Second part of the fight, slightly longer than the first part! Please take your time reading it to your full enjoyment!

The zombies knew the fight against Xero to stop the sentient monster entirely made out of blood from threatening Saga, and free Shino from its vice grip on his soul and body as per request by Sakura and Emi, will not be a walk in the park. They expect to witness a lot of struggling and injuries being inflicted on Franchouchou's bodyguards and general insanity pertaining to Stands. Not only those, but a lot of back talking between the aggressors, speculation and discussion among the girls and presumably some deep thinking between all of them.

Don't ask how they arrive to that conclusion. It felt natural for them due to living in this weird and crazy reality.

It's a good thing the zombie girls chose to stand on the sidelines being guarded by three veteran Stand Users, believing Rianima, Hartzler and Lynn would not accept involving them in this fight where their… undead lives are on the line. However, they are not stupid to think they are actually safe as long Xero lives, so seeing them thrown aside by their resilient enemy is not the kind of event they want to happen.

Currently, Sakura, Ai, Junko, Lily, Goldia, Harpae and Narancia are kneeling or sitting near Kakyoin and Bucciarati, who are in great pain because of their arms, torso, legs and/or waist getting stabbed. There are no blood trickling out from their wounds, if disregarding the ichor left sticking near or in the injuries, but not even its absence can put relief on them when looking at them in agony. For the rest of the girls, they flocked around Avdol and Mamezuku, with Johnny and Gyro joining them as well.

"K-KAKYOIN! BUCCIARATI!" Narancia shouted, looking between the two thrice with a distressed and unsure look. "Can you two hear me!? Say something!"

Cherry Boy and Zipper Man both groan as they sit right up shakily, unable to prevent their uncomfortable expression from showing up. "Nnnngh! What…is this? It really hurts…" Bruno let out in a questioning tone, feeling himself wobbling from the pain intending to topple his upright posture.

"No surprise! That icky technique Xero used almost turned you into pincushion! A-And your wounds…! Aside Hartzler and Lynn, how come you two, Avdol-san, Mamezuku-san got those even though we're zombies?" Lily looked at them in worry.

Goldia and Harpae turn to her in puzzlement, though a vague look of understanding settles on the former. "What do you mean, Lily? What does being a zombie have to do on receiving an injury?"

"You see…" Ai began, turning to Goldia. "We can detach our limbs and still have full control over them even if we lose sight of them. Not just our limbs, but even our heads, and probably our entire torso can be removed to pieces, too. And we found out to have higher pain endurance compared to humans on top of possessing enhanced senses, capable of shrugging any harmful elements like lightning hitting us and living past it."

"But worryingly, excluding your pets, Kakyoin-san, Bucciarati-san, Avdol-san and Mamezuku-san are in great pain," continued Junko, turning away to look at Peel Planter and Fire Lord being supported by Saki, Yugiri and Enjel as they rise up difficultly, shooting them a concerned look momentarily. "The worst that can happen is getting their hands or heads loosening, Stand or no Stand I believe. But the weird attack Xero did to the four… Somehow, it ｢ignored｣ that trait."

Sakura turns to them in surprise before asking to sate her curiosity. "Can we really brush off any pain because we're zombies?" The two idols nod. "Huh… So that's why my head can spin without stopping after Saki slapped me. I only felt dizzy." She mumbled to herself.

Ignoring her side comment, Lily takes a look at the wincing Stand Users again, which is when she notices something peculiar. "Wait a second, how come Kakyoin-san and Bucciarati-san are still zombies? Shouldn't they turn human ｢minutes ago｣ after the fight started?"

Junko and Ai look surprised, and so too Bruno and Kakyoin, as if they're realizing it just now. Sakura, Goldia and Harpae are confused, the former raising an eyebrow over Lily's obvious remark. "Turn into human?" She repeated

"Lily-chan is right. We should've been made vulnerable through Linkin Park's ability," started Kakyoin, staring into his hands. "And yet, we're ｢still｣ zombies. So ｢how｣ did we get injured?"

The three confused zombie girls look at each other, feeling lost… that is until a realization dawned on Goldia and Harpae, making them gasp in horror and panic. "Oh no! The attack Xero did to you two… It was the ｢ichor｣who attacked you!" Harpae exclaimed.

"The ichor? What are you saying, Goldia-chan?" Kakyoin inquired. Before she can answer as quickly as she can, a distinct groaning is heard nearby.

"Hrrrrmmmmm…"

All of the zombies heard it, causing them to be on alert as they turn to see Xero standing in the same spot with a wicked smirk. Three more appendages burst out from his chest and back, himself covered more in blood.

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

At the same time they turned to him, the scenery changed again, this time to a flat field extending far to the horizon. Noticeably however, the space background also changed so it becomes a dark blue sky with a full moon hovering up there, unmoving as it gives the changing scenery a dim light. The zombies nearly jumped after they saw ripples around their feet, soon hearing a splashing sound when they took some steps around. It is there that they realize what location Xero changed into: a vast ocean.

The zombies don't have time to admire and describe it out loud as they face their opponent again. The four zombies who were knocked down rise up on their feet in spite of the pain, determined to push through it so they can continue fighting. In fact, one of them has already considered paying Xero back as the sound of plane engine whirring is heard.

"Why you… Don't know what the hell are those things that came out of you, but you will pay for hurting my friends! AEROSMITH!"

ドガガガガガ

Aerosmith fired its machine guns after flying close to Xero. Not surprisingly, Linkin Park punches the bullets away in response, making sure there are no stray bullets hitting its hijacked master. "TAMA TAMA TAMA TAMA TAMA TAMA!" At the same time, Johnny and Gyro circle around him on their horses, preparing their Spin attacks.

Eyes set on wriggling tentacles, Johnny aims his finger at them as Tusk ACT3 hovers behind, determined to dispose of them. "Gyro! You go first!"

"OOOOOORA!" Gyro immediately throws a steel ball to Xero after risking himself and Valkyrie to get close as much as he can. On this distance, the steel ball will strike his body in no strike and fill him with anesthetic Spin energy.

With Spin Cowboy attacking first, Johnny follows, shooting all five nail bullets from his left hand. "TUSK!"

Xero stared at the approaching Spin projectiles without worry as he controls the three appendages so they're prepared to attack. So you three planned to leave me vulnerable by distracting Linkin Park… Hmph, as if I'll fall to your obvious trick. Though since you three chose to attack me… Guess all of you are next to test my ichor abilities. Hope you're prepared.

"HARGH!"

The three sharp tentacles stretch out toward Johnny, Gyro and Narancia. They are so fast that they can only look on in surprise before their shoulder, arm and waist respectively are either sliced or stabbed. Their scream of pain is expected.

"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

As soon as Aerosmith loses control over its minimum accuracy to machine guns, Xero blocks the nail bullets and steel ball via an invisible barrier, the bullets changing into black holes trying home to their target. He simply removes the barrier, which also erases the holes in turn, then Linkin Park throws the steel ball back to Gyro, hitting him in his abdomen.

"GOHOUGH!" Gyro choked in his saliva, the force pushing him off Valkyrie after Johnny fell off Slow Dancer first. The two horses galloped around in panic until they called them back after barely recovering.

In spite of his shoulder being wounded, Narancia isn't willing to give up, so he has Aerosmith fly up high above Xero's head quick before the airplane drops the bomb only a mere foot above. "How about this?! Think you can escape in time, huh!?" Narancia exclaimed, covering his shoulder wound with an assured smile. He's sure Xero wouldn't catch the bomb as it will explode on contact. Plus, remembering fire is the ichor's biggest weakness, he is waiting to see the zombie writhing in agony as fire spread all over his body after it explodes on to his face.

But that didn't happen when the bomb stalls in the air, barely a meter away from touching Xero's head. That leave Li'l Bomber and the onlookers dumbfounded.

"Huh?" Narancia let out.

"No. But can you?"

After the bomb changed its aiming so it's facing forward, Xero motions his arm with a grunt, causing the stalled bomb to move again, this time its next targets being the zombies. Upon guessing the trajectory, they quickly panic because they will be the ones who will be burned from the explosion.

"AAAHH SHIT! THE BOMB!" Narancia mentally kicked himself for his near-reckless move.

"It's gonna hit us!" Sakura exclaimed, scrambling to get far away as much as possible alongside others.

Avdol is determined to protect his friends and acquaintances. "MAGICIAN'S RED! GRAB THAT BOMB!"

Magician's Red came out from its master with a cry as it catches the bomb in its fiery hands…

ドガーン！

The resulting explosion envelops the Stand, causing everyone to hold their breath and fearing the worst. When the smoke clears, they see, much to their surprise but also relief, Magician's Red unharmed. While the force of the explosion did affect Avdol, he's mildly inconvenienced, letting out a chuckle after calculating he would come out unscathed.

"Did you all forget Magician's Red controls fire? Of course it is immune to all kinds of fire, including those produced by an explosion. I had faith we would be uninjured when I moved to stop the bomb from harming us. And look what it did." Avdol reminded with a smirk after seeing their surprised looks. Since none of them are harmed, they let out many breaths they're holding, relieved. "And since there are vestiges of fire left in the explosion's wake, I'll control them, along with my conjured flames! MAGICIAN'S RED!"

