"If you're there, Boss... then we're going to win for sure..."
Lonely. So lonely.
That's all Vinegar Doppio felt as he drifted aimlessly, the feeling of being airborne ever-present.
He was dead.
But oddly enough, he didn't mind. The young man felt that his death meant something, a means for his Boss to escape. Besides... the Boss said they would meet again, once the situation was dealt with.
And so he waited, anticipating for the Boss's return. Had he been alive, he would have picked up a phone and asked a few questions.
"Where are you, Boss?"
"What's taking you so long, Boss?"
...
"When are you coming back... Boss?"
These were all baseless of course, as his memory in this state tended to drift, not staying relevant for long.
Until it happened.
A blue, eerie light.
Doppio noticed the strange anomaly and quickly discerned that he was slowly being sucked in, as if he himself had been trapped in a strong current. He struggled, yet try as he might, it was useless. His vision grew dark, moments passing before his senses finally returned, almost as if he had been beached on the shore of a river. He rose to a kneel, looking up to find himself within a... fractured world?
Random assortments of items and junk were either categorized or thrown around, various relics built atop each other and some fallen over. In the sky... a churning nebula, crushing itself thousand times over.
It was an Abyss without consistency, yet demanded detail.
And it wasn't just him.
Rising beside him was another figure, another soul who had been bought with him, his form a shade of striped black and white as his eyes peered directly at him. Doppio was surprised to see hateful red iris's and black sclera stare directly at him, a clear grudge within the assassin's gaze. Doppio knew this person... an enemy of the Boss, but oddly enough, he couldn't remember who he was or what had happened to the assassin. Why was the man here with him? Had the dead assassin been caught within the anomaly as well?
That definitely seemed to be the case, as the assassin looked around, adjusting to his surroundings and, like Doppio, peered around with a hint of shock. Their attention was then bought forward, a shining light momentarily blinding the both of them. Upon adjusting, Doppio realized the shape and width of the source, that being a doorframe of pure light.
As if in trance, both Stand users stood up, slowly walking toward the radiant source. While they weren't sure where it went, they somehow knew that it led to their respective objectives...
One was going to try and find the Boss.
And the other was going to try and kill him.
Yet neither would remember this moment, nor the time they had spent unliving.
Doppio woke up with a splash of water.
He sputtered, quickly rising up from the hard ground as his eyes blinked, pink hair now soaked with water. It took him another second to realize someone was yelling at him in a rather angry tone. His vision finally steadied, allowing him to make out a portly man standing in front of him, wearing a white apron and holding a broom in one hand, empty water bucket in the other.
The man yelled in English, Doppio flinching as the man raised the broom and threatened to swing it down, Doppio raising an arm.
Although Doppio couldn't understand him, he definitely got the message that the man wanted him gone from where he sat, that place being the steps of a fountain. Doppio obliged, standing up and running, still barely able to comprehend what was even happening, or had happened.
Hadn't he... died?
He tried to recall as he walked down the sidewalk, head peering down and brown eyes wide, beads of sweat building on his forehead.
Finally, he found his voice, talking to himself in a hushed tone as he tried to take steps back on what he knew. "R-Right, Boss said he needed to go... cause everything was going south...-" Yet he was still unsure how it had even happened. "-then... then I was in someone else's body, Buccellati's body! T-Then I got shot!" He exclaimed the last part a little too loud, "A phone, I need to find a-" He looked around frantically before coming to a stop, Doppio blinking in realization.
A blimp floated within the sky, spotlights penetrating the night air. A few passerby's in vintage clothes walked by, giving him strange looks despite them seemingly coming right from the design magazines of the 1940s. And it wasn't just that that had caught him off guard, but the fact that some of these 'civilians' didn't even look human, as a giant towering blue-skinned humanoid in suspenders and slacks walked past, bumping him out of the way with a harsh grunt as Doppio let out a surprised yelp.
"W-What-" He looked around, now in a state of complete shock and dissociation. "Just what the hell is going on!?"
People began to turn to him, inquisitive looks on their faces as they whispered to each other. Doppio could feel their gazes upon them, subconsciously turning his head away to avoid their attention as he slightly lifted the turtle neck of his sweater.
