A Villain's New Life

With Vanilla Ice out of the way, DIO is the last remaining enemy. Of course, Kira will have difficulties facing him, doing anything against his powers. How difficult can it be? Read and find out.

I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 17: Return Round 2

Having come out of their previous fight quite well, the four of Kira, Polnareff, Avdol and Iggy continued their way inside the mansion. They just reached a very dark stairway, which they were about to mount. From the upper side of the stairs, over which they couldn't see since they were below, a dim light made things visible.

'Things' referring to DIO. The crusaders were taken aback immediately. One moment he wasn't there, the next instant the vampire suddenly appeared in their field of view out of nowhere. He was standing there, menacingly! His face was shadowed too, giving him a more mysterious appearance.

'…DIO?! When the hell…' Yoshikage thought in confusion, greatly surprised by the sudden presence. Though he maintained a calm outer appearance. 'This could mean a lot…'

"Hm." DIO stepped forward, deciding it was time to formally meet again. By doing that, he showed his face. This unique, one-of-a-kind majestic blond hair, those piercing, almost golden yellow eyes. That sharp, well-shaped face that managed to get him many, many ladies over the years. "It's been a while, my human friends."

And especially that charismatic voice that can either lure someone in and make them feel a false, twisted peace of mind, or strike possessive fear into someone and make them run away in pure dread.

While yes, the vampire showed himself in a very unexpected manner, the ones facing him weren't scared. They'd come this far and already built up their resolve. It was their fated second encounter, far more meaningful than the first encounter. "So you finally show your face… DIO!"

The seriousness could be felt throughout the dark and heavy atmosphere. They weren't fucking around, the crusaders especially wanted to end it all. DIO knew this, since they managed to defeat all his subordinates, the crusaders were an objectively powerful group of enemies. Yet still, he was pretty relaxed.

*Clap*

*Clap*

*Clap*

Peak mocking sarcasm from the vampire. "Congratulations to you, Polnareff. You avenged your sister and managed to make it here without dying."

Polnareff slightly grimaced, this was a mockery.

"Congratulations to you, Avdol. You conquered your fear and managed to make it here without dying."

Avdol gulped in annoyance, though didn't change his expression in the slightest.

"…And congratulations to you, Kira. For…" DIO decided to be extra provocative here "what exactly? What goal did you have to accomplish?"

Kira narrowed his eyebrows in contempt. "You know exactly why I'm here, DIO. I don't have to spell it out for you." Yoshikage refused to answer, in a threatening undertone at that.

"Ah, yes… To take revenge on me for placing your friend Kakyoin under my control… Nice friendship you got there, but is your reason this shallow?" he mocked, sneering at Kira. "You disappoint me."

Even if lightly, Yoshikage clenched his fists. Those words did get to him. The vampiric inhuman monster wouldn't understand, but to him, who even in his old murderer life wasn't born evil, that friendship meant a lot. Exactly like him, Kakyoin Noriaki was a boy with severe social difficulties. By becoming his friend, Kira learned to understand others. He learned to understand humans, learned that friendship was invaluable and could save people from going down the wrong path. His will alone wasn't the only reason he hadn't murdered an innocent person yet. Kakyoin was his savior, who didn't even know that. And Yoshikage would save his savior in return, no matter what.

"Spare your provocations, DIO. You wouldn't understand. Just know that I don't care if you understand it or not, you've angered me in such a way that I cannot forgive you. To restore my peace of mind and pay you back for what you did to my friend, I will kill you personally."

"Ho." the vampire perked up at the interesting choice of words. "Peace of mind, you say? What a coincidence, I was about to talk about this."

'What do you know about peace of mind?' Kira wouldn't be lectured by anyone about that, as he firmly believed no one knew more about this topic than he himself.

"You guys… Have you ever wondered why people try to survive?" DIO asked, starting a new speech. "Every single person tries to survive because they desire peace of mind. The struggle to acquire fame, power over others, and money is all towards that end. Marriage and friendship are also for that purpose. To serve others, to fight for war and peace, all of these are attempts to sustain peace of mind. The search for peace of mind is the ultimate goal of all mankind."

'Telling me things I already know… Do you think you can impress me with this?' Yoshikage thought, rolling his eyes.

"So… how about joining me to attain peace of mind? All of you are very special, very skilled Stand users as you've shown by defeating my subordinates. It'd be a great shame to off you here." the vampire calmly inquired, already knowing the answer. "How about… you, Polnareff?"

The frenchman, pointed at by DIO, made a lashing motion with his hand, narrowing his eyes to a deep frown. "Dream on, DIO! The first time I met you, the time I submitted to your cursed evil… that was worse than death! I felt like a tool only to be used by you." This was one time where his friends let him run off his mouth without any interference. "But now, I feel no fear. I only feel the will to fight! It's all because I met Joestar-san and his companions. The 45 days of our journey and the trust in my friends have swept away my fear for you."

Polnareff's refusal was very swift and direct. He had no intention of betraying his friends. Though DIO didn't mind, licking his lips and making no fuss about it. "Hm, is that so? Well then, if you want to reconsider, go down the stairs. If you're keen on maintaining to oppose me, try climbing the stairs."

Reacting to that challenge, the egyptian placed his hand on the frenchman's shoulder. He also placed his sight upon the vampire. "If that's the case, he won't be going up alone."

Impressed by the reponse of solidarity, Kira decided to partake in that. "Count me in."

So together, they lifted their legs to step upwards. But… they found themselves downwards.

"Hm hm hm, what's that? You went down the stairs! Do you not want to oppose me after all?" DIO joked, acting like the crusaders did that on purpose.

'What the…' Yoshikage thought, his eyes widening. This had to be a mistake, he went up and not down. This time, he would surely step upwards. But… he still didn't. Him and his friends found themselves to be at a lower position than even before.

"W-what?! I'm sure I stepped up!" Polnareff called in shock, unable to believe what was going on.

"I- Impossible!" Avdol yelled, baffled by this strange opposite action too. A lot of sweat built up on his surprised face.

"What's wrong? You're getting further and further away from me. Does that mean you are scared of me?" The vampire mockingly asked from above, playing with his enemies. "Maybe you thought of coming up in your head. But you're too scared to come up, so you went down instead."

The frenchman especially failed to understand this mind-boggling logic. "Impossible! I know I tried to climb these stairs!" he shouted in insistence, to no avail. Whatever he tried, it didn't end up like he imagined.

'This must be the doing of his Stand, [The World]!' Kira figured, desperately trying to think of a reason. 'Did he just give us a hint? Mind manipulation, is that it? Or is it some kind of space manipulation? Possibly, but he could also be rewinding time… JUST WHAT IS IT?!'

"No, Polnareff, I know you did. DIO is most likely using his Stand to mess with us." The egyptian too was on the right tracks. "Somehow he prevents us from reaching him, he prevents us from going higher."

[Magician's Red] was summoned. "Though even if we can't reach him with our feet, we can reach him with our Stands." Avdol knew this was dangerous, but he elevated his Stand, sending it flying towards the vampire.

"A more logical approach, huh?" DIO said, not really impressed. Him and his just summoned Stand looked down on the crusaders. "Then I shall send you to hell with my Stand."

[The World] was an insanely muscular, humanoid golden Stand with heart and diver motifs. It looked like a very, very special Stand. Just like [Star Platinum] and Yoshikage's very own [Killer Queen]. For that was Kira's first impression of his enemy's Stand.

