Giorno sat in front of the campfire after a hard day of training.
"You really give it your all during your sessions, huh?" Reimi said as she hovered over him.

He glanced up and said "Please don't watch me while I do, it's making me self concious."

"Can't promise anything!" She smiled.

The blond hummed as he consumed his required daily intake of protein. "You're not gonna believe me, but there is something in the woods." Reimi giggled as she sat in front of him.

"A sasquatch? I already saw him." Giorno dismissively replied.
"What?! When?" She asked.
"The night before yesterday. He was running away from you." He replied.

"Oh." She levitated mid air.

Giorno grunted ashe stood up as he continued trying to uproot the tree.

Reimi watched him as his muscles glistened under the sun. 'Wow.'

But she thought of something. Reimi wanted this man to win and she'll do anything to help. Specially since he has a lead on Kira Yoshikage.

"Giorno." She called. "Not now, I'm..!" He grunted as he tried to deadlift the 4 meter tree away from it's roots.
The ghost huffed, so she approached him. Her eyes glowed yellow as she lunged towards him.

. . .

Jotaro's eyes never lied to him, but he still can't believe it.

A man with the same face as Dio, robbing his grave.

It was yesterday, the sun was setting. He decided to pay Dio a visit. Only to find someone cradling his half rotten corpse. His face was... Monstrous. He looks like Dio himself. But younger and thinner.

But he will never forget what happened. This doppelganger was eating his corpse like a madman. Jotaro took note of his inhuman features, lips are slitted throughout his cheeks as rows of sharp teeth were inside that bloody mouth. His eyes were green and had sharp vertical slits as pupils.

"Hey!" He yelled out. But the man... Animal snarled at him and fled with whatd left of Dio.

Jonathan was beyond furious when he heard the news.

Erina insisted that she accompany Jonathan. Not wanting to argue, he brought her along with him as cops surrounded Dio's final resting place, which had been dug up messily.

"Does the victim possess any valuables?" A cop asked.
"No, ma'am. He doesn't." Jonathan answered through gritted teeth.

A grave robbing? In this day and age?

. . .

Giorno looked at his veiny arms, his veins were also bulging through his face as his muscles were pronounced. An incredible pump.

"What's going on?" He asked as the sclera in his eyes turned dark.

His heart was beating really really fast. And loud too, Arnold wagged his tail hearing the loud heartbeat.

Thoom.

Thoom.

"I am possessing you, silly." He heard Reimi's voice.

"What, why?" He asked.

"I've watch people being possessed having incredible abilities. But I don't know how it goes... So I just overclocked your heart to pump more blood to your muscles." Reimi explained.

"Then how come I feel this much... Power?" Giorno asked. "Hmm, lets see... I guess I unlocked your adrenaline? Those things happen during stressful situations, I felt my heart beat that hard and I was able to rip the sheets to make that rope for Rohan... I'm too weak to do that normally you know?" She giddily exclaimed.

Giorno looked around, he felt really light. He is so light. It feels like he can fly.

He threw a simple jab, and it was so fast it was just a blur in his vision.

"Woah..." Giorno then wondered if there is a catch to this, the human body wasn't meant to function like this so there must be a side effect.

His heartbeat slowed down as Reimi left his body.

Giorno fell on his knees and coughed, his mind ached.

"W-What happened?" Reimi asked in concern. "Ahh! I have no idea..! All I know is..." he thought about it.
'No one can see Reimi aside from me. Then this means she can enter the arena with me...' he looked at her whilst she blinked in confusion.

"All I know is I'll be needing that in the competition..." he said with a weak smile. "Of course! That's my intent! No one can see me so I guess I can give you some powerup!" She winked and held a finger out.

"Like in a videogame... But it saps my healthbar greatly." He muttered. "Oh, how? Does it hurt?" Reimi asked.

"Yeah, I feel breathless after... I guess it's a give and take. I'll be using it as a last resort." Giorno said. "Like a trump card huh..." she muttered.

Giorno stood up "Yeah." He sighed before continuing his training.

"Just train hard enough so you wouldn't need it. It sucks to see you in pain." Reimi told him. Giorno just nodded as he striked the makiwara with his fists.

"Oh! We should have like a codename for it... Or a danger word where you just say it then I'll just go swoosh inside you." Reimi proposed.

'That last sentence sounded bad.' But Giorno thought about it.

