Yoshihara grumbled as she slipped on her jacket, glancing around the old classroom she had holed up in for the night. The earlier battle was still playing out in her mind, at least the part she was awake for...

Plus, the two Yoshikages and their argument definitely put some thoughts in her head. She couldn't deny it, she was similar to the serial killer...reserved, cold, analytical, reluctant to put her trust in people...

Yet, she felt more connected to the sailor. His words had more of an impact on her than her murderous ancestors did, and he seemed to actually want to help her. Maybe he really was some amalgamation of her and Johnny's father.

Speaking of Johnny, the former jockey had fallen asleep as soon as they returned to the school. She didn't blame him one bit, considering the strain he must've put on his body. Bullet wounds, lacerations, a missing eye and multiple impalements... the fact that he had fought in spite of those things to save her life had earned him her deepest respect.

'It almost makes me wish he was native to my universe, to have an ally like him... it would honestly be much easier to deal with enemy Stand Users with him and Tusk around. Unfortunately... that is not the case.'

The sound of footsteps approaching the room caught Yoshihara's attention, and Killer Queen materialized at her side out of habit. However, both Stand and user relaxed upon seeing Kyoka Jirou poke her head into the room.

"Sorry Kira, did I startle you?"

"A little, that sneaky bastard put me on edge... can't be sure that it isn't an enemy around the corner," Yoshihara responded, Killer Queen giving the purplette a nod. "Is that coffee?"

Kyoka was carrying a tray full of drinks with her jacks, and a box of doughnuts in her hands. She walked over to an old desk and set the drink tray down, and pried a cup free to hand it to the blond.

"For you."

"Oh...you didn't have to."

"If it weren't for your Sheer Heart Attack...I might have lost Johnny," Kyoka said, her posture indicating that she still hadn't completely recovered from the situation. "I know it's a bit cheesy and cliche... but he really means the world to me, so I figured I'd buy you breakfast... although that isn't nearly enough to express how grateful I am."

"He saved me, Sheer Heart Attack was acting of its own volition," Yoshihara corrected, a small frown on her face as she looked down at the coffee and donuts.

"It's a part of you, isn't it?" Kyoka questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you weren't aware of it... but you saved him too. Therefore, you've got breakfast. Have a donut."

Yoshihara blinked and gave Kyoka the slightest hint of a smile. "I appreciate the gesture, although I still believe your boyfriend deserves more of the credit."

"Oh, trust me, I'm prepared for him." The musician pulled an almost comically large cup from the drink carrier with a grin. "The biggest size they had, he earned it."

"That...is a lot of coffee," Yoshihara said, faltering ever-so-slightly.

"Johnny is a sleepy pessimist, so a cup like this is like a miracle elixir to him... so, how are you holding up?" Kyoka asked, taking a donut and examining it to see if it was worth eating. "You almost died after all..."

"Not the first time, I'll be fine," Yoshihara responded, thinking back to the time when she fought Taro in the forest. 'I'm going to have to thank that Toru guy and his Wonder of U once I get back… Again… just because I can. I can't take people like him for granted,' Yoshihara thought, sighing as she picked up one of the donuts.

The purplette nodded, pressing her lips together. Yoshihara could feel her ally's eyes on her, but she wasn't put off by it. Kyoka had a very similar aura to her mentor, Josuke... and while she was a little more hot-headed and crass, she was just as kind and understanding as to the man she looked up to.

"We need to find Karl as soon as possible," Kyoka said, her eyebrows coming together as her face adopted a determined expression. "At first it was clowns like Magenta Magenta... but the more we defeat the more frightened Karl becomes... and the enemies get worse. This... this just can't go on any further Kira, I don't want to know what comes after Yagiyama."

"You're really frightened, aren't you?" Yoshihara asked, taking a bite out of the donut she had picked up, that being a honey cruller. As she did, she saw the concern wavering in Kyoka's eyes, as well as a bit of anxiety.

Kyoka nodded. "Very. Johnny... he's been hurt before, but never to that extent... at least not in front of me. Seeing him like that... it's only a matter of time before we all get massacred. I have people in this building that I would die for, and with the possibility of an enemy that could take them from me? It scares me more than anything."

"Then we'll find Karl. I agree with you Jirou... this wild goose chase has gone on long enough. Yotsuyu Yagiyama was probably the toughest opponent I have ever faced, and I think Johnny would second that. With the possibility that Karl would bring in somebody worse than him, we need to find the kid and fast."