Polnareff, reacting to the vampire manifesting his Stand, manifested his too, positioning it next to Avdol's [Magician's Red]. "So that's [The World]? Bring it on!"

DIO merely grinned at the double opposition. "Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda!"

Those Stands were about to clash, but it didn't come to that. The wall next to the stairs was crushed from outside. Sunlight was coming in, which made the vampire jump away from the stairs in order to not get hit by the deadly rays.

The crusaders present were sure happy to see the rest of their group arrive. Right then, they were pointing coolly through the hole in the wall.

"Ah, guys! So you made it out alive!" The egyptian was ecstatic to see his friends in well condition.

'Good thing they're here.' Yoshikage thought, a narrow smile forming on his face. No one was lost, and now they could deal with DIO much easier.

"DIO!" Joseph called out the name of his family's enemy, pointing at him with violent intent. Thought the vampire was retreating to darker parts of his mansion, leaving the crusaders be for now.

"That was him! That was DIO!" the old Joestar told his grandson, who'd never seen this man in person before.

Jotaro didn't mind, all he wanted was to chase him. The three newly arriving crusaders went to chase him right off the bat.

"Wait a second! Before you go, I have to tell you about his Stand!" Kira advised them, wanting to share a vital piece of information they didn't know. Listening to his words, the three who went with D'Arby stopped on their current steps for the time being.

"We've experienced his Stand." Yoshikage told, Polnareff and Avdol nodding. "We've experienced it, but didn't understand its ability. We were trying to climb up these stairs, but somehow ended up lower than where we started. I can only make hypotheses about what was happening, but I highly suspect that his Stand's ability is either of these three: potent mind manipulation, confusing space manipulation or time manipulation in form of time rewinding."

"…" Joseph, Jotaro and Kakyoin didn't say anything, silently understanding. Kira could guess that they were thinking about how dangerous either of these abilities were.

"A-anyways, we need to be careful when proceeding." the egyptian concluded, climbing up the stairs.

But the others didn't just proceed to run through the mansion without navigation. Noriaki brought a sack with him and violently slammed it against the stairs. "Hey, Nukesaku. No time to waste, answer the question as soon as I ask it, got it?"

"Guh!" A sound of pain came out the sack. A small man raised his head outside of the sack's mouth.

"What's above this floor?" the redhead demanded Nukesaku to answer.

"A… a tower… There's a room at the top. Lord DIO goes there sometime during the day." the DIO-made vampire weakling meekly answered, not that he had a choice.

"Is there another way up?"

"N-no… this is the only way."

The cherry boy picked up the sack again and threw it in front of him, absolutely 0 regard for the man inside. "Fine, then take us there."

"Geh!"

Oddly enough, this was amusing to see for Yoshikage. 'Heh, what an idiot.'

XXXXXXXXXX

Nukesaku took the crusaders to a dark spiral stairway with an incredibly wide diameter leading upwards to some tower, just as he said earlier. Looking at the staircase alone was pretty menacing. Climbing the stairs felt menacing too, but they did it without fail, reaching the door on the other end.

Inside the round tower was a room with a dome-shaped ceiling. On the walls were many mirrors, and in the center of the room was a brown coffin with a golden 'D'. Apparently, this was the vampire's bedroom.

Using [Star Platinum], the young Joestar smashed the wooden covers of the windows, allowing sunlight inside. Nukesaku instinctively fled to the section of the room where the sunlight didn't reach his vampire body.

Light didn't hit the casket. In a way, this made the coffin stand out even more. All eyes were focused on it. The crusaders had varying thoughts, staring at DIO's supposed bed.

'Despite this being our first meeting, I feel like I've known him forever.' Joseph thought, feeling this on a fundamental Joestar level. 'Actually, that feeling holds true. After all, even since before I was born, my Joestar blood tells me that I am fated to meet him one day… not as a friend, but as an enemy that must be defeated.'

'So this is the man who I must slay not only to save my mother, but also as a Joestar duty…' Jotaro thought, largely unfamiliar with the Joestar feeling since he was a Kujo first and foremost.

'No regrets. About anything that has happened on this journey or will happen from this point on. I will regret nothing.' Kakyoin thought, coming closer and closer to fully conquer his fear and avenge his shame from last year.

'About time… That I will face him this time, the man who made me run away in fear. No more of that!' Avdol thought, in the same situation as his japanese teenage friend.

'This feeling… I have sided with the light. DIO is the darkness, my friends are the light! I can clearly feel the distinction between black and white!' Polnareff thought, feeling great courage as he faced his former puppet master. 'I am one with the light!'

'…It's time, isn't it? After this is over, I can almost return to my quiet life…' Kira thought, narrowing his eyes. 'DIO… I never desired to be your enemy, but you forced me to. I never wanted to be involved with this many hostile Stand users, but you forced me to. Even if it's preposterous for me to call myself that, if you're the evil, then I have become the good that is opposing you.'

"Everyone, surround the casket from all directions." the old Joestar instructed, breaking the silence. "Nukesaku, go open the casket! We'll attack when he emerges."

"M… Meee?" the subordinate vampire of his originator was really scared about this, following the orders of his enemies. But having no choice, he could only meekly obey.

The little idiot hesitantly approached the coffin, making nothing but excuses. "Uh… Lord DIO! I am not betraying you… I believe in your power so I brought them here… This is not the end of the line for you, is it? I brought theme here so you can kill them all!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND OPEN THE CASKET ALREADY!" Joseph barked at Nukesaku, annoyed with how slow Nukesaku was.

"Lord DIO! Please kill them!" the vampire let out a little scream in fear, finally opening the coffin.

As he opened it, dust and gradually more bits of the inside could be seen. Eventually, a person's silhouette finally became visible. But it turned out that it was Nukesaku, dismembered and dying.

Not expecting this sudden development, the crusaders widened their eyes. "EH?!"

Nukesaku himself couldn't believe it either, spouting his dying words in disbelief even though his mouth had been horizontally severed.

"Wha-?! I… I'm the one inside…?! But I was just opening the casket…"

Unable to understand what happened, the old Joestar nearly panicked. "What is that idiot doing inside the casket?! I never took my eyes off him!"

"You see, it isn't hyper-speed. Nor hypnosis. It's just like what happened to us!" the egyptian told, looking around in fear.

"[The World]!" Noriaki figured, realizing the danger himself after being exposed to it.

'So he did it again, taking out his Stand!' Yoshikage thought, gritting his teeth. 'Damn it! He did it again, using his abilities in such a way we can't do anything against it! And even worse, it gets more confusing! This case shows that it can't be either space manipulation, mind manipulation or time rewinding! But those were all legit possibilities on the stairs! How does he do that?!'

"Son of a bitch… things are starting to get interesting." the young Joestar muttered, wary of the enemy's danger.

"Neither of us saw how he was put in the casket…" the frenchman spoke, at his wits' end as for knowing what to do. "I didn't see anything. I was staring at the coffin, but he was already inside by the time it opened."

"He's right, that's not some kind of super speed at all!"

Suddenly, Jotaro detected something that gave him a bad feeling. "Wait! Something is a bit strange…"

He couldn't really explain what it was, but that didn't matter. He just knew that it was dangerous. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

All the crusaders started running towards the window.

'Jotaro's right! What the hell is this ominous feeling? [The World] again?!' Kira wondered, sprinting and jumping outside the window. He felt something that sent chills down his spine, something so evil that he'd rather fall free.

