I don't own My Hero Academia and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

Please enjoy this story to heart's content and Happy Valentine's day!


Chapter 23: Dream On


Hot labored breath wheezed out Midoriya's lips as he stepped off the crumbling nightmarish monster. The furious beat of his heart rang in his ears while his muscles strained with heated exhaustion. Thankfully nothing was torn or broken, but his bones ache painfully with every minor twitch he made. He was at his limit, his body no longer at the performance he longed for, and now back to the detriments that haunted him in real life. If he was being honest with himself, he was frankly surprised that he made it this far without any bone turned to fine powder. It was a miracle, especially with the fact that after Aizawa and his classmates drove of Dream On's minions, they spent an awful amount of time rescuing the rest of Class One-A. Draining couldn't even begin to describe the nightmares they encountered, some of which Midoriya doubted that he could ever forget. Yet with every classmate they rescued, every familiar face no longer tormented by their worst fears, it was well worth it.

Turning aside, he surveyed all the weary faces as the latest nightmare crumble around them. Those who first started out with him leaned tiredly against one another, more relieved than actually exhausted that they made it out of yet another hellish night-terror. The others were a mix of lingering fear and shock over the things they experienced in such a short amount of time. Koda and Sato still looked around over their shoulders every other ten minutes; Shoji kept an emotionless mask yet his body quivered when he thought no one was looking; dried tears clung to the corner of Mina, Aoyama, and Sero's eyes; Kaminari and Jiro kept a brave face yet they clung close to their comrades; Tokoyami muttered to himself about being in the pinnacle of darkness while Yaoyorozu held her composure despite the sheen of cold sweet that clung to her body.

The only ones who neither looked exhausted or afraid were Aizawa and Midnight, the latter of which who was freed from her nightmare just before the one they just finished. They were true heroes, holding themselves together in top form despite enduring corrupted dreams that would've ruined weaker men. Naturally with both teachers freed, they immediately took over leadership duty. All the while keeping their wary students from breaking down further. At first they wanted to get everyone to safety, but after being caught up completely on what they were facing and Dream On sending a few sorties every now and then, it was clear that nowhere was safe as long as the malicious Stand still reined. That left only one option: to fight.

Yet Midoriya privately wondered that his teachers, like the rest of his classmates, were just as shaken by the things they saw. They were, after all, only human. And yet they still continued onward. Leading their students through the worse of humanity's subconscious and freeing those trapped by the fiend who trapped them here. If at any other point at time, Midoriya would've admired and fanboyed over their heroics.

But this was neither the time nor the place. He needed to focus on freeing the last of his class before they succumbed to their worst fears.

"Thank god that's over with…" breathed Kaminari. "I thought mine was bad, but your nightmare sure takes the cake, Tokoyami…"

The bird boy lowered his head at the comment, dread still shadowing his eyes. "I can't begin to apologize for… for what darkness I hid within me."

"Hey, hey, it's cool man," Kirishima quickly spoke up, "there is nothing to be ashamed of. We all been there. Believe me!"

"He's right, Tokoyami," said Midnight, laying a comforting hand on Tokoyami's shoulder. "All our nightmares are fears we wish to keep locked away, but it's better to face them head on and teach them whose boss! And you did a good job conquering your own!"

Tokoyami looked up at his scantily clad teacher, his beak opening and closing for a moment, before looking away. "…thank you, Midnight Sensei. It's just… I never thought to face the darkness inside of me so soon."

"Welcome to club," snarked Mineta, collapsing himself onto a nearby pile of golden fleece. "We've been dealing with this crap for hours now and I haven't seen any end to it!"

"That's concerning…" Aizawa spoke up, pulling up his goggles to stare at the endlessly ever changing expanse around him. "With the amount of nightmares that we gone through, there should be considerably less now, but it feels like they're only getting more frequent."

"You're not imagining things, teach," confirmed Lenny as he lumbered out of what was left of Tokoyami's fading nightmare with Starrkey in tow. "The nightmarish stench that clogs the air is still as strong as when I met Midoriya."

"So what, are you saying that we haven't kicked enough ass yet?!" roared Bakugo.

"How should I know? I didn't know that these unnatural parasites could be destroyed in the first place, let alone spread faster than rabbits."

"Dream On only said that those from U.A. were trapped in this place, but it didn't say anything else about spreading more nightmares while we rescued everyone…" Gyro pointed out.

Midoriya had to agree, it was something he started to notice after the tenth raid into the nightmares. There was no other explanation and it infuriated him that the monstrous Stand continued to infect others with its vile powers. The only way Midoriya could see ending this dreadful experience was to cut off the head of the snake. The problem was that it meant leaving the trapped souls to their torment until Dream On was defeated. Just thinking about leaving anyone to such a fate was too horrible to think of, but continuing on with their current approach was becoming increasingly fruitless. Still Midoriya's good conscious couldn't allow him to leave anyone behind. Especially since they have yet to find everyone in his class.

"Johnny…" he muttered. There was no doubt in mind that Johnny was in the Dream World, another victim to Dream On's sick entertainment, but there wasn't any sign of him thus far. Whether it was because of fate or bad luck for the paraplegic to be the last of his classmates to be found, Midoriya couldn't say. Despite this, the fanboy swore he would save all of his classmates and if that meant leaving Dream On for now, then it was a choice he had to live with.

"Oi… what's that in the sky?" exclaimed Starrkey.

Midoriya blinked for a moment before turning his attention upward only for something dark slap him right in the face. Stumbling back a step, he pulled off the flimsy substance just in time see a literal storm of black paper hailing down atop them all. Nightmarish clouds swirled and the world around them once more twisted into corruption. Grimacing, Midoriya looked down at his hand and saw that it was a black sheet penned with red ink.

"To my honored guests whom have given me so much entertainment," it began. "Your journey has brought me joy as you wandered through the plays I set forth, but it saddens me to say that it, like all things, must come to an end. Weep if you must, but do not be disheartened! For like all good stories, the best is saved for last. That's why you are cordially invited to the grand finale! Come and witness the greatest show ever produced in the history of dreams and nightmares. Where tragedy awaits, hopes are dashed, and the dawn of a new era begins! I eagerly await to hear your cheers and mewlings for mercy. Don't keep me waiting." –Signed, Dream On.

Disgust throbbed deep in Midoriya's core the more he read the blacken invitation. So revolted by the Stand's depravity over his friends' suffering did he almost missed the remaining text at the bottom of the sheet. It was production credits, the kind was used to promote famous actors or directors for new releases in movies or plays. Dream On's name was plastered all over it from director to producer to finally writer. Yet he wasn't the star.

When Midoriya saw why he felt the air in his lungs freeze up. Written in gleaming red that seemed to bleed out of the black fabric of the paper and bold enough that left no misconception was a name all too familiar.

Johnny Joestar.


The air was foul and no light penetrated through the thick fog that enclosed the young students of U.A. Only a few minutes had passed, but it felt like an eternity since they unflinching entered the nightmare. Once everyone knew where the final student of One-A was, nothing could dissuade them from rescuing him. Even if meant walking into an obvious trap. Not that they could stay behind in a place constantly shifting to an imitation of hell. Naturally the teachers took the positions as the vanguard, with Lenny and Starrkey leading the way. Despite the many horrors they faced so far, there was a growing unease the further they delved into the heart of darkness.

"What the hell…" muttered Bakugo, fists clenching as he whipped his head left and right frequently. "What's up with this damn place!? We've been walking for a bloody hour now and there isn't any crappy melodrama in sight!"

"Keep it down, Bakugo!" hushed Kaminari. "Haven't you seen any horror movies? You never say stupid crap like that unless you want to bring down the mother of all nightmares on us!"

"What did you say to me?!"

"That's enough, both of you." The menacing red gleam in Aizawa's eyes silenced the two boys immediately. "Everyone stay focused on the environment and watch out for anything that looks out of place."

"That's going to be difficult since we're basically in Alice and Wonderland…" Mina muttered only to clamp her mouth shut as Aizawa glanced over to her.

"…Bakugo has a point though…" said Todoroki. "We should've ran into something resembling Johnny's inner most fear by now…"

"Maybe this it?" ribbited Tsuyu. "Being lost in a sea of fog with no way out would be unpleasant for some and completely unbearable to others."

"No." The quick blunt response caused the frog-like girl to blink before turning to Gyro.

"You seem awfully sure about that, Gyro."

"Johnny is many things and has gotten lost a few times in the time I known him, but he always finds the right path to follow."

"Oh right, you known him before coming to U.A.," said Jiro. "Do you have any kind of idea what kind nightmare he might have?"

For a moment, Gyro was silent, ignoring the questioning stares of his classmates as he simply strode forward, an intense air with his step. "Not a clue…. He didn't bother to tell me such things so I didn't pry… I have a few ideas, but… no. It's not my place to say them either. I will just say that someone as stubborn and determined as Johnny wouldn't have anything childish or crappy for a nightmare… and if it is, I'm going to kick his ass for making me worry."

While it wasn't exactly much, Gyro's concern for his friend was similar to Midoriya's own. There was no telling what Johnny's inner most demons would dream up, but Midoriya picked up a few things that gave him a few insights. The most obvious would be something related to his own crippling. It was the simplest fear he could think of, being bound forever to a chair despite would be extraordinarily painful. Yet there was something else that has been bothering him. Namely, the outburst Johnny had just prior to this whole mess. Particularly when it came to the two names that he absolutely loathed.

"Do they have something to do with his—"

A faint click cut off his thought before a burst of light appeared in front of him. The fog vanished without any trace, revealing a dining hall that was most definitely not one of Japanese design. It was filled with wealth and antique knickknacks, with a prominent theme of horses littered here and there, but not enough to be distractingly or overly opulent. Despite the flood of light above, half the room was darkened, giving a more ominous air as shadows clawed at the edges of a handcrafted table planted in the center. Seated at the table was four people: a beautiful woman with light-chestnut hair; a youth who looked to be in the middle of his teens, probably no later than fourteen years old, and his hair resembled the woman's; an older, if a bit overweight, man with black hair and small groomed mustache; and finally a younger boy, perhaps no earlier than six years old, and sharing the same light-brown hair as the woman. They had similar features, in one form or another, but the child looked strangely familiar.

"Ahem, you're attention please," Dream On's sinister voice echoed everywhere, crackling with a bit of static like from an old radio. "I welcome you all to this grand play, 'The Life of a Negative'. To begin this sad tale, I must tell you something about our star, Jonathan Joestar. Or, as he like to be called, 'Johnny'."

Stiffening at the announcement, the dreamers peered across the room for their vile tormenter, but there wasn't any sign of him to be found. Unease filled the air, the lights dimmed as the malicious voice continued on.

"Long ago, the Joestar family was once aristocrats before they fell to ruin and moved to America in the mid-eighteen-hundreds. Naturally such a downfall would've broken this bright family, but to the surprise of many, good fortune fell into their laps. It took several generations, but the Joestar line thrived in their new environment and gained wealth in many successful businesses. Though such wealth steadied with the turn of the era, with Quirks forcing changes in industry and commerce, the Joestars managed to gain prestige through a different path—Horse Racing. In fact—"

"Shut the hell up and get out here so I kick your ass already, you melodramatic muppet!" Tired of hearing Dream On's droning, Bakugo started to stomp his way towards the table, malicious intent burning with every step. No sooner did he start his approach did gag harshly before being yanked back by Aizawa's strong scarf.

