Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 212

[madimpossibledreamer]

at least I talked about the concept with Beta-Senpai?

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Dio catches a lucky break.
Word Count: 1090
Rating: Teen (Buffy|Jojo's level violence)
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS

        Dio hates this feeling, the feeling of humiliation.  He thought he’d forgotten it, outgrown it, like some vestigial trappings of humanity.  But then, even if this isn’t Jonathan, not directly, it would make sense that a Joestar would be able to draw these feelings out of him.  Still, they’re both trapped in this conflict, with no way to retreat.  He’s not the only one who emerged worse off from this conflict.  The blood is not lessening, which means either that Joestar can’t heal himself or simply doesn’t have enough time or strength left to do so.  But if Dio retreats now, he admits defeat.  He admits that a Joestar, who’s not even Jojo, could best him at least temporarily.  He needs answers.  He needs to get this all figured out before ‘the rabbit gets bored’ or whatever nonsense he’d mentioned.  And then—
        Joestar had been protecting a creature.  He hadn’t made it clear, but perhaps that was on purpose.  Perhaps the rabbit was actually here, and Joestar had actually formed a compact with the thing.  All the more reason to not give them the respite.
        Dio can’t be sure, of course, but he suspects the traps were hastily if thoughtfully placed.  It’s entirely possible he hadn’t even been within this cave system when he’d made the announcement.  If given the time, how much deadlier would the traps become, how much more difficult would the approach become?
        If he leaves, as well, there’s no guarantee he’d manage to get the army he desires.  He suspects someone, probably affiliated with Joestar, was evacuating the city, like preparing for the approach of an army.  Dio would be flattered, of course, though he suspects it’s not all due to his presence.  No, there was the matter of all the zombies littering the town, entirely under someone else’s control.  He’d noticed one aspect of the penny dreadfuls that had been accurate—the transition to a vampire did, in fact, seem to give him some sort of supernatural charisma, boosting his already strong ability to persuade to new heights.  That being said, it didn’t seem to work on the zombies.  Of course, some of them, particularly the long dead, lacked the brains to understand more than the simplest order, but others, the smarter ones, didn’t seem to recognize him, though the same had not been true in reverse.  In short, leaving guaranteed him neither a meal to heal his wounds nor any sort of advantage, and in fact would probably put him at a disadvantage.
        The tunnel widens up ahead.  It might even be considered some sort of maze, if not for the obvious blood trail communicating Joestar’s location.
        Joestar, on the other hand, feared Dio, feared what he could achieve if left to his own devices.  He could have easily waited until he was perfectly ready and had calculated for every variable.  He could have allowed his diminutive ally to create explosive lotuses in every waterway, placed mines everywhere.  Better yet, he could have simply waited Dio out.  Sure, the vampire could have created chaos in the meantime, killed and converted many, but if the human was telling the truth, he would merely have to wait it out and Dio would cease to be a problem.  If he were truly the selfish mirror Joestar would like Dio to believe him to be, that would be the easy, safe route.  But no, there’s something—something about his future that Joestar is carefully concealing, desperate or each and every advantage he can scrabble from the ground.  He said that Dio had been defeated by the Joestars, but neglected to brag about the circumstances.  What—
        Dio pauses, cocking his head, then places his hand carefully against the cave wall.  No trap makes itself evident, though something else clearly does.
        Ahead, in the direction of the blood, not much can be heard in the way of movement.  It made sense.  Sure, it’s clear where they are, but if he’s managed to stop his bleeding in some way, Joestar and his ally must be hiding somewhere, either hoping to go unnoticed or to get a sneak attack in on him.
        To the right is some quiet movement, possibly that of another animal.  He could potentially investigate that, but if it is another animal, it might possibly be another ally.  Perhaps this Joestar has some sort of affinity with animals.  It could have some ability, as well, one that would make investigating its presence a danger, and it’s not like it would give much more sustenance than the fish.
        To the left sounds like a worried conversation.  It’s either quiet or distant, but it’s clearly humans, and it’s certainly louder than either of the other two directions.
        Any other tunnels are either too small to fit any more than animals, or are silent.  He could try to investigate them, find another way around and come from an unexpected direction, but that could also take far too long.
        He pauses but briefly, heading to the left.  Perhaps it’s yet another trap.  Maybe Joestar had somehow left a fake trail.  On the other hand, it could also simply be an opportunity.  He remembers the poison-seller having mentioned his luck, and decides to trust in those words.
        As he gets closer, the identity of the intruders on their little private battlefield becomes clear.  It’s not Joestar and his ally, unless they can somehow disguise their voices.  It’s, in fact, a couple innocent hikers.
        “We don’t have to leave you yet.  We’ve already missed our meeting time, and Scott and Rudy should have gotten out and gotten help by now.  They’ll come looking for us soon, right, James?”  A friend with a level head trying to keep a wounded friend from panicking.  Dio can smell the blood.
        “Yeah, they’ve been gone long enough,” James grumbles.  How amusing.  Had those friends encountered one of Joestar’s mines?  Had they entered from a different path?  Questions, he knows, they’ll be delighted to answer soon enough.  It just requires a little delicate touch.
        “Excuse me, may I provide some assistance?” he asks, seemingly materializing out of the dark.  The problem is clear enough—a boulder on an unstable pile that had fallen.  The leg is broken, clearly, and the source of the shock is also clear.  Dio allows himself the private amusement at Joestar’s panicked use of a grenade.  Oh, if he’d only known the damage he’d caused.
        “Y-yes, thank you!” the wounded human stammers, and Dio steps into the light of their small, cylindric lanterns with a smile.