"I felt it too! A strong intent to kill!" Joseph confirmed, ready to use his Stand as one of the crusaders' lifeline. "It feels like something cold running down your back… If we had stayed, we would probably all be dead now!"

"What was that? It's the first time I've felt anything like it! We didn't actually see [The World] in action, but it feels more terrible than any of the Stands we've encountered before." the redhead told from his point of view, cold sweat flowing down his face.

"It's exactly like Kakyoin said! This… this actually felt worse than just meeting DIO for the first time." Avdol evaluated, not his proudest evaluation.

In order to not fall to their deaths, the old Joestar and the cherry boy used the vine- and tentacle-like nature of their Stands to hold on to a piece of the building a few floors below, as well as to save those with less convenient Stands for this.

Yoshikage was still deep in thought, shocked at the feeling he felt earlier. 'Unbelievable… I know my [Killer Queen]'s bloodlust, I am familiar with it. But this… [The World] is on a whole other level!'

The crusaders all saw that the sun was going under. This was bad, as their time was ending, and his time was beginning.

"Joestar-san… You aren't going to retreat and wait for the sun to rise again, are you?" Polnareff asked. "Because no matter how bad this was, I'm not running away now! Day or night, I will fight!"

"Of course not!" Joseph quickly answered, narrowing his eyes and breathing unevenly. "But the situation has changed! We simply have no idea what [The World] can do. It's like climbing a mountain without knowing where the summit is, you'll run into trouble! We absolutely will if we are reckless!"

Understanding the extra burden on the old Joestar for his leadership role, how he was the main figure of responsibility for their lives, the egyptian supported his position. "We'd all like to defeat him, but he IS going to come after us! He WILL try to kill us before the sun rises! Before that, we have to figure out the secret of [The World]! We must wait until we know more about [The World]!"

Conflicted about his desire to fight and his tendency to consider the logical aspect of things, Kakyoin carefully tried to appeal for calmness. "I feel you, Polnareff, but we need to be careful this time. Jotaro, Kira-san. Say something please."

Kira was snapped out of his thoughts when he focused on the situation at hand. The frenchman was acting impulsively again. Yoshikage wouldn't have it, Polnareff and him were both equally essential for their [Bites the dust] plan which was to guarantee any possible return plan for the possibility that one of their friends died. If either of them died, their whole plan would go to shit. And Kira would not allow the frenchman to screw up their plan by acting impulsively, so he spoke to Polnareff in a language he understood.

Grabbing the frenchman by the collar with especially great grip strength and narrowing his eyes into a very threatening stare, Yoshikage dangerously reprimanded him. "Oh no no, Polnareff! Stay. Where. You. Are. You surely haven't forgotten about our plan, haven't you? About what we're going through?"

Stubborn Polnareff glared back at Kira, which made him increase his gripping strength even more. "You are not allowed to die, Polnareff! You are an integral part of our group! I won't allow you to go and endanger yourself! You don't want to be unable to save your friends if they needed YOUR help, do you?!"

Partially admitting his wrong approach, the frenchman clenched his teeth and slowly shook his head.

Yoshikage let go of him for now. "Then stick to Joestar-san's plan for all our safety and don't be selfish… This is the ONE critical phase of our journey where you MUST NOT be hardheaded and selfish."

"…" The other crusaders silently observed Kira handling Polnareff, inwardly praising him for this. There's nothing dumber than splitting up when fighting an unknown enemy.

Seeing that this disagreement was over, Joseph let out a sigh. It was invaluable to have order. "For now, let's get away from this mansion…"

No disagreements. With that, the crusaders withdrew from the devil's den.

XXXXXXXXXX

Skipping a few neighborhoods, they stopped at a park in central Cairo. Running alone wasn't helpful, they also needed time to rest and think about plans.

Jotaro already had an idea he wanted to share. "Hey, remember what we did inside the tower?"

Avdol placed his thumb and index finger below his chin. "We let light into it and surrounded his coffin."

"That's where I'm getting at." the young Joestar stated, trying to get his point through. "Splitting up against a tough enemy is bad, but attacking from two sides is advantageous too. So why don't we split into two groups and corner him?"

"Hm, you have a good point there." the old Joestar said, considering the option. "At least this way we can monitor him better and have higher mobility if he tries to escape us."

"Right, I don't think it's a bad idea." Noriaki agreed, though wondering about another thing. "If we go through with that, what would the teams look like?"

Stroking his chin, Jotaro prepared an answer. "We'd need teams with balanced strength. If we were to split, we should be even in strength. So I propose that Iggy, Avdol and Polnareff come with me."

The named crusaders didn't seem to have an issue with that, not even the frenchman. But Yoshikage sure did.

"Hey Jotaro, can Polnareff go with us please?"

Shaking his head, the young Joestar saw no reason for that. "In that case I believe an unbalanced distribution of strength would exist. You alone are powerful enough for a group of 3 while we are 4, no?"

'I digress heavily, Jotaro. My Stand is with Polnareff now, I cannot use any of my offensive abilities.' he thought, refraining from explaining himself due to not wanting to sow extra confusion with his [Bites the dust]. "…Yeah, you are right. T-thanks for the subtle praise."

Shooting a glance at Polnareff that conveyed the message 'Idiot!' for not suggesting that himself, Kira huffed out in an unnoticeable manner.

"Well then, be careful, you guys."

"Don't let him get you."

Part of the agreement, and their supposed key to victory was to stay so far away from each other that they could still arrive in the nick of time if the other group was in serious trouble, but also that DIO couldn't catch wind of their plan, trying to surround and corner him. If they were to operate too close to each other, it'd become obvious for the vampire.

With that, the crusaders parted for the time being.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was random, but Joseph just took out a stack of cash and handed it to a civilian man in return for his car.

They noticed that out of the two groups, DIO had set his sights upon their group. So if things got too dangerous, they'd be able to outrun him.

"Damn bastard stalking us…" Yoshikage grumbled, hating that he was secretly unable to properly defend himself. "He's far, but I can feel him."

"Me too, Kira. I can sense that dark bloodlust of his. You're right, he's following us. I'm positive of this." the old Joestar informed, greatly loathing him.

"What, does he know our exact location?" the redhead inquired, worried about that.

"No… He's stolen the body of my grandfather, Jonathan Joestar. I can sense his presence somehow, but can't pinpoint the exact location. It's the same for him regarding me and Jotaro." Joseph explained, fully aware that this stuff was extremely bizarre. "Since Jotaro and I are both in Cairo, he most likely doesn't know that we've split."

'Such a bizarre family…' Kira mused, amazed at how weird that family was. 'Nothing against the Joestars, but I'm glad I'm not part of their family. Getting caught inside one of their matters as an outsider alone is extremely demanding.'

"Let's hope we'll put an end to his life, Joestar-san."

Looking in the rear mirror, the readhead noticed a car closing in on their own, really fast at that. Its front bumper was battered and there were blood stains all over the car. This obviously wasn't a normal car, and he had a good idea on who was sitting inside.

"Joestar-san, I believe this is DIO. What should I do?"

"Hm, you're right. DIO's presence feels a lot closer compared to a few minutes ago…" the old Joestar remarked, narrowing his eyes. "Try to attack his vehicle from a distance. Don't get too close, it's dangerous."

"Alright."

The cherry boy maneuvered [Hierophant Green] outside of their car, reaching until next to the vampire's car.