"Don't rush in blindly!" he hissed, tying the resilient fabric tightly around his student, all the while ignoring Bakugo's death glare. "There's something off about this whole scenario… It's too different to be anything but a trap."

"Then we should beat the shit of it before—ACK!" Wheezing out a clench breath, Bakugo's eyes bulged at Aizawa tightening grip.

"My thanks to you for silencing that wretched kill joy, dear teacher," spoke Dream On, halting Aizawa from half strangling his student. "That brat is such a vile, piece of annoying merda—Ahem! What I meant to say is that you have my thanks for intervening. I am at my wits' end with dealing with that one and if he ruined my grand final play, well… I might just kill you all here and now on principle." Everyone stiffened at the threat, but Dream On was already moving on. "It's a shame since this is my first time personally directing a play without being in it, so I want everything to be just perfect, but I can settle for some minor trifles. Be grateful for my generosity… Alas we must continue on with the play! Don't fret over little details like traps and foul play. Like I said before, this is my masterpiece so I want you all to see what I labored to bring to life rather than luring you into such annoyances! So sit back and enjoy the show. Commentate between yourselves over which scene you like the most, I encourage it even. I insist… but if any of you decide to rush on stage and attack the actors once more… I'll kill you."

Hearing its sickening sweet voice already made Midoriya nervous, but the way he threatened everyone made every hair on his body quiver and shrink into his skin. No because of the threat itself, but how off it felt. With the exception of Bakugo's dream, the Stand was hands off with tormenting its victims, opting to watch with sick pleasure over their fears and despair. To make a threat over interfering now—one that left no room for doubt over how sincere it was—only made Dream On even more menacing.

Sensing their unease, the Stand chuckled darkly to itself before saying, "I believe we're all on the same page, yes? Good. I would hate to repeat myself a second time, but since I know that my audience tonight are faint of heart and are abysmal with their tempers—"

"SCREW YOU!" Thick fabrics gagged Bakugo before could get another word in.

"—I decided to alleviate your worries a bit. The people sitting at this table are of all my design." To prove its point, all the faces at the table shifting to Dream On's blank mask before shifting back to place. "Does that help make you more agreeable to my play now, hmm? Good, now let's get back to the show without any more interruptions!"

Now Midoriya knew this was a trap. While Dream On's flair for dramatic reveals was to his character made it off, showing off that his actors weren't real made no sense unless he was leading everyone by the nose. As to what, Midoriya didn't have the faintest clue. If this was to simply show them Johnny's nightmare, then why wasn't the host himself here to witness his greatest fear? It gnawed at him, made worse by a wretched menacing feeling at the back of his mind that something awful was happening this very moment. All he could do, at least for now, was to play along and watch till he found an opening in the fiend's plans to save Johnny.

"Where was I? Oh yes! The history of the Joestars! To resume, let us now flash forward to the present generation of this prestigious line. As I mentioned before, the Joestar line has accumulated much fame over horse racing and the current patriarch, George Joestar, is no exception. Being a seven-time winner of the Triple Crown, one of the greatest achievements in horse racing, the famed father naturally taught his sons, Nicholas and Johnny, in his ways and securing his legacy.

"Truly, the Joestars were blessed with such prestige and wealth that lesser men would kill for. Thus we begin this tale at the peak of their lives."

For the first time since the dreamers arrived, the family at the table started to move. Guided by invisible strings, the Joestars moved about without a care in the world, not once acknowledging their audience and continued to enjoy their meal in silence. The parents talked quietly to themselves over meaningless things while the eldest son continued to quietly eat his food.

The child mimicked his older brother, but every now and then, his hand would dip from his plate to underneath the table. It was a curious movement, one that didn't go unnoticed by the audience… or the father.

"Jonathan," said George Joestar before putting down his utensils, "What are you doing under the table?" The boy stiffened back into his seat, frozen under his father's gaze. "Raise up your left hand."

The boy withered, turning to his mother for a moment then to his brother. The pair looked at him, then each other, but said nothing.

"Listen, Jonathan. Not limited to dining, manners are an indication to reverence towards people around you. Other cultures around the world, such as the English or Japanese, pride themselves over table manners as they would for other fields of life. Like our family has for training and riding horses. Do you want everyone to think that we are a group of uneducated and uncultured Americans rednecks?"

"Ah…" Johnny opened his mouth to speak, but no word could came out, his hands twitching to his sides as his father's gaze grew more intent.

"What are you hiding in your pocket? Show me!"

The boy grew more fidgety, his eyes darting everywhere but his father's and his voice growing shrill. "I… I'm sorry, father… I was just… He was just so cute and I couldn't…"

"I didn't tell you to apologize, Jonathan. I told you to show me." The firmness in George's voice left no room for further refusal to heed his command.

Shaking worse than a leaf in a storm, Johnny hesitated for a moment before dipping his hands into his pocket. Ever so gently he pulled out what he tried desperately to hide and produced it to his father. It was a small white mouse.

"Awww, it's so cute!" squealed Hagakure, waving her gloved hands excitedly and completely forgetting, if for a moment, the danger that still loomed over them all.

"Huh, I didn't know that Johnny was into keeping pets," said Sero.

"Especially cute little ones like that!" added Mina.

"…It's almost impressive how they forget this is a nightmare…" commented Kaminari, some of his classmates nodding in agreement at the two girls fawned over the mouse.

Suddenly the older Joestar stood up, silencing the students and causing the young Johnny to flinch back in his seat. "Dinner is over," he declared firmly. "Jonathan, go to your room immediately. But first… You must drown that thing in the pond. Understood?!"

Menacing silence hung in the air as the full weight of what George Joestar said settled in. After so many nightmares they endured, the sudden twist to the father's behavior wasn't all too surprising for the dreamers. Many of their nightmares were far more potently cruel with such a reveal, but still some took issue with the change.

"What the heck?!" yelled Uraraka. "You can't! You shouldn't force your own child to do something so… so…!"

"Awful!" finished Koda, his naturally high pitched voice shriller than ever before as his eyes never strayed from the white mouse. "Taking in pets and forcing your child to kill them is beyond cruel!"

Naturally the younger Johnny felt the same way. Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes and he shook uncontrollably as he held the young mouse to his chest. "But… But y-you said I could keep him… You promised!"

The powerful slam of the father's fist on the table silenced the youth and startling the students nearby. "Don't change the subject!" exclaimed George. "You are the one who broke our promise. I said you can keep it, granted that you kept it in a cage. Are you calling me a liar? You must dispose of it yourself, do you understand, Jonathan…? Go!"

Hiccupping a small cry, Johnny fled the room, uncontrollable tears streaming down his face.

"The bastard…" growled Kirishima before taking a single step forward towards the stern father. "What the hell do you think you're doing to your kid?!"

"Disgusting…" muttered Tokoyami. "Dream On's depravity for cruelty is beyond redemption!"

"Calm down both you," ordered Midnight, her eyes intent as she eyed the nightmare. "I know how you both feel, but don't let yourself get caught up in this—!"

There was very little warning when it happened, but one moment the room suddenly disappeared around the dreamers and in the next they were standing in neatly cut yard. Frantically looking around, they found what looked like the exterior of the mansion they were just in only several meters away. A bubbling fountain quietly gushed water into a nearby pond where Johnny knelt nearby, sobbing uncontrollably. Yet before the dreamers could take in the boy's anguish, the elder brother materialized behind the boy, his face calm and compassionate.

"What are you going to do, Johnny?" asked Nicholas. "Are you going to drown it?"

"It's all my fault…" sobbed Johnny. The boy tried to stop the tears running down his cheeks, but they wouldn't cease. "But… I can't! I can't drown Danny… I can't do it…"

"But… we can't keep that mouse here anymore, Johnny." That fact made the little boy weep even harder. "Listen I have an idea. How about we let Danny go in the woods? You can do that, right? I'm sure Danny will be fine on his own in the woods."

"I can't! Dad will definitely ask for proof that I drowned Danny… He'll… He'll ask to see his corpse…"

Suddenly Nicholas smiled, a bright and kind smile that would've put anyone to ease, before placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "That's easy enough! You know how some animal displays in science classes at school? Like foxes or birds? Well, they also have ones of white mice too. Tomorrow I'll ask my teacher to let me borrow one. If you show Dad, he'll definitely believe its Danny. I don't think he'll go so far to open it up to see if it's actually drowned… Actually that would be something he would do." He suddenly chuckled as he brought his free hand to cup his chin. "He'd flip out if he cut it open and all the stuffing came out!"

Johnny blinked at his big brother for a moment, his tears pausing as an impossible hope bloomed in his eyes. Jumping to his feet, he hugged his brother warmly all the while trying not to harm Danny in his hand. "Nicholas! Thanks! You're so smart, bro!"

Nicholas returned the hug with equal affection for a moment before pulling his brother away to look him directly in the eye. "Johnny… I will ask you this once before we commit to the plan… Can you really let Danny go?"

Intense silence hung over the two brothers. Johnny's face contorted several times, desperation shifted to longing then finally resolute resignation. "Y-Yeah…" Smiling, the older brother took him by the hand and headed to the edge of the estate to let Danny loose.

"That was odd…" said Gyro, tipping his hat back as the Joestar siblings passed by.

"How's that odd?" asked Aoyama. "Seemed normal to me."

"And very sweet too!" exclaimed Mina. "Johnny's brother is such a sweetheart to help his little bro out like that."

"That's the point." The pink girl froze at the sternness in Gyro's voice. "It's too wholesome. After all the hell we been through so far, it feels off. It would make more sense if the real Johnny was here to see this, but he isn't…" He then gripped the brim down till his eyes were hidden in shadows. "I don't like this… What the hell is Dream On's game?"

"There is also another detail that doesn't add up," said Aizawa, his eyes never once leaving the Joestar illusions. "One that adds to the wrongness of this dream."

Gyro blinked at his teacher. "And what's that, Sensei?"

"It's too accurate. From what I understand, Dream On's ability should only be able to manipulate dreams from a victim's worse fears… Yet these conversations and mannerisms aren't exaggerated or unnatural."

"Even the confrontation between Johnny's father and him, as horrible as it was, felt natural," added Midnight, her brow furrowed as a deep suspicion crept into her eyes. "Like it wasn't simply written off a script for an audience… That's what you're getting at, Aizawa?"

Giving his friend a short nod, Aizawa then turned to the giant walrus as the full weight of what was implied washed over the young heroes. "Do you know anything about this?"

Lenny didn't respond immediately. Instead he shared a look with Starrkey, unspoken dread passing between them, before letting a sigh. "I… think you all should prepare yourselves. If this is what I think it is… then we're going to be facing a different kind of nightmare."

"And what's that?" Ida asked tentatively.

"…Hell born from experience."

Midoriya's nerve froze stiff as he finally realized what was bothering him for a while now and cursed himself for taking the malicious Stand's word. If it could look into people's memories then there was no telling what fiendish horrors it can create from them. Or worse, learn all kinds of forbidden secrets that would do serious damage to the world as a whole.

Cold sweat started to sheen and make his skin clammy, but Midoriya didn't notice or even care. If Dream On found about One For All then—

Suddenly the scenery changed once again, tearing the boy's dark thoughts back to the current horrible reality he was in. No longer did night darken the sky, instead bright sunlight beamed down upon a large race track. A storm of dust chased after a great stallion with its rider pushing beyond its limits. Even from a distance, everyone could see that was Nicholas Joestar that rode the stallion and standing on nearby rail guard was Johnny, a stop watch in hand, and an elderly stableman beside him. As soon as Nicholas rode passed the track's goal line, the little boy stopped the timer with a resounding click.

