Jotaro jolted awake, fear and dread flooding his system. He gasped for air, trying to reign in his terror, and immediately started coughing up petals. He coughed for five minutes straight before settling down. Once he caught his breath, he let out a cry of frustration and despair. He'd been suffering with his symptoms for days now. He was sure he'd been out of class for at least a week or two. At some point, someone would come to check on him. He dreaded that moment. He was sure that someone probably had been trying to call him and getting no response due to his phone being a pile of shattered plastic and electronic bits. HIs mother certainly called him every other day to "nag" him about remembering to eat three square meals a day or something. She would be worried if she got no response. If she didn't get in touch with him soon she'd probably send Gramps to check up on him. He really didn't want his grandfather to see him like this. He didn't want anyone to see him like this.

For nearly every night since his illness started, he'd had horrible dreams. This latest nightmare was possibly the worst. It was certainly the most vivid. It started with a wedding; his wedding. To his delight, you were the one he was getting married to. Everyone was wearing white, including Kakyoin who, in the short time that Jotaro had known him, only ever seemed to want to wear his green school uniform. The fact that Kakyoin was there, along with Avdol and Iggy, should have clued him in to the fact that what he was seeing wasn't real. At the moment though, he was caught up in the dream and fully accepted it as real. Polnareff was there, too, and sobbing along with Mom. He wanted to roll his eyes at them both but he was too happy to care about them embarrassing him. Gramps was picking on Polnareff and Grandma Suzie Q was trying to get him to behave himself. Some brave fool had managed to put a little white bowtie around Iggy's neck. He wasn't very happy about it and spent most of the time either grumble-growling under his breath or scratching at the collar with his back leg. Other than that, he was surprisingly well-behaved. Avdol must have promised him two whole packs of gum and some wedding cake to get him to sit still for that long. How or why a dog was even allowed to attend a wedding, Jotoro didn't care enough to ask. The dream was horribly shattered when Jotaro leaned in to kiss you at the end of the ceremony. The moment his lips touched yours, thorny vines shot out of his mouth, entered into yours, and shot out of the back of your head. Gore sprayed everywhere, staining your lovely white clothes a deep, angry crimson. Your eyes rolled back and you went limp in his arms.

That was when Jotaro woke up, drenched in a cold sweat and coughing up petals. His whole body began to tremble, and it wasn't just from the fact that it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped all over him. He sat there trembling and trying to come back to reality and forget all about that horrible dream. During that time, he became aware of Star Platinum's presence next to him. He looked up at the Stand in confusion. Star had become something of a pest since this whole thing started. He refused to de-manifest and constantly hovered around Jotaro no matter what. He oddly reminded Jotaro of his Mom and how she'd act whenever he got sick as a kid. And just like his Mom, Star Platinum always seemed to know exactly what Jotaro needed at the very moment he needed it. He'd bring him water whenever his throat was parched, clean him up when he puked blood and petals all over himself, kept the dorm clean, dragged him to the shower whenever his muscles began to ache…

And not once had Jotaro willed his Stand to do any of those things. Star simply did it all on his own.

It was almost as if Star was taking orders from someone else. The idea stirred up a brief paranoia in Jotaro. Was he losing control of him? Was an enemy Stand user controlling him somehow? Regardless, it didn't matter what was wrong with his Stand because there was nothing he could do about it. He was too sick and too weak and in much need of a shower. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Star Platinum was scooping him up and taking him to the bathroom.

So I still have some control over him, Jotaro thought as Star Platinum helped him get undressed and helped him into the shower. Jotaro held on to the grab bar and just let the water pour over him for a bit before beginning to wash himself. He could make out the silhouette of Star Platinum through the shower door. At least the Stand let him wash by himself. The Stand left the room for a moment, but there was an unspoken message that he would be back the moment Jotaro needed him.

Jotaro relished the moment of privacy. He had always thought of Star Platinum as being an extension of his will but lately he was beginning to see the Stand as something of a separate entity. He was grateful to have a Stand that was so attentive when he needed it, but there were times when he needed his privacy. He shuddered at the idea of Star plopping him down on the toilet the next time he needed to go, and then just floating there. Ugh.

