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Hot Pants had been following Diego’s lead ever since they made their deal back in Philadelphia. At the time, she had been wary about putting her trust in Dio, but even before the fight against President Valentine began, she saw her trust in him was not misplaced. When they faced themselves, Dio had warned her about what would happen if their doppelganger came into contact with them.
“If you don’t do as I say, you’ll die.”
Heeding his warning to not come into contact with their clones, Hot Pants chased after the fleeing form of Dio. The Presidents attack had already begun.
After seeing first hand the truth of Dio’s words and boarding the President’s train with him, he promptly sent their other selves back to their proper world. There, standing in the train car together, Dio explained what the President’s stand could do, how he was almost invincible. In silent preparation, Hot Pants thought back to her past; her reason for joining this race. Her sin had been weighing heavily on her soul since the day it transpired and she knew she could never be cleansed of it through normal means. Her only choice to free herself had always been to claim that ‘corpse‘.
After catching her breath, she glanced at Dio. Her unlikely ally was looking through the glass into the train car beyond, cold calculation in his eyes. She thought then of Diego’s reason for being in this race, for being here fighting alongside her. She did not know many details of his life, but knew more than most. His father, Dario, had not been kind to Dio and his mother. Abandoning them to their fate had been what ultimately caused their hardships, she understood why Dio wanted power and political standing.
Wanting revenge for your family’s misfortune was not uncommon, but for Dio, who had no qualms about killing and using underhanded schemes, sinning was second nature. He would do anything in his power to get what he wanted. She envied him for that.
Closing her eyes, she let out a soft sigh. She wondered what her life would have been like if she could live with what she had done, if she could just forget her past and live a normal life. She would sometimes entertain these thoughts, that one day she would someday get married, have a family and be happy. But this was no time for pipe dreams. Once this was all over, she could finally rest peacefully for the first time since that dreadful day. Steeling herself, she slowly opened her eyes.
She then noticed Diego was watching her, regarding her with an unreadable expression on his face. She thought perhaps he was having doubts about her resolve. Standing up straight, she met his gaze. The time for second thoughts had passed long ago; there was no turning back. She gave him a hard nod, giving him the signal that she was prepared for what they were about to face. They both knew this could possibly be their final moments, but if they accomplished what they came here to do, they would both walk away with what they wanted most. The prize was well worth the risk.
Diego’s features softened upon seeing Hot Pants’ determination shining brightly in her eyes. Nodding back at her, he turned fully towards the door, towards their very future. With Diego standing besides her they both readied themselves at the door. Slowly Dio reached for the door handle, closing his fist around it tightly. She held her breath.
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So far everything had been going according to Diego’s plan. He and Hot Pants had been countering President Valentine’s every move since the beginning of their confrontation, giving them the upper hand.
Having Hot Pants on his side was turning out to be as invaluable as Dio had suspected. The clever use of her stand, Cream Starter, in tandem with his own vicious attacks was proving to be too much for the President to keep up with, making him unable to get himself between any surfaces. Since Dio knew the weakness of the President’s stand, he would take every precaution to make sure his goal was the one to come to fruition. Even when Valentine had managed to use D4C to slip into another universe using water droplets, he was unable to gain an advantage.
Bringing back three copies of himself, just as Dio and Hot Pants had anticipated, was to be Valentine’s own downfall. Immediately after the President’s counterattack, Hot Pants used her meat spray on Dio to disguise him as one of the the Presidents. This gave Dio the opportunity he needed to end this fight with the three instant deaths he needed to execute; one for each copy of the President.
Swiftly, Dio went into action, not giving any of the Valentines any time to react. Using the sharp talons on his hands, he slit the throats of the two presidents on either side of him, killing them instantly. He turned his attention to the one left standing. Valentine turned to run, but Dio was faster. He attacked and sliced the President’s shoulder open.
“I’ve won! Now your ‘weakness’ that I predicted is proven!”
Fearing for his life, Valentine did the only thing he could do. He jumped out of the train through the window. That was the only shot he had to try to save himself, but Diego wouldn’t let Valentine escape so easily and immediately jumped after him.
Easily seeing right through his plan, Dio swatted away all the pieces of broken glass in the air away from Valentine. He wouldn’t allow him to use the same trick twice.
“This time you were planning to use the pieces of broken glass? Too bad-you no longer have anything to go between!”
Seeing his victory right before him, Dio went in for the final attack, aiming straight for the President’s throat.
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It was all happening so fast; Hot Pants could barely keep up with Diego‘s relentless attacks. Seeing him kill the Presidents’ copies so swiftly left her almost as stunned as Valentine himself. Without delay, Dio was on the attack again, setting his sights on the only remaining President.