"Shit. I'm attracting too much attention. The Boss definitely wouldn't like that." He looked around before spotting an alley close to him, Doppio hanging his head down as ran into it. Peering around, Doppio was now satisfied that he was alone to his own devices, letting out a great big sigh of both anxiety and relief.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, he thought the clearest when driven to any metaphorical (or literal) corner.
"That man before did speak English. Maybe this is the USA? Possibly New York City with all the skyscrapers?" He scrunched his face up, dismissing that thought. "No way. I've seen travel pictures, and none of them look like what I just saw. All the designs are too... Art Deco." He then looked at the civilians, "And what the hell is up with these people?! Some of them look normal but some... are they Stand users?"
Doppio's eyes widened, thinking of the possibilities.
"Maybe I'm under the effect of some sort of Stand attack, and that this is all just some weird hallucination." That made possible sense, as when it came to Stands, not even the blue sky was the limit to the wide variety of powers they held. In fact, he had heard from somewhere that Passione had a Stand user who could inflict dangerous drug-induced hallucinations.
But that also raised a bunch of other questions, the most prominent being of how long he had been under the effect. Up until the coliseum? Before it?
Doppio put a hand to his forehead, skull already throbbing with a headache before he heard something.
The click of a switch knife.
He turned to see a man in raggedy clothes holding him at knifepoint, speaking in a threatening tone. Although Doppio, once again, could not understand due to the man's words being English, it was abundantly clear that the man wanted either drugs or money from him. Doppio played it cool, putting his hands in front to display a non-threatening font. It was just his luck that he had already found himself in a precarious situation... and often Doppio chose the path of safety.
"Sorry, but I-I don't have any money." Doppio explained, his stance being that of fear and submission.
The old mugger's face seemed to scrunch up before he spoke.
In butchered Italian.
"You speak Old Meridian? You think am wouldn't understand, is that i-?"
Doppio immediately forgot the danger, grabbing the mugger by his scruffy collar, his eyes wide. "You speak Italian?!"
The mugger was caught off guard, holding the knife to Doppio's throat "Hey! Back away! Am the one who's in control here!" Doppio's stared in fear at the bladed weapon, thinking for a moment.
"Eek, I almost forgot that he has a knife!" He then realized, "But that won't matter... not when I can use the arms of Boss's「King Crimson」!"
As if on command, ghostly red hands appeared beside Doppio, the left grabbing the man's wrist and forcing him to drop the knife and the other wrapping its hands around mugger's throat, immediately lifting him off the ground and pressing his back against the alley wall.
And it all happened in under a second.
The mugger gasped and sputtered, the arms of the Stand holding him by the throat. But something was... off.
"Strange... Why do the arms of Boss's「King Crimson」look different?" Granted, only the Boss knew what the Stand's full appearance looked like, Doppio did at least know that the Stand had red arms and white gauntlets. Now, however, it was different, the exposed arms a dullish teal and gloves a swampish green, even the raised diagonal grid were now a deep purple. Doppio would have delved on this further had the mugger not sputtered the next sentence.
"Y-You're Parasite user!?"
Doppio raised an eye at that, the Stand's arms holding the man steady. "What did you just say?"
"P-Parasite user!" The man gasped out, "Didn't know, sorry! Please, just tell arms to calm down!"
"Arms?" Doppio thought with confusion before realizing something.
This man could see the Stand.
And it wasn't just that, Doppio quickly realizing that the mugger himself was actually grasping onto the Stand's forearm, somehow able to interact and touch the visual manifestation.
"Is this... Is this man a Stand user?!" Doppio thought in shock before calming himself, "Wait, hold on. None of this makes any sense. Even if he were,「King Crimson」is not a corporeal Stand, he shouldn't even be able to physically touch「King Crimson's」arm, not without using a Stand." Doppio focused on the panicking mugger, "And what he said just now, that I was a Parasite user? What did he even mean by that?"
Doppio needed to investigate.
"I need you to answer a few questions. I won't hurt you if you comply." The mugger fervently nodded, Doppio asking the first one. "What is this place?"
The mugger's fear was replaced with confusion. "W-Where do you think? New Meridian."
"And um..." Doppio paused, thinking for a moment. "Where is that?"
"What question is this-?!"
"Just answer the question please." Doppio respectfully demanded, the mugger pausing for a moment before continuing.