"Woah! He really did it!" he exclaimed. "I told him to run two hundred meters in seventeen seconds and did it exactly on the dot! First twenty-three seconds exactly, then nineteen, and now this! And he's never off by a single decimal! How does he do that?!" Excitement gleaming in his boyish eyes, Johnny lowered the watch to gaze as his brother took his horse for another lap around the track. "That's so cool… I wonder if I can do that?"

"Hmm… Well, depends on your determination and hard work, Johnny," answered the elderly stable hand before placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders. "But that brother of yours is a special case. He's always had an excellent sense of time. One would think that it was related to his Quirk. Your father doesn't have such an ability, so that's why he chose to become a trainer instead after retiring from professional racing." The old man paused for a moment, turning his head to the side before resting his chin in one hand. "Well, well. Looks like they are finally bringing out the big guy."

Curious at what the stableman was referring to, the dreamers turned to see a gigantic black horse being led out the stables by Johnny's father and another handler. Stamping proudly, it walked to the track, each powerful step kicking up a bit of grass or dirt without a care.

"Who's that?" asked Johnny.

"His name is Black Rose. He's a bit sensitive, but it's a quality thoroughbred. I understand your father personally over saw bringing him in for your brother to ride in the next tournament soon. Knowing Mr. Joestar's eye for horseflesh, I'm sure he'll win even without your brother being the one leading to the goal line."

"No, I mean the kid who's leading Black Rose with Dad." The little boy pointed to another boy perhaps a year older than himself and wearing a blue riding uniform. Midoriya couldn't help a sense of familiarity when he saw the kid, especially when he spotted his golden hair and shining blue eyes.

The old stableman rubbed his chin for a moment before saying, "Oh… He was… Um… Diego B-Something. Can't remember his full name correctly, but I heard some people call him 'Dio'."

"Hey, isn't that…" muttered Kirishima.

"Is this how Johnny knew Diego?" asked Yaoyorozu.

"He's got some promise," continued the old man, "so they're letting him work here for a bit as a hot-walker."

As soon as Nicholas pulled up to the entry gate, he dismounted gracefully before handing his horses reins of his father's and took Black Rose's from Diego. They spared a few words to each other, but they were too far away to be heard by the dreamers nearby. Taking a moment to collect himself, the eldest son of the Joestars climbed into the saddle of the massive black stallion and walked to the starting line. Black Rose panted heavily, eager to run and race free across the track, but Nicholas held him firm under his command. Despite the fact his own eagerness mirrored the proud stallion's.

They waited for a moment before bursting with a great leap off the white chalk and down the track. The earth trembled underneath their heated paced, so much so that it honestly surprised the young students of U.A. how such a young boy three times smaller than his gigantic companion rode so well and precisely. So great was his control that it almost looked like he was part of the horse itself; a modern day centaur without being born with the Quirk for such a claim! His brother surely thought so. Johnny didn't say a word, nor did he shout. The proud smile on his face spoke louder than anything he could think up as he admired his brother's incredible skill.

Midoriya would always remember that childlike smile for the rest of his days.

A shrill neigh cut through the air before ending with a foul crack. Startled, everyone looked at the track only to find a massive cloud of dust kicked up in the air. It didn't move, frozen in the moment, before Black Rose burst out of the cloud furiously.

Only Nicholas was no longer riding him.

Seeing the now rider-less horse, Midoriya felt a terrible apprehension building in his gut, but before he say or do anything, the stablemen rushed towards the track with George Joestar leading them. All except Johnny, who stood where he was, confused and speechless at what just happened.

"Nicholas!" cried George, frantically pushing him over the fence to get to his fallen boy. "Oh god! Please God no!"

"Someone call a doctor!" yelled the head stableman. "A hero! ANYONE WILL DO, JUST GET THEM HERE NOW!"

It was at the moment that the cloud finally faded away and revealed a truly gruesome sight. There, laying on the ground with an expression of surprise immortalized on his face, was Nicholas. His neck broken as blood streamed down his nose and lips. Not just his neck, but several of his bones were jutting out at unnatural ends and there were several horseshoe prints in his chest.

No words could describe the absolute horror of what just happened. Indeed the students of U.A. were completely speechless. They didn't know or had any idea that this was going to happened to Johnny's elder brother. Uraraka, Yaoyorozu and Asui's faces were completely ashen white while Mina had to cover her mouth. Mineta could only slap his arms over his eyes while Kaminari and Sero looked on with their mouths open, words failing to escape their lips. Ojiro and Kirishima tried to move forward, but found themselves glue to where they stood. Hagakure held onto Koda least she faint from the horrible display, though the rock-like man was hardly fairing any better. Sato, Aoyama, Tokoyami, and Shoji all were stiff with complete shock, none truly comprehending what they just seen despite the evidence still littered on the track. Jiro managed to gained the courage utter say something, but whatever it was it came out as a whimper and lost to the chaos around them. Ida gaped, his eyes flashing in brutal recognition of what just happened and, more importantly, realizing how similar it was to his own recent tragedy. Even Todoroki's stoicism and Bakugo's hair-trigger temper melted away to allow absolute disbelieve to take over the faces. Gyro gritted his teeth till they cracked, but refused to allow his shock to wash over him like it did for the others. The only two who managed to keep a calm enough head was the teachers. But if any of the students turned around, they would've saw sorrow glimmering in Midnight's eyes and sympathy hiding in the shadow of Aizawa's face.

The only one who didn't watch this truly painful scene was Midoriya. After figuring out what just happened, all he could do was turn his head to Johnny and walked towards him. Midoriya knew this was a nightmare, a memory of the past and the Johnny in front of him was a fake, but he felt compelled to try to help in any way he could.

"I saw a white mouse scuttling near the horse's legs!" That one sentence forced Midoriya to a complete halt, tearing his eyes away to stare at Diego. He stood in the middle of the track, pointing towards edge where a great ticket of bushes and trees were planted. "It ran off into the woods! Black Rose was startled by a white mouse!"

Midoriya couldn't believe what he just heard. There was no way it could be the same mouse that the Joestar siblings let loose earlier, could it? It was a one in a million chance of it happening! He refused to believe it.

Unfortunately, the younger Joestar did.

"Danny…?" he said weakly. "Nicholas…?" Shock and confusion warred on his face for a moment, before fading away to allow a horrible resignation to take hold. Tears, hot and fresh, brimmed in his eyes and his little body trembled uncontrollably.

"NICHOLAS!"


There was no time for the unpleasantness of what just happen to settle in the dreamers as the nightmare shifted once again. No longer was it the dismayed race track, but instead a large bedroom. It was filled with horse themed aesthetics, with the occasional All Might poster or action-figure spread out here and there. Sitting comfortably in a corner was a case filled with trophies and medals. Adding to the impressive collection was a scrap book sitting on a nearby table, opened wide for everyone to see articles praising the incredible debut of the youngest scion of the Joestar line. However the owner of the room paid zero attention to his shiny reminders. Instead Johnny Joestar, now older and more filled out, sat on his bed and fiddled with his boots.

He muttered as he tried to slip one on, only to pause at a loud rip. Grimacing, he looked down and cursed at the tear that formed at the toe of his best riding boots. Its mate didn't look any better, the worn leather looked like it would rip at any moment.

"Great… just before the race…" he muttered darkly, but paused suddenly. A solemn look appeared on his face for a split second before fading into resignation. Getting up he left the room and the dream shifted with him. Not having the opportunity to move or even think where the nightmare was taking them, the dreamers had no choice to be pulled along with the illusion of their dear friend.

Johnny walked until he came a door near the end of the hallway of his mansion. He stood there for a moment, his hand hovering over the knob, until he pushed away his hesitation and entered. Inside there wasn't much in aesthetic and barely anything in it that would give it a personal touch, even the bed was missing. Yet there was some memorabilia that caught everyone's attention by the window. Dozens of gold trophies and gilded plaques, far bigger and grander than Johnny's, stood shining atop a small desk and clustered around a single portrait frame of Nicholas Joestar.

The younger brother spared his older sibling a single longing glance, not a sound leaving his lips, before turning his attention to the closet. Opening it, he took a pair of riding boots from the orderly assembled clothes line, brushing off a bit of dust that had built up.

"What are you doing in here, Jonathan?" The stern tone of the George Joestar startled more than a fewer of dreamers as he suddenly appeared in the doorway and looking greyer than before. Even Johnny was surprised to see him.

"Oh, father!" he said as he slowly turned to face his dad. "I didn't know you were home… Well, my riding boots… their leather finally ripped apart and is causing the bottom to fall off. I think the quality was bad. So I thought I could borrow one these for the race that I'm having today."

The father was silent for a moment, his eyes lingering on the boots then rising to meet his son. "I see. But you must return those boots to the closet… That's Nicholas closest and those are his riding boots."

Stiffening at the order, Johnny didn't budge from where he stood. "Yes… I know that. But I don't have any spare boots that would fit… These ones should fit since my feet grew out."

"Perhaps you didn't notice the hole in the bottom of your boots or the leather starting to wear because you weren't taking care of them properly? That's your responsibility."

"What the heck does that have to do with anything?" Sero demanded. "Just let him wear the boots."

Johnny seemed to agree as he didn't back down from his father's growing intensity. "Yes… I see your point. But like I said, I have an important tournament race today. I promise you that I'll win."

"Win?" scoffed George Joestar, surprising everyone with his growing abrasiveness. "That's strange, winning means you'll be number one. Diego won't be running in today's race. Even if you win, can you really consider that a true victory? Don't be cocky. You never even beaten Diego, have you? More accurately, you never faced his true strength in a one on one competition?" Suddenly his face became grave, as he turned to the small portrait on the table. "Nicholas… He was superior to someone like that Dio."

Breaking into a sweat, Johnny trembled under his father's commanding gaze while most of the onlookers couldn't believe anyone would be so harsh to his surviving son. However, there was one who knew the grim truth that could take place under a parent's hand… and Todoroki especially didn't like where this scene was heading.

"Please… I don't have time to find a replacement. Please let me borrow these boots."

"No! You have no right to use Nicholas's boots… Put them back." George then stepped forward and grabbed the boots, but Johnny refused to let them go. Instead he pulled back hard.

"What… What is it, Dad?!" he demanded, not daring to look his father in the eye. "You're always talking about 'Nicholas this' or 'Nicholas that'… My brother died years ago! I'm the one who'll be racing today! So please… Please come watch me and I'll win the race for you!"

"Just put Nicholas' boot back in the closet, Jonathan!"

"No!"

"What?!" Seeing such defiance from his son almost caused George to lose his grip entirely.

"These are just old boots! I'm going to enter today's race wearing these boots!"

"Are you going to insult your own brother?! Give them to me! Let them go this instance!"

"S-Stop, just let me have them!"

"Damn it, just let go I said!" At the end of his patience, George summoned his strength and pulled till the boots were nearly out of his son's hands.

Whether it was from panic or frustration, Johnny had enough. "GET THE HELL OFF!"

