Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

                Those who witnessed the transfer of Wamuu’s memory must have been confused, they would ask, “Why would Lord Wamuu do this?” It does seem a bit out of character for the might warrior God Wamuu to do such of thing. Although, if one remembers why Wamuu fights, they will understand.

                All Wamuu had ever wanted was a respectful and glorious battle, but he had grown frustrated. The interference of these terminators, messing with his battles made it a bit of an annoyance. Yet, he still showed respect to the human warriors such as Caesar. He horribly regretted how he died. Wamuu wished he would have killed him first, were it not for that corrupted version of Joseph. He would have slighted his own honor and fought viciously when Frank attempted to kill Joseph, but Frank bestowed him something he never got to have.

                A new pair of eyes. At first, Wamuu did not think these machines had any honor amongst themselves. He saw them as the humans saw them, vicious killers that gave victims no respect in death. He then saw what Frank saw, he saw Frank’s countless trials and tribulations.

                Frank seemed to be different from his brothers forged, he had a sense of honor and respect his counterparts lacked, whether that awakened on its on, or forced awake by his learning mode, it did not matter. He was one of the only few that seemed to give his victims a sense of respect and decency in death. Frank himself never seemed to recall this, but in Frank’s desperate call to life, or to become sapient, Wamuu saw a time when he hesitated to kill Joseph. It reminded himself of a situation like his own.

                “Wamuu, you must kill him.”

                “But my, Lord Kars, with upmost respect, he is only a young boy.”

                “That’s true, just a boy. That is the reason he must die. If these hamon users are allowed to live they will become our mortal enemies, and humans grow very quickly indeed.”

                “Hmm.”

                “Is it beyond you? It would seem I must demonstrate how it is done. Now, resolving the problem, is handled like this!” Kars yelled as he raised his blade.

                Although Wamuu adored his master, Kars, for the hope he gave for his people to transcend, but… he could never forgive him for this moment. It seemed, in that moment, Wamuu made a connection between Kars and Skynet. Two creatures who wanted to recreate the world in their own image, without any regard for the honor and respect of those around him. Although Kars’s pursuit was more noble than Skynet’s, it is still a connection.

                Wamuu found his immortality trivial, but living up to repaying the honor and respect of those around him was more important. He may have been Kars’s student, but that came second when it came to his honor. If he died now, and allowed Joseph’s warrior honor to be disrespected, he could never forgive himself. He could never forgive Skynet for creating such madness.  That is why he accepted the transfer, at that moment, he no longer cared about the poison or the duel, it was for repaying the honor of those desecrated by Skynet.

                On the other hand, there is the alternate Joseph, who was never shown or given honor when he was forcefully turned into a vampire

                In the search for power, the Germans stole samples of Santana’s DNA to use for experimentation. The results were positive, as those successfully infused with parts of Santana’s cloned fleshed survived their procedures, but given the nature of Santana’s flesh, they died within hours. Santana digested his prey inside out with his cells, so the Germans had to find a strategy to able to use him. They ran countless tests, and that is another reason why they decided to use Joseph. His endurance and ability to resist Santana astounded them. In a demented way, they wanted to fuse them together. They wanted to craft a soldier who would work for them and them alone. So, they got what they wanted, a soldier with the abilities of Santana. They did not realize how much it would cost them.

                They did not think abut the psychological damage if any subject did survive this procedure. Although Joseph was able to successfully fuse with Santana’s flesh, and in some way, gain some of his abilities, they also corrupted a part of himself in the process. It did not come out in normal circumstances, but under stress and psychological torture, it would lash out.

                It was the same personality that let Joseph escape his endless experimentation. In his desperate effort to become normal, or become somewhat normal, he tried to contact his mother. Unfortunately for Joseph, Lisa Lisa could not help her son. Not in his current state. The corrupted Joseph may have believed she parted peacefully from his family, but he was wrong.

                He was wrong, but he did not want to remember it.

                However, another part of Joseph does. It is the same part that Skynet programmed, and it is the same part Frank that lost control. This part, programmed by Skynet, is prone to lying, and deceptive tactics, to confuse and eliminate their enemies. Of course, Skynet never anticipated the existence of this twisted Joseph that fate cruelly created. Still, Skynet will use whatever shows up on its doorstep.

                It is still the same part that this Joseph attempted to repress.

---

                Lisa Lisa could only feel a little dread when she approached the corrupt Joseph. She knew she would have to fight him but seeing him up close made her resist the urge to stop there. She wish she could help. His youthful color was gone, replaced by a white pale, almost porcelain color. His once black and shiny hair was now a bright red under the large white moon. She heard what the Nazis attempted to make him this way, and she could not help but be afraid.

                Sure, she has had her fair share of fights, big strong men who thought they had the ability to overpower her, young novices who thought they could get the upper hand because she was a woman, but this? This made her actual feel afraid, she watched Joseph grow during his hamon training. She never admitted it to him directly, but she thought Joseph was carefully crafted and witting hamon user. It made her tremble to think how cunning this Joseph might be.

                She followed him to where they wanted to fight, the temple of Piez Bernina. Joseph followed closely behind with his guardian, Frank, at his side to help him walk. Lisa Lisa was a bit rusty on her history, but she was sure this was the place where victorious gladiators came to drink the blood of their victims. Although, she couldn’t remember if they mixed their drinks with rum or liquor. It did not help that this, bizarrely foreign, yet so familiar version of her son simply stood above her and waited.

                Meanwhile, the Joseph of this world, the uncorrupted one, couldn’t help but feel nervous. He even started to wonder if the thing before him was indeed a future, or even alternate version of himself. Sure, he sounded like him, thought like him, spoke like him, but was he really, him? The more he thought about it, his story did not make any sense. Normally, vampires are hungry, and often when the urge overwhelms them, feed off the blood of their victims. Given Santana’s hunger, he doubt he could even walk ten feet into New York Square before his urge to feed overwhelms him. He really didn’t want to accept the fact that this him, was from the future. Or any future entirely.

                The uncorrupted version tried to stop Lisa Lisa.

                “Coach Lisa Lisa, you maybe extremely skilled, but you are still a woman. He maybe a bit stronger than the Pillar Man, but he still me, I think. Let me GAH!” Joseph said as he reeled over from the pain of his broken leg. He sits on a rock and rests on it, Hamon does let you heal faster, but he bwas still a lot of pain.  

                Under normal circumstances, Lisa Lisa would have been appalled at such an offer. Now, now she seems unsure. This thing she will be fighting, was not just a Pillar man, or even your average vampire, but her son. However, she kept up her appearances and declined. However, for a moment, she did pause, she did consider it.

                She took off her coat, “I will not! I didn’t live my life as I did and train all those years, just to be replaced by some stripling.”