A thought occurred to him then. He hadn't needed to go to the bathroom in days. He also hadn't needed or wanted food since his illness began. Whatever this thing inside of him was, it seemed to have put his bodily functions on hold. Well, his normal functions anyway. He still had a need for water on a regular basis and he craved sitting in the sun for as long as he was able to.

Like a plant, Jotaro thought bitterly.

Jotaro's mind began to wander back to the idea of contacting someone on the outside. He needed help. That was all there was to it. He would have to contact someone from the outside and get them to contact the Speedwagon Foundation. Then contact Gramps. The old man was bound to know a thing or two about some weird plant thing that would grow in people's guts. If it was stupid or strange, it was almost a guarantee that Gramps knew something about it. How to get in touch with someone without the plant knowing and stopping it was another matter.

Star Platinum returned, he helped Jotaro out of the shower, helped dry him off, and got him dressed in fresh pajamas. He hauled him back to the bedroom where Jotaro noted that the Stand had changed his sheets and pillowcases.

"Tch. Since when did you turn into my Mom?" Jotaro muttered as Star Platinum placed him down on the bed.

The Stand didn't respond, just stood there looking at him. Jotaro scoffed. He hadn't been expecting an answer, but the lack of one annoyed him anyway. He lay there, staring at Star Platinum who only stared back with double the intensity. He really wished those vines hadn't smashed the phone. He could have possibly had this problem dealt with if not for that. He had thought about going to stand out on the balcony and call down to someone walking the campus grounds, but the moment he moved in the direction of the balcony doors, the vines squeezed his insides and he would crumple to the floor in agony. It seemed that every time he so much as thought about getting help to get rid of it, the plant would squeeze his insides as if to not only stop him, but punish him, too. Leaving the dorm room was impossible. If he so much as looked at the door that led outside, the vines would jab their thorns into every inch of him they could reach, putting him in such pain that he couldn't even move. It controlled him with pain. It controlled him…

Jotaro then had a thought, a very strange theory. He glanced back up at Star Platinum who seemed to be waiting for something. Jotaro wondered if Star Platinum was taking orders from someone other than him, but not necessarily another Stand user. A part of him wanted to test that theory but he wanted to also test something else. Star Platinum had been going about taking charge of everything in the house, meanwhile the plant seemed to have a firm grasp on Jotaro's own actions. He wondered just how much freedom he actually had.

Jotaro moved to sit up and was met with Star Platinum's massive hand pushing him back onto the bed.

"Ora." the Stand commanded in that same quiet but firm tone a parent used on a child that was acting out. It wasn't loud or threatening, but it certainly got the point across.

Jotaro's eyes widened. He'd had his suspicions, but he never expected any of them to be true.

"What the-!?" Jotaro cried when he was pushed back down onto the bed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" he demanded.

Jotaro struggled, but couldn't break the Stand's hold. Unless he was a Stand himself, there wasn't much he could do to fight back in this situation. His hands just went through the Stand as if he were made of air. Star Platinum kept him firmly in place.

"Get the hell off me!" Jotaro shouted.

Star Platinum didn't budge. He just stared back at Jotaro with a stern gaze.

Jotaro needed to get through to him. He tried a different method. Maybe he could at least reason with him.

"You realize I haven't eaten anything in days, right? I want to go to the kitchen! I'm hungry, dammit!" Jotaro cringed at how much like a fussy toddler he sounded, but he really was beginning to crave something in his belly other than water and that damnable plant.

Star Platinum got a far away look on his face as if he was mulling the information over, then lifted his palm from Jotaro's chest. He began to back up towards the door all the while keeping his eyes on Jotaro. Finally he turned to go out the door, but turned back one more time to point a finger at Jotaro.

"Ora."

The order was clear.

"Don't move from that spot."

