The final battle to decide the fate of humanity has begun.

Two rays of compressed fluid shot from Jonathan's eyes, nicking Dio's left ear as he dodged to the side. This did little to stop his charge, though, as pain barely registered for either of them anymore.

Drawing on his past Hamon training, Dio forcefully dislocated his right shoulder to send a punch into the side of Jonathan's face. Not expecting a blow from such a distance, it struck him clean in the cheek and sent him into a wall. "Useless!" he cried as he jammed his arm back into place, pouncing towards his brother as he emerged from a pile of rubble.

While it was clear Dio's guile and ruthlessness far outclassed Jonathan's, the way he moved was evidence enough he was still adjusting to his immortality. That and the fact that he was currently missing a hand gave the Joestar a crucial opportunity to turn the tables even in his weakened state. Launching another pair of eye beams, he had to bet that his body could power through what he was about to do next.

Not even bothering to dodge, Dio took the blasts through the stomach and continued forward, the otherwise debilitating attack seeming like little more than shot from a water gun to his invulnerable body. Stabbing his fingers into Jonathan's neck and bearing down upon his legs with his own, he attempted to drink whatever blood might be inside him, silently wondering to himself about the ethics of vampiric cannibalism.

Though it was true he was trapped in this position, so was Dio after he wrapped his meaty hands around his arm. "Exactly as I thought you'd do!" Jonathan said, vaporizing the moisture within his own limbs and neck. The chill spread rapidly across Dio's arm, the blood inside freezing solid.

Dio let out a shriek as he attempted to free himself from Jonathan's iron grip. Even as a vampire himself, his brother was simply too strong. All his struggling managed to accomplished was ripping off his own skin that had stuck to the icy body parts.

While the pain was negligible at best, having his whole arm frozen solid and subsequently broken off would be rather inconvenient to say the least. In a fit of desperation, Dio slammed the side of his stump into Jonathan's head. Feeling the icy fingers loosen just a tad, he did it again, spurred on by the sound of skull cracking under his immense strength.

"Even if you crush my skull, I won't release my grip!" Jonathan yelled. Redoubling his efforts, he only held on tighter. This shattered a good deal of the muscles in Dio's arm, the limb almost entirely frozen through.

"Wretched fool!" he shouted in response, a hint of fear almost forming inside him as the frost moved closer to his shoulder. Cursing his own inexperience with these powers, Dio continued to beat Jonathan over the head with his arm, shifting his weight to further press down on his legs in the hopes of shattering his bones.

To his horror, however, Dio was forced to discover that their sharpened teeth weren't just for show. Blood sprayed from his arm as Jonathan sank his fangs into it, holding him in place from both sides. Locked into place and unable to do much of anything without further injuring himself, Dio was forced to call upon aid.

He'd hoped to have saved the zombies he'd created for another time, allowing them to spread through the city and feed on his behalf as he picked off the Hamon warriors, but Jonathan was proving to be too much trouble to handle along. Called to his position through mental commands, the shambling corpses of over two dozen Londoners began to flood the street.

"I'll admit you've taken me by surprise," Dio groaned. "But now you must ask yourself, JoJo: Will you sacrifice your friend in order to ensure my demise?"

Jonathan's rage only grew at this. Though it would mean freeing Dio, he had no choice but to save Speedwagon from the approaching zombies. Releasing his toothy grip on his brother's arm, he delivered a swift headbutt to the bridge of his nose. Ensuring his enemy was stunned, he tossed him to the side and rushed to his friend's aid.

"Back, monsters!" he commanded, chopping through one zombie's skull with his hand as he stood between the hoard and Speedwagon. "Not a single one of you shall lay a hand on this man!"

"Well said, Jonathan Joestar!" Almost half the zombies that had gathered to fight for Dio were cut down in that instant, discs of Hamon-impregnated wine tearing through their emaciated flesh. Baron Zeppeli gracefully descended from the rooftop he'd managed to jump to prior to his attack, seemingly waiting for just the right moment to make an appearance.

