Hi!

So…I ended up redoing this arc from scratch. There were some pretty weak plot points that didn't really support what I wanted for Joseph and Toshinori, and it would've gone on for AGES.

So, that's why it took so long. My apologies.

In other news, this will be running alongside the Endeavor Agency arc, so there will be chapters of both.

Monster King: Thanks!

Bearticguy7: Could this perhaps be inspired by a certain Teen Titans villain?

Euphoria: Interesting! I like it!

Jpx0999: Let's just say…he's going to have a really nice character moment coming up.

Bryan V2: Yup! Good luck with your beards!

Katsuma Kenshiro: Well, Toshi's good heart, being a bit of a worrywart, and a workaholic definitely remind Joseph of Avdol…and Joseph reminds Toshinori of someone too…

Ivory Insanity: :)

Delrosario: Glad to hear it!

"You're shitting me."

"That's the only place he could be…and why he would need weapons. He's going after the meteorite, he just has to be." Izuku said, sitting down and clasping his hands together. He had put himself in his mentor's shoes…and realized that he would have absolutely gone for it in All Might's situation.

Which only added to his guilt.

This was his fault, having his arms scarred was only a fraction of the consequences his battle with Kars gave him. Time and time again, his friends scolded him for his recklessness…and now he was feeling the true weight of his actions.

All Might was like a loaded spring, he didn't willingly retire, he was forced to. He wasn't done fighting, not when he had his successor to watch over, so watching Izuku and the rest of the Musketeers getting into progressively worse situations…it was pushing the spring down…

Izuku getting mauled by Kars was what caused the spring to pop.

"What the FUCK?! Is he insane?!" Gyro yelled, slapping his forehead in disbelief. "The meteorite?! With Mr. Joestar?! Che sacco pazzesco di merda di capra fiammeggiante! Dovrei schiaffeggiare un po' di senso del cazzo-"

"Gyro." Johnny cut his best friend off, putting a hand on a grumbling Katsuki's shoulder. "Think about what led to this."

"What?!"

"When was the last time All Might has been involved with an 'adventure' of ours?"

Gyro blinked, and then his eyes went wide. "That would probably be…I-Island, that was all the way back during the Steel Ball Run…and he had no idea what you and I were going through."

"That was a time when only three students knew of One For All. Izuku (of course), Kyoka, and myself." Johnny said. "That number has long since expanded…and all of us have been in life-threatening situations…sometimes even having brushes with death. That whole time…has he been included?"

"...no." Izuku replied, softly. "Not at all…"

"He entrusted his legacy to Izuku, to all of us…and he's been forced to sit back and watch as we come closer and closer to dying." Momo said from her desk, hanging her head in shame. "Of course he'd grow desperate…he couldn't bear it any longer…"

"What can we even do?" Ochako asked, glancing at a dejected Izuku. "Should…we try and go after him? Are we even able to?"

"Not without causing a panic. It's not like we can just take a casual holiday to Nepal…and he's probably on the mountain by now." Kyoka responded. "We…can only hope that Mr. Joestar catches on in time to stop him from using that damned rock."

"Remind me why that's a bad thing…if All Might gets a Stand from that thing…then he'll be able to help like he wants, right?"

"It isn't that simple. We have experience with the arrows, not the raw material they are made from." Gyro replied. "We don't actually know the meteorite's full capabilities...for all we know, it could be a stronger concentration of the virus that kills even the worthy. It could kill him as soon as he touches it...there is so much we don't know about this thing, it isn't even funny."

"The mystery alone...drops his odds of survival considerably." Momo added, grimly. "I'd wager about he has about 10% chance as of now."

"It's too much of a risk." Izuku muttered. "His life is worth ten times that..."

"I pray my math is wrong…" Momo said, getting up. "As Kyoka said, we have to count on the other three to stop him. Now…I…have to go and have an honest conversation with my parents…which…I haven't done since I was eleven…so…"

"Good luck." Gyro said, taking her hand. "Sure you can't smuggle me in with you?"

"Dr. Kujo will be there…and this is something I must do on my own. I appreciate the thought though." Momo patted him on the cheek, and glanced at Izuku. "...take care of him, will you?"

