Somewhere in Amphibia...in an impoverished region, among impoverished people in a rural village...were two newt parents of a newborn baby. They became so weary of their poverty-stricken lives...that one night they went up to the mountains and dug a hole...they wrapped the baby in white cloth...and placed him in the hole. They finished the job and carried on their lives as if the child were never born.

But a little while later, it started to rain. The water in the river increased and started to flood.

The mother saw the child washed away in the river, and more importantly, she saw it moving. "DIEGO!"

The father said, "You had a name for that child?" He stopped her from reaching the child. "Don't! He must have died a long time ago! Once we have a stable life, we can have as many babies as we want! We'll have another baby some other time! That one died in the flood, okay?"

"We were wrong," cried the mother. "I don't need the money! If you would just quit your drinking!"

"What?! How dare you scorn your husband like that!" He struck her down, and he crawled on her belly toward the river. "Diego!" she cried! The current caught her and she went under. Her husband scoffed. "She's drowning...that stupid woman. Hah! Now I got rid of them both...good riddance!"

Apparently, he forgot that amphibians breathe in water and on land. The woman swam and swam, keeping the baby close and protecting him from the sharp rocks. "He's alive! Oh, child with such power of life! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't ever do it again...ever! Thank you, olms! Thank you!"

After the rain stopped, the mother and child were found unconscious down by the river...by a man frog who was employed at a farm. The woman changed her surname to 'Brando'...and began to do work for the farm.

Diego Brando had turned five. At that time, he was taking care of the snails. But their lives of poverty did not improve a bit.

"Diego, did you grow thinner," Ms. Brando called out, handing him her soup cup. "Here! Eat my portion, too!"

Diego said with a smile, "I'm already full! I just grew taller...I haven't gotten skinny!"

They worked from dusk to dawn...and were only given a place to sleep, eating utensils, and barely any food...there was no place else they could go.

One day, Ms. Brando and the man who took her and her child in were about to do some...unsavory things when she suddenly said, "No! I said stop it!" She slapped him in the face.

"What is it...?" he asked as he rubbed his cheek. "I like you. Come on, just a little bit... It's been five years now...is this how you treat the person you owe your life to?"

Ms. Brando wrapped her arms around herself. "I am really grateful, but please stop. If my son finds out I'm having a relationship with you, a married man with children, what would he think?"

The frog frowned at her, then said, "You're right, I was mistaken...I might have misunderstood...I'm truly sorry." Somehow, Ms. Brando knew his words were not sincere.

The next day, Diego made a terrible discovery. "There's a hole in my cup! Yours, too! Why? Who did this?" Ms. Brando didn't say, but she knew who.

At the soup kitchen, the very same man was in charge of passing it around. "Gather around, everybody! Time for your meal! Line up!" When it was Diego and his mother's turn, the man poured the soup. "Oh, no, lad. There's a hole in your cup there. What a waste! One person's worth just got spilled! I can't give you give you this nice warm stew now. And these utensils are the landlord's. We need to be careful, don't we?"

"Somebody put holes in our cups," said Diego. "It wasn't me or my mother."

"Oh really? Who in the world did it? Be sure to tell me if you find out who did it, young lad."

Ms. Brando, knowing this was an act of revenge for not accepting his advances, stepped up and said, "May we borrow a couple of cups? Me and my son, we cannot eat without them."

"Alright," said the man. "But since you broke the landlord's utensils, you must buy new ones. Three coppers each."

Diego's eyes widened. "I...don't have that much now," said his mother. "Once I receive my salary, I can pay you back."

"Well, we've known each other for five years now, so maybe we can work this out. But, oh yes! Advances aren't permitted here...I'm deeply sorry!"

Diego ran to the back and returned with a pail. "In here! Could we have the stew in here? Even just one person's worth!"

