Jotaro was still sitting in the living room, sipping slowly from his glass of wine as Tomoko told him a story. His eyes wandered around the room as he listened, eventually looking out the window. That's when his heart stopped. He shot straight up, standing with such force and worry that his chair fell backwards, hitting the floor with a thud. His heart was practically beating out of his chest. Sweat started to appear on his forehead, and all he could hear was his heart, and his own heavy breathing. It couldn't be possible. It had to be a dream. Standing outside the window was none other than… DIO.

He stood completely still, unsure as to whether or not this was some sort of illusion. The man on the other side of the window seemed to seal… From his confident smile to his intimidating stature… It was definitely the DIO Jotaro remembered from all those years ago. But how? It had to be the work of a Stand. There was no way the vampire somehow came back from the dead. Jotaro's eyes shot to Tomoko.

"Tomoko, don't panic. Go find Josuke and Shizuka and tell them we're in danger." He said calmly.

But… Tomoko didn't flinch. In fact, she hadn't reacted to him knocking her chair over either. She was still just sitting there sipping her wine. Was she under some influence too? Before he could say anything else to her, he felt something familiar. Something horrifying. Time stopped, and he wasn't the one who did it. A ripple spread throughout the room, turning his surroundings grey. He gasped, turning to the window. After a moment, he couldn't move. He struggled with all his might, but slowly stiffened up.

The World manifested behind DIO, and the vampire licked his lips. Then, with a flurry of punches, he shattered the window. Glass flew right at Jotaro, freezing inches from his face as he watched helplessly. DIO stepped through the window frame and entered the living room. His steps were the only sound to be heard in the entire world. Jotaro's frozen eyes stared as DIO got closer.

He let out a sadistic laugh, posing in front of the frozen crusader. "Hello, Jotaro. You knew I'd come back for you… Didn't you? You couldn't have possibly thought you were rid of me? Did you think you could hide under your blankets like a terrified child waiting for sunrise for the rest of your life?"

At that moment, time resumed. Veins became visible on Jotaro's face as he screamed, and Star Platinum sent hundreds of punches at DIO immediately. The World appeared, blocking every single attack. The two Stands attacked each other for a few moments before DIO lunged forward, striking at Jotaro with his own hand. Star Platinum blocked it, opening himself up to be struck right in the face by The World. Jotaro flew back into the wall, bleeding from the wound on his head as he struggled to stay standing.

DIO stepped closer, snickering. "This wasn't my first stop after I came back to life… No, my first order of business was paying your dear family a visit." He said in a deep, grim tone. "Joseph Joestar…. Suzie Q Joestar…. Maura Kujo… And of course, Jolyne. " He moaned. "All dead. Don't worry though… They died for a good cause. Now I'm even stronger than before. With all of this Joestar blood running through Jonathan's body… I'm unstoppable!"

Hearing the scum of the Earth uttering Jolyne's name was enough to send Jotaro into a blind rage. He attacked again, holding little regard for his safety as he approached the vampire. DIO just laughed, shouting, "THE WORLD!"

Time froze again. Jotaro didn't have much time. He tried to finish the monster off. Every fiber of his being fought to stay moving till the very last moment. However, his human body reached its limit, and soon he found himself frozen yet again. DIO chuckled, stepping closer. He stood inches from Jotaro, tracing the man's chin with a long finger nail. Then, he dig his fingers into Jotaro's neck, sucking the blood from his body.

"Joseph fought till the end, you know? He tried to protect his frail, skeleton of a wife. It was useless though… Useless, useless, useless….. Shockingly, a man who needs an oxygen mask when he sleeps isn't very adept at hamon… I killed him as his wife wept, and then I killed her too…" He spoke calmly to Jotaro as his blood drained slowly.

It had to be some sort of trick… Jotaro refused to believe this was real. It didn't make any sense. It couldn't be… Still, DIO's words scarred him. The image was enough to disturb Jotaro's very core. Time seemed to have been frozen for over twenty seconds… DIO really was stronger than before. Would be be able to freeze it indefinitely? Would Jotaro even stand a chance? As his blood drained, his vision blurred. It wasn't looking good….

Josuke was washing the last of the dishes when he thought of something amusing. "Y'know, Shizuka," He turned his head to look at his sister, only to see a pile of ash in her place. His eyes attempted to adjust to the sight, but he was unbelievably confused. That's when a familiar voice pierced the silence like a knife.

"Higashikata Josuke…. Your sister… Has such lovely hands." Kira mused, standing on the other side of the kitchen with a small pale hand.

Josuke's eyes darted to the man, and his jaw dropped. He bit his bottom lip, staring in horror. "Yoshikage Kira…." He whispered. "Who's… who's hand is that?" He questioned, already knowing the answer.

