker onto his forearm. Joseph scowled and narrowed his eyes as Dio loomed over him.
"Not a word about George being killed by one of my zombies," Dio hissed through grit teeth. "This Erina is from 1915. She doesn't know."
"How did you make her appear here?" Joseph asked. "What the hell is happening?" He looked down and bent his arm to get a closer look at the yellow smiley face. "What the hell is this?"
"Promise me, Joestar." Dio crossed his arms.
Joseph frowned. "Fine. I won't bring it up." His expression softened as he glanced at the frozen Erina. "I hate seeing her upset, anyway."
Dio snatched the sticker back and Joseph went still. He returned to the spot he had been standing in before and time began again. "Well, now that you two are reunited, I need to go make sure Jotaro isn't still trapped inside a photograph. Erina needs to sleep, so let's all meet and catch up some time tomorrow. Let's aim for noon at Rohan's house."
"Fine," Joseph answered as he crossed his arms. Erina smiled and nodded as she blinked away the last of her tears.