"In Canopy Kingdom. How do you not know-"
"What's a Parasite?" Doppio asked, taking note of the man's answer and quickly moving onto the next question as the mugger stirred uncomfortably.
"Am no expert, but all know Parasites is creature that bond with humans and give em' smells and stuff." The man then paused, realizing the mistake in translation. "Sorry, meant 'powers and stuff'." The man pointed a shaky finger at the Stand's arm, more specifically, the one grasping at his throat. "That's what you and... arms are, right?"
"... Alright, another question..." Doppio spoke, "How do you know Italian?"
"Italian?" The mugger asked in confusion, "We speaking Old Meridian, mine's not that good."
"Old Meridian?" Doppio asked.
"Yes! From the old kingdom, before Reinors took over long ago! You some kind of Mammone!?" The mugger then changed his tone, as if only realizing that he may have potentially overstepped his given boundaries in this unfavorable situation. "I-I mean, now that am answered all your questions, will you let me go?"
"After one last question..." Doppio hung his head down, caught in a deep-rooted denial. "Is there any gang that operates here called Passione?"
"Uh, no. Never heard." The mugger gestured outside the alleyway, "Only big gang in New Meridian is Medici Mafia."
"... Right." Doppio hung his head down, eyes clouded with shadow. "Damn it, I knew what the answer was going to be, and I still asked..." He then closed his eyes, "At least I now have intel over my location... even if it was poorly spoken and doesn't make much sense." His chain of thought continued. "But now... what do I do? The Boss gave specific orders that no one, under any circumstance, can see「King Crimson」and be allowed to live, but the Boss hasn't called or shown up." Doppio slightly gritted his teeth, "I guess... I guess I'll be the one who has to take him out."
"Uh, sir?" The mugger asked, Doppio quiet for a moment.
"I gave you my word that I wouldn't hurt you..." He then looked up, brown eyes focused. "But I didn't say「King Crimson」wouldn't, I'm sorry."
*Crack*
The Stand had shifted a digit beneath the man's neck, breaking it instantly, giving him a relatively quick and clean death as he fell to the floor. Doppio slowly knelt down, digging through the mugger's pockets and taking his worn wallet. Opening it, he inspected the currency inside and took note of the rather macabre representation on the paper, a skeletal figure on the front like the mockery of a lira. Although he had zero understanding of the exchange rates, Doppio guessed that the mugger's ill-gotten cash was the exchange rate of USD, seeing a few 1's, 5's, 10's, and 50's. He stepped past the corpse, leaving the alleyway and walking on the sidewalk, almost as if he were in a daze as he pocketed the wallet.
So this was the case. Not only was he no longer in Italy, but he was also no longer anywhere known, period. Doppio had heard of something like this, from various novels, or even mentions of quantum theory on science fiction programs. Parallel universes, alternate realities, etc. They were all just theories... but now, Doppio himself was living it. Similar to Schrodinger's cat, he had found himself neither dead nor alive, but somewhere else entirely. And it seemed this world had it's own different rules to it. Somehow, it had already broken one from his own, the fact that only other Stand users can see other Stands.
Sighing, he came up to a railing, overlooking the archaic city, it's vintage neon lights and gazing spotlights lighting up the sky. Despite the extravagant sight, Doppio felt completely and utterly lost.
If only the Boss was here...
Doppio's eyes widened, "That's it! If I came here... then maybe the Boss might've as well!" It was a stretch, but Doppio really hoped there was a possibility. "I just need to...-" He looked around, "-organize my thoughts! What do I have to do right now?" He thought for a moment, "Well, first of all, I need to cover the most basic of Human needs. Shelter." He looked around, "But where can I find an affordable place?" Doppio reached into his pocket, producing the 'stolen' wallet. "Considering if this money can even afford a few days..."
He passed a few old men sitting on the stairway of an apartment building, Doppio freezing up before turning to them.
"I know! I can ask them! If the equivalent of Italian is called Old Meridian, then reasonably, the people who'd speak this 'old' language would be old people!" He felt proud of reaching that conclusion, walking up to the senile group. "Hopefully they know how to speak better too." They quietly conversed with each other as Doppio coughed. "A-Ahem, excuse me?" They raised their heads, surprised at his vocabulary. "Do you know where I could afford an apartment that'd cost... er-" Doppio quickly counted the money he had on him. "550?"