Kira just laughed. "I think you know the answer to that…." Killer Queen appeared, causing Josuke to summon Crazy Diamond.

"How are you here!? You were killed! And Remi told us your soul was torn away in that alley!"

Kira just smirked, posing with Killer Queen. "Did you really think they'd hold me forever? I got away. And now, I'll haunt Morioh for eternity… With my Killer Queen. And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Crazy Diamond grabbed a knife from the dish rack, sending it flying toward Kira at lightning speed. The knife went right through the man, stabbing into the wall behind him. Kira lost it in laughter. "I told you, Higashikata Josuke, I'm dead! You can't hurt me! I've won. I've finally, finally won!"

Josuke stumbled back against the sink, his stomach tied in knots as he tried to comprehend the situation before him. His worst fears were coming to fruition… For years he'd lay awake in bed, terrified of this. Was there any way to stop him? Could you kill a ghost? His breathing began to increase in speed, and he felt light-headed. How was he going to get out of this?

Shizuka was walking the trash to the curb absentmindedly. She plopped the large bag into the can and sighed. It was a lovely night. The air was a perfect temperature, there was a slight breeze, and it smelled nice. She couldn't really say New York City smelled nice. There was also so little light pollution. She could actually see the stars. In the distance, she saw a figure limping down the sidewalk. Shizuka tilted her head, peering around the trash can and watching the stranger approach.

After about twenty seconds, it became apparent that the figure was a bleeding woman. She had a large wound in her stomach as she limped down the sidewalk. Shizuka's eyes widened, and she rushed over to her.

"Are you alright?" She questioned, looking at all the blood.

The woman just stared down at her with vacant eyes. They were devoid of empathy, reason, or soul… The only emotion those eyes held was resentment. The woman scowled down at Shizuka before growling,

"I'm not alright."

Shizuka froze for a moment, but quickly stuttered, "W-Well… That's fine… I can help.. My brother can help! He's a surgeon.. I could go get him?"

"I can't be helped… You already killed me." The woman spat.

The hair on the back of Shizuka's neck stood tall, and she felt her mouth getting dry. No… It couldn't be. Shizuka felt some sort of familiarity to the injured woman. Something that couldn't be explained, only felt. She had dismissed it at first, but…

"You useless, pathetic child… You got me killed. Me, and your father." The ghost of Shizuka's mother shouted.

The young girl felt weak in her knees, struggling to stay standing as her mother berated her. Shame quickly swept over her, and she looked down at the ground. For the first time in a long time, she slowly flickered a bit. She faded, turning invisible out of pure humiliation and fear. Her mother noticed this, laughing.

"Really? Trying to hide from me? Trying to run from your past? That's all you do, Shizuka. You run, you hide, and you suck the life out of anyone unfortunate enough to pity you! Joseph, Jotaro, Marina, Josuke, Suzie, you've taken everything they have and pushed them beyond their limits! All for some fantasy! Because you take, Shizuka! That's all you do! You took my life, you took your parent's twilight years, you're taking Jotaro's time. What else do you need? When will you be satisfied?" She shouted.

Tears slowly streamed down Shizuka's cheeks as she listened. She choked a bit on her emotions, looking up at the woman. "S-Stop…" She begged in a tiny, pitiful voice.

"Stop? That's my line! I was begging for the man who killed me to stop. I could have gotten away if it wasn't for you! And look what you've done with the gift of life… You've lived all of it in your past! Dwelling on what was, instead of what will be! You're a pathetic creature. It should have been me. I should have been the one who survived."

Shizuka's trembling, twitching hands slowly curled into fists. She gritted her teeth, mumbling, "You're not my Mom."

The woman raised a brow. "Oh, really? You think I'm lying?"

"No…" Shizuka whispered, wiping her eyes. "I believe you gave birth to me… But you're not my Mom… My mom would never say these things to me… She'd never make me feel like this. You're an awful, horrible lady."

The mother laughed, hanging her head back in raw amusement. "Oh, spare me with the found family bullshit! Is that the lesson you're taking from this? It shouldn't be. They hate you too! You think Joseph and SuzieQ will take you back after this? You should just let them die in peace."

Achtung Baby appeared, and Shizuka stood tall. She never stopped crying, but it didn't matter. She growled. "Leave me alone."

"Oh, what are you going to do? Pummel your dead mother to a pulp? Go ahead. Prove me right. Prove that you're an unruly, ungrateful child!"

Shizuka stopped, and Achtung Baby vanished. She looked down for a moment. "No…" She mumbled.

"No?" Her mother questioned. "What do you mean no?"

"I'm not doing this… I'm not giving you the satisfaction… I'm done." She whispered.

"Excuse me? I am your mother. You don't get to decide when you're done."

