Having faith in his sweet sister's work was simple he, Dio, reflected; it was the waiting that he found troubling. He'd never mention it to his dear Alice, of course; she was a thoroughly practical woman, his sweet sister, and would hardly appreciate his fussing over things that could not, in the end, be helped. And so he, Dio, awaited the triumphant return of his sweet sister with as much patience as he could.

He knew that she would return in triumph; she'd certainly poured enough time into that fantastic armor of hers to make it proof against any of that fool Zeppeli's Hamon.

So, when he, Dio, heard the sounds of purposeful strides making their way back into the laboratory he'd stationed himself within, he rose from his seat with a smile. He, Dio, could hardly wait to hear of the ultimate end of his sweet sister's battle against that behatted charlatan that had been causing the pair of them so much trouble; not only during the course of their lives at the Joestar estate, but also having the sheer temerity to follow them to their new lives in Montana. Yes, it was true that the pair of them had departed for the state in an effort to draw the fool away from their holdings in London, but soon enough he, Dio, found that he'd come to enjoy the life that he and his dear Alice had built for themselves.

The sound of the door to his sweet sister's laboratory opening pulled his attention away from those useless, thoughts, and he, Dio, quickly hurried to meet his dear Alice at that very door. The sheen of her polished armor, mostly covered by the sunlight-reflecting white cloak she'd worn over it, tantalized him as she strode with serene, prideful grace into the very heart of her domain. She was radiant, wrapped in metal named for the very Titans of Greek myth, and he, Dio, thought it only fitting.

The Titans, after all, had bestrode the world before even the Gods themselves; and, if not for the impulsive foolishness of Kronos, they would have done so even after the arrival of the Gods. After all, as his dear Alice had demonstrated to him on so many occasions, the best defense against anyone rising up against you was to make them not wish to do any such thing in the first place. To turn their own hearts against them, and so weaken their blows before they could even think to raise their fists.

Truly, his sweet sister had taught him so very many lessons over the course of both their lives; not all of them so interesting as he would have wished, but each and every one of them useful in their own way.

Wrapping his arms around his sweet sister's waist as she stepped into the comforting shadows of her laboratory he, Dio, gently guided his dear Alice over to the armor stand that she had requisitioned once she had completed the cuirass of her marvelous armor. Reaching up to cup the point of his sweet sister's armored chin he, Dio, gently pressed his thumbs down upon the ingeniously designed latches at the midpoint of her armored facemask. Grasping the connections on either side of the seam – nearly invisible if one was not a vampire, or at the very least standing particularly close – he, Dio, squeezed them tightly together so that the latches would unhook from one another.

Once he'd finished with that necessary task, menial as it was, he gently peeled back the ribbed form of the helmet from his sweet sister's lovely head. Sparing only a moment to watch as the ribs folded neatly in on themselves – the folding helmet truly was an inspired design – he, Dio, smoothed the metal back down and away from his dear Alice's wonderfully soft lips, before he claimed those selfsame lips in a kiss that had been long overdue. Tempted to hungrily devour the precious offering before him he, Dio, was able to restrain himself before his sweet sister would have been compelled to push him away so that she could attend to the removal of her fantastic armor.

Giving her what aid he could – quickly edging aside Straizo before the man, useful as he'd been in his limited capacity, could lay even a single finger upon her – he, Dio, had no sooner helped his dear Alice to remove the last of her armor and display it upon the stand, before he found Straizo making his way back over to the pair of them. He and Alice spoke upon a small matter that was clearly of some import to the pair of them, and not long after that his sweet sister was cutting through the flesh of her right palm. After that, there was little enough that he, Dio, needed to reflect upon to realize just what price his sweet sister's pet Hamon user had asked in return for his cooperation.

It was rather amusing, however, to see the expression of tolerant exasperation that spread over his sweet sister's face when their pet Hamon user took her right palm in both of his hands and bent to drink from it; truly, the kind of adulation the pair of them were due had only ever seemed to draw a resigned sort of amusement from her. It was yet another reason that he, Dio, had determined to keep the gaze of the world from falling upon his dear Alice more than she wished it to do so. An owl, after all, did not hunt so freely in the daylight.

=PB=

She wasn't surprised when Dio requested an armor-set of his own, but she could tell from the expression on her brother's face that he hadn't been quite prepared for what the process of custom-fitting was going to entail…

"Unless you want to be scrubbing dried plaster out of crevasses you didn't know you had, you will," she said, in response to her sometimes-dope of a twin's smirking demands as to just why he should put on what amounted to a skin-tight pair of boxer-shorts after she'd told him to get the rest of his clothes off…

"Just how long will I be forced to stand here while this plaster of yours sets?" Dio, now fully immobilized by the plaster of Paris wrappings she'd been encasing him in to form the initial cast for the mold she was making, gave her his best kicked-puppy look as she stood back up from her work.