"You didn't have to ask."

Momo gave him an appreciative smile, took a deep breath, and began climbing out of Exodus. The remaining heroes sat in silence, each and every one of them mulling over recent events.

From the Traitor to All Might's almost suicidal actions…were they really free from the Calamity? Or was it only just rearing it's ugly head?

Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.

Many people always say that you should climb the mountains in your life, that the challenge only made you stronger. To never give up, no matter how high the odds are stacked against you.

Rohan Kishibe wanted to kick each and every one of them in the teeth.

He was an artist, he didn't really care for the thrill of adventure unless it served purpose for said art. Sure, he frequently ended up going on adventures, but more often than not if he was presented with a mountain he didn't need to climb, he'd rather just go around it.

So why was it that the one mountain that he absolutely HAD to climb…was EVEREST?

'I have to get at least a piece of that meteorite for research. There is so much we don't know about it!' Rohan thought to himself as he fought against the harsh winds, as they climbed further. 'Knowledge is worth any climb, any struggle! I just wish…it wasn't…such a giant pain in the ass!'

Rohan shot a glance at Toshinori, clad in a red, white, and blue winter suit, and scoffed. He didn't buy Toshinori's excuse one bit, he was just trying to butter the man up. While it was likely that there was some truth to his words, his actions were those of a desperate man, not of someone who was simply fed up with being on the sidelines.

He could have just helped the kids, yet he chose to come here.

'You want that meteorite…I know you do. All I need is a chance to use Heaven's Door on you to prove it! Your "boy scout" act isn't going to fool me!'

Still…Rohan had an enormous amount of respect for the man. He was a modern Superman, a hero straight out of a manga, and anyone with a brain could tell that he was genuinely a good man. The question was: would he push aside that respect for the truth? Or…

"Everyone, don't make a sound."

They all turned to see that Aizawa was holding up a hand, his hair levitating from beneath the hood of his winter suit, and his eyes were glowing red from underneath his goggles. He was using Erasure, but on what?

'Now that I think about it…why is HE here? Why bring Eraserhead to fight against opponents that are likely Stand Users? Isn't he still recovering from being blinded a few months ago? I heard his vision isn't what it used to be…'

Perhaps, before he could gain knowledge on the meteorite…he would first have to study his companions.

*squish*

The mangaka paused, and slowly picked up his boot…only to find a small goldfish in the snow, smashed into fish paste. Rohan knelt down and dug a pair of tweezers from his pocket, and picked up the fish's remains with a confused look.

"A…goldfish? On Mount Everest?"

"What?" Toshinori asked, turning around.

"I stepped on a goldfish."

"The snack?"

"The FISH!" Rohan snapped, holding up the crushed fish for Toshinori to see. "Look at it! It's like it just came out of the fish tank!"

Toshinori leaned over, and frowned. "Poor thing…that's…really odd."

"It's suspicious." The mangaka said, dropping the fish back onto the ground. "Something so out of place…it can only mean two things. Either little Lucy brought the wrong pet on a hiking trip…or this is the work of an Enemy Stand."

"It's not even frozen, it hasn't been here that long…but it seems like a normal fi-"

*WHUMP!*

Something pounded against the ground beneath their feet. This caught the attention of the other two, who both looked down.

"...what was that?"

*fssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh*

Something was sliding towards them from underneath the snow,and then dipped down again as soon as it was spotted. Two dead fish surfaced from the area that their mysterious pursuer vanished…their bones picked clean.

"No one make a sound." Joseph whispered, and began tip toeing away from the area with a finger on his lips. It was a similar attack pattern to Geb, so it didn't hurt to try and stay quiet with this threat as well.

The fish were a weird sign though…then again, Geb did something similar. N'doul has been dead for decades though…

'No…it stopped attacking when…we saw it. That means it has a visual.'

Rohan was all set to follow…when he heard another sound. This one was heading right towards him, and it was a human sprinting.

When he turned around, he was met with a fist…and everything went dark.

The Pantheon Council murmured amongst themselves, while Sampson was just casually playing a mobile game on his phone. He didn't have time for bureaucratic squabbling, that was never the reason why he was here to begin with.

He hated doing things in a committee, it pissed him off. No one could agree on anything, so why participate in the discussion?