Jotaro watched the Stand leave the room and scowled. This shit was pissing him off! Of all the things he hated in this world, being ordered around like a kid was one of the things he hated the most. And to have his own Stand pushing him around like this was infuriating. He was the user here! He was supposed to be the one in charge. That's how it worked! But what could he do? Even if he weren't sick, he couldn't hurt a Stand. Why was Star acting like this? He was helping Jotaro, but he was also being so controlling…

Jotaro lolled his head to the side, taking in the smell of the fabric softener on the pillow. Any other time the smell would give him warm memories of when he was a kid and things weren't so complicated. The worst thing he had to deal with then was getting a bad grade or avoiding bullies. He thought of his mother and how much he missed her. She embarrassed the hell out of him sometimes with how coddling and overly affectionate she could be, but now he found himself longing for that. He stopped calling her names after Egypt though. All that time he thought he would lose her he realized just how much he'd taken her for granted. Weird though… her Stand had been killing her and it manifested as glowing vines. And here he was, dying to vines that had taken root in his belly. His thoughts drifted to his grandfather and his Stand that manifested as purple thorny vines… What the hell was with his family and vines?

Feeling like he was about to drift off to sleep, Jotaro painfully sat up. The last thing he wanted was to find himself having another horrific nightmare. Especially if it was going to be anything like the last one. He glared around the room and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror over the dresser.

Holy Hell.

He looked awful. No, awful isn't accurate. He looked like something that just crawled out of a George Romero movie. Though… what was happening to him felt more like something Cronenberg would come up with.

Star Platinum returned a moment later holding a thermos. He held the thermos out to Jotaro with the silent order to drink its contents. A thermos? Filled with what? Soup? Probably, but the idea of Star Platinum stirring a pot of soup over the stove was such a bizarre image it almost made him smile. Still, since when did Star Platinum know how to cook? Not that soup was especially hard to make, but cooking wasn't something Jotaro would have expected his Stand to know how to do. He shouldn't have been too surprised. Star Platinum was a very adaptable Stand. He'd seen that himself during the fight with DIO, when Star Platinum suddenly developed his own ability to stop time in order to beat the vampire at his own twisted game. Star Platinum was certainly very versatile as well as powerful; as Kakyoin would say, "Broken and OP as hell".

Wordlessly, Jotaro took the thermos from his Stand. It felt delightfully warm. Something warm sounded wonderful right now, and Jotaro found himself suddenly ravenous. A water and sunlight only diet could only satisfy him for so long. He twisted the top off of the thermos and put it to his lips. He drank just as desperately as he did with the water. The warmth of the liquid soothed the soreness of his throat and even the burning, aching feeling in his stomach. Whatever was in that thermos seemed to be healing him. He stopped guzzling the soup long enough to take a breath or two then put the thermos to his lips again. He drained it completely.

When Jotaro finished his meal his whole body tingled with pleasant satisfaction. His brain was hazy and buzzing with delight. He had a vague idea that this must be what it was like for an addict who'd been denied their fix for days and finally got one. This euphoric feeling of contentment was not something that came from just ordinary soup. Star Platinum must have put some medicine in it or something. That would explain that weird, rusty smell it had and why it tasted the way it did. The taste was kinda… familiar… but he couldn't place it. He had a memory of getting busted in the mouth once during a fight and getting that same taste in his mouth afterward. The memory had a giant red flag waving furiously in his mind but the buzz was already setting fire to that flag. Fuck that flag. Oh yeah. He was high as a space shuttle right now. That was fine. As long as he didn't hurt, as long as he wasn't coughing and puking petals, then nothing else mattered. His thoughts were a jumbled mess but he didn't care. Jotaro lay back on his pillows and closed his eyes. The buzz was making him drowsy. It wouldn't hurt to let himself drift off to dreamland for a while. As good as he was feeling right now, maybe he'd have good dreams for a change.

