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Jonathan Joestar It was night time by the time the group had returned to the tunnel, with Jonathan having stopped by Anco and Poco's abode to trade farewells. And so, they set off through the somewhat damp and lightless tunnel that apparently stretched out for miles. "It'll take some time to return to London from here -- the last time I came through this path, it took me nearly half a day of walking." Jonathan says, supplying an answer to any who might be wondering just how long this path truly was. It also significantly cut down time that would have been spent trecking through the mountainous entry into the Lot.

The heavy metallic rustling of his ringed armor mingling with their footfalls echoed on for an eternity down the tunnel. His eyes kept flicking towards Josuke, in a troubled manner. It seemed that he didn't know how to ask the question boiling inside his mind.
Josuke Higashikata     Jonathan wasn't the only one that seemed troubled about the events of the day. Josuke had a frown on his face too. He had to tell Jonathan the truth, and warn him what would happen. But what would happen to this world's timeline? Would he cause more harm than good? Wasn't it worth it to be able to stop the second coming of Dio, and prevent the people Dio killed after his revival from dying?

    But how did one even begin such a conversation? He couldn't just start 'oh hey, I'm your descendant's illegitimate son and you're going to get body-snatched by Dio'. That would be weird. Then again, the events were pretty damn weird anyway. Maybe there wasn't a way to begin the conversation that wasn't completely bizarre!

    He is conflicted, to say the least.

    And it's clear on his face too -- the frown is there, and as he walks, he has his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders are slouched. He looks very much like the delinquent he passes himself as most of the time. But at least he has no complaints about walking through the recently-fixed tunnel.
Alexis Maaka     Maaka has definitely noticed resemblances between Josuke and Jonathan. She's not going to bring it up out loud, but it's certainly eye-catching how they seem so alike. Keeping a hand on the pistol holstered at her hip, she's alert and watching for trouble in this dark tunnel, her eyes on night vision. Otherwise, she's silent and doesn't do much aside from keep in step with the others.
Haguro Haguro has been rather quiet during the trek back to the tunnel, not entirely due in part to Jonathan being a lot more... British than she expected. It certainly contributes, but the real issue is the potential lineage issues between Jonathan and Josuke. If they're both here, then...

     Oh, she's not trained to make heads or tails of this sort of thing. still, trying to defuse any awkwardness can't hurt, and the cruiser claps her hands together after another awkward moment. "S-so! Um... Mister Joestar. What... Um. Is all that armor useful? It looks cumbersome, so there must be some... Erm. P-purpose for it?"
Priscilla     In fairness, Priscilla is never really loud and/or boisterous, even on long trips. Walking around for days, if not weeks at a time, is how she had spent something like a year of her time in the Multiverse for a while, and most of it was certainly much worse than a dank and depressing, but otherwise safe, tunnel. Half a day is small beans. Barely even long enough to get a good, meditative auto-pilot going.

    Of course, she's also not wearing seventy seven heavy metal rings on her person. She notices that much. "And thou didst so wearing such an ensemble? Impressive. I had wondered how a man of thine supposed profession had becometh so well built, but I supposeth now it was always within thine best interests. Such practical experience is good for thee." Haguro may have possibly prompted her to speak for the first time on this whole way back. "Then we art possessed of time, it wouldst seem. More than enough to discuss the nature of this place, and thine relation to it."
Jonathan Joestar Jonathan's eyes, somewhat adjusted to the dark, glances toward Haguro momentarily. He supposed it shouldn't be that surprising a question -- his Armor of Rings didn't appear very orthodox even by the standards of this time and truly, that was in large part due to the fact it wasn't meant for combat. "Windknight's Lot, back in the dark ages, was renowned for a trial called 'The Challenge of Seventy Seven Rings'. It involved a battle royale between seventy seven knights in the valleys leading up to Windknight's Lot, they'd have to fight eachother to the death to obtain one of the heavy metal rings the other Knights possessed and then continue onwards. The purpose of the rings are to burden the Knight in question, making their next task all the more difficult, as they ventured through rivers, gorges and mountains battling under that strenuous weight. There were only five who were ever known to complete the task in all the hundreds of years it was held."

    Jonathan looks sheepishly to the side.

"I had no seventy six other opponents to battle, so I thought it'd be nice training to make the trek to and fro the Lot wearing the entire armor set. Besides that, my Hamon conducts excellently through metal, so for me, this armor is less a bulwark and more so barbed wire for the enemy."

