It was back in 1988, several months before Jotaro and his friends journeyed to Egypt. DIO and Pucci were reading in bed together. The TV was on as well, with a taping of the Steel Ball Run, which Pucci did not have the chance to see due to his priesthood training. DIO found it amazing how he was able to focus on both his reading and the race at the same time. 'The wonders of vampirism.' He leafed through his art book and saw a picture of the Mona Lisa. "Hey, Pucci." Pucci looked over from his Bible study. "Did you know the Louvre in Paris gets an average of 40,000 visitors per day?," DIO asked.

"Really?," Pucci said, wincing as one of his preferred racers got taken out by the seemingly unstoppable Team Kujo. DIO chuckled. "I saw a recent Michael Jackson concert on TV that had that many people, but it doesn't happen every day." "Well only a small percentage of a pop star's revenue comes from concerts," Pucci reasoned. "True," DIO admitted, "But the Louvre gets that many people each and every day, ever since it first opened back in 1783. All those people flocking to some of the most popular exhibits, such as the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo."

Pucci seemed a little confused. "Is there something special about those numbers?" DIO shrugged. "Not particularly. What's truly special is how skilled painters and sculptors are able to shape their souls into something visible for others." "Well, Michelangelo often said that each stone held a statue within," Pucci noted, "And he was merely freeing it from its prison." "And in that way art can be seen as quite similar to Stand power," DIO said, "Think about the differences in our Stands. Mine holds the power to stop time itself. While yours can slowly kill while inducing illusions, or even remove another Stand altogether. It's quite similar to how different the Venus de Milo or Mona Lisa are to each other."

He then surprised Pucci by grabbing his arm, firmly but not roughly, a clear indicator that violence was not his intention. "Though it does leave me with concern," DIO said, "Your Stand, Whitesnake can even remove my Stand, The World. You also know of my weaknesses in regards to being a vampire. If you wanted you could kill me in my sleep, and in the process take my Stand for your own. Would you betray me someday, knowing all this?"

Pucci's face remained unchanged, his eyes never leaving DIO's. "The thought had never even occurred to me. You have helped and encouraged my growth. You are the king of kings. I wish to see where you will end up... To the bitter end. I love you as I love God." For a while Pucci's hand seemed to merge into DIO's head, though more from DIO pushing the arm inside to test Pucci. The Stand disc for The World became visible, but DIO took a chance and released Pucci's arm. Pucci immediately pulled it back, letting the disc return to DIO's head.

DIO sighed. "I apologize. I've insulted you. Up until I met you I had no one who could truly put me at ease just by talking. I was afraid I would lose you. I'm sure you'll become an honorable child of God." Pucci then realized something else was in his hand. "The time of destiny is soon approaching," DIO said, "Next year marks the one-hundredth anniversary of when I transcended my humanity. However... There is no guarantee I will live beyond it. Therefore, I want you to have this as a token of my apology... And absolute trust."

Pucci opened his hand to see it was a small bone. "That came from my body," DIO explained, "I took it out just now. May it give you strength to accomplish my plan, in the event that I am unable to." Pucci realized that DIO was being serious. If his Stand was strong enough to defeat The World, then DIO clearly understood that there might be other Stand powers that could do the same. The ability to overcome the power to stop time was no small feat, after all.

Back in the present, Pucci was in a serious bind. He could see the disc for Stone Free coming out of Jolyne's head. In terms of experience, Pucci definitely had his Stand for longer, but only by a matter of a few years. And his power was simplistic, while Jolyne's power let her get creative. The tiniest slip-up could get him killed before he could even complete his plans. Worse still, he had no bargaining chips to help. Then he had a thought. 'I don't need to attack Jolyne directly. I just have to get out of these cuffs. That should be far simpler.'

He made to attack Jolyne, who attacked at the same time using Stone Free. To Jolyne's surprise, a small crucifix came out of his nail, striking the disc coming out her head, causing it to come out more and impair her vision. "Jolyne!," Anasui called out. "Hold on," Rainbow said, holding him back, "She's got this. She's had far more combat experience than Pucci." Whitesnake made to go for the disc, only for Stone Free to suddenly attack Pucci hard. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

Jolyne got thrown off a little when Pucci suddenly came loose from her. She then noticed that her disc was sliding back into her head. Pucci looked around, but the Green Baby obviously had fallen asleep somewhere in the grass and was blending in well. 'I need to stay out of Jolyne's range until I find it. I can't let myself get stopped this early.' "He's going for the baby!," Atroe realized, "He just needed to get out of Jolyne's grip!" "He won't get it if I can help it!," Rainbow called out, "I'll Fly!"

"Time Judged All!," Ryusei called out. The two of them flew up into the air to scan the area. Pucci couldn't help but think ominously of a pair of vultures waiting for a corpse to rot. He suddenly spotted the child in an isolated patch. 'There it is. I need to get to it before the others can spot it and get it away from me. DIO entrusted this last chance to me. I cannot let it go to waste. The chance to achieve Heaven is before me! I cannot give it up!'

Cliffhangers, right? Anyway, in case you haven't noticed Stone Ocean is flashback central as far as Jojo is concerned. Heck, and entire arc is dedicated to events prior to the current story.