. . .

"This is utter bullshit! Who and why would they even rob his corpse?! It doesn't make any sense!" Johnny snarled as the car he drove picked up it' pace.
"I don't know. Its a really messed up thing to do though." Gappy muttered in a serious tone "But Jonathan did say we don't break the news to Giorno just yet, he'll be the one to do it."

"Shit. How do you think he'll react?" Johnny asked. "Probably the same reaction as yours. Probably." Gappy said.

Radio: Almost heaven... West Virginia.

"Ughh, this song pisses me off." Johnny said as he reached to change the station but Gappy catched his wrist.
"What?" The driver asked.
"I love this song." The passenger replied in a deep voice.

"Let go! The dumb song ruins the mood-"
"No!"

They struggled.

Radio: Blue ridge mountain, Shannondoa River...

"Josuke..! I swear to God I will..." Johnny tried to force his way forward while Gappy's vice grip is preventing him.
"Come on, I'll just lower the volume!" The ex navy whined.

Radio: Life is older, older than the trees. Younger than the mountains, flowing like a breeze...

"WOAH SHIT!" Johnny steered to the left, narrowly avoiding a deer.

. . .

The sun has set.

"What a weird choice." Reimi scratched the back of her head. "Don't judge me, I love that album." Giorno stared at the half chopped tree, still standing.
Placing both his hands on the crack, he tried to take it down by deadlifting it.
"GOLD EXPERIENCE!" Giorno yelled and right on cue, she possessed him.

THOOM!

His heart beats hastily.
The power surged through his veins as GoldExperience!Giorno finally uprooted the tree.
"TIMBER!" Reimi cheered as she appeared next to him.

The possessed boy could not believe it. What seems to be impossible yesterday, is doable right now. The shockwave of the impact blew his braid away as his mane fluttered through the wind.

His black and emerald eyes stunned at the sight of this feat of strength he thought he wasn't capable of.
But now he was, with her help.

He looked at her with a grateful smile "Can we- FGUGH!" Giorno coughed as Reimi removed herself from him.
"Huh? Can we what?" She asked.

The young man had a coughing fit as the ghost patiently waited.
"... My body needs to get used to that." Giorno muttered.

"I don't know... I think its a bad idea to use this. Maybe I shouldn't have-" Reimi pondered. "No! I need it! I'm sure I can't win the tournament without your help!" Giorno protested.

The ghost giggled "D'awww! Stop it you! But seriously... I guess it really has to be a last resort, alright?"

Giorno nods before staring at the tree "I can't believe I just did that..."

Reimi smiled at him before fading away.
The blond blinked in confusion before he heard someone clear their throat.

It was Johnny and Gappy. "I told you he went insane." Gappy said.

"I wasn't!"

"There's no time. We have to go." Johnny told him.
"What, what happened?" Giorno asked. "An emergency. Jonathan will fill you in. It's urgent." Johnny replied.

. . .

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" Caesar growled as he slammed the table in anger as his grandfather watched at him unamused.

"I figured it out myself during the round. I was alittle intrigued by Kars' and Dio's rivalry that it led me to Wamuu Williams' profile..." William said.

The papers on the ground said that Wamuu's birth certificate and passports are all fake.
"He was the... No. IT was the thing that killed my father!" Caesar roared "WAMUU! MARK MY WORDS, I WILL CRUSH YOU!"

William knew what he had to do. He needs to rig the brackets.

. . .

"Yeah. Josuke's training is going well." Jotaro said through the phone. He can't deny he was angry at what happened to Dio. "Look, I have to go. I'll see you back at the house... Take care, Jolyne." Setting the phone down, he slumped back to his seat with a sigh.

And looking one last time at the Junior roster, he knew one of them was the culprit. "Polnareff, just what kind of monster did you hire?"

. . .

"I don't know, is it too late to back out now or find a substitute?" Polnareff asked nervously, a bit too unsure about his representative.
"Yes. Besides, why would you decline such a large offer? Don't worry, I am the one sponsoring you." Dr. Ferdinand said as they walked through the white facility towards Diego's room.
"Straits. Did he finally acquired the prey?" Ferdinand asked.
"Yes." The other doctor replied.

"W-What's he doing now?!" Polnareff asked in fear as he saw the young(?) man gnawing on something before cackling.

