In 1888, a series of eleven murders occurred in Whitechapel. All of those are speculated to be the work of Jack the Ripper, but only five can conclusively be stated to be his work. The other six are pure speculation. The motive and identity remain a mystery more than a hundred years after the serial killer died. And the reason for it had to do with a certain pair of siblings. In that part of London, Dio was being wheeled around by a now zombified Wang, Enya walking nearby.

Dio sniffed the air. "We're getting close. I can smell blood on the wind." Sure enough, they soon came upon a man who was cutting into a female corpse. The man seemed normal enough, just another average thirty something with auburn hair and black facial hair. But there was a clear sign of glee on his face as he cut into his victim. Dio chuckled, getting the man's attention. "I like you... You're the sort who doesn't hold yourself back by petty morality."

The man, clearly Jack the Ripper, narrowed his eyes. "You've seen me. I can't let you live now." He eyed Enya, but knew that if he did her the same way he did his other victim it could lead to more clues to help the police find him. He'd have to make her seem like a different killer could have done it. But the man in the wheelchair felt the most dangerous, so he had to go first. Jack rushed forward and plunged his knife into Dio, who merely chuckled. "I can definitely make use of you."

He stared at Jack, and began to hypnotize him. "You're not going to drain him?," Wang asked. Dio grinned. "It would be pointless. My burns have not fully healed, and it would take more than a single life to speed up the process. I was fortunate that the pillar holding the goddess statue collapsed while the manor burned around me. If not for that, Jojo's gambit would have succeeded for sure. I may have fewer limitations that a human, but limitations still exist for me. I'll need the blood of a fresh, young woman to do the job."

"What about...?," Wang said, glancing over to Enya. Dio growled. "Don't you dare suggest that! Enya is to be my bride when I finally claim this world!" Wang cowered at Dio's words as Enya grinned at the sniveling coward. "That's why you need Jack the Ripper," she noted, "He can help you find other options." Dio smiled. "Indeed. He is of those rare few men who lack any good in their hearts."

He turned toward the still hypnotized Jack. "Now then, Jack the Ripper, will you accept my offer? In exchange for serving me and bringing me the means to restore myself, I will grant you power the likes of which you've never seen. You will have access to greater pleasure, without the need for worries." Jack stepped forward in a daze as Dio lifted his hand. Enya smiled, knowing that while Dio wouldn't drain Jack the Ripper dry, he still had suck out some of the murderer's blood to infect him.

Back at the remains of the manor, Jonathan and Twilight shifted through the rubble. There was no sign of the mask, Dio, or anyone else that had been poking around. "Perhaps the mask has simply been smashed to pieces," Jonathan suggested. "I'd like to believe that," Twilight admitted, "But somehow I just can't shake the feeling someone might have stolen it." Jonathan sighed. "I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind. Well, if we're lucky we'll never have to worry about it again."

Erina came up to them, offering Jonathan a cane. As the three of them strolled down the road, Jonathan looked behind him to see a man in a suit and checkerboard pattern top hat watching them. He then seemed to disappear behind a tree. Twilight sighed. "It's no use, Zeppeli, I know you're here!" "Ruin the surprise why don't you," came a man's voice, causing Jonathan to whirl around. There was the man again, sitting on a stone wall and eating a sandwich. "And you, young man, would be Jonathan Joestar, with the other lady being Miss Erina Pendleton."

In an instant, the man seemed to shoot into the air while still in a sitting position. Getting a good look at him, Jonathan noted the man appeared to be Italian. The man grinned. "You were able to survive the mask, and that alone is commendable! However, both the man and mask have survived!" Before any of them could ask what he meant, the man plunged his extended pinkie into Jonathan diaphragm, forcing the air out of his lungs and causing his sling to come undone.

"Jojo!," Erina called out in panic, "Why would you do this!? He's already injured!" "Give it a minute," Twilight said calmly. As Jonathan began to breath, he witnessed a shock as his arm seemed to mend itself. "Jojo, Erina," Twilight said, "Allow me to introduce Baron William Anthonio Zeppeli. He was taught by the same man who was teaching me martial arts a few years ago." "It's a pleasure to meet you both," Zeppeli said, "Jojo, you'll find by now the pain has vanished, thanks to your breathing. And I'll say this much, courage alone cannot destroy the stone mask."