                “Oh, that’s right… you have lived a lot of years.” The uncorrupted Joseph said as Lisa Lisa leapt onto the Pillar.

                The corrupted one didn’t say a single word.

                “No weapon for me?” She asked mockingly, “Perhaps you are my son after all. Although, I’m curious, what is your weapon? Joseph.”

                The corrupted Joseph looked at her silently as he ripped off his black leather coat, revealing his porcelain chest. Twelve large tendrils emerged as his hair grew by a few inches.

                “I see.” She said before taking another step closer to him. Each step increased the tension in the air and forced into a chokehold.

                “Shall we begin?”

                The corrupted Joseph simply nodded, before leaping into the air away from her. Lisa Lisa leapt towards him and stepped onto the pillar where he stood.

                The amount of violence that filled his heart unnerved her. In fact, a terminator’s natural level of violence disturbed her. It disturbed her the moment she met Frank. Terminators always seem to always have a steady level of violence. Which means, when pushed to the brink, they could kill at any moment, this Skynet must have known what it was doing when it created these terminators.

                She looked around for a moment, she could sense him below her, but he was quickly coming to her. He suddenly appeared above, naturally, Lisa Lisa positioned her scarf so that when he touched her, she would sense a blast of hamon. Yet, this Joseph did something unexpected, he tripped her. She swayed to her side and nearly fell down if she didn’t have the chance to grab onto the Pillar.

                “MOTHER!” The uncorrupted Joseph screamed.

                Lisa Lisa looked below to see three red tendrils approach her. This sight caused her to leap up into the air where she was met by several red spines. Lisa Lisa flipped above him and landed on the Pillar next to the corrupted Joseph.

                “Wow, she’s good. I’d hate to say it, but from her stance. This thing is fast but he could not even lay a finger on her. She is way better at this than me. If I didn’t see it before, I can see it now. Lisa Lisa truly is exceptional at hamon.” Thought the regular Joseph.

                Lisa Lisa didn’t stop to catch a break for one second. The corrupted Joseph was now above her, ready to pounce. Lisa Lisa leapt out of the way to dodge the attack. She tried to wrap her scarf around him, but this Joseph was far too agile for her to reach. Tendrils than appeared from the ground, she ran quickly to dodge them all.

                They were caught up in this dance for several minutes. It seemed like not one could catch the other, the corrupted Joseph was too fast, while Lisa Lisa was too elegant. It was almost a stalemate.

---

                Kars watched from the distance in anger. His nails dug into the side of a pillar as he adjust to his new torso that he stole from a vampire. This damn Joseph, how dare he attempt to usurp Kars? This Joseph may be indeed strong, but he was no more than an ant to Kars.

                This usurper will pay for what he owes, to hell with Wamuu, to hell with honor, he was going to give this Joseph his righteous due diligence. Kars will hand him the same fate that this Joseph did to him.

                However, he will not waste time, he will time it right. He can see the German soldiers coming towards him now. Kars smiled, before vanishing into the light.

---

                Lisa LIsa leapt towards the corrupted Joseph, she managed to take something from him. A small bit of fabric from her scarf grazed his arm. He did not stay long, as it only was a little nick in shoulder. It was small, but it gave her hope.

                “Finally, a hit!” She thought to herself.

                Then he disappeared, she stopped again. Wait, something was wrong. She felt someone coming from towards them, but Joseph was right under her. She turned to see a tendril approached her, she dodged it. The second body was now even closer, who was that?

               Suddenly a figure leapt into the sky, when turned around, a little red spine dug into her neck.

                “NO!” Screamed the other Joseph.

                The corrupted Joseph did not change his sour expression until he saw her. His eyes widened.

                “Steppenwolf didn’t kill Lisa Lisa...” He said.

---

WORLD 3A

                Joseph looked at Lisa Lisa hazily. His eyes filled with red.

                “Mom… you came back he said weakly.” But his mother only looked at him coldly.

                “You’re a vampire.” She said firmly.

                “I’m sorry mother, I tried. I tried so hard to fight back against them. I failed. Everything feels like a bad dream.”

                “You’re a vampire…” She said again, but a bit more boldly.

                “Yes… I’m sorry, wait, what, what are you?” She raised her hand, her hand filled with hamon.

                “No… mother, please no! PLEASE NO! DON’T KILL ME, I— I LOVE YOU!”  

                “…”

                “NO! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! MOTHER, PLEASE HELP ME! DON’T ABANDON ME!”

                She continued to give him a cold stare.

                “Don’t abandon me mother please! PLEASE!”

                “You can’t be allowed to live like this Joseph.”

                “Wh-Why? Why are you doing this? I thought you were my teacher! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! I THOUGHT I WAS YOUR SON!”

                “I did not realize just how much they changed you, you’re not the Joseph I used to know. You are not my son.” Out of all the torture Joseph endured, nothing felt as horrible as the words that left his old Hamon master’s lips.

                “W-What?” he said with teary eyes.

                “I’m sorry.”

                “No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!”

                Joseph continued to whimper, Lisa Lisa was about to land a fatal blow.

                “MOTHER!!!!!”

                Suddenly, Lisa Lisa collapsed to the ground. Joseph, in a panic pushed her away, but in the moment, he may have pushed her too hard. He pushed her so hard that she felt on top a weak German soldier. They both grunted. Then, the German died, but Lisa Lisa remained.

                No, did, did he kill his own mother, no it couldn’t be.

                Suddenly, Joseph’s vision became blurry before he fell to the side.

                “Mother…” He whispered weakly.

---

                Yet, this was not what he really remembered. His vampiric, subconscious, and his innocence, the last remaining fragment of his memory split apart. This is what the other part remembered.

---

                Joseph looked carefully around the building; it was a nice white building. It was high off the ground and was very large. It had such pretty windows which let you see the ocean below. He could understand why Lisa Lisa wanted to live here. It was quiet, beautiful, and desolate, no one would ever notice if she disappeared.

                Joseph stumbled backwards a bit. Why did he think that? That was his mother! Why would he do that to her? He sighed, regardless, he had to see her. Maybe, just maybe there was some way to fix his condition.

                He walked up the white steps before knocking three times.

                No one was there, he knocked again.

                “GO AWAY!” A male voice suddenly shouted.

                “Stewart? Lisa Lisa’s husband? Is that you? It’s me, Joseph, I need to talk to you.”

                “No, go away. Joseph’s dead, the Nazis killed my wife. I don’t know who you are.”

                Joseph knocked again.

                “No, Stewart, I’m serious! It’s me! Please let me in!”

                The silence returned.

                He shrugged and walked around the building, maybe, just maybe he could find another way in? It would be easier for him to kill Stewart. It was not like he would open the door willingly anyway.