The purplette bit into the donut, chewing as she retreated deeper into her thoughts, tugging on a jack as she did so. A brief stint of silence followed soon after as the two teens ate their respective donuts.

"You know, I think Johnny is lucky to have someone like you," Yoshihara commented, breaking the silence.

"Really?" Kyoka asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yoshihara nodded. "You're capable, you have a good head on your shoulders, and judging from your reaction at the end of the fight... you care for him a great deal. You aren't just a good partner for him, but a good teammate on top of it. Josuke wouldn't have gotten to us in time if you hadn't been so determined to find us...you're pretty reliable Jirou."

"Oh my God... I thought the Koichi status was a joke..." Kyoka muttered to herself.

"...what?"

"Oh! Nothing! Thanks, Kira, I'm glad to hear it. You know... it's almost sad in a way, that we have to put an end to this, I'll actually kinda miss you guys when this is over. Despite the impending multiversal apocalypse, it's been fun," The purplette said earnestly and grabbed the big cup of coffee she got for her boyfriend.

"It's not over yet Jirou," Yoshihara replied, finishing her donut.

"I know," With that, Kyoka ducked out of the room, leaving Yoshihara with a donut and a drink.

The blond thought back to the serial killer's words, how he said that the others saw her as nothing more than a weapon.

'What a load of bullshit.'

Vinegar Doppio poked his head into the entrance of the abandoned school, shivering as he felt a cold chill crawl up his back.

'This place is creepy... are they really hiding in here? I don't really want to go in... but that kid is counting on me! Besides...all you have to do is distract them...'

Doppio was about to take a step inside when he noticed a small wire stretched between the door frame.

'A trip wire... one of them probably set this up... probably that Jirou girl if the info Karl gave me was accurate. She's a crafty one, probably a silent alarm.'

King Crimson emerged from his back, its cold green eyes staring at the wire. It passed right through it, being a Stand, and went to the other side of the doorway.

'It's weird... since the Boss is gone, being in full control of our Stand...'

The Stand in question began dismantling a small box, throwing its pieces to the side. Then, it cut the wire. He could now enter the building. Doppio took a step into the darkened hallways, flinching at the smallest of noises.

'I've never gone into a fight without the Boss. These people are capable… he'd be able to outwit them, but Karl couldn't and wouldn't bring him back with me.'

He wouldn't be getting any phone calls, the line was dead, and it was going to keep on dying as long the world kept turning. Not even Karl and his Turn Back Time could reverse that.

Doppio was on his own.

The Boss' former right hand reached into a small bag and pulled out an object that Karl said would scare the people inside. It was best to frighten them, make them paranoid, so they wouldn't go after Karl.

"Er... King Crimson?"

Everything around Doppio broke away until he was standing in an endless void of stars, and he glanced into his hair, using Epitaph to predict the future.

Izuku Midoriya was coming around the corner with a determined look on his face, according to the vision his Sub-Stand was giving him. Clearly, Doppio had underestimated the heroes' ability to detect his presence.

It didn't matter, he had already activated the Time Skip.

Doppio repositioned himself behind Izuku just as his ability wore off, and the OFA user froze.

"What? I was...huh?"

Izuku didn't notice Doppio duck into the shadows, thanks to his bewilderment. All he knew was that he was going to investigate the silent alarm that was tripped. Kyoka had thought ahead of the enemy, the trip wire was only a diversion. Destroying the box actually activated it.

Yet, Izuku had just jumped to his destination with no explanation as to why.

'What just happened? Could...this be a new enemy?!'

Johnny took a sip from his giant cup of coffee, watching Gyro as he barricaded a window. "What is that supposed to do?"

Gyro grunted as he pushed the bookshelf into place, wiping his forehead. "To prevent the enemy from spying on us. The text Izuku sent us described either two things: a Stand or Quirk that can warp things..."

"Or one that manipulates time," Johnny finished, his eyes filled with worry. "Let's hope it's the first one... because the alternative means that you and I are the only people capable of fighting them."

"What if it's multiple?" Gyro added. "Karl has only been getting more desperate, what if he is bringing in an entire army of old enemies? This guy could be DIO for all we know."

"Karl may be a child, but there is no way he'd be stupid enough to bring in DIO. He should know that DIO would fuck the whole world sideways."

"More than it has already been fucked by this 'crossover.' Any new developments over in Musutafu?" Gyro asked.

"My dad says that Momo had to fend the other her off with a stick, but so far everything is okay. Our friends are keeping everything under control over there."

Gyro hummed as the dynamic duo exited the room, both watching the abandoned hallways for any sign of danger. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Me too, we can't catch a break can we?"