"It seems as though Hashimoto will get a crack at Kishibe after all."

Sampson looked up to see a rather scrawny man approaching him, hands in his pockets. He was rather friendly looking, he had a gentleness to him that made him near impossible to hate. His black hair was a curly mess, and he still had the faintest trace of boyish freckles, even though he was in his forties.

Fumei was the God of Fire and Forge, a.k.a the user of Hephaestus, and he was by far the most grounded member of Pantheon. While the others leaned a bit too far into the "god" schtick, Fumei was humble, even kind.

He was probably the only member of Pantheon that Sampson fully trusted.

"Well Fumei, he woulda went regardless. Didn't you say you wanted a crack at them?"

"I was mostly trying to get under Camille's skin." Fumei responded with a sheepish grin. "I don't really trust that woman, if we're being honest."

Sampson looked to where Camille was discussing with the other members of Pantheon, and responded when he was sure that she was oblivious. "I think she's full of shit. It feels like she's just…throwing people at Joestar without taking him seriously. That man…most people succumb to Ares instantly…"

"You're afraid the longer he goes unchecked, the closer we are to ruin."

"Not just afraid, certain."

Fumei sighed, and checked to make sure Camille, or any other member of Pantheon, wasn't listening, before he spoke. "Everyone is up in arms because Posiedon is up and about, they think that it's a waste to send a powerful Stand like that after them…especially after your fiasco at the airport."

Sampson snorted, putting his phone away. "I would've gotten him if All Might didn't suddenly materialize out of thin air."

Fumei's eye twitched, something that Sampson picked up on, but chose to ignore.

"Yeah, I suppose he did shake things up a little bit. Not a huge concern in my book, except for the unnecessary casualties…"

"You think he's harmless?" Sampson asked, narrowing his eyes.

"He's Quirkless."

"There's a saying I like…one that I think you'd understand well." The God of War replied, lighting a cigarette. "If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril."

Fumei chuckled. "Sun Tzu?"

"Damn straight. I don't know how the man lost his Quirk, maybe All For One stole it when he went down…but the man is the same." Sampson advised, blowing smoke. "A Quirk is merely the sword with which a warrior fights, an extension of one's will. Just because he doesn't have a weapon, doesn't mean he stopped being a warrior…he just lost a tool."

"Yet losing your sword can cost you in battle." Fumei countered. "Isn't it better to be armed?"

"Of course. Never said he wasn't at a severe disadvantage, just that he isn't harmless either." Sampson responded. "More than anything…it is what's in a man's soul that dictates a battle."

"Your Stand causes bloodshed…and influences your behavior to match, so everyone here thinks you're just a meathead…but I know better." Fumei said, smiling. "You understand the art of war almost as well as Sun Tzu himself. You're someone…I can rely on."

Sampson raised an eyebrow, and then smirked once he got the picture. "I see…"

Rohan groaned as he came to, warm blood running down his face.

'Someone…someone knocked me out. Was it that thing under the snow? No, I have a feeling if that were the case, I'd be as dead as those fish. Then…

Wait.

…why am I…cold?'

It was at this moment he became aware that he was stripped down to his underwear.

"..."

Rohan looked around, felt the blood that was now freezing on his face…and then did a double take.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?! WHO DID THIS?! I'LL MURDER YOU!"

His hands and feet were tied together as well, much to his frustration. Rohan began biting at the ropes, snarling curses and insults at whoever decided to leave him half naked in the snow.

'Did they leave me out here to freeze?! Why kill me like this?!'

"Don't bother struggling, your legs will be free soon."

Rohan froze, his breath halting as footsteps began echoing throughout the forest. He knew that voice, it wasn't one he could easily forget, and he had desperately prayed that he would never hear it again…

Because hearing it…means death.

"You…I…I always had a feeling…"

Yoma Hashimoto's silhouette appeared in the bushes, his eyes illuminated by a stray beam of sunlight. Those dull gray eyes…weren't even angry, just hungry. A mindless hunger for competition, that was still there after YEARS since their last confrontation.

"You cheated."