Jotaro's arms went slack and the thermos fell out of his hand. Star Platinum caught it long before it fell to the rug below. He picked up the lid and placed it back on the thermos. Setting the thermos on the nightstand, he went over to the window and let some sun in. He angled the blinds to shine directly on Jotaro as he slept peacefully. Star hadn't seen his user so content before, especially not in the last few days. Star Platinum glanced down at the thermos with a guilty look. Jotaro thought it was soup that he had given him. Let him continue to think that. He didn't need to know what great lengths his Stand was going just to keep him from becoming plant food. Speaking of which, Jotaro was going to want more "soup" when he woke up.

Star Platinum picked up the thermos and headed for the kitchen. He cast one last glance over his shoulder at the sleeping Jotaro before closing the door behind him. He entered the tiny room that served as a kitchen/dining room. Though, the "dining room" portion of it was little more than a fold out table and single, cheaply made chair. Jotaro's grandfather would have been appalled at the sight of the set up and offered, no, insisted to buy him something better. Jotaro had planned to buy something better himself, but his studies and now this recent illness had gotten in the way. Star Platinum moved around to the other side of the table to the bound young man cowering on the floor. The Stand placed the thermos on the table, the sound of the plastic covering tapping against the tabletop caused the young man to flinch and curl up as best he could into a quivering ball. The ropes around his arms and legs prevented much movement. There was a gag in his mouth, to silence any calls for help. His eyes were blindfolded, not to prevent him from seeing his captor (whom he wouldn't be able to see anyway) but to prevent Star Platinum from seeing that frightened pleading look in his captive's eyes.

Star Platinum hated having to do this. He did a lot of things in the name of his user, but this felt so wrong. Star had no qualms about taking lives if it meant keeping Jotaro safe. But this was different. This young man, who looked barely out of high school, had never done anything to Jotaro. He was innocent in Star Platinum's eyes. And yet, he was going to murder him for the sake of keeping Jotaro alive. As far as the Stand was concerned, that was perfectly justified. That didn't mean he'd enjoy it.

The Stand knelt down and grabbed the captive's bound wrists. The man screamed into his gag and tried to struggle free, but Star's hold on him was unyielding. Star examined the wound he'd made to extract the "fertilizer" from his victim. It was an angry red color. Infected most likely. He would need to tend to that soon, not necessarily for the young man's sake but for Jotaro's. He didn't want to feed Jotaro infected blood. Yes, blood was the secret fertilizer for keeping the plant well fed. Blood was the key to keeping Jotaro in a complacent state so that he wouldn't get curious and wouldn't ask questions. The blood caused the plant to release a pheromone that acted as a kind of drug. A happy coincidence. That was just what Star Platinum needed to make sure Jotaro never found out about what he was doing… and what he was planning to do.

He let the young man's wrists go and he curled in on himself, trying to make himself even smaller. Star Platinum turned away from him. Guilt overtook him at the sight of the cowering human, but it was not enough to deter him from his task. The young man would die. He would be drained dry and disposed of. The incinerator out behind the dorm would do just fine. That was the only thing Star liked about living in the dorms, there were so many things within his range that allowed him to help his user. It helped that the presence of the plant within Jotaro had somehow increased the size of his range, if only slightly. It was enough. No, not really. If it stretched out to the dorms on the other side of the campus then he could bring you right to Jotaro. But that wasn't the case so he would have to wait. Just keep the plant fed and Jotaro alive. That was all he needed to do for now.

All he needed was for the plant to bloom. With enough blood, the plant's flowers would open. The smell would bring you to Jotaro. It wouldn't be long now. In the meantime, he needed to work fast. This source of "fertilizer" would not last much longer. (Yes, that's it. A source of fertilizer. For Star Platinum, he couldn't view the young man as anything but a food source for his user. It was easier if he thought of it that way.) He would dispose of it and that would be that. Hopefully he wouldn't have to seek another source of "fertilizer" after that. Someone would probably go looking for the missing… "food source", but no one would be able to tie it back to Jotaro. His user was innocent in this anyway. If Jotaro knew what his Stand was doing, he would try to stop it. Star Platinum was more worried about people looking for Jotaro. What if someone from the Speedwagon Foundation came? Or Joseph? Or Holly? Jotaro wouldn't want his family seeing him in such a state. Worse, they would try to remove the plant. It wouldn't be like what the encyclopedia said. He wouldn't just lose the ability to love if they removed the plant, he would die. The plant was well and fully fused with Jotaro's insides by now. Trying to remove the plant would be essentially disemboweling him. HIs intestines, stomach, and lungs would all come out with the plant. Not only that but, the plant would retaliate. It would fight to save its life and kill anyone or anything that tried to uproot it. But once Star set his plan into motion, it would make everything better. But it was going to have to get much worse for Jotaro before it got any better.