Johnny suddenly snapped his head towards one of the classrooms and motioned for his partner to follow. Together, they positioned themselves on either side of the door. Two pairs of green eyes met, and without speaking a word, they understood what the other was telling them.

'I hit high, you hit low.'

Preparing to attack, the two were about to step into the classroom...

"What the fuck? When did we get inside?! We were just preparing!"

Johnny glanced at the doorway, watching it slowly creak open. The Joestar's eyes narrowed as he slowly approached the door, wiggling the doorknob as his brain worked to decipher what had just occurred.

"It's not a Time Stop, we would've been able to move. We did move...we were just unaware of it, almost as if...that brief amount of time was erased from our heads."

"Time Erasure? Like...it happened, but we don't remember it because we weren't aware...that sounds familiar..." Gyro said, scratching his patches of facial hair.

"Diavolo."

Gyro stopped scratching and turned to stare at a grim Johnny. "No... no, Karl couldn't have..."

"Time Erasure is King Crimson's ability, Gyro. What we just experienced was most likely King Crimson erasing time in order to escape from us. I recall Uncle Giorno and Polnareff mentioning a method for detecting the Stand..."

Johnny reached into his pocket and pulled out a small army knife, one that he had since the Steel Ball Run, and proceeded to cut his own hand, letting the droplets of blood fall onto his other one. "The moment the drops on my hand increase out of nowhere...that's when we know King Crimson is near. He can't attack while he's erasing time, so that's when we attack."

"What if it isn't King Crimson? Not that I'm doubting you Johnny, but until we see the Stand we can't be entirely sure."

"Then I can just ask my uncle to fix my hand. Send a message to the others, and make sure they tell Kira and Josefumi. If we're really dealing with Diavolo... and Karl somehow managed to pull him from the Infinite Death Loop... everyone in this building is at risk," Johnny said, frowning as he watched the blood drip onto his hand.

Diavolo was one of the most powerful foes the Joestar Family had ever faced, rivalling DIO in power. It seriously took his uncle unlocking an overpowered god-like Requiem ability in order to beat the fortune-telling, time-erasing monstrosity that was King Crimson.

If his theory was correct...they were all on death's door.

"Oh my God... that was so close..." Doppio muttered to himself, regulating his breathing. "Damn it... the Boss usually had my back!"

Just one phone call...one! That's all he wanted.

Doppio ducked into a broom closet and shut it, closing his eyes. 'Maybe...if I dial the Boss first? He always used to call me... I've never done it before, but maybe I can cheat the system by calling him?'

The pink-haired man snatched a spider from the wall and held it to his ear.

"TURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURU! TURURURURURURURURURUR- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Mierde! I knew the line was dead! I suppose it was worth a shot."

Doppio peeked his head back into the hallway.

'Still, the loud noise that my phone made must've attracted the girl with the ears, Jirou. Karl told me that she could hear across the whole building...this is my chance to plant the object!'

Doppio produced a tattered jacket covered in dried blood and observed it. It was made of pink leather, with cheetah print fur sticking out. It had several tears, and one large one across the chest, as if the wearer of the jacket was clawed by a massive beast.

'I wonder what the story is...behind this jacket. Oh well.'

The jacket was left for the others to find.

"Time Erasure? A ruthless crime boss no less...we're in trouble." Josefumi commented as Yoshihara was using the blood droplet technique Johnny recommended. To their right was Josuke, Crazy Diamond at the ready.

"Giorno told me about Diavolo, the man was ruthless. All he cared about was power and keeping his identity a secret. He was even willing to kill his own daughter just to protect his own ass. If he knows we're related to Giorno, and he remembers even a fraction of his deaths... he won't be pulling any punches," Josuke said, his eyes narrowed in anticipation.

"Then why didn't he attack Izuku?" Yoshihara asked. "If what you say is true... that man could've easily ended him in the hallway."

"True... it's only a theory right now, it might be something entirely different," Josuke commented, frowning in thought.

Yoshihara stared at the drops of blood on the back of her hand, frowning. While the ability of the man Josuke just described made complete sense, the actions did not. So far, nobody was hurt...

Then, the droplets increased in the blink of an eye, and Yoshihara almost recoiled from surprise. "It happened, the droplets increased!" Yoshihara stated in shock, causing Josuke to grunt.

"Then it really is King Crimson," Josuke confirmed, his eyebrows coming down to form a scowl. "Great... just great. One of my family's deadliest enemies... how are we going to outwit the Time Erasure? There is no way we can match him in power."

