Work Text:
Stepping off the sidewalk for a second, Giorno looked up at the night sky, admiring the moon. “There is surely no place as beautiful as this town.” he thought. “What a beautiful-” and he was suddenly cut off by clattering. He ran forward, rounding the corner into an alleyway.
A man in a white coat stood there, throwing his bouncy curly hair back and throwing what looked like a flag into the air. He stepped into it, cracking his knuckles, and disappeared.
“What the…” Giorno muttered. This had to be a stand. There was no way around it, really. That was his life now. Stand after stand. He watched as the flag flared up like someone rose out of it, struggling. They pushed the flag off of them to reveal an italian man in a cape and hat. He didn’t notice Giorno as he struggled to untie his feet before another person, blond this time, flew out of the flag. He was wearing a cap with a horseshoe on it, a t-shirt and pants, and seemed to be covered in stars. He dragged himself without moving his legs to the italian, and untied his legs. The Italian picked up the second man, and made ready for something.
Giorno wondered if he should say something.
The white-coated blond popped out of the flag again, this time with another person. This one was blond, wore a helmet, and had rider’s jodhpurs and a green, x-patterned sweater on. The italian and the starred-man leapt at the white coated man, growling and shouting “ORAAAA!” together. The three of them hit the flag and went through, all screaming. The newcomer, the green sweatered man, looked confused.
“Hey! Valentine!” he shouted at the flag in a british accent. “You forgot me, you asshole!” as he stamped on the flag. “Fucker!”
“Hey!” Giorno spoke up, finally. “What’s your name?”
The man turned, and then backed away sharply. “Get… Get away from me!” He seemed terrified. “Don’t touch me!”
“What?” Giorno stepped closer, hoping to ease his worries.
“Don’t touch me or we’re both dead!” He shouted again, backing up into the wall. “I’m serious! Not a damn step closer!”
“It’ll be fine. Just tell me who you are.” Giorno said, almost in a whisper. He hoped to calm the man down, but it didn’t look like that would be the case.
“I TOLD YOU TO GET BACK!” the man shouted. “BACK AWAY NOW OR I WILL MAKE YOU BACK AWAY!”
Giorno paused. He was almost tempted to walk closer to see what all the fuss was about.
“Ok… that’s good. You stopped. Now back up and walk away.” the man said.
“What is your name?” Giorno asked, staying where he was.
“I’m… can you fucking back up?” the man said. “You’re freaking me out.”
“I don’t see how. I’m just standing here. Now will you please tell me what your name is?” Giorno asked again, taking one step towards the man in the green sweater.
“I TOLD YOU!” he shouted, a stand rising out of him, taking a swing at Giorno. It hit him square in the chest, pushing him back about ten feet. “IF WE TOUCH AND WE’RE THE SAME PERSON, WE BOTH DIE!”
“MY NAME IS GIORNO GIOVANNA! I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY, SAME PERSON!” Giorno shouted back, now angry. Gold Experience had risen out of his chest fast enough to block the stand’s fist, but it was a strong stand. The man’s stand was too fast for Giorno to see what it looked like.
“The stand that brought me here took me from another world… another place like this.” he seemed to have calmed now that Giorno was away from him. “My name is Dio Brando, and you seemed very… familiar. I thought you were the me of this world.”
“Dio…” Giorno whispered. “I…” he was confused on how he should proceed. He certainly looked like Dio. And if he was right, this man was Dio, but from another universe, another world. Before he had Giorno? It must have been. This man looked younger than Dio in Giorno’s pictures. So he couldn’t have had Giorno yet. So Giorno couldn’t even have been born in that world yet.
“Dio you may be, but I can’t let you walk away with a punch on me like that.” Gold Experience rose out of his body. “You’re getting back what you gave me.”
Gold Experience swung at Dio, until he found his fist in Dio’s. Dio crushed down with the strength of his stand, smiling back.
“You know, I prefer Diego.” Dio said. “That’s what Hot Pants calls me.” his stand’s arm rose out of his, crushing GE’s wrist. “And the World has a few things it could call you.”
“MUDAAAA!!” shouted Diego’s stand, rising up and swinging it’s fist into GE’s face. Gold Experience caught it, straining under the strength of the angry titan of a stand.
“THE WORLD WILL WIN THIS FIGHT, GIORNO!” Diego shouted, following up by arching his back and screeching “WRYYYYYYYYY!!!”
Gold Experience broke out of the grip of The World, and unleashed a volley of punches at Diego. The World spread his arms, and suddenly Giorno felt as if a train had hit him in the stomach. Not only that, but he was suddenly flying backwards.
“The World has used his power upon you.” Diego said, laughing a bit. “Now you might see what you are dealing with.”
“Gold Experience!” Giorno shouted. Diego snapped his fingers, and suddenly was standing holding the flag like a curtain several feet to the left.
