Chapter Text
1989.
"Juliet!"
"Over here, Miss Bensallam!"
"Is it true there may be a budding romance between you and the American actor Johnny Depp?"
Juliet couldn't help but roll her hazel eyes at that one. She composed herself, turned to the paparazzi currently bombarding her, and blew them a kiss as the limousine began to speed away. Soon they would no longer be in her view. Juliet slightly relaxed at the thought.
The driver, Yousef, turned to her and offered his sincere apologies.
"They are like vultures, madam." he spoke in Arabic.
"And seriously? Johnny Depp? He's too much of a pretty boy for my taste." Juliet responded fluently in Arabic.
Yousef chuckled at the thought, his gray curly hair slightly bouncing. "And what is your taste, Miss Bensallam?"
Juliet stared out of the tinted window towards the passing scenery. Cairo was beautiful and buzzing with life, she noticed. The weather was beginning to slightly cool as they were now transitioning from autumn to winter, leaving the people of Egypt to bask in the pleasant weather. She noticed a young couple laughing together as they walked the streets of the bazaar. The woman had a rose-colored tint to her cheeks and was softly laughing and looking away to hide her growing blush. The man's smile simply widened.
Juliet looked away, feeling as if the gesture was too intimate for her to openly gaze at. She sighed. "I doubt there is a man out there worthy of me."
Yousef let out a hearty laugh, the limo momentarily speeding up as he did so. "You're only sixteen, madam, you're too young to know what you want."
"Almost seventeen! And whoever he is, he better be beautiful— but not too beautiful where I'm the ugly one! He better be tall too, I'm only 162 centimeters, so I know I'm not asking for too much. Oh, I can't deal with shy guys—I can't make all the moves, Yousef! Ugh, and I cannot begin to explain how annoying rude guys are. My better half has to be nice and sweet— whoever he is."
As Juliet huffed on, Yousef couldn't help but smile to himself. She was still so young, so innocent, so naive. Though she was a bit too pampered at times (a result of loving but absent parents), Yousef strongly believed that a bit of the taste of the real world would help her greatly. He could see the potential the heiress had— an exciting refreshing break from her relatives, as he had served the Bensallam family for years.
But for now, Yousef would simply listen to the young girl ramble on about her dream husband.
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They reached the Bensallam's main residence in Cairo thirty minutes later, and Juliet was more than happy to finally be home. She had flown to New York City for a photoshoot and, while there, she was roped into signing a contract to walk for a lingerie fashion show that was to make its grand debut in a few years. The planning for said show was tedious and so her stay in New York was extended.
Her father's private jet, however, was at her beck and call and as a result, she had decided to fly back and reach Cairo in the middle of the night. The stars were shining brightly and a cool breeze blew through her white dress. Juliet bid Yousef a goodnight as he started to take her luggage out of the car, and she walked inside the large house. Immediately, she was met with a cold and looming presence. Juliet could feel a small pit of anxiety began to develop in her stomach; however, she ignored it and began to look around the house for her parents.
"Mama?" she called out. Both her parents should be home; her mother didn't have any business to attend to in Italy and her father had promised he would be home for her arrival. Juliet had made him swear.
"Baba!" she yelled louder. Still, no response.
She began the ascent up the stairs to her room. She noticed all the lights in the house were off. After further observation, Juliet also noticed that there were no servants around. This greatly unnerved her; there were always servants around the clock.
After walking up the marble staircase, she slowly walked down the hallway towards her room. Her sweaty (yet perfectly manicured fingers) began to clutch her tight dress. She shook her head slightly to push back her jet black hair. She let out a small gasp when she noticed the door to her room was slightly ajar.
"You will give me all your fortunes and riches. Your master commands it." Juliet heard a silky and seductive, yet unfamiliar voice coming from her room.
Her anxiety had turned into full blown fear. Juliet could hear nothing else except for the sound of her own heart beating. Strangely, she felt a tingling sensation making its way throughout her whole body, and it only heightened with each breath she took; however, her terror at the situation at hand caused her to abandon all thoughts of anything else.
Before entering her room, she noticed a decorative sword hanging on the wall of the hall. Though she had never even wielded a sword, she quickly pulled it out of its sheath; however, what she didn't account for was its weight and the fact that it wasn't sharp at all.
Still, something is better than nothing, she thought to herself. She dragged the sword with all her might, her irritation growing at the item for being too heavy. She reached her room, inhaled sharply—once again noticing the tingling sensation— and slowly opened the door just as she had done countless times before.
The sword slipped from her sweaty hands and dropped to the ground.
