The Ludicrous Escapade Pt.3

Diego Squared

"(Y/N), are you all right?" Kars looked at you with concern, noticing you still seemed unsettled.

You blinked a few times and shook your head. "No... yeah... I'm fine. It was just a little jarring to see The World again." You pulled the knife out of your shoulder. "He's using the same type of attacks, too."

"The World?" Johnny fired two more nails, hitting, and destroying, a telephone pole. The bullet holes started tracking Diego. "That's the same ability your Dio has, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately." Kars had a feeling the fight could end up problematic. He at least felt some assurance due to this Diego not knowing how your ability worked. Otherwise he would probably have to deal with his hat being ripped up yet again. He was getting awfully tired of it by now.

"Damn it. He used it again." Diego had suddenly vanished from the spot you had last seen him. Was he just picking up his horse with him? You supposed the Stand was strong enough to do that.

"I can't believe the President prepared all of this just in case he died. He really doesn't want anyone else getting their hands on the corpse." Johnny now wondered if the President actually believed everything he had spouted out earlier. Doing it for his country and whatnot.

"If he can't have it, no one can, I suppose." Kars had his hand transform into a small bird. It flew up into the sky to try and get a better view of the situation. "Diego has rejoined the lead racing group. He's about to cross this stage's finish line."

"Let's speed up, then." You led the way back through the side streets and onto the main road. Moxy broke into a sprint as you and Johnny passed under the eighth stage banner.

"(Y/N) (L/N) and Johnny Joestar arrive at the end of this stage, taking fifth and sixth place!" The announcer was glad to see some of the star racer's again, and so was the crowd. Some of the people betting on the ranking were less so. "To our surprise, despite having raced together for the majority of this race, they seemed to have split up with Gyro Zeppeli, who ran through here earlier with Valkyrie, taking 2nd place! In seventh is Georgie Porgie..."

You and Johnny were barely even listening anymore, focusing more on the chase. Both of you had to slow down upon nearing the water's edge.

An SBR worker waved you over. "To continue into the ninth stage, you and your horse will have to ride a boat across the bay to Coney Island. The ride will be approximately two hours. Any time bonuses you gained from winning a stage have already been applied to this stage's results for scoring, but you will be leaving in the order you have arrived. One boat per contestant."

Joestar got off his horse, earning a few confused looks as he stood next to you. He intertwined his hand with yours. "(Y/N) and I arrived at the same time, so can we not just use the same boat?"

The worker shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Joestar, but rules are rules. Regardless of whether you're teammates or not, the one who arrived first will leave first. Based on the picture, Moxy's nose crossed just a smidge before Slow Dancer's did. Regardless, you might want to hurry. Otherwise you'll just end up more behind. There's only a fifteen second wait between each of the boats' arrival, anyway."

"Right this way, Ma'am." A man standing on the boat you were going to take held out a hand for you, helping you aboard.

"I'll wait at the shore for you, Johnny." Moxy's reins hung loosely in your hand as you led her behind you.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that." Johnny just watched as your boat began moving further and further away. He let out a small sigh before realizing he should get onto a boat of his own with Slow Dancer.

"So?" You leaned on the boat's railing, watching the person who helped you on. It didn't take you too long to figure out who they were. "I'm guessing you saw?"

The man took off his black hat, the blonde hair that had been tucked underneath fell back into place. The corner of Diego's mouth quirked up. "I admit I was a tad concerned when I saw another me. I though it meant Valentine had won. But then I saw Gyro and Johnny still very much alive, so I was sure that wasn't the case. Valentine wouldn't leave them alive. Did that Diego just slip into this universe somehow?"

You peaked into the wheelhouse, seeing a half naked man tied up and knocked out on the floor. Must've been the source of Diego's disguise. "I guess you could say that. Valentine tasked him with taking the completed corpse to a hiding spot."

Not wanting to accidentally bump into himself in the race, or cause any problems when people noticed there were two of them, Diego had at least momentarily dropped out of the race. He figured he could potentially assist from the side lines instead.

"And he listened?" Diego felt a mild sense of disappointment in his other self.  "If I were him, I'd just take the thing for myself."

"I'm sure you would." You only hoped he wouldn't act on it. "But the other you seems dead set on getting to the safe. Oh, and he doesn't have the same ability as you. He can stop time."

Diego scoffed, "Of course he can... I guess I'm just pretty unique compared to all the other Dio's out there."

"Maybe?" You hoped you wouldn't have to meet any more to truly find out.

On the boat ahead, the two of you could barely make out the other Diego standing on the deck. He appeared more focused on looking ahead of himself rather than behind.

Diego picked the black cap off the ground and settled back over his head, just in case anyone noticed who he was. "But what's the plan, then? When he freezes time can you still move?"

"Not while Dio isn't my Stand." The AU Diego didn't seem to be immortal or anything, though, so you weren't super worried.

The Brando gave a contemplative hum. Then he disappeared into the wheelhouse. After rummaging around for a few minutes, he returned holding some clothes in his arms.

He cleared his throat before handing them over. "Here. This is my hat and shirt. If you can get close enough to him with these, he'll get injured when they're annihilated, like what happened with the money back then. It should take a good chunk out of his head." He took a small step back. "He also shouldn't know about my dinosaurs or your blood stuff. In that regard, we still have an element of surprise."

You were shocked, but you weren't going to decline his help. "Thanks..." You shoved it into one of Moxy's bags, making sure it was in an easy to reach spot. Then you took out your map. "Once we arrive at shore, it'll be about a twenty minute run. Are you going to rejoin the race?"

"If you can get rid of the other Diego soon enough, and do it out of sight from any crowd, but that goes without saying." Otherwise he would have to switch out with him after the race was over. Which, honestly might not be too bad, depending on what place the other him ended up getting.

"What do you plan to do with the guy knocked out? It could be bad if they find him here like this." You looked to the boat behind yours as you spoke, taking a second to wave at Johnny, who was sitting on the deck eating some fish he had just caught. He smiled at you and returned the gesture.

Diego scowled, watching your exchange with the Joestar. "I'll just turn him into a dinosaur and have him run around a bit or something."

"Okay." It was a good enough solution for you. There was a moment of silence before you spoke up again. "After this is all over, what do you plan to do?"

Diego turned away from you. "I'm going to find my father. He tried to bury me alive by a riverbank and essentially left my mother and I to die. She... dove in to save me when I was washed up by a flood." His jaw tensed and his gaze hardened. "He doesn't deserve to live anymore. Hot Pants told me his name is Dario and she was going to locate him for me, but she can't exactly do that anymore."

"Fair enough. The Dio in my universe killed his father when he was twelve. The guy was also a pretty sorry excuse for a dad." You felt it was one of the few decent things Dio had done in his life.

"Maybe all Dios have shitty fathers." Diego leaned on the railing next you.

The rest of the boat ride went on in silence.

"Well, we're almost at the shore." You started leading Moxy closer to where you'd be exiting the boat.

"Good luck, I guess." The Brando made his way toward the wheelhouse again just to make sure the ride continued smoothly. "Have fun killing me."

You pulled yourself up onto Moxy. "I'll try."