“Try harder! You’ll get it in a second.” Diego cackled. “See, where I come from, my world, the World’s secret is out- everyone knows his power. Johnny and Gyro and Valentine all know what I’m doing and how. But you don’t.” He hung the flag over his arm, and brought it up to his face. From his eyes, Giorno could tell he was grinning. “So you’ll excuse my glee at having someone who doesn’t know all my secrets to fight! Ha ha ha ha haa!” he spun, tossing the flag into the air.
“THE WORLD!” he shouted as the flag came down in front of him. And then it hit the floor. He was gone.
“How are you DOING that?” Giorno asked, getting a little mad. “You aren’t erasing time! My watch-” he struggled to pull up his sleeve to show the watch he started wearing- “is showing the proper time!”
Diego paused. “You wear a watch too?”
“I started after I fought someone who used time powers. It seemed wise.”
“I wear one too, for… basically the same reason.” Diego pulled his sweater sleeve up, showing a watch that looked like Giorno’s, but newer.
“Huh.” Giorno looked at his watch. It seemed off by a few seconds.
Diego stood their for another second, then manifested his stand again. “Round two, Italian?”
Giorno brought up his stand once more as well. “If you’re ready.”
The stands flew at each other, Diego standing slightly further away than Giorno was. “He has a longer range than I do.” he thought. The two golden ghosts went to town, both shouting “MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA” as loud as they could. Coupled with the fact that each fist made a sound like a gunshot with every swing and hundreds of swings, the sound was monumental. Giorno circled around to Diego and tackled him. He yanked at his watch until it came off, causing Giorno to roll backwards hard and diego to fall to the floor. Both their stands flickered.
“That’s what it is!” Giorno said, comparing his now two watches. “Three times something has happened I can’t explain- it looks like you teleporting. But your watch is ahead from mine! In fact, it’s ahead by fifteen seconds! I never asked what the Dio of this world used- but clearly you’re using what Jotaro is!”
“You are stopping TIME!” Giorno said, pointing at Diego.
“Gold star, kiddo. You nailed it.”
“Jotaro can only stop time for 5 seconds, and it looks like you can too. You are 15 seconds ahead on this, and you stopped time thrice.”
“Double gold star. Now, do you wanna continue round two?”
“One moment.” to himself, he said: “I never thought I’d bring this piece of shit out again.”
“Don’t talk to your dick in the middle of a fight!”
Ignoring Diego, Giorno reached into his suit. To the left of his clevo window was a pocket on the inside. Reaching into that, he pulled a small parcel out and manifested his stand. Unwrapping it, he stabbed it into his stand’s heart, shouting MUDA! once.
“I don’t blame you for taking the easy way out!” Diego laughed, albeit confused. He stepped back as Gold Experience started glowing. The World popped up in front of Diego as a means to protect him.
Suddenly, time skipped ahead. Diego checked his watch. Time was ahead by thirty seconds.
“I ERASED TIME.” Giorno shouted, eyes glowing.
“What did you do?!” Diego shouted.
“The arrow powers up stands. Now, my stand is called-” he pulled at his cleavage window and placed his hand on his hip- “GOLD EXPERIENCE REQUIEM!!”
“Well!” Diego stopped time. “I stopped time.” Pulling a bunch of knives out of secret holders in his sweater, he tossed them at Giorno. “That should be enough!” He turned as time resumed its natural flow.
He began walking away before he heard Giorno say “Hold it.” in a very un-stabbed way.
“I threw like 20 knives at you!”
“No you didn’t.”
“Very well!” he shouted as he stopped time again. “I stopped time then.”
“No you didn’t.”
“WHAT THE HELL?!” Diego was afraid. Nothing could move in the timestop.
“I am erasing time! I am undoing-” Giorno spread his arms- “What you are doing!”
“How did you undo my timestop?!” Diego asked.
“I removed it from time after it happened.” Giorno said. His stand manifested before him. It was now glowing white and gold, looking even more formidable.
“Well then! I just have to get my work in WHILE time is stopped!” And Diego stopped time once more. It was very close to his limit- he was about to start hurting from stopping time too much.
“...N-no-ooo you di-didn-didn’t…” Giorno choked out.
Diego paused. Stopping time had certainly slowed his stand down. He sent the World out at Giorno, and began beating on him. With a jolt, GER’s arm freed itself.
“It looks like your stand is depowered slightly during timestops.” The stand’s color was muted and grayer, and it looked pained.
“As long as I can move… I can win…” Giorno choked out.
Diego thought of maybe saying something clever, but then said “No.” And punched GER in the face, knocking him backwards, knocking the arrow from his face, and making Giorno’s eyes bleed.
The timestop ended and Giorno slid back. He attempted to remove the wound from his eyebrows. He couldn’t.
