Ambizione (29)

You know, there's something quite odd when you are a watcher of an event and when you are a major part of it.

At times this difference is abysmal, to the point one doesn't notice it much, but there are a few occasions, such as the one I was currently dealing with, that it was… evident. And overwhelming at times. Marriage had never been much of a worry to me, not until I was there, waiting as my soon-to-be wife started to make her way towards the altar. It's been three weeks and many things have taken a curious turn. From Speedwagon making the trip back with Daisy, the shy young woman instantly drawn into the small group made by Erina, Sarah and Hannah, to Santana becoming an accustomed fixture to the workplace. Hannah hadn't exactly digested the way he became an ally, and she was still distrustful of him.

Not as much as I was at times, but I was willing to let the Pillar Man either prove his genuineness in 'serve' me rather than jump at any instance to accuse him through my paranoia. Despite all the worry that came from that decision, the tall and buff guy seemed to actually 'fit' within the company. Some were intimidated by him, but there was a general effort to accept him around. And I caught him many times helping around while I was busy by the office, either by single handedly carrying large iron beams around, or actually running around while holding giggling kids in his arms.

It was really shocking at times but… I guess that's how the Pillar Man tried to enjoy his calm life. And if that didn't fully convince me, then there was the strange request he made me back a while ago about 'spending time by the cafeteria' while I was out with Hannah. He technically didn't need to eat anything, but either out of interest or because of the rumor I heard about someone challenging him to try and cook something with just his body, Santana took cooking as a serious hobby. It was definitely a competition against his own limits, both physical and mental, to try and achieve a form of perfection that could only be drawn out by this combination.

Still, nothing compared to the important day that saw me and Hannah finally get that step forward dealt with. The magnitude of the event was incredible. St. Martin in the Fields Church was the setting that we decided to focus our big day in and… it was massive. So many people were in there, from friends and families, to close associates and even members of Made in Heaven. George had humbly accepted the role of 'father' to Hannah as he escorted her to the altar. My face felt tight, my cheeks a bit redder, but not outright sporting a blush as I felt just nervous and… empty-headed. Only the noises around, Hannah's footsteps, her own tension, the world around me felt so dreadfully loud and then… I stopped time.

"｢ACT 4｣," I softly whispered, and the world went suddenly quiet.

I breathed, I shook my head, I checked around and tried my best to get a hold of myself as I looked around. I saw so many faces, I saw so much happiness. The incredible weight of time itself crashed onto my shoulders as I pondered about the future. I did it. I was now reaching that long-awaited closure to my ambitions. Once the wedding was over, the next step would be to 'conquer' the world. To achieve full domination by extending MiH's reach through the globe. It felt like the perfect villainous plan, and… yet, I knew that it was necessary. But that wasn't what worried me. No more. It was something that came out from this bond. From this union.

The responsibility of being a loving partner to Hannah. We grew up well together, we were close- would I be able to take time off from my businesses and give her devotion as a husband should. Yes, I was having a small case of cold feet, but more entitled to my logical understanding of how tough it was going to be to carefully harmonize time between family and duty. Between my own happiness and the happiness of others. It was going to be difficult, and many would give up to try and stand by the middle of it. To either be a philanthropist or to be a loving family man.

…

I wanted to taste the challenge. I reached ｢The World｣'s strongest form, I could achieve my own limits and break them once more. I would wreck havoc on those trying to disrupt my plans of a perfect ending, and I didn't plan to let go of what I got in recent times. Yes, I will succeed, and never fail. For I now was Dio Joestar, the beholder of a new plan for the Heavens and, hopefully, a caring husband too. Time resumed its course, and the ceremony resumed as intended. I felt calmer, my self pep-talk managed to carry me through the big questions before me, and the kiss that came forth, that signature to this life-binding contract, tasted of love and hope. Not just mine, but Hannah's. The grand applause, the ensuing feasts, the wine, the cakes, the lengthy celebration and then… sharing that bed and doing my duty as a husband.

Truth be told, Hannah was… quite fierce. Not as fierce as I had expected, but she definitely proved herself a few steps more eager than I was about it. Not like I liked it or anything so stupid, but I was particularly cautious due to how powerful our bodies were. In a sense, my paranoia proved to be right in this regard. We ended up breaking four beds in a single week, and it wasn't like we actually were spent when the beds would break. It would always be a forced ending to these intimate moments. It would take a while and a specially reinforced bed when, as we went through our honeymoon vacation, we ended up reaching the limits offered by our growth. It was intense, draining, but exciting. To the point where I was genuinely quick to drop any work when Hannah would walk up to me and tell me a few words that soon became a codename for this kind of stuff.

"I'm going to bed… don't make me wait~."

I love this woman to death, and no one can dare to tell me otherwise.

So, it wouldn't be much of a reach when, six months after the event and after many intense nights in bed, Hannah got pregnant. And when the child was born while we were enjoying a break from work during a second visit to our honeymoon's location. Erina had already delivered a healthy boy, George II, a few months earlier, making both Jojo and his father quite elated at the joyous day. Sadly, it was just me, my wife and a cast of medics dealing with our child's birth, and the resulting development was… eye-watering. After enduring so much out of this new life, after conquering my own weaknesses and shaping my own destiny with my actions… Now I had something in my hold that was the product of said future.