"About forty-five minutes for the initial setting; I'll be able to remove it safely then, but it'll be a good three days before I can actually use it," she said, eyes narrowed slightly as she remembered the times she'd worked with plaster of Paris back on that other Earth.

She'd once tried to speed up the setting process with a hairdryer, but she couldn't quite remember if that had worked or not; regardless, it was a moot point in any case.

"Sister, that's the better part of an hour," Dio moped, the kicked-puppy look on his face becoming all the more pronounced.

"Shall I fetch you a book, then, brother dear?" she snarked, remembering the way she'd had to talk Straizo through applying the wrappings to her…

"Well, I suppose I should be grateful I can actually sit through this," Dio pouted, arms folded across his chest the way her twin did when he was being particularly childish.

"What, you're telling me that the mighty vampire Dio Brando can't handle a chair?" she snarked back, smirking.

Really, you'd think she'd asked him to give up a kidney or something…

=PB=

After he'd become a vampire, immortal and ageless as the twins Dio and Alice Brando, Straizo had expected that his life would have been at least somewhat changed by his new status. However, there was clearly an ordered sort of routine to the workings of the Brando manor; something to be learned from observation. It also seemed that the estate itself was a center of learning and industry, not only for the surrounding county, but also for the state of Montana as a whole.

He'd not expected that a pair of vampires would have been capable of creating any kind of positive change in the world around them, though he suspected that such a thing was mostly the work of Alice Brando rather than her twin.

Even now, the family that had raised the pair of them as humans – those who had continued to allow them shelter even after the Stone Mask had irrevocably changed them – were inviting the two of them to return for the wedding of the human they still claimed as their brother.

"Would you mind looking after the manor while we're away, Straizo?"

"Of course not," he said, bowing his head to the vampire Alice Brando; though it was not in her nature to seek out gestures of supplication, she would accept them with the same grace as that which she had when she attended to her chosen duties. "I will see to it that everything proceeds smoothly in your absence."

"Good to hear," she said, nodding to him as she handed over the list she had finished making to one of the manor's servants. "I'm glad to know I'll be able to count on you, Straizo."

"Of course," he said, watching as Alice Brando turned to attend to her transportation.

True, it would be strange, finding himself in nearly sole control of the affairs of the Brando manor. And yet, if Alice herself was willing to trust him with such a responsibility after such a short, fraught acquaintance as theirs had been, then Straizo was going to do everything in his now-considerable power to see that such faith was rewarded. As would be only proper, after the boons that Alice Brando had granted him.

=PB=

Once the pair of them had said their farewells to the staff and Straizo, she and Dio turned and climbed up into the carriage that would take them to the train station. Their luggage had already been packed away for them – something she still made a point of thanking her people for, since she still remembered having to do that kind of thing herself – and now Alice was simply relaxing beside her brother as their driver took them to the train station.

"So, you are going to begin investing in those horseless carriages?" Dio asked, continuing the conversation they'd been having before they'd left the house.

"I've got a good feeling about them," she said, offering her brother an easy smile as their carriage continuing rolling onward toward the train station.

Dio didn't quite seem to know what to say in response to that, so the pair of them settled into a comfortable, anticipatory silence.

=PB=

Jonathan could fair believe he could hear his own heart hammering, when he and Erina had arrived at the large station where Dio and Alice's last train would ultimately drop his dear siblings off from their long journey. Of course, when he heard the sharp whistle of an in-bound train, Jonathan was swift to hurry toward the station platform so that he could be among the first to meet with Dio and Alice when they departed from the train. He wondered, for a moment, if they would be able to hear his heart pounding.

Perhaps they would, at that; Dio was certain to make mention of it, if such were indeed the case.

His heart swelled fit to burst, when he saw the tall, elegant forms of his siblings – umbrellas open to shield them from the sunlight that would have otherwise caused them grievous harm – making their way through the crowds that seemed to naturally part around the pair of them. Calling back to his dearest siblings as they both called out their own variants of his name, Jonathan hastened his stride to meet them.

"So good to see you again, Jojo," Dio said, grinning in that irrepressible way he always had; save for those times when his brother had been truly furious.

"I'm glad to see the both of you again, as well," he said, smiling warmly at the pair of them. "Please, do tell me what the two of you have been doing of late."

The pair of them shared one of those secret expressions of theirs – communicating without words in the way that Jonathan had wished on so many occasions that he himself had wished to be capable of interpreting – and then they smiled almost as one.