"I-I uh…"

"You used your Stand on me, made me stop your treadmill instead of mine. I had no idea we were both…gifted…but now I do. That's why I'm keeping your hands tied." Hashimoto said, standing completely still, except for his dull, yet hungry eyes…which shot fear into Rohan's heart faster than any bullet.

This was a madman, obsessed with fitness to a lethal extent. He could die at any second.

"I'm not angry, Rohan. I have had time to think…and it was my mistake that led to my abrupt fall from the window. Hermes made me feel invincible, unstoppable…I thought there was no way I'd lose…but here you were, with a power that neutralized me in an instant."

"If you're not mad, then let me go." Rohan said, glaring at his enemy.

"Oh no, we're not even yet." Hashimoto tilted his head to the side. "I didn't strip you of your clothes and gear for humiliation alone."

"I was playing a game, YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!" Rohan snapped. "You're right, that's not even! Why come after me now anyway? It's been years!"

Hashimoto smiled, and stepped out of the shadows.

"Well, you see Rohan, I didn't come aft-"

"WHY ARE YOU IN A THONG?!"

Hashimoto was, unfortunately, only wearing said thong, leaving little to the imagination. His body was covered in wing-like patterns of muscle. Pectorals, triceps, biceps, even his glutes…it was painfully clear that he had been training all this time, and Hermes had gotten even stronger.

"To make it fair of course. I didn't come after you Rohan, you came after me. I'm Pantheon's God of Muscle." Hashimoto explained, stretching. "It really was an act of Fate, that you just happened to be aligned with the enemy."

'He's with Pantheon? Why?' Rohan thought to himself, analyzing his circumstances carefully. 'What are their goals, if they can appeal to someone like him? What is his motive here?'

"Here's the deal Rohan." Hashimoto pointed up towards a rock face, where there was a small flickering light. "We're going to have a race, in the bitter cold. Up there is my camp, it has a fire, warm clothes, food, and mountain climbing gear for all four of you. If you manage to beat me to the top, you can have all of it."

Now it all made sense.

"The loser is left to freeze to death…" Rohan realized, and Hashimoto nodded in confirmation.

*SNAP!*

Hashimoto easily broke the rope binding Rohan's legs, but kept the one around his wrists. He would not be using Heaven's Door this time.

"Enough chatter, we should get this over with…before the Hypothermiasets in."

'If I play the game by his rules, I'll lose, and I'll be stranded out here. He's far superior to me when it comes to physicality, so I'll need to overcome him with intelligence…'

At the same time, he couldn't just abandon Hashimoto in the wilderness either. He was full of useful information on Pantheon. He had to find a way to free his hands, otherwise he would be unable to draw Heaven's Door.

Both men got ready to run, glanced at each other…and broke out into a sprint.

The race for survival had begun.

"Hmph, what a brute."

The blue-haired member of Pantheon watched as the remaining three attempted to spot her Stand, and scoffed. Hashimoto was unfortunately not the type to listen to orders, and had dragged Kishibe away to satisfy his own personal grudge.

She hated people like him. Idiots who obsess over trivial things to the point where there is little else have empty, meaningless lives. Calypso had no time for single minded people like that.

Camille had decided to send her after their enemies, knowing that she'd get the job done. She was one of Pantheon's elite after all, second only to Camille herself.

Poseidon was a very powerful Stand after all.

Her Stand was a manifestation of the sea, no surprise, but it was much more than that. Ever since she was a child, she was fascinated by the idea of the unknown. The ocean held so many secrets that were yet to be uncovered, and the myths that surrounded it always made her yearn for answers.

The Kraken.

Cythulhu.

The Leviathan.

Charabydis.

All of them fascinated her to the point where she wanted to pinpoint the origin of these monsters. So Calypso went to college to be an Oceanographer, chasing her dream of uncovering the ocean's secrets…

That was when Camille entered her life…an archaeology student. With a shared interest in exploration, the two hit it off, and they eventually decided to work together. Pantheon was their dream, and she wasn't going to let anyone crush it.

They were going to be the best pair of explorers to ever live, their names would go down in history…and they didn't care how many freaks they had to exploit to get there.

"Hm?"

Calypso pulled out her binoculars and surveyed the battlefield. Something was happening down there that was interesting…

"What is Joestar doing?"