Time seemed to slow down for Hot Pants at that moment. Valentine turned to run, trying to escape his assassins. Dio attacked him from behind, striking his shoulder, blood flying out of the wound. Dio cried out in triumph. It seemed as though they had won. Hot Pants realized it then that it was true . They were on the verge of victory!
Suddenly, Hot Pants felt a terrible sense of cold dread overtake her whole being. Standing there frozen, time around her seemed to stop. She had felt this fear before. It was the same paralyzing fear she felt on that terrible day. She didn’t know why, but she just knew something terrible was about to happen; knew she and Diego would end up dead.
The sudden sound of glass shattering brought her back to her senses. Focus returning back to the battle going on in front of her, she realized that Valentine had jumped out the train window. Diego wasted no time, not willing to let his prey escape him, jumped right after him.
Realizing what she had felt must have been some sort of warning, Hot Pants knew she couldn’t just stand idly by; knew that she had to act now. There was no time to think, her body moved of its own volition. Running up to the window, she saw Dio and the President in midair with Dio poised to strike. Before thoughts of hesitation could delay her, she made her decision. She took a few steps back, preparing to follow after Diego. Giving herself a running start, Hot Pants jumped through the shattered window.
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Everything that had happened in Dio’s life had lead up to this final moment. The only thing left for him to do was kill Valentine and retrieve the ‘corpse’, and with it, gaining the ‘greatest power’ in this world. Then he would finally be able to have his revenge against his lowlife father, but more importantly, redeem his mother. She was the only person to have ever cared about him, to have ever put him above their own well-being. She deserved better than the path life had thrown her on.
Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Dio hardened his claws. Ruthlessly, he slashed the President‘s throat, ripping it open easily as one would wet paper.
“The wound of your slit throat is the ‘line’ of the wretched world I was part of…”
Continuing his assault, he bared his fangs, face cracking into hard scales. Dio mercilessly sliced Valentine down the middle, blood spraying out everywhere.
“…And this, this is the line that crosses over it! Me! The ‘line’ that brings this world into my hands!”
Seeing the almost lifeless look in Valentine’s eyes, Diego knew then that he had won. Moving in for the killing final strike, Dio noticed too late that he had made a fatal mistake. In his excitement for his would be triumph, Dio had dropped his guard. The President used this opening to wrap his legs around Dio’s waist, intending to drag them both underneath the train. Dio’s eyes widened in realization of Valentine’s intentions. This wasn’t how it was suppose to end. This was suppose to be his perfect victory; how could this have happened? It would be a cruel twist of fate if they both died here.
Suddenly, Diego noticed something in his peripheral vision. He managed to look just in time to see Hot Pants flying right towards him. Before he could even think about what was going on, she had full body tackled him, her arms wrapping around his midsection. The force of the blow knocked Diego back, their combined weight forcing Valentine to relinquish his grip on Dio, lest he be pulled away from the tracks. Landing harshly on the hard ground, Diego and Hot Pants rolled roughly to a stop. Laying still on his back, Diego closed his eyes. His head ached and he struggled to catch his breath as he waited for the world to stop spinning.
Slowly, the dust around him settled and he looked up to the clear blue sky. What had just happened? He was almost run over by the train. He was supposed to be dead. He didn’t understand how he had survived.
Hearing a soft cough, he realized he was not alone. He then also felt there was a weight on his chest. Looking down, he saw Hot Pants was lying on top of him, her expression pained, and her eyes shut tightly. Her arms were wrapped around him. Then everything came rushing back to him. He and President Valentine were about to be killed but Hot Pants had pushed him away. Did that mean that the President was dead? Immediately he pushed himself up and removed Hot Pants’ hold on him. Moving her aside, he quickly got to his feet and walked over to the tracks. The train had already moved on, only the smell of smoke left in its wake. Glancing around Diego saw nothing; no trace of the President at all. Had he escaped into another world? Was that even possible in the state he had left him in? Taking a small step back, Dio shook his head, running a hand over his disheveled hair. It was then he noticed his signature helmet had fallen off somewhere. He dropped his arm back down to his side. He grit his teeth together in anger, his fists clenching tightly. It was unbelievable; After coming so close to just failed? Life was indeed cruel.
Hearing a groan behind him, Diego looked over his shoulder. Hot Pants was now just sitting up off the ground a few feet away where he had left her. She was rubbing the back of her head with one hand, while supporting herself with the other. She looked up at him when she felt his gaze on her. Diego’s anger then took over from there. Suddenly, he was on top of her, having pushed her down and straddling her. He quickly smacked her only means of defense out of her reach. With her meat spray gone, she looked up at Diego, surprise clearly etched on her face by his sudden actions. Fangs extending and face cracking from the spread of scales, he roughly put his hands around Hot Pants’ throat, tightening his grip slowly. The look of surprise on Hot Pants’ face quickly changed to one of fear. She grabbed hold of his wrists, trying to pry his hands off of her. Useless. He tightened his grip further, glaring down at her menacingly.