"THIS IS THE GREATEST HIGH!" Diego screamed out.

"With that blood, he is unbeatable." Ferdinand said as Polnareff watched in despair "WHAT AM I EVEN WATCHING?!"

. . .

They finally reached the city. Giorno was a bit nervous that the whole car ride was silent.

They walked inside Jonathan's house. They wordlessly greeted a solemn Erina, she nodded and told them that her husband was waiting on the other room. Giorno noticed that her stomach grew a little bit large.

Sighing in relief as he thought the emergency involved his unborn nephew/niece.

Giorno finally saw Jonathan after almost two months.

Jonathan sadly smiled at his nephew as he noticed his growing build. "I can tell you've gotten stronger, good job, Giorno."

Giorno smiled "Thanks, uncle JoJo."

"But I'm going to drop some news and what I'm about to say next may affect you."

Jonathan's phone rang, it was Jotaro.

"Oh, just a minute." Jonathan excused himself sheepishly.

"Yes, Mr. Jotaro?"
"Jonathan. I took a second glance on the Junior participants. I'm certain that the bastard who did that is one of them." Jotaro told him.

Jonathan simply hanged up and uncharacteristically plopped his laptop open.

Giorno stared at him in confusion.
"You gonna say anything or what?" Johnny asked.

Jonathan saw the blond male at the screen as his blood ran cold.
'Brando..?'

He turned the laptop to let the others see.

"Holy shit!" Johnny cussed. "He looks like Dio!" Gappy said.
Giorno was still left in the dark "Wait, so this is the emergency? Is he like... Padre's twin or my long lost brother?"

"No... We still don't know anything. And we don't know why he did it..." Jonathan croaked.

. . .

Jolyne and Trish started to hang out after their newfound friendship. "You know, I wonder where he is now. Mr. Joestar said he is training somewhere private." Trish muttered. "W-Really?! Johnny said he ran away! The other guy said he died!" Jolyne exclaimed.

"Other guy?" Trish asked.
"The sailor."
"Oh, him."

They stared outside the cafe for a brief moment. It was a nice night. "But you know, I just don't see Giorno being all screaming and hotblooded like his dad. Specially when Dio and my dad fought, Dio was like all growling and stuff." Jolyne said.

"Really? Giorno was screaming his head off when Anasui assaulted him. Speaking of which, do you have any idea where he is?" Trish asked.

"Right... I was unconcious that time... And no, I hope that guy rots in hell." Jolyne huffed before continuing "But still! Its hard to imagine Giorno being angry. All these years of being friends with him, I never saw him lost his cool."

. . .

Giorno's vision turned red at the revelation.

"He stole and ate Dio's corpse."

He clenched his fists so hard, his nails dug through his palms and drew blood.

The room went silent as the three adults looked at him.

Giorno gritted his teeth "Take me back to the forest."

He turned tail and moved towards the door "I still have some training to do." He opened it and walked out.

"... I'm going to ask Diego's sponsor. You two drive him back." Jonathan said. "You heard the man, lets go." Gappy said.

"This is one fucked up motivation. I hope he kicks his ass thoroughly." Johnny mumbled before stopping short as he saw that the doorknob Giorno grasped was dented by the young man's fingers "... I'm guessing he has a chance."

Morning came.

"Oh! You're back early." Reimi said as she saw the young man return. She noticed that his expression was grim and decided not to bother him.

Arnold started whimpering as he noticed something was wrong.

Giorno forced himself to smile without looking at the two "Reimi, thank you. For you know... Agreeing to support me with Gold Experience."

"Uhh... Sure. Are you okay?" Reimi asked. "Someone just ate my father's corpse." He bluntly stated, causing her to gasp in shock. "And he is in the competition." Giorno continued.

"... Why are they accepting scumbags in that tournament..?" She asked woth caution.

"I don't know." Giorno's voice started to shake. "All I know is, I'm looking forward to seeing him..."

. . .

"OHHH! IS HE REALLY?!" Speedwagon gawked in awe as he observed the final contestant that entered his last entry.

"Why yes he is." The manager said as she lights another stick of cigarrette. "Indeed, I am." The contestant said.

N'Doul
Unaffiliated
"THE DAREDEVIL"

"He is a man of many legends, the most famous one is that he is the reincarnation of our God of War Apedemak, but has led the life of a pacifist." Mariah said. "You really are quite famous in your country." Speedwagon muttered as he looked at his profile.