                He pulled his thick clothing against himself. It was a comfort habit he did when he felt a little anxious. He was not cold, but he felt so lonely, wait, what did he think of doing again? Oh right, enter into Lisa Lisa’s house to kill her husband and drain his blood. Wait, no, why is he doing that again. He growled in frustration. He tried opening all the windows but they were locked shut. He needed to talk to him, he needed to find someone who could help, the Speedwagon foundation… obviously couldn’t do it.

                He walked up to the back door. It was a bit of a hike since he had to walk upward. The studio had been built atop and island, an island with a steep hill.

                He tugged on it, and even tried to break his way in, but it felt like he had barricaded it shut. He sighed and gave the door a mighty push. It was like Stewart didn’t want anyone to come to him at all. How does Stewart get to work like this?

                Joseph closed his eyes.

                “Stop that.” He said to himself.

                “I SAID GO AWAY! CAN’T YOU TAKE A HINT?” Stewart screamed.

                He finally pushed his way in. Only to be met be a slender small and bony hand. It was Stewart. Although, he looked a little worse for wear. Well, a little worse than what was standard for a Hollywood director. His hair greyed out considerably, and he looked skinnier. Almost, down to the bone. His eyes had large bags, was he getting any sleep at night at all? Not that he can judge anymore.

                Stewart looked at him in horror.

                “It… it really is you… my god.” He said.  

                “Yes… I know you didn’t know me for that long, but I need your help.” Joseph said as his eyes teared up.

                “I’m sorry, I can’t help you, you need to leave.”

                Joseph looked to the side and whimpered, “Please, I don’t know what to do at this point. The Speedwagon foundation obviously can’t help me. I need answers!”

                “Get out of here.” He said as he cocked a gun right to his head. That was surprising, as he didn’t expect he had that much energy left.

                “PLEASE!” Joseph whimpered as tried to grab his shoulders. They both entered a struggle, Stewart began to scream as Joseph rolled back his eyes and smiled.

                “GET AWAY! GET AWAY!” Stewart screamed as he shot multiple rounds into him.

                Soon, like the others, Joseph ate him whole.

                “What, what… no…” Joseph stomach filled with dread.

                “What? No, what have I— NO NO NO NO NO! GOD NO! HE WAS MY ONLY CHANCE!!!” Joseph dropped to the floor crying. He suffered once before, but now he will suffer again, as he always did.

---

A few hours before

        Suzie Q screamed as she threw things at Joseph.

                “GET AWAY! YOU’RE NOT MY JOSEPH! YOU’RE A MONSTER!” She screamed as walked away from him on the street.

                Joseph blinked a few times before looking at himself. He was all bloody, his fingers were dark red. What the hell happened?

                Oh right, he was trying to find Suzie Q on the dark walk from Bronx and had a snack along the way. Oh, how good that delivery man tasted. Of course she was in that dark alley in the first place because it seemed he saw her in her apartment, oh well.

                And of course, it would frighten poor Suzie Q, but he would kill her before she had any chance to see anything else. She cradled the little girl in her arms. Was that his daughter? Man, its such a shame his daughter will live short life, oh well. Regardless, a meal is a meal.

                Joseph shook his head.

                What, what was he doing?

                “No, what the hell? Why am I doing this?” He thought.

                He noticed he was holding something in his hand.

                It was a letter, from an Elizabeth Joestar. Elizebeth was not too far from here, she was dead, but she still had her husband. Her husband, Stewart, was not far from here, he’ll pay him a visit, most likely.

                “HEY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?” A man yelled as he aimed a shotgun at him.

                “Got no common decency you cretin?” An elder woman yelled.

                People began throwing things at him.

                “Hey, what the hell, that hurts!” Joseph yelled as they continued to throw things at him. He need to show them how they should respect a vampire like himself, no, he’s not a vampire. He’s still Joseph, he needs to stop this.

                “What, what am I?” Joseph thought he braced the impact from the larger crowd gathering in the street. He had to get away from this.

---

                Lisa Lisa looked at him confused.

                “JoJo, what are you?”

                “I killed Lisa Lisa. I- I, KILLED MY OWN MOTHER. I NEARLY KILLED SUZIE Q, AND I GET TO DO IT AGAIN! HAHAHA! I LOVE TIME TRAVEL! I CAN KILL THAT WHORE AGAIN!” This Joseph laughed maniacally.

                “What, no, I didn’t say that.” The corrupt Joseph whimpered.

                “Yes you did.” He replied to himself.

                “No, I didn’t! I NEVER BOTHERED VISITING HER!” He yelled as he covered his ears.

                “Yes, you did, you killed Lisa Lisa. You would have killed Suzie Q to if you didn’t hold back.”

                “No, why would I hurt my wife?”

                “You made that memory up, Joseph. You didn’t want to live with the guilt.”

                “SHUT THE FUCK UP! I HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!”

                As this corrupted Joseph argued with himself Lisa Lisa crept away.

                “Shut up please, no, I don’t want to, no!”

                “Why, why are you always fighting back Joseph? You know your hunger will always overcome you! You are what, you are! Stop trying to act if you’re still human. You lost your humanity years ago. Accept that and get over it, it makes it easier. I am your hunger, you can't get rid of me!”

                “STOP! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” He spoke again to himself. Suddenly his face changed from agonizing pain to manic laughter.

                “HAHA! FREE AT LAST! I KILLED THAT BASTARD SOLDIER! I KILLED THAT BASTARD CAESAR! AND NOW I GET TO KILL THAT WHORE OF A MOTHER ONCE AGAIN! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The corrupted Joseph laughs as he dug into his head and dug into his head bleed.

                Lisa Lisa walked away form him slowly, before he looked at the sky and growled.

                He leapt up into the air above Lisa Lisa, her hesitation made her sit still in fear. Then she watched as this Joseph grabbed something above her as she stood in fear.

                The figure behind her almost gasped. Then was suspended above him. Lisa Lisa finally got a good look at the figure. Kars?

                Kars looked at her with a surprised look. Was, was he trying to sneak up on her?

                “YOU!!!!” the corrupted Joseph yelled.

                The tendrils around Kars began to tighten.

                “YOU’RE THE REASON IM LIKE THIS!!” Joseph growled.

                “Y-you can’t do this…” Kars groaned as tendrils tightened.

                “If it weren’t for your stupid masks, I wouldn’t even be here right now! Steppenwolf would have never used me for his fucked-up experiments! YOU ARE THE REASON MY LIFE HAS TURNED TO ABSOLUTE SHIT!” The corrupted Joseph screamed.

                “J-Joseph?” Lisa Lisa asked softly.

                “Sending you to fucking space, wasn’t enough, was it?” He growled.

                “Joseph…” Kars groaned.

                “I SHOULD HAVE SENT YOU TO HELL!!!”

                The corrupted Joseph screamed as it echoed across the land.

                Suddenly the vampires gasped in dismay.