“Why did you push me away from the President?! Couldn’t you see that I was about to kill him?”
Looking up at Diego through watery eyes, she struggled to breathe. She pushed against him in vain, his strength overwhelming her easily.
“Because of you Valentine was able to enter another world and survive! Now he has the ‘corpse’ while we are left with nothing!”
Diego’s hands tightened around her further.
“What were you thinking, you foolish girl? Why did you follow me?”
Realizing that she was starting to lose consciousness, he released her throat from his grasp. Sitting up, she immediately started coughing whilst holding her hands to her abused neck, desperately trying to suck oxygen back into her deprived lungs. Dio pushed her back down to the ground roughly by her shoulder. Seizing both of her wrists in one hand, he held them above her head.
“Answer me.” he demanded coldly.
Still trying to catch her breath, she laid her head back on the ground and closed her eyes. Vaguely she remembered when she first allied with Dio, to how she thought he would break their deal and turn on her. It all seemed like it happened so long ago, even though it had only been a few hours. Maybe she had been foolish to place her trust in him after all. Her breathing somewhat better and her mind no longer on the verge of unconsciousness, she then began processing the questions Diego had asked her.
Why did she follow after him? She remembered the strange feeling she felt back on the train. She couldn’t understand it but she had known it had been some sort of premonition; that something terrible was about to transpire and that she had to act then and there. She would probably never understand fully but she knew if she hadn’t acted, they would both be dead right now. Feeling Diego’s claws slightly sink into the back of her wrists, she opened her eyes and regarded the man above her. He wore the same angry expression, his features still distorted by his stand. Impatiently, Dio bared his fangs at her.
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Hot Pants.” He threatened, pressing his claws deeper into her skin. Blood was starting to seep from the wounds.
Wincing slightly from his rough treatment, she narrowed her eyes and turned away from him.
“You wouldn’t understand my reasons for what I did.”
Growling angrily, Dio used his free hand to grab her by her chin, forcing her to look back at him. He was in no mood for games. If she didn’t answer him now, he might not be able to hold himself back any longer.
Seeing the serious look on his face, she knew if she wanted to have a chance of walking away from here, she best answer him. She breathed in deeply. He might not be happy with her reasons, but she hoped he would at least believe her. Exhaling out slowly, she began.
She described to him what she experienced back on the train. How she couldn’t understand what she was feeling, just that she had to do something to prevent a horrible fate from befalling them. This warning she had received had no explainable source, it was almost like a sign from God. She only did what she thought was right.
Dio’s expression didn’t change. In fact, he seemed to become even more irate than before. Scowling, he moved his face closer to hers.
“So you stopped me from killing the President because you were frightened? I didn’t bring you along just so you could ruin my one chance at obtaining what I want.”
Hot Pants scowled back at him, her brow furrowing in frustration.
“I knew you wouldn’t understand! Can’t you see, Diego? If I wouldn’t have interfered, you would have died back there! Valentine intended to kill you and escape. Then he would have killed me as well when he returned. I saved our lives!”
Taken aback by her sudden outburst, Diego released her chin and turned away from her in frustration. He knew he could not have escaped by his own means and would have met a gruesome death. He thought Valentine would have surely died instantly along with him underneath the train‘s tracks, but now he knew. He saw for himself the truth of Hot Pants’ words. Was it really ‘fate’ that both he and Hot Pants were suppose to die by the President‘s hands? But somehow something changed that. Whatever it was, he should be grateful Hot Pants took it to heart. If the scenarios were reversed, he might not have heeded it and ‘fate’ would have continued as intended. Releasing his grip on her wrists, Dio sighed and stood up. Stepping back, he allowed Hot Pants to finally sit up properly.
Standing up slowly, Hot pants looked at Diego, trying to see if he planned on attacking her again. She noticed right away his normal features upon his face, his stand no longer active. It looked as if though she got through to him. Relaxing slightly, she looked down and rubbed her slightly bloody wrists. Noticing then her meat spray on the ground, she bent down to retrieve it. Holding it in her hand, she looked at it with sad eyes. Though she had narrowly managed to avoid getting her and Diego killed, Valentine had still won. He was the one who remained in possession on the ‘corpse’. They had failed miserably. Now she would never be forgiven for her sin, her soul forever tainted. Returning her stand to its proper place, she glanced back to Dio. He stood there, watching her with an unreadable expression. Taking a step back cautiously, she reached for her spray again.