"KRAAAAAAAAAA!"

Blazing fire spread across the battlefield around Xero, who swiftly got out of Magician's Red's attack aided by Linkin Park. Amidst evading the fire, Xero recalls the tentacles back to his body so they wouldn't be singed. They are part of him, so when any of these tentacles are damaged, he will recoil in pain. Let's not get on the fact the ichor is very much weak to fire. All kinds of fire, be it one of spiritual origin or occurring naturally.

It seems Avdol got that memo as he ramps up the number and intensity of his flames Magician's Red shot out or smoldering on the floor after it made an explosive contact. Ways he tried overwhelming Xero include creating many Red Binds and utilizing the homing properties of Life Detector, of which he also created many of. These techniques are all around Xero, narrowing his chances of escape. He has Linkin Park punch any of the flames that got close to him, but that only resulted in burning his hands.

"What's wrong? Are my flames too much for you?" Avdol taunted with a smirk. "Feeling overwhelmed by the heat? From the way you're backing away from my flames, I would like to think I have completely trapped you within the ring of fire," his smirk gives way to a determined frown. "But… I fear you won't go down that easy. If I were to hazard a guess after studying the place you changed into, you already have thought of a move to counter my flames."

"…That's right. Creating a vast field for my appendages to maneuver around freely isn't the only factor I needed to aid me."

After he says it, the water erupted around Xero, dousing the fire instantly. Avdol isn't surprise by this compared to the girls, but he's not impressed. I knew it. I should have increased the temperature to the point the water will convert into steam before it can make contact with Magician's Red's fire.

Soon after the water created a path towards Fire Lord, Xero dashes his way to him, bringing out four tentacles from his chest."I won't let you have a second chance to use your flames again! I'll have the ichor take care of you first! IT'S TIME TO DIE!"

The four appendages all zoom towards Avdol, deliberately ignoring Magician's Red because he knows it can't directly attack them. He leaves it to Linkin Park, locking arms against the pyrokinetic Stand.

"Not if we have to say against it!"

ドバァッー

Many emeralds are fired by Kakyoin after he and Bucciarati move into action to assist Avdol. Cherry Boy decided to stop the appendages from advancing through Emerald Splash. Bucciarati makes his move by attacking Linkin Park to get the Stand off of Magician's Red. "ARI!"

Linkin Park couldn't avoid it in time so he got flung back with a sore cheek which reflected back to Xero, gritting his teeth from the harsh pain. Refusing to waiver, they continued attacking after dodging a Cross Fire Hurricane prepared by Magician's Red while it had locked arms with Linkin Park earlier, planning to scorch it point-blank.

"UAAAARRGGGGHHHHH! ! !"

Screaming in rage, Xero shoots out more blood appendages against Kakyoin and Avdol, as well as to Johnny and Gyro after they recovered back to their horses thus forcing them to move around defensively while the glass Stand engages Sticky Fingers and Magician's Red again. Hartzler is not left out as he swiftly avoids the tentacles with precision and speed of a tiger, but Lynn is unfortunate to be within the range, so she got struck hard before she could summon Comfortably Numb.

"UWAAAAA-!" The owl screeched, getting flung away into the girls, catching her in their hands.

The remaining seven did their best defending against the prehensile tentacles and Linkin Park, amplifying their attacks or attempting to counterattack to blindside either of them. However, the tentacles steadily grows faster and stronger, also gradually making things hard for them. Especially as they keep increasing in numbers until there are now nine tentacles.

"Ngh…! Graaagh…! There's… too many of them! I can't… keep holding the line as this… keeps up!" Kakyoin warned, feeling himself at a limit the more he shoots out emeralds at a rapid rate.

"Ugh…! Same here! Linkin Park is growing aggressive too! It think the Stand has decided to stop me or Avdol from escaping by going on the offensive, leaving us no room to retaliate or defend ourselves!" Bucciarati admitted, panting and sweating together with Avdolbwho is clenching his teeth trying to maintain his stance. Their Stands are clashing their fists or kicks against Linkin Park, having done it for a scant two minutes and so far, they are not having a good time as dictated by Bruno. No matter how swift Sticky Fingers is and how much fire Magician's Red put out as distraction or support for their attacks Linkin Park is too fast and has great awareness, swerving or dodging their attacks with little difficulty and retaliating in kind. It also makes sure Magician's Red stays in line to prevent it from throwing a fire at Xero.

"Dammit all! What the hell is up with these… these… bloody prehensile things!? How come Xero has great control on them!?" Johnny complained, opting to use his spinning nails to evade them after recalling Slow Dancer back to him for protection. It's not perfect because of how quick the appendages are.

"How should we know!? He just showed it some minutes ago! We've yet to learn any weaknesses on these things!" Gyro replied, imbuing himself with the Spin to harden his body instead of evading wildly after recalling Valkyrie too. Similarly however, it's partially effective as he's suffering from minor wounds. He should be glad only one is attacking him.

While Xero likes that he's keeping these zombie Stand Users at bay, he starts getting tired of their defensive attempts. He wants to see more of what the crimson tentacles can do and he believes they are trying too hard to delay it. Something must be done, and fortunately for him, he made up his next action.

I must take the initiative… right before I take care of the last two members.

Becoming aware of two figures standing far behind him, Xero only has to see them in the corner of his eyes before he shouts, "I see you there! Know your place!"

"GUniguNI!"

As soon as they heard that cry, Narancia finds himself lying on the floor in pieces literally while Mamezuku loses control of his body after he melts nearly to a puddle. His head, hands and feet remain intact though they appear to be on the verge of melting too due to them looking so glossy.

"Aaargh! W-What… is this!?" Rai exclaimed in surprise.

"Hhhhrrrrgggg! Rrrmmmmppphhh! Drrrddddllllhhhhh!" Narancia spouted only indignant gibberish because his mouth got separated so that his tongue is left sticking out in the open on his detached neck stump while his head lies motionless.

The five boys saw those two afflicted with Xero's imagination again, taking their attention away. It's only momentarily, but that is enough for Xero to take advantage of the little mistake they realized too late.

"TAMA NAAAA!"

ドグォォン！ ドグォ～ン！

"GUAAAACCCKKK!"

Avdol and Bucciarati screamed after Linkin Park landed a strong punch to their Stands' faces, causing them to spew blood from their mouths. That shall be the least of their concern when the appendages strike hard and true, stabbing or cutting their sides or legs. Their next scream is louder than the first as a result.

Kakyoin finally exhausts himself mentally, feeling Hierophant Green at its limit, thus subjecting himself to a lot of sharp tips stabbing his body all over. The punctures aren't deep, but that's small comfort.

"YAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

Once the tentacles retreat, Kakyoin is left writhing on the ground, his clothes possessing puncture marks.

Luck isn't on Gyro and Johnny's side as Xero inflicted them too with his ability. This time, they suddenly feel themselves spinning fast after they lose their footing from the sudden slippery ground, almost becoming a blur. This leaves them easy pickings for the tentacles. Hartzler, too, wasn't left out of his attack unfortunately when they got caught in the effect.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

"MRRRRRROOOOW!"

Once the tentacles are done with them last, their clothes are nearly ripped apart after it whipped, sliced and stab them hard, leaving behind bloodless wounds. Poor Hartzler's small size meant the damage is too great for it, and she would've fall unconscious if not for enhanced durability thanks to Eye of the Tiger.

In a span of a minute, Rianima is done for the count. All of them are really feeling their skewered bodies, letting out a groan or two. For some reason, they are reeling from so much pain despite the odd sight of their zombie bodies not becoming human. This is the first time it happened, so they thought that they could take any attacks so long as their head or limbs didn't go flying off by a stray punch to prevent being inconvenienced. But they clearly underestimated how potent Linkin Park's ability is and the show of intelligence or cunning from Xero, the zombie smiling in satisfaction over trouncing them. He never would've thought the tentacles were so strong and agile, and capable of harming a zombie revived by Kotaro.

The results are better than I expected. The ichor that is a part of me and given to us by Ira is progressing well in giving me the strength and capability to injure zombies. I expected I can do more than just creating prehensile tentacles made from my blood, but just only seeing what it can do is enough for me for the moment.

He glances over to the lying Stand Users he inflicted with the ichor. Again, he smiles because he's showing promise with what he can do and at their agony, a sadistic smile formed on his face.

"No way… Did we all saw Xero… beat them down without issue?"

Right, how could he forget their onlookers?

Xero turns around to face the zombie girls who bore witness to the overwhelming strength of his ichor used to put Rianima in their place. As his creepy staring falls on them, they stiffened immediately, some of them becoming defensive, cautious and scared. The parasite appears to smile at their fear, wondering how thick it is so he can taste it. He's really enjoying intimidating them so much than he thought he would, but he shouldn't complain after he displayed his new ability.

"Hmmmmm…" Xero hummed again as he continues looking at the girls, a sadistic smile plastered on his face possibly indicating his next move.