                “Is that?” One asked.

                “LORD KARS!!” Another yelled.

                “ITS TIME TO LAY WASTE TO THAT JOSEPH NOW! HE IS FROM THE FUTURE, RIGHT?” One screamed.

                “MAYBE IF WE KILL THE HUMAN ONE, THE VAMPIRE DISSAPEARS!!” Another yelled.

                The vampires then lunged towards the human Joseph. Joseph winced, he was not ready for such combat. Was this the moment he dies?

                Suddenly bright UV lights appeared around them, causing the corrupted Joseph to cover his face instinctively in response.

                “That light… and that face!” The normal Joseph gasped.

                “This is your warning vampires! You are facing Major Von Stroheim and the German elite!” Von Stroheim yelled.

                “AND WE REPRESENT THE SPECIAL FORCES OF THE SPEEDWAGON FOUNDATION!” The figures wearing the UV lights yelled.

                “JoJo!” Speedwagon yelled in the distance.

                “JoJo!” Replied Smokey by his side.

                “JoJo!” Said the old voice of Baron Zeppeli.

                Normal Joseph began to smile, those insane bastards really looked out for him in the end.

                “Damn, Zeppeli, Speedwagon, you look great! And Smokey too! You are a sight for sore eyes!” Joseph smiled.

                They smiled as they laughed and waved back at him.

                “Wait, Oh no. If you’re here, then…” The normal Joseph thought as he turned to his counterpart.

                His corrupted counterpart hid behind Kars, as Kars squirmed from the UV Lights in front of him.

                “JoJo.” Replied Frank.

                This made Joseph nearly jump out of his skin. He then reeled over as he held his leg in pain.

                “I really apologize for incurring that injury onto you JoJo.” He said.

                “GAH! WHAT THE HELL FRANK?” He yelled before groaning.

                “WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?”

                “I may need to remind you that I have been here this whole time. You have unfortunately did not pay attention. Oh and, Joseph, I may need to take you away from this gory scene that is about to occur.” He said.

“What? Why?”

                “Because the man behind Von Stroheim is Steppenwolf.”

                “Wait, Steppenwolf? I thought you knew where he was.” Joseph asked.

                “I did too. However, it was still radio-communication, I couldn’t guarantee for certain. It was enough to fool your alternate version, perhaps it was since he was so blindsided by revenge.” Frank replied.

                “Well, shit.” Joseph thought.

---

                Joseph looked down at the humans below him. The light was so bright it practically blinded him.

                This was the moment he was waiting for, of all the areas he could logically conclude Steppenwolf to be, it was here. How else would he have known about the incident with Kars?

                The German in the center laughed, “My right leg might be stiff now. But my body is better now than it ever was before! Now all you vampires, an see what German science can do! TASTE OUR ULTRAVIOLET BLOODLIGHT!” He laughed as he relished his time in the center of the stage.

                The humans rushed towards them, practically blinding and smiting all the vampires in their path.

                A German walked behind Von Stroheim. Joseph’s eyes widened. It’s him.

                That bastard next to Von Stroheim, is Steppenwolf.

                Joseph’s mind then filled with all the pain and misery he felt. When he met him.

                He took away his humanity, his family, his wife, his mother, his confidence, he lost everything because of him. Joseph threw Kars down like he was an empty bottle, and rushed towards the figure.

                “STEPPENWOLF!!!!” Joseph screamed as his body became red as he turned into a bloody skeleton.

                His impact on the ground covered the area in a fog of dust. When the dust settled, Joseph held the German with his skeletal hand.

---

                “GAH! WHAT IS THAT THING?” Smokey yelled as he looked at the skeletal being in pure abject horror. He then hid behind Speedwagon and looked away. He hated doing this, it felt cowardly, but he couldn’t bare to look at the creature.

                “Wait, is it that, creature, the terminator spoke of?” Zeppeli asked in fear.

                “Terminator, you mean the Hybrid? You mean to tell me this is its true form?” Speedwagon asked in fear.

                “Who, who ze hell are you? How, how do you -ACK, know who I am?” The German croaked as the skeletal hands choked the German.

                “O h,  y o u  d o n ‘ t  k n o w  m e  y e t.  B u t  y o u  w i l l  N O W.”

                The demonic figure said as it transformed back into quite a familiar face.

                Stroheim looked at the figure and tried to shine his ultraviolet beams on him, but something was wrong. It was only until he looked at his beam he noticed a piece of debris shattered one of the lights. This creature, whatever it was, was so powerful it broke one of his lights.

                Once he could get a better look at the being, Stroheim nearly gasped.

                “J-Joseph! What- WHAT ARE YOU DOING? APREHENDING ONE OF MY SOLDIERS! I COMMAND YOU TO LET HIM GO!!!” Stroheim commanded.

                Stroheim got a better look at the figure. It looked like Joseph, but his hair, the horns, it seemed so similar to Santana’s, what is that thing?

                “No, wait, it isn’t Joseph, it is zat Hybrid creature! You dare lay a finger on one of my soldiers du hund? I WILL MAKE SURE YOU PAY!”

                “Oh settle down Von Stroheim, I am Joseph. Well, just not the Joseph you know.”

               “WHAT? YOU CLAIM TO BE JOSEPH? LIAR! I SEE THE REAL JOSEPH IS OVER ZERE.” Stroheim says as he points to the Joseph in the far off distance being held up by what appeared to be Frank.

               “I CAN SEE HIM! DON’T PLAY DUMB WITH ME DRUMMKOPF! YOU ARE NOT ZE REAL JOSEPH JOESTAR!!!” Stroheim yelled as he confronted the soldier.

                “Really? I’m not Joseph? Then why don’t you tell Steppenwolf that?” The creature asked as he removed the goggles from the soldier. The false Joseph turned the soldier’s head to meet Von Stroheim, Stroheim’s eyes widen with shock.

                “STEPPENWOLF? ZE HELL? YOU TRAITOR! HOW ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE? I THOUGHT ZE REICH WIPED YOU FROM ZIS WORLD!!!”   

                Steppenwolf chuckled in-between groans.

                “I’m here because I told ze Kaiser what you did… to Santana.” He said before coughing.

                “What? NO! They killed you for betraying ze Fatherland!” Stroheim yelled.

                “I know, but you are ze one who let Santana free. If you fail to contain ze pillar men again, we will have full right to remove you from ze Fatherland.” He coughed again.

                “What?” Stroheim yelled.

                “Its not just Speedwagon who has his eyes on Joseph, the Reich... I wanted to acquire Joseph. We have found his abilities… quite useful.”

                “You little back-stabbing shits!!! You were planning to acquire me this whole time, weren’t you? It’s not just fucking you, isn’t it. This was a decision from the fuckers at the top!!!!” The false Joseph growled.