So caught up with the boots, George didn't see the elbow till it collided with his chest. Wheezing, the boots slipped out of his grasp as he fell back, grasping at the air in astonishment. The cabinet behind him was little more than paper to him, breaking apart with a mighty crash and sending shards of glass falling to the floor. However, some sunk into his shoulders, staining his green sweater vest an unforgettable scarlet.

Seeing his father bleeding snapped Johnny out his panic, immediately dropping the boots from his grasp as he knelt by his father. "Dad! I—Oh God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean… I didn't—!"

"Oh god… you took the wrong son."

Thunderous silence enveloped the room. No one could believe what they just heard. It had to be some kind of mistake. No father, no matter how angry, would dare say such a thing to their surviving child. Some of the students started to vehemently deny it, others furiously condoning it. But there were little more than white noise to Johnny, frozen as a statue and mouth half open as he stared at the fresh tears that pour down his father's face.

"What…?" he finally uttered. "Dad… You… What did you say?"

"Get out…" shunned George, not even bothering to look at his son as he wept. "You're not welcome here anymore… Get out…!"

Slowly, if very reluctantly, Johnny stood up, his back rigid and unmoving. Time crawled to a halt for what felt like an eternity until finally the youth turned around, grabbing his brother's boots, and walked to the door. As he did, his classmates and teachers got a good look of the anguished tears streaming down his face.

No words could describe the pain and sympathy they felt for Johnny, though some did try and at the same time vent their frustrations at the elder Joestar. For his part, Todoroki was silent, his eyes lingering at Johnny's broken retreat as a frown cross his lips. Many thoughts tried to process the emotions he just witnessed, some of which came from himself, but above them all came a single clear understanding.

"He's just like me…"


"Despite tragically being ostracized by his father, Johnny won his tournament race that day," announced Dream On as the scenery changed once more to images of Johnny riding atop a great stallion. "He left his home behind, with only his mother tearfully mourning his departure, still supporting her son while his father did not, but he didn't care. All he could do was to race. Indeed. He continued to win until his name stood out in the horse racing world and beyond, continuing the legacy of the Joestar's fame and glory. Even when it became known he was Quirkless, Johnny had earned his place as a genius and the admiration of millions. Joe Kid was his debut name, but soon enough he became known by a single moniker—Jojo."

A shudder ran down Midoriya's spine as he heard those two nicknames. Deep down he knew that they were once Johnny's, but hearing Dream On confirm it only made him feel growing dread of what was going to happen.

"Truly he was at his peak, nothing could stop him… However, like anyone he reached the peak of a mountain knows that trek down is where calamity lurks."


"Ugh! These lines are packed…" said Johnny to a very pretty girl about his age. They stood across from a huge movie theater with crowds of people lining the entrance all the way down to the corner of the street. From what the dreamers saw, it was the release of a long anticipated movie and naturally everyone who was anyone wanted to get a seat for it. "Damn… There's no way we'll get in today. Let's try again tomorrow."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!" squealed the girl in the most obnoxious voice possible. "But I want to see it now! I wanna, I wanna!"

"Tch! I get it, but is it worth standing in line though? We'll be here for hours, maybe all day."

"Why do we have to stand here anyway?" The girl suddenly pressed up to Johnny, flashing him her eyes and cooing underneath his chin. "You're Johnny Joestar. I'm sure we'll be let in right now because you're famous, right? I mean, at the very least we'll be able to get to be first in line, right? Right?"

Flushing slightly at the honeyed words, Johnny looked at his girlfriend then over to the line beside him. Suddenly he spotted a small spot, no more than five feet apart, between the start of the line and the cashier office. "There. Is that spot open? No one standing there, so let's just say it's open and take it."

"Johnny, you're the best!" Leaning forward, the girl kissed his cheek. The boy flush crimson and allowed a smug smile to take hold as he lead the way to the front of the line. Neither noticing the disapproving frowns of some of their onlookers. Even those from the dreamers.

"I can get not waiting in huge line, but that's so not cool," said Kaminari.

"Yeah, it's a crappy move," agreed Sato. "Didn't think Johnny was like this… Heck, I don't think I ever seen this side of him before."

"Well this is the past, so maybe he learned his lesson before coming to U.A.?" commented Ojiro.

"Doesn't help that little airhead is egging him on…" added Hagakure. "Clinging to him so close and using a cutesy voice is just begging for a disaster to happen."

Ignoring the heated muttering Johnny and his girlfriend, took his spot at the front of the line, standing proudly as if it was his by right. Those who noticed only muttered harshly to themselves or loudly complained about the insolence in today's youth, but no one did a thing. They simply stood in line with the others, either not risking losing their spot or thinking that security would handle the two line skippers.

All except one man.

He was a tiny man, reaching just short of an average person's waist line, and was quite thin to the point of being bony. He was sitting at the head of the line behind a column, a comic book in hand, when he notice what just happened. At first, he looked at the youth in astonishment, then turned around towards the people in the line, looking for any real help than simple grumbling. Sweat started to bead across his head when it became clear that no one wanted to rock the boat, but unlike the others he wasn't one to stay quiet. Gulping nervously, he quickly got up and tugged at Johnny's sleeveless shirt.

"Uh… e-excuse me," he stuttered, "but… t-the front of the line is, uh… it s-starts right here, you know?"

Turning around just as girlfriend was about to kiss him again, Johnny sneered down at the little man. "…I see."

The little blinked, surprised that was all the boy had to say. "I… I've been here since last night… waiting here before there was a line…"

"Oooooh? I see. Good for you." Cheekiness oozed out of Johnny now, smiling as he bent down to condescendingly pat the man on the head. "Well, take care."

Nervous shock held the little man for a moment before frustration poured down his face as he gestured to the line behind him. "The back of the line is… is over there! I was standing at the front of it since last night!" His voice grew shrill with every word, forcing those who were ignoring the situation to take notice.

Seeing this, Johnny's smug mirth immediately faded. He then grabbed the man by his collar and lifted him till he was eye level. "Shut up! That's enough of your blabbering. Now listen closely… I bought this spot! If you want to know from who, then ask those guys over there." Swinging around with the little man still one hand, Johnny gestured over to two buff security guards at the entrance. He then pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills from his pocket and flashed in front of them. "Hey, you. I did buy this spot, didn't I? This guy is trying to start something! Can you throw him out of here?"

"Yeah, yeah!" cheered the bubbly girl. "Johnny always gives big tips if you work quickly."

The two security guards glanced at the money, then to each other for a moment… before menacingly walking over and grabbed the tiny man.

"Sir, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you leave the premises if you're going to start trouble," one of them said.

"But I wasn't!" begged the little man. "I was just… just!"

"Just starting trouble. Now don't fuss and just come with us. Otherwise we'll have to do this the hard way." So shocked by what just happened, the little guy could do nothing but be dragged away from the theater. All the while the dreamers looked on with disgust.

"I can't believe—What the hell, Johnny?!" demanded Kirishima. "That was… Just… Just awful!"

"I had a feeling this is where it was leading, but I didn't want to believe it…" admitted Shoji.

"Tch. He was quite the bastard back then," commented Bakugo, though his usual arrogance was remarkably subdued at the moment.

"It's dreadful!" declared Ida. "Made worse by those two security men going along for a bribe. A bribe!"

"It happens a lot more than you think," Aizawa pointed out calmly. "Even in today's heroic society, small bribes and other schemes happen from time to time… However this is…"

"Shocking," said Tokoyami. "To see Johnny act so smug and embrace his dark side is out of place."

"Could this be Dream On manipulating everything?" asked Jiro, her earphone jacks tangling together uncertainly around her neck.

"No… that's not it," thought Midoriya. Alarming as it was to see his friend acted at the moment, it felt… natural. This was no longer was the bright eyed boy who loved his older brother, but rather a young teen who was thrown out of his home and forced to make a name for himself against all odds. One who had embraced a dark way of living. It was distressing to say the least, but… Midoriya couldn't help a sense of dread slowly creeping in. While the others condemned what happened, they didn't realize something that Midoriya had. The scene had yet to end in disaster.

Cold sweat vigorously renewed at the thought, but Midoriya couldn't bring himself to notice. All he could do was watch as a giant straight jacket of apprehension wrapped around him.

Satisfied with securing his place in the line, Johnny turned back to his girlfriend. "Hey, how long till we can get in?"

"Hee, hee. It's about to open," she giggled gleefully, though a tinge of smugness twinkled in her eyes.

"Good, I can't wait to get some—" There was no warning before Johnny was suddenly shoved into his girlfriend. Regaining his composure, he swiftly turned with a fist raised before pausing when he saw the tiny man who was just carried away. "You again!? You're a persistent bugger, I'll give you that! But if you don't piss off this time, I'll—!"

BANG!

Johnny blinked. Not sure of what he had heard, he looked down to see a derringer pistol shaking in the tiny man's hands. Smoke filtering out one barrel. Surprised, Johnny followed where the gun was pointed until his eyes landed on blood. His blood leaking out a sizable hole in his side.

There was no scream of pain. No intense howling of vengeance and retribution. Just a calm look of wonder on Johnny's face, as if he couldn't believe what just happen… just before he collapsed onto the sidewalk as blood pooled around him.

The people in the line immediately broke into a panic, some pointing and shouting at the teenager who got shot. Some, like Johnny's girlfriend, fled screaming in terror, abandoning the boy to his blight. Others, like the security guards who came back too late and a few other brave souls, immediately tackled the tiny man to the ground.

All the while the dreamers looked on in absolute horror as they watched the last moment Johnny would ever be able stand on his own two feet.


The stinging pain had left the dreamers numb. What they had witnessed was beyond shocking or heartbreaking. As if the pain they had witnessed already wasn't enough, seeing Johnny lose his legs was simply too much. And yet somehow they knew it was going to happen. At the back of their minds, whether they realized it or not, there was some inkling that they would witness the lowest point in Johnny's life. They just didn't expect it would be this brutal and sudden. Some cried, some found themselves unable to utter a single word, others found themselves unable to think. They didn't even notice the scene had changed once more a few minutes ago.

The room was small, almost cramped, and stacked with machines in an orderly fashion by a reclining bed. A faint reek hung in the air as a single lamp in a corner barely drove away any shadows that clung to Johnny's unfortunate form. Sweat gleamed off his head, his face scrunch up and twitching uncontrollably as he tried to toss and turn in his sleep. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he drew in breathy gasp.

"Ah… What…?" he coughed, his voice parched for thirst. "What is—where am I?" Feebly trying to sit up, Johnny found himself crashing back into his sweat caked sheets as his muscles gave out. Bemused, he tried again, but still no luck. Panic started to take root and he immediately started to look around the semi-dark room. "Hello…? Hello!? Anyone?! Where am I?! Why… Why does it stink in here?"

Suddenly, Johnny's eyes shrank, tears welling up as he looked down at his wrapped up body that had a foul stain just below his waist. "Oh god… It's me… I… I soiled myself." That was the final straw that crushed whatever composure he had. Leaning his head back so he couldn't see his ruined legs, Johnny howled in complete despair till his voice cracked. A broken husk of a man to suit a broken body.

Yet as Johnny wallowed in his misery, he wasn't the only one who was reaching their limits.

"I can't take this anymore…" whispered Mina, her eyes wet as her cheeks, but unable to pull away from the awful sight. "Why… Why did this have to happen to Johnny?!"