Disapprovingly, Jonathan frowns at Josuke's poor posture. Deciding on whether or not to bring up their seemingly shared lineage right now was perhaps not quite the best idea, Jonathan continues to march forward. If the near three hundred pounds of steel and iron bearing down on his body bothered him, he didn't seem to show it.

Priscilla's question was given a somewhat confused look in return. "The nature of this place? Windknight's Lot...I see." Clarity. "I suppose you'd be curious, after seeing that Castle. Did you know? In the past, the tyrant Elizabeth lived there. She claimed it when she executed Mary Stuart and seized the Royal Throne. I have to wonder if that blood stained history is why Dio chose to take residence there, half a year ago."
Alexis Maaka     "Given how much of a sick fuck this Dio was, it wouldn't surprise me." Maaka muses at last. She can't help but admit, going to and fro with that kind of armor looks pretty effective for working out. She can appreciate an intense training regimen, even if she herself doesn't need it. Makes good mental discipline, though.

    "So, hate to pry, but you never really explained the history with this Dio. Sounds like you two have something more than 'grr, he's a bad guy I must vanquish him'." She finally asks.
Josuke Higashikata     Haguro's words draw Josuke's attention, and he looks to her. Then to Jonathan, really NOTICING the armor this time. He nods. "It... does seem kinda heavy. Seems like, you'd have to balance out how much mobility armor makes you lose with how much protection it gives, right?" Not being a knightly type, Josuke isn't sure that's how it works. But it seems reasonable.

    Josuke looks to Priscilla at her words. "You guys know each other?" Looking between her and Jonathan. He's not aware of any connection, since he's not a member of the League. Jonathan's explanation of the reason he's wearing the rings gets a blink. "Wow, I can see why. Only five... including you?" Since Jonathon doesn't seem too bothered by it all.

    On the bright side, hey, Josuke's straightened up, so his posture isn't horrible. Still got his hands in his pockets, though. Brat. And there is Maaka, bringing up Dio. There is a visible tension that enters Josuke's posture then, tightening his shoulders and back. Yup. That name causes a reaction. But he looks from Maaka to Jonathan, wondering about it. He only knew about Dio's hand in his having a Stand, not how things got started with Dio.
Haguro Haguro's eyes widen in surprise when Jonathan explains the purpose behind the eccentric-looking 'armor', looking more like some kind of odd gimmick rather than something that would actually be useful in any way. "That's rather... Extreme, isn't it? Although someone who could suceed in such a task /would/ h ave to be a rather powerful warrior..."

     She hums lightly to herself. "... Or clever. But even completing all those tasks without fighting would have to have been an ordeal. Still, that could be..." She trails off while murmuring to herself, a thoughtful look crossing her face while she continues along the path. Priscilla's comments draws an intrigued hum from the cruiser, and she starts looking over the ringed armor once more. "Maybe... Did you have those rings made by someone?"

     She may have just figured out a new method of training.

     "If you have enough armor and good aim, you might not need much mobility." Haguro responds to Josuke, and then a troubled frown crosses her face. "Although... I-I guess that really only applies if you have a way to fight at range. If all you have is a close range weapon, then... That would be more important, wouldn't it?"
Priscilla     Priscilla may or may not be mentally writing this down. "Interesting." she says in response to Jonathan's description of the challenge, surely not thinking at all that this sounds like exactly like something that would be both fitting for future champions of Anor Londo, and incredibly entertaining to watch. Surely. "It is a shame, perhaps, that thou couldst not challenge it in the usual fashion, but I admire thine dedication to upholding the tradition in some spirit or another."

    Oh, and she finally gets to talk to Josuke. Truth be told, she isn't terribly impressed with that quasi-delinquent posture either, but not her world, not her circus, not her monkeys, etc. He had been helpful on the way here, and seemingly had good intentions (and not excessively poor manners). "To an extent. In brief, Sir Joestar present is a colleague of mine, in matters of Multiversal business. It is a common relation of a sort shared by several who had cometh looking for him."

    "I cannot say I was." is her truthful response to the history of the castle. "I am not deeply informed on the history of Earth, I must admit. It wouldst sound a fitting place for a newer tyrant to seek his throne, but certainly, what community remaineth at its foot couldst not be all so important as the former queen."
Jonathan Joestar He chuckled lightly. "No, I'm not among those numbers. I never got to take the challenge proper. And, these rings -- they're the last set used. I found them in my last ...expedition, into the Castle. They were worn by Bruford, the last man to complete the challenge."