"Don't be a fool, boy! That's the animal's pail! The cowapillars and sheep flies don't want the smell of gravy in their bucket!" The man looked behind Ms. Brando and said, "Uh, sorry. Could you stand aside, please? Everyone else is waiting their turn."

Ms. Brando looked at the people behind her, frowning. "Mother, it's alright," said Diego. "I'm not even hungry, anyways. But I just thought of something terrific!" He took off one of his shoes. "We've got our shoes! We can have him pour our soup in here!" Ms. Brando slapped it out of his hand. "Huh?"

Ms. Brando then held her hands up to the man. "Please, could I have some stew in these hands?" Diego gasped. What was she doing?! "Will you please pour the stew? Diego's portion? Go ahead, please. Right here. In these hands."

The man shrugged and poured the soup in her palms. "St-STOP IIIIIIIT!" screamed Diego as he watched her hands burn. She approached him, knelt down and held the soup to him. "Now, I've gotten some. Go ahead and eat, Diego."

"Stop it, Mom! I'm not hungry!"

"No matter how poor people are, we cannot forget our dignity. What about tomorrow? And the next day? And the next? Eat this and grow big and strong...so that you can grow up...and so that you can protect your mother... We can buy new cups next month. But until then, go ahead and eat this."

Diego cried loudly.

Diego Brando's mother continued to work and work. A year later, she caught a disease called tetanus and she died at the age of 23. Diego believed that the germs that came in through her burns were the cause of the disease...and intuitively knew that the frog was the cause of her death. As Diego grew older, he swore to himself...

"To find that man and get revenge! And all of you at the farm who just looked down on us just because it wasn't clear who my father was! You all abandoned my mother! You disposed of us both. And my father; olms know where he is! And the owner of the farm! I'll never forgive any of you! You're all guilty! Bloody country fucks! I'll climb to the top of society! If anybody gets in my way, I'll put them through humiliation worse than getting stew in their shoes; I'll slash through their 'pride' and scatter it on the ground!"

Before taking her last breath, Diego's mother said to him...

"Don't be sad. It's all because of my sin. It's not your fault. But Diego... Even the untamable snails on this farm listen to you when you come near them and they eat from your hand. You should try riding them when you grow a little older... That's your talent..."

Diego took his mother's final words to heart, and as a result, he developed a strong sense of pride. Over the following years, Diego worked as a handler at snail races until he was old enough to become an actual jockey himself, after which his natural talents allowed him to quickly rise to the top of the Amphibian equestrian world and achieve the notoriety he had been longing for. That notoriety caught the attention of the royal family, who would soon make him captain of the royal guard.

"But it's not enough," said Diego as he finished reminiscing. "It's not enough to be a captain. Nor is it enough to be a king. No. I must be a god. But I cannot do that with the Core controlling Kars." He suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see Marcy holding a bowl of grapes. She was finally healed and her hair had grown back, though she still had minor burn scars. She was wearing an all black armored suit, and a glowing purple collar that matched her glowing purple eyes.

"I see the mind control collar is working just fine," said Diego as he took the bowl from her. "It's the same kind we use on our slaves. And I must say, I like you better this way. You're a lot less clumsy when you have only half a mind to think with." Marcy did not respond. She just stared blankly at him. "Actually, I'm glad you're here for once. I have a job for you to do, and it requires your help. Along with..." He whistled, and the two velociraptors that Olivia and Yunan had become came running up to him.

"With the Core using Kars' body to indulge in whatever pleasures it has, and that fat king Andrias overseeing the slaves and their work in the robot factories, everyone is too distracted to stop me from achieving my ambitions. And I need your help to do it, as frustrating as it is." He handed Marcy the crossbow. But just to be sure... "Marcy, shoot that one." Marcy fired an arrow at Yunan, making her shriek in pain. Diego smiled. "No sign of rebellion from her."

Yunan and Olivia snapped at him, but he let out a growl and they cowered in fear. "That's no way to treat your alpha, is it? Be good girls, and I'll let you feed. And this time, I promise it will be alive."