"His behaviour isn't fitting the description though, he should be picking us off right now. Instead... he's just sneaking around and trying to spook us." Yoshihara observed. "No one is even hurt... yet."

"He breaks in here... and avoids us? If he's targeting us, he should be getting it over with," Josefumi agreed. "His goals... they don't make much sense."

"You're both right... but there is no denying that time is being erased. Somehow, Diavolo is here... and he's up to something," Josuke surmised, biting his finger to draw blood. "Everyone needs to watch the blood droplets... it's only a matter of time before he strikes. The moment he does..."

"We attack," Yoshihara finished as they stepped out into the hallway. "Any word on Jirou?"

"She went to find Midoriya-"

The blood droplets on Yoshihara's hand increased once more, and Josefumi turned around and summoned Soft & Wet, punching King Crimson across the face before the other Stand could react.

"UGH! Bastard... so you figured out the Time Skip, huh?" King Crimson asked, adopting an annoyed expression. "I was careless, I should've used Epitaph. That's a pretty neat Stand you've got there, fast too. Well... you caught me, but if you think that's going to stop me, think again. I'll take you all out one at a time!"

Josefumi stared into the Stand's eyes... well, the larger pair anyway. It radiated power like it was meant to dominate over others...although that should be expected of a Stand with 'King' in its name.

Killer Queen put up its fists, moving beside Soft & Wet, while Crazy Diamond towered behind them. It didn't matter that this was a top-tier villain, or that he outclassed them. They wouldn't be going down without a fight.

"Your move, Diavolo," Josuke spat, glaring with anticipation.

King Crimson seemed to falter a bit but quickly regained its composure. "Yes... so you know my true name. That just gives me more incentive to eliminate you... however, not yet. It's better to pick you off, whittle you down. Besides... who said I was your only opponent?"

With that, the enemy Stand suddenly blipped away, leaving the other three standing there with their Stands out, confused.

"Did he actually leave?" Yoshihara asked, looking around her surroundings with a sense of worry.

"Yeah... he did. Only opponent? Could there be someone else?" Josuke asked, now even more concerned than he was in the beginning. "Who?!"

Josefumi was staring at the spot where King Crimson vanished, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Something isn't adding up. We've confirmed that Diavolo is the culprit... but he's acting out of character. I smell bullshit."

"He was definitely lying about something," Yoshihara agreed. "From what you told us Josuke, he seems much more reluctant than he's supposed to be, even if he didn't outwardly show it."

"What the hell?" Josuke muttered, confused and frustrated. "We're totally being played... the question is, how?"

"Don't shoot... it's me."

Johnny put his finger down as Kyoka emerged from around the corner, looking as though she had seen a ghost. Slowly, she held up a familiar pink jacket, the grim expression on her face telling Johnny all that he needed to know.

"That's my mother's jacket... she wore it during the Yakuza Raid..."

Gyro gently took the jacket from Kyoka and examined it. "It looks like it still has the damage that you did to it during the fight. It's covered in blood. Wouldn't that mean that Cummings should still be dead?"

"I don't know..." Kyoka said, quietly. "If that... fucking whore is alive somewhere in this building... I'm going to kill her even harder."

Johnny glanced at the jacket, a mix of emotions briefly surfacing as he looked at it.

"Oh God...you took the wrong son..."

Johnny shuddered, something that the other two picked up on, and Kyoka took his hand, pulling him in to kiss him on the cheek.

She could never hope to understand Johnny's trauma when it came to his mother, she only had a glimpse of it, back on I-Island. However, she could understand just how cruel the woman was...

"It seems on top of everything else, my son has low standards."

Kyoka's gaze turned steely, remembering how the woman used to prey on people's weaknesses. Every word that came out of Susan's mouth did damage, and it only fueled Kyoka's low self-esteem.

The torture didn't help either. Kyoka couldn't help but remember when she was paralyzed on top of the building, and Susan callously broke a rib and a finger, simply for talking back...talking back was Kyoka's specialty, what else was she supposed to do?

"I'll kill her eleven times over..." The purplette muttered. There was nothing but hatred in her eyes...which wasn't a very good look for her, considering the type of person she was.

"Kyoka... it could just be a scare tactic. We're already dealing with Diavolo, he's crafty enough to do something like that. Karl could've only brought in her jacket to throw us off." Gyro said, still examining the jacket. "He can't just heal people, he would've had to bring her here before she sustained these injuries. Diavolo could just be trying to make us paranoid so he can take us out easier."