Erina looked on in amazement as Jonathan tested his newly healed arm by lifting a medium-sized stone. "This is amazing!," Jonathan remarked, "How did you do this!?" Zeppeli smirked as he pulled a pepper shaker from the nearby picnic basket and started shaking it over his sandwich, only to have it break, causing him to sneeze and seemingly fall off the wall. "Didn't Master Tonpetty tell you to take easy on the pepper?," Twilight asked.

"I suppose I have had enough for the day," Zeppeli replied, having somehow gotten behind the group, "Now, Jojo. I'm sure you have a number of questions. As to how I know your name, well that's the easy part. Twilight has often spoken of you while we were training. As for the rest, well just follow me and I'll explain everything." Jonathan was a little concerned that he knew little about Zeppeli, but Twilight seemed to trust him and the man did heal his arm, so Jonathan agreed to come.

Zeppeli led the trio back to the manor's ruins. He casually walked into a wide steam nearby. "The first thing I should explain is how I was able to accelerate your body's natural healing," he said, "It holds several names. Sendo, Ripple, Hamon. They all refer to an ancient martial art derived through controlled breathing. Observe." As Zeppeli seemed to focus, Jonathan and Erina looked in shock as the water around Zeppeli's legs seemed to ripple in an unusual manner. Jonathan turned to see Twilight was also in the river doing the same thing.

"One's breath and blood are connected," Zeppeli explained, "For blood carries oxygen from the lungs to all the cells of the human body. In other words, your breath can create ripples in your body. Control that energy, and..." He turned his attention to a stone in front of him with a frog on top. Thrusting his arm towards it, his fist crackled with the same golden energy Twilight showed when she destroyed the zombie during Dio's assault. To Jonathan and Erina's surprise, the frog remained fine while the stone it was on split in two.

"Amazing!," Jonathan said, "I saw Twilight use that same power to destroy one of the undead Dio created!" "Indeed," Zeppeli noted, "So she was able to put her teachings into use, then." He smiled at her. "Good to see you kept up your training." Twilight shrugged. "I never really thought I'd have to use that aspect of it, however." Zeppeli chuckled. "What you've seen so far is just a sample of what Hamon is capable of. Now, as to my purpose here. You see, Hamon and the stone mask are two sides of the same coin. And the mask... Still exists."

Jonathan and Twilight gasped. "Moreover," Zeppeli continued, "Dio still has it." "That monster lives!?," Jonathan replied, angered, "But how!?" "I don't know the full details," Zeppeli admitted, "But I saw him rise from the rubble of this very manor with my own two eyes. I observed a Chinaman, whom you might remember, and a Middle Eastern woman, whom you've probably not yet seen. It was because of their actions that Dio escaped the manor and left with the mask."

He pointed to Jonathan. "I've been searching for the mask for decades just to destroy it, but now the fate of battling the mask falls to you, Jonathan Joestar! You must also learn the ways of Hamon, or else you and all of humanity will die!" Jonathan looked to Erina, who seemed confused. 'I somehow know Zeppeli's words are true,' he thought, 'But I can't get Erina involved. Twilight is one thing. She has more than enough power to protect herself. But Erina cannot. And I doubt I'll have luxury of staying by her side throughout this endeavor.'

As he thought, he grabbed a nearby tree branch, and Zeppeli and Twilight marveled as fresh blossoms sprang up from almost instantly. "I see," Zeppeli said, "The Hamon I sent through him to mend his bones... He's instinctively transferred it to the tree." "I told you he was special," Twilight said with a smirk. Zeppeli chuckled and nodded. "Yes, Jojo certainly has great potential within him. I can see why he survived against the man of the mask. Jojo may just have the power to save the world."

Over the next week, Zeppeli continued to train Jonathan and Twilight, who felt she needed a refresher course now that a clear need for her Hamon training was evident. Twilight absorbed the lessons easily, but Jonathan had a bit of difficulty. Zeppeli, in spite of his appearance, was much older and more experienced, and knew a few special skills using Hamon. During that time, Jonathan learned why Zeppeli wanted to destroy the mask.