In her own point of view, this is the first time Sakura Minamoto witnesses a Stand battle. She was a little bewildered earlier when those guys brought out ghosts-like beings to attack Shino, and even earlier than that, she saw Linkin Park obediently hovering near Shino as he used some kind of power to teleport them to a forest. That's not getting into her being able to see them and her potential she never thought she possesses.

She never had a chance to voice out her opinion to the entire concept of Stands, but now, she believes she's free to say something regarding Stands in general and after getting a first look on the apparent first Stand battle in her (undead) life: everything about it and this fight is bizarre.

Heck, this entire predicament, from non-infectious zombies to this pocket dimension's existence can be described by that one word. Perhaps more.

Even with all of that being thought by Sakura, watching her idol group's bodyguards getting overwhelmed by Xero after he gained an unnerving new kind of power on top of his existing ability puts immense fear on her. These guys are experienced Stand Users who may have possibly fought many opponents of the same power before dying and reviving, and yet the parasitic entity made short work of them after he gathered his bearings.

"No… No way," she started, hearing her voice quiver in fear and disbelief. "Did we all saw Xero… beat them down without issue…?"

She really hoped someone would say something as a response, and (un)luckily, Yugiri replies to her skeptical question. "As much we don't want to believe it, we witnessed him overcome Rianima. No thanks to that scary… tentacles of his."

"This is… This is bad!" Sakura heard Ai sum up this new course of event. She can imagine her aghast face, really terrified of Xero's might. "He's looking at us this way! He hasn't recalled those tentacles back to him, so I dread to think… we are his next target!"

"Freaking hell… All of us don't have the strength to take him on. Even if Tae and I defend you all, I'm seriously outmatched!" Saki admitted, clenching his teeth in frustration and slight fear because she can't think of anything to counter against Xero.

Behind her, she hears her number one fan gulping audibly and stuttering repeatedly. She didn't need to look behind to see Goldia trembling like a leaf, and so too Fleta, Enjel and even Harpae. "O-Oh dear… we are surely doomed. Even if I say we must run away, Xero will find us quick before we can get far. Castle of Glass is his domain, so I dread to think he has eyes everywhere. I-I… want to be hopeful we may have a chance still, but from what we are seeing here… we are very much wide open to be killed."

"Oh noooo! W-What's gonna happen now!?"

Sakura blots out Lily's desperate question out of her head as she, despite not wanting to look at Shino's imposter, looks back to Xero, staring right into his shadowed, red eyes. They are creepy, she won't deny that, but in all honesty, she prefers to look at his eyes only than glancing to his crooked, wicked smile or smirk he's shooting in their direction. The rest of Franchouchou, as well as the five girls and a doll, find themselves agape toward Xero. Some of the hard-headed girls like Saki, Ai, Yugiri, Tae and Lisette choose to defiantly glare back in spite of their immense fear. All of them stay rooted in their position, leaving their mercy up to Xero.

At this moment, Sakura is so sure of their inevitable demise that she didn't have it in her to plead for their lives. She is sure all of those will fall to deaf ears, or Xero will not care as he moves in to execute them all. She and the girls continue gawking to the bloodied zombie, all their breaths hitching within their throats or lungs as if they are frozen under his menacing gaze…

カザァー

…then they see Xero open a rift behind him, showing the view of a cloudy night sky and a town below filled with colorful nights to light up the night.

The sight of this instills confusion in the onlookers. "Huh?"

As if noticing their puzzled looks, Xero sees no harm in explaining his next action to clear up their misunderstanding. "Now then, I've seen what I can do using the 「ichor」, and while I would like to 「continue」 so I can see if I'm capable of producing that「effect」, I'm satisfied with just being able to control the ichor to attack even if they're prehensile tendrils initially. I can rest assured I can continue doing more of it once I set foot outside on Saga."

The onlookers are more confused. Is he treating him overwhelming Rianima as some sort of… experiment? And what did he mean he's fine controlling the ichor? Most notably, he said something about going out to Saga. That strikes them as quite odd.

"All of you will stay here while I go out," continued Xero. "Please, make yourselves at home. I hope you'll find some enjoyment in this small space Shino and I created as extension of 「Linkin Park」. We'll be back soon." After saying that, Xero turns back to the rift, preparing himself to jump out to the sky.

"W-Wha? Hey, wait a sec! Where do you think you're going!?"

Xero turns around again to face Saki, the one who shouted that question. She's giving him a glare over his suspicious action as she says, "As much as I don't like saying this, ain't you gonna finish us off? You've fended our bodyguards, leaving us flat out vulnerable, sooo why are ya thinkin' of getting out of this place?"

The leader of Franchouchou stares right into Xero's eyes for a few seconds, before she sees him turn away, back to looking at the rift. "It will be a waste of time if I decide to kill you all as of now. It's… an enticing thought, don't mistake that, but we can be patient. Our top priority shall take precedence above ending all of your undead lives here. That's… all we have to say. Now if you'll excuse us…"

Xero grabs the edge of the rift, his left leg partially out through passing the hole in a space. He's about to get out fully when a scissor thrown with excellent precision pierces his hand grabbing the rift.

ドズゥ

"Nngh!?"

Surprised, Xero reflexively removes his hand, consequently stepping back from the rift to look at his injured hand, holding his wrist in turn. Soon after, he becomes angry, growling as he lifts his head up to see who dared stab his hand.

Said culprit is Lisette, sprinting quick towards Xero alongside Enjel, who has her scythe equipped. These two have an urgent look shown on their faces, their gazes solely focused on attacking Xero as fast as they can.

"Ehh? Lisette? Enjel?" Lily called out, perplexed.

"They're seriously trying to attack him again?" Sakura added. "But… they are no match against Linkin Park! T-They're gonna get hurt again!"

Before anyone could stop them, Goldia, Fleta and Harpae next joined the two, eliciting surprises not only from Franchouchou, but Rianima also.

"G-Goldia-chan!?" Kakyoin called out.

"Why in the world are they running towards Xero?!" Avdol questioned, worried for their lives.

As if their actions aren't baffling enough, what Goldia shouted next increases their confusion and concern more. "Xero…! He… He must be stopped! We can't let him leave while the ｢ichor｣ within him is ｢active｣!"

"The ｢ichor｣?" Yugiri parroted.

Eventually, the five girls got close to Xero. Lisette and Enjel swing their weapons against Xero while Harpae, Goldia and Fleta (after she left Egliette in Lily's hands) all grabbed his arms, who immediately didn't put up resistance. In spite of the presumed danger he's in, he only regards the attacking girls with a puzzled look.

"We won't let you get away!" Enjel exclaimed, many feathers swaying in the air around her after her wing flapped once as her scythe edged closer to Xero's neck alongside Lisette's scissor looking to stabbing one leg.

"Hmph." Xero is unperturbed of these girls' attempt to stop him as Linkin Park comes out to land a swift punch to Lisette and Enjel's gut, knocking the wind out of them while loosening their hold on their weapons. Next, Xero gets Goldia, Fleta and Harpae off of him by grabbing them with his crimson appendages, doing the same to the two stunned girls before throwing them back to Franchouchou.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" The die Heilige sisters screamed as they sailed through the air until they crashed directly into Franchouchou. They all let out many groans as they take some seconds to recollect their bearings before standing up.

Predictably, their reckless intention on preventing Xero from going out through the rift isn't taken kindly by the Franchouchou and Rianima, with Egliette proceeding to scold them like a mother would to their unruly child.

"Fleta! Goldia! What on earth are you five doing!? You do know directly attacking that fiend is dangerous! All of you could get injured!"

"What she said!" Junko concurred, giving them a concerned but disapproving look. "We saw him overwhelm Bucciarati-san's group, and when we witnessed you try to engage Xero, we were horrified under the belief you could suffer the same thing, or if not, then worse!"

"B-But Eglieeeette! Xero was about to get out of this unnerving place!" Fleta objected, sounding like a whining child. "If he goes out after he showed some control over his ｢ichor｣, Saga will be done for!"

"W-What… What do you mean?" Ai inquired. "We all know Xero and his ichor are bad news, but you are so worried regarding him leaving the Castle of Glass. So why?"

Goldia immediately opens her mouth in hopes of making the uninformed zombies understand the implication and why they futilely attempted to stop Xero. "Xero…! Xero ｢mustn't be allowed｣ to leave! If he does, he'll-!"

"BE QUIET!"

Whatever Goldia is about to say, she's unable to finish it when she's forced to shut up. She stiffens for a moment, before she throws her hands onto her mouth. Or at least, where her mouth should be.

"Mmmph!?"

She recoils in shock when she touches not her lips, but a smooth skin over where her mouth should be. In other words, the mouth is gone. She tried screaming in fear, but it was greatly muffled. Nonetheless, it's audible enough for the girls to look at her and either gasp or stiffen in surprise and panic also to see what Xero did to silence her.

She has no mouth and she must tell them urgently not to let Xero get away, especially when she and her sisters see him about to leave after using his ability to shut her up.

Unfortunately, Xero is not done yet. "LINKIN PARK!"

"GUNIGUNI!"