"I apologize for the wait," he said after taking a sip from the remaining wine in the glass between his fingers. "We'd gotten turned around on these twisting streets, so it took us a bit to make it here." The plurality of that statement didn't require much of an explanation, Erina deftly threading her silk rope around the necks of several zombies as she took to the battlefield, sending a blast of Hamon through all of them at once.

"You won't have to fight alone any longer," she said, reassuring Jonathan with a smile.

"Thank you," he said. "All of you." Though the damage across his body was beginning to add up, he was determined to hold himself together through sheer willpower alone if need be. He couldn't rest until Dio was defeated.

Dio himself used to commotion his zombies created to revitalize himself, feasting on the body of a man one of his minions had brought to him. "My thanks," he said to the creature, tossing the corpse aside and flexing his arm to shatter the frozen flesh and bone to allow new matter grew in its place. For good measure, he also tore off the zombie's forearm and fused it in the place of his missing hand.

"I'll tend to Speedwagon," Zeppeli said, using his Hamon to ease his ally's pain and help pull the shrapnel from his chest. "The both of you will have to occupy Dio until I can assist you."

"With pleasure," Erina said, gathering up her rope after finishing off the last zombie of the bunch.

"He won't escape us," Jonathan agreed, the two sharing a nod before charging forward. He threw a punch towards Dio's head with his right fist, the straightforward attack being caught with ease. This was to be expected, though, and merely an attempt to stop Dio's movements. "We have him!" he shouted.

Erina dove in next, wrapping her fist in her rope in preparation of sending an Overdrive straight into Dio's body. He caught her punch, as well, Hamon crackling as it began to pass up his arm. The vampire simply smiled, however, his arm taking on an icy appearance similar to Jonathan's from a moment again. "What?" she shouted as the bite of the cold began to affect her.

"If JoJo is capable of it, then so am I!" he shouted. He wouldn't allow himself to be surpassed by Jonathan in any way. Though his control was far from precise, it was more than sufficient to block the sun's energy passing through his enemy's attack.

Fortunately, Erina's quick thinking in using her rope to add extra heft to her fist allowed her to withdraw with only minimal damage, saving most of the skin on her knuckles and preventing the spread of frost up her arm. Her weapon was nearly frozen solid, though, making it difficult to use it for the time being.

Jonathan, though, was far less fortunate. With one hand free, Dio was able to deliver a swift jab into his unguarded right side. His ribs cracked from the force of a single blow, blood trickling from his mouth as the splintered bone stabbed his organs.

Though he attempted a counterattack, Dio merely ducked Jonathan's next punch while keeping a firm grip on his fist. Catching the planned knee to the face in his free hand, Dio pulled his brother forward by his hand before finally letting go and cocking his own arm back, unleashing a devastating blow straight to his solar plexus.

Jonathan went flying and smashed through the door to a closed barber shop, Erina putting aside her instinct to follow after and check his condition in order to grab a piece of wood out of the air. Filling it with Hamon, she hurled it towards Dio's head. While it was simple enough to stop the attack with an icy fist, it provided just enough of a distraction for the group's next action.

"Hamon Cutter!" Zeppeli yelled, Dio barely managing to evade most of the wine as it spiraled towards him. One of the blades was successful in cutting across his chest, the wound bubbling and sizzling as the Hamon tore apart a small portion of his flesh. Superficial as the wound was, it gave them hope that this fight could be won.

"Don't lose heart!" the baron told his comrades, Jonathan staggering out of the doorway to rejoin the Hamon warriors. "This monster can be defeated! Despite his claims, he's far from immortal!"

"Am I?" Dio asked smugly, ignoring the pain he felt to strike a mocking pose. "Then prove your claims, baron! Defeat the evil of the mask you loathe so!"

With a small chuckle, Zeppeli replied, "I'll do just that. I have family waiting for me to return to Italy. It wouldn't do to be felled by such a disgusting creature such as yourself and leave them behind."