It turned out Zeppeli had been born to a scholar family, but his interest was in archaeology much like Jonathan. On a trip to Mexico to excavate an Aztec ruin, he and his group stumbled onto the stone mask. However, on the trip home, Zeppeli's friends were horribly murdered one by one. It turned out someone in the group decided to try using the mask, and became a vampire much like Dio had. Zeppeli witnessed much of the same horror Jonathan and Twilight had when Dio first transformed, and he only survived by diving into the ocean.

Even then it did little more than buy him just enough time to wait for the sunrise, when he learned the face of the one who had put the mask on. As it turned out, it was Zeppeli's own father, who had led the expedition. The mask had still been on the ship, which drifted away, while Zeppeli was soon rescued by a passing fishing boat. "The mask must have eventually found its way back to Britain," Jonathan realized, "Where my parents found it..."

"Your father was clearly made of stronger stuff than mine to resist putting it on for seven long years," Zeppeli noted, "I had feared that the next person to have it in their possession would discover its powers and use it for themselves. But from what you tell me, had Dio not come into your lives my father would probably have been the last person to wear it. Still, at the time I had no way of knowing this, and swore to find the means of destroying the mask."

"And that's when you eventually discovered the power of Hamon," Jonathan realized, "But how can it do so?" "The one thing I was struck by on that day," Zeppeli explained, "Is that it took sunlight to destroy my father when he became a vampire. The question was... Why?" "The answer lies in the fact that vampires feed on blood," Twilight noted, "Like so." She took two stones, and threw one in. After the ripples began to form, she threw the other one in, negating the first set.

"I think I see what you're getting at," Jonathan realized, "Use Hamon to manipulate the blood a vampire has fed on to destroy him, one set of ripples canceling another." "Precisely," Zeppeli said, "Whether the waves of light from the sun, or the ripples created by Hamon, either can overfeed a vampire and destroy him. Even if you have trouble with the practice, it's good to know you understand the basics."

After a week of training, Jonathan and Twilight were in meditation. Jonathan noted there were many similarities between himself and Zeppeli. As he thought this, the two siblings snapped to attention as a dense fog began to roll in. A familiar laughing could be heard as Wang Chen appeared, now looking very zombified and bearing long metal claws on his hands. "Lord Dio has given me permission to kill you, Jonathan, since you alone know the secret of the mask."

Jonathan couldn't help but smirk. Clearly Dio knew nothing of Zeppeli. Wang grinned evilly. "I will drink you, then the woman as well." Enya then stepped out from the fog. "Don't forget what I told you, Wang Chen. Only a Stand user can defeat a Stand user." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "If you know what a Stand is, then you clearly have one as well." Enya smiled. "Indeed. This mist was created by my Stand, Justice." Wang growled. "Don't get so arrogant just because Lord Dio favors you, Enya Geil."

He leapt at Jonathan, but got a surprise as Jonathan used his Hamon to stretch his arm out to strike Wang on the face. Meanwhile, Enya tried to use her illusions to get close to Twilight and stab her to control her and attack Jonathan. But Twilight's own Hamon was already detecting Enya's movement through the ground, allowing her to whirl around and spot Enya when she got close, letting her use her Stand to block the knife and cause great pain to Enya's arm. Twilight was able to see Justice at that point, a mass of mist with skeletal hands and a human skull wearing a crown poking out of it.

Enya backed off, then spotted Wang holding his face in pain. "Hot! It's too hot!" "Heat from just a punch?," Enya asked in surprise, "And Twilight was able to tell where I was coming from in spite of my illusions. Wang, we're leaving! Dio must know of this." She conjured her Stand to thicken the mist, allowing the two to escape. "Well done," Zeppeli said, "Shame they both got away, but now we've given Dio something new to fear. That was excellent form, Jojo, but you still have a long way to go before you've mastered Hamon."

