Erina investigates the news of Jonathan's alleged murders and meets a certain man with all the answers.
"Please answer me!" Erina shouted as she pounded on the doors to the Joestar mansion. "Someone, please answer!" After several more minutes of knocking so hard she thought her hand would break, the doors finally opened to reveal the injured form of the man who'd assaulted her all those years ago.
Her confidence refusing to waver even when faced with such a deplorable man, she immediately demanded answers. "Where is JoJo?" she asked him.
"I can't say," he replied. "More importantly, why has some random woman found herself at my doorstep commanding me, Dio, to reveal my brother's whereabouts?" He squinted for a moment, chuckling as he began to recognize her. "Oh, my mistake. Erina Pendleton."
"What those papers are saying can't be the truth," she declared. "JoJo would never kill anyone! Let alone his own father!"
"Alas, but it is," Dio said, doing his best to appear genuinely heartbroken by this. "My brother, he...he simply went mad. I can't explain how it happened, but he killed our father and one or our servants in cold blood. I have the injuries to prove it, as well." He gestured to his arm in a sling.
"You're lying," she said, having seen right through Dio's act. "Somehow, someway, you're responsible for this. I can tell."
He scoffed, turning up his nose at her. "Believe what you will. Kindly remove yourself from my property, Miss Pendleton. I'm very busy." Slamming the door in her face, Dio returned to the empty mansion to brood in darkness.
Erina paced around the fountain in a huff, trying to think of anyone she could turn to for answers. She'd already used her connections at the hospital to meet with the coroner, confirming that the corpse with its head crushed was indeed that of Sir Joestar. Beyond that, the only person she could think of was Dio, but he wasn't talking.
"Excuse me," a voice said. She turned to face a tall man in a bowler hat leaning against a tree not far off. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with that bastard in there. Were you a friend of Mr. Joestar, as well?"
"I believe so," she said cautiously. "And who might you be, sir?"
"Robert E.O. Speedwagon, miss." He tipped his hat to her with a smile before growing deathly serious. "You were right before. This is entirely Dio's fault."
"Then you should talk to the police!" she told him. "Show them the proof and help clear JoJo's name!"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid there's no proof to show, Ms. Pendleton. Evil as he may be, that Dio Brando is a clever one. He set all this all up almost perfectly. I'm one of the only people who knows what really happened that night."
"Then you're saying it's hopeless?" she said, unsure as to whether she should feel angry or despondent.
"Not at all," he replied with a smile. "While I don't know all the details myself, Mr. Joestar is alive and working to clear his name as we speak. I'm sure he'll return soon!"
"He's alive?" she asked, hope growing inside her. "Then we should go to him right this instant! He may need our help!"
"I offered, but he declined. I haven't seen him since that night, so there's nothing we can do for him but pray for his safe return."
"Surely we can do something," Erina said. "Standing around and waiting for him to come back to us...I've never enjoyed the thought of that. Isn't there any way we could be of use?"
Speedwagon thought for a moment, but shook his head once more. "If there is, I don't know it. All I've done is keep watch over the Joestar manor to ensure it still waits for him once he's learned to manage his affliction."
"Affliction?" she asked, Speedwagon realizing he'd already said too much. "If he's been afflicted with something, then I could certainly help."
"I'm afraid what this man is 'afflicted' with can't be cured by modern medicine," another voice said. A man in a white suit and checkered hat approached the pair. "Unfortunately, whoever your friend may have been is long gone now. He is nothing but a monster."
Almost immediately, Erina slapped the stranger on the side of his face. "Jonathan Joestar is no monster!" she yelled. "Apologize for your slander this instance!"
He stood in stunned silence for a moment before recovering, picking his hat up from the ground and dusting it slightly before placing it back on his head. "I apologize for the distress I've caused you, miss, but I'm afraid what I've said is true. I will make one correction, however." He placed his hand in front of his face before moving it to the side. "Your friend is no monster, but the beast created by that devilish mask most certainly is."
"You know of the stone mask?" Speedwagon exclaimed.
"Indeed, sir," he replied, giving a courteous bow to the both of them. "My name is Baron Will A. Zeppeli. I have dedicated my life to eradicating that mask and the creatures it creates from this Earth."
"You're going to kill JoJo?" Erina asked in distress. "There must be some other way!"
The baron shook his head. "Impossible. A vampire is a creature of evil that feeds upon the blood of the living. Something like that can't simply be overlooked no matter what kind of man it used to be."
"But I met with Mr. Joestar that night," Speedwagon said. "He recovered from his thirst for blood! He was as just and kind as I remember him before he left!"
"Then why did he leave?" Zeppeli asked the two, receiving no response. "Regardless of what you may have seen, there was undoubtedly a war raging inside Mr. Joestar. I'll concede it does seem like he has the strength of will to resist the mask's temptation for a time, but he knows that pull will win out eventually. If you truly love your friend, the best course of action will be to end his suffering."
"But..." Speedwagon and Erina couldn't fathom the idea of putting Jonathan down like a rabid animal. Both of them held a great love for the man despite what he'd become, holding out hope that he could somehow be returned to his natural state or otherwise pacified without killing him.
