A suffocating and uneasy tension lingered in the basement's air as it saw fourteen zombies sitting on the chairs laid out by the apparent owner of the mansion. Sakura and Kakyoin, the first two zombies who regained consciousness, sat in the center of the line of seats left and right respectively, while the others took their seats according to gender.

To recap who the girls sitting after Sakura are, they are in order: Saki Nikaido (Legendary Biker Squad Leader), looking a bit ticked off while sitting on her own feet, Ai Mizuno (Legendary Heisei Idol) trying to stay calm the whole time, seemingly refusing to not let this odd situation get to her whirling mind, Junko Konno (Legendary Showa Idol) avoiding eye contact out of shyness, Yugiri (Legendary Courtesan) inhaling from a kiseru through her mouth and blowing the smoke out, Lily Hoshikawa (Legendary Child Actress Prodigy) maintaining a cute smile on her as she adjusts her hair decoration, and lastly, Tae Yamada (Legendary TAE YAMADA!), who is busy chewing her hair bangs thinking they're food.

Going over to the zombie guys sitting after Kakyoin, they are: Muhammad Avdol (Legendary Fortune Teller) sitting calmly with arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed, Bruno Bucciarati (Legendary Caporegime) staying alert while his hands are clasped and resting over his crossed legs, Narancia Ghirga (Legendary Soldato) letting out a yawn while slouched on his chair, Johnny Joestar (Legendary Jockey) checking his nails with a frown while holding a cane with his other hand, Gyro Zeppeli (Legendary Executioner) inspecting a green steel ball with a hand holding his chin, and last but not the least, Rai Mamezuku (Legendary Plant Appraiser) checking his right braid with analytical eyes.

Apart from Tae, everyone has regained their consciousness thanks to the "stimulation" from last night. Now that they are conscious, Kakyoin and Sakura are wondering what will happen next. If there's one thing they hope will happen, it's that no one takes their revival as zombies too hard, though this might already be wishful thinking given the heavy tension they could sense from them and in the air.

The tense silence is interrupted by a sound of the door opening. As everyone sans Kakyoin, Sakura and Tae really want answers to this situation they found themselves woken up to, they turn their heads and see Kotaro Tatsumi striding past them until he's standing in front of the chalkboard.

Hands on his hips, he looks at every zombie on their seats before he announces, "Well, ladies and gentlemen! Congratulations on waking up!"

Expecting a reply, he sees no one is speaking up so Kotaro decides to approach one of them. He picks Junko out, who gets nervous when seeing him move close. "I SAID CONGRATULATIONS!" He shouted to her face, making her wince from the volume.

He chose Narancia next, who looked at him with a frown. "AND YOU! CONGRATULATIONS AS WELL!"

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you clearly so quit shouting our ears off!" Narancia exclaimed back, acting like his fuse had been set off.

Satisfied, Kotaro returns to his position to flip the chalkboard and reveal something written on the other side:

｢Mysterious Idol Producer!｣
｢Kotaro Tatsumi!｣

"I am the mysterious ｢idol producer｣, the amazing Kotaro Tatsumi!" He boisterously declared with his hands back on his hips. "Just like what my profession states, you girls are all going to become ｢idols｣ to save Saga, ｢guarded｣ by these guys against anything that may harm you! And boom!" He flipped the board to reveal a drawing of Kotaro giving a thumbs up to the fourteen figures from below, likely the zombies, displayed on it, as well as two writings that read 'Ultimate Idol Legends' and 'Extravagant Idol Bodyguards'. "We're going to use your ｢legendary｣ qualities to turn Saga into the talk of the NATIOOOOOON! ! ! !" He finished in the same tone and volume.

Except for Kakyoin, Sakura and Tae, who's still busy chewing her hair hungrily, everyone is utterly baffled over what he's saying. Legendary qualities? Saving Saga? And idols? What the hell is he talking about?

"…Sooooo like… I don't get any of this." Everyone turns to Saki Nikaido speaking in a rough, almost bored tone of voice.

"Oh, what's the matter, Saki?" Kotaro walked close to the blonde girl.