"550?" The old man in front asked, Doppio relieved that his hypothesis was correct. "Little Innsmouth's got a few cheap apartments. You could probably rent a month for 100 Bones."
The mention of the currency made him take pause. "Bones?" He looked down at his wallet, realizing the name made sense for the macabre depictions on the currency. He then looked back up, "Well, thanks a lot-"
"No, no, Marco. A month would cost ya 80 Bones over there." Another old man argued.
"I swear ta the goddess! It was 100 last I checked!" Marco exclaimed in anger.
"You last checked 20 years ago, you Cretino!" Doppio was about to leave them to their arguing before Marco spoke up.
"Hey, wait!" Doppio turned around, Marco reaching out for attention. "How'd you know such beautiful Old Meridian, Kid? I thought they were only teaching Canapolian in the schools."
"Er-" He thought up a lie quickly, realizing that Canopolian must have been this world's equivalent of English. "-I'm self-taught."
"Self-taught?" Marco asked before eyeing him suspiciously. "You're not apart of the Medici Mafia, are you?"
Doppio put a hand on the side of his face before closing his eyes, giving a friendly smile as he played off his own lie. "Of course not, and even if I were, why would I tell?" He reopened his eyes, "That's kind of a pointless question to ask, don't ya think?"
Marco paused before chuckling, "Yeah, yeah. I guess you're right." The old man then waved, alongside the rest of the group. "Stay safe, Kid."
He nodded before turning away from the group, already able to glean some useful info. "Sounds like the Medici's aren't very popular around here..." Doppio then thought for a moment, "I wonder how others saw Passione?" He then shook his head, "Doesn't matter. What matters is getting to Little Innsmouth and-"
Doppio's eyes then widened.
"Argh! I forgot to ask for directions!"
Little Innsmouth was...
Well, quite unwordable for Doppio.
He had to walk quite a few blocks since he had zero understanding of the subway system, and the only reason he had found his way was asking random civilians with the phrase 'Little Innsmouth?' in broken English, or in this world's equivalent, Canopolian.
But Doppio was finally here, and so far, he had been astounded by the sight. A half-submerged neighborhood, consisting of boardwalks and stores built on the streetside watersides. Jellyfish shaped lanterns were strewn between the buildings above, providing light below. He watched as a tram strolled down the street before literally driving into the water, submerging and rising back up on the other side.
And that wasn't the most bizarre.
That adjective belonged to the fish people that resided within Little Innsmouth.
They came in various scales and sizes, some more humanoid and others more 'aquatic'. A cat-fish looking man stood next to the submerged street, wearing a white tank top and belt stylized with a ship's steering wheel. Another was a gigantic isopod wearing a simple pair of slacks, eating from a bag of chips. And then there were the 'girls', colorful non-humans that wore dresses of seashells and other undersea fabrics.
These were the different appearances to name a few, and Doppio stood amongst them, like a fish out of water...
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Doppio simply thought, passing a few fish people who appeared to be smoking literal pipes of opium on the streets. "Even though I'm here, where am I even going to find an apartment?"
His answer luckily came quick, as he spotted a simplistic sign showing a stick figure underneath a roof, the arrow pointing toward a lit alleyway.
The universal sign for 'shelter'.
He walked off the street and into the alley, ending with a surprisingly ornate wooden door, perhaps a little too ornate given the surroundings. Doppio paused before shrugging, opening it and walking inside. The first sight he was greeted with was the typical apartment lobby layout. A wall of closed mailboxes was to the left, and a small booth to the right, the room separated from the outside via what appeared to be chicken wire and shaded window. In between was the staircase, running around a caged elevator. A dim lightbulb illuminated the interior, Doppio looking around.
He then spotted a small sign above the dark windowed room, the same symbol as outside with the exception of crossed bones instead of a stick figure.
"Crossed bones?" He then realized, "This must be where you pay."
Doppio walked up to the booth, placing both hands atop the wood of the opening and realizing it was too dark to see what was inside.
"Er, hello?"
As if on cue, a piece of paper was slid by his digits, Doppio looking down. It was a crudely drawn calendar, not indicating any real month but rather days instead. Numbers could be seen on two parts of the calendar, one beneath the first 7 days and another on the last day of the calendar. These two numbers were 15 and 90 respectively, with a small drawn bone beside them.