Shizuka smiled weakly. "I was terrified of this, y'know? That you didn't want me. That I somehow caused your death… It kept me up at night. I was horrified that it was all my fault… And that my biological parents would hate me… But I was wrong. None of this is my fault. I was a baby! I didn't do anything! I'm over it, and I'm over my fears! You're not scary, Mom! And you can say whatever you want! I'm DONE!"

Everything was silent for a moment. Shizuka's mother looked shocked beyond belief. Then, oddly, she began to flicker. The entire world flickered… Things were getting blurry, and Shizuka felt sick. Soon, she couldn't stand, and she found herself falling face-first onto the concrete. Then, everything went black…

Shizuka shot up, gasping for air on the floor of Tomoko's kitchen. Her chest was killing her… Stinging sensations fired throughout her entire body. Multiple limbs were asleep, and she felt lightheaded. Why was she gasping so hard? Had she not been breathing? Was all of that a dream? She held her chest for a moment, panting. That's when she noticed Josuke slumped over the kitchen sink. He was unconscious…

"Josuke.." She groaned, pulling herself up and walking over to him.

She carefully turned him over, seeing that he was out cold. Was there a gas leak? Carbon monoxide? She could barely think. "Jotaro!" She called out hoarsely, but to no response… Why was she so out of breath? That's when she got a morbid thought. She pressed her head against Josuke's chest, waiting for signs of breathing. There was nothing. Josuke wasn't breathing either. Panic set in shortly after. How long had they been out already? She knew the human body could live anywhere from six to fifteen minutes without oxygen, but severe brain damage would begin happening after about five. Why wasn't he breathing? She noticed his heart was beating out of control. Like he was panicking… Just like her dream. That's when she realised it. They were under attack. This was the work of an enemy Stand.

Shizuka stumbled back from Josuke's body; eyes darting around the room for possible attackers. It didn't make any sense. Normally when a Stand was long range, there was some sort of trip-wire… You had to do something to fall victim to it. Could this Stand really just knock you out and suffocate you? How did she even get out of it? She racked her brain for a moment, trying to remember. That's when it hit her. She was confronted with something horrible, and she beat it. The moment she rejected that image of her mother, she woke up. For a moment, she thanked her lucky stars that her mother wasn't really like that. It was some ploy. Her mind wandered to whatever Josuke was seeing. He'd be able to beat it. He was so much stronger than her. Still, it wouldn't hurt to track down the user. He couldn't be too far away judging by the strength of the Stand. She just needed to find him… Wherever he was…

The door slammed open as Shizuka sprinted outside. She looked around for anything suspicious...She was invisible, of course, in case the person had something else up their sleeve. She crept through the darkness, her family's lives draining by the second inside as she searched. This had to end immediately. She needed to find the Stand User… That's when something whizzed right by her head. It took her a moment to realize that it even happened. She took a small step to the left, looking behind her. Lodged in the side of the house was some sort of… dart? A bit of liquid oozed down the house from the tip of the dart. Was the enemy trying to knock her out again? Was that a part of it? Another dart flew right past her, shockingly close to her location. How was he tracking her? She was completely invisible? She stumbled back, falling onto her ass. Where was he? Where was the enemy?

Shizuka's breathing became irregular as panic set in once more. Josuke, Jotaro, and Tomoko were all dying inside. It was completely up to Shizuka to stop that. That's when she heard a sadistic laughter from the distant tree-line.

"Oh-ho, little girl! I can smell it! You're absolutely terrified! Are you realizing how futile this all is? Just go back inside and wait for it all to end! There's no defeating F.E.A.R… It's a natural instinct! You're a slave to it!" He teased from afar.

Shizuka knew he was right. She couldn't shake that horrible, gut-wrenching feeling… She was terrified of this man, and terrified of what he could do. That's when a dart hit her finger in the grass. It only nicked her, drawing a bit of blood. She held a hand over her mouth, shaking the dart away and rolling onto her side. How the hell was he locating her? He clearly couldn't see her, otherwise he'd be hitting her head-on… She began to feel lightheaded… Whatever was in that dart clearly took effect… Why was he trying to knock her out with darts…? How was he seeing her? Shizuka's vision became foggy as she stumbled to her feet.

She thought about his words for a moment…. He said he could smell her fear? It seemed absurd, but with such a Stand, that was entirely possible… Was he tracking her by the scent of her fear? How could she stop being afraid in such a situation? It was becoming too much… Her entire body felt hot, she could only hear the sound of her rapid breathing, and she felt herself shaking like a child.

That's when Achtung Baby manifested, clapping its hands together. Shizuka was completely lost… She hadn't done that. Somehow, Achtung Baby was operating on its own again. Just like that alley with Wagner. There was a flash of light, and suddenly, a complete duplicate of Shizuka was lying unconscious beside the real one. Still invisible, Shizuka stared in shock. However, she knew what this was… She knew the intention. It was a diversion. But how did Achtung Baby do that? Was her power more than just invisibility? She didn't have much time to think. She needed to act. To figure out this man's Stand. Why was he trying to knock her out with darts? That would never work against Star Platinum… That couldn't be how his Stand worked.