"So I died right…? How come I'm still alive?" She inquired, checking her scarred arm and clenching her hand to see if her fingers are working as intended.

"What? You seriously don't know?"

"HAH!?" She growled, offended by his response because she believes he's making a fool of her. "Use your head for a second! Like I said, I don't know how did I-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A ZOMBIE!" He told this fact right to her face. "You're a zombie, so you're up and about, obviously! What kind of human normally has a green-colored face?" He grabbed her chin and shakes it to emphasize his point, much to Saki's irritation

"…Actually, now that I took a closer look at my skin, we may actually have blue skin instead of green." Kakyoin pointed out the perceived color difference.

"SO!? Listen up, all of you!" Kotaro exclaimed, standing up straight. "You all died and came back as zombies, and such creatures have no place in our modern society!" Banging a podium that is somehow in the room, he adds, "I'm offering you freaks a place to belong by turning you girls into idols and letting these guys protect you for your safety, so your dumbasses better appreciate it!"

"Oh, I do appreciate you returning me back to life… if my legs haven't gone useless again. Now I have to rely on this cane you gave me." Johnny responded sarcastically, looking at the cane he's holding with displeased eyes. When he found himself having difficulty standing up on his own and even walking normally, he interrogated Kotaro intensely under the belief he did something to him that led him to become almost a cripple again. The producer calmly states that he already had difficulty standing or walking when he was unawakened, so it's not his fault. To ease up his enmity, he procured a cane for him to use instead of a wheelchair, because he has minor leg motor functions, albeit to a limited degree. While it didn't erase any animosity to him since he was revived without his consent, he calmed down.

Everyone sans Gyro has questions about why an almost paraplegic man is revived but seeing his sour attitude, they wisely keep it to themselves.

"I agree with him," concurred Bucciarati. "I was content in giving my life for the sake of a goal so to see myself return back to life as a zombie feels unnecessary…" He stared at Kotaro with a stern expression. He's neither angry over his decision to revive him along with Narancia nor happy about it. Just… conflicted. "…Then again, this is not the first time I became an undead." He muttered.

"Huh? Not your first time?" Narancia repeated, turning to the former capo together with every zombie in surprise and curiosity. He believed Bucciarati had died fighting against the Boss of Passione, so he's confused. "What do you mean by that Bucciarati?"

"AAAAAANYWAY! BACK ON TOPIC IN HAND!" Kotaro banged the podium and shouted to get their attention back, stopping Bucciarati from replying. "If you zombies are going to save Saga, what are you going to need the most? Go ahead Sakura!"

"Eh?! Oh, uhhh… Let's see…" Jerking in attention when she was suddenly chosen to answer, Sakura thinks for a second before she answers, "I think we… mustn't bite peop-"

"IT'S TO 「NOT GET CAUGHT｣!"

Turning on his laptop, a video plays showing scenes of zombies getting killed, mutilated and ravaged by humans in gruesome ways, ranging from getting shot, sliced, punched until their faces turned into a mush, and getting a grenade in their mouth before exploding, splattering the remains onto the screen. Kotaro turned the video off once it ended. "There. As you can see, the zombies were obliterated and killed in many ways so let's do a good job working together as fellow zombie mates so no one finds out the truth." He spoke to the unnerved zombies, who are all freaking out and disgusted over what they have watched and what could happen to them if they got caught, even the calm and collected members like Yugiri, Bucciarati, Johnny, Mamezuku and Kakyoin. This is especially true for poor Sakura, who looked traumatized at the thought of getting in a manner as shown on the video.

"Referring to yourselves with numbers and nicknames for you girls and boys respectively is part of that strategy." He added.

"I get that we're zombies now…" Someone else decided to speak now to express their opinion over his plan. That someone is Ai. "…but I don't get why we and the other girls have to be idols."

"To ｢save Saga｣!" He answered.

"Revitalizing a prefecture as local idols? In Saga?" She asked incredulously.

"What, are you scared~?"

"Grrr!" She growled at his taunting reply before stating something the zombie girls, guys and Kotaro should know. "It's obviously not going to work! Looking like this and trying to save Saga… And I'm not even from Saga!"