Joseph Joestar was rapidly punching the snow, and Calypso burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA! Oh my goodness, is he really that stupid? How on Earth did he get away from Sampson?" She asked herself, chortling. "Seriously, what was that masked fool so worried about?"

Calypso smirked, staring down Joseph as he struggled in the snow.

"Try and hit it all you want, there's no way you'd EVER beat Posiedon!"

Joseph removed his fist, revealing that Hermit Purple had drawn a map to Rohan's location. It was the best he could do at the moment, as their current situation made him unable to immediately pursue.

*BOOM!*

A hole suddenly appeared in the snow, as if something had leapt from it like a shark leaps from the watery depths to catch a helpless seal.

"GUH!"

Blood sprayed from Toshinori's leg. Something had slashed him at breakneck speed, but luckily the former pro hero's instincts were still intact. He had tensed up his muscle, briefly enlarging it and minimizing the damage.

As his leg turned skinny again, Toshinori tried to put together what was happening.

'Something is attacking us from below, it's traveling through the snow…possibly the ground. So far, it's remaining unseen…'

He was at a serious disadvantage from the get go. He couldn't really harm their attacker, he could barely see Stands as it was. Yet…he had some semblance of an idea…

"Mr. Joestar…do you have that map memorized?"

"Yes…I think."

"Good enough. Yaoyorozu said something interesting about these." Toshinori attached the Piston Fist to his wrist. "The good doctor designed them for combat in case he ever got in trouble…but she added something a little extra when she recreated them."

"Of course she did." Joseph said with a smile. "Creative is literally in her hero name."

"She took inspiration from young Kujo's Tusk." Toshinori extended the fist, and prepared to activate it. "I may as well test out the new feature for her."

The fist began rotating, and Toshinori extended it into the ground.

*BOOM!*

Momo called it Artificial Spin.

While Spin was really only something a Hamon User could fully utilize, the mathematics of it were a different story. The Golden Rectangle was something that could be found anywhere, it was a part of nature, not some special power that only certain people could use.

Momo had altered the Piston Fists to not only spin, but to emulate the Golden Rectangle, like a perfectly thrown steel ball. Thus, it could emulate the non-supernatural aspects of the Spin.

Like manipulating a small current of air.

A small pocket of air was forming around the spinning fist, and was picking up snow as it spun. Toshinori grinned, and suddenly stopped the spin, sending air everywhere…

Blowing the snow away, and revealing their enemy.

The enemy Stand stared blankly at them, and threw it's arms up. It was humanoid, with a featureless face minus two glowing aquamarine eyes, with black sclera. It was riding a horse, and had the head of a trident for it's left hand.

"Well, I think we know which 'god' we're dealing with." Aizawa remarked, glancing at the Piston Fist. "It sure didn't like being spotted."

Hermit Purple wrapped around the enemy Stand's trident hand, and Joseph reeled it in for a hit, wrapping the purple vines around his fist like brass knuckles. The Stand, clearly Poseidon, screeched and spat out blood, before ripping itself free.

Poseidon angrily hissed, and dove into the ground, sending ripples through it like water.

"It dove down again." Joseph scratched his stubble, working out the ability. 'Is it like Diver Down?'

The ground rippled as their enemy traveled underneath it…and judging from it's sporadic movements, it was planning a different strategy. The ripples began circling them, like a shark…like a terror of the deep.

That's when a fog came in.

"Damn, we can't see again!" Joseph exclaimed.

'It doesn't want to be seen! That has to mean something…'

"Your friends…are in a bit of a bind!" Hashimoto huffed out as he ran alongside Rohan. "No one knows what Poseidon's ability is! People usually…die before they decipher it!"

Rohan simply glared at him, already tiring out. Trying to keep up with Hashimoto was a terrible idea, but it was all he could do at the moment with his hands tied. Even a professional sprinter could fumble a race if they start out too fast.

Running is just as much of a mental sport as it is a physical one. Preserving your stamina, drinking plenty of water, and making sure you're physically capable of holding a certain pace…all of these were key to success. Hashimoto had a natural advantage with Hermes, to him, Rohan's sprint was the equivalent of a 7 minute mile pace.