He must have something else as well… Another way to render people unconscious from a distance. But… if they were unconscious, why not just kill them? It didn't make sense… She watched a shadowy figure approach from the distance. It was him. The user walked up to the clone's limp body and analyzed it carefully. He licked his lips, grinning ear to ear.

"So terrified… I can feel it… The adrenaline… The rage… The determination… Which is why I know.." He grabbed a dart. "You're not really unconscious."

Shizuka's eyes widened. If he threw that dart, it would go right through the clone. It wasn't physical… She had to do something to prevent it. She needed him to get closer. That's when she heard the door to the house open. Her eyes darted over to the door, and the enemy's did as well. She hitched her breath, watching Tomoko walk out of the house with her cellphone to her ear.

"Yes, I think there was some sort of gas leak, or something. I'm Tomoko Higashikata. Yes, that Higashikata. Josuke is here! I need help getting them out of the house." She urgently shouted. "They're not breathing! I need ambulances!"

Shizuka stared wide-eyed at Tomoko. She'd broken free from the Stand's grip before Josuke or Jotaro? Shit. Now she was a problem… Another variable. Tomoko noticed the man standing on the sidewalk.

"HEY! You! I need your help getting two huge men out of my house! They're unconscious!" Tomoko shouted to the enemy.

He raised a brow, playing dumb. "Oh? Of course! Does she need help too?" He gestured to the fake Shizuka.

Tomoko hadn't even noticed the little girl lying unconscious in the grass. She let out a small shriek. "Shizuka!? I almost forgot about her! Oh my goodness, yes, her too! What's she doing out here?" She questioned, rushing over to the clone.

Shizuka gritted her teeth as she watched the woman approach their enemy. Shit… shit… shit… She had to stop it. What could she do? That's when it hit her…

As the man was approaching Tomoko with a dart behind his back, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Jotaro Kujo was standing in the doorway, glaring right at him. He froze in place. Had Jotaro already woken up? The man was certain that Jotaro's fears consumed him whole. How was he awake? The enemy stepped back a bit in fear. He knew he couldn't take on Jotaro Kujo.

Tomoko turned her head and saw Jotaro. "You're up?! Get Josuke! He's on the kitchen floor! I can't lift him!" She shouted desperately.

Jotaro just looked at her, not moving very much at all. Tomoko raised a brow. "Jotaro!? C'mon! Josuke's not breathing! What's your deal?"

As the man was piecing everything together, he felt something strange. The darts behind his back were forced upwards in a sudden jerking motion, piercing his skin. His eyes widened, and he felt his vision blurring. Before he could protest, he fell face-first into the grass. Shizuka became visible once more, and the two illusions vanished. She was panting, a bit of that drug in her system as well.

"Tomoko…" she said hoarsely, falling to her knees. "They should be awake now…"

The grown woman starred in shock. How had Shizuka moved all the way over there? Where did Jotaro go, and why was that man unconscious? Shizuka panted, coughing a bit as she wheezed. "Go give Josuke CPR… He'll be able to help Jotaro…" She begged. As the woman began to approach her instead, she shouted " GO! Inside! Help Josuke! I'm fine!"

Tomoko backed away, nodding in understanding as she rushed inside. Meanwhile, Shizuka fumbled closer to the unconscious man, shoving her hands into his pockets in search of any kind of identification. She found a phone, with a call dated five minutes ago. The number was redacted, though. She just sighed, falling over and looking up at the stars. She did it.. She protected her family. She was nearly unconscious when she heard the sound of someone running. She turned over and looked, unable to immediately make out the figure. Soon, however, her eyes adjusted and she realized it was the enemy running back into the house.

She gasped, trying to stand up. He was faking it…. He wasn't unconscious! Without even feeling her legs she felt herself getting up. Each footstep was a loud thump in her head as she sprinted to the house. She stumbled into the doorway, spotting the man standing in the living room with Tomoko.

"You're cornered!" Shizuka grunted, leaning against the living room door frame.

The man spat, pointing at her. "How do I even know you're the real one, trickster? Just stay back! None of us are leaving! Not conscious, anyway!" He growled, grabbing a small container that was pinned to his belt.

Shizuka's eyes widened when she saw it. Before she could act, he pushed the button on the side of the container. A green mist began to spray from both ends, filling the room. Shizuka desperately ran over to attack the man, but quickly fell flat on her face. Within ten seconds, the entire room was unconscious. The wail of an ambulance could be heard in the distance. Help was just about there.

To be Continued...