The four of them descended a flight of stairs. "Despite the castle being remade, some of the original structures are still in tact. Especially in the lower levels." They reached the basement and came upon the underground garden. "I wonder if it's still in here after all this time." The sound of a growl made everyone look toward the corner. There, cowering in fear, was a Moss Man, one similar to the one Anne, JoJo, and Wally encountered in Frog Valley.

The creature was shackled to a wall and it cowered in fear at the sight of Diego. The two raptors growled and snapped their teeth at it, but Diego said, "Stand down. It won't hurt us. It knows its place."

The group then proceeded past the garden and down another hallway. In here, the ghostly fish creatures Anne, Sprig, Marcy, and JoJo encountered during their sleepover adventure floated around, but the sight of Diego made them hide. "Did you ever wonder how these creatures came to be," he asked Marcy, Olivia, and Yunan. They didn't respond, but he continued on with the story. "They are not native to Amphibia, they are the last remnants of planets the royal family conquered. They studied these creatures to find a way to preserve their immortality and transcend death itself. But none of that could compare to this."

They stood in front of a door with a symbol of a wheel with seven snake heads on it. "Help me, Marcy." Diego and Marcy slid the door open and inside was a large chamber. In the center of it was a golden spear. "Next to the Calamity Box, this spear is the royal family's greatest treasure," said Diego as they entered the chamber. "Centuries ago-"

Before he could finish his story, the wall on the other side of the chamber burst open and out stomped a giant horned frog wearing armor. Diego wasn't impressed. "Hmm. Looks like a leftover from the old biohazard division."

The guardian charged at them and Diego and Marcy pulled out their gun and crossbow respectively. "Help me take this brute down," Diego ordered her. They fired their weapons at the guardian's armor, but their ammo bounced off harmlessly. "Not good," said Diego. "Marcy, you know how to use the Spin, right?" He tossed her a die. "See if you can find a weakness in its armor!"

The guardian slammed its fists, but Marcy dodged it in time, used the Spin on the die and gave it a throw. Like before, it bounced off the armor. Then suddenly, it hit what looked like a jet and it shot out hot steam. This gave Diego an idea. "Marcy, keep hitting those jets!" Marcy obeyed, focusing her Spinning die on the jets on the back and chest. Eventually, the creature went down. Diego turned into a velociraptor, barked at Yunan and Olivia and the three raptors hopped on the creature's back.

The guardian stumbled around, trying to catch the raptors that were clambering all over him, not noticing that Marcy was aiming the die at its legs. She give the die a Spin and flicked it at the guardian's ankles. It lost balance and fell flat on its stomach. Diego changed back and ran toward Marcy with a grenade. "Use the Spin on this!"

Marcy obeyed and gave the grenade a Spin before throwing it at the downed creature. It let out a roar of pain as its armor cracked and blood leaked from it. Diego turned into a T-Rex and lunged at the guardian, biting his jaws down on its neck and shaking it. Then he slammed it down head first into the ground and used his jaws to pry open the cracks, forming huge holes in the armor. Marcy Spun another grenade into the holes, causing the armor to come apart, revealing the guardian's flayed flesh.

The guardian got back up, then rammed its head into Diego's side, sending him onto his side. Diego changed back and coughed blood. The guardian grabbed him, slammed him into the floor and wall and threw him onto the ground. It picked him up and was about to eat him when he let out a whistle. Yunan and Olivia jumped up and started biting and clawing at the exposed flesh of the guardian.

It let Diego go and he rolled to the ground, coming to a stop in front of Marcy. "What are you waiting for, heal me!" Marcy used the Spin to heal his wounds. He got up and said, "I'm almost tempted to transform you into a dinosaur as well, but..." The guardian screeched in pain as Yunan and Olivia tore its throat out. Still, even with its blood gushing out, it managed to grab them and began to squeeze them.