"Well, that's quite the story to tell," Alice said, as she and Dio took position on either side of him, draping their closest arm over his shoulders as the three of them fell into step with one another for the first time in entirely too long.

Hearing the pair of them talking about what had been happening lately – in particular, Alice's most recent confrontation with Mr. Zeppeli, and their peaceful contact with the other Hamon user, a man named Straizo – Jonathan had found himself with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was pleased that Alice had been able to resolve the situation with Straizo peacefully, but he could not avoid the thought that her method of warding off Mr. Zeppeli had only delayed their inevitable confrontation.

Jonathan hoped that such would not be the case, but he'd seen first-hand how devoted Mr. Zeppeli was to his own ideals; it was a quality he would have admired, save for the fact that he knew just Mr. Zeppeli's ideals were.

It was something of a trial to refrain from sighing, but as he'd no desire to worry his dear siblings, Jonathan restrained himself as well as he was able. The three of them spoke of matters of little import while they boarded the ship that would carry them back to England, and Jonathan felt a distinct warmth growing in his chest as he realized just how well Dio and Alice had managed to establish themselves in the burgeoning state of Montana, as well as the fact that – discounting Mr. Zeppeli's determination to harm them for what amounted to no good reason at all – his siblings had managed to create a peaceful life for themselves in America.

I was planning to suggest that we travel to the States for our honeymoon, Jonathan reflected, smiling gently as he watched Dio and Alice settling themselves into the suite he had purchased for the three of them to stay in. Perhaps they would be amenable to hosting us. Making up his mind to ask the pair of them about such a thing once all of them had managed to get properly settled in, Jonathan answered the door and swiftly took charge of the porters as they brought in his luggage, alongside that of Dio and Alice.

He was pleased; even considering everything that had happened to them, his dear siblings were going as well as he could hope.

=PB=

The wedding was nice enough; not like she'd much of a basis for comparison, but everyone in attendance seemed happy, so that was something. The ceremony itself had been fairly elaborate, but again she didn't have much in the way of a basis for comparison. Acting as Erina's Maid of Honor had been rather an interesting experience, and watching Dio strutting around in his capacity as Jonathan's Best Man was good for a laugh, at least.

The four of them had made arrangements to stay at the Brando estate in Montana, after the requisite journey by boat to New York so that they could catch a train, and Alice could readily admit that she was looking forward to just such a thing.

"Come on, Miss Alice, they're getting ready to throw the bouquet!"

"Poco," old George called, before Alice herself could have said anything. "I don't think that would be advisable."

"What? But, why not?"

"Unfortunately, Poco, I happen to be married to my work," she said, smiling as she gently disentangled Poco's hand from her own.

The pair of them shared a laugh, and even old George Joestar seemed to lighten up a bit, at least once he knew that she wasn't going to be heading out to catch any bouquets.

After all of the festivities were over and done with, Alice met up with Dio again, and the pair of them boarded the carriage just behind the heavily-decorated – she was almost ready to say over decorated – one that Jonathan and Erina had boarded, and the pair of carriages rumbled off toward the docks.

=PB=

When he, his sweet sister, and their adorable newlywed fool of a brother had all boarded the ship that would carry them back to New York once more he, Dio, grinned contently at the prospect. Straizo might have been fully willing to give himself over to his dear Alice's gentle guidance, but the pair of them were in complete agreement as to their preference: the pair of them would be a great deal more settled once they were returned to their own estate. And, even after everything, the thought of that was still enough to bring a smile to his face.

True, establishing themselves – even so well as they had, back in their Montana holdings – was, in and of itself, just one small step to their ultimate goal of reining over Heaven and Earth alike, but it was a step that he, Dio, thoroughly relished.

"Mind your head, Jojo," he said, ducking smoothly underneath the threshold of the door that served as both an entrance and exit to the forward deck.

"What? Ouch!"

Sighing in good-natured exasperation he, Dio, turned back around. "Honestly, Jojo, what am I going to do with you?" stepping back over to his and Alice's adorable little puppy. "And look, you've managed to do yourself terrible harm with that blow," he grinned, just wide enough to show the edges of his fangs. "Shall I kiss it better?"

"Dio!" Erina exclaimed, making her own presence known in a way that even he, Dio, could hardly ignore. "If anyone is going to be kissing Jonathan's wounds, it shall be me."

Grinning at the admonishing expression on Erina's rather adorable face – truly, she and Jojo suited each other rather well – he, Dio chuckled at the color spreading across Jojo's cheeks. "You still blush like a peach, Jojo."

"You aren't going planning to lick me again, are you?" Jojo asked, seeming as adorably flustered by the thought as he had been that time after their first boxing match.