Jonathan's expression goes through a series of metamorphosis, from grief to anger and finally, a stoic and somber look that bordered somewhere between sadness and iron clad determination. It was strange, how a single question could cause such a tide of emotions. Silence pervaded the tunnel for several more moments that, eventually spawned into minutes, before he was able to form the words he needed. "Dio was...an adopted child of the Joestar family. When I was too young to remember, our family carriage slid off of a cliff one rainy night. My father mistook Dario Brando, a corpselooter, for a savior attempting to rescue us. He...even stole mother's ring, right off her dead body."

Of course, Jonathan hadn't known about that until he was a grown man. But it was easy to see how Dio could hate having a father such as Dario. Even Jonathan felt ill towards the man, and he'd never met him face to face except perhaps that once, as a child too young to recall. "Eventually, he was killed and out of a desire to help his son none the less, Father adopted Dio into our family."

Jonathan skipped a large portion of the events that followed. "We never really got along as children, you see. One time, I was so furious with him that we beat eachother until he was in tears. I suppose you could say that moment was where the nightmare began, when his blood hit Mother's Stone Mask that had been left mounted to the foyer's wall, it released its thorns. We'd both witnessed it and, as I grew, I poured my life into researching that mask."

He didn't feel the need to subject them to his reasons for studying it, or even for becoming an archaeologist. It was irrelevant to the question asked, after all. He had to focus to keep his emotions on track. The more he recalled, the more his heart trembled in betrayed anger.

Jonathan took a moment to calm himself, before momentarily switching subjects. "As I said, the Challenge took place at Windknight's Lot. Even those who could not complete it were venerated and buried within the graveyard...and, even the competitors who were victorious. I have no doubt that corrupting the remains of History's Greatest Knights brought Dio no small amount of pleasure, as well."
Josuke Higashikata     Josuke nods to Haguro's assessment. She has a point! "Like a turret -- it doesn't move, but it's really powerful," he replies. "Though... my Stand is short-range, so I have to make do if an enemy's trying to play keepaway. So it would be a really big hindrance to me. But I guess it's like using weighted training gear, right? If you can do something passably with lots of extra weight, you can do it even better when you're not carrying all that weight."

    He looks to Priscilla as she answers. "Oh, right. Coworkers?" Excuse him if he's a little bit too interested in finding out. Jonathan is an ancestor, and someone that Josuke knows is in danger. He wants to make sure that as many of the people around him would be willing to help as possible.

    And then Jonathan's mentions that he didn't actually take the challenge. "Oh. Well... it's still a good way to train," he offers helpfully, with a smile. But then he sees it. The play of emotions across Jonathan's face... Josuke is paying attention there.

    And then there's some history on Dio, history that Jotaro hadn't told him. "That... makes a lot of sense..." he observes quietly. Keeping his gaze forward, he ventures, his voice still in that low tone, "The mask... that's what made him into a vampire, wasn't it?"
Alexis Maaka     "Invite the Devil in your home, and this is what you get." Maaka shrugs. She can't help but get closer to Jonathan, before patting the nobleman on the arm in sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear, regardless. Had no idea it was like that. I know how it feels, having issue with siblings and all." She says, clearly speaking from some sort of experience for a given definition of 'siblings'.

    Technically fellow people either volunteering for the augmentations, or just flat out criminals who wanted a way out of being prosecuted for war crimes. None of them good people in the end.

    Perhaps not even Maaka herself.
Haguro Haguro gives Josuke a nod in confirmation, one of her own turrets moving briefly just to emphasize his point. "That's right. Still, just being able to move in all those rings if they really weigh as much as you said... Even throwing a rock would be devestating. And being human, no less..." She looks Jonathan over a few times before clearing her throat awkwardly and looking off to the side, suddenly going quiet again.

     It's not like she was checking him out or anything. He's /British/, after all! Thankfully, the mention of Bruford seems to have Jonathan occupied well enough, and the shipgirl finally gets her bearings back together to listen intently once more.