With a terrifying, "Wry!" Dio tore apart his own tunic for seemingly no other reason besides intimidation. Tossing the last of his knives towards the group, Jonathan moved in front to bat them out of the sky, purposefully knocking one over his should for Erina to grab. Using his should as a step, she jumped into the sky and tossed the knife back towards Dio, naturally covering it with Hamon.

He merely turned his head to avoid the blade, though this proved to be a mistake. The second he looked back, Zeppeli had already closed the distance between the two, his fist traveling towards Dio's midsection. "Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!" he shouted, arm crackling in brilliant golden Hamon energy.

With both his hands, Dio caught the attack. It took all his vampiric strength to resist the blow, nullifying the Hamon with his ice. Though pleased at the look of pain upon his former master's face as his fist began to ice over, he realized he was still in quite a bit of danger as Erina delivered a flying kick into his right shoulder.

As glancing as this blow was, the Hamon stored within still blew apart a good chunk of flesh. Tossing Zeppeli forward by his hand, Dio kicked at Erina who barely crossed her arms over her chest in time to stop the attack from caving in her sternum.

They wouldn't let up, though. Even with both Hamon users thrown asunder by Dio, Jonathan still sent two eye beams through Dio's chest. Missing his heart by barely an inch, he kept up the attack and fired two more. These were dodged swiftly, their true purpose revealed as the meddling Speedwagon emerged from where he'd hidden himself away to drive one of Dio's discarded knives into his previously undamaged left arm.

Knocking the entirely ordinary human aside with the force of an elephant, he was immediately set upon by Jonathan who clotheslined him across the street. Dio's rage was building as he saw his enemies regroup once again, seemingly undeterred by their injuries and his obvious superiority. As his haughty veneer began to slip, Dio roared in fury as his eyes opened up to let loose the same attack Jonathan had been using just moments prior.

Dio's version was far less controlled, though it was difficult to tell whether this was the result of inexperience or sheer disdain for collateral damage. A continuous stream of the high pressure fluids cut through several builds and the stone streets below them as he swung his head in every direction. It was impossible to see while using the attack, but when everyone in the vicinity was his target, that didn't much matter.

Speedwagon was the first to succumb in the fight, one of the rays carving through his side like a hot knife in butter. Missing his most vital organs, the force of the beam sent him flailing into an alleyway clutching his bleeding injury. The others were barely managing to avoid the erratic attack themselves even with their enhanced agility.

Jonathan did the only thing he could think to do and used his own ocular attack. Ripping through Dio's left hand, his brother's gaze immediately snapped towards him, taking out a piece of Jonathan's shoulder before their beams met. Neither able to overcome the other, the attacks finally petering out after a few seconds with both rendered momentarily blind while their eyes refilled with fluid.

This proved to be of little use as Zeppeli's next Overdrive was deftly avoided by sound alone, Dio backflipping over the baron's strike from behind. A single second was all it took to remove him from the battle, as well, the vampire's sight restored mid-flight. The moment it was, he sent two more beams of fluid towards the baron, striking him in the back and severing his spine at the base.

His comrades could only watch in horror as the most capable among them crumpled to the ground, no longer able to stand against the monstrous Dio. Noting their shocked silence, he took the opportunity to gloat. "Do you see now? Nothing you do can possibly hope to defeat me, Dio. You're little more than ants struggling against a lion!"

"M-monster!" an unfamiliar voice said from behind him. Their attention turned to a pair of police officers who'd come to investigate the sounds of conflict and bright lights firing into the sky. As most would do after seeing a man leap well over ten feet into the air and paralyze someone with laser eyes, they began unloading their weapons into his flesh.

"Perfect," Dio mused to himself. "A light snack to help restore my energy."

"I won't allow you to-" Jonathan's attempted strike on Dio while his back was turned proved futile, his brother sending a kick behind himself directly into Jonathan's heavily damaged side without even bothering to look at him. As he fell to the ground beside Zeppeli, he could only watch in anguish as the hapless officers were drained of blood.