The legend smiled "So? Are my feats sufficient?"

. . .

Meanwhile, in a Department Store.

Hairs stood at the back of Wamuu's neck "I can feel it." He muttered. "Sir, this is our largest size." The woman said as she presented Wamuu an XXXL shirt.

"Miss, do you have a..." Bruford came out of his dressing stall, coincidentally next to Wamuu's.

The two titans stared at eachother.
"Um, this is awkward." Bruford said. "Indeed." Wamuu smiled.

"I can tell, at first glance, that you are powerful." Wamuu complimented as the woman felt like the air just went thin. "Thanks, I work out alot." Bruford muttered offhandedly.

"What do you think? Of the upcoming competition?" Wamuu asked. "... It's going to be a blast." Bruford replied, its not often he was in a situation where he was smaller than anyone who wasn't Tarkus, so he felt standoffish towards the 16 year old.

. . .

Two months have passed, four overall, two left.

Time is slowly crawling towards the competition.

"Well would you look at this guy." Johnny muttered. "He seems fatter than the last time I saw him. Which was... Two months ago?" Gappy replied.

"Two months? Weren't you supposed to bring him food every month?"
"Yeah, my bad."

Giorno turned to his other side as he continued to sleep.

"RISE AND SHINE! AYAYAYAYYYYY!" Gappy screamed, startling the poor blond.
"HUH, wha- where?!" Giorno rubbed his eyes as he was rudely awakened.

"Drop your cock and grab your socks, we're going to jog around the forest until 0630 hours." Gappy said.

Giorno stared at them with half opened eyes "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hell week." They said in unison.
The young man's eyes widened.

10 mile jog.

"Tigers are the biggest, toughest, strongest cats in the world. You should aim to be one. Reach the top of the food chain, and you'll reach the top of the competition." Johnny said as they jogged the rough terrain.

"Right now, you're still a pussy. You have two more months to earn your stripes."

"I am going to put you through basic survival training, all I wanna hear from your mouth needs to start and end with 'sir.' DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Gappy yelled.

"SIR YES SIR!" Giorno yelled.

"You will not speak unless spoken to, you will follow orders. You are the lowest scum on Earth as of now, every breath you take is a stunning endorsement of abortion! But you will come out of this mountain, A BAD MAN!" Gappy yelled.

"Sir yes sir!" Giorno yelled back 'Military training..? I didn't see this one coming...'

. . .

After high volume calisthenic training, they sat at Giorno's camp.

Johnny sat and prepared their lunch as Giorno stood straight, waiting for Gappy's command.

"At ease, shitbag."

"You're having alot of fun with this." Johnny mumbled. "Yup." Gappy chirped, back to his old self.

Giorno heaved as he ate his lunch. He asked the karateka why he's here. Johnny, as straight forward as he is, told him "Two months from now, you're gonna face an initiation that required indomitable will and physical resilience. It's a week before the competition so you don't have to worry about recovery."

The young man stared at him with suspicion, because whatever it is, it doesn't sound good at all.

"Giorno. This shouldn't surprise you, but we pulled some strings and try to match you with that Diego guy." Gappy said as Giorno's expression turned grim.
"Speedwagon won't allow it. BUT, he did say, he was indeed outraged at the news and said if you ever did face Diego, he'll be sure to make it a fight."

The young man grinned "I guess it's a good thing that you two are here."

Gappy took a sip before putting his glass down "I wouldn't be so sure about that being a good thing."

Character profiles.

Dio "THE LION" Brando

Height: 6'3
Weight: 224 lbs (Healthy) 189 lbs (Time of Death)
Age: Late 30s
Likes: Himself, Women, Jonathan, his kid, his wife.
Dislikes: Jonathan, Jotaro, other people who don't recognize his greatness. His father (big time) Mista, Speedwagon (initially)

I modeled Dio's colorful personality from Dom Mazzetti, copying his gym smarts and humor. I have a love and hate relationship with my version of Dio, but I feel like so far, he had the most character development in this story. (you don't say?)

I never initially planned on killing him off, but I figured it would be incredible to give him a redemption arc.

Him along with his son and foster brother had the uncanny ability to learn any physical sport quite fast, hence he learned how to handstand (Formaggio match) and how to ice skate (Ghiaccio match) in a short span of time.