DIO himself noticed the Stand, glancing outside the window. "Kakyoin's…"

"DIO, prepare to die!" [Hierophant Green] conveyed the words of Kakyoin, preparing an attack in midair. "Emerald Splash!"

Dozens of emeralds were shot through the window. Though the vampire didn't feel that much danger, deflecting the attack by flicking one single emerald with his finger at another, which also deviated from its trajectory and collided with another, continuing the domino effect.

All the emerald missed DIO, instead destroying the car door on the other side.

"Unbelievable! He blocked my [Emerald Splash] with just one finger! He didn't even move out of his seat!" Noriaki reacted from within his own car, seeing everything through his Stand's eyes.

"Then what about this?!" As his pride had just been damaged, he made his Stand fire another, more concentrated round of emeralds.

He was sure that he'd hit DIO for sure this time, but the vampire deflected them all again, this time with his entire hand. The deflection destroyed the roof of the car.

"I narrowed my aim and he still dodged it!" the redhead complained, frustrated about his failure. DIO had not shown his Stand's ability to defend himself. "Damn it!"

Though the vampire did use [The World] to surprise the cherry boy, as it suddenly appeared next to [Hierophant Green], with its fist raised.

"W- WHAT?!"

[The World], physically much stronger than its opponent, punched [Hierophant Green] so hard it crashed against multiple signs and lampposts on the roadside in a row.

"NGAH!" the real Kakyoin inside the crusaders' car let out in pain, starting to bleed from the damage his Stand just received.

"Be careful, Kakyoin-kun! You got too close!" Yoshikage reprimanded, still pressing his teeth together due to the adrenaline of watching the event from the rear window. "And you're bleeding!"

"Sorry, I just…" he apologized, breathing heavily and staring at his hands.

'Poor Kakyoin-kun, risked his life there and figured nothing out.' Kira thought, thinking how much of a shame that was.

"Are you alright? Did you see [The World]?" Joseph asked, unable to see what happened behind them since he focused on driving.

Noriaki was having a hard time mentally from the shock of the attack, but still explained everything as well as he could. "Yes. I attacked him from about 10 meters away. If I was any closer, I would've been killed!"

'Thank fuck you didn't!' Yoshikage thought, unable to smile in this situation.

"But Joestar-san, you were right! His Stand is definitely a close-range type. It's similar to Jotaro's, but it's beyond formidable! We still don't know its secrets, but there are 2 things we know for sure."

'Ho, let's hear.' Kira trusted in his friend's intelligence, he was sure he figured out something new.

"One: His Stand can't reach as far as my [Hierophant Green] or your [Hermit Purple]. Its range is approximately 10 meters." the redhead reported. "Two: It attacked me with its fist, so it doesn't have any projectile weapons."

'10 meters is still awfully wide.' Yoshikage thought in caution, driving his hand through his hair. 'We can't get too close.'

"We have to figure out his secret, we cannot be too careful with him!" The old Joestar spoke, then looking at the rear mirror and noticing something incredibly strange. DIO's car stopped, it wasn't driving anymore.

Taking a look back out of the rear window, Kira's eyes almost bulged out. A human body was flying towards their car at high speed. And if he weren't to duck, the impact would kill him. "WATCH OUT! DUCK! THERE'S SOMETHING COMING TOWARD US!"

A short and fat man, bloody and dressed in black, crashed through the rear window, barely missing the ducking Yoshikage in the back row, but grazing the cherry boy and the old man in the front row as he crashed against the dashboard.

"RRRRGH!"

"JOESTAR-SAN!"

The airbags activated although the car was still running, blocking Joseph's view. Total chaos ensued within the vehicle, causing the driver to lose control. Their car swiftly crashed against a building on the roadside.

"GRRRH! FUUUCK!"

"WHAT THE?!"

"HOLY FUCK!"

All three of the crusaders were cursing in shock, adrenaline running through their bodies. They did not expect this.

"THAT DIO…!"

"ARGH!"

"SHIT! THIS IS BAD!"

That last line was the most correct out of all of them. Now that they couldn't drive anymore, the vampire would reach them by foot if they didn't hurry out of the crash site.

"WHATEVER, LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Injured and stressed, the crusaders hectically got out of the totalled car. Kakyoin and Joseph facilitated their escape, using their Stands to pull themselves up that building. They could partially do this undetected, since a lot of smoke from the car crash blocked the view into the direct crash perimeter.

So when DIO came and took a look inside the wrecked car, he only found the senator he tossed in there. Though when he looked up, he saw the crusaders on the rooftop. Their escape didn't go fully undetected.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, I have an idea… I know how to find the secret of his Stand."

Kira was surprised by Kakyoin's claim, his eyes widened. He really wanted to hear about that way, for he wondered way too much about that. "What?"

Even the old Joestar was overcome with surprise. Such a shiver of hope. "Did you just say you can figure out DIO's Stand?"

While jumping and swinging from rooftop to rooftop, as the bloodthirsty vampire chased them, Noriaki explained his plan in bits and pieces.

"You have to trust me, this can only work that way."

This wasn't an issue at all for both Yoshikage and Joseph.

"You're gonna see… I'm gonna encircle DIO, surround him." the redhead told, a firm and calculation look in his eyes. "And my Stand's… [Hierophant Green]'s ability will be invisible for him… invisible until he's forced to react. And then, only then will he reveal his Stand ability. I'll leave him no other choice!"

Listening to him, all while jumping and swinging, was pretty hectic for Kira. Of course it sounded like a very good plan, but somehow he couldn't help but have a bad feeling at this. 'May your plan safely work, Kakyoin-kun… I'm begging for it.'

After a while, they came to a spot where they stopped. Yoshikage guessed that this was the place where the cherry boy was going to set up his plan, a trap.

'Nice choice of area, there are many towers and structures other than roofs here.' Kira mentally remarked, standing close by. Together with the old Joestar, he was hiding. Hiding from DIO's sight, who just arrived after chasing them so far.

The vampire slowly landed on a rooftop to further observe the area. Though he accidently stepped on something when landing. Something that set off Kakyoin's trap.

"Ngh!"

DIO quickly reacted at a sudden barrage of [Hierophant Green]'s emeralds, which seemingly went off out of nowhere. It was so sudden that he couldn't just casually deflect all the emeralds, he actually had to put a lot of effort into that.

"This is… Kakyoin's [Hierophant Green]!"

That attack actually forced him to make a jumping motion backwards. But by doing so he activated the next trap, which again sent a lot of emeralds into his direction.

"A web…!" the vampire reacted, figuring out that he had already entered a wide web trap set by Kakyoin, just like a fly entering a spider's web. And he had to think fast, because all the emeralds didn't prove to be easy to defend against for him.

"Hmph!" He kicked some of the emeralds away with his leg. But that motion exposed his shoulder, which was struck by one emerald. And the ensuing wound bled. Yes, Noriaki had draw DIO's blood.

"Tsk…!" And as annoying as this was for the vampire, he quickly noticed that the single wound was the least of his problems. Gradually more and more web strings of [Hierophant Green] became visible to him as he focused more on his surroundings. Very soon, he came to realize that he was surrounded from pretty much every angle. If he as much as moved a muscle, the following barrages would only be worse.

'Nice, Kakyoin-kun! You're a genius!' Kira thought, observing the situation from afar. This was possibly the best method to force DIO to show his power.

And it was all the idea of Kakyoin Noriaki, who was coolly standing on top of the tip of a thin steel tower. The vampire's eyes noticed the cool teenager standing there and pointing at him in a badass manner.