"I realize this is hard for you to accept," Zeppeli continued, "but I'm sure the man inside that monster would understand."
"How do you plan to do it?" Speedwagon asked, both in interest of finding his methods and to hopefully confirm it to be as humane as feasibly possible. "I saw his strength up close. A normal man wouldn't stand a chance."
The baron smirked, walking between the two. "With this." After inhaling as deep as he could, he lunged forward at alarming speed to strike the hidden Dio in the stomach. The initial shock of the moment subsiding, both Erina and Speedwagon found a bit of joy in watching him doubled over in pain.
"Let the air out," he commanded, Dio sputtering and cursing in the dirt. "This is the power of Hamon energy!" As he declared this, Dio's arm began to crack and twist, righting itself back into his shoulder and restoring him to full health.
Flexing his arm and tearing a brand from a nearby tree to test his strength, Dio turned back to Zeppeli. "Is this some kind of witchcraft?" he asked in a mixture of wonder and contempt.
"Merely a breathing technique," he said. "I noticed you hidden from sight here, so I figured you would like to hear my explanation up close." As Speedwagon and Erina hurried over to join them, he continued. "By striking this man's diaphragm and forcing the air from his lungs, I helped him to generate some Hamon of his own. This cured his injured shoulder."
"But what is Hamon?" Erina asked, mystified.
"Hamon is the energy of life," Zeppeli told her. "Humans can naturally create it through proper breathing, but those who know how to harness it can perform amazing feats. This is the weapon we have against the undead." He pointed his hand to the sky. "The energy of life! The very energy of the sun itself, coursing through our bodies!"
"In truth," he said, "I did not come here simply to console you over your loss. I came seeking help. No matter how close I've come over the years, the stone mask has always managed to slip away from me. If I had others by my side now that I've closed in on it, maybe things could be different."
He pointed to Dio. "You, young man, have great potential. I fear you lack the discipline to properly train your Hamon, though."
"You can't be serious!" Speedwagon exclaimed. "This man is pure evil! Worse than any of these vampires you've found! How could he have the potential for a power so great?"
"Silence," Dio commanded, intrigued by this talk of mystical energies. "If you're requesting my help, then you needn't worry about my discipline. I have just as much reason to destroy this creature you're seeking as you. He murdered my dear father, after all."
"You scoundrel!" Speedwagon said. "Baron Zeppeli, please! If you require anyone's assistance, call on me!"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I can tell just by looking at someone whether or not they have the potential for developing Hamon. Unfortunately, you do not. I'm sorry."
As Speedwagon grit his teeth in frustration, it was Erina who stepped forward next. "Then I shall offer my aid in Mr. Speedwagon's place."
Dio attempted to speak derogatorily towards her for even suggesting she could stand beside him, but Zeppeli cut him off. "Possibly..." he said. "Yes, it's possible. I see a fire inside you, young lady. With the proper training… Yes, it's true!"
"Then it's settled," she said. "Please, Baron Zeppeli! Teach me what I need to know to master this ability! I only request that you let me try to save JoJo before we're forced to end his life!"
Dio chuckled, uttering, "Useless," under his breath. "Regardless of whatever nonsense this woman is saying, I believe I'll accept your training, as well. Until my brother can be brought to justice or proven dead, I've been unable to complete my inheritance. I'll gladly put an end to his rampage for both my sake and that of the world."
"Very well," the baron said with a nod. "I shall train the both of you in the art of Sendo. Together, we will destroy that stone mask and free your friend from his torment."
"You should never have come out this late, harlot!" the man shouted, ready to bring a knife down into the throat of a screaming woman. Before steel could meet flesh, though, his arm was stopped. He tried to tug free, but the hand holding him back was like a vice clasped around him.
Tossing the woman aside, he looked over his shoulder to try and identify the person responsible. "Who do you think you are?" he asked, his arm snapping like a twig in response.
As he lay screaming in pain on the ground, the figure spoke. "You're the one they call Jack the Ripper, correct?"
"So what if I am?" he said through clenched teeth, scrambling for his knife on the ground.
"You are a truly evil man who has committed many atrocities across London. You've done nothing with your life but hurt the innocent and afraid. You are worthy of being my prey."
"What the hell does-" Before he could speak another word, a finger was forced into the center of his skull, blood draining out of his body.
Whipping out another chapter only a couple days after the last one because I'm literally the best author to ever live, proven by science conducted by scientists in a laboratory.
Like I said last time, Erina and Speedwagon aren't getting left behind/on the sidelines in this one. They're both going to be pretty important to the way the story pans out if it goes how I'm planning. Erina especially since she's learning Hamon this time.
Zeppeli's taking a very lesser evil approach here by training Dio. Hopefully that doesn't backfire on him. At least they'll have three Hamon users to fight the vampire this time.
Jonathan's given in and started drinking blood, but so far he's resolved to only feed on people that are truly evil as he tries to find a way to control himself. Do you think he'll be able to stick to it?
I never have a lot substantially to talk about with this. I've usually got a whole separate chapter full of bullshit down here on my other stuff, but never this. Thanks for reading, either way. Always remember to jab Dio in the solar plexus.