The father and son returned to the clinic. Formaggio already left, so does Gappy upon learning Yasuho made it to the dome. All that's left is Jonathan, Johnny and Ciocolatta.
"Hey." Dio greeted as he entered the room. Ciocolatta glanced at him, wearing his long sleeved rash guard. 'He was a bit on the thinner side but who knows what he is capable of? Of course he uses the cocktail of drugs on himself. This is gonna be tough.' Dio thought.
"I will enjoy this match." Ciocolatta grinned maniacally, creeping Giorno out. "I still find it hard to believe that the doc is a contender." Johnny puts his hands on his hips in skepticism. "I am not the official doctor here, the real one gave up for some reason." Ciocolatta told him.
"Well, I'm just glad there is no hostility between you and your opponents so far, Dio." Jonathan smiled. "Of course! I am lovable! Hey, once the day is over, let us all take a goddamn picture on the spot me and Giorno found earlier." Dio grinned.
"Sure." Johnnh shrugged.
"Of course." Jonathan nods.
'Hm, I see your plan here.' Ciocolatta frowned, staring at Dio. The repeated stress and exertion his body is gonna do subtracts the days he has left. 'Better enjoy it while you can.'
"By the way, Kosaku Kawajiri forfeited." Ciocolatta broke the news.
"What?" Giorno asked before waiting for his father's outraged reaction.
"Not a problem. It's his choice."
His son gasped, that doesn't sound very Dio-ish.
The door barged open, it was Mista, he was panting. "Mista! What's wrong?" Jonathan asked with concern.
"One of you... Forfeit the match..!" Mista exhaled heavily. "What, why?" Giorno asked as Johnny looked at the buff guy with the pink beanie in confusion.
"Something bad is gonna happen..!" The young man replied. Dio rolled his eyes, he knew where this is going.
"How?" Giorno asked in panic.
"Because... It's..."
"It's?" Jonathan asked. "The hell is wrong with this kid." Johnny asked.
"The FOURth match!"
Giorno glanced at Ciocolatta, the doctor shrugged "He was like that before I met him."
"Yeah, figures." Giorno sighed.
"Yo, yo! Big black man coming through." Pucci pushed past Mista before greeting everyone "Y'ALLLLL! WASSUP! Yo, Dio man. The next match is about to start."
"... It's showtime." Jonathan smiled.
.
.
.
"WELCOME ONE AND WELCOME ALL! TO THE 4TH MATCH OF THE GAUNTLET, I AM YOUR HOST, ROBERT SPEEDWAGON, ONCE AGAIN WELCOMING YOU TO THIS EVENT!" Robert inhaled "WELCOME TO END OF THE FIRST HALF!"
Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer started blasting.
"A CHALLENGER HAS FORFEITED, THAT'S WHY THERE ARE ONLY 4 LEFT SHOULD DIO BRANDO OVERCOME THIS ONE. HE HAS 2 LIVES LEFT." Speedwagon screamed.
"Ohhhhh! We're halfway there! Woah! Living on a prayer! Take my hand, we'll make it I swear!"
. . .
.
.
"Woaaaaaah! We're halfway the-ere! OAAAHOAAAH! LIVIN' ON A PRAYER! TAKE MY HAND-"
"GODDAMN, this is my jam!" Dio snapped his fingers. "We'll be going now, pa." Giorno said. Jonathan and Johnny went ahead, Dio turned to his son and said "You better download this on your playlist, not those pussy ass love songs!"
Giorno rolled his eyes and continued walking.
"This song fits you. Your life is hanging by a thread. You are literally, living on a prayer." Ciocolatta chuckled. "Hey, I die a winner. Nothing more I could ask for." Dio said as he jammed to the song.
"But what if you don't make it?" He asked with a smirk.
Dio paused and thought about it.
What if he didn't?
What if he fall short?
What if he died before accomplishing anything?
Dio laughed "I'm not a fool to spend what's left of me thinking about it. Fuck that!"
. . .
.
.
The song reached it's end as Speedwagon braced to say his next lines. "Yo, yo, OG coming through, OG coming through!" Pucci scooted past the annoyed William and stole his hat, sitting next to Robert.
"HE IS MORE OF AN ENIGMATIC PRESENCE IN THE WORLD OF ATHLETICS THAN AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT! THE MYSTERIOUS PHARMACIST GYMNAST FROM OASIS STANDS AT 5'11 AND WEIGHS AT 79 KILOGRAMS... "THE MAD DOCTOR" CIOCOLATTAAAA GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENE!"
"Oh, do I just walk forward?" The doctor chuckled as he entered the arena from the left side.
"OH MY GOD ITS THE JOKER!"