Kyoka glared at the jacket for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh. "You're right... the jacket doesn't make sense in that regard... fuck dude, that is SO not cool."

"Did you find Izuku?" Johnny asked.

The purplette shook her head. "I can hear him, but it sounds like he wandered off to the other side of the school. That stupid righteous bastard is both the smartest and dumbest person I know... oh God... he's going to encounter the villain by himself again, isn't he?"

"Why does he always end up doing that?" Gyro asked, facepalming.

Izuku followed the trail of dusty footprints, the lenses on his cowl identifying them as he prowled the hallways in pursuit of their elusive quarry. After the blip in the hallway, and the revelation that Diavolo was their enemy, Izuku couldn't help but investigate.

Plus... he was lost, so tracking the enemy could potentially lead him to a friend... or directly into an attack, but for some reason Izuku doubted it.

Giorno had described his adventure during their trip to Italy, and King Crimson's behaviour was far too... lenient, he could've easily killed someone by now. Which is why Izuku had a theory...

That they were dealing with Doppio instead.

'The way Mr. Giovanna explained the Infinite Death Loop, it sounded like it was set in stone. Something like that just can't be broken, no matter who it is. Doppio, however... he died in Bruno Buccerati's body, and it sounded like he went to Heaven. He was Diavolo's kinder half...'

The behaviour of their enemy was more akin to the kinder soul than the evil one.

The green eyes of Izuku's cowl peered around the corner to find a man with a head of pink hair, pondering in thought. He could see the gears turning in the man's head as a Stand that was undoubtedly King Crimson stood behind him.

"Okay...okay, you've managed to intimidate the others... now you just need to make sure they buy the Susan fake-out...but what could I do to add credibility to it?" The man vented out loud. "It's only a matter of time before they catch on..."

'Susan fake-out? That means...he's trying to scare us.' Izuku thought as he used Full Cowling to leap to the other side of the doorway while Doppio's back was turned. 'It's Doppio, I was right.'

That meant that they weren't in mortal danger... but why try to scare them? What was the former right-hand man to Diavolo's deal?

Then, Doppio froze, and Izuku put up his guard.

"You're behind me... aren't you?" Doppio began, his voice taking a turn for the menacing.

The OFA user's eyes widened as Doppio turned his head towards him.

"Don't try to lie, Epitaph just predicted that you would try to attack me from behind. You're... Izuku Midoriya, right? Karl really admires you... it's a shame it had to come to this."

Izuku knew he had to act, fast. While Doppio was the better alternative to Diavolo, he was still smart, and still dangerous. If used correctly, King Crimson could defeat them all...

Which is what Doppio wanted.

So Izuku used Full Cowling to rocket towards the ceiling, and then straight at Doppio, hoping to overwhelm him with misdirection and speed. But then, time seemed to slow, as he could see Doppio's expression switch from a disappointed frown, to a smug grin.

"But it doesn't matter… not when—"

Izuku found himself in a confused daze staring down an empty hallway as a sense of dread washed over him. He couldn't feel the sensation of Full Cowl like he normally found during an attack, which meant that he must've just finished one. And then, the realization hit him.

'Doppio Erased time! I have to—!'

But before he got the chance, something swept the floor out from underneath him. He could feel his legs crumple, and a painful snapping sound reverberated from around the room as Midoriya let out a pained-filled scream. Izuku fell flat on his face, his head exploding in pain as he made contact with the tile ground.

His vision was blurry, however, despite that, he tried to get up, only to feel that he couldn't.

"It's no use. I snapped your kneecaps and broke your ankles in one swift kick. I also fractioned your hip bones, lower spine, and tore your muscles," Doppio growled, King Crimson looming behind him as he spoke, his eyes burning with determination. "In other words, without that pitiful healer, Josuke Higashikata, you won't be walking ever again."

Izuku's eyes widened as he tried desperately to move, but found it near impossible due to the overwhelming pain he felt. "It's funny, don't you think?" Doppio continued, walking over to Izuku before crouching down in front of him.

"Karl told me an awful lot about you and Johnny's friendship, and how he became crippled, only for him to revert that with the help of one Gyro Zeppeli. Now, it seems the roles are reversed. Sucks to suck, I guess. I wonder how you can become the successor to All Might in a condition like that? Hmph. Pathetic, if you ask me," Doppio spat, standing up to his full height.

"Karl asked me not to kill you. I will respect that wish of his. After all, I wouldn't want to break the kid's heart," Doppio said as Izuku glared up at him, pain in his eyes as Doppio raised an eyebrow.