"The web attacks you when you touch it! It surrounds you for 20 meters in every direction! It can sense you and your Stand's every move!" the redhead explained in a both calm and badass way, for the first time being in a dominant position to DIO. The vampire too slightly admitted his position with his narrow gaze, there seemed to be no doubt about it.

A few seconds of silence followed, adding to the heavy and suspenseful tone. Yoshikage had to wipe lots of sweat off his face just for watching.

"Take this, DIO! 20 Meter Radius Emerald Splash!" the cherry boy then exclaimed, breaking the silence.

From all directions, an immense and overwhelming amount of emeralds were shot at DIO. No matter what, he had to defend himself with the special ability of his Stand, that was clear. There was no way out of that.

'Show it, DIO… Bring out the power of your Stand!' Kira energetically thought from the sidelines, having high expectations for this strategy to work.

Though contrary to expectations, DIO's lips curled into a confident smirk. "You fool… Find out for yourself. The power of [The World], as the name suggests, is the power to reign over the world!"

"[The World]!"

Yoshikage briefly saw that golden Stand as its user summoned it and activated its ability. He saw that.

But just that, no more. Not the ability itself.

He blinked once, and the scene completely changed. For the worse.

Complete horror. Kira just witnessed his best friend Kakyoin having been sent flying through the air into a water tower, with a huge and gruesome hole in his chest.

'E… Eh?'

"What?!" Yoshikage absolutely couldn't believe this, his eyes shot wide open and gradually became redder as if he was going mad. "Kakyoin-kun was… suddenly blown away… with a hole in his chest?!"

'No, no, no… Absolutely no… NO!'

Polnareff was lucky to not have been here to witness this. Joseph was lucky he'd forget that moment after a single use of [Bites the dust]. But not Kira, he'd remember this terrible scene forever.

When it came to male acquaintances, there was no one he cared more for than Noriaki. And seeing him still alive but struggling on that water tower, like an animal about to succumb to death, it brought tears and sweat of utter sadness and grief to his face.

"UUAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHHHH! KAKYOIIIIIIIIIIIINN!"

His throat began hurting from all the sad gulps. This was worse than seeing Avdol die.

'No… Not him! NOT KAKYOIN!'

If his nails were long, his palms would've been bleeding from the tightened fists of sadness. And if he were to press his teeth together for 10 more seconds, they'd receive some damage.

His hatred for DIO was already personal, he already didn't plan on forgiving him. But this tragedy, even if undoable, transformed that hatred completely.

'DIO… Screw Jotaro for a moment, screw him! I won't be satisfied until you fall into the deepest pits of hell! I won't rest!'

Tears flowing out of his eyes, he raised his thumb and pressed the invisible switch, triggering [Bites the dust].

Click

Space and time warped around Yoshikage. Yet again, he laid his eyes upon myriads and myriads of purple orbs.

At the same time somewhere slightly else, the same thing happened to the frenchman, the host of [Bites the dust] too.

Another time, another try.

XXXXXXXXXX

In another but the same morning, Polnareff rushed through the hotel floor's hallways. It was understandable that [Bites the dust] occurred suddenly, when he wasn't expecting it, as Kira and him were separated. But that must've meant something terrible happened when he wasn't there.

He slammed open the door to Yoshikage's room, barging in. He again was about to question the primary user of [Bites the dust], but this time he was calmer about it.

"Hey Kira, what happened?! You used-" the frenchman abruptly ceased speaking when he took a better at his friend's face, especially his eyes. Kira's eyes and the skin around them were deep red, meaning he'd been crying for a while.

"K… Kira…?"

"Kakyoin…"

"Huh?" Polnareff didn't like the sound of it, Something tragic had to have happened.

"Polnareff… He got Kakyoin. DIO… He killed Kakyoin."

Almost cringing at how much sadness Yoshikage held inside of him, the frenchman couldn't do anything but mutter out words of condolences. "…I'm sorry."

Remembering the words about not crying Kira told him during their first loop to the past, Polnareff was almost compelled to remind him the same thing. Though that wasn't needed, as Yoshikage spoke up before that.

"Polnareff, I have to tell you something."

"…Let's hear." The frenchman was very curious to hear about it.

"Until we have to go inside DIO's mansion with Avdol and Iggy to meet Vanilla Ice again, tell everyone to leave me alone." Kira asked of him, a troubled but resolved look in his red eyes. "I… I need to think. About what went wrong, and what I can do to stop this future from happening. I need to concentrate and think in peace, so please, I ask that of you."

Seeing how Yoshikage even bowed slightly, Polnareff couldn't help but accept. He hated helplessness, and as long as [Bites the dust] was active, he could only truly help and trust Kira alone. He had no choice.

"Fine, I can do that."

"Thanks, Polnareff…"

Having said that, Yoshikage got dressed and ready to go out. Though he took a long time, as he was devoid of energy for the time being.

XXXXXXXXXX

When his friends asked him why he was feeling so down, Kira told them that he had a terrible, terrible nightmare. With Polnareff's support, the crusaders respected his wish to be left alone for some time.

'[The World]… there is no doubt about its power. It affects time directly and the mind indirectly. There's no way it affects the mind directly, since MIND MANIPULATION CANNOT PUNCH A HOLE IN A BODY!' he thought, his temper going up and down during his inner monologue. 'My other initial assumption about space manipulation is even more incorrect. That might've explained something with the stairs, but NOT HOW KAKYOIN-KUN WAS SUDDENLY BLOWN AWAY! SPACE MANIPULATION CANNOT DO THAT! Time… Time is the only logical answer here. I at first thought that it was rewinding time, but that's out of the question as well. WHAT WAS THERE TO REWIND SO THAT KAKYOIN-KUN RECEIVED A HOLE IN HIS GUT!'

Thinking about the Stand of his new most hated enemy, Yoshikage's mind got seriously stressed out. 'I… I just can't understand.'

He was dealing with a Stand of superior capabilities, so careful thinking was the only thing he could do. But even that proved to be very hard for him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Thanks to the knowledge of another experienced time, Kira and the frenchman put the experience from that time into good use to defeat Vanilla Ice another time.

Against DIO, whom they just encountered again, this extra experience didn't help much.

"Okay Polnareff, I have come closer to figuring how his Stand works." Yoshikage conveyed per Stand telepathy. "His power is time manipulation, I'm sure of it. As a side effect there is a delay in the mind, which can lead to the false assumption that he has mind manipulation powers."

"Whoa, time manipulation… That's stupidly overpowered! I know because we ARE using your own time manipulation ability."

"Indeed, but I don't think mine can counter his directly, which makes it even more scary."

"Right… we have to find a way to kill him despite of that, and there's no one better suited for thinking out such a plan than you, Kira!"

"…"

Kira wasn't entirely optimistic about that. While he may figure out that ability eventually, he was certain that he couldn't defeat DIO. He knew from the future that Jotaro had the ability to stop time, THE overpowered time manipulation ability to prevent him from living his quiet life in the old world, but he had no idea when the young Joestar would awaken that power. That power just might put an end to the vampire.

'So Ironic… Who knew that I'd need Jotaro one day, and that day is today… The power to stop time, the power that I had to run away from… Today I'm forced to bet on it against [The World].' Yoshikage thought, thoroughly conflicted. 'I wonder what [The World]'s time power is.'

Anyways, the crusaders that beat Vanilla Ice stood face to face with DIO, though there were elevation differences like earlier.

