He stumbles through the night, his hands on his head. He feels sick, sicker than he ever imagined possible. His senses are stronger than ever; he hears the sound of every fly flapping its miniscule wings, smells the trails of scent left by every rodent, sees the blackness of the night as clearly as midday. His stomach roars. The hunger burns, blocking out any other thought. He knows that he must hunt. So he hunts.



+++ "Jorge? Are you here?" Mario says as he opens the door to their inn room. Jorge Joestar isn't there, but Joey is. He sits on one of the twin beds, reading his comic. "Mr. Zeppeli? Is something wrong?" he asks. "Young Joseph, has your father been to this hotel room recently?" Mario asks. "Not since you guys left. What's going on?" Dio slowly walks into the room. "Is Geoge here?" he asks. "No, he is not," Mario says. "Why isn't my dad with you?" Joey asks. "If he isn't here, then he's out in the desert," Dio says. "The sun will rise in a few hours," Mario says. "If what Stroheim said is correct-" "He'll perish in the morning light," Dio says quietly. "He'll what?" Joey asks. "We need to find him," Mario says. "George isn't stupid, despite how he acts. He heard Stroheim's warning. If he still has some semblance of intellect, he'll try to find shelter," Dio says. "This is a rural area, there must be small farms where he could be hiding," Mario says. "What's going on!" Joey shouts, standing up on the bed. Dio and Mario both stare at him. "Sorry," he mutters before sitting back down. "We found the cursed item Masters Dire and Straizo warned of, a demonic mask that turns men into beasts," Mario says. "Your father, in a stroke of brilliance, put it on," Dio says. "He screamed like he was dying, attacked Mario, and ran off into the night." "Jorge is scared, he is injured, he may not be in the right mind," Mario says. "We need to find him before he hurts himself or others." "What should I do?" Joey asks. Dio sighs. "Nothing," he says. "You should do nothing." "But-" "Things are serious now. Your father shouldn't have brought you in the first place, but he did, and keeping you alive now falls to me," Dio says sternly. "Stay here while Zeppeli and I go find him." "Dio, I would like to look for him alone," Mario says. "He has not come back to the hotel room yet, but if he does, you should be here to deal with him." "Are you sure?" Dio asks. "I am sure," Mario says. He turns to walk out of the room. "Mr. Zeppeli?" Joey says. "What is it, Joseph?" Mario says, glancing over his shoulder. "You have a cut," Joey says, gesturing to his forehead. Mario places a finger on his temple and a thin wire extends out from his finger, sewing the wound shut. +++ An hour and a half later, Mario stands at the edge of a large farm out in the desert. He glances at the sky. Dawn will come soon. He hops a fence and walks through a field of dead cattle. Dozens of them lie on the cold ground, their throats slit, thin from the bloodloss. Mario sighs. "What have you become, my friend?" he mumbles. He climbs out of the field and looks around. A small farmhouse and an old barn sit in front of him. A path of bloody footprints leads from the fence to the house. After checking the house, Mario opens the door of the barn. Jorge sits on a bale of hay, his mouth, neck, and hands all stained red by a night of hunting. "Hey Marzie, how's it going?" Jorge mutters. "Are you okay?" Mario says, taking a step towards Jorge. "Fuck if I know," Jorge says with a pained smile. "Are Dio and Joey with you?" "It is just the two of us. I told them to wait at the hotel, in case you came back." "That's good, I don't want my son to see me like this." "I saw what you did to the cows, Jorge. My friend, what has happened to you?" "I don't know, Marzie. The mask turned me into something...something not human," Jorge says. "All of a sudden, all I felt within me was hunger and hate. It took all of my strength to not kill you and Uncle Dio. I was like a wild animal. But I'm better now, I fed on the cows, and I've regained my sanity." "You had enough of your mental faculties left to seek shelter from the rising sun, I suppose," Mario says. "Yeah, I'm good now." "You're good now." "I'm good now," Jorge repeats, not fully convinced of it himself. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with me, I don't know where we go from here, but I know I'm still me. Everything is going to be okay." "I wonder, do you believe your own lies?" Mario says, taking another step forward. "What are you talking about, Marzie?" Jorge asks. "There were a lot of dead cows in that field," Mario says, raising his arms in a fighting stance. "I was hungry," Jorge mutters. "One cow wasn't enough. Two cows weren't enough. An entire herd wasn't enough to satiate your hunger!" Mario shouts, tears streaming from his eyes. "Mario, you don't want to say what you're about to say." "I went into the house, Jorge! I saw the bodies. I saw what you did, I saw the innocent people my friend slaughtered in a fit of rage!" "I was hungry!" Jorge shouts, fangs flaring. Wires shoot out from Mario's fingers and tie around Jorge. Jorge struggles to break free. "Calm yourself, my friend. It will all be over soon," Mario says. "You didn't bring the old man or the kid!" Jorge shouts. "Why did you come alone?" "Because they do not love you, not in the way I do. They care too much to stand against you, but not enough to save you from yourself!" Mario shouts. Jorge hisses and tries to rip off his bindings. "I do not know everything, I suspect I never will, but I do know this: my friend would not tear a family apart like the beast who stands before me did!" Mario shouts. "My masters spoke of legends, ancient tales of their orders battles against cursed creatures of the night. You are not my friend, you have ceased to be Jorge Joestar. Now, you are nothing more than a demon to be slain!" Mario takes a deep breath and floods his wires with golden Hamon energy. Jorge screams as they burn his skin. "May your spirit find peace, my friend," Mario whispers. "Shut up!" Jorge wails. His Stand, Black Ice, appears beside him and strikes the wires with its icy claws. Frost covers the wires, stopping the flow of Hamon. Jorge rips his arms back, pulling Mario to him, and kicks Mario in the stomach, sending him crashing through the side of the barn. Jorge rips his arms apart, shattering his bindings, and steps out of the barn. "You want a fight, Marzie? Let's have a fight!" he shouts as he charges forward. To Be Continued In: Chapter 37: Black Ice and Razor's Edge, Part 2