"Welcome, everybody, to the first round of the D block in the second Darkfighter tournament!" announced Hiro as the intermission ended.

"This match we're gonna have is gonna be a strange one, Hiro. We're gonna see the battle of two of the most powerful beings in this tournament. On top of that, there seems to be some sort of connection between them." Dai talked calmly, but her words incited Hiro to an even higher level of enthusiasm.

"Yes, at the beach party there was some weird ambiance between these two fighters! And the names!"

"Ambiance?" Dai, ever practical, could imbue a single word with a paragraph's worth of doubt.

"Yeah! Well, they're both called Dio, right? And at the beach party, the one called Shadow never left the side of the other one, even when the other punched him!"

"So they were shadow-boxing?"

"Dai! Just listen to the rest of it, okay?! Uh... wait. Did you just make a joke?"

"Go on, Hiro, continue the story."

"Um, sure, Dai. So anyway, the Shadow Dio was never seen clearly, even when the other was walking in full sunlight. There was always a cloud, or tree, or even a sun-umbrella in just the perfect place! It was like the lights dimmed, just for him!"

"Interesting, Hiro, I'm sure, but we'll get a good look at him while he's fighting, right?"

"Right, so now, allow me to present the first of the two, the one that is known as the Aztec vampire, danger lies within his fingertips... DIO BRAAAAAAANDOOOOOOO!!!"

A man suddenly appeared in the middle of the ring, wearing a very bright garment of yellow, with some weird ornaments sticking all over it. He gives of a little smirk to the crowd and they boo-ed the fighter. A moment later, one part of the audience was slaughtered into pieces and Dio's right hand is suddenly covered with blood.

"DAI! WHAT HAPPENED?"

"It's okay, the Clashdome systems are set up to prevent fatalities among the fighters, so they'll be brought back as soon as one of our combatants is victorious... I hope."

"But, is that grounds for a disqualification?"

"No, there's nothing in the rules about killing the spectators before the match. Although, destroying the world and/or universe is a technical foul."

"Riiiiight.... okay, moving on, someone who is totally mysterious and covered with... uhhh, darkness... someone who we don't even know how to explain thanks to the level of surrealism... SHADOOOOWWWW DIOOOOO!!!!" Hiro hollered at the top of his lungs.

Nobody appeared before them. Silence, then the crowd to murmur. Until Dio turned and saw a familiar shape in the shadows amongst the slaughtered audience. The figure jumped down to the middle of the ring, shedding the enveloping darkness into a cloak. Under the dead-black garment he was bare-chested, clad in forearm bracers, billowing blue-silver pantaloons, short boots, a wide belt and knee-pads. Only his face remained obscured by darkness.

In spite of having spent hours within arms reach of this figure, Dio was shocked. [His chin, his hair, his build, even the scar on his neck! He is, somehow, me!]

Shadow Dio was absorbed in other thoughts. [I'm sure Dio has forgotten. If I hadn't had reason to think of it, I wouldn't remember either.] It was a story told long ago, just after Dio had poisoned his biological father. In fact, it was one of the reasons why George Jostar had adopted Dio. After Jonathan Jostar had been born, George had asked for and received a prophesy about his son. For many years it had made no sense to him, for it was not about George's firstborn. [It went: "When Dio of the Brand faces his Shadow, he may win, he may lose, or he may embrace it." If it was talking about now, what is the third option? Doesn't one of us have to win the match?] After waiting a moment for the surviving audience to take in the combatants, Hiro then announced, "Remember, you can choose to fight in the arena or go into the teleporters which will take you into a stage for you to fight in. Now, what will you two choose?"

The answer was almost simultaneous, two voices declaring "The teleporter." Although, Shadow Dio's words seemed to be just the slightest instant behind... like a following shadow.

"It has been chosen and now it shall be done!" Hiro and Dai turned the teleporter on and the Dios proceeded down the aisle, but on the steps up to the platform, Dio Brando suddenly shouted out, "THE WORLD!" and the whole arena seemed to go photo-negative. White turned to black, movement stopped. Time stopped.

However, Shadow Dio, unsurprised, turned to look at Dio. Wasting a precious non-second, Dio cursed. "Is everyone I fight going to be able to move in the stillness!?" Recovering his aplomb, he tried to kick Shadow Dio low, but was blocked. Continuing his assault, his fist crashed into the darkness twice, then he was forced to jump back as the Shadow pulled a knife from thin air.

The stillness almost over, Dio charged in a low tackle, his shoulder connecting with his duplicate's midsection, the knife flying wide, momentum carrying both of them...

Into the teleporter.

Without knowing what happened outside of time, Hiro and Dai and all of the audience in the stands looked around, confused at the disappearance of the fighters. "WHERE ARE THEY? CAN YOU FIND THEM?" asked Hiro.