"It's too cruel…" agreed Asui. "I thought… I thought it couldn't get any worse, but this is…" She couldn't bring herself to finish what she had to say. In fact it as sentiment shared by the rest of her classmates. All of them looked at Johnny, sympathy and compassion written on their faces and wishing to do anything to ease his suffering. Even cool-headed Aizawa frowned softly at seeing his student completely broken.

Midoriya certainly couldn't stand seeing this. His own eyes were glistening as he realized that Johnny's life was just one unfortunate event after another without any mercy. He wanted to do something, anything that could ease his friend's pain, even if this was just a dream.

After a moment of wailing, Johnny looked down back at his messed up lower half. Dull and weary, he glazed over the lame legs until he spotted a remote beside him to call for the nurse. Life flickered in his eyes for a moment before he grabbed the button. But no sooner did he grasp it, the door to the apartment open.

The nurse was a bulky man with tree trunk arms and a bulging neck. In one hand was a crumpled up newspaper that he started to straighten out as he walked with a heavy step to his patient. An unexpected, if perhaps unhealthy, appearance for one worked in a place of healing the misfortunate. Johnny certainly didn't mind as he struggled to face the nurse.

"Finally! What took you so long! Where am?! What are you going to do to help—!"

SMACK!

The dreamers blinked at the sound, mystified by what just heard before realizing what just happened. The nurse had punched Johnny squarely in the face while using the newspaper as a cover.

Coughing hoarsely, Johnny stared in disbelief, touching his nose just as fresh blood started to drip out.

"About time ya shut up," hissed the nurse, his voice gruff and smelled of rotten onion. "Could hear ya all ta way from the reception desk. Wakin' up every other patient in ta block to boot. Tat's impolite, don't 'cha think?" An evil grin suddenly split his face in two. "Had a bad dream, did ya? Or maybe you were havin' pleasant dreams of when ya could still stand upright when you when takin' a piss?"

"W-What…?!" Anger and shock warred on the youngsters face, but the man didn't allow him a second to react before smothering the newspaper across his face.

"Ya gonna tell? Gonna tell ta police or a hero? Or maybe call Daddy and mommy? All ya friends and connections ya made, Mr. Bigshot Quirkless Celebrity?" The man spit at Johnny's exposed forehead in disgust. "Wanna know somethin'? Only your mommy came to see ya. All ta rest? Didn't even bother to show up to see how ya doing or if ya were even alive or not. Can ya guess why? Can ya?" He pressed forward till his vile breath washed over the boy. "It's because you're complete and utter Quirkless trash. Oh sure, ya were some big hotshot horse racer, but look where ya are now. Maybe, if you injured yourself durin' a race you've got some of your fans to come see ya. But a former genius jockey who became paralyzed from waist down because he was messin' with some girl in public? Ya should've seen all the tweets and posts on the net; all laughing and looking down at ya!"

Whimpering, Johnny tried to speak, let alone breathe, as the man bared down on him. But he couldn't. He simply couldn't say anything. Only fresh tears met the evil nurse's vile laughter.

Yet as the man gloated, he didn't notice the fuming approach of Midoriya and Gyro. Raging heat radiated off both boys hotter than a firecracker, with crackling energy racing up the former's arms while the latter spun both Steel Balls intensely in his hands. They weren't the only ones menacingly approaching the nurse however. Right behind them was Bakugo, Kirishima, and Todoroki, all wearing an expression of towering fury that went beyond words.

Just when they were in reach, several bands shout out, wrapping tightly around them.

"Don't try to stop us, Aizawa Sensei!" uttered Midoriya in a low voice, not needing to look back to know who stopped him.

"Aizawa Sensei… don't try to give me any crap that this is a dream or some shit," growled Gyro, his eyes never leaving the nurse's ugly smile. "I'm going to utterly ruin that worthless tub of lard."

"Not before I roast him, Goldtooth!" roared Bakugo as he struggled against the bonds.

"Damn right!" Kirishima said heatedly. "You can't expect us to hold back after seeing this, Sensei?! That bastard has to pay!"

"Even if this is a nightmare… we can't just stand by and watch anymore," cold as he was, Todoroki's words grew hot as the fire in his eyes.

Despite their words, Aizawa's grip remain firm. "…I can understand your pain, boys, but—"

"But, what?!" demanded Midoriya as he furiously whirled around. "What are we supposed to… do..." His words drained out him as he noticed for the first time an expression he didn't suspect to see on Aizawa's face.

Pure rage.

Midoriya had seen him irritated, peeved, and angry at times, but the look on Aizawa's face was could've froze lava. Only his iron tight composure and discipline held him back from joining his students. Instead he held onto his fiber bands tightly, till they bit painfully into his palms.

He wasn't the only one furious. Midnight, the dream-creatures, and the rest of his classmates all looked ready to join in, restrained by Aizawa's words and actions alone.

"…Believe me," started Aizawa, "I would love nothing more than knock this scum down a peg, but we can't let ourselves get caught up in this… This is what Dream On's hoping for. Waiting for us to break and cross the line so he has the excuse to kill us. If we want to save Johnny, keeping a clear head is the key…"

The five boys stilled in the bands for a moment, letting his words settle in before reluctantly—Bakugo being an exception—pulling away from the bed. Satisfied, Aizawa yanked the troublesome blond back, ignoring the quiet expletives he said under his breath.

"Don't worry though… Once we save Johnny… We'll make the Stand pay. I promise you that." It wasn't enough to dull the burning fire in Midoriya's belly, but it was enough to cool his head to think straight again.

To his frustration, the nurse merely cackled, as if to not only taunt his victim, but also his audience who were unable to stop him.

"Nobody wants to see ya face anymore!" he gloated, starting to shove the newspaper into Johnny's mouth. "Well, aside from your Mommy, but really, are ya going to be sucklin' her tits forever? Everyone else though? Not a one of them care. And not one of them is going to bother finding out what going to happen to ya while ya in my humble care. Certainly no hero is going to bother showing up either, so don't even try to call for one. Who are they going to believe? Some broken Quirkless shit who lost all his senses and shame while out on the town? Or an upstanding nurse of society?" He barked a cruel laugh. "Maybe I'll sell your blood on the side. A noble cause for charity, don't ya think? Probably only good thing ya good for! Hell, I bet ya girlfriend is already with some other guy right now! Ahahahahaha!"

Muffled screams filtered through the newspaper, but try as he may, Johnny couldn't muster the strength to push his abuser off him. All he could do was let the flood of tears fall down his cheeks as his hell only just begun.


Although the room changed into a new scene, the haunting laughter echoed quietly for a moment longer. The Dreamers were greeted to a new bedroom. Smaller than the one back in the Joestar mansion, but certainly bigger than the cramped space at the hospital. Yet there were signs of something completely off. Familiar horse themed knickknacks were scattered everywhere, once polished trophies lay dented and broken, and the bottom half of posters were torn apart. And there, now sitting on a familiar wheelchair, was Johnny.

His wrinkly clothes had more than a few stains on them, but thankfully they didn't stink. His hat was completely missing from his person, allowing his disheveled locks to flow down haphazardly. Not that Johnny cared or even notice. All he could do was stare hollowly at the article on his computer screen.

"The End of a Legacy," read the article's illustrious headline. "The loss of a genius is often consider a tragedy, but for the Joestar line, losing two geniuses is a complete travesty. Granted, Johnny Joestar isn't dead, but without the use of his lower body, he's pretty much is to the horse racing community. Without the use of his legs in particular, he can never ride a horse again. Gone are the glory days of the Joestars, no longer top contenders as they have met one tragic fate after another. Though considering the rumors about how Johnny lost his legs, the Joestar legacy is not only a tragic end, but one that ended pathetically. Not to deride or to mock the poor kid—as he does have all my best wishes—but bottom line, it's completely sad to see a once great genius as himself be ruined by his own mistakes."

The article continued to went on with such passive-aggressive mocking, using sympathetic language to hide the author's contempt for Johnny. It was bad enough, but then everyone saw the comments just below the article.

"More like former genius. The poor bastard can't even take a piss standing up anymore."

"Looks like Joe Kid finally crashed and burned. What a shame… and over something so pitiful!"

"Wow, what a sad and pathetic way to end a career!"

"Jojo really screwed up this time!"

"What a loser! LOL! From what I heard, if Jojo had kept his mouth shut, maybe he would still be walking."

"I was getting tired of Jojo's smug attitude. A Quirkless brat like him should've just known his place. LMAO!"

"Nobody wants to see your face anymore, Jojo!"

"Nobody feels sorry for you, Jojo!"

"Isn't that right, JOJO?!"

If it was anyone else, they would've been furious over such slander and mean spirited talking behind their back. But there wasn't a hint of anger on Johnny's face. Instead he simply sat uncomfortably in his wheelchair, before closing the article. Leaning back, he stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an age.

When he finally spoke, his voice cracked dryly, as if he had been crying for hours and had nothing left to give.

"…They're right…" he whispered. "I… This is all my fault. I did this to myself and look where it got me…. Stuck in this fucking wheelchair." His fingers dugged into an armrest till a sharp tear started to form in the leather. "If I didn't fuck up maybe I could've… could've…" Suddenly he closed his eyes as his face scrunched up. "...No. No that's not right. This would've happened either way… or maybe something worse… All because I didn't drown Danny…"

"What's he talking about?" asked Sato. He, like many of his companions, confused why Johnny had brought up his pet mouse.

However Gyro had paled, his mouth opening and closing as he stared at his protégé in growing shock. "Don't tell me… That idiot…"

"What? Why's he an idiot?" demanded Mineta.

Yet before the Italian could answer, Johnny resumed whispering to himself. "If Danny had drown… then… then he wouldn't have come back… Because of that, Nicholas died when it should've been me. It was supposed to me. That's why… that's why I had to pay a price for my sin. And now Fate's come to collect my debt. Blinding me with all the wealth and fame I couldn't imagine on my own until I finally grasped that hope… no. It wouldn't let me grasp it. Just let me close enough to taste it… and then take it away with interest."

Raising a hand over his eyes, Johnny trembled as he wept broken tears.

Naturally the dreamers protested such notions of his. That he didn't cause his brother's death and that fate wasn't out to punish him, but they were worthless. After all, what good were they to the ears of the past?

Suddenly Johnny lurched forward, pushing away random tidbits of paper and equipment until he found what he looking forward. A pair of sharp scissors. Ignoring the gasps behind, he stared at the scissors for a moment before raising them to his neck. The sharp blades hung just a hair length's away from the warm blood pumping in his veins, but it didn't go an inch further. Sweat beaded across every pour as Johnny grimaced, bearing his teeth as he tried to push the scissors forward. But still his hand refused to move.

"Come on… do it already dammit…" A tremble started to take hold of his hand, growing stronger as the seconds dragged on. Using his remaining hand, he grabbed the scissors and pushed again, gaining only a tiny centimeter's worth of distance before Johnny suddenly threw it on the ground.

Laboring to draw breath, Johnny raised his still raising his hands to his face. "…I'm such a pathetic coward…" The last thing the dreamers heard before the room changed once again was a broken whimper echoing after them.


There was no room this time. No grand mansion, no fancy racing track, or confined box of misery. Just pure darkness that swallowed them whole. That is until a faint snap illuminated a decent sized ring within the darkness. And there, at its center, was none other than Dream On, his mask twisted into a sinister smile.

