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Time was running out and Diego knew it. As his body shouted at him to do something, his mind raced at a thousand miles a minute. The only thing keeping him running was the pure adrenaline pumping through his veins with the harsh beating of his heart. He barely gave it a second thought when he sent out a group of his dinosaurs as a desperate call for help to the only man he knew he could trust.
‘Hurry…’
He could feel his body be ripped apart by the power of the President's mysterious stand. His life was slipping through his fingers as he held his arm out to the sewer cover.
‘Please come.’
The clock ticked away, every second chipping at his body and soul until he could no longer move. It would take a miracle to get him out of this situation.
‘Th… They should be… Getting there… Soon…’
Diego emptied all his faith into this man, asking and begging him and God for a miracle. And a miracle is what came.
As blood gushed from his wounds the manhole cover of the sewer was shoved away with violent force, a single hand with light blue nails that spun at the tips of their fingers emerging behind the dinosaurs Diego had sent.
Aimed directly at the President, the fingernail from his index finger shot straight for his neck, catching him by surprise and causing him to drop the corpse's eye.
No one other than Johnny Joestar emerged from the sewer, the flame in his eye burning with bright determination.
Diego felt himself come alive again, an emotion most unfamiliar to him invading his system.
‘Y… You did it…’
Upon laying eyes on him, it was clear to Diego that Johnny was near death as well. His wounds looked most fatal, yet despite it all he still responded to Diego’s cry for help. He still saved him.
The next events unfolded far too quickly for Diego to say anything to the man that has just saved his life. Valentine—who had just been injured—has disappeared behind the door he was knocked into, and Diego was finally beginning to put the pieces together and unlock the mystery of D4C.
Everything was making more and more sense, but he could not think things through too thoroughly as the alternate version of him split in half and fell to the ground, no longer alive.
He realized how much he was in danger, and had Wekapipo pull his legs away to prevent him from meeting the same fate as his counterpart. Of course, this action did not come without sacrifice.
Wekapipo had died.
The President had disappeared, too, leaving behind nothing but a trail of blood to confirm that he had once been there. Upon looking at the manhole, he confirmed that Johnny, too, was no longer there, leaving behind remnants of his blood where he had been on the verge of death only seconds prior. The thought that Johnny had fallen back inside for his soul to be dragged away by death flashed through his mind, but as he smelled the air, it was absent of death and absent of Johnny. He could only hope to assume that Johnny had gotten away and was now safe, perhaps by Gyro’s side to receive aid for his injuries.
For now, Diego hadn’t the time to stick around and find out. He had a goal and one that was time-sensitive. Finding the whereabouts of Valentine and the corpse parts were currently at the top of his list, and even as he got onto the back of Silver Bullet, thinking about his next course of action, the image of hurt and bloodied Johnny remained in the back of his mind. Yet he felt he could not spare another moment's time on the thought of him. He had more dire things at hand.
Or maybe he didn’t. Perhaps as much as Johnny plagued his mind he did not want to admit what—or rather who—was truly at the top of his list of priorities.
.
Johnny panted in pain as his lungs ached with every breath, resting on the cobblestone ground while Gyro examined the gunshot wounds around his body. The Italian remained silent, even as he rummaged through his bag of medical supplies and began to patch Johnny up.
Johnny waved Gyro off and started to talk, acting against the man’s protests for him to keep his mouth shut for the sake of his open wounds. But he fell silent and remained so even as Johnny struggled to show him the newfound sensations in his legs.
“Damn it!” Johnny cursed as he fell back down to the ground, his leg muscles still far too weak to support any of his weight. He was frustrated and upset, but there was ultimately nothing he could do about it. Johnny was upset but he was hopeful, knowing that he could only progress from this point on. However, his true spark of hope remained in the depths of his heart, and that spark shone with colors of gold and teal, the reflection of the glint of light that so often sparkles on those three golden letters, ‘DIO’.
The thought of the Englishman in the back of his head made him wonder if the man was okay. That’s where his hope lies: in the safety of his rival.
.
As most things in Johnny’s life always went, he had been betrayed by fate. His prayers for Diego’s safety were only temporarily listened to. The man had survived the initial attack Johnny had saved him from, but as he gazed through his pair of binoculars from the back of his horse, he could feel his heart begin to gray, and that last spark of hope slowly die out along with the familiar shine of those letters on Diego’s hat.
“Dio is dead!”
His shout died in his throat, the admission so painful that he could not find the strength in his vocal cords to say it.
The worst part about it was that their situation was dire, and he hadn’t the time to grieve or process the scene before him. He and Gyro had to get moving, and quickly. But a part of his heart tugged at his strings to keep him still. He almost did with the way his ears rang and his heart beat faster, soon becoming the only sound he could hear. Was this really it? Was it possible for Diego to come back from this? There had to be a way. He’d seen some crazy shit on this journey, surely Diego could live. There had to be some way. He had to figure out a way. It was his obligation to do so.
Or at least, that’s how he felt.
If Johnny could save Diego from the verge of death once, why couldn’t he do it this time? Has he failed him? He wondered if there had been another call for help that he had missed. Did Diego die feeling let down? Betrayed? Forgotten? The beating of his heart started to hurt.
Johnny had the story all wrong. Diego did not send another call for help, he knew damn well the risks he was taking when he took Valentine down to the train tracks. No, he hadn’t expected it to turn out this way, but for some reason, he lacked regret. He lacked regret because as he shouted the words ‘I’ve won!’ and blinked through spotty vision, he looked out to the opening of the forest, only faintly spotting the familiar sky-blue outfit in the distance.
‘…He’s safe.’
Diego’s last breath was one of relief.
He felt content and hopeful, knowing that if anyone was strong enough to defeat the President, save Lucy, take the corpse parts, and leave alive, that person would be none other than Johnny Joestar. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that everything would be okay.
Diego’s body suddenly felt warm as the comforting hands of death came to grasp him. The warmth took him to a place of comfort that he hadn’t remembered since his mother was alive. And for once in his life, Diego was okay with feeling small. He put his best effort into this battle, and he was okay with losing it. Johnny was the sole reason.
Johnny watched through his binoculars as the bright teal in Diego’s eyes faded away, diluting to lifeless gray. He still felt he failed the man, not able to rip him away from the light which had so quickly approached him.
It hurt him.
Johnny thought, ‘I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve saved you.’
Diego thought, ‘Oh, but you did.’
And it hurt Diego to think Johnny would never know it.
It hurt Diego to know that Johnny would never know it.
It hurt Diego to know that Johnny would never have a clue as to how far his love went for him.
Johnny had saved Diego’s life time and time again and did not know it. It hurt Diego to not be able to repay him. He hoped his sacrifice would be enough. If only Johnny knew.
If only.
And if only Diego knew the depths at which Johnny’s heart ached and broke upon laying his eyes on him. If only he knew how much Johnny wished from the bottom of his soul that there was some way he could save him. If only he knew how far Johnny’s love went for him. If only Diego knew.
If only.