'My goal isn't to win this legitimately though…I need to use Heaven's Door, and FAST! That means I need to keep pace with him until I can!'

"You look tired, Rohan." Hashimoto taunted as he lept over a rock. "Did you start too fast?"

'Don't respond! Save your breath!'

The mangaka was already starting to feel a cramp in his side, and it was getting worse. The cold weather gave him a slight advantage at the start, but now that he was moving, his body was heating up. Rohan pushed through the pain, he had to keep up with Hashimoto, it was his only chance to make it out of this alive.

'Damn it! My body is slowing down! The COLD!' Rohan was starting to panic, due to the freezing temperatures, and his lack of warm clothing, the heat was being sapped from his body. No matter how much he was moving, he couldn't stay out in the cold much longer.

He was also barefoot, and the rocks and sticks on the ground were slicing into his feet. This was already a losing battle, and if he didn't make contact with Hashimoto soon…

There was little hope of survival.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Rohan screamed at the top of his lungs, and with his last bit of strength, he lunged at Hashimoto, determined to activate Heaven's Door.

*CRACK!*

In an instant, Hashimoto twisted around, wing-like muscles in one leg twisting his whole body around…

And he landed a devastating axe kick to Rohan's skull.

The mangaka's world turned blurry as his eyes rolled back into his head. In one swift blow, Hashimoto had crushed any hope he had of using Heaven's Door against him. Rohan smashed into the ground, and spat out blood.

It was over.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Hashimoto asked, coming to a stop. "I bound your hands so you could only use your Stand through touch, I obviously expected you to pull something like that. You just sealed your fate…Rohan Kishibe."

"Damn…you…" Rohan wheezed out, trying to get to his feet…but his body wouldn't let him.

"The hypothermia must be setting in, now that you've stopped moving. In a few minutes, you'll lose consciousness and die out here…if a wild animal doesn't put you out of your misery."

Rohan spat blood at Hashimoto, and the psychopath raised an arm to block it.

There was a moment of silence between the two…

"Heheheheh…"

Hashimoto raised an eyebrow as Rohan started chuckling, and then took a step back as the mangaka broke out into manic laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! HAAHAAAA!"

Rohan's eyes, previously dulled from exhaustion, were now wild…almost gleeful. It appeared as though the cold was getting to his head.

"Well, delirious I see. It seems as though you have accepted defeat." Hashimoto said to Rohan, as the manga artist gleefully cackled away. "Goodbye Rohan, our score…is finally settled."

The former model turned and started running towards the campsite, leaving Rohan to his apparent fate.

Aizawa gritted his teeth as a trident cut through the fog, heading straight for his face. He barely managed to dodge, the right prong of the trident slashing his cheek.

'Is it my imagination, or did this thing get faster?'

Poseidon's whole body emerged from fog, and it punched the pro hero right in the stomach. Aizawa spat out blood, and twisted around, sending his capture cloth to wrap around the Stand.

'Stands are still bound to reality when they attack. They have to become solid, otherwise the punch would just faze through me…which means there's a small window of opportunity to land a hit!'

It was the reason Momo managed to defend herself from Paradise City, back during her first encounter with the Stand on Nabu Island. The Stand had to turn solid in order to touch her, thus the use of a shield saved her from being taken. It was the same principle here.

He only had about a second to act before the opportunity to harm it passed.

*CRACK!*

Poseidon retracted it's fist from the capture cloth and punched again, hitting him square in the side. Aizawa was sent flying into the snow, and he coughed yet again, holding the injury.

'Yep…it's getting faster…and it's hitting harder too. Something is enhancing it's movements…'

To hit a Stand while it was solid was only a matter of luck, so it was a risky maneuver to begin with. Joseph was the only person here that could land sure hits on the Stand itself, meaning that he and Toshinori would have to locate the user.

However, as things stood now…they had to locate each other first, without getting diced by that blade.

*SWISH!*

Toshinori cried out as a bit of the fog was disturbed by rapid movement. A Piston Fist briefly punched through the fog, likely the former pro hero's attempt to counterattack, but it proved pointless. Poseidon's speed and strength was increasing at an alarming rate…

Soon, it may even reach Star Platinum levels, in which case, they were screwed.