"Saga doesn't sweat the details, even if you don't know a damn thing about it!" Kotaro shook his head.

"Hey, I know everything about Saga!" Ai insisted.

"Well why don't you tell me what you knoooow~?" He taunted her.

Annoyed by his taunt, she answers, "It's… in ｢Kyushu｣!"

"Oh, very impressive~! That was super good, Ai-chan~!" He complimented her while not passing the opportunity to add a dose of sarcasm.

"Well what exactly do you know about Saga then?!" She turned his question back to him after getting riled up.

"I know everything! Everything there is to know!" He claimed.

"What is Saga's population then?"

"I know that down to the tiniest decimal!"

"Well, go on."

She waited a few seconds for Kotaro to answer. Then he states, in a hesitant and meek tone, "…It's small."

"…Huh?"

"It's on the smaller side."

"Can you at least be speci-"

"WHO THE HELL KNOWS, STUPID?!" He suddenly shouted, surprising Ai, Sakura and the others as he began typing on the laptop aggressively, exclaiming, "YOU WANNA KNOW STATS? LOOK IT UP ON WIKIPEDIA! OR IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK?! YOU THINK I'M WIKIPEDIA?! NOPE, NOPE! I'M THE GUY WHO'S GONNA MAKE YOU GIRLS INTO IDOLS, AND THAT IS ME, KOTARO-SAMAAAAAA! ! ! ! !"

After his shouting fit, he says the next sentences in a calmer tone. "I know you girls, and I know that you will send shockwaves throughout society as Saga's idols. The first step for that occurs ｢tomorrow｣ at Saga Castle when you participate in the Shachi-no-mon Public Concert."

"This is so clearly not going to work…" Ai muttered under her breath.

"It's going to be!" He heard her say it. "You just have to pull it off like yesterday's show. You just have the entire house jumping! Isn't that right, Sakura?"

"Huh? Oh! W-well… Sorta?" Stammered Sakura as the attention is on her again. Earlier, the girls were made aware from Kotaro and Kakyoin that they have their first performance in the Geils Live House. They claim they don't remember performing there even though Sakura does remember last night's event clearly. Kakyoin speculated this is probably due to them being unawakened at the time.

At this point, the zombie guys aside Kakyoin are wondering what's their role here. They heard from Kotaro that he's going to turn the zombie girls into idols, but what about them? What place do they have in all of this? They did hear him say something about them being bodyguards for the girls so…

"Mr. Tatsumi, may I ask you a question?" Avdol spoke up.

"What is it? Fire your question away." Kotaro permitted him to ask.

Glancing at Kakyoin and the zombie guys, the fortune teller asks, "What exactly are Kakyoin, the others and I are here for? I heard you mention us protecting the girls from harm, but can you be more specific about that?"

"Yeah, it's about time you fess up cazzone," Narancia agreed with Avdol as he leaned backward on his seat. "The zombie girls are to become idols under your management, but what about guys like us? What do we exactly need to do to 'protect' these pretty girls?"

Instead of answering them immediately, he turned to Kakyoin and asked, "Kakyoin, would you be a nice zombie and show your teammates the answer?"

"Huh? Why me?" Kakyoin replied.

"Well, I told you the purpose behind your and these guys' resurrection. Not to mention, I'm not an expert in your kind of work even when I have all of you rotting boys under my watch. After all, you have ｢something｣ that I cannot see," he starts providing a reason. "These guys will have the surprise of their undead lives when they see the reason why they are chosen to be ｢bodyguards｣ for soon-to-be idols."

"You have a point, but wouldn't it be easier for you to-"

"JUST SHOW THEM ALREADY, KAKYOIN!"

Flinching from his sudden shouting born from impatience, Kakyoin glared at Kotaro briefly before he stands up and moves to the center. Checking if everyone, including Tae, has their eyes on him, Kakyoin then says, "Okay, sooo… The reason why Tatsumi-san wants me and you guys to protect the girls is… because of this."

Striking a pose, Kakyoin shouts his Stand's name with gusto. "Hierophant Green!"