“This… this shouldn’t be happening!” Giorno was almost scared. “Gold Experience Requiem should erase everything… take me back to zero… take me to the start!”
“It looks like things that happen in the timestop don’t count as… actually happening.” Diego pondered. “If you get hit in the timestop, it won’t count. You can only do things that happen in time… and the timestop is not.” Diego grinned.
Giorno twitched. He glanced at the arrow on the floor.
Diego looked at the arrow on the floor.
Time stopped. Diego flung himself at the arrow as Giorno fought through the timestop to reach it first. Diego reached it, and plunged it into The World.
Giorno blinked. “I stopped time,” Diego said, “To save me from being stuck transforming.” The World rose out of Diego, now in golden and white armor, all his features exaggerated more. “THE WORLD REQUIEM!”
“I can removed a stand’s requiem status. But it takes removal of my stand’s requiem status.” Giorno said. “It’s how I dealt with Silver Chariot Requiem- I lost Gold Experience Requiem though.”
“Well then…” Diego said. “Fair fight for round three?”
“Sure.” Giorno struck The World Requiem, draining them both of golden energy and returning them to normal status.
The two blond men stood face to face. Their stands manifested behind them and sunk into a pose ready for fighting.
Giorno’s eyebrows raised and Diego’s face twisted into a snarl as they both reached for each other. Diego began throttling Giorno, Giorno grabbed Diego’s head, and the stands both started going “MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA” at each other. Giorno tried to break Diego’s grip while also trying to smack his face into his knee.
“You… idiot.” Diego choked out. “Your stand might be stronger, maybe, but I ride horses for a LIVING. No stand helps me with MY job!” He shook Giorno’s head, and bashed his forehead into the Italian’s nose. “I am stronger than you.” The world got louder as Gold Experience’s voice got quieter. “And it looks like my stand is, too.”
The World kicked Gold Experience across the face, and dropped him to the floor. Meanwhile, Diego kneed Giorno in the stomach and threw him into the wall, following up by charging into him, bashing his shoulder into his stomach. Giorno grabbed him and kneed him in the face, getting a handful of hair.
Diego managed to break Giorno’s grip, but Giorno grabbed him around the waist. Giorno then threw Diego back as hard as he could, suplexing him into the concrete. Trying to see through the blood in his eyes, Diego knew he could just bring out his stand and stop time. He could destroy him.
He didn’t want to. Man to man. Diego wanted to defeat him on his own. No stands, no time, just two men.
Giorno got another knee into Diego’s ribs, feeling one shatter under his shin. Diego yelled and elbowed Giorno in the eye, and the two fell to the floor, angrily yelling.
“Who the hell are you?!” Diego shouted, wrestling with Giorno’s arms.
“I’m- I’m Giorno!” Giorno said, wrestling with Diego’s arms.
“I mean-” an elbow in his stomach stopped him- “who are you related to? What is your bloodline? Who can I find-” another arm “like you-” knee in the side of the face- “In my world?”
Giorno shoved Diego away, Diego didn’t take it and kneed Giorno in the stomach. At that point they both sat down, hard.
“No more…” Giorno choked. “No more, please.”
“Who can I find like you in my world?”
Giorno paused.
“Can you tell me-”
“You are my father.”
“W-what?”
“In this world, you are my dad. You died just after I was born, I think, and I never met you.”
Silence as the two sat across from each other.
Diego opened his mouth.
“Well… if I was your dad- like, I am your dad sorta, but if I had you as my son…”
“...I’d be proud of you.”
Giorno leaned on the wall. If Diego looked hard, he’d see a tear on his somewhat son’s face, mixed with the blood.
“You know, if things work out with Hot Pants, I’m naming my son Giorno.”
Giorno started getting choked up.
“Maybe he’ll be half as good as you are.”
Giorno whimpered, almost sobbing. His father did not like him, and he didn’t know what Dio would think. Based on what Jotaro had told him, he wouldn’t have liked his son. And yet, here he was. Praising him. It was too good.
The flag fluttered. Diego stood, picking up the edge. The man with curls, beaten up and bloody was standing there under it. The blond American was also there, holding his finger to the man’s neck.
“I’m going to leave now.”
“W-” Giorno tried to say, his voice breaking. Diego paused.
“What?” Diego asked.
Silently, Giorno pressed his face into Diego’s sweater and wrapped his arms around him. To his shock, Diego hugged him back, his hand on the Italian’s face.
“You are a good son, Giorno.” Diego whispered.
And with that, he turned into the flag and left.
Giorno sat down.
He looked at all the blood splattered on the street. He smiled a little.
Turning to the arrowhead, he saw that Diego had shattered it. Probably for the best.
And then he decided to walk home. Thinking to himself, he wondered what he’d name his kid.
Maybe Diego wouldn’t be so bad of a name. It would only be fair.