"Would you enjoy that, Jojo?" he asked, grinning widely enough to show his fangs.

"Dio Brando, you are a terribly brazen man," Erina admonished, stepping slightly in front of Jojo so that she could chastise him with her right pointer finger in his face.

Grinning fit to show all of his fangs he, Dio, kissed the tip of that finger.

"Well, since it seems that I'm not wanted here, I shall be taking my leave," and thus, with another grin full of fangs he, Dio, turned to leave.

Perhaps he would pay a visit to his dear Alice; he'd heard she was working in the kitchen…

"If all you're going to do is hang around and try to eat bits of frosting when you think I'm not looking, could you at least try to restrict yourself to the colors I've already used?"

"Oh, but I so rarely get to have chocolate buttercream frosting," though he knew the gesture was useless he, Dio, attempted to wheedle just a touch of his sweet sister's luscious frosting.

"You're a big boy, Dio," his dear Alice said, her tone tolerantly amused. "You can wait to have your dessert with the rest of us."

Sighing deeply as he turned to leave the kitchen where his sweet sister was doing her good work he, Dio, made his way out. Apparently, he would have to find something else to occupy his time…

Grinning as he peered through the grate, into the engine room below he, Dio, fixed his gaze upon the long, slender crate that seemed to have been presented solely for his personal amusement. The crate itself looked enough like a casket for his purposes, and his vampiric abilities would serve to allow him to disguise himself as a corpse well enough to fool anyone who wasn't a member of his family.

He didn't have to wait long, after twisting himself through the gaps in the grate, before he heard the sound of muffled footsteps making their way over to the crate. Grinning in the darkness he, Dio, quickly arranged his features into a serene mask and waited. Soon enough, the human who'd been scuffling around in the engine room had opened the crate. Interestingly enough, it seemed to be a priest, if the recitation of the Last Rites he was hearing was any indication.

"That was quite kind of you to say," he said, allowing himself to grin as he sat up during the space of one of the human's blinks. "Thank you."

=PB=

The sound of Dio's laughter was what caught his attention at first, but the sound of another person shouting in panic was what ultimately decided his next course of action. Jonathan knew that, for all of his brother's fine qualities, if the opportunity for a bit of mischief were presented to him, he was not of a kind to refuse such a thing. Catching a glimpse of his brother through a grate in the deck, Jonathan turned his path toward the engine room.

He'd seen Dio there, sprawled elegantly across a long crate that looked enough like a coffin that Jonathan hardly had to guess at what he'd just been about.

When he arrived in the engine room at last, Dio had stopped laughing, but was still sprawled across the crate with a self-amused grin on his face. And, when Jonathan stepped into the engine room itself, he found that Dio was still chuckling.

"Hello, Jojo," Dio greeted, a grin like the Cheshire Cat firmly in place; even upside-down, it was plain to see.

"Dio, what've you gotten up to now?"

Before his brother could have thought up anything to say, however, the sound of shattering wood drew their attention. He wondered, even as the pair of them dashed off to find the source of the sounds, just what it was that Dio was hearing. His brother seemed far more tense than usual, but before Jonathan could say anything, the pair of them had arrived at the dining hall. It was a battlefield: the shattered remains of tables and chairs littered the floor, and ranging around the middle of the room were-

"Bastard! I'll kill you!" Dio snarled, launching himself heedlessly toward Mr. Zeppeli, even as Alice hurled yet another table at the man's head.

Pausing for only a moment to gather Hamon into his fists, Jonathan threw himself into the fray a few paces behind his brother.

Jonathan was able to block most of the Hamon-filled wood shrapnel that Mr. Zeppeli threw at his siblings, but one particularly large chunk – clearly broken from one of the tables that Alice had thrown at him – exploded in his face. Temporarily blinded, his breathing too erratic to produce Hamon, Jonathan found himself knocked to the thickly-carpeted floor. He heard a grunt of pain from Alice, followed by a nearly feral scream of rage from Dio, and so he forced himself back to his feet.

Blinking away the spots from his eyes as he worked to regain control of his breathing, Jonathan abruptly found that such a thing was no longer necessary. Mr. Zeppeli was quite thoroughly dead, having long since bled out from the sword-wounds Dio was continuing to inflict even as he watched.

"Dio!" he called, after having gathered the slumbering form of Alice in his arms. "You've won! Please, we should attend to Alice now."

He eventually managed to convince his and Alice's brother not to raise Mr. Zeppeli as a zombie, and together they were able to bring Alice back to the room that he shared with Erina. It was no burden, offering Alice the blood she needed to revive and heal, and when Dio embraced him from behind it only strengthened his resolve all the more. They were his family; he could hardly do less.

~Phantom Blood: End~