The Stand emerged out of him and was shown in full display. Just like Kotaro and Kakyoin predicted, the zombie Stand Users have their wide eyes glued to Hierophant Green. In turn, their own surprise on learning Kakyoin is a Stand User meant that it didn't take long for them to realize all of them are Stand Users too.

"Holy shit… You have a Stand!?" Narancia exclaimed with mouth agape, summing up every user's thought.

"That's right. Seeing is believing as they say," responded Kakyoin with a smile. "Now that you know the reason why we must save Saga and protect these girls, I sincerely hope we work together and use our Stands to their fullest in order to fight against any enemies that may come after us. And also, aside from Avdol who I'm already acquainted with, I'm curious what your Stands are and how they work. I'm aware we had only known each other not even an hour at most, but I meant it when I want all of us to get along as fellow comrades. Maybe… we can become friends."

The guys continued looking at Hierophant Green. They did get their answer over the reason they were resurrected, but they didn't expect it would involve Stands. Well, at least they understand why Kotaro assigned them to be the girls' bodyguards in the first place. Speaking of the girls…

"Oi! Hope ya didn't forget us or are you too busy being surprised over nothing!"

The zombie guys, and Sakura, turn to Saki looking at them with narrowed eyes and a raised brow, showing her confusion shared by the other girls except Tae, albeit less harshly than Saki's. "What are y'all gawkin' at Kakyoin for? Is there something we're supposed to be seein'? 'Cause I sure don't get what caused you guys to go crazy over."

Kakyoin was about to answer them but Sakura beat him to it. "It's like what Kotaro-san said. Kakyoin and the guys have something that allows them to use extraordinary abilities. It's a physical projection of their will and mental strength that bestows them a power beyond our wildest imaginations. As Narancia-san said, they are called ｢Stands｣."

"…Stands huh," the former biker gang squad leader eyed her suspiciously before turning to Kakyoin to question him about it. "If you have these 'Stands', why can't I see them?"

"Only Stand Users can see other Stands. While I believe object-based Stands can be seen by normal people, most Stands and their abilities are invisible to others aside from other users. If you can't see Hierophant Green floating beside me while the others can, you are not Stand Users," he answered. "That being said, Sakura can see a Stand for some reason despite currently not having one."

"Oh? Is that true, Sakura?" Avdol, having known Stands his whole life, asked Sakura. Everyone has their eyes on her for the third time as the red-haired girl answers affirmatively.

"Yes. I can see Stands. If I can see it clearly, then it's possible I may have the potential to wield one."

Feeling miffed over the "invisible to normal humans" thing, Lily dejectedly says, "Awwww… So I cannot see Stands because we are not potential users?"

"YOU CAAAAN'T!" Kotaro shouted, standing over the girls except Sakura to tell them this fact they should know. "All of you girls can't see his Stand so it means you six are not Stand Users! The only one among you decaying girls who can see one is Sakura-chan! Whether you want one or not, just remember that you girls are idols first and foremost so don't go obsessing over the idea of having a Stand!"

While Kotaro is shouting at the girls, Bucciarati stares Kakyoin down in curiosity. He's wondering how effective Hierophant Green is in a fight, so he asked, "Kakyoin, if I may inquire, what does your Hierophant Green do?"

"You wish to know, Bucciarati-san?" Kakyoin wondered.

"If you don't mind, that is."

Kotaro suddenly cleared his throat, stopping Kakyoin from responding to Bruno, "We're currently in an important meeting so I advise you to keep that question to yourself until it's finished. Can you at least do that, Bucciarati-san?"

"…Well alright." As Kakyoin returns to his seat, Bucciarati asks another question for Kotaro. "Now that we know seven of us have Stands, with Sakura potentially gaining her own, do you intend to lead us, signor Tatsumi? If so, do you have a Stand then?"

"No, I don't have a Stand. As such, I can't lead seven of you boys as my concern lies with turning the girls into idols. Do not worry however, as all of you are under my watch so you don't have anything to worry about if you follow every word I say," answered Kotaro. "In fact, if I were to choose one zombie to lead you decaying boys, it would beeeeeeee…" Moving his upper body across them while slouched like he's eagerly checking out products in a display, he quickly straightened up and pointed one finger to someone he believes to be most capable of leading their group. "YOU! BUCCIARATI!"