"... I think I get it." Doppio reached into his pocket for the wallet, producing 90 Bones out of it and placing it atop the calendar. "15 Bones is for a week, and 90 is for a month."
He was surprised to see a tentacle slowly slither from the darkness, wrapping around both the money and paper before retreating back into the darkness. There was a pause before a retching noise was heard from within the booth, tentacle returning with a slimy key. Doppio hesitantly took it, fighting the urge to cringe as bits of greenish slime dripped from his palm.
"G-Grazie..." He murmured before turning around and leaving, reading the number on the murky key as he went up the elevator.
4B.
The elevator dinged upon reaching the 4th floor, Doppio opening the cage as he quickly arrived at the second door on the level, indicated with a capital B. The red-colored door looked old, and what appeared to be faded Chinese characters were drawn atop the paint. He inserted the key, twisting it as the door opened.
Doppio expected the worst due to outward appearances.
And was pleasantly surprised.
The room was clean, Chinese style lantern illuminating the European and Oriental theme to the walls and decorations. There was a bathroom to his left, and a kitchen to his right, the latter complete with a fridge and stove. The main room was combined with a living and bedroom, the bed in question being queen-sized. A singular window was at the end as curtains blew from the natural night breeze, potted corral like plants resting on the windowsill. Doppio walked forward, leaning out to see a nightly view over the neighborhood, extending outward to reveal an entire oceanside, fishing boats in the distance lighting up the water as the moon hung low, giving off a mirror image of itself.
"It feels like I'm home, back in Sardinia." Doppio then clutched his head, trying to remember. "But... I really can't seem to remember much of what it was like. Weird..." He closed the window, turning around. "Oh well, doesn't matter now." He then sat atop the bed, stretching his arms. "This apartment is amazing! 90 dollars- er, Bones, a month for this?"
He then lied down.
"I could get used to this."
Doppio paused before balling a fist, sitting back up as he stared forward.
"But I shouldn't. Not when I should be looking for the Boss." He turned to a desk, adjacent to the bed. He immediately stood up, pulling out the chair and sitting down, slouching over the desk as he grabbed a pen and paper from the drawer.
He drew a list, the first objective of finding shelter with a tick next to it, he was set for a month after all. The next was important, that being to learn English-
Doppio paused in realization before scribbling out the word and replacing it with 'Canopolian'. If he was going to blend into this world, then he'd have to start using and learning their terminology. He was about to write for the 3rd step to 'find a phone', only to pause again. That was pointless, as he never called the Boss, rather the Boss always managed to call him from some unknown source. Doppio decidedly replaced it, writing 'find a source of income' instead.
And as for the last...
'Gain info on the Medicis.'
Now that Doppio thought clearly, it was an odd coincidence that the name 'Medici' was the same name of a powerful family of bankers and merchants that ruled Florence in the 15th century of Italy. But then again, this world seemed to consist of confusing coincidences, so he didn't think too much about it. Besides, the purpose of the last step was for when he regrouped with the Boss... and when the Boss would inevitably take them over.
Satisfied, Doppio put down the pen with a smile before yawning, realizing how long and tired this night had been.
He slinked off to bed, taking off his shoes and turning off the lights, shadows falling over him like the leaves of a willow.
Doppio didn't remember what dreams he had.
"Hurry it up!" The Leader yelled.
The line of miserable individuals walked forth, guided into a truck by the group of brigands as the ruins of Rommelgrad could be seen from afar. The leader of the trafficking expedition watched the process, a scar going over his left eye as he ate an apple. This was No Man's Land, a vast territory consisting of former countries and territories, now reduced to apocalyptic wastelands and deserts. Ironically, the biggest danger out here to bandits were simply other bigger groups of bandits, so in the case of this expenditure, it was safer to travel at night. The Leader finished the apple, tossing it away as he wiped his mouth.
"Alright, is that all?"
A bandit, one of his crew, walked up to him. "Not everyone. There's still two more. We're getting them now."
True to the man's word, loud shouting was heard, one of the bandits struggling with a small chained figure in his arms, a cloak over her maid uniform. "Lemme go you mooks! I'll fight all a yez'!"
The Bandit grunted, "Shut the hell up!"
"Why don't ya make me, ya dumb-" The Bandit punched her right in the face, bruising her cheek... and yet, she recovered, finishing her sentence. "-mook! Must feel real manly, hitting lil' ol' me!"