     "This Dio person sounds rather... Um. Unpleasant." Haguro shifts about uncomfortably as she continues traversing the tunnel, even checking her armor and turrets once over just to distract herself for a few fleeting moments. Eventually, however, she gathers up enough willpower to speak up again. "So... Where is he now? Did you come here to find him again?"
Priscilla     "I see. I had wondered, in particular, why the remains of the myriad corpses discovered within the castle were universally armed and armoured, especially by means not of this age. I had seemed an odd theme, and unlikely that one wouldst go through the effort of doing so himself. Indeed, the remains of skilled warriors wouldst be the ideal forces of such manner of evil." Priscilla speaks with the kind of tone that communicates she is more displeased with the disrespect towards honourable knights than the whole 'shambling zombie' thing. "Certainly, besting them with thine companions not long ago couldst be considered a worthy test of skill."

    "And what is it thou found of this mask, then?" she then asks. "I had only some vague sense that matters regarding this Dio were personal to thee. Dost the artifact remain in thine possession?"
Jonathan Joestar Jonathan's frown intensifies. "I don't know where Dio is," he answers honestly. "I came back to make sure nothing else had taken residence in the Lot while I was away, and..to reflect, I suppose. It was rather enlightening. As for the mask...."

Jonathan paused, before continuing from his previous exposition. "Dio and I were raised, as brothers. But, even so, he attempted to poison our Father just like he'd done to his own. I managed to gather a witness and a cure for the poison at Ogre Street with the help of my friend, Speedwagon. And that night,,somehow Dio knew ... he knew more than even I did what the Stone Mask was capable of. Even having spent the better part of my life studying it, I hadn't learned terribly much about its function. I knew its history, that it had been used in ancient Aztec rituals of human sacrifice. I knew that it pierced the brain in specific portions, pertaining to the the brain's control of the nervous system and other bodily functions. But I could never have imagined that it would turn men into monsters. He murdered Father and used his blood as the Mask's catalyst, transforming into an immortal vampire."

While he did not say it outright, considering the little bits of information Poco and Anco shared, it was very likely that the large number of deaths that occured at the Joestar estate when it burned down were because of this event, Dio's transformation. "He took the mask with him, both that night, and again when he fled Windknight's Lot. I have no idea where he is now, but I cannot help but search restlessly for him, before he hurts anyone else."

He knew that Dio had likely already killed again. He needed fresh blood to salve wounds created by Hamon and direct sunlight. But despite this, he couldn't give up -- not when even more innocents were on the line. At least, this conversation seemed to have distracted him enough that he didn't notice he was being eyed up.

Standing around six-foot-four, Jonathan was built with broad shoulders and buldging muscles, there wasn't even an ounce of visible fat on his person. If there were a human that could come close to the supposed physical perfection of Adonis, it'd probably be someone built a lot like Jonathan.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Miss Maaka, but thank you for your condolences. I have to ask though, Mister..Higa..shikata, yes? How is it that you know about Dio and, as well, that birthmark you have...I have one identical to it."
Alexis Maaka     It wasn't easy to make Alexis Maaka look scrawny, at her height of six feet and strong, lean build. Yet, Jonathan does exactly that, the muscular nobleman looking more at home in a Grecian art piece than real life. One has to wonder what the hell his workout is.

    She nods, accepting the sympathy in turn. "Yeah, uh, you seem to know a lot about this Dio bloke so far." muses Maaka, glancing to Josuke with a cocked eyebrow.
Josuke Higashikata     Josuke looks in Haguro's direction, and he nods. As if trying to cover her slip, he replies, "Yeah. That's a lot of weight for any normal person to figure out how to move in, much less do any kind of strenuous activity with. Like you said, even throwing a rock would be hard, having to compensate for all the weight."

    Maaka's words get a frown. "He's... well, what I heard, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his own ambitions," he adds. "But... I admit, I only know what Jotaro told me. Though he's probably qualified to talk about it..." And here's the kicker...

    "...He was the one who killed Dio."

~ B a n g ! ~

    Figuratively speaking, anyway. But there's the bomb dropped. Considering Jonathan's from THIS era, and Josuke is... quite plainly not. But one might ask. If Jonathan was the one who did away with Dio... how did Jotaro, ostensibly someone from a similar time period as Josuke, end up having to kill Dio?

    Josuke doesn't actually know anything about the mask. He might be able to call the Speedwagon Foundation and find out, but not at the moment. Phone reception didn't go that far. So he's interested to hear the answer to Priscilla's question too.