"I certainly hoped you enjoyed the performance," it purred with a bow. "Took some work getting the timing just right, but you can't deny that each scene hits beautifully? Don't you think so?" The Harsh growls that he received from his audience only made it chuckle darkly. "No. Tsk. Tsk. And all the trouble I went through—!"

"Where's Johnny, you sick freak?!" Kirishima roared as his body instantly hardened.

"Enough with these bleak games, demon…" said Tokoyami. "Show us our friend and prepare yourself for hellish retribution!"

"Hellish?" Dream On didn't bother to hide its laughter. "A cute choice of words, considering you saw what true hell was like just a moment ago. Ah, youth. Quick to point at anything these days that looks like the devil and decry it as evil, when true vileness hides behind smiles and tears." The mask on its face twisted to resemble weeping, but it was so twisted that it only became straight out of parody. "But I suppose that's enough monologuing for the moment and, as an entertainer, I must give the audience what they want." With a simple of flourish of his cape, Dream On stepped back and reveal Johnny sitting on the floor with his head bowed low. "Viola! Here's the star of his grand documentary! Well, don't be shy. Why don't you get his autograph?"

Seeing their friend broken and unmoving before them, the entirety of Class A started to rush forward. That is until both Aizawa and Midnight stepped in front of them, their eyes burning loathing for the wicked Stand, but still kept a calm and professional composure.

"Documentary?" repeated Aizawa. "So it is true… those nightmares were real."

If Dream On's smile wasn't wicked before, it was now so twisted that it would've been mistaken for the Devil's own grin. "Well, well. How observant. I suppose it wasn't much secret to begin, but to answer you truthfully before any naysayers get any ideas, yes, it's very much true. I can look into your memories as if watching a play."

"But, how?!" demanded Uraraka. "You said your powers dealt with nightmares, how can you access our memories?"

"Because, Lass, that's how many dreams are formed," answered Lenny, stepping forward till he and Starrkey stood beside the teachers. "Not all dreams are made from memory, but those that do have strong emotional value so powerful that they take hold of the subconscious."

Dream On clapped slowly, his masked shifting to one of a neutral expression. "Oh ho? I took you for a fat beast who liked to cook his own insides before the chef came calling. But it appears you more of a Feste."

"But why…?" Midoriya demanded. He had reached the end of his patience with the vile Stand's dramatics and only his own caution held him back from rushing forward with a Detroit Smash. "Why would you go through the trouble of showing us this? It's not just for entertainment, you could've used dozens of different of nightmares to get your kicks… no, you wanted to show us that for a reason."

"…I was on right on the mark about you the first time, dear Izuku Midoriya. Too clever for your own good. Still, telling you now won't change what's going to happen, so why not?" Stepping around the still immobile Johnny, and grasped a shoulder. "Let's start the beginning, shall we? Originally my user wanted me to simply start out small, targeting people who have demons hidden in their darkest dreams that would make them easy prey and allow me to grow stronger. But who would've thought that my first host would be this sad puttana? At first I planned do what I did with a lot of my later victims—create masterful nightmarish plays until my lead actors commit themselves to the earth by their own tragic hands—but this boy… this poor unfortunate soul! His misery and despair would make even the devil himself weep! And the best part is that I didn't have to create it. His life is just naturally screwed up! Such despair was just too good to simply extinguish so soon.

"So I dragged out his suffering. Left him to experience the tightly locked up fears, regrets, and memories he desperately tried to hide away over and over till I let him wake up in the middle of the night then start the process once more. All the while my powers grew, allowing me to infect his classmates and teachers and so many more with their nightmares and take in their despair… at least that was until you broke out, dear boy." He gestured a pointed finger at Midoriya, but the boy refused to back down. "I'm still at a loss at the why that happened—perhaps I got too indulgent with my precious nightmares that I slipped up and let you reject it by mistake—but then you did it again with your classmates. I was furious at first… but then I had a brilliant idea for my masterpiece. If I simply let you rescue all your friends and bring them here, I can show Johnny one final piece of despair that will drive him completely over the edge."

"And what's that?" Gyro demanded, glaring coldly at the Stand while a hand slowly slid down to a Steel Ball.

"Why, the death all his classmates and teachers of course. Specifically right after they witnessed the very things he desperately didn't want them to ever see, breaking down much like he has." It then turned to Johnny till his now ghoulish mask was next to his ear. "Isn't that right, Jojo? All this time you kept your sins a secret from everyone and now they know. They know and they are judged you for it. You know I'm right. Just like the—"

A sudden explosion cut off the Stand as Bakugo blasted forth, sailing towards the duo until he was right atop of them.

"Must you always interrupt me?" With a wave of its hand, a malicious black maw with rows of razor sharp teeth rose to swallow the impulsive boy whole. However, Bakugo was ready for it.

With a swift discharge from his gauntlet, Bakugo changed directions just as the jaws clamped shut. The Stand only had time to grab ahold of Johnny before a fist slammed into his mask. A resounding crack could be heard before it was overtaken by an explosion. Hot smoke filled the illuminated ring before Dream On flew out and with him was Johnny in one hand. Grinning viciously, Bakugo dusted himself off as he admired the satisfying spider web of cracks on the nightmare lord's mask.

"Blah, blah, fucking blah," growled Bakugo. "You really love the sound of your trap, don't ya? And you say the most insane crap too! Me going off the deep end? Fat chance!"

"What the hell, Bakugo?!" yelled Kaminari. "You could've killed, Johnny!"

"Tch! As if I would kill him!" With a click of his teeth, Bakugo turned his attention back to Dream On. "Besides, this guy isn't invincible as he makes him out to believe? And since we're in his original host's dream, that means he has nowhere else to run or hide like bitch." Explosions popped to life in his fists as he smiled as would a shark smelling blood in the water. "This bastard is vulnerable."

"How vulgar," chided Dream On before letting down Johnny casually. Alarm bells went off in people's heads as the Stand dusted himself off, acting as if he hadn't been hit squarely in the face by a scorching hot blast. "But there's one little problem with your assessment… You're assuming that I'm vulnerable in my host's dream."

Raising up a hand, its fingers let out a resounding snap. Suddenly thousands of lights shot open, descending upon everything until everyone got a good look at where exactly they were. It was a grand theater. Rows upon rows of seats were spread neatly to form a giant circle around the dreamers while four-stories worth of balconies rose overhead. Each seat inhabited by smaller and twisted clones of the malicious playwright. Suddenly several platforms and props sprang up from the ground, startling the dreamers as they rose Dream On and Johnny before colliding into each other to form a player's stage.

"The time for grand speeches of philosophy and the nature of man are over!" declared Dream On with a flourish of its coat. "Nothing else can be said between us, sons and daughters of the stage. Do not worry for the audience, for they will simply watch the grand finale of my greatest work! A true final battle if you will! But there can only one star that will shine brightly in this tragedy… Let us see who shall inherit that eternal glory, yes?"

Grasping its mask, Dream On slowly ripped it off before finally crushing it. A void welcomed the stunned dreamers until ooze darker than night started to leak out. Drip by drip, the red suit slowly stained black before sizzling like hot wax. No sooner did the clothes melt away did a flurry of skeletal arms burst out, tearing apart what remained to reveal the true nature of the vile nightmare.

It couldn't be called a giant, for giants had structure to their enormous size. No, what stood before the growing terrified dreamers was a growing mass of blacken corpses, clung together by the same dark sludge. There bones were all disproportioned, some smaller than twigs while others were so mutated and twisted that it looked like they had been sculpted by the fantasies of a psychopath. Yet each of their faces were covered by a mask similar to Dream On's, but the expressions were nothing but terror and eternal agony. At the center of the mass decay was a hideous gaping maw, its teeth made from cracked and sharpened bones. The worse, however, was the moaning coming that came the mass. The bodies were still alive and their cries, broken and strained, as if their vocal cords had been shredded apart by a saw, begged for the ultimate release: death.

Rising out of the horrible mass was a spinal column, also covered in the black ooze, and holding up a humongous head, its flesh burned and cracked apart to reveal blackened bone. Atop its head was two horns that curled back and its eyes were still a void, soulless of anything pure or good in the world and with depths that no man should ever know.

"You'll have to forgive my ghastly appearance," it hissed menacingly as it slid forth with the black sludge. "These poor souls are such as hassle to my body, but everyone needs a hobby, and mine is enjoying the last few memories of my victims before they shuffled off their mortal coil."

Cackling madly, it leapt off the stage, growing giant black tentacles out of its body before cracking them at its prey.

Yet the dreamers wouldn't be put down so easily.

Swiftly moving out of the way as the black tendrils made dents in the floor, the heroes-in-training rushed forward, no longer restrained and eager to deliver retribution upon their tormenter. Freezing the tentacles before they could twitch, Todoroki climbed atop of them before using his Quirk to slide himself forward. Seeing this, the vile monster broke off the tentacles, before creating more, though now smaller and faster as they zipped through the air. They whirled protectively around the hulking monstrosity, blocking Mineta's balls and deflecting Mina's acid, though the latter burned away more than a few tendrils.

Not troubled by the development, Dream On lurched forward, the giant maw in its mass opened before shooting out a torrent of sludge at Todoroki. Naturally the boy blocked with a wall of Ice, but as soon as it splattered across the cool sheen, it immediately climbed over and continued descend upon its target.

It was just a few meters away before a powerful explosion turned the sludge into dust. "Hurry up, Half-and-Half!" roared Bakugo, blasting off just before several tentacles grabbed him.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Without another word, Todoroki resumed his full frontal assault.

Meanwhile Gyro took a subtler approach. Timing the tentacles movements, he carefully moved around hulking blobs side till he was out of its line of sight. Or so he thought. No sooner did he grab for his Steel Balls did several bodies in the mass moaned at him, begging for help before several boney shards shot out of their flesh. Grimacing, Gyro jumped out of the way, hissing as one nicked his neck. Not letting it distract him, he smoothly shot a Steel Ball into the unfortunate mass, watching it hit with a gooey splat.

Before it could sink into the sludge, he activated Ramble On. The Steel Ball came alive with a jump, swirling up awful gunk before shooting out and tearing apart flesh and bone, even managed to dislodge a few bodies from their hold. Yet as they splattered across the floor, another hail of blacken bone shot out at Gyro, too many to evade or to run from.

At least until a white blur scooped up Gyro and him carried away, not once looking back as the bone staked itself into the theater floor.

"Are you ok, Gyro?!" yelled Ida, carrying his classmate through the absolute mess around them before sliding behind some cover that Yaoyorozu made up and reinforced by Sero's sticky bands.

"Just peachy," answered Gyro, casually catching his Steel Ball. "Tough son of a bitch… thought that would do some damage, but that thing isn't going to go down easy."

"Yes, but the how is the question. With all those tentacles materializing, it'll be impossible for a frontal assault."

"Not unless we keep it distracted long enough for our big guns to get into range… but I don't think that's going to be enough." Sliding an eye to side, he watched as Bakugo and Todoroki unleashed hell upon the nightmarish abomination at every opportunity they got. The damage they were dealing was merciless, freezing whole chunk of malformed flesh and blackened bone before being blasted to bits by Bakugo. Dream On let out an infuriated roar, sending more tentacles at powerful duo before flinching at a new barrage of blasts from Aoyama and Jiro. All the while Sato and Kirishima lay into the base of the monstrosity as Tokoyami used Dark Shadow to counter each wave of tentacles hurled at them. Such team work was admirable, but that wasn't what held Gyro's attention.