"The auto-trackers should lock onto them momentarily. Did you see them go into the teleporter?" Dai replied with a question.

"No! They just vanished! Oh, look, something's coming up on the monitor!" As the image cleared, mass confusion actually deepened.

"Um, Hiro, is the Clashdome screen supposed to be able to do twelve-way splitscreen?"

Indeed, the monitor was divided into at least a dozen parts. And in each, the Dios could be seen.

"Dai... are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Hiro asked his partner in a rather shocked manner. His face was motionless. His eyes were wide and unblinking.

"I... think so... are you seeing... you know..." Dai answered, almost stuttering, unsure of what her eyes were telling her brain.

"12 Dio Brando and 12 Shadow Dio in 12 different places?"

"Y... yeah."

"Oh, thank god then, I thought I was going crazy." Hiro wiped his forehead and sighed.

Dio Brando stood on what appeared to be the roof of a skyscraper. The air was bitterly cold, the howling wind stung his eyes with tiny shards of ice. To his left was the only other building in sight, and a huge satellite dish rested on a platform connected to both towers.

It rested on the platform, until the missiles hit.

A half dozen flame-driven warheads twisted in, the explosions tearing the fragile dish into pieces and twisting the gantry loose, sending the entire mass plummeting earthward.

Shocked by the sudden, seemingly senseless destruction, Dio spoke quietly to the wind. "Whoa." The Hind D came spiraling in out of the storm, auto-rotating just enough to keep its nose-mounted machine gun pointed at the vampire. It was still carrying three quarters of its missile load.

"Dio!" Even amplified by the helicopter's speakers, the voice was almost lost in the storm. "I'm afraid I can't let you get by here, brother!"

The master of The World stand strained his super-human senses, yet he already knew that there was only one person who would dare fly a Hind in this kind of weather. "SHADOW!?"

"You're not going to the next round! DIE!"

As the second set of missiles ignited, the man who wore the flesh of Jonathan Jostar flung himself into open space, leaping toward the second communication tower.

In the Clashdome, watching the first screen, Dai and Hiro exchanged a glance. Hiro couldn't stay silent in this moment of trial. "Do you think he might make it?"

Dai shook his head slowly, but his eyes were once again glued to the screen. "Nobody makes the jump their first time."

"But, what if he does? What will it mean?"

At this point, it became obvious that Dio would hit the second building about ten meters below the top. "It doesn't mean anything."

Dio hit the wall exactly where he had aimed, and quickly pushed off again, springing toward a point lower down the first tower, then back to the second. He shifted his angle with each leap, dodging the bullets from the helicopter and the steam that was released from damaged heating pipes. He landed on a walkway between the buildings. Nearby was a door into the second tower, and even closer were three soldiers, armed with assault rifles. Their panic cost them their lives, and they never even saw what hit them. The World ensured that.

When the Hind popped into view from below, Dio sprinted for the entrance of the building. As he moved, he saw several things. The door had a number on it. The door had no handle. The door was not going to open for Dio. So Dio got the door for himself.

On the roof of the second tower, the storm still howled and raged. Dio worked his way around the wreckage of the door, taking extra care with his burden. Once he was in the open, he heard the voice he was expecting. "So, the god's finally come out of its machine! Are you ready now, my brother?"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME BROTHER?"

The speakers carried the answer as the wind pushed the helicopter back into the storm. "I'M YOU! I'M YOUR SHADOW!"

"WHAT!"

"ASK THE FATHER THAT YOU KILLED! I'LL SEND YOU TO HELL TO MEET HIM!"

Dio's ears told him where the Hind was, and when it charged into view, he was ready. A single stinger missile met the hub of the rotor, and transformed a flying weapons platform into a burning mass of falling wreckage. Wreckage that was falling directly toward Dio. The vampire leapt backwards, and almost avoided injury. Unfortunately for him, one part of the mass had leapt after him.

The two Dios tumbled through the railing.

Hiro and Dai looked at the two Dios fighting in the screen on the top right, "MY GOD! This is way too intense! Helicopters, missiles, explosions! IT'S LIKE WATCHING A SPY MOVIE! "

"Calm down, Hiro, check out what's happening in screen five." Dai pointed to the appropriate monitor, trying to soothe an almost spazzing Hiro down.

Shadow Dio landed across the rails, the weight of the other Dio pressing the air from his lungs. Which didn't affect anything but his ability to deliver an amusing quip. Instead, he kicked out, launching Dio up onto the subway platform.

Dio landed on the subway platform on his feet. Clutching his stomach which seemed to have suffered more than a simple shove from the kick by the Shadow, [Damn, he's stronger than I thought.] he thought to himself.