'What the hell is this ability? How is it getting more powerful? There has to be a trigger, there's always a trigger!' Aizawa thought to himself, analyzing the situation. 'Fog, ducking from sight…does it get more powerful the more it stays out of sight? Or is it something deeper than that?'

*BAM!*

A loud thud echoed throughout the fog, and Poseidon slammed into the ground by Aizawa's feet. It had a large dent on it's face, and the remnants of Hamon crackling around it. Joseph had managed to land an Overdrive on it.

"GOTCHA! I think I'm starting to figure you out, Fish Boy!" Joseph exclaimed.

Poseidon went stiff, and turned to look at Joseph. It stood up, brandished it's trident…and plunged it into the ground. Almost loud shrieks and wails filled the air, and the ground began to shake…

Back at UA…things were luckily less severe, but nonetheless concerning.

Three of their teachers were absent, Jotaro accompanying Momo, with Aizawa AND All Might on Everest getting their shit kicked in. Of course, the other students didn't really know the purpose behind the absences other than a specific group…but it was pretty obvious that something was going on.

Iida wasn't stupid. A bit stiff, and a bit naive…but not stupid. He could see the depressed look on Izuku's face clear as day.

Then there was Johnny's request from the other day. Asking him to watch their classmates…that could only mean one thing, and that scared Iida to his core. The thought of a member of Class 1A being a…he couldn't even believe it. No, he REFUSED to believe it.

But…he couldn't ignore it either. If it was true…then it would be his duty as Class Representative to protect his classmates…even from one of their own.

Inevitably, Iida couldn't help but think back to the beginning of the year. From the very beginning, it seemed as though events were playing out behind the scenes, at first he was clueless, but hindsight made things very clear. There were things going on in UA that were different from your average hero school, and more of his classmates were becoming aware.

Recently, Tokoyami seemed to have been let in on it.

How could he spot a traitor, when half of the class was keeping secrets? He respected their privacy of course, and he knew these were secrets for a reason, he wasn't blind…but with everyone acting suspicious…

"Hellooooo? Earth to Iida! Class Prez?"

"Huh? Oh, Ashido, what is it?"

"You've been staring at JoJo for five minutes." Mina said, smirking. "I know he's hot, but it's pretty obvious he's a taken man at this point."

"W-w-what?! NO! That's not what…" Iida glared at his pink classmate, red as a tomato. "Why must you do things like that?"

"Cause that little robot dance you do is hilarious!"

Iida scowled, and turned his attention back to the common room, silently wondering if there really was a traitor, and who would do such a thing. Why would someone in their class EVER work with the League of Villains?

Johnny was a reliable person. Sure, he had his secrets…but the guy legitimately looked out for the class. He wouldn't make this up, that wasn't in his character. The fact that so many classmates seemed to believe it…

It was looking more likely by the minute that it was true. That someone really DID assist the villains in the USJ, and the summer training camp. That someone that he was close to…was actively assisting them now.

If there was one thing about this mess that Iida was sure of…it was that Class 1A was about to take the hit of a lifetime.

Yoma Hashimoto was about to reach his camp, a smug smile on his face. There was absolutely no way Rohan could catch up now that he wasted his energy.

That laugh though…Rohan almost seemed to be happy that he lost. Despite the overwhelming odds in his favor, Hashimoto felt a bit off from that. It made him paranoid…even though it was likely just delirium on Rohan's end.

Hashimoto's jog came to a stop, and he walked over to put on his clothes. By the fire , a cup of hot chocolate was ready, and steaming. He smiled, thinking about how Rohan was likely craving such things, yet in the end it was him that got ahold of them.

He took the hot chocolate, and began walking back onto the trail…

Wait.

Why was he going back?

Hashimoto looked around, confused. For some reason, he was about to go back to see Rohan…was he going to check on his enemy to make sure he had no chance of survival? He had beaten him after all, but that man was full of tricks…

He didn't have time to gloat, he had to report Rohan's death to Camille.

That's when he took another step down the trail…and he looked down in confusion.