    Jonathan begins to explain things better, and Josuke hears a name he recognizes. "Speedwagon? That's... um... Robert?" he asks. The foundation's pretty well-known in his time, but he hasn't had much to do with them so far, wanting to avoid the whole 'Joseph Joestar's illegitimate son' thing. It's awkward, and he doesn't like causing trouble in families. Unfortunately he can't help it this time...

    When Jonathan seems to have trouble with his last name, he offers, "You can call me Josuke if you like, Mr. Joestar." Pause. And then as Maaka also asks about Dio, Josuke sighs a bit, his shoulders slumping. "...I guess it's time to admit it..." Josuke says. Some might expect him to admit he's not really related to Jonathan. Or something like that. Maybe that his hair is a wig?! But no, this is something else.

    Josuke draws himself up, faces the group. He's about to drop a second bomb, figuratively speaking. "Dio... is actually the reason I have a Stand." He looks to Maaka, "You've seen it before, haven't you? Crazy Diamond? That was Dio's doing." Then he focuses on Jonathan for a moment, a serious look on his face. "Your grandson is my father. Dio came back in the 1980s. He was more powerful, because... he had a Stand. The same thing I have. It was his curse -- everyone related to the Joestars developed a Stand. My... halfsister, Holly, she couldn't control hers. And I got sick. I was four, and I got a horrible fever. My father, his grandson, and some of his friend and allies went to kill him, and Holly and I recovered."

    He continues, "I didn't know any of this until recently, when... my nephew came to tell me. But there's a reason why, when Dio got a Stand, the rest of us with Joestar blood did too, even if they couldn't control it..."

    And then he locks his gaze on Jonathan again.

    "Because when Dio came back, it was with your body, with his own head attached."
Haguro Good save, Josuke! Now Jonathan won't have to realize that his gigantic self is being stared at too much by a ghost boat. "Hmm... Maybe he could even use the rings as weapons, too. He mentioned it being like barbed wire due to... Hamon, was it?"

     Stands, Hamon, vampires, ringsuits, and self-performed head transplants? It's starting to get to be a little too much for Haguro. Good thing the story of Jonathan's past and his ties with Dio have Haguro's attention on that instead. She frowns once more, although mostly out of sympathy and concern over the story itself rather than disgust over the mask, although the mask itself is rather awful to hear about as well.

     "I see... We might not know where he is now, but... But I'm sure we'll find him sooner or later. And when we do, we'll be prepared." The cruiser taps on her wrist turret while trying to puff up a bit and look vaguely intimidating, but she may also be trying a little too hard and just looking like someone that's mildly constipated.

     "At the very least, we can make sure he doesn't do whatever happened to... Erm. G-get your body. The fact that you're here means..." Haguro trails off, another troubled frown crossing her face. "Perhaps... Mister Higashikata is from a different timeline? I mean, it's already strange enough that you two would be related considering that he's Japanese and you're... British." A pause, and then she starts getting flustered. "N-not that there's anything wrong with being British! I've worked with several British ships before, s-so... Ah... I'm sorry!"

     There it is.
Alexis Maaka     Josuke explains...and he drops -multiple bombs-. "...wait-What. Who?" She looks between Jonathan and Josuke with no small amount of confusion, as she rubs her temples. "Augh...time travel, should've expected this sooner."
Jonathan Joestar It took several moments for Jonathan to weave through what Josuke was saying, as he was saying it. So then, this young man was from...the future? A parallel world, perhaps? And he was descended from Jonathan. To be more specific, he was Jonathan's great grandson. But to have been four while his grandson, and his grandson's grandson were battling Dio, didn't that seem wrong? The ages seemed a little convoluted, but maybe Josuke had been born late. His own father was in his fourties when Jonathan was born. More importantly -- mind shatteringly, even. Dio....

        Had stolen his body...

Jonathan's hand clamped over the star shaped mark on his neck, hidden behind cloth, chain and plate. They said that certain marks on ones body had magical attributes; according to Wang Chan, Dio's thrice-moled ear was a mark that represented devilish luck. And the mark on Jonathan's neck supposedly embodied an inescapable destiny.

The shock on his face was clear. He'd stopped moving entirely, stuck in that odd pose. Is that how his confrontation that night would have ended? Even though he'd cut off Dio's arm? Even though Dire had gouged out his eye?

And what's more, Dio had brought forth his evil a hundred years into the future. If not for the dimensional boundaries collapsing, then...he would have failed. ..No, stopping to think about it, he knew that Erina wasn't pregnant before he left for Windknight's Lot. Something didn't add up here.