"My, there's quite alot of people here. I'm not used to being this exposed." He grinned as he stepped towards Tonpetty.
"AND FOR HIS OPPONENT! HE NEEDS NO INTRODUCTIONS AT ALL, 6'3 AND 101 KILOGRAMS... DIOOOOOOOOO BRANDOOOOOOOAAAAHHH!"
Dio grinned as he got out from the left side of the arena.
"HEY! WHY DID YOU- YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO COME OUT THE OTHER SIDE!" The referee screamed. "TOO LATE, FUCKER! BASK IN MY PRESENCE!" Dio replied as he walked past Ciocolatta towards the right side of the arena before facing him.
. . .
.
.
Jotaro noticed that only him, Kars, Stroheim and Weather were left. "Time sure flies." Weather muttered. "Yes. That reminds me, they agreed on having you compete with him after this. Seeing as that Kosaku man forfeited." Kars told the crossfitter. "That guy was silent."
"UNLIKE ME!" The cyborg boasted.
. . .
.
.
Giorno sat next to his uncle and distant uncle. "Where's Gappy?" He asked. "His girlfriend dragged him out for a date." Johnny deadpanned. "What?!" Giorno exclaimed. "It was against his will too." The beanie chuckled. "Johnny, do you find it odd that we have the same first name and our wives have very similar names?" Jonathan asked out of the blue.
"Well. This is awkward." Formaggio chuckled. "WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THE GODDAMN DOCTOR IS A COMPETITOR?" Ghiaccio asked. "H-He is the doctor?" Pesci asked. "FUCKING YES, I JUST SAID SO, FUCKWIT."
Wamuu simply folded his arms as he stood watching. ACDC nudged him from his seat "Hey, Wamuu. Sit the hell down, the audience from the back can't watch!" The middle aged bodybuilder ordered. "Ah, my apologies." Wamuu quickly sat down. ACDC gulped as he finally found out Wamuu's origins. 'How the hell did Kars find this man anyways?'
Tarkus and his family opted on watching from their hotel suite, with two bodyguards outside courtesy of Speedwagon for greater measure. "I'd like to see those creeps try." Bruford grumbled.
Trish meanwhile, was forced to sit between Josuke and Jolyne. Jolyne rested her arm around her shoulder as Josuke mumbled about how he'd seen that doctor somewhere before.
Polpo, Diavolo and Doppio are now on the audience, growing bored of the VIP room, also because Diavolo smoked too much the room is fogged.
. . .
.
.
Dio did his warmups while Ciocolatta simply stared at the crowd with awe.
"AND NOW, Y'ALL NIGGAS BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!" Pucci screamed. The big black screen suddenly showed what challenge they are gonna do in comic sans font.
It raised alot of eyebrows however. "POINT STYLE FIGHTIN'?! What the fuck-" Pucci read out loud.
"Hey, you're on the mic, keep it PG." William snarled. "Aw hell no, you can't tell me what to do, ese." The priest said. "... I'm italian, not mexican." He replied.
"Point style fighting. Similar to the ones used in taekwondo and karate competitions, the fight is decided by points rather than a knockout. Hitting the head offers 2 points whilst the body only give 1 points.
HOWEVER!
This challenge won't be limiting the participants to simply their fists and feet. Grappling is NOT allowed. THE BOUT WILL LAST A SOLID 18 MINUTE ROUND."
"Goddamnit, I guess Dio is gonna push himself once again." Johnny cussed. "Why are the challenges he receives so physical?" Jonathan asked.
'This is his first official "fight" that will show us the fruit of padre's martial art training.' Giorno thought.
. . .
.
.
Trish blinked as her phone vibrated. Checking the message, it was from an unknown number.
?: Hey, partner. Everything is going according to plan.
The pinkette raised an eyebrow and replied "What plan?"
?: Back then, me and my girl were badasses. We dine and dash for fun. We once ditched a 5 star italian restaurant and well the head chef and owner happens to be working here at the moment.
Trish still hasn't caught up to whatever this asshole's plan was, and so are you, I can tell.
Anasui mentioned how Tonio Graziano saw Jolyne in one of the open buffets and recognized her to be the marine biologist Jotaro Kujo's daughter.
He knows how rocky their relationship was and Jolyne has a habit of going off on her own every after quarrel with her father.
Anasui: That is when I strike.
Trish did not reply as guilt crept in, she knows Anasui will do something bad to Jolyne. She can't call the police about it because she was afraid Anasui will know that she tipped them off. Trish then opted on using Giorno and Jolyne's friendship as a front.
'Anasui won't suspect me giving a tip to Giorno since he knows I like him. I just hope Giorno is strong enough to stop him...'
She stared at the golden haired boy as she prepared everything she needs to say without sounding suspicious.