Jotaro scowled in his sleep. He had hoped for no nightmares this time but his subconscious didn't seem to care what he was hoping for. This time he found himself in a place that could only be described as Hell. He was walking down a bloody, body part strewn path in a forest made of long metal pikes. Impaled on the end of these pikes were people; people who screamed and moaned in agony as they tried to escape. All of them had been blinded, their eyes removed from their sockets. Even then, Jotaro could feel them watching him through their empty sockets. He tried not to look at them. Not much he could do for them in a dream anyway. Not much he could do for them even if this wasn't a dream. He continued along the path and at some point he started hearing voices, one of which sounded sickeningly familiar.

"Please! Spare me! I'm your fath-!"

The first voice was cut off by a sound that was unmistakably the sound of a foot colliding with someone's face. It was a sound Jotaro had heard many times before, but this impact sounded especially vicious.

"Don't speak to me again, you miserable old fool." came a calm but chillingly cold voice.

It couldn't be. It shouldn't be!

Don't tell me that bastard's tormenting me in my dreams now, Jotaro thought bitterly.

He raced down the path, sidestepping severed legs, heads, arms, and entrails, until he came to a large, stone table. The table itself looked so old as to be prehistoric, but the table was not what caused Jotaro's eyes to widen and jaw to drop open. Slouching boredly against the table in a throne of bones, nursing what Jotaro hoped was a glass of wine, was DIO! Instead of his usual gaudy yellow and green attire, he was wearing all black with red trim. His costume looked like some kind of body suit that had been cut to pieces then sewn back together with bits of black, spiked leather placed here and there. Resting on his shoulders was a deep crimson coat that looked like something from many centuries ago. It was lined with black fur and had spiked cufflinks. He was practically dripping with jewelry. Around his neck and arms he wore what seemed like an entire jewelry store's worth of necklaces and bracelets. Even this dream version of DIO was a fashion disaster. The only thing that remained the same was his shoes. Those same, stupid curly toed shoes. And every now and again those shoes would swing back and kick or stomp at a hideous old man who was tied up under the table like a dog.

The old man spotted Jotaro out of the corner of his eye and immediately started calling out to him.

"Y-you there! H-HELP ME!" he cried, reaching out to Jotaro in desperation.

"Get me away from him! GET ME AWAY FROM THIS MONSTER! I'LL WORK FOR YA! SLAVE FOR YA! I'LL GIVE UP THE DAMNED BOTTLE, JUST SAVE ME FROM THIS DEMON!"

DIO, who had been taking a sip of his wine, suddenly got a look on his face that would send the Devil himself scampering off with his forked tail between his legs. He sent the unholy glare down to the old man.

"You just don't know how to listen, do you!?" He snarled. "I told you to stop that infernal barking, old man!"

DIO raised his leg to well above the level of the table, then he brought his foot down onto the old man's head. There was a gut-wrenching cracking sound and blood spurted from the back of the old man's head. DIO then proceeded to grind his heel against the old man's head, squashing his ugly face into the blood-soaked dirt.

"Now maybe I'll get some peace around here… at least until you show up again tomorrow and I, once again, have to teach you some manners."

DIO then glanced up at the wailing impaled souls.

"Of course you lot never shut up no matter what I do to you."