        "How?! How did he..."
Josuke Higashikata     Josuke looks to Haguro. "My mother is Japanese. My father's British. Well... he was born there. I think he's a naturalized American now," he explains. Which would probably explain why he is also roughly the size of a small mountain, though still slimmer than Jonathan. Josuke isn't huge, he's just huge compared to the average Japanese teenager. He's big for a Japanese adult, and he's only a teen yet. Meaning he might still have some growing to do. Yeesh! "But I'm absolutely sure," Josuke replies. "The birthmark is the same, and Jotaro said that anybody from the Joestar line has it."

    Maaka gets a nod. "Exactly." Pause. "Well. Kind of. Um... I think we're from different... 'copies' of the same world. Mine is just later along the line. I don't really understand how things like that work in the Multiverse. But I'm sure he's the right Jonathan Joestar."

    Jonathan's expression says what Josuke figured it would. Hell, even Josuke didn't understand it. But he knew it was true. So he nods. As Jonathan stops walking, so does Josuke, turning to face Jonathan. It's important to him that his ancestor sees his face here, the grave look on it. Important that Jonathan could see his eyes, so he could tell that this wasn't just some weird fairy tale that Josuke was making up.

    "I was born in 1983, Mr. Joestar. Around that time, someone pulled up a casket that Dio was inside, and let him loose," he further explains. his eyes close, and he huffs out a breath. He's confused too! His voice is quiet when he speaks up next. "...I know I'm taking a big chance here, and this might screw time up. And I know that... just ending up here in the Multiverse can already change things massively. But Dio... he killed so many people when he came back in the 1980s. If there's even a chance that I can help save those people, that's a chance I'm going to take...!"

    Anybody who's following all this -- which granted, might be very few -- might be able to pick something up. Josuke seems willing to compromise his own counter-world existence as he knows it, to save lives. If Dio never steals Jonathan's body, Josuke will never develop a Stand. Or Holly, or Jotaro, or Joseph. But maybe they won't NEED to, since Jonathan's dealing with Dio might be permanent this time! And all those people who died in the 1980s... when THIS world comes around to it, maybe they won't have to die!

    ...So maybe Jonathan and Josuke AREN'T that different, despite the difference in their appearance, if he's willing to sacrifice so much of himself to try to save others' lives. But even with that, he hasn't cleared up the age mystery either, and why the ages seemed so off -- how could Josuke's NEPHEW be old enough to fight Dio, while Josuke himself was only four? Though he did give a very small clue. Holly was his half-sister, he said. So he only shared ONE parent with her...
Haguro Haguro doesn't notice right away when Jonathan slows to a stop, moving along for several steps longer before noticing that some footsteps have already stopped behind her. Peering back, she notices that look Jonathan is giving Josuke, and she takes that as a cue to...

     ... Shuffle over to the side of the tunnel. Josuke and Jonathan appear to have a lot of things on their mind, so the shipgirl's not going to interfere!
Priscilla     Time is convoluted indeed. Priscilla will be thankful to never see any kind of alternate version of her world. Once was enough.

    "Then he is in possession of an artifact capable of creating more like himself, yes? Hath he no intent to do so, then? Doth he yet still rely upon its power?" Practical questions. "Do not concern thineself overmuch with what wouldst hath been. Contemplating potential pasts and futures is pointless now. Though it is oft disconcerting to see such a window into one's future as if it had been unaltered, their very cooexistence in the Multiverse renders such an inevitability impotent. Thou need not search on thine own."
Jonathan Joestar Jonathan had to give Josuke respect where it was due -- despite the consequences that could occur from what he was saying, he still told Jonathan none the less. It was hard to say whether or not he'd still have his abilities, or even if he'd be born if Jonathan knew what would happen in advance. Though neither were aware of it, Erina even going to America with Joseph had been because of Jonathan's death. With only painful memories in Europe and the only person who could support them, Speedwagon, being in America, there hadn't been any other option. Jonathan's death, in a way, had shaped the lives of every single one of his descendants in a very tangible way, like falling dominos. Even so, Josuke took the chance in the hope of saving more lives in the process. It was commendable. ...Even if he had awful posture and less than stellar etiquette.

