A reborn Jonathan wreaks havoc at the Joestar mansion.
"Mr. Joestar!" Speedwagon cried, choosing to put aside his apprehensions and rejoice at the sight of his friend come to save his life. Strangely, he did not reply, too focused on the squirming Dio in his hand.
As Jonathan raised his free hand towards Dio's face, his victim managed to free himself with a powerful slash from the knife he held. Severing the Joestar's hand at the wrist, Dio fell free and jumped backwards. "What kind of monster have you become, JoJo?"
Though initially taken aback at the hypocrisy of someone like Dio calling anyone a monster, Speedwagon soon caught on to what he meant. Despite blood pouring from his open wound, Jonathan barely reacted to the attack. A quiet, "Wry," escaped his lips as he bent down, calmly picking up his hand and forcing it back onto the stump.
Opening and closing the hand a few times proved it worked as if it had never been cut off at all, a sight that made both living men's blood run cold. Thinking quickly, Speedwagon took the chance to escape and jumped over the railing back to the first floor. Though he stumbled at the landing due to his wound, Jonathan was far too preoccupied with Dio to try and follow him.
Whether it be a simple thirst for blood or anger at his attempted murderer, Jonathan was began to move towards Dio once more. In the blink of an eye, he dashed towards his brother. Attempting to replicated Speedwagon's escape spared Dio from the full force of the attack, merely dislocating his shoulder as he was hit with a glancing blow that flung him through the railing and onto the ground.
Jonathan slowly turned to look down at Dio, the latter thinking only of how things could have gone so wrong. Rather than reflect on his selfishness and evil deeds, he continued to blame the Joestars for all his misfortune. His plan was foolproof, he thought, but that meddling JoJo must have ruined things once again. Not even death seemed to be able to stop him this time, which begged the question of how he could possibly win this fight.
"I said move!" Speedwagon yelled, still gripping his chest as he shoved members of the Joestar household's staff towards the front door. He realized far too late that this outburst would draw too much unwanted attention from both Jonathan and Dio.
Dio was the first to move, running into the crowd to use the servants as human shields. Jonathan wasn't far behind, though, stepping across the hole in the railing and falling straight down to crack the flooring before continuing his pursuit at a walking pace.
"This is horrible!" Speedwagon screamed. "Dio, you bastard! Aren't you a man? You'll kill all these innocents just to prolong your own life? Coward!" Just as he said this, Jonathan had descended upon the crowd, shoving his fingers into the neck of a butler without even thinking as he walked through the group.
Finally understanding the strange man's warning, the staff went into a frenzy as they ran in different directions to try and escape the demonic wrath of their former master. Speedwagon was forced to flee in the same direction as Dio, quickly catching up to him due to his injuries. "This is all your fault!" he yelled, wanting nothing more than to trip him and allow Jonathan to exact his revenge in the hopes that would put an end to the nightmare.
While he would normally conjure some sort of witty retort to this, Dio was far too busy trying to think of some method of escape. He clutched his right shoulder as he did his best to run despite a slight limp, wracking his brain for even the slightest hint for salvation. Heading up another set of stairs, an idea finally dawned on him.
"I'm sorry for this, Mr. Joestar!" Speedwagon said, jumping to the top step with a twirl to send his hat spiraling towards the vampire. Similar to their first meeting, Jonathan caught the blade in his forearm, continuing forward as if he didn't even register its sting.
At this point, he was simply following Dio in the hopes he had some kind of plan. His hatred may have burned brighter by the moment, but the fact remained that he had no one else even approaching the status of ally in this fight. This seemed like the only chance he had of surviving this terrible night.
They ran through the mansion pursued only a few steps behind by Jonathan, obviously feeling there was no reason to rush his vengeance. Speedwagon did his best to yell words of warning throughout the mansion, most of the staff having fled upon hearing the initial screaming from downstairs.
"That's it!" Dio proclaimed upon seeing a certain door deep within the mansion. Bursting through with his good shoulder, both he and Speedwagon ran inside. "Father!" he yelled. "Something terrible has happened to JoJo!"
Just as he said this, Jonathan himself appeared through the doorway, whispering another quiet, "Wry," as before. Speedwagon urged the doctor in the corner of the room to run, a command he quickly followed.
"What good will a sick man do us?" he asked, Jonathan approaching the two as they stood on either side of a speechless George Joestar.
"Father, please!" Dio cried. "Try to reason with JoJo! You're our last hope!"