"Huh? Me?" He blinked twice. "Why do you pick me as a leader?"

"Oh don't play dumb with me!" He continued. "You used to be the leader of your team, right? I heard of your feats you did as a leader and expert Stand User so I see it fitting you must lead the guys to protect the girls and save Saga thanks to your skills alone! You agree with me, right Narancia-kun?"

"Huh? O-Oh! Yeah! I believe Bucciarati is suited to be the leader of our group! He is smart, tough, charismatic and determined to follow his beliefs! He may be a gangster, but believe me when I say Bucciarati is everything I wanted to see when I picture someone as a hero! Hell, he even cared so much about me that he treated me to a hospital at one point!" Narancia vouched for Bucciarati happily, knowing from experience how well the former capo led him and his team

"You… praise me too much Narancia, but… I'm happy to hear it from you," he humbly downplayed what he contributed to his former group back when he was still alive and working for Passione, but he doesn't hide a smile on his face. "As for being a leader of a new group, I… I'll think about it…" He answered, sounding hesitant about his new role in spite of it. As much as he wants to, he needs to think more before he can lead Narancia and the guys because he's unsure if being revived as zombies is beneficial or not. Currently, he's having a little crisis regarding his place here as a zombie, not that everyone in the room knows due to hiding it for the time being.

Though finding his answer slightly unexpected, Kotaro and Narancia accept his reply and drop the subject instantly. "Well, any more questions? Come on, anyone speak up if you have one." He said, wanting to finish this meeting.

"…If you said we're under your watch, I assume me, Johnny and everyone are fine staying here?" Gyro took the opportunity so he can clarify something.

"Of course! All of you, as well as the girls, have nowhere to come back to. Why should I let you all run free out there when you're all zombies and far from your home!?" Kotaro yelled it as if it's an obvious thing. "In fact, you, Johnny and Mamezuku are pretty much faaaaaar from your home. I mean it when I said that."

Wondering why he phrased it like that, Mamezuku asked, "What do you mean the three of us can't go home anymore?"

"Isn't it obvious? We died many years ago and I'm from another country. Besides, there's a possibility that our home might not be the same as we remembered them." Johnny pointed out, not finding Kotaro's statement odd at first.

"I don't mean that, Joestar-san. It's just… The way he says it seems… odd and specific," he responded before turning to Kotaro and asked, "Well? Can you elaborate on that?"

"…"

"…"

"…Fine. You wanna know so badly?" Kotaro leaned his upper body close to the three.

"Well… Sure. Tell us already."

With Gyro's reluctant reply, Kotaro stands up straight and proceeds to reveal one aspect exclusive to Johnny, Gyro and Mamezuku. "OKAY! There's a reason why you three are far, far, far away from your homes."

Sakura and Kakyoin remembered what he said about these three from yesterday's morning meeting. "Is he gonna reveal the reason why they're 'not around here originally'?" Sakura whispered to Kakyoin.

"Appears so." Kakyoin replied.

"The reason why Johnny Joestar, Gyro Zeppeli, and Rai Mamezuku are soooo far from their homes is becaaaaaaaause…! They're plucked from an ｢alternate universe｣!"

…

…

…

"…I-I'm sorry. They're from what…?" Sakura asked

"They're from an alternate universe! Or a world. Or reality. Orrrr a different universe. Basically, any of those terms is true…"

…

…

"WHAAAAAAT!?"

Kotaro's answer didn't fail to surprise every (awakened) zombie. For understandable reasons, everyone, especially Johnny, Gyro and Mamezuku, must contend with the fact that the three are from an alternate universe.

Meaning, they're in an unfamiliar reality compared to the world they knew. As such, they literally cannot go back home again.

Their own reactions, other included, are deafening but expected.

"Alternate universe? Are you for real?" Ai questioned, feeling more skeptical.

"That… That sounds like fantasy…" Junko agreed.

