Best Laid Plans

1938: Third Time This Week (And Its Only Tuesday)

Dawn found Dio sitting at the kitchen table musing over the events of the night before.

He'd insisted Smokey stay the night, the risk of him being arrested for just being in the same restaurant as the brawl too high for Dio's liking. Luckily, the three of them seemed to have escaped any sort of punishment for Joseph's actions.

After his call to Elizabeth, Dio had prowled the house, alert for any signs of danger. If what he had suspected had come to pass and Straizo had truly killed Speedwagon, then there was no doubt that he would make his way to New York to find Dio and Joseph. As much as it pained Dio to think of harming his dear friend, Straizo was no longer the man he once was. The Mask corrupted a person in ways that they could never come back from. Dio had no idea how he escaped its influence.

He'd had plenty of time to muse over the Mask's power, adding his own observations to the notes he and Jonathan had made when they had studied it together. In the last fifty years, he had barely made any progress in actually understanding the Mask's power. He's hoped that Speedwagon's expedition would be able to shed some light on the origin of the Mask.

Perhaps it would have been better to let sleeping dogs lie...

If he hadn't asked Speedwagon to go to Mexico, to investigate the hints that had been scattered through the books Dio had managed to find, Speedwagon would still be alive.

The dawn light crept higher through the glazed windows and Dio relaxed marginally. At least with the sun in the sky, Straizo's advance would be slowed by a few hours.

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Dio looked at the two boys standing in front of him

"I'm beginning to think that I should never let you two out of my sight again."

They shuffled their feet awkwardly, looking down at the floor. Dio sighed and paced across the room in front of them.

"Really! I should think that a vampire running around who most likely wants Joseph dead would be enough to have you home before sunset! And you," Dio turned a withering gaze unto Joseph. "Where on earth did you find a gun of all things?"

Joseph open his mouth to answer but Dio held up a hand.

"I don't want to know. I'd like some plausible deniability for when the police come knocking at my door."

Joseph looked thoroughly chagrined, though Dio doubted it would stop the boy from doing anything careless. And...Dio had to admit, he had managed to weasel some good information out of Straizo before the vampire had destroyed himself with his Hamon.

He took a deep breath, glancing quickly at his fingertips to make sure they hadn't grown into talons in his frustration.

"Smokey, I am sorry that you have been involved with this. It is, after all, a family matter. You shouldn't have been brought into this."

"With all due respect Mr Joestar, from what I've heard, this is a bit more than a family matter. All these vampires and stone masks and stone men...this seems more of a world matter."

Dio heard Joseph snigger a little, stifling it when Dio shot him a piercing glare.

"That may be Smokey, but you are still an innocent in this. You have no ties to Hamon or the Stone Masks—you shouldn't have been dragged into this."

"No offence, sir, but it seems like your tryin' to scare me away." Smokey met Dio's eyes. "It's a bit late for that and besides," he shrugged, "I couldn't just leave this all behind me knowing the world's in danger."

Dio sighed. He was brave—Dio would give him that.

He'll probably regret this in the days to come...If he ever wants to escape this, I'll do my best to ensure that he can live a life far away from this.

"Joseph."

The boy stiffened, lifting his eyes from the floor.

"Yes, Gramps?"

"This is the third fight you've gotten into in three days, young man."

"I—!"

Dio held up a hand, silencing him.

"And I thought a change of scenery would temper your violent ways...But I suppose there's nothing I can do about it. Every fight so far has been for a just cause—so I won't be unjust and punish you."

A brief flash of relief flitted over Joseph's face.

"Thanks a bunch, Gramps!"

Dio just shook his head.

"You're lucky your Hamon is as strong as it is...Now go! Put the kettle on and make some tea."

Joseph gave a mock salute and pulled Smokey into the kitchen with him. Dio shook his head fondly. Those boys would keep each other safe while he was gone.

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"Where ya going, Gramps?"

Dio wheeled around, Joseph's voice booming in the silence of the night. A few seconds ago the boy had been asleep in bed, how had he...? It didn't matter now—Dio was caught.

Joseph raised an eyebrow, a single candle lighting his face as he leant against the wall at the top of the stairs. "It's already past midnight. You wouldn't make it anywhere before dawn. Besides," he stepped down, moving closer to the front door where Dio stood. "You do realise Mexico is a desert right? Early sunrise and all."

Dio huffed, of course his idiot grandson was trying to save him.

"I would be fine, Joseph. I am much, much more powerful than you."

"Unless you got caught in an early sunrise," Joseph pointed out. "Though, maybe that outfit of yours keeps enough skin covered."

Dio sniffed. Why Joseph insisted on mocking his dress shirt and waistcoat, Dio would never understand. It wasn't as if anything Joseph wore could be described as fashionable.

"Seriously though Gramps," Joseph leant against the railing at the bottom of the stairs. "You know that. You taught me geography. So what is this? Some kind of suicide mission? We find out Uncle's alive and the first thing you want to do is throw yourself under the desert sun? Come on Gramps, we've been here three days. You can't go throwing yourself away!" Joseph finished passionately, uncaring that his volume might wake Smokey sleeping in the guest room just above them.

You can't leave me alone went unspoken. Dio knew that for as long as Joseph could remember, there had been two constant figures in his life—himself and Speedwagon. George had died and Elizabeth left long before Joseph was old enough to remember them and—as much as it pained him—Dio did his best to keep Elizabeth's existence a secret from the boy. For him to leave on what very well could be a suicide mission to find and rescue Speedwagon, Joseph would lose both of the people who had cared for him his entire life.

Dio smiled sadly. For all his bravado, Joseph really was still a child, not even as old as he had been when he had transformed. It wouldn't be fair to abandon him in favour of finding someone who might not be alive. But...

"Joseph. I understand where you're coming from, but..."

"You don't want to abandon Speedwagon."

Dio nodded.

"I don't either, Gramps. That's why I'm going to go look for him. Tomorrow." He kept talking, ignoring Dio's sounds of protest. "You stay here in case he somehow makes his way back here."

Joseph moved closer to Dio, the candle now on the hall table casting the room in an eerie, flickering light.

"Speedwagon's alive, we both know it. It'd take more than a puny vampire to kill him. We just have to find him before something else can."