The vampire slumped against the table again and took a bored sip of his wine. It was only then that he noticed Jotaro standing there and almost spat the wine back out. He managed to choke it down and lowered the glass to the table. He stared at Jotaro in shock, as if he hadn't expected to see him there, then he just started laughing… and laughing… and laughing. It started as an almost wholesome chuckle, far too wholesome for someone like DIO, then it dissolved into a manic giggle that erupted into a full on maniacal glee.

Jotaro placed a hand into the pocket of his jacket and glared at his old enemy.

"You seem weirdly happy to see the guy that killed you." Jotaro mused. "It figures a piece of shit like you would actually enjoy being in a place like this."

Jotaro waited to see if the vampire would offer any kind of response, but DIO just kept laughing. He seemed positively giddy about something, but the joke was lost on Jotaro. DIO laughed so hard he flung himself back against the bone throne he was sitting in and clutched at his stomach. Tears streamed down his face and his mouth was flung wide open; his fangs on clear display.

Jotaro was getting angry. It was bad enough that he found himself in a place like this but having to see DIO again, even in a dream, was making him furious. He thought he was rid of that low life once and for all. The villain going so far as to hang around in his dreams was just in bad taste.

"Hey! What the hell's so funny?" Jotaro demanded, trying his best not to lose his cool in front of his enemy. Even in his dream, he didn't want DIO to know just how much he irked him.

DIO seemed to try to reign himself in and raised a palm to Jotaro, a silent command for him to wait. This only served to annoy Jotaro further.

"Tch. Psycho bastard." Jotaro muttered.

He went to reach for a cigarette but there didn't seem to be any in his pockets. Yeah, right. He'd been trying to give up smoking, but damn, at least let him get a nicotine fix in his dreams!

At last, DIO managed to shrink his maniac laughter down to the occasional evil snicker.

"You done?" Jotaro asked, arching an irritated brow.

DIO nodded, looking like he was restraining another bout of laughter.

"Oh, Jotaro…" the vampire chortled, wiping the tears from his eyes with a clawed hand.

"Jotaro, it does my black heart good to see you here." DIO said with a sinister smile.

Jotaro's upper lip curled in disgust.

"Why?" he asked, wanting the vampire to explain.

"Simple. You being here means only one thing. You're just as twisted as I am. I've always suspected as much. But seeing you here confirms it." DIO answered smugly.

Jotaro glared at the vampire.

"I'm nothing like you, DIO. You're nothing but a sick, demented freak!" he snapped.

DIO somehow managed to look even more smug. He steepled his black claws together and gave Jotaro a knowing sideways glance. It would have looked almost playful if Jotaro didn't know what kind of "person" DIO really was.

"And you're not?" DIO asked.

It was a genuine question and it caught Jotaro off guard. He found it hard to respond at first.

"I'm not some goody two-shoes if that's what you mean." Jotaro said. "I'm no angel. So what. That doesn't put me and you on the same shelf."

DIO was suddenly in front of him. How? Jotaro hadn't seen him even get up from the table… oh. Time Stop. So DIO still had The World in-

Wait.

This was just a dream. A nightmare. Jotaro couldn't afford to let himself get immersed in a dream this twisted. The wedding dream was bad enough, but something like this would fuck him up for a decade or two. This wasn't really Hell and DIO wasn't really here. His subconscious couldn't be this fouled up. Could it?

Still, it wasn't exactly fair that dream DIO could summon his Stand when Jotaro couldn't.

"I'm not talking about your teen angst antics." DIO continued. "I'm talking about that creepy little crush of yours."

Jotaro yanked his hand out of his pocket and balled it into a tight fist. He ground his teeth and leaned into the vampire's smiling face.

"You don't know anything about that. You shut the hell up right now!" He warned, a dangerous tone in his voice.

DIO was unphased.

"Oh but I know everything about that." DIO said with a smirk. A single fang poked slightly out over his lip as he did so as if further mocking Jotaro.

"DIO, I'm warning you. Keep talking and I won't hesitate to kill you again."

DIO rolled his eyes and sighed, looking ever so much like a teen that had been told they were going to stay an elderly relative's farm for the summer, i.e. bored to tears.