                Steppenwolf chuckled.

                “Of course, why wouldn’t I? After all, after seeing how beautiful you become. I must have been… successful. Consider yourself lucky to transcend above an ordinary man, Joseph.”

                “I never asked to transcend, Steppenwolf! You never gave me a fucking choice!!!!!” This Joseph screamed.

                “I don’t understand, who are you? What did Steppenwolf take from you exactly?” Stroheim asked.

                “Everything.” This Joseph muttered.

                “I used to be scared of zis vampires before, but now. I see, it is clear to me now. To understand ze man, we must -ACK, break him. And you Joseph… you belong… to ze Fatherland… our ultimate warrior.” Steppenwolf chuckled after attempting to slide something onto this Joseph’s hand. This Joseph slapped the object away.

                “YOU THINK I WOULD’NT SEE THAT STEPPENWOLF?” This Joseph screamed before grabbing Steppenwolf’s arms and breaking them.

                “Steppenwolf, you don’t mean you would do this to Joseph?” Von Stroheim didn’t understand the mechanics of time travel at the time. Yet, the idea became more present in his mind as the dots began to connect.

                Steppenwolf howled in pain as he rocked back and forth on the ground. 

                “You think I wouldn’t see what you were doing just there? Whatever you were going to do it would have never worked. I already have grown used to your tricks, seeing that you were the one to torture me for all that time.” This Joseph growled.

                The red-haired Joseph then grabbed Steppenwolf by the arm.

                “Now where’s that bastard Kars? I need to see him too.” He said as surveyed the area trying to find Kars.

                Suddenly a bright light appeared then faded. Several soldiers standing near the false Joseph stared at themselves before screaming as they split themselves in two.

                “There you are.” The red-haired Joseph growled as a red tendril seemed to wrap itself another soldier.

                The soldier screamed as his helmet was removed. Kars attempted to disguise himself as Kars in an attempt to blindside the corrupted Joseph.

                “Now that I have both the bastards who turned me into a fucking monster. There’s something special, I have in mind for you.” The corrupted Joseph said as he leapt onto the Piez Bernina.

                Kars attempted to summon his blades to fight off the corrupted Joseph, but the red tendrils only wrapped themselves around him tighter. It felt like Kar’s own lifeforce was being drained from him. Same with Steppenwolf.

---

                “Wait… don’t tell me… that creature, is Joseph? Or, is this what Joseph will become?” Smokey asked as his voice trembled.

                “What? Why kind of cruel twist of fate is this? No, this can’t be right. I see Joseph over there. Wait, don’t tell me. Is this Joseph from the future? I knew Amanda spoke of time travel before, but this, this couldn’t be possible. Why, why Joseph? What did Joseph do to deserve this?” Speedwagon thought.

                “You mean to tell such a young and innocent man, will become this monster?” Zeppeli asked.

                Meanwhile the uncorrupted Joseph walked up to his family.

                Speedwagon almost screamed before realizing it was the true Joseph, his Joseph.

                “Speedwagon! We need to get out of here!” Joseph yelled.

                Smokey then looked into Joseph eyes with a wide look.

                “Mr. Speedwagon, should, we tell him?” Smokey asked as he tugged at Speedwagon’s coat. Speedwagon looked down at Smokey with concern.

---

                After what truly went down between the Hybrid and Steppenwolf occurred, Von Stroheim eye’s widened in terror. For the last few months, his commanding officers sent him on suicidal missions, missions that would have most likely end in his death.

                Stroheim thought it was to eliminate the vampire threat. Yet, why would they send him on missions that likely resulted in his death, even now. Did they know? Did they want him dead? Of course not, the Fatherland would never betray Von Stroheim. That was a silly thought to placate the minds of young children.

                The Fatherland would never betray him, right?

                Right?

                Suddenly, vampires began to ambush his squad, his squad did their best to hold them off, but the vampires clung onto them. Even with the lights, they wouldn’t die just yet.

                A vampire charged and pinned Von Stroheim to the ground.

                He tried to flash him, but only little light seemed to keep him at bay for just a little while.

                “You may not be a full-course meal, but it wouldn’t be wrong to have a little snack before I suck all of you humans dry, right?” The vampire chuckled.

                The vampire chuckled until he started screaming. The vampire dissipated. A figure now stood above Von Stroheim to offer him a hand.

                “Need assistance Major?” Asked Lisa Lisa.

                Von Stroheim grabbed her hand.

                “To be honest Miss Lisa, this is not how I anticipated us meeting, but still. I suppose a few extra men or.... women...  wouldn’t hurt in our fight.” Stroheim laughed as he grabbed her hand.

                A few vampires then surrounded them.

                “Are you ready Mister Von Stroheim?” Lisa Lisa asked.

                “I never thought I would fight alongside a woman but… sure, why not, you're the only person helping me right now, but don't take it as a sign of friendship.” Von Stroheim said as they worked together to combat the vampires.

---

                “I don’t think this is the best time to tell him now Smokey, not with that thing here.” Speedwagon assured as he put Smokey’s arm down.

                “Really? After all this? After all this heartache and pain? You still want to keep secrets?” Zeppeli snapped.

                “Doesn’t Joseph have the right to know what happened to his own father, his own grandfather?”

                “What?” Joseph asked. “What are you talking about?”

                “Zeppeli, please… this, this is not the time.” Speedwagon pleaded.

                “OH STOP IT SPEEDWAGON.” Zeppeli snapped, “You try keeping the secret about this new terminator, and now you want to keep the secret of his father?”

                “I know you tried to keep my grandson’s death a secret from me, Speedwagon.” Zeppeli growled angerly.

                Speedwagon fell silent for a moment.

                “Grandson? Mr. Speedwagon what is he talking about?” Smokey pleaded, only to be ignored.

                “Baron please-“

                “NO. I came here for Joseph. I knew you would try to the same thing to him as you did to me!” Zeppeli said as he pointed his finger.

                “Don’t you realize that all these secrets are what’s causing these problems in the first place? Where is your trust? Do you not even trust Joseph?”

                “Zeppeli…” Joseph thought.

                “I never meant it by anything like that!” Speedwagon yelled.

                 Zeppeli balled his fists.

                “Well, why do you think that Hybrid is here then?” Zeppeli growled.

                “I—” Speedwagon stuttered before Joseph growled.

                “Baron, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Stop getting mad at Speedwagon and- AHH!” Joseph winced as his leg slowly began to heal.

                Zeppeli then looked at his leg, than the terminator in horror.

                “I was right to not trust these damn things. These damned things…” Zeppeli balled his fists again attempted to strike the terminator before Speedwagon blocked him.

                “Please Zeppeli calm down, this one means no harm! Joseph told me himself!” Speedwagon pleaded.

                “Oh, and how am I sure you’re not lying to me Speedwagon?”

