Brando's Shadow (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood x Male O/C)

Chapter 11: The Two Knights, Tarkus and Bruford

Damian POV

I remember reading the tale of Bruford and Tarkus when I was younger. I never thought I'd be seeing them in the flesh one day, nor did I expect them to be fighting as my brother's underlings. Yet here we were. 

Dio spoke out to the duo "In the 16th Century, an ill-fated queen was slain by Elizabeth I. You, fierce knights who served Queen Mary Stuart! Settle this! We leave the extermination of these pests to you! Enjoy!"

At this, Tarkus used the enhanced zombie-like strength to crush the boulder in his grip, causing JoJo to fall. Both knights instantly made a move on Jonathan, who raised his fist in Bruford's direction and called out "ZOOM PUNCH!"

His arm extended outward, only for Bruford to counter yelling back "Your blood is mine!" Interestingly enough, his HAIR lanced out, wrapping tightly around Jonathan's arm! I assumed this was just another ability granted to him as a zombie.

It was through this hair, it seemed he'd begun to drain the blood from Jonathan's arm, not unlike how me and Dio did this through our fingertips. For a moment, Jonathan seemed taken aback by this before quickly composing himself and yelling "SUNLIGHT YELLOW OVERDRIVE!"

He attempted to channel Hamon through his hand and likely through Bruford's hair. Though as quickly as the sparks appeared, they disappeared. Next to me, Dio just smirked. While Jonathan was held in place by the mass of hair, Tarkus stepped forward, revealing a giant blade from its sheath.

The blade itself completely dwarfed even Jonathan. Dio went on to explain "Every Englishman knows the legendary knights Tarkus and Bruford. Even HISTORY bows to our will!" He went on to explain the tale, one I was already familiar with.

Around the year 1565, two queens fought in a war of royal succession, Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart. Bruford and Tarkus were two of Mary Stuart's most loyal vassals. The two had sworn to honour her, even if it meant their lives.

When Mary was imprisoned, the pair fought to free her and in battle, it seemed they were unparalleled. However they'd been tricked. They were offered to surrender in exchange for Mary's life. And seeing nothing to lose they took the offer.

The last thing they learned in their human lives was that Mary had already been executed.

In a way, I respected the pair. Dio exclaimed "And the story of their delusion gave me goose bumps! These legendary heroes cursed the world! I dug them up and gave them life! I turned them into unstoppable revenants!"

Tarkus declared "We swore fealty to Lord Dio!" Bruford added "We have come to end the world! Death to everyone!" Hopping back up to the rock and turning to my brother, I pointed out "So, that's why you lured JoJo out here? You knew these two were buried in this place?"

Dio chuckled and replied "That's right dear brother. We needn't waste our own energy on the likes of these two." I was still injured from Zeppeli's Hamon strikes, I had one hand covering my eye and the other nursing my leg as I stared at the ensuing fight.

As the two knights let out hisses, Jonathan raised his hand and declared "Hamon that burns in my left hand! SCARLET OVERDRIVE!" He thrust his left hand towards his right, striking where Bruford's hair had wrapped around it.

The sheer surge of energy caused the hair to swiftly retract, catching Bruford off guard who's eyes widened in confusion. Speedwagon exclaimed "Astounding! I had forgotten, much rides on Jonathan's shoulders! His father's death and his hope for the future! And hope for us all!"

Bruford just smirked, before saying "This boy has some skill. He's perfect for warming up after a 300-year nap." Jonathan got into a stance, preparing to face the knights when he was suddenly jumped from behind by one of the zombies from earlier.

He lunged, declaring how Jonathan's blood was his to take, however before he could act on this, Bruford intervened, he leapt up behind the lesser zombie and stated "This is no place for pawns." In an instant, he swiped at the zombie, casting it aside.

After doing this, Bruford turned his attention towards us and called "Lords Dio and Damian! This young man has a great deal of spirit! I ask for the pleasure of drawing the curtains on his life!" I grinned, gaining more respect for the knight as I said "I don't see why not." Dio added "As you will."

Bruford bowed before turning and ordering his ally "Tarkus! Stand aside!" Tarkus didn't respond, but acknowledge this by lowering his weapon. With this out of the way, Bruford finally began to make his move.

Slowly, he stepped towards Jonathan. You could practically SMELL the pride coming from him. It was honestly quite intriguing, I'd learned about these two in the past, I never thought I'd physically see them in action.

A chunk of rock broke off one of the mounds and as soon as it had, Bruford leapt into the air, both arms behind his back. At first it was unknown how he'd attack, with his arms or with a kick? What I didn't expect, was for his hair to extend down behind him to draw his sword!

I knew he'd use it, I just didn't expect him to grip the blade with his HAIR! It seemed he had complete control over it as he swung the blade at Jonathan's neck, intent to end the fight quickly.

Jonathan however, saw this coming and with no time to spare, dived backwards Bruford stared down at him as he fell, saying "You've got a keen eye, if you dodged my hair's Dance Macabre. I'm enjoying this!" Before leaping after him.

The two both fell into a nearby pool of water. Zeppeli and Speedwagon prepared to intervene only to be stopped by Tarkus. I spoke out "Well done Tarkus, wouldn't want anyone interrupting this honourable duel." 

I gave my brother a sideways glance, he seemed to be in deep thought about something. He muttered "It's already over. He can't touch Bruford underwater." I agreed "Indeed, and his Hamon has been rendered useless."

Dio spoke louder now as he stated "Our supervision is no longer needed here! We'll now turn Windknight's Lot into a town of zombies!" He turned to me and said "Come Damian, we needn't waste our time here."

I muttered "Shame, I was looking forward to seeing what our two new assets are capable of." Dio assured "They will do their job. You said it yourself, Bruford has rendered JoJo's pathetic Hamon useless." I sighed and finally caved in "Very well."

As me and Dio leapt from the rock, Dio called out "Just one more night! Then they will spread through England like a plague!" Those words awoke something in my mind, for a moment I faltered.

Every now and then, a thought crossed my mind. Did I WANT this? Dio had chosen to use the stone mask, CHOSEN to become a Vampire. Yet, he'd forced it upon me, I didn't even have chance to retort.

True, I'd grown used to and even gained a liking to these new abilities. But I wondered, what would have happened had the mask not been a factor? Simply put, we'd either be in prison or dead now. 

Being a vampire though, I wondered if this fate was any better? Dio had taken to the feeding and the zombies like a duck to water. I'd said before, I only fed when necessary and the only zombie I'd created myself was of that thief who'd attacked us when Dio was weakened. That same zombie was now likely either frozen chunks or they'd melted and he was small puddles now.

With those thoughts, I disappeared into the night after my brother. Unaware of what would come next...

Author's Note: And that's it for this chapter, I felt I should at least do one chapter for Tarkus and Bruford considering they're some of the more interesting characters in Part 1. Now, for the next chapter, I kind of have two potential ideas planned, one of them will definitely be happening, if not in the next chapter, it will be in the one after. I still need to think on that. I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always, thank you for reading.