Juliet couldn't stop the scream of shock from coming out of her mouth. In the corner of her large room, her eyes had immediately landed on her father's body. His eyes were open in fear, and he had multiple gaping wounds in his neck. His hair, normally silky and neatly-styled, was messy and matted with dried blood. She cringed in fear at the look of terror on his unconscious body. Juliet's stomach dropped as she refused to acknowledge the situation she had found herself in.
There was a movement on her bed, and Juliet quickly moved her eyes towards it. Due to the darkness of the room, she slowly squinted her eyes to look through the white canopy of her bed and towards the figure laying on it. She began to hyperventilate when she saw it was a man— a large and beautiful one at that. His blonde hair was messily obscuring part of his face, but Juliet could clearly see his scintillating eyes.
Her blood went cold when she realized they were red.
She felt like she was in a dream—a sick, twisted one. Juliet heard a muffled noise and looked down to see that her mother was in this man's arms. He was holding her in a tight grip, and she had blood running down her beautiful flawless face. The man's lips perked up into a smile at the sight of Juliet.
"And who might you be?" he asked in perfect English.
His voice was like honey.
"I-I'm... I a-" Juliet was too in shock to form a sentence. "J-Juliet."
His smiled widened, and Juliet swore she saw fangs glistening in the dark. The man looked down at her mother. "You didn't tell me my men had missed one of your pretty little servants."
Despite the shock, the fear, the absolute terror that she was feeling in the moment, Juliet couldn't help but momentarily scoff at realizing that he had mistaken her for one of the servants.
The large blonde man perked up at the small noise. "And a feisty one at that." He turned his head down towards Juliet's mother, and softly caressed her face. "Tell me, Isabella, do you condone such insolence from your servants? Or am I mistaken in believing that this girl... Juliet... is even a servant?"
His voice was sultry and musical. Juliet got the feeling that he liked hearing himself talk.
Despite her fear and her terror of this man, Juliet felt growing need to correct this man on mistaking her for a servant. She made eye contact with her mother, noticing both fear and a cautionary look in her green eyes. Isabella knew her daughter well enough to assume that Juliet would talk back to Dio, turning the already delicate situation into one that would absolutely result in her death. She silently praised and cursed god (or whoever was responsible) for giving Juliet her stubborn personality.
As predicted, Juliet could not help herself.
Before she knew it, her eyebrows furrowed and her face contorted into her signature pout. She felt her mouth beginning to form a sharp response back to the man. "I'm Juliet Bens—"
"Sh-she's my personal assistant." Isabella swallowed loudly as her eyes darted away from her daughter's and towards the man's. "You were right— she's not a servant. She... she's just a normal girl."
There was silence, and the blonde man tightened his hold around Isabella. Her curly blonde hair was beginning to grow matted with blood as it was messily splayed out around her. The man continued to observe Juliet with his scintillating red eyes.
Juliet, meanwhile, had sharply inhaled at her mother's words. Her eyes were filled with disbelief, yet with one sharp look from her mother, Juliet realized she had to play along. The anxiety within her increased exponentially, if that was even possible.
After what felt like hours, the man smirked and spoke. "Cool Ice, take this girl outside and do what you must. My body still needs to heal." He lazily leaned back and sighed, his blonde hair softly moving along with him. "A shame, I must admit... she is rather beautiful. You don't see faces like that everyday."
As he was speaking, his fingers began to trail down her mother's face towards her throat. Juliet noticed that he was sitting almost leisurely, as if he hadn't a care in the world.
Before she could react, she was roughly grabbed from behind. She could feel another person's long and silky hair touch her bare arms as she began to thrash around and fight against the strong arms.
"No! Let me go!"
She helplessly looked towards her mother, allowing her tears to flow freely. Her mother had a determined look in her green eyes. She softly nodded to Juliet, and the young girl couldn't help but feel her stomach drop. Was her mother saying goodbye to her? Juliet let out a scream and began to incoherently yell.
Isabella's mouth began to quiver, and she forced herself to look away so as to not give away Juliet's true identity. Isabella already knew about Dio— she had read and reread her grandfather's letters almost religiously as a child. She knew exactly what Dio was after now: access to the Bensallam family fortune. Isabella did not know how or when, but somehow Dio had managed to return from the dead, and was now in need of an abundance of riches to help him and his brainwashed minions accomplish whatever it was he was set to do. Her husband had refused and met his bitter end, and Isabella was prepared for the same.
Juliet's pleas brought Isabella out of her thoughts.
At this point, Juliet and the strange man— Cool Ice— were out of the room. Isabella's immense worry for her daughter still remained, but she was slightly relieved that Juliet was no longer in the same room as the devil who was now petting Isabella's hair.
"Now then... I will be needing those passwords, Isabella." He smirked. "Your husband is dead simply because he chose not to adhere to my commands and give me his bank accounts. A shame, really."