Two seconds later after hearing that cry, the die Heilige sisters sans Goldia feel their eyes becoming heavy. And sleepy. They wobble in place as a result, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by the zombie girls. They didn't get to say something when they fell asleep either on the floor or against any girls.

"Zzzzzz…"

"Eh? Are they asleep?" Sakura noted obviously, watching their chests rising and falling as they snore audibly, unmoving. "Why are they sleeping at a time like this?"

"Probably because of Linkin Park," speculated Saki, of which the rest of the girls sans Sakura and Tae understood. "I have to say… that's one way to silence someone so they wouldn't spill the beans."

"We wouldn't take that as a good sign," worriedly replied Junko. "Goldia-san's mouth is gone, preventing her from clarifying more about why Xero shouldn't be allowed to leave while the ichor in him is active."

"Speaking of Xero, what became of him!?" Ai turns to the uncompromising zombie having his attention stolen by Rianima, five of whom are gearing up to stop him from leaving the Castle of Glass. They are still recoiling from the pain inflicted by Xero's ichor, but that doesn't mean they're not down for the count yet. Their auras are seen becoming active, indicating they're gonna call out their Stands. As for Mamezuku and Narancia though, they remain disabled and sprawled across the ground, seemingly unable to summon or activate their Stands.

"Mmmm! Nnnnnhhhh!" In spite of the weird feeling of her mouth being gone, Goldia maintained her cool as her voice comes out muffled, glancing at Rianima in hopes they will be the ones to stop Xero. Surely they must have heard her and her sisters shouting about how their enemy mustn't be allowed to leave. There's not much Franchouchou and Rianima know about ichor in general, but they aren't too blind and dumb to assess the implications and what Xero will do.

That is exactly what Kakyoin, Avdol, Bucciarati, Johnny and Gyro think as they all rise up shakily, enduring the great pain on their bodies. They glare hard at Xero, who still has Linkin Park out as he regards them all with the same bored look he gave to the girls earlier. Such expression isn't taken kindly by them naturally, with Avdol, Johnny and Gyro showing their consternation outwardly by activating their Stands.

"Goldia-chan and her sisters are fearful of what will happen when Xero gets out! They mentioned his ｢ichor｣, so I think… I understand what he's gonna do!" Kakyoin exclaimed, Hierophant Green materializing to shoot out many tendrils. "We must stop him at all costs! We shouldn't let him get that chance!"

We heard you clearly Kakyoin!" Johnny replied back as he fires three bullets, Tusk ACT3 hovering by his side. "Chumimiiii~in!"

Bruno, Gyro and Avdol follow suit, ready to attack after either moving within their designated ranges or throwing from afar. However, Xero is quick to the draw.

"GuNiGUnI!"

They all heard Linkin Park's cry again, and right before Franchouchou, Goldia and Egliette's eyes, Kakyoin is splashed with a high volume of water from above, restraining him and Hierophant Green tightly after the water transforms into a rope-like form, Avdol is completely encased in ice after glass particles coalesced around him instantly, leaving his frozen shock in full view, Bucciarati crumbles into many small pieces, leaving only his eyes and mouth lying on top of the pile of his sand-like form. They are seen moving, indicating he's still aware, and the sight of it freaking the girls out. Lastly, Johnny and Gyro's skin becomes coarse as their subtle movements slow to a crawl until they're not moving. They didn't get the chance to speak or throw a steel ball as they went rigid, their bodies sprouting vines and leaves from within their clothes. These, along with their wood-like skin, mean these two transformed into a human-sized tree and like what happened to Bucciarati, their eyes are still moving, meaning they are aware of what they had become too.

ドドン

Seeing all of Franchouchou's bodyguards getting immobilized thanks to Linkin Park's imagination power naturally sit very well for them. "KAKYOIIIN!" Sakura and Junko all shouted. Goldia seems to be shouting his name too, but again, it comes out as a muffled scream.

"BUCCIARATI-SAN!" Ai next yelled out her most favored bodyguard.

"My word!" Yugiri covered her mouth as she gasped over the two jockeys' state, sharing Lily's shock as well.

"Fucking hell… Xero dealt with them so easily it felt like cheating. He sure ain't holdin' back…" Saki coarsely remarked in disbelief, biting her lower lip as she idly holds Tae back by her arm as Number Zero is intent on attacking the enemy after comprehending what he did to her bodyguards.

"A-Agh… This is… not good." Bucciarati muttered, unable to bring out Sticky Fingers as he lies there as hundreds of pieces.

"Goddammit… Knew it wouldn't be long before Xero targeted them." Mamezuku lamented, still immobilized.

Seeing all potential threats to him are disabled, Xero can't resist showing a satisfied smirk. Calling back Linkin Park to him, he turns to the rift still floating in the air nearby, waiting for him to jump through. "Hmph. I wasted more time than I liked. I shall not delay my visit to Saga any longer." What Xero said as he moves to get out of the Castle of Glass for real.

"Like hellwe're letting you escape!"

Many running footsteps are heard by Xero, who couldn't contain a growl escaping from his mouth as he turns away from the rift once more to see not only Saki, the one who said the aforementioned statement, but also Tae running on four legs, becoming a wild beast hell-bent on stopping Xero through any means necessary. These two are expected to rise up to the challenge owing to their rambunctious personalities, so Xero is a little surprised to see Yugiri, Lily (after giving Egliette back to Goldia), Ai and even Junko all running to stop him.

Noticing Xero is looking at them, Saki adorns a grim and determined expression as she exclaims, "Get your ass away from that rift! We're not having you lay waste on Saga, you monster!"

"Normally we stay out of any danger, but if nothing would be done to stop you, who will?" Ai remarked, sharing Saki's expression too. "So we demand you to face us like Shino initially planned to, as much we don't like it!"

"RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Tae roared in agreement before she takes a leap up in the air and falls straight on Xero, her mouth open to bite him down. Saki follows suit, jumping in the air as her body spins with one leg extended, intent on giving Xero a roundhouse kick to his face. The rest of the zombie girls continue running at Xero, holding their hands out in order to keep him still to let Saki and Tae have a slim chance of attacking him. Ai, Junko and Lily are absolutely reluctant and scared of his retaliation, but at this point, they are so desperate they chose to do anything so long as Xero is compromised.

Sakura is stricken with horror and dread when she saw them run. She reaches out her hand, calling them out to save themselves. "H-Hey wait! All of you, don't-!"

Unfortunately for them, Xero is again quick on the uptake. This time however, he decides to test something out as he clenches his injured hand gushing with blood, spewing more of it out. Well, well… You six girls are braver than I thought. Makes it unfortunate that I'll reward your bravery, or actually recklessness, by making you become the next test subjects for this brief experiment. Don't worry, this won't be as painful as I did to your bodyguards.

Not surprisingly, Xero makes short work of Franchouchou by rapidly moving his injured hand in a swiping motion, the force and speed of it enough to send out the blood away. The girls were only three meters away when they saw Xero swing his hand, with Yugiri and Ai immediately noticing the blood hurled in their direction. "Eh? Did Xero shoot out… blood?" Ai said in slight disgust.

"On what reason did he shoot them out? And… why are those blood moving fast like… Johnny-han's nail… bullets…" Soon as those words left her mouth, Ai and Yugiri realize what's gonna happen to them next, warning their fellow zombies too late. "EVERYONE! Protect yourselves!"

Since the warning came out too late, the six members of Franchouchou were all shot by the blood projectiles, hitting them so fast they immediately felt a stinging pain coursing through their bodies.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Their attempted assault disrupted, the six are then sprawled across the floor, emitting groans or whimpers as most body parts are experiencing a lot of agony. They felt their arms, legs or shoulder were shot by a gun, or sliced by a sharp blade thrown against them.

"Agh… S-Shit, my… guts…" Saki grits her teeth, hugging her waist with her arms as she lies on her side. Despite her wording, no guts are spilled out thankfully. Beside her, Ai is forced to crouch after both her legs receive the most damage.

"It hurts… It hurts too bad…" Lily whimpered, clutching her right arm with tears on the corner of her eyes. Yugiri, despite receiving also many injuries like Ai, crawls up to Number Six to comfort her. Upon sensing her, she didn't wait to be hugged by her honorary big sister.

"Oooorrrrggghhh…" Poor Tae looks like an injured animal or child because her whole body sans her head was struck by most of the ichor projectiles, being the unluckiest one among the girls. She's being cared for by Junko, who is enduring the agony in her shoulder, chest and waist, clutching the latter part as she attempts to comfort her most frequent chaser out of concern.

"There, there Tae-san. P-Please bear with the pain for now." Number Four's comforting words seem to have an effect as the unawakened zombie stops groaning to soak in her comfort, letting a small smile appear.

"You girls! Are you all okay!?"

Sakura runs towards them after watching them get shot by Xero. Quickly crouching beside them, Sakura is tempted to check out their wounds to see how severe they are. But just seeing their agonized state seems enough of an indicator over how much they are hurting in her eyes. She winces pitifully on the girls, feeling guilty for not joining them in trying to stop Xero in vain, though if only because Saki didn't repeat her order before she and Tae charged away.