                “ENOUGH!!” Joseph yelled.

                The terminator helped him up. Even when Lisa Lisa healed Joseph’s leg before, it still took awhile to heal, and it still hurt.

                “Look, I can explain the leg later, but you got to tell me what the hell is going on!” Joseph yelled.

                Speedwagon looked down in silence before Zeppeli spoke.

                “Joseph, there are somethings we have been meaning to tell you, dear boy.”

---

                “You see, Joseph, my dear boy, your mother is not who she claims to be. The name, Lisa Lisa is nickname, a contrived one. Her real given name, is Elizabeth Joestar. Raised and trained by the hamon user Straits, the insidious man you met before. Anyway, she and Erina’s son, George Joestar the II, fell in love. They got married, they say it was quite the beautiful scene.” Zeppeli put his hat down.

                “If only I were there.” He said.

                “Soon, George and Elizabeth had a son, that was you, my sweet boy. Your father George, enlisted as a member of Britain’s Royal Flying Core. The great war produced the most terrific planes. He was a hero, as they say. Too bad the same demons that plagued us then, plagued us now. Fifty years ago, I encountered one of the most terrifying machines that I ever seen in my life. My whole life, I trained to combat vampires, but never an unkillable terminator. Your grandfather, Me, Speedwagon, we all thought we erased the sins of Skynet. Though it seems, Skynet, like any piss-ugly cockroach, survives in some way to haunt us.” Zeppeli sighed.

                “What? You mean?” Joseph asked.

                “At first, we thought that some of the vampires created by the machine escaped. It was only then did we realize that the demons that killed your father. Were not vampires at all. Now, you’ll understand why we kept the true horror of Skynet from you. It began with George’s observations of his commander…”

---

                George stood outside his commander’s office. For a moment, he was a little nervous. What if what Straits, and Mr. Zeppeli said were true? What if his commander was a vampire, or worse, this machine thing they speak of? George clenched his fists. He hated how silent this part of the base was, it was too silent. There must have been some way for him to counterattack should it be a vampire or the… other option.

                Nonsense, he was one of the best pilots of the Royal army. A mere hearsay story of vampires or robots shouldn’t scare him. He grasped the knob, it felt oh so cold in his hand, like ice. It almost felt, wet. He looked at the door again, there was something red on it. He looked back at his hand. It was blood, the doorknob had blood on it.

                George stepped back for a second, it nearly made him jump. However, he took a deep breath in. It is just another useless attempt to strike fear. He will confront his commander, now or never. He opened the door slowly, the light from outside illuminated the room. Once he looked at the room, he could see that everything looked the same. Nothing about the room seemed off, the fireplace was lit, everything seemed ordinary, but there was his commander, in the center. He just sat there, it was like nothing was wrong. George assumed that his commander was merely working on files, but he should, at the very least, hear a pin.

                George felt a little unnerved. Something primal in his core made him want to scream that something was wrong, very wrong. Something was not right. Why though? He should turn back now, this seemed wrong.

                No, George is not a child, he shouldn’t run the moment something feels slightly off. He is a man, he will stand his ground. This is all a mere prodding of the mind. He will never be dissuaded. He crept closer towards the wheelchair. With each step, the primal urge to run away and get out of there grew more and more. George almost felt like he was being watched.

                He placed his arm on the wheelchair’s handle.

                “Dear lord If this was a mistake.” He thought, “Please tell Elizabeth I’m sorry.”

                But George never knew if God answered his prayers.

                What happened next, George would never expect.

                He turned the wheelchair, there was no commander.

                It was the decapitated head of his commander, stacked upon several books to make it look like he was sitting. He recognized it as his commander from his rusty brown-hair. It was hard to miss on a man like him. The place were his green eyes used to be were empty holes, his mouth was stitched up from corner to corner. The look on his commander’s face was agonizing, it seemed like whatever or whoever did this to him, done it while he was still alive.

                George stumbled backwards and nearly fell to the ground. The head rolled off the chair and almost landed next to his feet.

                George had to leave, now. He turned behind him and found himself face to face with a blonde-haired man, only a few years younger than he was. However, something was wrong with this man. The blonde hair that reached his eyes only obscured it slightly, but it was there. His eyes were gone, replaced by a metallic skull with little red dots of light emerging from the empty sockets. He could tell it was metal as it shined like any metal under a fire. The scars looked like the marks of someone who attempted to stab the “man.”

                The man held out a knife, and simply asked.

                “George Joestar?”

               George didn’t want to answer, but he impishly replied with, “Yes?”

                Two set of arms restrained him to the ground from behind. He felt smaller and slender hands restrain him on the ground. It felt like the hands belonged to a woman.

                “You will tell us the exact location of your wife, Elizabeth Joestar, and your son. If you refuse to comply we will terminate you. Do you understand?” The man asked with no hint of emotion.

                George’s eyes widened in fear. No, he couldn’t risk hurting his family. He shook his head, he did everything he could to resist. They tortured him, they prevented him from screaming or running. Then, he felt a knife slash his throat. The last thing he saw was the “man” looking at him in the eyes.

---

                The male terminator threw another man to the ground. He had nearly platinum blonde, curly hair, and brown eyes. He groaned, but his healing factor allowed him to recover quickly.

                “You.” The male terminator said as it pointed the knife at the vampire.

                “You will devour his entire body, and leave no trace of hair, skin, or bone. Failure to comply will result in the termination of your entire family. Do you understand?”

                He didn’t want to do this, but he had no other choice. The young vampire looked at them, nodding as he whimpered. He cried softly as he was forced to eat his fellow soldier. 

---

                “We should had realized sooner that Skynet had backup plans. It brought two more those demonic machines back in time to make sure that its existence was brough to fruition. George’s death was covered up as an unfortunate night-time plane-crash. Yet, Speedwagon and his friends realized something more afoul had taken place. It wasn’t just a vampire, it was worse.  That night, the night your mother cradled you in your arms, Speedwagon told her about the vampires. Instead of grieving for the loss of her husband, she set out to destroy the demons responsible.”

---

                Elizabeth felt like an engine, she was fueled on nothing but hamon energy as she burst open the commander’s door.

                The commander was missing, not to be found anywhere. Suddenly, she felt something lunge at her from the ceiling. She wrapped the creature in her scarf. She fueled the creature with all the hamon she could, and the creature faded to dust. When it was done she looked around before stopping. Something was wrong, she was being watched by someone.

                She turned behind as she felt something scatter across the room. She ran after it but found no sign of anyone anywhere.

                That is when some unfortunate fool had walked into the commander’s room. They saw the charred corpse of what seemed to be a man.

                “AH! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COMMANDER?” He screamed, he ran outside to see Elizabeth standing in the hallway. She looked at him before running off.

                “WAIT, LADY STOP!!” She was gone.