And right on cue, Jolyne's phone started to ring, startling Trish.
She stared at her phone as Jolyne shrugged. "Pffft, it's just dad." She muttered before ignoring it.
. . .
.
.
Tonpetty repeated what Speedwagon said and adds "If one of you scores a point, I will seperate you, understand?"
Ciocolatta nodded slowly while Dio grinned "Lets get this over with baldy, I WANNA FIGHT!"
Tonpetty simply sighed, grown accustomed to Dio. "BEGIN!"
"DIO STARTED BOUNCING UP AND DOWN ON HIS TOES WHILE THE DOCTOR SIMPLY STARED AT HIM IN A CURIOUS STANCE!"
"Mr. Brando. Forgive me if I disappoint, I am not a fighter by trade." He said in a sinister tone. "I don't give a flying fuck, just give me all you've got." Dio said as he puts his dukes up.
'Booth Boxing is going to be perfect for this, it focuses on blitz in and out rather than the immobile nature of Johnny's karate where we just eat hits until one goes down.' The blond grinned.
Jonathan sighed and stared at his brother with confidence. "Is he gonna be alrigh?" Johnny asked. "Yes. Dio has always been quick on his toes, able to dance around me and the others back then whenever we do street boxing." The gentleman replied.
But Giorno knew better than to think Dio has this fight in the bag, he is very suspicious of how the mysterious Ciocolatta stacks up against his dad.
"DIO DASHES FORWARD, TAKING INITIATIVE!"
Ciocolatta however crouched down in to this bizarre stance, his hands low and his knees bent.
Mista stood up from his chair, 'Its almost identical to Secco's...'
"HEY! SIT YOUR ASS DOWN, BEANIE BOY." He heard someone from behind.
"DIO HALTS IN CAUTION AS THE SUDDEN SHIFT IN MOVEMENT CONFUSES HIM AND MYSELF IF I'M BEING HONEST!" Speedwagon told the mic.
Dio stared at the doctor with confusion. 'There's enough distance between us... Maybe I should just test him a bit to see how he fucking rolls.'
But as he bounced forward, Ciocolatta lunged towards him, planting both his palms to the ground, his right foot suddenly behind Dio's and his left leg kicked Dio up to the chin.
"WHAT AN IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY OF FLEXIBILITY! CIOCOLATTA MANAGES TO SCORE 2 POINTS! DIO SEEMED DIZZY AFTER THAT AS HE TOOK A STEP BACK!"
Jonathan and his cousin gasped as Giorno winced. "What the fuck was that?!" Johnny exclaimed.
Dio stumbled back as he busted his lip. "Fuck! That caught me off guard! You are a tricky son of a bitch, I LIKE IT!" Dio grinned widely.
Ciocolatta said nothing as he rolled forward and leapt head first towards Dio.
"THAT WAS A FAST ASSAULT! CAN HE REACT IN TIME!"
"Padre!" Giorno called out.
"WHAT THE FUC-" Dio's gut was suddenly hit by the doctor's foot.
"AMAZING! CIOCOLATTA SUDDENLY MANAGED TO DO A FRONT FLIP BUT HIS KICK ONLY LANDED ON DIO'S STOMACH!"
Dio fell on his ass as Ciocolatta took the 4 point lead.
Ciocolatta glanced up and saw the scores and time left. 17 minutes left.
"Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Brando. You might end up getting it." Ciocolatta mocked Dio's request.
Dio coughed, he needs to catch up and fast.
His gameplan consists of taking the lead before evading Ciocolatta until it ends.
"Proprioception." Ciocolatta narrated.
Dio tilted his head in confusion.
"Proprioception, or kinesthesia, is the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body. It encompasses a complex of sensations, including perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort. Proprioception enables us to judge limb movements and positions, force, heaviness, stiffness, and viscosity. It combines with other senses to locate external objects relative to the body and contributes to body image. This is a huge contribution to why free runners and traceurs can do flips and tricks, this is why breakdancers can do windmills, it is also the reason a human being can hold a handstand." Ciocolatta said.
Dio stood up "So that includes... Being able to control your movement mid air and hit me with accuracy?"
"Yes. I'm a gymnast. This is our specialty." Ciocolatta said with a grin.
It wasted 2 minutes.
15 minutes and 34 seconds.
Ciocolatta: 4
Dio: 0
"I'm gonna fuck you up, Spiderman." Dio said as he suddenly dashed forward but Ciocolatta suddenly spun, planted his palms to the floor and hook kicked Dio in the jaw.
"OHHHHHH! DIO MANAGED TO LEAN BACK JUST IN TIME TO AVOID CIOCOLATTA'S HEEL!"
Giorno gasped "That was so close!"