"What? You thought I was going to go easy on you just because I'm the "nicer version" of Diavolo? What are you, sentimental? I worked for a Mafia! Well, technically, I ran it, but that's semantics. The Boss and me, while he had a more direct approach, were the same person. It's called Split Personality Disorder for a reason. A personality splits off of its original self. With The Boss gone, I guess my brain is filling in the gaps. While I don't have his memories, I do have King Crimson, as it was MY Stand, not his," Doppio continued, placing the edge of his shoe on Midoriya's chin.

"Now, it's time for you to go night-night. Pleasant dreams!" Doppio said, a faux cheer to his voice as Midoriya's vision went black.

Josefumi took a step back as soon as he noticed the smell.

The air reeked of... perfume, for some reason, and it wasn't a good kind either. It was the type that fancy people wore in order to seem important, but it was obnoxiously sweet.

Yoshihara came up from behind him, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Gross. Who would torture themselves to wear this kind of crap…."

"A woman's perfume, and not the cheap kind," Josefumi observed, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe we really are dealing with multiple opponents..."

"I recognize this smell," Josuke commented. "I...I just feel like I've encountered it before."

"Did someone you know like wearing this brand of perfume? They have a terrible taste if that's the case." Yoshihara replied, waving a hand in front of her face. "I think we might need to open a window."

Josefumi turned around the corner, and his face went pale. "Um... guys? You might want to see this."

Josuke and Yoshihara followed the purple-haired teen and were both struck by a ghastly sight. On the ground was a bloody face mask, styled to look like a plague doctor's beak. On the wall above it, a message was written out in blood.

'Murderers.'

Right next to it was a crude drawing of Johnny and Kyoka.

"No... no, it couldn't be..." Josuke breathed out as he picked up the mask. "There is no way Karl could've brought her back..."

Yoshihara was staring at the message on the wall, her eyebrows coming together as she pieced it together.

'Someone who holds a grudge against both Johnny and Jirou... Josuke looks frightened...he confirmed the gender was female...this is Johnny's mother, isn't it? Or at least an attempt to remind us of her. Johnny mentioned that his mother hated him, and that Jirou had to kill her...'

"The perfume, Susan always wore it. I remember smelling it on her when she tried to shoot me during the Yakuza Raid. No... Karl has to know how cruel this woman was," Josuke said, and glanced upwards towards the bloody walls. "Kira, can you give me a lift?"

Killer Queen presented its arms, and it helped hoist Josuke and Crazy Diamond on top of the lockers so he could be face-to-face with the message. He slowly put his finger on it, rubbing the red liquid between his fingers.

"Crazy Diamond... fix."

The 'blood' on the walls removed itself and floated down the hallway, and Josuke jumped down and ran after it, the other two following after him, wondering what he was up to.

The red liquid went into one of the old lockers, and Crazy Diamond ripped it open...

To find a can of red paint, mixed with a darker shade in order to resemble blood and a bottle of perfume. It was a trick.

"Gotcha... the liquid on the walls was too thick to be blood...it was paint, probably bought at a convenience store before the attack. The mask was damaged, shattered, indicating that it was recovered AFTER Kyoka fought her. Diavolo is trying to scare us."

That's when he heard a commotion behind him.

Soft & Wet had stopped King Crimson from attacking him, and the two Stands were now wrestling for dominance. Diavolo had lured him in with the paint, and luckily Josefumi had been paying attention to the blood droplets.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" Soft & Wet cried as it launched into a beatdown, it's fists relentlessly pursuing King Crimson down the hallway, the enemy Stand trying to defend itself.

'He went straight for Josuke, he's the healer of the group so that makes sense! With Josuke out of the way, we have no hope of recovery! Well, he can't read the future if he can't think straight, so overwhelming him, even if it's reckless, it's the best option we have right now!'

Josuke gets hurt, or dies...Diavolo wins, and they would have no chance of catching Karl. The beatdown was to keep King Crimson distracted.

Yoshihara, on the other hand, was aiming a bubble bomb into the fight, waiting for Josefumi to give her a window.

Then... King Crimson vanished, and an explosion ripped through the lockers, the metal piercing Josefumi through the arm, leaving a large gash on his shoulder.

"SHIT!" Yoshihara yelled and ran over to her friend. "He erased time with my bomb in mind... I'm sorry, that was careless of me."

Josefumi had an intense expression as he sat up, prying the shard of metal out of his arm so Josuke could heal it. "Overwhelming him isn't enough, he was still able to predict your bomb. However... I have an idea... and it's something only my Soft & Wet can pull off."