                She left the scene as quickly as she could, she thought she avenged her husband, but something felt wrong. Oh, so terribly wrong.

                Red eyes, eyes that kept following her.

---

                “Turns out, Speedwagon only told a half-truth. She didn’t want to tell her about the terminators. He thought that if he only told her about the vampires, she would grieve.  He did not think once that she would set out on a path of righteous anger. He tried to talk her out of it, but it was already too late. That is why me and Mr. Speedwagon’s relationship is so strained. He never bothered to tell her about the machines. He foolishly believed that Lisa Lisa couldn’t handle the truth. I tried to help, but since I was banished, there was nothing I could do. The news of her killing made it across the continent of Europe. They thought she was a traitor to the war effort. Speedwagon used everything to cover her tracks, and now that is why we are here.”

                Zeppeli said as he turned to Speedwagon and growled.

                “I see, my mother, she was doing everything she could to protect me.” Joseph said as he balled his fist.

                “Zeppeli…” Speedwagon winced as he held a hand to his face. He knew it was futile to stop Zeppeli, but if Zeppeli felt convinced to tell Elizabeth’s son the truth, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

                “You see…” Joseph said as he balled his fist.

                “I already knew she was my mother, but I didn’t know the whole story.” He said.

                The others gasped, “You mean, she told you JoJo?” Speedwagon asked.

                “Yes, but there is something else I need to know.” Joseph said.

                “And?” Speedwagon asked.

                “Why, why didn’t granny Erina ever tell me that my mother was still alive?” Joseph asked.

                “Granny Erina doesn’t know the while story. She knows about the stone masks, hamon, the vampires, but we never told her about the terminators. Like you said to me a long time ago, the stone masks were already creating one hole in her life. She didn’t need another.” He cried.

                As soon as Smokey heard those words, his eyes lit up in tears.

                “What tragedy for this family, such a miserable fortune.” Smokey thought.

                “I hate to interrupt your conversation but I have a query.” Asked Frank.

                Zeppeli scowled. Speedwagon ignored him and shrugged, “What is it?”

                “Did you ever send anyone to trace those terminators?” He asked.

                “I was too busy with my philanthropic endeavors. Zeppeli was banished. Besides, would anyone then believe that you were a machine?”

                “Well, if that’s the case, they maybe still tracking you.” Frank replied.

                Speedwagon and Zeppeli gasped.

                “Don’t say things like that! Ever think about how poor Joseph feels about all of this?” asked Speedwagon.

                “it’s okay, Speedwagon, I’m not mad.” Joseph said calmly.

                “Still, I wish I knew this sooner, oh well... Will hunt those two down later” Joseph thought.

                Suddenly a large and splash caught the attention of the group. It caught the attention of everyone in the crowd, including Lisa Lisa and Von Stroheim.

                Kars and Steppenwolf were impaled on the same crystal.

---

A FEW MOMENTS BEFORE

                “So Kars, Steppenwolf. What is the best way of eliminating you bastards?” The red-haired Joseph asked.

                Kars attempted to bust free or find a way out of his predicament, but with each attempt the tendril wrapped tighter, he became weaker. He needed to think of something fast.

                “I can’t be… bested by a mere vampire…” Kars moaned.

                “SHUT UP!” Joseph screamed as the tendrils wrapped tighter.

                Steppenwolf croaked as the tendrils wrapped themselves around his throat, nearly sending him unconscious. Steppenwolf knew he was going to die, but he wasn’t certain about this Kars fellow.

                “Now, I wonder, what is the best way for you to die?” The corrupt Joseph asked.

                Steppenwolf gritted his teeth as he tried to reach for a knife. The magnetic restraint didn’t work, now he has to resort to his last choice. If he were to die, at least it wouldn’t be without a fight. When he felt for his knife again, he noticed that it disappeared. Steppenwolf gasped.

                The corrupt Joseph flipped them upside down.

                “Should I kill you right here? Or should I dropped onto those crystals down below? Tearing you to shreds?” He asked.

                “Time gave me a lot of ideas for how I wanted to get my revenge.” He snickered.

                “Or maybe…” The corrupt Joseph said as he wrapped the two together in one tendril.

                “I can just to do this.” The corrupt Joseph said.

                “NNGH! STOP THIS YOU PATHETIC WORM! I’M KARS!!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THIS TO ME!!!” Kars screamed as he attempted to summon his bone blades. Only for him to moan as he for whatever reason, felt too tired to summon them.

                “SHUT UP!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO FUCKING TALK AFTER WHAT YOU DID!!!” The corrupt Joseph screamed.

                He chuckled before becoming unnervingly calm.

                “Hey, Kars, ever heard of a Kebab? “ He asked with a devilish grin.

                “Kebab? Joseph what are you— GAH!” Kars screamed as Joseph dropped them the two of them onto the crystal below. It impaled them both in an instant.

                The corrupt Joseph closed his eyes, “Finally, peace at last.” Joseph said as shut his eyes tightly.

                The corrupt Joseph then felt someone stand on the Pillar behind him.

                “I see you finally got your revenge, you smart-talking upstart.” They said in a deep emotionless voice. The corrupt Joseph turned his head and opened his eyes.

---

                “Damn. That guy really was serious about his whole revenge ordeal.” Said Joseph.

                Frank turned his head, “That Hybrid’s next target will be you, do you realize that?” He said.

                “Yeah, don’t get me started.” He said.

                “Wait, Joseph. Are you sure you can fight that thing?” Smokey said as he asked Joseph.

                Joseph smiled, “I’m fine! My leg maybe a bit sore but I AGH!!” Joseph winced as he knelt over in a bit of pain.

                “Look, I don’t fully understand what is happening here. But you don’t really look like your in the condition to fight, Joseph.” Said Smokey.

                “Von Stroheim, Have you finished disposing those vampires, yet? We must help JoJo, I think that Hybrid thing is going to come back!” Asked Speedwagon.

                “Yeah, alright? You think I just need to wave my magic flashlight, und then its all done?” Stroheim yelled as the nearest vampires burnt to a crisp.

                Another vampire came close to Stroheim until he was knocked out of the air by Lisa Lisa.

                “I’m afraid I’m a bit busy, right now. Not much I can do.” She yelled back.

                “Looks like Von Stroheim and Miss Lisa Lisa got their hands full right now.” Speedwagon noted.

                Frank looked to Joseph, “I suppose I will be the one to finish him off.” He said.

                Joseph wanted to stop him but realized he couldn’t.

                Frank was the only one capable enough to stand his ground and fight.

                “I promise that I will protect you as best as I can.” He said.

                Joseph nodded, “Alright be careful.” He said.

                Frank them lifted himself into the air.