"N-Ngh… D-Don't ya worry. We're… still alive…! Ha ha ha…" Saki groaned out a reply, straining a smile and a thumbs up to Sakura.

"As… zombies…" Junko added.

"You don't need to add that. We get it." Lily finally called her out for her tendency to remind them of their undead status.

Before Sakura can say something a little desperately, a foreboding presence is felt by them, with the six girls looking up only to hitch their breath or snarl as they see Xero standing before them with a scowl directed below him towards a certain zombie. Sakura is the last to look at him, letting out a shriek as she stands up straight and is tempted to move away from Xero. She's not liking the way he looks at her, not paying heed to the girls he made short work of.

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

"U-Uhh… Ummm…"

"You're lucky to not have joined your group in attempting to stop me from going out through the rift," began Xero. "Because of that, you were spared from getting shot by many projectiles made from my ichor. However, now that I thought about it, Shino himself doesn't want to hurt you at all because of your past friendship with him, therefore leaving you the only zombie who wasn't hurt by either Linkin Park or me. That… won't sit right with me."

Sakura gulps in fear, genuinely having no idea if what he said did happen to her. "U-Ummm, surely you're not… thinking on…"

"Oh, no no. I'm not gonna kill you. You have our word that we'll uphold that exception." He quickly corrected, shaking his head. Sakura would have felt relieved her assumption was proven wrong, but the anxious feeling in her chest isn't leaving her. As she laughed uneasily, taking one step back, she saw Linkin Park close the rift, much to her and the (conscious) onlookers' surprise.

"Huh? Why did you close the rift? As much I don't like the thought of it, aren't you going out to Saga after no one is opposing you anymore?" Sakura questioned the sense of dread within her increasing more.

Xero smiles unreassuringly at her. "Oh I will very soon… after I made you part of our ｢hive network｣."

It didn't take long for Xero's ominous statement to register within their heads, especially when more tentacles sprout out of him. Sensing Xero is gonna do something bad to Sakura, Saki raises her voice, "SAKURA! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM-!"

"STAY DOWN!"

"AARRGGGHHH!?"

The six idols feel their weight increasing so much they are forced to lie on the ground paralyzed. This added more agony to their injuries, causing most of them to scream in discomfort.

"AI-CHAN! YUGIRI-CHAN! SAKI-CHAN!"

Remembering Saki's warning, Sakura quickly turns around on her feet to run. However, she didn't get the chance when she found herself being lifted up from the ground after Linkin Park grabbed her neck with its right hand. "NNNGRK!?"

"Got you!" Xero sneered at her as the sprouted appendages writhe around, inching closer to her head, chest, arms and legs. One of these carefully aims a sharp tip towards Sakura's forehead, primed and ready. The redhead soon realized what Xero would do to force her to become part of his "hive mind". If that isn't a viable option, death will surely come to her, whether being choked or getting stabbed in her head.

ドドドドドドドド

"W-WAAAARGH!" She screamed in her chokehold, her eyes widened in fear.

"If it's any comfort for you, this… experiment will be over quick. Can't say if it's gonna be painful for you however," informed Xero with a smirk, not sound as any kind reassurance at all. "You should be lucky. As you are Shino's ｢friend｣, I thought he wouldn't like it if you suffer a drawn-out death. He's my cherished companion, and as his ｢friend｣, I'll take it easy on you. Hope you are grateful, Sakura Minamoto!"

Watching her favorite idol about to be possibly infected through blood transfer from the sidelines looking after her sleeping sisters, Goldia reaches out with a muffled scream, her reaction shared by Egliette held within her hands.

"That monster is gonna kill him! We must stop him!" The doll futilely shouted.

But we can't, because Kakyoin and his friends are completely immobilized! And we are powerless! Goldia hated thinking that, finding herself out of options. She tried shaking her sisters awake, but no matter how hard she shook them, they wouldn't rouse! She's starting to panic because she's going to see a friend becoming infected by Xero.

In her panic, she turns to the veteran Stand Users being sidelined some meters away from Xero, completely unable to act, all five of them…

…Huh? Where did the other two? Goldia's fear is forgotten upon seeing two members missing.

Having enjoyed himself relishing Sakura's fear and helplessness, Xero shouts, "HERE IT COMES! SAY HELLO TO THE WONDERS OF THE ICHOR, SAKURA MINAMOTOOOO!" The pointed appendage then stretches forward to stab her forehead.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NO NO NOOOOOO! This is Sakura's last thoughts before she closes her eyes…

ドズゥ

A stabbing sound is heard by almost everyone. Of all of them, Goldia and Egliette are the only ones who witnessed someone being stabbed. To their surprise however… the victim is not Sakura herself.

"NGAAAAGH!?"

Xero arches his neck and head up when he felt something pierced the back of his neck. The pain is nearly too much for him to bear, to the point he is close to losing his concentration over Linkin Park. "W-What!? Who… Who is stabbing me!? A-And wait! Someone… Someone is behind me!" He exclaims, finding himself unable to move. Before he can say more, his eyes notice a long thin object passing by his right. That object is attached to the back of Linkin Park's neck, who appears to be on the same boat as its false user, albeit less so. Huh? What's that? It looks like a… peeled rope… Wait, peeled?

At that moment, Xero recognizes what the peeled wire rope belongs to. And also, he next hears an airplane's propeller and engine behind him, too. His eyes widen in surprise just as the owner of the wire rope speaks up.

"Your Stand, Linkin Park… I have to admit… Its imagination ability is not something to mess with."

"UNGH!?"

BGM: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: JoJolion OST: Rai Mamezuku's Theme (Fan Made)

Because his neck is in pain, Xero cannot turn around to see who's behind him. However, he clearly recognizes the calm, smooth tone of Rai Mamezuku's voice, causing him more surprise. Wh-What!? It can't be! Mamezuku should be immobilized!

"Just the fact that you can manipulate reality using only your mind or imagination means that potentially, you could've easily won the fight without even bringing out Linkin Park to attack. I already thought of that during my group's first encounter with you," continued Peel Planter. "Which makes me glad that ｢Shino｣ disclosed a major weakness that can interrupt all your imagination and cause you great pain. Which is exactly what I'm doing."

"Grrngh!"

"Well that only happened after me and Mamezuku here were somehow freed from becoming a puddle on the ground and hacked to pieces," another voice is heard, making Xero stiffen more when he realizes Narancia isn't under the effect of Linkin Park anymore. Now he knows why he's listening to Aerosmith's buzzing engine. "You ain't stupid enough to free us from getting affected by your powers, so when we suddenly found out we are able to stand up on our feet, we were puzzled. Buuuuuut after musing about it, I've come to the conclusion that, possibly, ｢Linkin Park｣actually freed the two of us to stop you from killing Sakura. I think it's most likely the ｢Stand｣itself… has a ｢mind｣of its own, like it was implied when we watched Shino's memory."

Consternation and anger fills Xero's face as he glances at Linkin Park's winged back with gnashing teeth. Of all the things he didn't expect, learning the Stand whom he shares partial control together with Shino actually went against his command is not on his cards. Suffice it to say, he's not liking the unexpected change of event. "Linkin Park…! How DARE you!"

As if hearing in response, Linkin Park turns his around to give him a defiant look, unbothered by the sharp wire rope pierced to his neck. Xero does not take it well.

"HAAARGH! I WON'T TAKE THIS LYING DOWN! LINKIN-!"

"Not so fast!" This time, Mamezuku is quick on the uptake as he pushes his extended cone-shaped hand deep to Linkin Park's neck. The accompanying pain causes Linkin Park to disappear, freeing Sakura from its grip and sending Xero in a fit of agony as he belches out blood.

"Wh-Whoa!" Sakura yelped, somewhat relieved to be not on chokehold anymore.

"URAAAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!" Xero let out a scream, really feeling the unbearable pain Shino had felt a few days ago. Seeing this, Mamezuku retracts his hand before he glances at Narancia. "He's distracted! DO IT, NARANCIA!"

"I'm on it! AEROSMITH!"

ドグォォォオ

"NGAACK!"

After Aerosmith made successful contact and is carrying Xero along up in the air, what follows next should be no surprise.

ドガガガガガガ!

"VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA! VOLARE VIAAAAA!"

Riddling him with many bullets as he can, Narancia finishes by firing at his head quick, effectively killing him. "And one more for good measure!"

ドガァァァン!

No scream is heard from Xero and if he did, the explosion suppressed it as his lifeless body fell on his back, his eyes open and fresh wounds soon flowed out high volume of blood to form a puddle underneath.

BGM Ends

The sight of Xero falling limp nearby brings smiles to Narancia and Mamezuku's faces, really satisfied to have stopped him and paid him back after giving nearly all the zombies trouble with his ability. "Alright! He's stopped for now! Nice job, Mamezuku! High five!" Narancia raises one hand and waits for his high five. Rai shrugs before he gives him a high five in a calm demeanor in contrast to Narancia's energetic own.

"You did well too." He complimented him with a nod.