"Are you sure it will work?" Josuke asked.

"Not entirely. Josuke, you're the target because you're the healer in our group. Without you, the rest of us have little to no chance of finding Karl. Meaning..."

"I'll be the bait," Josuke said, nodding.

"Then let's get to it...we have no idea what he's done to the others."

"IZUKU!" Kyoka screamed as she knelt beside her wounded friend, rolling the unconscious OFA user over to check his pulse. "Oh my God..."

Johnny was staring at his childhood friend with a mixture of horror and fury. There was a chill in the air around the Joestar, a cold fury that would make Hell freeze over.

"That rat bastard," Gyro muttered, sharing Johnny's anger as he lightly tapped Kyoka's shoulder, letting her know that he would like to have a look. The Italian began examining Izuku's bloody and bent knees, grimacing upon realizing the extent of the greenette's injuries. "He broke his back, Izuku's been given the Johnny treatment."

Well, that was the final straw.

The next thing the other two knew, the hallway exploded. Drywall, lockers, and even the floor tiles went flying as Tusk obliterated almost everything in sight, besides his three friends.

A Hamon-enhanced jack wrapped around Tusk's fist and pulled it down. Granted, it was mostly because Johnny had noticed her, but Kyoka closed the distance, grabbing Johnny by the face and bringing him in close.

"Look at me."

Johnny's face was twisted into a snarl, but it softened upon meeting Kyoka's eyes.

"Now take deep breaths... there we go JoJo... easy..." The purplette continued to soothe her boyfriend, putting her forehead on his as she began caressing his face...calming him down. "You already went berserk yesterday... it's time to cool down."

"He's paralyzed... just like I was..."

"I know, but your uncle is in the building. Izuku can still be healed, so it isn't like his career is over. Besides...that's really the extent of the damage," Gyro consoled his partner, patting Izuku's shoulder. "Diavolo spared his life, for some reason... and actively focused on crippling him."

"He's not fighting to kill, only to maim." Kyoka agreed, and released her boyfriend once he regained his composure. "The question is...why? He should want to... actually, why the hell would Diavolo even bother with Karl?!"

"I think Izuku has our answer," Gyro said as he turned his unconscious friend over. On the ground, beneath Izuku's body, was a message written in his own blood.

'Doppio.'

"Of course... his other half. The Infinite Death Loop couldn't be broken that easily... Izuku figured it out and used his last moments of consciousness to leave us this message!" Gyro said, grinning.

"Doppio, Diavolo... doesn't matter which one it is," Johnny replied coldly. "I'm snapping him like a fucking twig, a spine for a spine. He'll pay for hurting Izuku."

"It does when it comes to motive. That's why Izuku's life was spared... this guy must be trying to disable us rather than subdue us, at Karl's request. He's protecting the kid," Kyoka said, standing up. "That doesn't excuse what he did, but now we know the gist."

"Text my uncle, let him know Izuku needs help," Johnny said, his eyes burning with an intensity that few could ever hope to match. Izuku was his oldest friend after all, and any attack on the greenette was practically unforgivable, especially one as brutal as this. "Kyoka, if you hear that bastard, let me know...this is war."

"Understood."

Johnny clenched his bleeding palm into a fist, squeezing more blood onto his palm. He was going to track Doppio down and beat him within an inch of his life, regardless of his intentions.

Doppio snarled as he clutched his chest. Josefumi's Soft and Wet had struck King Crimson hard. Thankfully, he had baited Yoshihara into using her bubble bomb right before a Time Skip, so he survived. But that didn't mean those punches didn't hurt.

'Damn… this is bad, this is really bad! I was confident against Izuku Midoriya because he didn't have a Stand, but the rest of them are going to be a pain! Damnit, Karl, why couldn't you just let me off them! It would've made this so much more easier!' Doppio thought as King Crimson's left arm slammed into the wall, leaving an indent.

The pink-haired former Mafioso looked at the thing he had in his hand. He didn't know where this came from, or what universe it was from, but it didn't look too good. Karl had resorted to grabbing things from multiple different universes, and the future of both Johnny's and Yoshihara's timelines just to mess with them.

He didn't know why the boy had dragged out this, though, but it must've meant something to them. 'Not my problem. If it really does mean something to them, then I'll use it,' Doppio's thoughts continued as he placed the object on the floor.

And that object was a dress. A red dress and white shirt combo, to be exact. It looked like it belonged to a kid, and it had a hole straight through the center of it with month's old dry blood. "Whoever that belongs to, I hope they made a safe journey into the afterlife…" Doppio muttered, doing a little prayer in his head.