Elsewhere, Dio was recovering in a mansion in the small the town of Windknights Lot. The town was built during the Middle Ages for royal knights to practice, and the castle where they worked could still be seen, nearly as intact as it was back then. Because of its fortified position, to even get in you needed to take a tunnel through the nearby mountain, so a prison had been built there in modern times. Dio finished feeding on the young woman brought to him by Jack the Ripper.

The people in the town were more ignorant than those near the Joestar estate or London, believing these girls had simply run away, which was one reason Dio chose this town to recover. "This is what they call the food chain," he noted, "Pigs eat grass, and humans eat pigs. And now there is me, standing above humans on that chain. What do you think, Jack the Ripper?" Jack remained silent as he held another woman at knife point, forcing her to wait her turn. "If you need a meal of your own," Dio said, "You're welcome to the one you're holding. My powers are starting to return, after all."

Jack grinned as he sank his jaws into the girl's neck. Dio walked to the center of the room. "Still, for all my power I did lose at the Joestar manor. I'll need to gather more allies. First I'll take over this town. Then I'll set my sights on London. And from there... I'll begin to control the whole world!" Just then, Wang burst into the room, Enya following behind. "We have a problem, my love," she said, "We have been given a new reason to fear the Joestar siblings besides Twilight's Stand." She pointed to Wang's melting cheek, causing Dio to raise an eyebrow in concern.

Later, Speedwagon joined Jonathan, Twilight, and Zeppeli on a coach bound for Windknights Lot. "That's right," Speedwagon said, "My friends in the underground confirmed it. They saw the Chinaman and the dark woman heading that way." "Then Dio is there as well," Jonathan noted. "I never thought I'd meet someone who had a power like Twilight's," Zeppeli noted, "She told me of her mysterious power, which she referred to as a Stand, a manifestation of her will."

"Have you seen this manifestation?," Speedwagon asked. "How could he?," Twilight replied, "Only a Stand user can see a Stand. It makes me wonder if Enya knows anything about the arrow." "Arrow?," Jonathan asked. "I wasn't born with my power," Twilight explained, "It appeared after I pricked myself on a large arrowhead that belonged to my birth father's relic collection. That arrow disappeared shortly before I was to leave for the Joestar estate. If I get the chance, I'll have to question Enya about what she knows."

"If I may ask," Speedwagon said, "Why let Enya and Wang go at all?" "Our primary concern is Dio," Zeppeli explained, "If we let them flee, they'll go straight to him. Once he is gone, they can be dealt with at our leisure. Enya still seemed to be human, but if she has a power similar to Twilight's, there's no telling if a jail cell will hold her. At the same time it do won't us any favors to kill her, so we'll need to explore an alternate solution. That said, I was hoping we could at least be rid of the Chinaman. We only need to follow one, after all." Jonathan looked out the window.

"You alright, brother?," Twilight asked. "I only told Erina we'd be leaving for a while," Jonathan said, "She trusts me enough to not need any explanation other than it's important, but I didn't tell her about Dio. She doesn't need to get involved." "Good instinct," Zeppeli agreed, "Mister Speedwagon looks like he can handle himself against the lesser undead we'll likely face, so him coming with us is no trouble. But Miss Erina cannot fight. Speedwagon, keep in mind that undead are still stronger and faster than humans, but not by much. They lack a pain reflex, so they can use more of the human body's natural strength. Also, unlike vampires, they cannot regenerate, so any damage you can do to one counts."

Speedwagon nodded. Just then, the coach suddenly stopped. "What happened?," Speedwagon asked. "I have a bad feeling," Twilight said, "Something red is seeping into the coach. Jojo, let's take a look." Jonathan nodded, and the two got out. They got a terrible shock when they saw all four of their horses headless, one of the heads pinned to the now dead coachman, who had several blades stuck in his body. The two were soon joined by Speedwagon and Zeppeli. "What could have done this?," Speedwagon asked.

"Nothing human," Zeppeli noted, "But I doubt it's Dio. By now he has a few minions under his belt, and he's lost to Jojo once before. He'll send them first." Sure enough, the face of Jack the Ripper could be seen in the neck of one of the horses. Instantly he jumped out, then turned to the group and grinned. "If this is a minion of Dio," Jonathan said, "Then he's clearly not messing around. This man managed to kill not only our coachman, but all four of our horses, while the coach was still moving no less."