While these two are busy, Sakura crawls toward Xero's limped body after recovering from having her neck crushed a little. Being careful she didn't step on his blood, she takes a gander to his bullet-filled and charred body. She cannot help picturing Shino being the one who was killed, which is why she's unable to resist wincing from the excessive injuries he received. But Shino is not the one who was killed! It's ｢Xero｣! She tried reminding herself of this fact, but that didn't stop her from imagining Shino suffering a violent death. She would be angry at Mamezuku and Narancia for killing him if that is a fact.

"Sakura!"

The redhead perks up when hearing her name being called. She glances to her side to see her groupmates running straight to her in both concern and relief. Sakura rises up on her feet as soon as they approached her, with Saki stepping close to grab her shoulder with a distressed expression. "Are ya alright!? Did Xero hurt you!? You… weren't hurt at all, right? Right!?"

"I-I'm fine, Saki-chan!" Sakura assured her and her groupmates. "All he did is grab my neck tightly. If Mamezuku-san and Narancia-san hadn't intervened, I-I would be killed!"

"W-Well, we're so glad you're safe!" Junko said. "And lucky too, because you did not got struck by Xero's ichor like what we're enduring…" She clutches her shoulder with one eye closed and a pained expression on her face.

"Ah, right… Y-You girls, are you…?"

"W-We'll be fine! Don't worry about us!" Lily lied in hopes of abating her worry in spite of them holding their bloodless injuries.

"Uuuurrggggh…" Tae groaned quietly, seemingly in agreement.

Their attempted reassurances didn't convince Sakura as she continues looking at them in worry. But seeing they wanted to drop the subject, she chose to keep it quiet for now.

"*yawn* What… did we miss…?"

Hearing a yawn from behind, Franchouchou turns around to see Goldia, who regained her mouth back much to her relief, approaching them alongside her awakened sisters. Fleta and Harpae let out a big yawn while Lisette and Enjel wipe their eyes or stretch their arms. Also, Egliette is back being held by Fleta.

"Oh just those two stopping Xero from killing Sakura and his ability from inflicting us more. If they hadn't Sakura will be the one lying over there." Goldia answered Harpae's question, pointing at Xero.

The awakened girls look to the limp zombie, their eyes briefly widening. "Really? Does this mean… we've won?"

"Not yet actually. The ichor is still inside his body. All those two did is put him to sleep."

Concurrently, Narancia and Mamezuku tend to their recovering groupmates after Linkin Park's ability is called off, thus freeing or restoring five of their teammates back to normal. Only Avdol, Johnny and Gyro are reeling from the effects, the former bringing out Magician's Red to warm him up while the latter two opt to stretch and spin their bodies until their joints pop.

"Guys! You're all back to normal!" Narancia exclaimed in relief.

"Y-Yeah… I'm glad Gyro and I are not continuing being human trees," agreed Johnny, scratching his head because it itches. "Hopefully this is the very last time we'll turn into trees."

"What makes you say that?" Mamezuku raised a brow.

"Ah don't worry. Nothing you should really know." Gyro shrugged, wanting to dismiss the subject.

Kakyoin turns to the shivering Egyptian, having never thought he would see him be affected greatly from cold even if he can control fire. "Avdol… Will you be okay? Is Magician's Red effectively warming you up?"

"I-I-I'll be f-fine. Just g-g-give me t-ten seconds…" He shakily replied, pulling his robe in as he exhales.

"Take your time you need to warm up," assured Bucciarati. He looks at the gathered girls surrounding most likely Xero's body. He may not see much of Mamezuku and Narancia's counterattack, but he did hear them achieving a small victory over the enemy which renders him dead. Narrowing his eyes, he says, "Although… We must reconvene around Xero's body right now. I believe he's not really dead and could be in the process of repairing his body. We need to deal with him before he wakes up and causes more trouble."

Rianima nods or gives out a grunt of approval before they move close to the girls. Seeing them get near, they split aside to give them space so they can take a gander to the corpse. From there, the zombie guys immediately notice the heart in the circular cavity, unmoving but still active. Remembering Emi's attempt earlier, they now know what they must do.

"Sorry Avdol, but can you pause warming yourself up? I need your Stand to 「burn」 the ichor heart after I pull it out of Shino's body," ordered Bruno. "Are you able to move your body normally?"

"I am. Magician's Red is in standby mode," nodded Avdol, his Stand standing, or hovering, in attention with hands out like it's extending a claw. "Proceed with the extraction."

"Very well. All of you, please step back. I don't want any of you girls to get hurt."

Except for these two, the zombies back away to a safe distance, their eyes focused on the bloody corpse. Seeing they have followed his word without problem, he glances at Avdol and nods. Fire Lord nods in return, his face becoming stern.

Without saying more, Bucciarati kneels on one knee before he reaches out to grab the heart and pull it out using Sticky Fingers…

ガシィィ

"UH!?"

…but a hand emerged to halt Zipper Man's hand.

!?

Most of the zombies step back or let out a short scream or shout as they watch Linkin Park slowly rise up, still holding on to Sticky Fingers' wrist, and by extension, Bucciarati's. By the time it fully materialized, albeit looking like it's phasing out of reality, Bruno finds himself an inch above the ground, his feet dangling, as he realizes Linkin Park is casually carrying him up.

Everyone, most of all Bucciarati, couldn't believe what they were seeing. Despite the user(s) is unconscious, Linkin Park has somehow appeared, slightly unbothered by its temporarily dead master. "W-What?! Impossible! How can you-" Bruno stated in disbelief.

ドギューン

"Aaaahh!"

Linkin Park stops him from finishing by throwing him backwards, crashing into Avdol. Everyone turns to them in concern for the downed zombies, but only briefly as their attention is on the Stand who is looking at them all with a glare apparently.

The most sensitive members of Franchouchou are shaking or sweating up a storm as they regard Linkin Park in fear. "U-Uhh…! It's out… Linkin Park is out…!" Lily stuttered, scooting up near Yugiri.

"How in the hell…!?" Saki is getting more freaked out because of its persistence.

"Xero is dead, right!?" Ai exclaimed, hoping to clear out a misunderstanding while pushing through her rising panic. "Since a Stand is connected to their user, it doesn't make sense why Linkin Park is able to exist out of its unconscious user! S-So… how!?"

"Ah! M-Maybe it's because Xero is going to wake up!" Avdol guessed, assuming a stance together with his teammates, most of them brimming with auras as they plan to call forth their Stands. "We already saw Shino capable of living past his death thanks to the ichor, and we all suspected it will happen after Narancia and Mamezuku killed him! Most likely… Linkin Park intends to defend its master until Xero rouses from his brief sleep!"

"Well with Linkin Park out, we must attack it directly!" Kakyoin proposed hurriedly, commanding Hierophant Green to charge an Emerald Splash. The others soon follow as Avdol, Bucciarati and Mamezuku are about to rush forward…

Wait! I'm not going to attack!

…only to stop when they heard those words. In their minds.

It appears they're not the only ones who heard them, as all twenty-one zombies collectively look at… Linkin Park. Yeah, sounds like the 'voice' they heard is actually the Stand itself.

"…Umm, did all of us hear that… in our heads?" Goldia inquired.

That's right. I am speaking to all of you in your heads. And just to be clear, it is I, Linkin Park, who is talking, not Shino.

"Ah!" They gasped in surprise, now looking at Linkin Park firmly.

I shall not let this go longer as Xero is about to wake up like Fire Lord said, continued Linkin Park. You must meet with Emi Lea Essence after I teleported all of you to her location. It is 「imperative」you acquire her assistance if you have the chance to stop Xero and free my true master from its grip. Please, I'm begging you all…

"What? You're sending us to where Emi-san is located?" Sakura asked, trying to understand the actual sentient Stand. "How are we sure you're not-"

Xero is going to wake up! I'm sending you all to where she is now!

Those are the last words they heard from Linkin Park before Franchouchou, Rianima and the die Heilige sisters vanished from this single plane of Castle of Glass. As soon as they're gone, it whisks back to Xero's stirring body, placing its hope in them for reuniting with Emi to gain the chance to stop the sentient tainted blood its actual master didn't deserve to be living with.

Once his host's body is reinvigorated, Xero rises up slowly until he's sitting up as he regains consciousness. He stays still for a second before he glances to his left with a glowering expression, seeing not one soul in sight.

"Linkin Park… How dare you send those false zombies to my cursed enemy's whereabouts…" Xero growled lowly, the heart beating loudly again in response to his rising negative emotions.

ドクゥン ドクゥン

"You're trying to plant the seeds of my demise!? They don't understand…They wouldn't understand why Shino is destined for this role, and why I pledged myself to be intertwined with him, until the end of time.

ドクゥン ドクゥン

Xero slowly stands up on his feet, feeling the blood, alongside every negative emotion filling his mind, supplying his body with ample strength and energy as it courses through his veins. "ExCePt SAKuRA, all the saviors of Saga shall perish under our watch! They don't deserve us. For none of themm will take me and Shino apart. NO ONE! Not Rianima, not Franchouchou, not Emi's family. And most of all… NOT EMI HERSELF."