What? His step-father was a priest, and he picked up on many things from him. Sure he shoved a pickaxe through the man's skull… or was that Diavolo? He didn't know, honestly, at that point, it could've gone either way. The fact was that he wanted to pray for the person's safe travels into Heaven, so there was that.

Doppio turned around and began to walk away from where he placed the trick, and proceeded down the hallway and over to a vent cover. Taking the vent cover off, he slipped into the vent system while having King Crimson cover it back up. The last thing he wanted was to run into Johnny or the others.

He was fairly certain that he could knock out Johnny with one clean blow to the head from King Crimson. Tusk ACT 4 was dangerous, according to Karl, so he was the next one that had to go.

As he crawled through the duct system, he looked down through one of the grates to see Josuke, walking alone. Doppio's eyes widened as a small smirk came across his face. 'This is my chance! I can—' before his thoughts continued, he frowned. 'No… that's obviously a trap. I'm not stupid enough to fall for it. Nice try, idiots. Try harder next time,' Doppio thought, continuing through the vent.

However, as he did, a bubble floated in front of him. And as soon as Doppio saw it, he used Time Skip in coordination with Epitaph. As soon as he did that, he got out of the vent immediately.

As he did, he looked back at the vent, then glared at it. "That was one of Soft and Wet's bubbles. They tried a pincer trap! Bastards!" Doppio snarled, kicking the vent grate as he did. However, as he did that, an earphone jack infused with Hamon whipped at him and slashed him across the cheek, making Doppio recoil and stumble backwards.

The attack was followed up by a gut punch, and roundhouse kick, all of which Doppio hadn't been able to predict due to how fast they happened. He didn't have to open his eyes in order to know who it was that had been attacking him. 'It's Kyoka Jirou! Fuck!'

Doppio brought up his arms to block the next few attacks, both of which consisted of punches, kicks, and Hamon-infused Jack-whip strikes. "Can't predict shit when you're being overwhelmed!" Kyoka quipped, continuing her assault.

'If Kyoka's nearby, that means so is Johnny! Damn!' Doppio thought, gnashing his teeth together. He was letting himself get slashed and punched for no reason, and he damn well knew it. And then, he saw Kyoka going for the sword on her back, and that was when an idea struck through his mind.

'She thinks she has me! But she doesn't!' "I don't need Epitaph, fool!" Doppio shouted back, which made her falter ever-so-slightly, and that was what gave him an opening. "KING CRIMSON!" Doppio shouted, summoning the Stand as it punched Kyoka in the chest, hard. The blow wasn't enough to rip through her, but it was more than enough to break several ribs, and more importantly, rupture her diaphragm.

Kyoka fell to the floor with a gasp as all the oxygen she had breathed in blew out immediately, followed up by a generous amount of blood. Doppio stood above her collapsed form with a victorious smirk before looking up at the exit of the hallway. He could hear a cavalcade of footsteps come from both sides.

'I know what I did was risky. It won't kill her if that healer doesn't get to her first. Speaking of Josuke,' Doppio thought, using Erase Time to get the hell out of the hallway. He walked in the area of erased time until he came across Josuke, although he was a bit smaller than when he last saw him through King Crimson's eyes.

'Wait just a second… smaller? That makes no—'

And just as Time Erasure ended, he was met with a pale fist belonging to Soft and Wet being slammed into his face, knocking him back and onto the floor. 'Damnit! It was Josefumi!' Doppio thought, recovering quickly as he summoned his Stand.

King Crimson immediately retaliated the attack by doing the same thing to the imposter Josuke, though this time with more force, breaking his nose and sending him into the lockers at the end of the hall. The blow was enough to knock the brat out. "Shit, I have to get out of here, NOW!" Doppio shouted, looking towards a classroom and running into it.

As soon as he did, he smashed one of the windows with a chair and jumped out of the fourth floor, some bushes, as well as King Crimson's Time Skip, breaking his fall. He wasn't about to be beaten by some shitty excuse of a plan to corner and trap him. One of the many things that Doppio had to thank his boss for was teaching him how to get out of sticky situations.

Besides, he had successfully rendered 3 of the 7 people he had to.

He just hoped that Karl was getting his ass out of Morioh, and soon. Because the longer he was at this, the more he kept getting hurt. He might have promised Karl that he wouldn't kill them, but if he was pushed too far, that promise would be shattered.

Re-entering the building from the rear entrance, Doppio smirked to himself. '3 down, just 4 more to go….'

-To Be Continued-