Hope crystallized in a new being, a quiet creature that yearned for warmth and care. His eyes were closed when I had him in my hold, but he seemed to get curious enough to try and look at me. The little blond squinted eyes softly, and a pair of light-blue eyes greeted me. Giorno Joestar was born April 16, 1885. A healthy boy, the greatest treasure of two caring parents. Hannah and I, our horrible experiences from the past, gave us an edge. We knew of pain, and thus we valued joy to a higher degree. This was destiny, this was… our first happy ending. And what was left to do was now to make sure the world we left to Giorno would be filled with goodness and justice.

I, Dio Joestar, have a dream that I know is just. So witness me as I enforce true fate upon the world around us.

AN

This is technically Ambizione's Ending, with the next chapter being a prologue to what ensued next Arc. 'Conquista' or 'Conquest'. After planning an ambition and growing confident enough to wage war for it, Dio prepares for the greatest part of his life: 'Handling the world and its injustices while facing villains from Jojo and other known monsters'.

Omake 44: Dio meets the Jojos (Joseph)

"So, let me put it in a simple way, gramps. This Dio ain't the scum that killed you a while ago? I mean, he does have the same looks granny Erina told me to be wary about."

Jonathan looked a bit sheepish and nervous with that summary. I don't think he knew he had been killed by the original Dio, nor that his grandson would end up being so… boisterous. It was truly odd to be on the receiving end of some glaring from this Jojo, being aware of how much of a prank-maker he was in the norms.

The young man stood right in front of us, having recovered from the little dimensional trip he made. He had been on the edge ever since he had opened his eyes, and the only way he calmed down was when he realized that the 'handsome copycat' was none other than his grandfather.

A bit of surprise, a bit of suspicions, but he seemed willing to accept this. He wasn't exactly as tolerant when it was revealed that I was Dio, but my last name was 'Joestar'. So, here we were, making a point without having everything derail into a fight. Truth be told, it was more 'easier' than it sounded. As much as Joseph was putting an effort to appear serious…

Well, he wasn't exactly the tough cop kind of guy, and he was capable of perceiving the mood of the room from the way he hesitated to be too pushy about learning more about the matter. We didn't know how we got there, but we could at least say that we were there due to a correlation of bloodlines/family bonds.

"T-That would be right."

"This is truly absurd. I mean, he doesn't look like one of those crazy vampires or even the Pillar Man, but he could be lying."

"And how would I be able to prove otherwise."

The flamboyant hamon user hummed, closing his eyes as he pondered about it. "Well, there's actually something that could prove it. You say that you also helped granny Erina so… you didn't kiss her."

"I did not-"

"But how do I know that you are not lying about it? After all, you might be lying about it and-" He stopped, not because I said anything, but because I showed something that had him surprised and shocked. Something that not even Jonathan had seen. I showed him my ring.

"I'm happily married with a lovely lady and I have a son. No, I did not engage in anything of the sort in the past, so I would like this to be put to a rest."

…

"You- You are married?" Jonathan inquired with a surprised look, and I decided to add another proof to the matter.

I retrieved my money pouch, and fished out the mini-portrait I made with ｢ACT 4｣'s as my 'painter'. It was something that took a while to achieve, but the Stand's precision was so that it allowed me to create a memento to carry around when I was away from my family. That very day was quite fun as poor Giorno could seemingly see ｢ACT 4｣ but was unable to understand who or what it was, preferring to lean over by his mother's lap and reach out as if to ask him to pick him up. My best assumption is that he perceived a connection with it and that he saw the humanoid as an extent of me.

There were many questions in that regard, with Joseph quickly adopting a more crass attitude when he spotted my wife. I would have been angry, after all, he was behaving disrespectfully. Sadly for him, I 'knew' that he had done something that easily embarrassed him.

"I mean, I suppose it's just a brazen compliment," I replied as I tried to ignore the 'she is a hot babe' kind of comment. "After all, he said something like that when he peeped on his mother while she was bathing."

The reaction was instantaneous, with Jonathan narrowing his eyes as sternly as he could while Joseph sweated bullets while trying to explain how that situation came to be. It was hilarious, quite so, and it offered me some reprieve as I started to finally look around for anything interesting.

The place lacked much in terms of furniture, but I spotted a kitchen section with some modern equipment such as fridges and an oven, what looked to be a doorstep that led to a large room filled with beds, and… no windows? Where were we? And what is going on here? I wanted to know more about this but I just couldn't find any sight-related clue that could give me something to start from. Was there even a logical reason we were there? Definitely.

There has to be one if this place was prepared for the occasion. And as it seemed like things were finally getting calmer in this bizarre development, our attention was taken away by a new noise coming from the side. Two individuals fell through into this setting, both of which were familiar and one of them was… already frightening me to a terrifying degree. The world rumbled as something akin to a phantom fear emerged from within, ordering me to brace for impact.

Jotaro Kujoh from Part 3 was already running towards me, a pissed look on his face and ｢Star Platinum｣ already aching to hand out a beating. I took a defensive stance and I could tell this was going to be quite the intense experience. And that diplomacy was definitely going to be tough to achieve. At least I managed to get a fun meme out of this when older Joseph slapped his gloved hands on his cheeks and went with his trademark exclamation.

"Holy shit! We just got kidnapped by DIO!"

Holy shit indeed, and this wasn't going to be an easy interaction for me, no matter how stronger ｢ACT 4｣ was compared to ｢Star Platinum｣.