He reached into his yellow jacket and took out several knives and threw it out to Shadow Dio. But just as the knives were about to reach Shadow Dio, a glint of light emerged from where the eye of Shadow Dio would have been, if he had eyes. The knives were blown away from him on a wave of black, and countered with more knives, hurtling towards Dio even faster than the first barrage had left.

"THE WORLD!" Dio shouted, which stopped the knives dead in the air, hovering just inches from Dio's face and flesh. A sweep of Dio's hand knocked the knives to the side and he jumped towards Shadow Dio, but while he was still in the air, he noticed more knives between him and his target.

[These aren't the knives I threw!] he thought to himself, and he used The World to drop straight down, but he ground to a halt before he reached the ground, in mid-air, the knives again inches before his face. Dio's eyes went wide and almost bulged out of their sockets, [No, not now!]

The knives began to move again as The World's power reached its limit, and time began again. But Dio had time to put his hands up and protect his face. He knocked aside the knives that were closest to him, but some that were a bit out of his hand's reach plunged deep into his arms, his torso and even one into his thigh. Dio clenched his teeth in agony. He may be immortal, but that didn't mean he felt no pain.

Shadow Dio had closed, and he had time to aim his attack carefully. He enjoyed the sound Dio made as he drove a knife deeper into his foe's abdomen.

"ARGHHH!!!"

"Do you like the feel of that, 'brother'? I hope so, because I'm going to give you more until this match ends!" the Shadow declared to Dio.

Dio wasn't listening. He seized the moment, and used his Stand to get a good blow into the face of Shadow Dio, spinning him and smashing a crater into the wall over the subway tracks.

Shadow Dio pulled himself back to his feet, and realized that he was staring at the wall.

Before he could turn back to Dio, he felt the Stillness wash over him. As the distortion ended and the echoes began, Shadow spun. Dio was nowhere to be seen. The mystery solved itself, however, as the ruined railcar was lifted into the air. "Subway..."

"Did you see that?" Dai asked Hiro.

"I KNOW! Where the HELL did all those knives come from? It was like, a split second later, a million of them appear right before Dio's face." Hiro answered, in a very indefinite manner.

"I'm not really talking about that, I'm talking about the fact that Dio is carrying a RAILCAR!"

"Bah, that's nothing, CHECK OUT SCREEN 10!"

"...lorry da!" Dio dropped the fuel truck towards his copy, and began to drive it down with a series of rapid punches. "Muda. Muda, muda-muda-muda!" Vibration told Dio that the Shadow was doing the same underneath. [Strange, to be doing this on the bridge where I fought Jotaro. When Shadow Dio tried to run me down, The World ruined the cab, but the tank is still full...]

And time began to move again. A sudden, dramatic increase in density is what triggers the fissionables in nuclear bombs. This wasn't... quite... that impressive.

Dio shook his head to clear it, finding himself on the Gezira end of the Tahrir bridge. [Normally, I might not see that dark mass moving toward me. But with a blazing tanker truck behind it?]

But the bladed tendrils that reached ahead of the mass were not so easy to see.

"WOW! THEY'RE REALLY BURNING THEIR BRIDGES IN CAIRO! IF THE AREN'T CAREFUL, FOLKS, THEY'LL END UP IN DE NILE!"

"Hiro, please. But, bad jokes aside, there's something interesting happening. In screen 1, they're back on top of the building, and Dio Brando tried to crush Shadow Dio with the helicopter. Screen 5, the subway car. Screen 10, the truck. In all the screens, the Shadow tried to use a vehicle against Brando, then Brando tried to drop it on him, followed by Shadow charging his opponent."

"Whatever, Dai. LET'S GET BACK TO THE ACTION!!"

By the way the car crumbled beneath him, Dio Brando knew it was one of the rare Japanese vehicles in Cairo. [Probably a Honda. Yup, right again.] It said something about a person, when three years of activity allowed them to identify a car by impact.

Shadow Dio failed to press his advantage, distracted by a parking meter. It caught his attention because it was the only meter on a street lined with parked cars, and was marked only in english, and american currency. Also, there was the fact that it blazed with holy power. [I think that means... 'hands off.']

By the time he reached Dio, the vampire was free and solidly braced. The Shadow ended up reversing his course, flying backward... Straight into the parking meter.

Which promptly failed to bend. But also failed to burn him with bright cheerful holiness.

This combination seemed to make an excellent weapon.

Dio swayed back, the parking meter passing so close that glow touched him, and the red 'Violation' tab briefly filled his vision. He snapped back to upright and attacked Shadow Dio with a barrage of punches, while the pole was still in motion, and his copy was forced to release the weapon in order to block.

"HOW CAN HE THROW SO MANY PUNCHES AT ONCE?! IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE!!"

"Hiro... we're in a place where EVERYONE throws multiple blows at once."

"Oh... true."

"Hey, look at screen 6, Shadow Dio seems to have some kind of plot in his mind."

