Capitolo Terzo: Conquista (6)

When I got news that my request to secure an armored train to transport us to Moscow where I intended to oversee the establishment of the Russian Branch for Made in Heaven, I decided rightfully to sit another two days at Saint Petersburg for the sake of gaining permission for another method of transportation.

One that was as safe as unique for the time and that only Britain and France could flaunt to have as modern technology. At the end of these two calm days a lone figure soared through the skies, a large contraption started its landing procedure over the lengthy stretch of plain land which was freed from any obstacles and turned into a landing strip.

Officers, both old and young, who had been assigned to see what was going on, gawked before the arrival of the mechanical ‘bird’ which slowly and smoothly concluded the landing. Now, the project behind creating the first working plane has been ongoing for nine years and within a big budget and a large team of development. After my trip to the US, I managed to get in contact with the Wright Brothers and secure them an expensive contract to get them to visit the UK.

They were skeptical at first, but the sheer amount of giddy experts and technicians that were quick to greet them in their lines allowed for a pleasant welcome and journey through the creation of the first airplanes. First came the Wright Model A and Wright Model B in 1886, both similar in nature and appearance to the original Wright Flyer I and Wright Flyer III.

The brothers were motivated and provided plenty of space to practice their inventions. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to see the airplane in use and it would be a lie to say that the affair was of little importance. Orville and Wilbur were provided with knighthoods for their pioneering aeronautics and were granted extra funds for more projects.

The end result of that aftermath was this ‘little thing’ that was created a year ago. The Wright-Nieuport Line Model C was a second generation Passenger Plane. It had been tested for a full year and a half before being introduced to the public and branched aeronautics into the transport department. It was still going to take a while before this kind of plane was going to house more than ten people at once, except this model was actually feasible to do that. I had personally overseen this special version of the aircraft, a custom model meant just for me and my family in case of necessity. Hamon-reinforced wood, strengthened metal through the Spin and a fine creation with the help of my Stand’s precision and spatial awareness within and outside the vehicle during its production.

Right now this vehicle was needed as there was a necessity to have a means to get out of the city in a safe manner without worrying about any unexpected ambush along the way. And, much to my surprise, there was actually a surprise hiding inside the vehicle. I nodded as I saw the trusty pilot that had been around for months now under this duty, but I blinked in clear shock when another individual emerged from the plane.

“Jojo?!”

“Dio,” Jonathan Joestar greeted with a big smile, the man having grown a lot since his days of university. “It’s been a few weeks now.”

Jojo had become a full-time archaeologist and trade entrepreneur as George I had wanted him to be. He was always buried by work, but managed to get through the dual burden of handling the job by family’s inheritance and the one he craved for while also taking care of his family and making sure he was there to keep in contact with them. Truly a rock when it came to work through harsh schedules, but nonetheless a jovial goof when there was nothing to worry about.

I frowned. “Yes but… I don’t recall you mentioning visiting.”

“Consider it a surprise visit?” He half-replied, half-offered and then crouched down as Giorno rushed up to him. “And hello there, Giorno.”

“Uncle Jojo! How’s Georgie?”

“Eh, right now is with his mom and missing you a fair lot.”

The little blond huffed. “I’m sorry.”

“And for what? It’s not exactly your fault, or your parents’ in this regard,” The man offered before ruffling his hair and letting him be. “Now, it’s quite… interesting. Russia, right?”

I nodded and yet I couldn’t just ignore the fact he just jumped on the plane to go for a ‘surprise visit’. Jojo was prone to do that, yes, but he would set up clues and hints before going for it. I could tell there was more to that and I was glad to see I wasn’t alone in that thought as Hannah did feel a bit perplexed by this too.

“Jonathan, what about Erina? I thought she was about to go to India to visit her father with the rest of the family,” The woman asked and that seemed to get a reaction from the man as a look of guilt flashed on his face. “What happened?”

Trips to India weren’t uncommon for that branch of the family due to Erina’s father and his properties there. After serving as a good doctor in the Raj, it wasn’t that much of a surprise he got wealthy and got himself a few lands and houses for his family to enjoy whenever he invited them to. I could tell that the reason behind this abrupt circumstance was tied to a rare occurrence tied to Jojo’s tedious work. And I was right.

“Work,” He admitted curtly. “I ended up skipping the trip due to a sudden emergency with one of our business partners and… it took a while to get it done. By the time I got the situation wrapped up, George and Erina were already making their way to India by ship.”

“I see,” I replied calmly, reaching out for him and patting his shoulder. “And I think I see what you want to ask.”

Jonathan flashed a mirthful grin. “Is that so evident?”

“I think it’s as blindingly clear as the sun. You want to get a ride to reach them within a few days, right?”

“Yes. I know it’s a lot but-”

I interrupted him with a scoff. “None of that.”

“We would be glad to give you a ‘lift’ once we’re done with some businesses in Moscow. And you may also have the chance to buy an ‘apology’ gift for Erina while we are there.”

He perked up in interest at that idea and soon we were all sitting inside the plane and talking some more on the matter. I was a bit stunned by the overall situation, but found no reason to blame anyone in that regard. I could tell that Erina was going to be miffed by the situation regardless of the reasoning behind Jojo’s current issues, but I was sure that some honest apologizing and a gift were going to appease her enough to push the truth through.

