Best Laid Plans

1938: Phone calls

It was a lovely afternoon, the last golden sunlight of the day trickling in through the glazed windows in the lounge room. Smokey was still in the study, reading, as was his habit at this time of day. Dio sipped his tea, reclining in his armchair, listening to the sounds of the house. Smokey's breathing, the rustle of pages being turned, the wood settling—sounds he was becoming increasingly familiar with as he grew accustomed to the house.

A piercing ring echoed through the house, startling him. The hall phone was ringing. Frowning slightly, he went to answer it. As he picked up the phone, he saw Smokey poke his head out from the study and then—satisfied the phone had been answered—return to the study.

"Hello, Dio Joestar speaking. How may I help you?"

He wasn't expecting a phone call, but only a handful of people would be calling him.

What is the time difference between here and Italy?

"Dio." Elizabeth's voice crackled down the line and Dio felt a mild surge of panic. Elizabeth did not sound happy and given that she was one of the last Hamon users in the world, he did his best to stay on her good side. "Care to explain to me why my son showed up on my doorstep this morning, Caesar Zeppeli in tow?"

Dio raised his eyebrows.

"Joseph?"

He'd known that there was a chance that Caesar Zeppeli would lead Joseph to Lizbeth but he'd assumed Speedwagon would have let her know in advance. Speedwagon was on his way back to America already, surely he'd have given her at least a warning. Unless... Dio had a sudden memory of the call he'd gotten from Speedwagon a few days prior.

Oh dear...

"Joseph? Yes, Joseph! I only have one son as you very well know! I told you to keep me updated! How on earth am I supposed to know things if you don't tell me!" Elizabeth raged at him and Dio was very glad there was an ocean separating him from his niece.

"Lizbeth...I am sorry." He heard her huff. "Truly! I was even reminded and I forgot to call you. Between organising the new house, my research and teaching...it...slipped my mind."

Elizabeth harumphed, but she seemed less aggravated. She'd known Dio her whole life and could recognise when something had genuinely slipped his mind.

"So, a student? Seems we've both got our hands on some of those," Lizbeth smoothly redirected the conversation.

"Indeed," Dio said dryly. "Though if your training methods are as harsh as the ones you went through yourself—I worry for the survival of yours."

Lizbeth laughed.

"They'll be fine. Joseph is my son after all and Caeser has been through worse. What poor person is being subjected to your teaching methods?"

Dio raised an eyebrow. All the tales he'd heard of the hellish training regimes of Hamon users made him doubt anyone had been through worse—he wouldn't be surprised if they were currently being forced to climb an oil-slicked pillar with only their powers. It wouldn't even be the worst training Lizbeth would put them through, he was sure.

"My teaching methods? Do you have a complaint about the quality of your education?" Dio teased.

Elizabeth laughed and Dio let the conversation flow from there.

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From then, Lizbeth's afternoon calls became more frequent. She kept him informed on the boys' progress and the developing situation with the Pillar Men, though she was missing details herself.

This continued for several weeks. Dio spent his days teaching Smokey and trawling through his notes for anything related to the Stone Masks that he might have missed in the years following Erina's defeat. He met with little success in that regard. However, he succeeded greatly in the first. Smokey was an intelligent boy with a hunger for learning. When Dio wasn't instructing him on one matter or another, the boy was devouring the books in the library as fast as he could.

January dragged on and was much warmer than Dio had expected having spent so much of his life in the English countryside. Much like London, New York was much warmer than the surrounding regions due to the dense population. Dio took advantage of the cooler weather and shorter days, often leaving the house in the afternoon for trips to the libraries and museums around the city. Occasionally Smokey would accompany Dio, but after a few incidents early on, the two had agreed that it was best if Smokey stayed in the townhouse. It grated on Dio every time he had to leave the boy behind but he made sure to bring back any books that the boy would find interesting when he went to the libraries.

One afternoon, in mid-February, Dio answered the phone—not to Lizbeth's scathing remarks and witty commentary on the progress and failures of the final exam the boys' were supposed to have taken the night before—but to a frantic stream of Italian from the young girl who had answered the phone when he first called.

It took him a minute to calm her down and get anything other than garbled words through the telephone, but she eventually calmed enough to speak to him.

Her words froze him.

"They're chasing the gem to Switzerland. The Pillar Men took it but they insisted they could get it back. I don't know if Miss Lisa Lisa will be able to call you, so I thought you should know..."

He thanked her and returned the phone to the hook.

There was nothing he could do except pray.

And what god would listen to him?