Slowly getting to his feet, Jonathan locked eyes with Erina. Both were running on fumes by now, the former unable to even produce another eye beam while the latter had the energy for one more burst of Hamon left inside her. Still, they weren't ready to give in just yet. They'd fight until their dying breaths to defeat Dio.

Using a variation of his hypnotic abilities completely on instinct, Jonathan telepathically shared his plans for a final attack on Dio. Erina's eyes went wide as she realized what he planned to do. While her heart fought against this action, she knew it was the only option left to them. Gritting her teeth and silently praying to whatever God may be listening, she gave a nod to signal her agreement.

"Now, where were we?" Dio asked after crushing the heads of both his meals. No sooner had he turned around did he see Jonathan attempt to shove his fingers into his throat. Overconfident as he was, he allowed this to happen, icing over the wound and his brother's hand before anything vital could be touched. "Did you truly expect this to work?" he asked with a chuckle. "Were you planning to drink my blood to restore your own strength? Pathetic."

Gripping the sides of Jonathan's head, he began to squeeze. "JoJo, this will be where it ends. I'll pop your head like a grape, then finish off the rest of the scum you've chosen to ally with. You will die knowing you have failed to stop me." With a smirk, he added, "Though if it's any consolation, I suppose I'll acknowledge you as a worth opponent."

"I wasn't..." he murmured, his skull beginning to give way to Dio's strength despite doing his best to stop it with only one free hand.

"Speak up, JoJo!" Dio commanded. "I want to clearly hear your dying gasps!"

"I wasn't trying to drink your blood," he said, eyes burning bright with determination.

Though he refused to lessen his power, Dio's interest was piqued by this admission. "Then what did you hope to accomplish?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"This!" Erina called to him. In a flash, Dio's eye moved down Jonathan's arm to a small loop of white silk tied around his bicep. Traveling down the length of the rope, he spotted both Erina and Zeppeli holding the other end. With a look of terror and fury, he realized exactly what they planned to do.

"Overdrive!" the two shouted. Pouring every last bit of Hamon into this attack, a massive wave of solar energy traveled up the rope. With all his strength, the vampire Joestar cut through his own arm just as the attack reached it, breaking free of Dio's grip and falling backwards.

No amount of freezing could prevent this much energy from entering Dio's body, the ice surrounding the fingers in his neck shattering as the Hamon blasted its way across the severed arm. "Impossible!" he shouted, this being the only thing he could think to say in this instance. Soon, he wouldn't be thinking anything, however, the attack carving its way upwards towards his brain. "This can't be!" he screeched. "I...am...Dio!"

In an instant, it was all over. With a bang, Dio's head was blown apart on his shoulders, neck still crackling and melting away from the Hamon coursing through his body. The four remaining warriors were too stunned to speak, disbelieving of their own success.

No matter how they looked at it, though, they had won. Dio Brando was defeated.

Holy fuck, it's over. They really beat that wily ass Dio.

Haven't written a chapter-long fight in a bit. Was thinking a lot about the best Dragon Ball fights for obvious reasons while putting it all together, so I tried to avoid ever setting it up so one side had too much of an advantage at any one time while making sure everyone got at least some contribution. Almost had Speedwagon whip out a bomb and shove it down Dio's throat, too. No one would expect that ending.

That ending, though. I'd actually thought it up about a day or two before I started work on this chapter. I wanted to figure out a way to get around Dio being kind of invulnerable to Hamon after he figured out freezing without, like, setting everything on fire again. Made sure it had that right combination of brute force, trickery, and self-sacrifice that would make Joseph proud of his grandparents.

Only one chapter left to wrap things up. What's Jonathan's fate going to be now that he's finally defeated Dio? Will he and Erina have a happy ending? Is Zeppeli going to be there to raise Mario and his unseen brother Luigi this time around? Will Dio somehow survive again?

Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember to not take your arms for granted.