The lump in Isabella's throat grew at the mention of her husband. Dead husband.
"Isabella," Dio almost sang. "How do you expect me to make my mark on this world and build my following with no money? No home? My stand users, loyal as they are, live in wretched little shacks. I grow weary with having to travel from shack to shack for the past four years, and I will endure it no more. Your mansion, my dear, will do nicely."
His grip on her arm had tightened, his long nails drawing blood. "The passwords, Isabella. You know I will get them either way. Why not pick the easier way and just give them to me?" As he continued to speak, his hold on her grew tighter and he began to grit his teeth out of irritation.
He was met with silence.
"Stop being useless! This is your last chance. Should you choose not to comply, I will kill you and take the money. You have no heirs or written wills, so it will not be difficult for my stand users to acquire the money themselves and bring it to me while I heal. So," he bared his fangs at her. "What are the passwords, Isabella?"
She simply smirked up at him, bravely accepting her fate. Perhaps it's the curse of her bloodline. Her father and grandfather before her had both suffered similar fates, yet the stories she had heard had depicted them as dying tragically yet heroically. Isabella felt her heart clench at the idea of being as selfless as her father had been.
"Burn in hell, diavolo."
Dio's face contorted into a sneer. "Very well, Isabella." He smirked, his fangs prominent against his full lips. "I should let you know... I will drain you dry and enjoy every drop of your blood, you insufferable little bitch."
Within the blink of an eye, Dio had sunk his fangs into her neck. His large frame completely pinned her to the soft bed, as his hands began to wander over her body. He began to grope her before finally allowing his hand to rest on her neck. She let out a whimper at the sharp pain and the sexual nature of his groping. Her face was in a stressed frown and she tightly shut her eyes to block Dio out.
Isabella's final thoughts flew to her daughter. Though she was terrified for her, a strange feeling in her heart reassured her that Juliet would be fine. She knew her daughter was smart, but she was also naive and innocent and young. And yet, the same feeling came back stronger, once again reassuring her that Juliet would be fine.
Dio moaned as he drank the life out of her.
Isabella felt herself lighten at the final thought that she would be with her husband soon.
▲▼▲
Meanwhile, Juliet was unaware of the events that were transpiring in her room. The large man held her in a tight grip as he brought her down the grand staircase. She still continued to struggle against his hold.
"Let go of me!"
He simply ignored her.
"Why are you even listening to that psychopath? Do you want money? I can get you money! None of this makes any sense!"
He roughly shoved her down the stairs, sneering at her yelling, yet ignoring her once again. Juliet hated being manhandled, but she especially despised being ignored. "This is not how you treat a lady, you caveman! What, I'm not a big blonde murderous lunatic so you're just going to ignore me?"
His expression remained stoic until she insulted his master. Cool Ice came to a halt, and roughly turned Juliet around so that she was facing him. He raised his hand and slapped her— hard.
Juliet whimpered at the impact, and she most definitely would have fallen to the floor had it not been for his suffocating hold. "You were lucky— I was going to make your death quick and painless. But now... now you will suffer immense pain at the hands of my stand!"
Juliet didn't understand his threat, but the weight of the deadly situation had already settled itself in her mind, and her lips began to quiver again. "Please, don't do this. Please."
Cool Ice stared at her with fury in his eyes, apathetic to her pleas. He clenched his teeth, and his body began to contort into itself. Juliet screamed in shock and immediately jumped away from him, her wedges making it slightly difficult to move as quick. His body was folding into itself, and it was simultaneously floating? She swore she was on the verge of fainting.
And yet, just before Cool Ice could inflict any pain on Juliet, he was punched by a yellow humanoid. Juliet could feel her knees about to buckle— there's no way this was real. This was the shock and trauma from seeing her parents, she was sure of it. Maybe her mind decided to react with hallucinations. She swallowed harshly and tried to control her breathing and calm her speeding heart. Juliet once again felt the tingling sensation begin to course through her body.
The humanoid punched Cool Ice hard enough to draw blood and send the man and his shriveled body through the grand walls of the Bensallam mansion. Within a few seconds, the yellow man disappeared into thin air, and Juliet swore this was her imagination.
"Miss Bensallam! You must leave now!" yelled a familiar voice.
Juliet turned to see Yousef running towards her from the backyard doors, sweat running down his face, yet a determined glint in his eyes.
"Yousef?" Juliet asked dazed.
"Juliet! There's no time! Leave here quickly— go to the markets in the heart of the city and find a man named Muhammad Avdol. Tell him I sent you, and tell him it's Dio. Are you listening?"