Ignoring Dream On's fury, Midoriya, Kirishima, and Lenny decided to take a different approach. Namely rescuing Johnny. He still sat where he was left, frozen as a statue and just as lifeless. Seeing him so utterly broken tore a hole in his gut, but Midoriya pressed on. He would save Johnny no matter what.

Climbing the platforms around them, the three hopped from stage to stage, not slowing down for a second even as the terrible fray grew heated. They were only two platforms away from reaching their goal when several giant bones shot out and destroyed the stage in front of them.

"Did you honestly think it would be that easy, children?!" screamed Dream On. "If you want the sad boy, then you'll have to get through me first!" Suddenly the platform Johnny was on rose again, this time reaching near the ceiling where he had the perfect angle to observe everything.

So frustrated by the growing obstacles, Midoriya almost didn't notice a giant bone heading for him and his companions. Bracing himself, he prepared for the blow to come, only to blink as several white fiber bands wrapped around the bone and yanked it down. The platform the trio was cracked fiercely, but didn't break as the weight of the bone slammed into it.

"Move!" Aizawa ordered just as he landed on the bone. "We'll handle Dream On, keep focusing on Johnny!"

"How?!" demanded Lenny. "In case you haven't noticed, the boy is stuck up there in an open canary cage!"

"Leave that to me!" Floating to the platform was Uraraka. Sweat beaded across her smudged head, but her eyes held a determined fire. "I can get us up to Johnny!"

"Then what are we waiting for?!" demanded Kirishima. Yet before he could blink, several black tentacles wrapped around him and before throwing him directly at the fiendish giant maw.

"Kirishima!"

The redhead instantly hardened him midflight, but with how big and sharp those fangs were, the outcome would still be gruesome. That is if a familiar black whip didn't hook onto a leg and yanked him down into the waiting arms of Midnight.

"Gotcha," she said, holding him close before leaping away from a mass of tendrils raining down upon them. "Hold tight until we're out of reach!"

"Y-Yes, Ma'am!"

"Looks it's just you three then," Aizawa noted, though his eyes never left the monster he stood on.

"Two actually…" puffed Lenny as he leaned down to eye the giant bone stuck in the platform. "I'm too big a target anyway and only slow you guys down. But I can give that bastard a good wallop while you two go save the day!" Grinning wickedly, he tore out a large chunk from the platform before throwing it squarely at Dream On's face, grinning at the satisfying crunch it made.

"Very well… Midoriya! Uraraka! Get a move on. We'll hold it off as fast as we can!" Without waiting for a reply, Aizawa ran up the bone and lashed out with his fiber, wrapping together whip-like tentacles and destroying anything he could get his hands on.

"Right, let's do this then, Deku!" exclaimed Uraraka as she moved towards her friend.

"Hold up!" Blinking, both classmates turned around to see Gyro climbing atop the platform. "If you're going to save Johnny, count me in. I'm not going to let that bastard get what he wants with messing with my protégé!" Taking the Italian's words to heart, Midoriya merely gave him a nod before letting Uraraka do her work. Both boys clung to her as they leapt off, sailing quickly as the fight continued to rage on below.


Raining blow after blow at the unforgivable Stand, the dreamers continued their ferocious assault. After all the crap they've been through, after witnessing Johnny relive his hell, after learning of its final plan, they unleashed everything that had been building up without any restraint or hesitation.

Purple balls and sticky tape flew high, clinging to several tentacle before they were yanked aside by Sato, Asui, and Shoji. All the while Hagakure and Koda used themselves as bait, drawing more tentacles after them before her classmates entangled them as well. In return, this allowed the others a clearer shot to take down the increasingly annoyed Stand. Bolts of electricity flew alongside waves of acid, weakening the boney armor around the mass of corpses before they crumbled under a barrage of cannon fire from Yaoyorozu.

The mass heaved, moaning desperately even as they were blasted by high pitched sound waves and the combined might of the more physical oriented dreamers. It was at that moment that the giant maw collapsed onto itself, its wail cut off by a mountain of flesh and bone, forcing Dream On to involuntarily lurch forward. Not going to waste a golden opportunity, both Bakugo and Todoroki seized their chance. Mighty explosions met a hurricane of flame, engulfing the rotting skull and sending everyone off their feet. For once Dream On wailed, a harrowing sound that made the moans of his victims seem pleasant. Thrashing around wildly, it tried to put out the punishing fire, but several laser blasts and electric shots stopped any attempt he made.

So frustrated, he barely noticed Bakugo coming back for the coup de grace. "EAT THIS!" Spinning intensely in the air with his explosions, the foul tempered boy unleashed his ultimate move: Howitzer Impact. The blast was beyond over kill at this point, but Bakugo didn't care. He just wanted nothing—not even dust—to remain of that heartless monster. And with smoking crater in the middle of the theater, it appeared he got his wish.

"Did… did we get him?" asked Yaoyorozu, hesitating to look down the pitch black hole left in Bakugo's wake. A sentiment shared by everyone save the one who made it.

"Damn right I did!" Bakugo beamed proudly as he stood close to his handiwork. "That melodramatic asshole was a complete extra! Didn't even need to—"

"Honestly… who's the drama queen now?"

Bakugo only had a moment to stiffen his back, before a geyser of black awfulness shot of the hole. It swept those closest off their feet, dragging them across the theater in a tidal wave as a familiar slim figure rose from the murky liquid. "Did you—did any of you really think that would work, let alone leave a nick on me? This is my world. My realm. My domain. You are just fools to dance for my amusement… But you know what happens when I lose interest in my toys? I take them apart, slowly and piece by piece…"

Just then the clones of Dream On got of their seats, their eyes glowing with hellish flame, before rushing in to join the fray. The students, already disoriented by tidal wave of filth, were unprepared for the sudden ambush and Dream On's own change of mood. Already bruised and tired at fighting the abominations, the confidence of their victory turned to dread at sight of the small demonic army. It would've been disastrous if not for Aizawa, Midnight, and Starrkey put themselves between the horde. All the while yanking students stuck in the tar-like goo and placing them onto stable platforms. Asui and Sero did the best they could with roping their friends away as well, yet some already were quickly overwhelmed. But at the rate of the nightmarish was going, it was only a matter of minutes before they all succumb to the endless tide.


"Two more coming from the right!"

"On it!"

With expert aim, a Steel Ball slammed into a clone before forcibly twisting it to ram into another, narrowly avoiding the young trio as they continued to sail upwards. Gyro gritted his teeth as his continued defending with all his might, but it was clear that the absurd amount of clones was taking its toll. Midoriya wished he could help, even if just a little, but he knew that using One For All now would only have Uraraka shoot off like a rocket. It was a chaotic advance, not helped by the explosive heatwaves and growing madness that brewed below. Midoriya dared not looked down. He couldn't get distracted now. Even though half of him wanted to go down and help the rest of his class, saving Johnny was his top priority.

Finally, after weaving their way through the last of the clones, they reached the final platform. Still stiff and soulless as before, Johnny didn't even lift up his head as the trio jumped on the uneasy wood.

"Johnny!" The three youth immediately started towards their friend, but flinched back a step when he finally looked up at them. There was nothing in his eyes. No life. No soul. Even the burning dark flames that inspired dread were extinguished.

"…Why…" his voice a hoarse whisper, "why are you bothering to save me…?"

"You know why," said Gyro, getting over his hesitation and led his classmates over to his friend. "We're not going to leave you in this hell."

"Hell…" Johnny laughed bitterly. "There's no escape from this…"

"Yes there is!" countered Uraraka. "We just need to beat down Dream On and—!"

"You saw it all didn't you. You and everyone else… my memories… my past… my sins…" Laying his head atop his knees, Johnny curled tightly, ignoring the compassionate stares from his friends and the explosive fury down below. "That's what I can't escape from."

"Johnny…" Midoriya felt his mouth go dry at the admission from Johnny. Whatever words he had in mind to combat his friend's despair died, if momentarily, on his lips as Johnny continued to speak.

"…I tried to forget… I really did, but I couldn't… No. More like I didn't want to forget. A part of me wanted to remember all the pain I caused. I suppose it was punishment, but I couldn't take it. So I buried them away for the longest time, denying everything about them, but I knew that it couldn't last forever. Just a ticking time bomb until this shit happened… What a joke… Thinking I could change my—"

SMACK!

Staggering back, Johnny cup his cheek, more surprised that he had been hit than its lingering sting, before turning his gaze upwards. Towering over him with another fist half raised, Gyro's eyes blazed an emerald fire that startled everyone.

"Cut the crap!" he bellowed. "Do you honestly think I believe that you, Johnny-God Damn-Joestar, gave up?! After everything we've been through?!"

"What else is there?! You saw—!"

"Damn right I saw! I saw everything about you! All your pain, grief, and misery… that's all apart of you. But giving up? Hell no. You are many things, Johnny, but not a quitter."

Johnny brow furrowed at the accusation, shifting his head so he couldn't meet his mentor's gaze. "How the hell do you think I'm not one? You saw me try to end it all…"

"But you didn't. Don't give me that look! Whether you knew it or not, a part you stopped yourself from going through with it."

"I'm just a coward…"

"No… you're not a coward," interjected Midoriya as he knelt beside his friend. "It takes courage to stop yourself like that. To continue on when you're at rock bottom… I should know." That was enough for Johnny to raise his head to see Midoriya giving him a melancholic smile. "But I was able to turn my life around. Meeting you, All Might, and everyone else… I wouldn't been here if I didn't have the same resolve that you have."

"That's right!" added Uraraka. "You have more guts than anyone else I know! No matter what you do, you always get back on your horse and fight! Honestly it's inspiring. It certainly helped me out during the Sports Festival."

Johnny stared between the two of them, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to deny them, but simply couldn't. He then flinched when a hand landed on his shoulder, forcing him to turn to see the soft expression on Gyro's face. "You never give up. Not when you tamed Slow Dancer. Not when you got into U.A., faced those assholes at the USJ, on dino mountain, and certainly not during the Sports Festival. If you did… you wouldn't have learned the Spin or gained a Stand… or ride on a horse again. Hell, you're more stubborn than Hannibal when it came to the Alps! So don't think for a moment that any of us believe you when it comes to giving up." He then suddenly flashed a golden smile. "Besides… what was it you told me back at the Sports Festival?"

Johnny stared at Gyro for a moment, then his eyes rose to his scalp. "To hunger nobly…"

Gyro's grin widened… before he was yanked away by an unseen tentacle.

"Gy—ACK!" No sooner did Uraraka stand up, another tentacle sweep her off her feet.

Seeing another tentacle zipping towards him, Midoriya tried to grab Johnny, but it was too late. With one quick wrapped around his ankle, he stumbled, hitting his face on the unforgiving wood before being dragged away.

Whipping through the air, Midoriya soon found himself tangling alongside the rest of his companions. Dream On grinned, ghastly as it was in his devilish, humanoid state, as he stood in the giant, disgusting mess at the center of the stage. The theater was in complete shambles. Nothing was left untouched or unspoiled, with the second floor completely fallen through. All the dreamers were bruised and beaten, but there were plenty of black stains and left over ooze from all the ruined clones splattered all over.

"I have to give it you wannabe heroes," purred Dream. "I honestly didn't think it would take this much effort to squash my audience, but alas, all things must come to an end. All the world is a stage, and it's time for your exit." With a snap of his fingers, the black mess around him turned into a giant gallows. "I think this shall be appropriate. A slow death to give our main star one last push to—!"

