Zeppeli's group plans to travel to London to investigate rumors of JoJo while Jack the Ripper tries to convince his master to give in to his vampiric nature.

"Zoom Punch!" Zeppeli shouted, his arm rocketing forward to strike Dio square on the chin. "Steady your breathing! Your anger only inhibits your ability to create Hamon!"

Ignoring the master's words, Dio quickly jumped to his feet and let loose a series of Hamon-powered punches in his natural booth boxing style, Zeppeli easily dodging each one with minimal effort. In response to his insolence, he was once again knocked off his feet by a jab to the gut.

Zeppeli clicked his tongue. "You're squandering your raw potential," he said with a shake of his head. "So long as you hold fast to that raging fire of anger, you'll never master this ability. You must temper it. Force it to work to your advantage."

He left Dio to wallow in the dirt catching his breath, walking to a nearby stream to check the progress of his other student. "How is her progress?" he asked Speedwagon, peeking over his shoulder to watch the seconds tick by on the watch in his hand.

"It's incredible!" he said. "She's been underwater for over five minutes! I've barely seen a bubble reach the surface!"

With a nod, he called her up. "Miss Pendleton, you can stop for now. There's an urgent matter to discuss."

Reacting more to the ripple of his foot as he touched the tip to the water, Erina let go of the stone she'd been using to weigh herself down and let her body float to the surface. She exhaled slowly for a good ten seconds before climbing out onto the shore. "Have you found JoJo?" she asked.

Dio approached the trio after hearing his brother's name, standing off to the side so as to not appear too interested. "I believe so," Zeppeli replied. "Speedwagon's associates have reportedly heard rumors of a man fitting his description in London."

Speedwagon nodded, a satisfied smile on his face. "He's allegedly been stopping criminals and other miscreants from harming innocents using otherworldly strength and speed."

"Then it's true!" Erina said. "JoJo's noble heart hasn't been corrupted by the mask's power!"

"It's possible," Zeppeli admitted. "However, I wouldn't jump to conclusions. I'd have to see for myself whether or not these rumors turn out to be more than hearsay." To avoid lowering morale any more than was necessary, he added, "But, looking at the facts, there may be a chance, however small."

"Then we'll be traveling to London?" Dio asked.

"Yes," Zeppeli said. "We'll need to find him before he relocates. Vampires tend not to stay in one place for too long, especially once their presence has been made known to those around them."

"Then we'll set out tomorrow!" Speedwagon said, hope burning bright in his eyes.

"Make no mistake, though," Zeppeli added. "If your JoJo has truly lost his way or – heaven forbid – there are other vampires to contend with, we may all face our doom. The both of you are still fledglings in Hamon, and Speedwagon has no way of defending himself against their powers. You all will need to come to terms with this fact before we leave."

Speedwagon chuckled, raising a fist proudly. "For Mr. Joestar, I would gladly walk through Hell itself!"

"As would I!" Erina agreed.

"And I, Dio, shall take responsibility for my brother regardless of danger."

"Please, master!" Jack cried, tears of genuine anguish falling from his eyes. "Allow yourself just one more meal!"

"I can't," Jonathan said, gripping the arms of a chair so tightly they splintered between his fingers. "I can't allow myself to lose control."

"But you require blood to survive! We've done so much good since you liberated me from my evil ways, yet you won't allow yourself the sustenance you need to live! Can't you feed on any of the people we've fought?"

He shook his head, the veins in his face and neck visible as his gum line receded around his sharpened teeth. "The men we've encountered were no saints, but they were committing crimes out of desperation. Our objective is to set them on a better path, not to kill without mercy."

He sighed, looking to Jack thoughtfully. "I apologize, though. This can be no easier for you, can it? A zombie requires flesh to live, so here." Without another word, he tore his arm from his body and tossed it to his servant.

"Master!" Jack wailed. "Please, I can't possibly! Don't harm yourself for someone as lowly and wretched as myself!" Despite saying this, he was undoubtedly hungry. His baser instincts began to get the better of him, eventually losing his wits and tearing apart the limb with his teeth.

"There's no need to worry," Jonathan said reassuringly. "It will heal in time. For now, you can simply be my other hand."

Having made short work of his meal, Jack knelt down in respect. "You truly are a great gentleman, Master Joestar. Compared to me, who wasted his life on treachery and villainy, there can be no compare. I'm truly grateful to have met you when I did!"

Though these words were touching, they did little to help the current predicament. As Jonathan shuddered in another wave of unholy hunger, Jack tried again to convince him to feed. "Master, if I could find someone as wretched as myself, would you feed? Someone who couldn't be turned to the side of good if given a thousand years of rehabilitation?"

This gave him pause, the pain and hunger reverberating like waves through his body. "Do you think someone like that truly exists in London?" he asked, the temptation creeping into his mind like a demon.

"Of course!" Jack replied enthusiastically. "There are any number of remorseless killers roaming the streets this very instant! They kill without need or reason! Liars, cheats, rapists, and more! The most reprehensible of society!"

"If...if that is true..." Jonathan clenched his teeth, regretting what he was about to say before it even came from his mouth. "Then I will allow you to find me one person. The most evil you can find who would never be swayed by the ideals of justice."

"Thank you, master!" he said with relief. "Stay here and I will deliver in no time! Steel your resolve until I return!" Without another word, the zombie leaped from the window, moving the curtain aside so as not to open a portal to the sun once day broke.

Despite needing it to stay alive, Jonathan still could not bring himself to feed on others. He'd lost control once since leaving the Joestar mansion and created Jack, not having the heart to kill the zombie who seemed to adore him like a child.

The only other option to living humans would be to steal blood from a hospital, but that was barely any better. Every drop of blood he consumed was precious life taken from a patient who could have used it. In the future, that seemed like the only thing he could do short of suicide. For now, though, he was far too weak to attempt such a strategy.

For now, he'd leave it to Jack, hoping and praying he didn't stray from the path of goodness he'd been set down.

Bit of a short one this time, but it's leading up to a longer chapter soon. Stay tuned for that.

If you can't tell, I've mostly given up on staggering my releases right now. Mostly because I just began a brand new series that's going to be quite long running even though that was a fairly bad idea given how many irons I've got in these fires right now. You should all still go read it, though. It's got Personas in it.

I'll take any excuse I can find to have Dio get his ass beat in here. He might not be a vampire but that doesn't mean anyone has to like him.

In addition to making Erina and Speedwagon more of the focus, I also want to explore Jack the Ripper a bit. He was kind of a nothing character originally and most media surrounding the actual historical figure either glorifies or mythologizes his actions, so I figured I'd flip the script and have him forcibly reformed and struggling to do good as a zombie. Should be fun to see what he gets up to.

That's all I've got for now. Next chapter will probably be in about 2.6 minutes given my current release rate. Thanks for reading. Tell a friend if you're enjoying this. Always remember to just rip your fucking arm off.