The Leader narrowed his eyes, already knowing that she would have to be made an example of, the yabbering girl placed into the back of the truck. He turned to his subordinate, "And where is the last one?"
"Reggie's getting him." The Bandit smiled, "We found him in the middle of the wasteland, unconscious. Talk about luck, huh?" The Leader smiled at that good fortune, a chained figure bought forth.
The first thing the Leader had noticed was the man's eyes, red iris's surrounded by black sclera. He was bare-chested, wearing a lapelless coat crossing over his chest and striped pants, yet oddly enough, his clothing articles seemed to be riddled with what appeared to be bullet holes. A hood rested on his back, hanging with metal baubles, his white hair exposed. Lastly was a tight chain wrapped around his neck and arms, courtesy of the traffickers of course. The Leader paused to look at the... rather intimidating man. "Where'd he come from?"
"No idea. But it doesn't matter now. I'd bet he'd fetch a good price as a worker."
The Leader turned to his subordinate, nodding in agreement before feeling a chill come over him. He turned back to see the enslaved man staring at him dead in the eye, a glare on his face.
There was something dangerous about those eyes.
The bandit holding the man kneed him in the chest, breaking off his gaze as he slouched slightly, but otherwise showed no reaction or pain as he stood back up, being pushed forward into the truck as well. The Leader shook his head, blinking his pupilless eyes as he let out a loud whistle, the convoy finally moving forward.
Their next stop?
New Meridian.
To Be Continued...
And that's the first chapter of a new story that I simply could not get out of my head. I've been wanting to write a Jojo crossover for a long time, and I felt that the world-building of Skullgirls actually fit pretty well with Jojo.
Now, I'm gonna answer some questions I would assume most would have about this story. So I'll start with simple ones first.
PEOPLE CAN SEE AND TOUCH STANDS?! WTF!? This I anticipate will be the most controversial decision I've made for this story, but it can be reasonably assumed that crossing over to one world can change known rules. Perhaps it's the tiny traces of Theonite in the air, the same stuff that creates living weapons and Parasites in Skullgirls that allow Stands to be seen and interacted with by normal people and objects in Skullgirls, or maybe the gateway did something wacky to both user's Stands. I'll go more in-depth at some point of why this is the case. I know some people will hate this change because it's fucking with the one rule of JJBA, but I gotta admit, it's so much more enticing when the fights have actual danger and shock value in them rather than getting hit by an invisible force. This is the only rule I'm gonna break, so don't worry about any more fuck ups. TL;DR, Skullgirl world can see and touch Stands for some reason.
When does this take place in Skullgirls? 1 year before the beginning of the main story in Skullgirls. Surprisingly, there's tons of stuff that happens in this period, and a lot more content to write. I think I'll be going for a kind of 'enemy of the week' for every arc. Canon is gonna derail for sure.
Doppio's age? 17. Diavolo I would consider to be 30 but since we have the whole aspect of 2 souls inhabiting one body, and that other 'younger' soul has become physical, I don't really consider Doppio to share that age. Even the fortune teller indicated that Doppio's face and age changed when transitioning to Diavolo's personality (or soul as it's implied).
Plan's for any other Jojo characters? There may be badass cameos, but no world jumping other than for Doppio and Risotto.
Pairings? Totally. (It's also bullshit that there's no Doppio character on fanfic, or at least Diavolo. That's fucked up.)
What's the deal with King Crimson, is he different? Yes and no. King Crimson was Diavolo's Stand, however, now that it's just Doppio, he has a 'changed' one, much like how Star Platinum is the equivalent of The World. The same type of Stand, but different personality/appearance. Its name is unknown as of now, but as a hint... or blatantly obvious pointer, just look at the title and cover image. (The former being a King Crimson song, fyi)
Doppio's abilities? For those expecting his Stand to have the ability to erase time right off the bat, I hate to disappoint. This story is about discovery and crime, but I am extending an olive branch to say that he does have access to the arms (obviously) and Epitaph, granted he hasn't used the latter yet, or even managed to summon the rest of the body because he believes it to be Boss's Stand. The reason for this is that Doppio has never been conscious to use King Crimson's erase time, so he wouldn't know about it... but that'll change at some point in the story.