Smirking slightly, Dio looked away, towards the direction in which the train had gone.
“Calm down, I’m not going to attack you anymore.”
Slowly, Hot Pants willed herself to relax again.
Diego continued, his demeanor now more noticeably somber.
“Why didn’t you just save yourself? You had no obligation to risk your life for someone like me.”
Confused about the sudden question, Hot Pants took a moment to consider her answer before responding. Why didn’t she save herself? That answer was simple enough, but what did he mean when he said ‘someone like me’? Did he mean a person who was not entirely good? She believed that as long as there was some good in people, then they could be forgiven. That is why she devoted her life to a covenant and became a nun; why she had joined this race to begin with. Noticing Diego was watching her over his shoulder, she decided to answer his question with the truth.
“When I jumped out after you, I did not think about the why. It was just my first instinct; to make sure we both lived. Long ago I had a similar choice and I selfishly chose myself out of fear of death. That still haunts me to this day. Back then I didn’t have the means to save both me and my brother but now I am no longer a helpless child. I can now choose to not be selfish and I am no longer fearful of death. I don’t want to feel responsible for another death I could have helped prevent. I no longer want to be burdened to live with more of the same guilt.”
Pausing to take a breath, she took a few steps closer to Dio. He turned around to meet her gaze fully. Asking her that question, he had not been expecting Hot Pants to answer with such honesty. Finding out this new information, he now saw her in a different light.
“Now, Diego Brando, I have a question for you.”
His interest peaked, he wondered what she could possibly want to know? She apparently already knew about his father, and his harsh upbringing. The rest of the details of his life was mostly public knowledge. Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited for her to speak.
“Diego, I want to ask you about your mother.”
Instantly, there was a negative reaction from him. How dare she presume she can speak about his mother! Before he could say or do something drastic, Hot Pants continued with what she had to say.
“You don’t have to answer me, I just wanted to answer the second part of your question. About why I would want to save ‘someone like you.“
Letting his arms drop down to his sides, Diego breathed in deeply, willing his anger to leave him. Mentally preparing for the unwelcome question to come, he exhaling slowly, then he nodded to her, signaling for her to continue.
“I will tell you why you are worth saving to me. When you refer to yourself, I assume you mean someone whose soul is heavy with misdeeds and cold-heartedness. I will tell you what I think about those kinds of people; about you. No one is born evil, only certain circumstances cause people to turn down a wicked road. As long as they have an ounce of good in them, then they can be forgiven. That is what I believe.“
Looking directly into Dio’s eyes, she asked her question.
“Diego, did you love your mother?”
Dio’s expression changed drastically then. At first more anger, clenching his fists tightly, he seemed ready to lash out at her again. But as quickly as it came his anger dissipated, leaving behind a pained and sorrowful look on his face. Dio quickly turned away from her then, standing tense, his shoulders rigid. She waited for him to speak first before going any further. After about a minute, she can see Dio had finally started to turn around to face her again; his expression carefully neutral. Not turning around fully to face her, he looked back at her over his shoulder and spoke softly.
“I have never spoken about my mother to anyone before. You said I did not have to answer your question, so I shall not. You may believe what you want, you already know that I will make my father pay for what he did he did to us.”
Hot Pants nodded to him then, accepting his answer.
“I believe that you did love her, therefore I know you aren’t truly evil. To me that means that you and your sins can perhaps one day be forgiven. Though some may have to work more than others to have their souls made pure again. So with that you now know why I think even you or anyone shouldn’t be left alone to die and be forgotten. Everyone deserves to have a second chance.”
Diego took in what she had said, considering her words carefully. He turned fully now, meeting her warm gaze. He understood now completely. Hot Pants’ forgiveness reminded him of his mother and her kindness. For the first time since he could remember, Dio actually had a genuine smile.
“Thank you, Hot Pants. If only everyone had your way of thinking. For now, even if we cannot forget our past, maybe this so-called second chance we received was granted to us for a reason. The fight is not over yet. Perhaps we can still do something to help us to bear our past a bit easier.”
Smiling back at him, Hot Pants nodded in agreement. Finally she had no more doubts, nothing holding her back from her goal. They might have failed in getting the ‘corpse’ from President Valentine once, but that doesn’t mean they were out of the fight for good.
“Perhaps if we can find our horses, we can catch up to Valentine. I’m sure Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli are fighting him as we speak. We‘ll just follow the tracks until we find them.”
Diego made a slight face of disgust, not liking the idea of having to follow behind his rivals, but none the less agreed. After retrieving their horses, they went off riding parallel to the tracks, to fight for their second chance they received at life.