"It's been a while, my human friends."

"So you finally show your face… DIO!"

Polnareff and Kira knew about this scene, it was a déjà vu for them. Which made them even more furious and made their hatred for the vampire rise. But DIO, unaware of this re-encounter, was as calm as the first time.

*Clap*

*Clap*

*Clap*

After the clapping came the mocking. He first mocked Polnareff and Avdol again. Then, when he mocked Yoshikage, a change occurred.

"…And congratulations to you, Kira. For…" DIO decided to be extra provocative here "what exactly? What goal did you have to accomplish?"

"You wouldn't understand." was Kira's new answer to him, uttered as a lowly snarl. "It's much more than you think it is, you will never understand."

"Is that so?" The vampire was quite amused at that reply. "Oh, so you claim to have a complex and deep reason, when I already know you're doing this for the peace of mind."

That talk again. Yoshikage completely ignored DIO's speech this time, he didn't listen to a single word. 'Peace of mind only? That shallow understanding of yours will be your undoing.'

And when later the vampire asked the frenchman to join him, he was of course refused again.

Then came the time where they tried to walk up the stairs, but mysteriously ended back down. Outwardly, both Polnareff and Kira faked shock and disbelief for the sake of realism, but inwardly they weren't so surprised anymore.

'You used a time ability of [The World] that's not time rewinding to play that trick on us… For the first time, this is very confusing. But now that we know of it, we have come closer to figuring out your weakness. This won't scare us anymore.'

[The World], manifested by its user after the frenchman and the egyptian yet again manifested their own Stands after failing to climb the stairs, showed itself again.

"So that's [The World]? Bring it on!"

"Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda!"

In the right moment, as expected, the missing crusaders arrived. Bringing some sunlight with their entrance, they forced DIO to retreat another time. "DIO!"

'Here they are, how important.' Yoshikage thought, narrowing his eyes. 'If I'm gonna use [Bites the dust] again, they're gonna forget everything. So I have to give them the right information from the start.

So before they went off to chase the vampire, Kira told them something important and more clear. "Wait a second! Before you go, I have to tell you about his Stand!"

Reacting like the first time, the three that fought D'Arby intently listened to him.

"We've experienced his Stand." Yoshikage said, Polnareff and Avdol nodding. "We've experienced it, but didn't quite understand its ability. We were trying to climb up these stairs, but somehow ended up lower than where we started. I highly suspect that his Stand's ability is time manipulation, but not time rewinding. I can assure you it's neither mind manipulation nor space manipulation. Isn't that right, Polnareff, Avdol?"

"Totally! It was totally time manipulation! No other explanation for that!" the frenchman strongly supported that statement, knowing about the ability.

Though the egyptian, having lost his memory due to [Bites the dust], wasn't that secure about the explanation. "Time manipulation… That sounds crazy! But still… it's somehow more accurate than mind manipulation or space manipulation, I guess."

"…" Joseph, Jotaro and Kakyoin didn't say anything, silently understanding. Kira could guess that they were thinking about how dangerous this abilitiy was.

"A-anyways, we need to be careful when proceeding." Avdol concluded, climbing up the stairs.

Thus they all climbed the stairs for a second time, including the still living Nukesaku.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You see that? THIS is what I meant! That is the ability of [The World]! Time manipulation, but not time rewinding!"

Nukesaku had just been killed again, placed in the casket of DIO when he was supposed to open it. The other crusaders were shocked.

"Time manipulation?! So it is true!"

"This is bad! What an incredible Stand power!"

"[The World]…"

"Son of a bitch…"

The same one who spoke the last line, Jotaro, also noticed the intense bloodlust oozing from their surroundings again. "Wait! Something is a bit strange…"

He couldn't really explain what it was, but that didn't matter. He just knew that it was dangerous. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

All the crusaders started running towards the window.

'Again this unbelievably wicked bloodlust… You truly must be the biggest monster that ever lived, DIO!' Kira thought, clenching his fist.

Like before, Joseph and the Kakyoin used the vine- and tentacle-like nature of their Stands to hold on to a piece of the building a few floors below, as well as to save those with less convenient Stands for this. Also, the sun was going under again.

While the situation was the same, things looked more convenient for Yoshikage. They all were on the right track to figure out the power of [The World], and Polnareff wasn't stubborn.

Despite that, he couldn't just act like the boss, he had to involve others in the decision making too. Exactly because they didn't understand what he was going through. "Joestar-san, what shall we do? Do you have any idea?"

"Well, I'm not saying we should just run away, but now that the sun is going down and DIO can do whatever he wants soon, we should distance ourselves from him and try to figure out what the power of his Stand is." the old Joestar explained, hoping that the others would support his view.

Well, there were no objections at least.

'Good.' Kira thought, lightly grinning inwardly at the more united, more resolved mindset of the crusaders. This mindset greatly helped his plans. But there was one more person of importance whom he had to involve no matter what.

"Jotaro, is there something you wanna add to the discussion?"

How fitting. There actually was. "Good thing that you asked, Kira. I wanna propose a strategy against DIO."

This piqued especially Joseph's interest, who wanted to hear what his grandson had in mind. "Say so, Jotaro."

"Just like we cornered his coffin, let's corner him again. Split up into 2 groups so he can't run away from all of us when we do manage to corner him." the young Joestar suggested.

2 groups… the split group from that time wasn't strong enough to fight the vampire, leading to one casualty. Yoshikage knew that it wasn't a good idea to go down that path again.

"The gist of your idea isn't bad, but I don't think we should split up." Kira objected, drawing all eyes onto him. In a strategy debate, attention was key.

"Why do you think so?" the old Joestar inquired, raising his brow.

"Yes, that doesn't sound so bad." Noriaki agreed, shrugging.

"I am saying this because I think I have figured out more about DIO's Stand." Kira lied, using the info the redhead gathered during the last round of [Bites the dust]. "DIO's Stand appears to be a short-range Stand with a range of 10 meters at max. Additionally, it doesn't seem to have projectile weapons or something of that sort, meaning it's a Stand that comes close and uses strong physical attacks."

"…" The other crusaders took some time to register the information and think about it. Judging by the looks on their faces, they seemed to think those were highly possible and reasonable statements.

"That's why, if DIO manages to close the distance, all of us will surely be unable to help each other in time. To avoid that, we all have to be in the same area." Yoshikage concluded.

Assuming a slightly pensive pose, the egyptian supported the idea. "I agree. Against a strong and unknown enemy like [The World], we can't split up and diminish our fighting power.

The frenchman also made sure not to make the mistake of the first time again and supported his partner. "True, we have to consider this. I say no to splitting up."

Seeing how those arguments made sense, the others weren't so quick to immediately agree with Jotaro's strategy.

Jotaro crossed his arms. "But, if we don't split up, how will we lure him into encircling him? He won't just walk straight into the middle of us."

Kira also had counter arguments. And he went for a choice that was both more risky and more safe at the same time, having no choice but to take this bet in order to avoid something like the last attempt. "That's true, but we can do it without setting it up from the start. Let's say that we all confront him. Some of us keep him busy by opposing him close-range, while those of us with long-range abilities surround him during that time. That way DIO will be surrounded again, just like you want."

While these two argued, the other crusaders just silently watched.

"Hmph." The young Joestar had just one more issue with this. "You say that us close-range fighters should directly oppose him, even though his ability is clearly dangerous and not completely clear to us. Are you up to the task? Will you be the first to oppose him?"