ドォォォーッ

Multiple appendages erupt from Xero's back, numbering up to thirteen, as they pierce through the blood-soaked coat. Feeling the coat and shirt blocking the flow of the ichor, he takes them off completely, exposing his toned, but skinny upper body. He then slouches, emitting a snarling growl as one thought in in his anger-filled mind: kill Emi and the rest of zombies without mercy.

"I am not sensing everyone's presence still, in spite of how far I flown."

Emi mutters to herself worriedly as she continues flying through the cold air of Castle of Glass, not paying heed to the environment she found herself in inadvertently. She's holding a pocket mirror in her hands, planning to return it to Goldia once she finds her or any of the zombies.

Currently, Emi is in the deeper sections of the Castle of Glass after Xero laid a trap on her to remove her out of the fight. She soon realized why he ruled her out because of the ichor's greatest weakness, as well as her probably knowing how to deal with an undead infected by the ichor. This reason could be also why he chose not to kill her after his surprise attack of stabbing her with a blood tentacle didn't work. Sending her far, far away from her allies was seen as the best course of action, and as she later realized, depriving them of a reliable means of attack even if Avdol is another person who can exploit Xero's weakness.

Immediately after Emi found herself in a dungeon-like section, the background being slightly dim with fewer stars and nebulae as if simulating how dark the underground dungeons are, she took off flying in one direction, determined to return to her companions as fast as possible. Even if sixteen minutes have passed, and she was briefly interrupted by a pocket mirror hitting her nose after it was possibly thrown here, she remains persistent.

During these long minutes, the ghostly zombie decided to muse over what she had sensed from Shino after her failed attempt to read and control his soul. It is typical for Emi to perceive a lot of emotions within any people she's using Bring Me to Life on, most of them being negative or almost wild. Like they're taking their emotions far to the extreme. She had gotten used to dealing with any negative emotions, treating it as a normal part during soul examination, which makes the uncompromising high volume of hatred, anger, grief and resentment… Basically all kinds of negative feelings she briefly perceived to be leaking out and used as possible fuel for Xero were too much to be reliably contained within Shino's souls that she almost faltered.

You have been holding all your sadness and contempt to your ｢existence｣all these years, Shino… Over nineteen years, I should add. Your resilience would have been admirable if not for what you were containing within your ｢soul｣. A single tear trickled out from her right eye, but Emi didn't pay it any heed. Your case is the first time I am examining a soul with a ｢lot｣of heavy baggage threatening to be let out in a dangerous way. I wonder… Will the normal process be enough to snap you out of Xero's control? I… I want to believe it is since… it is reliable.

Heaving out a sigh, Emi sets her thoughts aside for now as she refocuses on the dim lighting of the "dungeon". Just thinking on what she has felt from Shino's soul and what she remembered during Shino's last days as a living human fills her chest with sorrow, barely making him choke. But all it did to her was make her more determined to return back to her allies as she picks up speed, hoping beyond doubt she makes it back to their last known location.

Some seconds after reaffirming that thought however, Emi soon notices Franchouchou, Rianima, her daughters and pets standing around in confusion many meters away. "What? Is that… them?" Halting her flight, she takes a second to double check if her eyes are playing tricks. Sensing their souls though confirms that she made it back to them at last.

Her face lighting up, Emi flies to the rattled group and declares her presence. "Everyone! I finally found you!"

The group's confusion is overturned when they hear her, turning all at once. It isn't long before they are elated and relieved, more so for her daughters and pets, to see Emi as she halts her flight to set her foot to the ground so she's now walking. They hug her, laughing or cheering in delight. The rest simply stands back, giving Emi a smile or nod to acknowledge her welcomed presence.

As they continue embracing her, Goldia notices Emi is holding something in her hand. "Mom, is that my pocket mirror you're holding?" She asked.

"Ah, yes. Here." She immediately confirmed, breaking apart so she can properly give it back to her eldest daughter. Goldia soon takes it out of her hands, letting out a big sigh of relief.

"Thank you, mom! You have no idea how much I wanted to panic after Xero snatched the pocket mirror away from me." She spoke.

"What? Xero is the one who thrown your mirror to this… dungeon?" Emi asked in surprise.

Goldia nods. "Yes. He snatched it out of my hands so I wouldn't try sending Franchouchou to safety within my dreamscape. I thought it would be effective in ensuring their protection while Rianima stops Xero."

Emi's surprise is doubled though only a little, just as Fleta chimes in with a huff. "But he saw her activating her Stand ability. And it's not long before he attacked us next using his creepy Stand and the ichor he's now able to control after Lynn, Hartzler, Cakyoween and his friends fell to that monster."

"Wait, come again?" Emi uttered, a little alarmed.

Seeing she wants to know what happened when she was absent and how they were sent here, they explain how the fight went; from Xero gaining more control and access to blood attacks that can hurt or cripple them including Franchouchou and Rianima, to Linkin Park acting on its own accord momentarily to transport them to this dungeon-like area. Upon finishing, Emi's alarm becomes more pronounced after learning Rianima and Franchouchou sans Sakura were struck by the ichor. They are still reeling from their injuries inflicted at this point by the way, going by their wincing expressions.

"｢Bring Me to Life｣!"

Many flames shot out from Emi's hands to douse Franchouchou and Rianima entirely in fire, so quickly they only realized what she was doing when they found themselves covered in it entirely. They didn't panic however because they immediately feel the healing properties the flames possess, and before long, their injuries are gone and their energy is mostly restored.

Sakura looked at them in awe, not seeing any of their injuries inflicted by Xero anymore. "You guys! Your injuries… They're all gone! Like, they were never on your bodies before!" She pointed out obviously.

"Eryaaaah!" Tae raised her arms and head up high, really comprehending the healing process with gusto.

"This is what we needed after we experienced permanent wounds for the first time as zombies," remarked Ai, moving her arms and shoulders to test if she's still hurting. "Good thing your Bring Me to Life lets you heal someone, zombie or not Emi-san. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. I am making sure the ｢ichor｣have not dug deep in your bodies or infected you." Emi revealed.

The two groups look at her in alarm when hearing that word. "In…fected?" Narancia repeated.

"Like… what happened to Shino?" Johnny questioned. "And will happen to Sakura too?"

Said zombie girl lets out a brief shriek when realizing she was almost infected. "Ehhh!? S-So what Xero meant about including me as part of his ｢hive mind｣is turning me into a RAVENOUS ZOMBIE!?"

"Yes. It is really fortunate all Xero did to you is inflicting cuts or stabs through manifesting it as tentacles from his ｢heart｣ or shooting them like bullets. And it is a good thing ｢Linkin Park｣ intervened to prevent you from becoming infected,"answered Emi. "It is also fortunate all of you stopped him from leaving, even if he must be killed to do so. But whether that is your intention or not, it is quite reckless and dangerous you threw yourselves onto him and got hurt in the process. I got affrighted especially to you five."

Goldia and her sisters sheepishly smiled or avert their gazes with a whistle (Fleta) or remorse (Harpae). Franchouchou received a minor scolding from Rianima as well for endangering themselves to stop Xero, though they complimented them since their actions ended up distracting him so luck gave then an opening to kill him.

"That said," continued Emi, "learning Xero is gradually getting stronger and potent in manipulating the ｢ichor｣is quite worrying. He was eager to see it develop further if he steps foot on Saga. Perhaps the Stand itself realized what is happening to… ｢Shino｣'s body, which is presumably why the Stand ｢itself｣ sent all of you to my location because it is not liking how the ｢ichor｣is using his body like he is ripping apart a doll or plush toy."

"All of us may have already guessed that, but just to be clear Emi-san… Does Linkin Park have… a mind of its own? Like we all saw in two of Shino's memories?" Mamezuku asked.

"Yes, no questioning that," she confirmed affirmatively. "Shino mentioned once to me that he treats Linkin Park as a little brother after he found out it can act on its accord. Perhaps… it might be a response to his need for companionship after alienating himself." She looks down with a forlorn expression when saying that part.

Everyone looks at each other with varying expressions. Encountering a sentient Stand is not something they thought they would ever see. Having an independent thought process separate from their user is an unusual, but not uncommon concept. That's what Franchouchou thought, all of them having not acclimated completely to everything concerning Stands in spite of living in the same house as their bodyguards. Bucciarati, Narancia and Mamezuku have no reservations though because they did witness some Stand having a mind of its own. The latter even expects Linkin Park to be like Wonder of U based on his experience with the last hostile Stand he ever fought.

"Well then, let us linger here no longer," suddenly announced Emi, marching past them with a hurried expression. "We must find Xero quick. The ichor could be developing its forgotten traits and properties the longer it is within Shino's body. If we allow him to fester for long, getting mutilated by Xero will be the least of our worries."

Everyone turns to her in attention after they were reminded of the fight Rianima is not done with yet. The pale woman whirls around to face them, specifically to Franchouchou, her daughters and her pets. "Goldia, Hartzler, Lynn… Please stay with Franchouchou and provide them protection. Ideally, you can put them into your mind right now using 「Dream of Mirrors」, Goldia."