"I couldn't imagine the day would come that I would learn about this 'alternate world' concept." That was Yugiri speaking.

"Lily's head is really spinning from what she's hearing…"

"Well… This is a surprise." Avdol similarly expressed.

"Okaaaay… I must be still dreaming based on what I'm hearing from you. Alternate universe? I thought this is reality, not fantasy." Narancia pinches himself to see if he's in a dream.

"Oh great. Can't believe something like an alternate universe would haunt me again even after Valentine is killed." Johnny stated derisively.

"Well, it did come back to haunt us again Johnny, but I have a feeling it's gonna be interesting experiencing an entirely new reality… provided we don't meet our other selves, hopefully." Gyro is cautiously optimistic compared to Johnny.

"…This day just keeps on giving." Mamezuku stated, trying to look nonchalant despite being surprised after learning he's in another reality.

Once everyone calmed down or at least stopped questioning it, they seemed satisfied over what they heard. Regardless of how unbelievable and surprising Kotaro's answers are, they have no choice but to accept it, and don't think it too hard.

There's one thing Kakyoin wants to ask though, regarding the reality-displaced zombies. "If I may ask Tatsumi-san, how did you get their ｢bodies｣? You don't have a Stand, so how, exactly, did you do it when they're from another reality?"

"Ah, I received ｢help｣ from a ｢Stand User｣."

"A… Stand User?"

"Yup. A ｢Stand User｣ helped me," Kotaro repeated. "And before you go worrying your heads off, the Stand User is not the enemy! He's responsible for bringing you seven boys here to resurrect and even stayed with me to assist me in a bit, like bringing your belongings, many makeups and even a new addition for the van to accommodate the number of zombies and prevent the van from overloading! Also, he told me everything about Stands, the history of you seven, the three of you hailing from another reality and warning me about the enemy Stands that will ravage not only Saga but the fledgling idols once the project is underway. If I were to describe him, I'd say he's an… ｢interesting｣ individual!"

"…I see." Kakyoin stated, somewhat relieved that the Stand User that helped Kotaro is not the enemy. "Who is this Stand User then?"

"…Well, that's the weird thing… I ｢can't remember｣." He shrugged.

"You can't remember?" Avdol parroted.

"Yes! No matter how hard I try, I can't remember who exactly he is. That includes his name, and his ｢Stand ability｣."

"…But you remember him helping you, right?" Bucciarati inquired.

"Of course I do."

"If I were to guess, his ability has something to do with dimensions, right?" Johnny asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"If he's a Stand User, can't he deal with the enemy Stands here in Saga?" Mamezuku inquired, finding it odd that seven of them were appointed to be the ones for the job.

"He stated and ｢insisted｣ you seven will fight against them. Don't know why he's insistent on it but he wouldn't budge and tell the reason why."

"For someone who can't seem to remember, you say too much about this 'Stand User' that helped you before all of this." Ai insinuated.

"Hey! I'm not lying when I say I can't remember him! It is odd, don't get me wrong, but what can I do when my memory fails to make me remember? It's like some ｢phenomenon｣ is preventing me from remembering him!"

Silence then followed as the fourteen zombies process what they learned from this strange and obnoxious producer: the zombie girls will become idols in order to 'save' Saga under Kotaro's eye, the zombie guys are Stand Users who will protect the girls and Saga from enemy Stands as bodyguards, Johnny, Gyro and Mamezuku are pulled from an alternate universe after their deaths and lastly, an unknown Stand User warned Kotaro of the impeding Stand threat before bringing him corpses of the zombie guys to be revived by him.

With all the crazy answers they received from Kotaro, it's a surprise they take it well and never question it. This is especially true for the seven girls who are forced to accept Stands and alternate universes exist thanks to the zombie guys' presence in just one day.

Even then, resurrecting zombie girls to become idol singers? Sounds ridiculous and asinine. They need some time before they come to accept it (or not).

"In any case… It's about time you girls start preparing for the performance tomorrow!" Banging the board with his open hand, Kotaro exclaims, "NOW! Let's get cracking on those lessons!"

To be continued