Yoshikage's eyes twitched at that remark. He was legit offended. "Are you calling me a coward?"

He dared to grab Jotaro by the collar, shocking the others. Now was the worst time to fight amongst one another. "Are you accusing me as someone who'll tell others what to do while trying to stay away from danger? Tch, I thought you were better than that! You are greatly mistaken, Jotaro! In fact, I will be at the forefront when opposing DIO! I double dare you to approach him closer than I will!"

Having ranted at the young Joestar, Kira let him go with a push, showing him an angered expression with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. He initially wanted to lure Jotaro into fighting DIO directly by appearing generous and amiable, saying he'd fight together with his 'friend'. But before he could say that, those words of the young Joestar got to his head. 'Calm down, calm down… Don't get cocky Jotaro, you fool! I'm a man of my word, I won't have you insulting my pride!'

Stepping inbetween the two, the cherry boy wanted to deescalate the tension. "Now, now. Get along for the fight against DIO, will you? If you can't get along this once, all of us will die."

He also mentioned an important fact they forgot in the heat of arguing. "Also, if you haven't noticed, we are still on DIO's property. Why didn't we leave this place earlier?"

Now that he mentioned it, staying there any longer was absolutely nonsensical and foolish. With that, inwardly facepalming, the crusaders got away from that area.

XXXXXXXXXX

In a certain street, the crusaders stopped and waited for the vampire to come. The decision to directly confront him had been made and agreed, so unless the crusader controlling the time decided to end this scenario there, things would go like that.

DIO didn't fail to disappoint, he chased the crusaders and appeared at their location. He seemed to be aware that all of them were there.

'How will this scenario play out?' Yoshikage wondered, staring at DIO. 'Interesting… I hope I won't be disappointed.'

"Oh, so you're opposing me here?" the vampire mockingly observed, spreading his arms to the side. "Whether you're brave or stupid for thinking you have a chance against me, I don't know."

The crusaders then moved to their encircling positions. Iggy, Joseph, Avdol and Kakyoin about 20 meters away and from 4 directions. Jotaro, Kira and Polnareff about 10 meters away and from 3 directions.

"We'd all like to end it quickly, DIO." Yoshikage said, in a fighting stance. "We're impatient because there's only one thing stopping us from killing you. That is, not knowing the power of your Stand."

DIO's lips curled into a devious grin. Yes, this was precisely the key to their battle and struggle. This one important thing. This mighty power he even thought of as unbeatable. The power to stop time. That's why he grinned.

"Oh yes, you're right." the vampire sneered, bearing an evil grin. "But what if I told you… that it doesn't matter if you know what [The World] can do?"

He seemed awfully confident. Kira analyzed that statement of his. 'He says it doesn't matter if we know… That implies that we can't do anything against the ability when activated, even if we know what ability it is. And given that it's a time ability, this does make sense. Damn, this could be bad…'

"We'll see about that." the young Joestar calmly challenged that statement, intriguing both DIO and Yoshikage.

'Yes… come to think of it, Jotaro could awaken his own time power when fighting against DIO, who is a time power user. That actually makes sense, he can handle that!'

"Ho Ho, you think so?" The vampire was amused, not taking him seriously. As of that moment, he thought of the young Joestar as an overconfident fool who'd fall victim to his power. "Hahahahahahaha…"

"What's so funny?" Jotaro calmly scowled, narrowing his eyes.

"Foolish, foolish… Since it has come to this, I can't stop now." DIO told, becoming half-serious but also staying half-amused. "I'll show you one by one the overwhelming power of [The World], the power that'll help me rule the world. I'll show you how futile your struggles against my servants were when up against me."

"[The World]!"

*BZZZZZZT*

Not wasting any time, the vampire already prepared to make quick work of the crusaders. But not all of them at the same time, one by one to maximize their fear. This combination of cruelty, playfulness and efficient evil made him such a frightening villain.

5 seconds had been stopped. Enough time for him to talk to himself.

"Now, who should I kill… Should I kill Joseph just for the heck of it? Or Kira, who's a traitor and has been a thorn in my side ever since I met him? Hm, killing Kira right now would be ideal… But no, I think I'll kill him second. My first victim shall be… Jotaro!"

The vampire approached the young Joestar with his hand raised, ready to deliver a deadly strike. "After what happened one hundred years ago, I swore to never show mercy to any Joestar descendant. All of you must die quickly, surely. And I will take care of that right now. Farewell, Jotaro!"

Just as he was going to deliver a chop to Jotaro's head, DIO stopped his motion in midair. Something unexpected and terribly bothersome happened.

Without any indication as to why, the young Joestar's finger twitched. It moved in stopped time, when it wasn't technically supposed to.

For being so certain of his incoming victory merely seconds ago, the vampire sure got flustered, his eyes twitching wide open and all. "Wh- What?!"

"He… he just moved! Impossible…! His finger just moved!" DIO turned quite uneasy real quick, even sweating. "C… Could it be…?"

A thought went through his hand. 'I already know that [Star Platinum] and [The World] are the same type of Stand, high power and speed with short range and all… But… I wasn't aware the power to stop time was included!'

Just then, Jotaro's eyes also moved, meeting those of the vampire, who didn't like that at all.

"Jotaro… can you see me? Or are you just moving your body unconsciously?"

DIO missed his chance to kill the young Joestar. Time was up.

*BZZZZZZT*

Because scene hadn't really changed, the crusaders didn't really notice any changes. It was only when the vampire angrily barked at Jotaro that the crusaders noticed that [The World] used his ability.

"Were you able… to see me?"

"…?" the crusaders wondered, confused. 'What's he talking about?'

"…" The young Joestar was silent, not answering the question.

"WELL?! I ASKED IF YOU COULD SEE ME, JOTARO!"

This was when the other crusaders realized that DIO used his power. "…! Did… Did he just use [The World] without us noticing?"

Carefully glancing to the side, Jotaro knew that this moment was dangerous. He had to initiate a distraction. "Very well, DIO. I shall answer your question."

The vampire impatiently clenched his fists and teeth as he watched the young Joestar breath in some air.

"Everyone, run away immediately! The power of [The World] is to stop time, I have experienced it! If you don't run away now, you'll get killed!"

Upon hearing that, the crusaders' eyes bulged out instantly. Their cold sweat froze, becoming even more icy. Kira (actually Kakyoin) had been right on the money, it was a time power. A super frightening one at that, one that couldn't be opposed unless you had a way to counter it, with time of course.

Being part of the long-range Stand users encircling DIO from afar, Joseph, Kakyoin and Iggy had it the easiest to run away, listening to Jotaro's order. That order was actually pronounced like an order, it was that grave.

Avdol could've easily run away too, but knowing Polnareff very well, he knew that the frenchman would be frozen in place, too shocked to run, needing more time to process that information. So he left his position to drag his friend with him.

Though Yoshikage, he was even more frozen in place than Polnareff. His expression was all over the place, so were his thoughts. 'Did… Did I just hear that right?! DIO… has the power to stop time?! But… wasn't Jotaro supposed to have that power? Two Stands can't have the same power, I don't understand!'

Over there was the vampire, looking EXTREMELY angry. Oh, things went way different than his expectations. The young Joestar had just proven himself to be his biggest annoyance. Not only because he possibly has the power to counter him, but also because he lied to him and revealed his secret to everyone. Both at the same time was just too much.