"He's seems far stronger than the average undead," Zeppeli noted, "This is the sort of creature I was talking about. They can remain immortal so long as they consume living flesh. Still, he's nothing more than a flesh puppet for Dio." He got out the wine bottle he had brought and used his Hamon to drill a hole in the bottom, pouring it into a glass. Meanwhile Jack brandished his knife. "You are like pigs in a slaughterhouse. I will warm my pale flesh with your fresh blood!"

As he brandished his ornate knife while laughing manically, he suddenly saw his severed pinkie fly past his vision, having been cut off by his slashes. He looked shocked at first, but then kept laughing as he dug his knife into his cheeks and right through his face. "All he cares about is slashing with that knife of his," Zeppeli noted, "He must have been a rather nasty evildoer when he was still alive." "Would you believe me if I said we might be dealing with Jack the Ripper?," Twilight said.

"From the papers?," Speedwagon replied, "The fact that he focuses on that knife certainly lends credence to the theory, but we're a good distance away from Whitechapel." "I did say 'might be'," Twilight countered. Zeppeli considered their situation. "By now the Chinaman and the dark woman have told him about Hamon. So if I were him... I'd likely try to seal off the entrance." Sure enough, Jack grabbed the entire coach and threw it, though it turned out he wanted to collapse the tunnel instead.

The group jumped out of the way of the collapsing rocks. "Any reason you didn't try your Stand?," Zeppeli asked. "Wasn't sure if this guy was aiming for us or the tunnel," Twilight admitted. Jack then started growling as his flesh began to bulge in various places. Speedwagon gasped as various scalpels erupted from Jack's flesh. "Maybe this is Jack the Ripper," he noted, "Such a terrible killer would certainly make a desirable minion for Dio." Jack flexed to shoot out the scalpels.

While Zeppeli calmly sipped the wine, Jonathan, Twilight, and Speedwagon hid behind some of the rubble. The blades, however, began to split the rock. Seeing one get close to Speedwagon's shoulder, Twilight activated her Stand. She grinned in satisfaction as Jack clutched his injured abdomen, likely the spot that the attacking blade had come from. Meanwhile, a few blades approached Zeppeli, who focused his Hamon through the wine still in his mouth. "Hamon Cutter!"

He spit out the wine as several charged globs that easily sliced through the scalpels, surprising Jack. "Looks like my Hamon is sharper than your blades," Zeppeli taunted, "I applied pressure to the wine I had sipped with my breathing, then pushed it out through my teeth." Jack growled as he pulled out his knife from his face. "Jojo, another lesson for you," Zeppeli said, "Earlier when I tried to predict what this undead would do, that's getting into your opponent's mind, a crucial tactic."

He stared down Jack as the zombie approached. "Here's another tactic. You are no doubt familiar with fleas. Fleas are tiny, insignificant creatures, yet they attack larger creatures at any time. Is this true bravery? Of course not. That's merely their instinct to feed." He casually blocked Jack's knife with the empty wine bottle. "Bravery is when you know fear, and make it your own! Losing your breath is fear, and when you control your fear, then you can breathe regularly! The power of Hamon is the result of that bravery!"

Jack backed away from the counter as Zeppeli grinned. "But undead do not know bravery, because they do not know fear. That is why..." He struck charged up his Hamon through his leg and made to kick Jack. "They are just like fleas! Sendo Wave Kick!" The attack smashed into Jack's face, melting part of it. "Now then, Jojo," Zeppeli said, "It's up to you to finish him off, just as I taught you. You won't be able to defeat Dio if you can't defeat this one." "He's just incredible," Speedwagon noted, "Even through all this, his wine hasn't even spilled." Twilight giggled. "He's long past the point of learning to make fear his own."

Now we have more motivation for Twilight. She's seen Enya, and knows she has a Stand. So she might able to learn more about the Stand arrow. This will actually set up something interesting in future arcs. I might just have her join the fight in the next chapter. Let me know if I should.