The brunette nods determinedly, gripping her hand. "That's what I'm meaning to do until Xero intervened! Okay! I'll set up a mirror portal right away!" Not long after saying that, a mirror portal is floating right beside her. "Franchouchou, please go through the mirror. As mother said, it will take you to my mind. My sisters will come along to accompany you."

"Into your mind, huh? Wonder what your mind is like if you're so inclined to lead us inside," commented Saki, walking up to the mirror. The other girls fall in line after choosing to trust Goldia, with Sakura coming up last. "Oh, nice Stand ability ya got there." She added.

"You think so?" Goldia asked, and plenty of nods from other idols instill a giggle from her.

As Goldia's alters assist Franchouchou to the mirror portal, Emi faces Rianima with a stern expression. "As for us, we must find Xero. Now that I am on your side, dealing with him will be manageable. Linkin Park may not go easy on us, but with my and Avdol's flames, we will put pressure on Xero until we find an opening to pull the heart out of his chest. Is that clear?"

Bucciarati nods, telling her it's an ideal plan. "Capiamo. Hopefully the next time we encounter Xero, he won't escape from our sights and he'll go down for good."

Emi smiles in understanding. "Very good. So then, please let me take the lead. I will let you know once I detected his presence, and-"

Whatever she's gonna say next, she didn't get to finish it when someone screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

ドドドドドドドド

In an instant, Rianima and Emi turn around quick to see, much to their shock and alarm, Xero lifting Sakura up by her throat, a pained look on her face as she threw her hands around the tentacles. She was going to enter through the mirror last after all her groupmates and the die Heilige sisters went inside Goldia's mind when something slimy and cold grabbed her neck, and before she could react, she was pulled away near Xero's vicinity, who appeared so suddenly as if he popped up out of thin air. Goldia was forced to back away after Linkin Park, returning to its previous near-grotesque look, shattered the mirror portal to prevent Sakura from entering.

! !

"SAKURA!"

Kakyoin, Avdol, Narancia, Johnny, Gyro and Emi shoot out their long-ranged attacks, hoping to take advantage of the short distance to intercept Xero. That is proven to be a wishful thinking when Linkin Park intercepts the emeralds, bullets, and steel balls via punching and dousing the flames with water.

"TAMA TAMA TAMA TAMA TAMA TAMA TAMAAAAA!"

Not long after the attacks are deflected, Bucciarati and Mamezuku, as well Hartzler and Lynn from the girls' side, all dash at Xero with their Stands out or activated.

"RELEASE SAKURA AT ONCE!" Bucciarati threatened.

"RAAAAAAAAAAA! ! !" Hartzler roared, carrying the same message as it and Lynn leaped towards Xero. None of them landed successful hits when Xero jumped out of the way, pulling Sakura up high.

"HUH!?" Everyone exclaimed in surprise, watching Xero jump over Rianima and land sufficient distance away. Sakura gets a little dizzy from the force and the jolting motion Xero did upon landing.

"I have you again. Please don't leave me again, okay Sakura? Shino would very much like to include you sooner than later…"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! HEEEEEEEEEL- G-Ggrrrkk!" Sakura screamed again, only to make a choking sound again as Xero makes a run for it, his legs briefly appearing as Linkin Park's legs after supplanting it in his person. Before long, Sakura is pulled along by the ferocious zombie somewhere far away so he can kill her without interruption.

"Nooo! We can't let them get away!" Kakyoin shouted, ready to run and swing using Hierophant Green. The rest of the zombies also prepared to chase after Xero and would have soon take off until Emi stopped them.

"Please wait! I must impart Bring Me to Life's「traversal ability」 to you all! We will not match his speed if we chose to run!"

Except Kakyoin, the six zombie guys look at her in confusion. Then they noticed blue wisps floating along. Then their bodies moving up and down a little. And their feet isn't touching the ground.

"What the…?" Narancia started, looking down to see he, along his groupmates, are floating and their bodies becoming a little transparent.

Kakyoin soon recognized Emi's plan. "Emi-san, are we going to fly next?" A nod from her confirmed his guess.

"Yes Kakyoin. This time though, I shall pull you along as I take the lead. No need for any voluntary movements since you will need to learn how to fly by yourselves as long the effect is active."

"What do you mean? You're saying we'll automatically followhoooOOOOAAAAAAAA!"

Gyro's question turns into a surprised yelp once Emi takes off flight at high speed, the ten zombies taking flight next without conscious movements from them. Goldia, Hartzler, Lynn and Kakyoin stayed quiet, having gotten used to it. Compared their muted reaction to the other six.

"No more talking, please! Xero will be far away the more we wait! We must go after him!" Emi declared loudly, her words echoing within the walls of the "dungeon".

They're so focused on rescuing Sakura they didn't notice, or most likely ignored, the colorful background exhibiting a cloudy sky partially covering a total lunar eclipse, the red dim light beaming down on the Castle of Glass.

To be continued

Finished!

Looks like Xero is not making things a lot easier for our heroes, as expected from a creature hell-bent on destroying Saga. The ichor proved to be strong and potent enough to inflict damage on Rianima and Franchouchou, much to their surprise since they didn't turn into humans through Linkin Park's power, so normally they would be immune to receiving injuries. Once everyone is down, he makes a wise decision of trying to leave to start his carnage upon Saga, only to be killed thanks to Linkin Park rebelling against him, if only briefly. Then after rejoining with Emi thanks also to Linkin Park, Sakura got taken hostage by a rabid Xero and runs away, prompting the Stand Users to give chase before Xero could infect Sakura with the ichor.

Man, was this chapter a little difficult for me to write! Having too many characters all on the scene might be not a good idea when they made this chapter too cluttered for me to picture the scenes and events in my mind, especially when most of their roles only involve spectating from the sidelines. I felt dissatisfied with that decision because I wanted Franchouchou to do something in the fight. I think Franchouchou intervening Xero from leaving the Castle of Glass and making the mistake of having his full attention on Sakura to turn her into a real zombie due to her friendship with Shino, thus getting killed by Mamezuku and Narancia, is the closest I can get to giving these idols a role in the fight even if it's minor and it was born out of desperation. At least I can rest assured they got something to do to assist the heroes, regardless if I'm a little dissatisfied.

Hopefully in the next chapter, with the characters present on the scene decreasing to an acceptable thirteen, there will be some breathing room as the fight continues and ramps up in intensity and stakes.

Going over to Xero, we saw more of what his power over the ichor and what it is capable of. As I said in a past chapter, the ichor takes some inspiration from symbiotes of Spider-Man, up to possessing weakness to fire. I'm not gonna put all of the features and abilities of the symbiotes like being capable of sticking to any surfaces and asexually reproducing offspring over just to let you know. There are few similarities still, like the ichor implied to be eating on a person's negative emotions, whether dead or alive, but that's all to the extent I can borrow from the symbiotes.

Speaking about Xero again, we witnessed Linkin Park actually having a mind of its own, similar to Wonder of U. This is something I've been grappling with ever since the Stand's power set and role in the story came into being. It's an interesting concept, I admit, which is why it never left my head after I developed and changed some of Shino's backstory and how the final battle will go. Originally, Linkin Park would have rebelled against Shino, so he should be the final opponent. I changed that into Xero however after I came up with a concept tying the zombie theme prevalent from the anime and incorporated into the fanfic.

In fact, having the secondary theme all about the undead and necromancy, or basically just going all in to the supernatural angle is like I'm putting JoJo back to its roots. Vampires, zombies and gothic horror is where JoJo started and now, Part 9 stars a sociopathic JoJo who wants to be rich in modern day Hawaii from a parallel reality. It's really funny how much JoJo has changed in each succeeding Part, and I ain't complaining when it gives us a fresh new story to read or watch.

Now, after I put this chapter out, I would like to take a break from this fanfic because I'm feeling a little burned out from writing long chapters, have more time for myself and lastly, expecting to start working in the coming few weeks. As such, I'm taking a hiatus, probably month-long. That doesn't mean I'll go inactive however as, hopefully for real, I go over the 40+ chapters and update them to reflect either the added elements and belated inclusion of Pocket Mirror, fix up the grammar, plot beats, many scenes and even the characters themselves, and refresh my mind over how the story goes. Heck, I could update the cover art, and even put out a separate character bio! I apologize for the announcement, but I hope you understand.

Well, time to end this author's notes. Please leave a favorite or follow after you're done reading and don't be shy to leave out a comment or review after you're done reading! It would really brighten my day to read what you liked or dislike about the latest chapter. You could even put out your whole thoughts about the story overall.

I'll be seeing you all after my hiatus ends! Stay safe and have a good day/night!

Side comment: Never thought there would come a day I must be careful not to sit down near instantly on a swivel chair. Just the other day, I stumbled on a video on YouTube about how one man was mortally injured because… his swivel chair exploded when he sat down too fast. That is just one case, by the way. The injuries these poor victims got was too gruesome enough it made me a little squeamish. Guess even some everyday objects we might take for granted could one day become the cause of our deaths, and I hate that. Can't even feel safe as I'm sitting on a swivel chair…