'What am I doing? Is this my subconscious? Do I really want to see what became of him THAT badly?' Hashimoto thought to himself. 'I finally got back at him, there should be no more reason to have any concern. I'm finally free…'

Yoma had a rule, and that was he would eliminate ANY rival in his path. Anyone that had the slightest chance of slowing his progress down would die, that was that. Rohan was the one that got away, and plagued him for all these years…

Now that Rohan was going to die, he should be free from any doubts. So why was his instincts telling him to go back?

Hashimoto scoffed, and tried to turn back…but he couldn't.

'What? I…can't move…except in Rohan's direction…I…'

Then, it hit him.

"Rohan…ROHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Hashimoto snarled.

"He wasn't laughing from delirium at all, he…HE LOST ON PURPOSE! He somehow managed to use Heaven's Door, that BASTARD!'

"Oh come on…you should've…known I never intended to fight fair!"

A bruised and bloody Rohan came out of the forest, riding on a bear. He looked tired, but satisfied. His hands were also free, meaning he probably forced the bear to give him a ride.

Hashimoto gritted his teeth, seething in rage, as his body moved towards the mangaka. Against every fiber of his being…he handed Rohan the hot chocolate.

"You bastard…"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh the look on your face!" Rohan said, slipping on the clothes that Hashimoto was planning to put on. "Ooooh! Is that a sirloin steak? Don't mind if I do!"

"I planned everything." Hashimoto growled out. "I tied your hands, I even kicked you before you could touch me…you weren't supposed to be able to use that damn Stand of yours…SO WHY AM I FUCKING WAITING ON YOU?!"

"You were actually pretty well prepared, I'll give you that. You certainly learned from your mistake with the treadmills…but there is another way I can activate Heaven's Door." Rohan said, and he snapped his fingers.

A part of Hashimoto's arm suddenly turned into pages, and there, written in blood, was an inscribed rule:

-;-

"Give stump ta Roach pee."

-;-

"That's…supposed to say 'Give my stuff to Rohan Kishibe', but luckily it got what I meant." Rohan muttered. "Unfortunately, spit isn't as precise as a pen."

"WHAT?!"

"I use a tactic I call 'splatter technique' when drawing manga, where I flick the droplets of ink from my pen to fill in blank spaces." Rohan explained. "In this case, I had to spit at you, did you think I did that out of spite?"

"You mean…"

"I let you hit me, Hashimoto. Because what you didn't realize, is that Heaven's Door also activates when you gaze upon one of my drawings. I didn't have ink, so I used blood as a substitute." Rohan said with a smile, clearly satisfied with how his plan worked out. "When you hit me, I used Splatter Technique to draw a picture of your wings on the ground, and you saw it when you looked back to taunt me. From there, it was simple!"

Hashimoto was furious, to say the least. He had been played like a fool from the very beginning…this whole race was a sham, and that pissed him off more than anything.

"You have no ambition, Kishibe! You're nothing but a ball-less RAT!" Hashimoto said, hate dripping from every word. "A real man would have raced me fair and square!"

"Wrong. I have ambition as an artist, fitness is just a hobby of mine. I have no reason to risk my life for a pastime, or to fight fair in a contest that is of no importance to me." Rohan replied, walking over to him. "All I did was act in self-defense, although an obsessive lunatic like you could never understand that."

Hashimoto was about to fire back a retort, when Rohan suddenly grabbed him by the face.

"However…you are the first member of Pantheon we've managed to beat…so why don't you help me with something that IS of importance to me?"

Hashimoto's face burst open, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Rohan began leafing through the pages, smiling.

"Now…let's see what you can tell me about Pantheon…"

*BOOM!*

Rohan turned his attention to the horizon, and what he saw chilled him to the bone all over again. A strange, eerie fog was covering the sky around the spot where their initial battle with the enemy below had taken place, before he was abducted. In the fog, something massive was rearing it's head, like an ancient entity awakened from slumber.

The entity, with only it's shape visible in the fog, let out an inhuman wail, which sounded almost like a thousand horses screaming at once.

"No one knows what Poseidon's ability is! People usually…die before they decipher it!"

He had almost forgotten what Hashimoto said about the other Stand…but now he was staring at a terror of the deep, that was likely locked in combat with the other three. Hashimoto was just small-fry…

Poseidon was only just getting started.