"Nevermind a point, that could have knocked him out!" Jonathan exclaimed. "He is moving quite similar with..." Johnny drifted off.
But as Ciocolatta recoiled.
"DIO LANDED A ROUNDHOUSE KICK OF HIS OWN TO HIS CHEST! SENDING THE DOCTOR BACK AND KNOCKING THE WIND OUT OF HIM!"
Ciocolatta fall flat on his ass, coughing. Dio smugly smirked "We are just getting started, doc!"
. . .
.
.
7 missed calls later.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Jolyne snarled at the phone, startling Trish for the 8th time.
"YEAH! NICE COMEBACK, DIO!" Josuke cheered.
Jotaro sighed "I am disappointed in you, Jolyne."
That sudden phrase invoked a depressing yet burning feeling in her heart. "What is it now?!" She choked up as she stood up ans headed towards the exit to find a quieter place to talk to his father.
Trish's eyes widened, alarmed. 'Oh crap, I got distracted!' She fumbled for her phone.
. . .
.
.
"You are embarrassing yourself and me, you know. I know you are in your rebellious phase, but what the actual fuck?" Jotaro asked, disappointment clear in his voice. "It's not a phase!" Jolyne countered. "Shut up. I've been there, trust me." Jotaro replied, he was standing in the hotel lobby after talking with Tonio "Master Chef" Graziano.
"I didn't asked to be born!" Jolyne yelped. "Heard that one before. Get your shit together kid, you know I care for you- She hung up on me." Jotaro stared at his phone before shrugging. He turned around and saw a man in a wheelchair entering the automatic doors. Jotaro smiled "It's been awhile, old friend."
. . .
.
.
Giorno received a text from Trish.
Trish: Jolyne is in danger. It's that guy again.
. . .
.
.
And she was right.
She was alone outside the dome and a familiar man made his presence known.
. . .
12 minutes and 10 seconds
Ciocolatta: 5
Dio: 4
"DIO HAS BEEN CLOSING THE SCORE GAP BETWEEN THEM BUT THE MAD DOCTOR IS DEFENDING HIMSELF WELL."
"MUDA MUDA MUDAAA!" Dio threw three consecutive punches to which Ciocolatta dodged in a weird swaying motion.
Ciocolatta suddenly did a back handspring, putting distance between them. "Jesus Christ, he's like fighting Spiderman!" Johnny commented.
Giorno panicked, he can either watch this or go outside. He fidgeted in agitation. Jonathan noticed his nephew "What's wrong, Giorno?"
"I uhh-!" Giorno didn't know what to do, stay here and watch his father or rescue his friend?
He chose the latter. "I'm constipated! I need to go see the doctor for- oh fuck! The doctor is fighting my padre!" Giorno panicked once more.
"I think I'm sure they have a pharmacy in the main building. You need me to come with you?" Jonathan asked. "NO." Giorno replied hastily.
"Alright, do you have any pocket money?" Jonathan asked, Giorno nodded before standing up and running towards the door.
'Crap, crap, crap! They could be anywhere!' Giorno panted as he sprinted outside.
After a few minutes of sprinting, he saw them fighting on the abandoned lot few blocks away from the hotel.
. . .
.
.
"AGHH!" Jolyne yelped as she blocked Anasui's attack with her forearm, fracturing it.
Anasui chuckled as he swung the metal pipe playfully "Kung Fu doesn't work against this, don't it?"
Jolyne grasped her forearm in pain.
The forearm consists of two bones, the ulna (outer) and radius (inner)
She was fortunate that the ulna was the only one fractured.
"HEY!"
They both turned to the voice.
Anasui glared at him, Jolyne's eyes widened in relief.
Giorno posed bravely, standing 20 feet away from them.
"Fuck off, don't you have a fight to wa-" Anasui was interrupted as Giorno suddely buckled over and panted.
"Just hold... On. I ran... Around the... Dome... I'm winded!" Giorno inhaled and exhaled deeply in an attempt to catch his breath.
"Giorno! Save yourself! He's gone insane!" Jolyne yelled. "Listen to he girl, bitch! I'm an ex convict! I went to the place where tough guys came in and came out even tougher!" Anasui boasted.
'That's a cool line...' Giorno thought as he postured himself up. "Don't worry, Jolyne. I'd be lying if I say I'm not insane myself..." Giorno planted his left leg forward and took the same stance as his father.
"Leave her alone if you don't want to get hurt." Giorno warned. "I'm the one with the weapon here, Goldilocks." Anasui strutted towards him menacingly.
Giorno steeled his glare, making Anasui stop in his tracks for a brief moment. The Joestar's emerald eyes resembled that of a lion.
"Don't make me repeat myself. I hate doing such useless things."
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