Shadow Dio smiled. [I love having the perfect poker face!] Dio continued raining blows against his arms, not noticing the pale blue World which was now swinging the pole towards the vampire's back.

Dio was shoved towards Shadow Dio because of the blow from the pole. Shadow Dio stood his ground and waited for Dio to arrive. Their gazes might have been locked. Dio's was, in any case.

As Dio was about to collide with his shadow, he suddenly felt a sharp pain of impact in his stomach. A fold of darkness covered his face. Unable to see, Dio could only brace for the instant before the blow landed against the small of his back. A hand hit him right under his chin, distracting him from the pain of the aggravated knife wounds in his stomach, but that didn't last long because as soon as he felt is, another hit the back of his left ribs. For second after second, the blinded Dio could do nothing, but then [The thigh, then next... yes!] he found the pattern. One hand caught Shadow Dio's invisible hand and his leg blocked the other hand.

As soon as he stopped the blows from in front, he gave Shadow Dio a head butt.

The World's attacks drove Dio forward, but the transferred momentum pushed Shadow Dio back. Combined with the surprise of Dio connecting blind, it sent the heir of the Lands of Shadow skidding, his feet leaving grooves.

Which gave Dio a chance to concentrate, and use his Stand to deliver a short uppercut to Shadow Dio's mid-section before he could raise a defense.

The blow struck and Shadow Dio was pushed upward, but while he was still folded around the blow, he called forth a knife and drove it through The World's hand and into his own mid-section.

His motion arrested, the copy dropped to sit on the ground, holding his stomach. The original Dio used his left hand to hold together the shattered right. The flow of blood seemed equal.

For a time they simply gazed at each other. They both seemed tired and battered, and neither was healing as fast as normal.

"This is it. This is where everything ends." Dio exclaimed.

"I couldn't agree more, brother." Shadow Dio replied, kicking back to his feet.

"STOP CALLING ME BROTHER!!" Dio shouted and charged towards Shadow Dio. The Shadow followed suit, sprinting toward Dio. Behind his shroud, he was smirking.

Both towers of muscle pulled back their right shoulders, preparing for a classic exchange of blows. But only one reversed the rotation. Chuckling darkly, Shadow Dio spun low, his momentum carrying him past Dio's strike. Too close for blows, the copy locked his arms around the other's waist, pinning a yellow-clad left arm to its owner's side. Shadow Dio began to squeeze with all his more than human strength.

[He's stronger than I am!] The original Dio was just as undisturbed by the lack of air in his lungs, but he had limited options for counterattacking. He smacked the head before him, forehand then backhand, but Shadow Dio only cinched his grip tighter.

The aztec vampire's eyes settled on his opponent's bare back. The black cape seemed to have vanished sometime during the fight. [Perhaps limited doesn't mean ineffective...] His fingers clawed, Dio plunged his free hand down, digging his digits into the muscles on either side of his foe's spine, feeling his flesh open to the delicious blood, the energizing liquid power...

Shadow Dio knew he had made a mistake when he felt the fingers pierce his skin. [I forget that I am both of me a vampire!] Freeing his left hand, he pushed his own fingers through Dio's jacket.

"LOOK! On ALL TWELVE screens! ARE THEY EMBRACING?" Hiro (of course) screamed (of course.)

Dai breathed out a sigh. "No, Hiro, you told us Dio is an aztec vampire, right? He drains blood through his fingers, not fangs. So the question is: what happens when two vampires drain each other?"

On a dozen screens, Dio arched his backs, trying to dislodge the grips of his copy. Then he brought his foreheads crashing down into the upraised shrouds of the Shadow.

And there was darkness.

"WHAT HAPPENED? WHO WON? DID WE LOSE THE FEED?"

"The cameras are still working fine. There's just nothing to see. Whatever happened, it was dramatic."

"WAIT! The screen is clearing!" Indeed, the darkness began to fade from the top of the screen like mist in a breeze. A single form remained standing. Blond hair could be seen first, unbound and matted by blood. The outline of the torso came into view, but "IS THAT PALE SKIN OR YELLOW CLOTH??"

With a dramatic whoosh, a dozen eddies of darkness blew away, revealing the classic profile and yellow jacket at the same time. "WE HAVE A WINNER, FOLKS!! DIIIOOOOO BRAAANDOOO!"

As the teleporters cycled up, the entire crowd erupted into cheers, screams and catcalls. Well, except for one section, which looked around dazedly at the bloody ruin of their section.

Dai remained aloof. "I just hope we end up with only one of..." Her voice trailed off as the teleporter platform revealed the single returned combatant.

Without the mist, the close-up camera quite clearly showed the billowing black cloak over the yellow outfit. Shadow Dio Brando regarded the announcers with his flat black eyes, and spoke two words. "We won."