"Dio, I..." He looked from one son to the next, utterly perplexed as to what had happened since he first began to hear noises coming from down below. Unsure of what to do or say, he simply asked, "JoJo, what are you doing?" followed by a terrible cough.
Too crazed with bloodlust to even register his father's voice, Jonathan continued his advance. "My son, speak to me! Whatever is troubling you, let me help you!" Closing in on his target, a hand was extended by both the Joestars; George's to comfort, while Jonathan's to kill.
All attempts to communicate fell on deaf ears, Jonathan plunging his fingers into soft flesh to begin the process of drinking his victim's blood. Speedwagon let out a horrified scream upon seeing this. "How...how could you do this? Dio!"
It was not his brother who he'd attack but his own father. Dio's true gambit was not to have their father reason with the berserk JoJo but to use him as fodder, having pulled him into the path of the attack at the last second.
Getting his fill of blood helped to clear Jonathan's mind. That combined with the shock of what he'd just done was finally enough to snap him from his trance. Realizing what he'd just done, he withdrew his fingers and cradled his father's emaciated body in his arms.
"Father, I..." His heart restored, anguish unlike any he'd ever felt before began to overtake Jonathan. "How could I have...why did..." He looked to Dio, then to Speedwagon, then back to his father's body. Beginning to weep, he cried out, "Father!"
"JoJo, you've killed him," Dio said. "You've killed our father. How do you intend to make amends for this?"
"This is your fault!" Speedwagon shouted. "You're the true culprit behind all of this! The poison, that stone mask, and Mr. Joestar's actions after being transformed into this beast!"
"Oh?" he replied, a sinister smile already spread across his face. "There are more than enough witnesses to say I am but a blameless victim. JoJo murdered a man in cold blood right after throwing me from the second floor and delivering that horrid wound to you. Now he's killed our father."
Seething with rage, Speedwagon knew he was right. "I doubt the authorities would believe some convoluted tale of a stone mask turning a man into a monster. Whatever may have caused my dear brother to do these things can be determined in court, but the fact remains it is entirely his responsibility." He chuckled. "You needn't worry, though. I'll be sure to arrange the best legal representation available for his defense. He is my brother, after all."
Their conversation was interrupted by a sickening squelching noise from off to the side. Horrified, the two found Jonathan covered in a small amount of blood and brain matter, George Joestar's head crushed to pieces between his hands. "It's for the best," he said weakly. "I can't say how I know, but if I did not destroy his brain, our father would have met with a fate far worse than death."
Standing up, Jonathan turned to Dio, fury emanating from every pore of his body. "You shouldn't be allowed to live," he said.
"Is that what our father would say, JoJo?"
"Do not dare to mention my father!" he shouted, eyes glowing a terrifying red. Despite this outburst, though, he knew he was right. No matter how things had come to be, the last thing Sir George Joestar would ever want would be for his beloved sons to kill one another.
Using ever ounce of willpower he had in his undead heart, Jonathan left the room. "Mr. Joestar!" Speedwagon said as he tried to follow behind. They left the mansion as rain began to fall, leaving the carnage and heartbreak behind.
Despite his desire to support his friend even now, Jonathan did not allow Speedwagon to accompany him to wherever he was headed. "I am a monster," he said. "You are a man, and a brave one at that. Brave men slay monsters, not befriend them."
"Monster or not, you still have the heart of a true gentleman, Mr. Joestar!" He couldn't help but begin to cry. "Where will you go? How will you survive? You'll be a wanted man forced into exile while a usurper is awarded your birthright! Please, the least I can do is help you!"
He shook his head. "Somehow, I'll find a way to avenge my father. Not as a blood-crazed beast, but as Jonathan Joestar. Until that time, however, I must walk alone." He reached out his hand, Speedwagon quickly taking it in his own. "Thank you for all your help, Speedwagon. I won't forget you." With that, he disappeared into the night.
As Dio would soon discover for himself, so did the stone mask that started all of this.
Kind of surprised how much attention this got. Guess people are hungry for this kind of story.
Sometimes I'm kind of apprehensive to keep up with this style of dialogue since the declarative comic book-style screaming everyone does in Part I can get kind of awkward. Then I just read some old ROM comics and decide to throw in some more exclamation marks for fun.
Surprisingly not much to say after all this. Story kind of speaks for itself, I guess. Going to get cracking on the next chapter soon since I like where this is headed. Prepare for the appearance of our new main character. Thanks for reading. Always remember to kill Dio even if it's not gentlemanly to do so.