Everyone present recevied a look of determination, and gratitude, from Jonathan. "..Yes, I suppose that's correct. Whatever the case, things changed the moment my world was slung into the multiverse. As for the Mask, I don't think Dio relies on repeated useage for his abilities, but I'm not sure. Its possible that he's found a way to vampirify others without the mask, or maybe he uses it on some of his minions. Bruford and Tarkus weren't zombies; they were vampires, also, but they were also..weaker than Dio, in some ways. I'm sure it was because they hadn't had as long to experiment with their bodies as Dio had, however."

Maybe if he hadn't of been smacked with such a bombshell, he would have noticed the slight clue in Josuke's words. But it seemed that would be a shock for another day.
Josuke Higashikata     Josuke nods to Priscilla's words. "Your world joining the Multiverse has already changed it," he agrees. "Even if it had come to the same situation that caused the trouble in my version of this world, you'd have had more people with you then, I bet. And they wouldn't have let Dio steal your body. Nobody wants that to happen. And if we can keep it from happening, then we might be able to keep Dio from coming back."

    Notably he's said 'we'. Dio has sort of been a thorn in the side of pretty much every Joestar in Josuke's world. So he's not about to let Dio ruin ANOTHER world, even if it's an earlier version of his own, and changing it could change things in ways he couldn't see. Hopefully it wouldn't break anything. But keeping Dio from killing all those people has to be worth it!

    He listens to Jonathan regarding the mask. He really needs to ask Jotaro about that mask, see if there's any information about it in his time. He didn't know any other vampires from any world like his. He'd never even met Dio, in fact, despite that particular vampire being so important in his development and becoming the young man he is today. And he realizes that's... definitely something he needs to remedy. Other worlds may have their own versions of Dio, and it was important that he try to help.

    Suddenly he gets an idea. "...Know what?" he begins. "I could call the Speedwagon Foundation in my world, see if they know where our version of the mask is, if it's still around. Or if it's not, make a copy of it. Then you make a big deal about having found the mask, and plant information about the location of it. I bet that'd bring Dio running!"
Priscilla     "There. That is the proper attitude one such as thee shouldst possesseth, Sir Joestar." Priscilla says with some satisfaction at seeing Jonathan gather himself together. He looks better with that kind of expression, she thinks to herself. Nothing is more sad than seeing a muscular gentleman of fine manners and strong arm looking shaken and despondent.

    "Not only is it truth that events themselves hath changed simply by virtue of unification, but it is truth that thou now hath access to powers and expertise well beyond the scope of whatever was intended to be possible. No unbroken time can accounteth for such factors suddenly introduced. Thou hast mine personal guarantee, that shouldst we deal with this Dio, I shalt maketh sure he rises never again. I hath mine ways."
Jonathan Joestar Speedwagon foundation? Jonathan look notably confused at the name. "I..suppose?" It seemed he really didn't know how to respond. He didn't know what it was, but it sounded rather important, even if strangely named after his friend. Perhaps Speedwagon had a stroke of luck and had some big group named after him? Either way, Josuke had more than he did, a plan to draw Dio out of hiding. It might work, and it was better than nothing.

        "Thank you, everyone.."

Jonathan started walking again. "I don't know why, but when you say that we can vanquish him for good -- I feel like I can believe you. ...Dio, we'll stop him no matter what. That's the power of working together, right?"

It felt strange, knowing he had living relatives, even if from another timeline. Maybe he should pay them all a visit? Though, if they're up in the years, that might not be such a great idea..
Josuke Higashikata     Josuke isn't sure what 'ways' Priscilla has to make sure Dio doesn't come back. But he's grateful. "That means a lot to me too," he says quietly, to Priscilla. "Unchallenged, Dio stands to cause a lot of trouble, kill a lot of people, ruin a lot of lives. And I don't know what's going to happen now... because so does Dio -- he has access to more power and allies than he did injust this world alone, too. But if it can be stopped from happening? Well, I'm all for it."

    He nods to Jonathan, figuring there was some confusion there with 'Speedwagon'. "It was probably founded by, or in honor of, your Speedwagon," Josuke offers. "Though I'm not quite sure which. They're mostly environmental conservation and medical research, I think. But they also study paranormal stuff, including vampires. My nephew's on their payroll, I think. And he's a really strong Stand user."

    As Jonathan speaks to the confidence hearing that he has allies gives him, Josuke smiles, a broad, bright grin. "That's the spirit!" he encourages. "Working together, with people who have powers from outside, there's no WAY you can lose!"

    Josuke hopes, anyway...