DIO looked like he was on the verge of figuratively exploding. Unreal how he turned this way in such a short time. His bloodshot intense eyes and sharp teeth when baring them perfectly displayed his feelings. He had matured over 100 years of being imprisoned inside a coffin on the bottom of the sea. But somehow one teenager managed to press his buttons, all of them, within less than a minute.

"Grrrrrrr… Jotaro, you… You think you're so smart now that you told your friends my secret?! They're just little rats, ants, roaches! They won't be able to run forever! Don't get cocky, because that's the last mistake you've made in your life! No one makes a fool out of me and lives the next day! [The World]!"

*BZZZZZZT*

In his fit of rage, DIO utilized his Stand another time. Before him was Jotaro, who again twitched with his fingers. Some meters beside him was Kira, who was very lucky the vampire would set his sights on him only after he'd killed the young Joestar.

This time, DIO was less hesitant. "Hmph! Who cares if you can see me during stopped time! What matters is if you can stop me from ending your life! DIE, JOTARO!"

What he didn't inflict upon Noriaki, at least not in this causative timeline, he tried to inflict upon Jotaro. A lethal and impaling punch to the gut. Though too bad for him, he was the one who received that very same wound.

[Star Platinum], moving only after the vampire closed in enough, punched a hole through [The World] with an extremely precise, powerful and fast movement of the fist.

The young Joestar had proven the vampire, who received the same wound as his Stand as a consequence, wrong in the most painful way possible. He could very well move within stopped time, and he could especially be a more than difficult match for him.

"WHAT?!" DIO couldn't believe this. His expectations were crumbling one after another. That was just the biggest shock so far.

"He… he can really move! It's only a second but he can move!" the vampire acknowledged after it was too late. Hate and resentment were overflowing at the moment. "Damn him… To think that one of the Joestars could invade my domain… Could move in my world…!"

His ability to think and act cautiously faded unusually fast. Though it was explainable, a person he didn't respect at all, a person who disrespected him immensely suddenly gained the same power he saw as invincible and special, unique to him.

*BZZZZZZT*

After 5 seconds of stopped time were over, the impact sent DIO flying far away, into the window of a shop on the street.

Yoshikage just experienced the very same thing, seeing a person suddenly sent flying with a large and bloody hole in their body. It was mindboggling. 'There! It happened again, the delay in my mind! Because of the stopped time! I… I need to know the reason behind this, no matter what!'

"Jotaro!" Kira called his fellow crusader with a resolute voice, really intending to him notice him.

Hearing the shout, Jotaro turned his head towards Yoshikage. "Kira! Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to run?"

Running away without getting his desired answers first? No way! "I… I'm still here because I need to know! Why does DIO have the power to stop time when you also have that power? There can never be two of the same Stand! How can this be?"

Noticing that this questions was really important to Kira, the young Joestar gave a reply. "Because DIO and I, we have the same type of Stand. Now go, who knows what DIO'll do next. He's a danger."

Out of three sentences, only one was of importance to Yoshikage. And that sentence, it was an explanation that was ridiculously short and ridiculous itself.

'The… same type of Stand?' Kira repeated in his head, trying his hardest not to make a poker face. 'Is that… the explanation? Something so simple that it borders on lazy?'

Suddenly it was no mystery as to why Jotaro was so strong. He'd gotten the answer, but it wasn't fulfilling. 'Something so stupid… 'The same type of Stand'… Who comes up with this?!' The disappointment on his face was readable.

"Hey, Kira! It's time for you to move." the young Joestar reminded him.

"…"

Yoshikage hurried away without a word, feeling disappointment instead of danger. 'What is this, a joke? DIO is basically another Jotaro power-wise? I… I don't even know how to describe this!'

There was a deeper reason to his disappointment, which was already so intense that he could be getting angry. This revelation was what Kira needed and didn't need at the same time.

With that, he distanced himself from the duel site, joining the other crusaders.

XXXXXXXXXX

During the time DIO and Jotaro went at each other, the other crusaders had distanced themselves from the battlefield for a couple hundred meters. Yoshikage was the last to join them.

"Oh, Kira! There you are, good thing you made it here." the old Joestar said, glad about his friend showing up without any harm.

"Kira-san, what were you thinking?" The redhead was a little more strict, but also relieved nevertheless. "Staying there when Jotaro told you to run, you could've died!"

"I have to agree with Kakyoin here, Kira. That was unlike you." the egyptian also spoke.

The frenchman said nothing, as he didn't leave that spot back then on his own.

Yes, Kira knew that what he did was unusually reckless. But he really wanted an explanation. "Sorry, I agree that was reckless of me. But I just had to know, had to know why DIO and Jotaro have the same Stand power." he explained, hoping the others would understand.

Though Yoshikage skipped some steps, the others didn't quite understand.

"Wait, did you just say DIO and Jotaro have the same Stand power?" Polnareff blurted out in disbelief, his face assuming a surprised expression. And he wasn't the only one.

"Hold on, are you for real? Did you just say Jotaro also has the power to stop time?" Avdol asked a bit incredulously, raising his eyebrows.

"You're not joking aren't you, Kira?" Joseph said, bearing both a surprised and worried expression about his grandson being like DIO in a way.

Kira tilted his head, looking at them with slight confusion. "What, you still don't know?" he questioned, then proceeding to explain in detail.

"I already told you that DIO has a time power that causes a delay in the mind. You've experienced that yourself, so you know what I'm talking about. And Jotaro, he also experienced it, and told us about DIO's power afterwards. The only way Jotaro could've known what DIO's power is, was resisting the time stop. Meaning Jotaro has the very same power, since only those who can stop time can move or even perceive anything in stopped time."

Awe and astonishment were written on the faces of the crusaders. They understood what Yoshikage meant, but it was still quite heavy information.

"I can't believe it…"

"Jotaro and DIO both have the power to stop time… that's crazy."

The cherry boy then asked a question Kira wanted to hear. "So, Kira-san, when you came here you said you knew why DIO and Jotaro have the same Stand power. So what's the reason?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Yoshikage shared what he'd learned with a straight but slightly disappointed face. "Jotaro said it's because DIO and have the 'Same type of Stand'."

"…Is that even possible?" Avdol, very knowledgeable about Stands, doubted that statement.

"It is, evidently. I confirmed it with my own eyes." Kira verified, further astonishing his crusader friends. "It sounds lazy and extremely convenient, but that's how it is."

"…" The other crusaders didn't know what to say. Of course they liked that the young Joestar could hold his own against the vampire thanks to the new information, but it still felt strange.

Lastly, Kira had to talk about one last thing he felt. "And about Jotaro himself, don't worry. We don't have to help him, he can and will defeat DIO. I saw him punch a giant hole in DIO's torso."

'This is… the truth I can put together. Even in my old world Jotaro must've gone through this. I know for certain he'll survive. Because it's against that fucker DIO, I won't change it. Not that I can change it anyway. After all, against stopped time, I can't do anything… nothing at all.'

Yoshikage, who could predict the vampire's death, felt some regrets. How will he get over those?

I have committed a crime. That crime being letting you wait so much. As you're reading this, the last few weeks and the following few weeks have been and will be very busy for me. For that reason I progressed the writing with snail pace. Well, couple that with the fact that I can't help but write long chapters, the waiting process is awful.

Nevertheless, I ask you to wait just a little longer. Because the next chapter will be the last, for good. And next chapter will be a long section of explanations regarding my choices. See you until then!

Feel free to rate and review if you like to