Still, I didn’t expect for this trip to extend that further away from home. Yes, I did have plans to eventually visit India, and yes, I had also plans to bring my family on vacation there once I was done looking through for any issues. This whole situation with someone stalking us and providing us with issues further reinforced that idea, but I wasn’t that worried we would have been followed beyond the ‘graveyard of empires’ that was Afghanistan. Once we were beyond Kabul, I doubted we were going to be chased by whatever was causing us this much trouble.

As I pulled two of the maps I had rolled up in my bag which detailed the Russian Empire and the Indian subcontinent, Jojo and I were busy in an aimless debate on which stops to pick. I could see he really wanted to check a few historical places with interesting ruins to see, but he held back and just decided to stick to the fastest route. I nodded at that moral call and finished that map-looking effort with a conversation about the latest ventures for the Joestar’s businesses.

I knew a little of those due to the fact I owned no shares in those and, truth be told, Jojo was good at this despite his general dislike for that line of work so I didn’t see a point in pushing my nose in places where it wasn’t strictly necessary. He was charismatic, jovial and blended well a sense of gentlemanship with adaptability when it comes to traditions and new things. So, things were set to be quite interesting as we were going to see a bit of India before tracing our steps back home. No issues, no threats, only some exotic views, cities and people.

Or so that was my current expectation.

-----------d-d-d-d----------

A mirthful grin rested on the beautiful visage owned by the witch known as Baba Yaga.

Grigori was the last acquisition in her repertoire of foolish men that she wanted to break to pieces. Greedy men with no limit in their dark hearts, willing to sell their souls to get unlimited power and prosperity. Fools with no shame and thus no hope for a good future before them. Rarely she would find any display of anger as amusing as the one poor Rasputin was showing.

She was not actively contacting him, but the woman could see the irate man lash out at some of his hellish minions due to the current development. Truth be told, she too didn’t expect for his target to have the means to fly by scientific ways. An ‘airplane’? Never heard of that. Definitely a novelty that was soon going to spread here in Russia too after that display.

This was also a reminder as to why the witch had forced the inferior subordinate in such a foolish crusade. Grigori’s goal was to take the weakest link in that trio, which was the young boy that was Dio’s son. Why? His blood. The bloodline tied to Dio was somewhat ‘odder than others’. Looking into it from a magical perspective, there were so many wonderfully wrong things about it that it felt a bit confusing that Dio turned out to be this kind of upstanding man.

It felt so confusing and yet intriguing before the possibility of him snapping like Rasputin if enough pressure was exerted to him. Would the loss of his son do it? Or would his son inherit the inner evil within his blood? So many questions which answers lied in being successful in this operation. If Grigori failed- Actually, let’s try to rephrase it better: When Grigori failed, Baba Yaga was going to have a window of opportunity to try something in that regard. When they were going to be distracted with the expectation of this being the last victory.

Of course, the witch didn’t expect to win this matter. Many times she had lost against someone like that and many times she came close to death by trying to force a win. She just was too old and aware of how bad things can get to put herself on the line without having full certainty for a win. She was no cheap woman when it comes to humiliation, and she knew it was better to take damage to her pride rather than risk death. She was quite immortal and her amusement was never going to become what drew her to a sudden death.

Time passes, people change and… yet some things remain the same. But Dio? She wondered what kind of anomaly he was and what kind of secrets he held within his soul. So, after making sure she was ‘far away’ from Rasputin, she contemplated how she was supposed to get close enough to strike and still have plenty of room to run away if things didn’t turn her way. She wondered, then looked at some of her books and finally stumbled on what could become her key to learn some more about her current subject of interest. The spell was a bit expensive towards her current resources, but not so in a way that was too unpleasant to handle afterwards. Preparation took roughly an hour and the end result was the furthest thing from shabby.

Green dust turned violet as a whirlwind formed within the center of her house and a zombie emerged from the ground. Growling softly, eyes unfocused- the small man that came from that summon looked less European and more from an Asian descent. A glint of awareness was raised by the undead, familiarity with magic as dark as the one she just employed. Very unusual- did this mean that Dio had already faced dark magic? Quite peculiar, and something more to further drive her interest to a whole new level.

“Your name.”

It wasn’t a request, an order. A summoner should never get too comfy around a zombie. Not with one that was already aware of how magic worked and could easily subvert her control of it. Plenty of times she had to handle rouge little undeads trying to escape her whims and many times she had to shred their souls in the process. And that process wasn’t exactly as simple or pleasant as it sounded. The monstrous corpse offered a small nod before speaking.

“Wang… Chan.”

Baba Yaga smiled and then hummed. “Good, now… tell me. Do you know who Dio Joestar is?”

A strange smile appeared on the corpse. Amusement, insanity? Could it be that it had been a foe to her current target? Possibly. And the red-haired woman wanted more out of that instance. Something that this unusual man, this ‘Wang Chan’, was more than eager to provide. And the more she heard, the more amused she turned… And also more confused and unsure she became about her chances of succeeding in capturing this bizarre man and his family.

There was definitely a brand new madness promoted by them, and Baba Yaga could just tell from these tales that they were just going to be a treat to interact with. Be a foe to them? Not as much.