"It won't matter if you do, Jotaro. Death doesn't really mean anything could dismember me, burn me, drown me, filet me, disembowel me, skin me alive, boil me in oil, dip me in acid, burn me… did I say that one already? Whatever. It doesn't matter what you do to me, I'll be right back here the very next day." DIO said, sounding like he was tired of the idea.

Jotaro relaxed for a moment, thinking he'd managed to get DIO to change the subject. He did not.

"But seriously, I never thought you of all people would be the type to fall for anyone, least of all this hard." DIO continued, delighted at Jotaro's annoyance.

"DIO…"

Once again, Jotaro was ignored.

"Just the fact someone like you would stoop so low as to stalk someone! I knew you were a delinquent but I never expected you to be a degenerate, too! And that isn't all, those dark feelings you harbor against that boy your pathetic little lover hangs all over! I don't even think I have hated anyone that much. Believe me, I've had reasons to…" DIO rambled.

"DIO!" Jotaro snarled.

It was enough that the vampire kept running his filthy mouth after he explicitly told him to shut the hell up, but he had the nerve to call you pathetic! The fact that DIO even knew you existed set his teeth on edge. DIO had no right to speak of you, and Jotaro had already warned him, but he just kept talking…

"The fact that you have that thing growing inside of you is testament to just how twisted your little crush has gotten. Face it, Jotaro, you're obsessed, and that sick obsession of yours just keeps growing. The longer you take to act on it the worse it will get. It will get bigger and bigger until it bursts right out of your gut. And what then? You'll lie there drowning in your own blood and choking to death on the vines as they swallow you alive. You can deny it all you want but you and I both know that plant's a part of you. It always was. Forget silly little tropes and cliches, that thing inside of you didn't get there by chance. You planted the seed!"

Pain exploded against DIO's cheek and his head snapped to the side as Jotaro's fist plowed into his face. The blow only had half the impact it would have if Jotaro had Star Platinum with him. The only thing that mattered right then though was that the punch hurt like hell and got DIO to stop running his damn mouth.

It seemed to work, as DIO stopped talking. The whole area got quiet, too, as even the wailing of the lost souls grew silent. Jotaro withdrew his fist and backed away from DIO. He threw his fists up as if expecting a fight. Instead, the vampire just rolled his head as if to loosen up his neck muscles then snapped his head back to narrow his eyes at Jotaro.

"I will let that slide. Just. This. Once." The vampire hissed, his voice straining with barely contained anger.

Jotaro blinked and suddenly DIO was back at the table, pouring a bottle of wine into another glass. When the glass was full he set the bottle aside, then he reached into a box and pulled something out of it. Jotaro couldn't quite see what it was. DIO plopped the item into the drink and was suddenly standing in front of Jotaro again.

"Your time here is almost up anyway." he said. He held the glass of wine out to Jotaro in the same way Star Platinum would hold out the glasses of water for him to drink.

"Before you go, have a quick drink with me." The menacing grin had returned to DIO's face as Jotaro looked at the glass. There was something weird floating in it. What did DIO put in there?

"You and I seemed to enjoy the same vintage as of late." DIO said with a secretive chuckle.

Jotaro noticed that familiar rusty metal smell again. He finally made out what was floating in the glass. It was a human eye, the exact same color as yours.

That time Jotaro awoke with a bellow of rage and horror that sent Star Platinum running to his side and trying desperately to calm him down. The plant squeezed his lungs as if to punish him for waking it up from its own slumber.

"Aaagh! Damn you!" Jotaro screamed at the plant. He turned his enraged gaze to his Stand.

"And damn you, too!"

Star Platinum had a brief look of surprise that faded to one of guilt. Jotaro knew. Somehow, he knew.

"What the hell was in that thermos you gave me earlier?" Jotaro demanded. He knew Star couldn't answer but it didn't matter. He knew the dreaded answer already.

"It was blood, wasn't it? You've fed me blood!"

Star Platinum's look of guilt was replaced with a forbidding glare, but the Stand did not respond.