"NOW," Diego commanded Marcy. She Spun one last grenade and flicked it at the guardian, going for the heart this time. The creature let out a dying roar as it dropped Yunan and Olivia and staggered forward before collapsing, dead. Diego panted heavily, then got back to his feet and gave the dead body a kick. "And here I thought I was going to have a challenge. Such a disappointment." He dusted himself off and said, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted..."

He approached the spear in the middle of the room and told the story. "Centuries ago, a meteor crashed into Amphibia and began spreading a virus to those who touched it. Most of them died, while others became the first generation of Stand users. The royal family, not wanting their authority challenged, wanted a Stand to triumph over all Stands. So they took the meteor to the castle, melted it down into a spear, and made it the sole chooser of Stand users. But one by one, no matter how much they tried, not one of them were compatible and they all would have died a slow, horrible death had they not uploaded their minds into the machine that would become the Core. All except King Andrias. Imagine his father's anger and frustration when he saw his son gained Imagine Dragon.

"But I'm curious. What happens when someone who already has a Stand gets pierced by the spear? Let's find out." He held his hand up to the spear and it vibrated, pointing in his direction. He smirked, and pricked his finger on its tip. Almost immediately, he felt like he got shocked with a lightning bolt and he fell flat on his back, gasping in pain. Olivia and Yunan roared and writhed in pain as they changed back to newts.

"Wha...what's going on," asked Yunan as she looked around. "Where am I?"

Olivia looked at herself. "We're back to normal. And more importantly, we're naked!"

Yunan scoffed. "That's not important. Some amphibians only wear shirts and no pants!"

Olivia was about to retort, when she saw the brainwashed Marcy, standing still as if she were a robot waiting for a command. "Lady Marcy, what are you doing here? I thought you were-" Marcy pointed the crossbow at her. "L-Lady Marcy?"

Diego got back up and growled, "We have to go. Now."

Yunan got in a fighting pose and snarled, "Why should we listen to you, Diego?!"

The guardian's body suddenly came to life and the armor repaired itself. Diego smirked. "What do you know? You really can't kill it. If you want to die, be my guest. Frankly, I don't really need you anymore. Marcy and I on the other hand are getting out of here."

Seeing no other choice, Oliver and Yunan followed Diego and Marcy out the chamber, out of the shadow fish hallway, out of the moss man's garden, and back in the royal throne room. Diego quickly slammed the secret door close. Everyone panted as they tried to catch their breaths.

"Just...what is going on?" asked Olivia. "What was that creature?"

"I don't know," said Yunan. "Why don't we ask Diego? He seems to know more than he's letting on! Jaws, get ready to-"

"Marcy, the collars," said Diego. Marcy snapped mind control collars around Yunan and Olivia's necks and they instantly fell under the same spell she was. Diego smirked as he craned his neck over his left shoulder to look at them. "We don't want you blabbing to Andrias and the Core now, don't we," he said. "You wanted to know why you changed back into amphibians? It's because Scary Monsters is no longer my Stand anymore."

Diego's new Stand appeared beside him. It was gold in color, and wore a headpiece covering its face to below the place of its nose, slanting at a steep angle from the base of its forehead to a peak situated above the rear of its head by about half its height, leaving the face of an inverted triangle visible to the front. On its back were twin diving cylinders, connected via short twin ridged cables to the rear of its mask; secured by thick, ridged or puffed-up straps running from the rear of its waist over both its shoulders to its front. The back of its hands bore the shape of a clock with similar emblems on both its shoulders and hips. Its chin and belt region were decorated with hearts, while its knees were capped with D-shaped pads.

"This is no longer Scary Monsters. This is something else. And it shall help me conquer a world that has always been rightfully mine. I shall call it..."

⬅ To be continued...

Stand: The World

User: Diego Brando

Power: Unknown

Speed: Unknown

Range: Unknown

Durability: Unknown

Precision: Unknown

Potential: Unknown

Ability: Unknown