At this point, Yousef was pulling Juliet's body out the back doors of the grand mansion and into the pleasant night. The cool air engulfed her body, and it was only then that she realized how much she was sweating.
"Y-Yousef! You have to call the police! Mama and Baba are upstairs with some murderer, h-he did something to Baba, but Mama is still alive! Please, Yousef, you have to do something!" Juliet could feel the tears beginning to roll down her face once again. She licked her full lips, green eyes staring up at Yousef's with desperation in her eyes.
He hurriedly looked to the side and noticed Cool Ice beginning to stir from where he had landed. Yousef's eyebrows shot up in alarm, and he began to firmly push Juliet away from what was going to be her death. "Juliet, listen to me. The man upstairs is an immortal being, and he has a growing army of people like that son of a bitch over there— people who can control spirits. You can't see them, but trust me when I say that you don't want to encounter one with an evil master, and Dio... he is the embodiment of evil."
Cool Ice was beginning to stand up, his feet wavering slightly.
"Juliet," Yousef spoke with utter desperation in his voice. "Go east. Find Muhammad Avdol, he will protect you. Keep a low profile, and always be aware; Dio's has eyes everywhere. And whatever you do, my dear, do not give your family passwords or fortune to anyone. If that bastard gets a hold of these, he'll have everything he needs."
Cool Ice was now standing.
Yousef smiled sadly at Juliet with watery eyes. "You've been like a daughter to me. It's truly been a pleasure serving you, madam."
It all happened before Juliet could process anything. Yousef's tall, lean body got into a stance and made a shoving motion, but he didn't hit anything. Just as his arms pushed with all his might, she received a hard blow to her shoulders and chest, and began flying in the air from the impact.
She felt the wind being completely blown out of her, and Juliet felt as if she was near death. She looked down and once again saw a blur of yellow. The shove was so violent and tremendous that it managed to send her flying over the gates surrounding her large home, and into the streets outside. She landed on her arm, and she could feel her whole body yelling in agony. Tiny sniffles began to come from Juliet as she tried to move.
The trauma of the night was beginning to fully settle in, and Juliet felt an alarming sense of dread beginning to weigh her down. She was all alone.
She was brought out of her thoughts by loud grunts and almost inhuman noises coming from within the gates of the mansion. Fear began to crawl back into her body, so she willed herself to slowly stand up and leave. Her body still ached, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins blocked out any immense pain for now.
She cradled her arm and slowly began walking towards the market. Juliet allowed herself to cry. She cried for her father and for Yousef and for her poor mother who was still stuck with that monster. She had to keep going— she had to help her mother. She calmed down slightly when she thought about Yousef. She had to help him too! He could be alive, for all she knew. Him and that yellow being could both come out of the fight alive!
Juliet felt herself beginning to walk faster towards the main street that would take her to the nearby market. Her normally styled hair was now in loose curls, and it brushed against her back all the way down to her waist. She was sure her favorite white dress was now covered in dirt. The streets were deserted, as it was still the very late hours of the night. She didn't know whether to be comforted or terrified by the thought. Yousef had said to find a man named Muhammad Avdol; however, she had to disguise herself. She couldn't afford to be recognized by the public for fear of Dio and his henchmen.
She didn't understand what it was he wanted from her family. He had their house now, but she recalled the conversation that she had overheard between her mother and Dio. Her small fist clenched at the thought of him. He had wanted the passwords to the Bensallam bank accounts— he wanted her family's fortune. There were only three people alive who knew that information; Juliet was one of them. She silently prayed that her mother would not give him the passwords, yet she also prayed that no harm would come to her mother either. Juliet would much rather have her mother safe and alive than her family's riches. Once again, she began to wonder why Dio needed so much money when he could easily use his henchmen to get what he wanted. Cool Ice immediately came to mind, and her blood boiled at the thought of him. Her cheek still stung from his assault, and she imagined a special place in hell with his name on it.
She hoped Yousef wasn't holding back— him and the yellow spirit.
Just as the beginnings of a plan were forming in her head, her perfectly-shaped eyebrows furrowed in confusion at what Yousef had said earlier. Though her heart ached at the thought of the man who had essentially raised her more than her own parents had at times, she ignored it as she processed what he had said. Her feet slowly came to a stop. A small pit of anxiety and confusion had taken place in her stomach, and she didn't understand what any of this meant. Despite the shocking and unbelievable (very unbelievable) events that had taken place and despite the many questions that had formed over the course of the past hour, her mind only seemed to focus on the one thing Yousef had briefly said. She could barely understand, let alone believe what she had realized.
Juliet had been able to see the spirits.
▲▼▲
Elsewhere, a young Jotaro Kujo sat in a jail cell, firmly believing he was currently possessed by an evil spirit.