"Screw you, asshole!" Raging against the tightening tentacles, Bakugo fought like a wild cat. "Give me a few more seconds and I'll shove that shit eating grin up your—!" A thick tendril slammed over his mouth, but it didn't stop the string of curses muffling out.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy watching you swing… no, I think I shall prepare something better for you. A medieval style ending perhaps? Oh well, I'll save you for last while the others go first." Dream On turned to the other dreamers. "I do hope your last words are more entertaining. Otherwise this will be completely bor—"

Suddenly a torrent of ooze exploded out of his chest. Coughing harshly, Dream On looked down, staring in shock at the sizable hole just above his heart. Gaping in awe, the dreamers only had a moment to blink before their tentacles went slack, letting them fall to the floor with a wet thud.

"What!?" coughed Dream On. "I'm… injured?! And I feel pain?! But how?! WHY?! I'm nightmare incarnate, nothing should be able to… Unless!" Whirling around, the malicious Stand looked up and saw Johnny peering over the edge of his platform. A star covered hand was raised as Tusk floated beside its master, chiming triumphantly.

"Johnny!" Relief rained down the exhausted humans and dream creatures alike at the sight of the young boy.

"Impossible… IMPOSSIBLE!" wailed Dream On, clutching at the hole in his chest. "You should be wallowing in despair! Cowering and begging for death's embrace! A BROKEN HUSK! So why… WHY IS A WORTHLY BAG OF BONES LIKE YOU NOT A SOBBING MESSING, JOESTAR!?"

"…You're right…" admitted Johnny, his voice echoing off what was left of theater's walls. "I am worthless… even maggots have more value than I do. I'm not even a zero… just a negative…. But… you're even less than I am. A mere stepping stone for me to climb my way out of this hell… and finally tread upon the golden path with my own two feet!"

Every word caused the Stand to violently contort, blows far worse than anything his other opponents could've dealt. The very theater groaned at the verbal beat down, breaking and falling apart as its architect's power faded away. But what really caused Dream On's will to crumble was Johnny's eyes. A familiar, hot black fire roared in them, blazing with a will power that seen all hell had to offer and was left wanting.

Roaring violently, Dream On burst off the ground, its legs crumbling to dust while the rest of his body continued to twist violently. "JOESTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

Johnny raised up his hands and fired all he had into the heart of the nightmare. Slicing and piercing apart everything that stood in their way, Dream On could do nothing as he was filled full of holes.

"Da… Damn you, Joestar…" it hacked as it body started to fade. "Don't think this is over… I… shall… return…" Fading away like dust in a breeze, Dream On vanished.

"He… he did it…" said Kirishima as he lifted Kaminari off the ground. "WE WON!"

No sooner did he say that did the theater let out another groan, followed by the roof above cracking open with a sharp hiss. Golden light pour through, shining down on the dreamers and literally washing away the awful darkness that had flooded everywhere. A grave dong sounded from a far off bell as the nightmare slowly crumbled around the victors.

"W-What's happening?!" cried Mineta. "Is… is it finally over?! Please tell me it is already!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, grapefruit," laughed Lenny, pulling out one last cigar from his pocket before lighting it up as Starrkey stood close by. "This is the end of the nightmare alright. And just in time for dawn to wake you all up… I have to say, I don't usually get sappy with good-byes, but you kids are quite something. Never before have I met some fine dreamers! I'm sure you all achieve much in the waking world… but I doubt that any of you will be forgetting any of this. But don't you worry. Me and the boys will make sure your dreams will be far more pleasant than the crap you had to deal with." Clearing out his throat, Lenny then bowed down with Starrkey to his heroes. "On behalf of all the Dream World, I thank you for saving us!"

Midoriya blinked at the formality from the Walrus and Octopus-Egg, before he, and his classmates, all bowed back. "Thank you for your help as well!"

"Heh… don't mention it, lad."

The growing light swept over everything, blinding all as the corruption was wiped clean as the sunrise greeted the dreamers.


"Merda!" wailed Focaccia as he woke up with a jump. Sweat drenched his entire body and there was blood leaking on his ears. But he paid it no heed as he continued to list out a string of colorful curses in mother tongue of Italian. "Figilo di puttana! That fucking bastard… if that god damn cripple didn't regain his balls at the last second, Dream On would've been unstoppable! Not even the Boss's power would be able to stop me!"

"Is that so? Then I'm glad that the one who inconvenienced you was triumphant."

Feeling his sweat instantly freeze solid at the cold, familiar voice, Focaccia couldn't believe what he just heard… or even realize, until just now, that he wasn't alone. Slowly turning around, he was met with the nightmare of his dreams, sticking calmly on the torn up chair in the corner of his cheap apartment room.

Giorno Giovanna regarded him coldly, his eyes penetrating and unmoving as he held the frightened man's gaze. "BOSS!?" cried Focaccia. "H-How did—!" He stopped when he noticed a little mouse running up his leg before turning into the key to his apartment. "Please, boss, have mercy!"
"Mercy?" The word came out like a rusted name scraping against glass. "Did you show mercy to your brothers in Passione after you betrayed them? After you betrayed and stole from me?"

"Please, Boss! I'm terribly sorry! I didn't mean…. I… I…" Focaccia knew that it was pointless to apologize. He knew his former boss was absolutely merciless to those he had earned his ire. He certainly was no exception, especially after what he did to betray Passione. Fleeing to Japan had been a relief, like he had finally escaped the giant shadow that his boss left in his wake. But now here was Giovanna, sitting across him with the eyes of a judge about to pronounce his sentence.

Despite this, Focaccia desperately thought of anything that would save his skin. "Wait, Boss! Please wait! I lost what I stole from Passione in Japan… but… I… I have information that might prove useful to you!"

"Oh… and that would be?"

A hopeful smile beamed across Focaccia's face, but he failed to see the dark shadows brimming in Giovanna's eyes. "I was terrorizing these kids at that prestigious school of U.A.! A-And I was able to secure so many secrets from them! So many that we can blackmail them to do whatever we want! We can have inside agents in the hero agencies in Japan. You would like that right?" Silence met Focaccia, forcing a river sweat to run down his head as seconds painfully dragged on. "U-Uh! OH! There is one boy that is especially worth looking into, Boss! He's a rich snob from America and has a ton of issues we can make bank from. And it'll be easy since he's a good for nothing cripple and Quirkless! His name is Johnny Joes—!"

Focaccia didn't see the golden fist until it connected with his jaw, exploding teeth and sending the pathetic man into the wall.

"You dare, think I need anything from you? Let alone anything related to children? You truly are irredeemable, Focaccia. Scum would call you filth and even dung beetles wouldn't use your corpse as fertilizer. Betraying the organization damned you, killing your brothers tied your soul to sin, but going after those kids…? I already had to tolerate one greenhorn's arrogance over this, but your depravity is beyond deplorable… If you thought for a moment that I would spare you before you mentioned them, then you're even more of a piece of shit than I thought."

Focaccia fumed at the condemnation, but fear took control over every little bit of his soul. Desperately he tried to move, but found that his body refused to obey him. All he could do was watch in growing terror as his boss got out of his seat and walked to his bed.

"Pray that the devil will show you mercy… for I have none for garbage like you!"

Standing at the foot of the bed, Giorno allowed his stand to materialize beside him in all its terrifying glory. It shined like the sun, golden skin adorning every inch of its body while ladybug emblems impeded the back of its hands. Yet it was the head that held Focaccia's attention. There at the center of its forehead was a familiar golden arrow. Gold Experience Requiem eyed the pathetic man with the same contempt as Giorno before rushing forward just as the man's mouth regained the ability to scream.

"MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The storm of punches didn't relent for a moment, smashing apart every bone in Focaccia's body till they were naught but dust. This continued on for several seconds, thoroughly making sure everything little inch was beaten to a pulp before finally withdrawing back to its master's body. It was complete brutality, but the true horror had only just begun. Where once there was a mess of flesh and bone dust, there was only just a ruined bed.

"…May you suffer eternally in that ending without an end, Focaccia…"


Author's Note: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Sorry for making you all wait once more, but things got a little... hectic to say the least over the last few months. I'll be honest, I started to work on this chapter in December, but I kinda had a rough time writing it for some reason. Like it wasn't lack of inspiration or creativity that bothered me, but rather getting tired and frustrated with lack of motivation. Don't misunderstand, I still love this series and want to continue to make more, but after 2020... I just didn't feel like working on pretty much anything. I just wanted to relax and play my new video games that I got, as well clear up the backlog of games that I have, and spend time on other things like reading and anime and so on. Not to mention school started up again, but thankfully this will hopefully be my last year of college. At least until I decide to do my masters, but that's for later. Anyways, after the new year, I started to feel my spark back and started to write again. Slowly at first, as I didn't want to be overwhelmed or burnt out. I apologize for delays, but I rather than have these delays that flaying and cooking my brain and risk losing all my love for this story.

Speaking of which, I will admit here and now, this arc was going to be longer. I had originally planned on All Might being in it, as well a few other scenarios like an army of dreams fighting an army of nightmares, but then when I started to write, not this chapter but the actual arc, I realized that this arc would be TOO BIG. Too bloated and just derail the pace of the story. So I had to cut a lot of things to make it more manageable for me and not feel boring. Hell, I was trying to make this chapter shorter, but even with all the things I cut, it still turned out big.

I did say at one point that I didn't want do these overly long chapters again, mainly because it starts to wane my creativity and starts to wear me out. However, when I also learned in the last few months alone that I shouldn't rush things or try to go at an overly slow pace either. Basically at one point I tried to go at a predetermined word limit for every chapter, but now I realize that is just detrimental to me and stupid in general. For now, I'm going to write and finish when a chapter is finished. With reason of course. I won't be posting anything less than 5k of words or over 20k-There is no point for the former and the latter would need to be broken up. Instead I will write with how the story simply flows with the pace. The same goes for any future arcs I make. If that makes any sense.

With all that said, we're finally done with the Dream On arc, and now onto the Hero Killer arc. I've been waiting a long time for this as the Hero Killer arc is one of my favorite early MHA arcs as it demonstrates shit getting real. Not that it already has for MHA, but Stain brings a whole new level to the game. I don't know when I'll start the chapter for it, as I want to focus on not only my other fanfics but also my original story that I've been slowly working on. Don't you worry, I'll try to keep things decent and well paced for you all!

Also, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. I was contemplating how deal with Johnny's backstory for a long time now and ultimately concluded that I couldn't cut any of it least I undervalue it's importance for Johnny and his friends. I didn't want it to be simply copy and paste, so I tried my best to have each of the cast react to that awfulness without clogging the pacing or getting repetitive.

As for Dream On, I do like how he and his user ended up. Giorno shows no mercy to does who earn his eternal scorn and I wanted to give you all at least MUDA MUDA MUDA rush before Giorno leaves. Well, he will have a few more scenes before he leaves Japan, real soon I might add, but don't get used to it. Like I said before, Johnny is the main Jojo of this story, not Giorno.

Other than that, I do hope you all enjoyed everything! Also, if you haven't already looked at it, I made a Dorohedoro X Bloodborne story called "Old Blood of the New World". Check it out and see what mysteries await in Chaos!

Until then, have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Sincerely, Count Chaos