                Stroheim then turned to his comrades, “Now quickly, while the machine is fighting that Hybrid, get the ultraviolet amplifier! NOW! We’ll use it to eliminate Kars, and the Hybrid!” he yelled.

                His soldiers than saluted him in return.

---

                “You, why do you sound just like Wamuu?”

                “Combining my memories with Wamuu, has taught me many things. Including how to eliminate you.” Frank said as he revealed a large crossbow.

                “I see, you still want to terminate me then?” He asked.

                “Yes, I have no other reason not to.” He said.

                “Well, it seems you are the still the only one able to fight me. The other me is probably incapable of fighting, and it seems Lisa Lisa is too distracted by the vampires to fight now.” He said as he scoured the faces in the crowd.

                “Well, alright then, Let’s dance.” The corrupt Joseph kneeled over to his side as he coughed up blood. He turned to his hip, where a large ball occupied it.

                “You little shit- you fired that while I was killing those two bastards.” He groaned a small bit.

                “Of course, I apologize for being a little mischievous, but I can’t let you go any further. After you were done killing those two, you would go after the original Joseph next, or do something worse. Something that I cannot allow to happen.” He said with no hint of emotion.

                Frank than rap up to the corrupt Joseph and held the crossbow high.

                “Hamon flows from my metal body and into this crossbow. You die here.” He said with no hint of emotion.

                The corrupt Joseph’s eyes filled with fear and worry before turning into a snicker, he dodged the strike and punched Frank in the face. Frank slipped and nearly fell of the stone.

                “You really thought I wouldn’t have a back-up plan? After all this time. You really don’t know me, do you?” The corrupt Joseph laughed as the ball dropped to the ground.

                The corrupt Joseph then removed a large wound-up peace of scarf from his hip.

                “Satiporoja beetle scarf never fails.” He laughed.

                Frank looked down and almost fell as he clung to the pillar.

                “It seems that I can go through with my whole plan without getting rid of you, aren’t I?” the corrupt Joseph said as he put a finger to his head.

                “Well, it was nice knowing you, but not really.” The corrupt Joseph said.

                Frank attempt to pull himself up, but from the angle he was at made it hard for him to climb up.

                “I’m just going to take out your chip and we won’t have to deal with you anymore, is that right?” the corrupted Joseph asked.

                Frank then slipped, falling below.

                “Hmm?” The corrupt Joseph asked before Frank appeared behind him and kicked him in the face. The force nearly knocked him down.

                Joseph looked at him and his as the hamon burned his face.

                The corrupt Joseph then dealt a harder punch to Frank’s chest, making him fly backwards and into the Bernina. The corrupt Joseph winced as he felt a nick upon his back, one of his red tendrils write on the ground. He rolled his eyes.

                The corrupt Joseph landed a punch onto the ground. The punch was so hard it blew a gust of wind in German’s direction.

                Stroheim coughed as the wind blew. “AH, THIS AGAIN!?!!” He yelled in annoyance.

                The original Joseph wondered what exactly Frank was doing.

                The Piz Bernina than collapsed into itself, causing the Germans, and even the vampires to gasp in shock at what just happened.

                The corrupted Joseph grinned malevolently, he thought he killed the pathetic machine. Only when the dust settled, he was no longer there. He looked around before he felt something tap his shoulder. He turned to see it was Frank. Frank decked him upside the chin, the force was strong enough to fly him into the sky.

                Frank leapt into the sky and attempted another blow, only for the corrupted Joseph to deal a kick in return to the terminator, causing him fly down. He rolled for a few minutes before kneeling beside a stone pillar. The corrupted Joseph then shot a barrage of tendrils and spines into his direction. Frank began to run counterclockwise to avoid the tendrils. Frank the leapt into a pile of pillars and hid himself, the corrupt Joseph pursued him. A large stone pillar then flew into his direction, crushing him under the Pillar’s weight.

                Frank then charged at the Pillar ready to punch it yet again, only for his foot to be caught by something. Frank then looked at his leg, a large red spine wrapped itself around his foot. He was pulled backwards as more of the spine wrapped itself around his arms and legs. The pillar then lifted from the ground, revealing the corrupt Joseph holding the pillar in the air. A large red spine ran down from his leg. Frank than realized that was the spine currently holding him.

                The corrupt Joseph than threw the Pillar onto Frank. The corrupt Joseph than stood atop the Pillar. He grabbed a sharpened piece of metal and began to stab into his arm. Frank barely had enough time to free his arm in order to stop him. Yet it was still too late. The corrupt Joseph listened as the metal dug deeper into his head. He listened until he heard a metal clip. He had destroyed his metal chip keeping him intact.

                The corrupt Joseph scowled as he looked at the machine who lay motionless with its arm wrapped around his head. The stray piece of metal had pierced through his hand, and into his metal skull and brain.

                The corrupt Joseph then scowled in disappointed. He detached the spine from his head.

                “Well, that was almost too easy.” He said before jumping into the sky.  

---

                Joseph looked into the rubble of what once was the Piez Bernina and frowned.

                “Did Frank, do it? Did he get rid of him?” He said as he tried to narrow his sight a bit and see for certain what had happened.

                A figure than emerged, when it came closer, his heart sank. It was the corrupt version of himself.

                “Your little lapdog is dead.” He laughed.

                “Now no one is going to stop me anymore. All I have to do now is either become the ultimate being, or kill you, ending this nightmare of my life.” He said.

                Von Stroheim looked at the corrupted version of Joseph and gasped.

                “NO! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THE ULTIMATE GERMAN MACHINE IS DEAD? THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!! GERMAN SCIENCE IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD!!” Stroheim shouted in the sky.

                Joseph almost felt like crying, “Frank? He’s, dead now?” He thought.

                Joseph never thought he was going to miss that machine. He knew it probably wouldn’t be with him forever, but still. He never thought he would be gone so soon.

                Von Stroheim looked at him before tipping his hat.

                “You know, I thought the ultimate machine would be here to watch this but, I will do this anyway, for the Fatherland.” He said as he moved himself out of the way as several uv lights surrounded the corrupt Joseph. A large ultraviolet beam light, the amplifier also was aimed directly at him.

                “YOU UTTER FOOL! YOU THINK WE OUDN’T BECOME PREPARED? GERMAN SCIENCE IS THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD!! THIS FOR THE ULTIMATE GERMAN MACHINE!!! TAKE THISS!!!” Stroheim yelled before he was interrupted by the corrupted Joseph.

                “Aw, stop. Now why did you think I would step into something so suicidal?” He snickered before pulling the mask with the Red Stone encased up to his face.

                “AH, VON STROHEIM!! YOU MUST STOP, HE’S GOT THE RED STONE THERE ATTACHED ON HIS MASK!! UV LIGHT WILL HELP HIM!!!” Speedwagon yelled.

                “NO!!! STOP IT DON’T FIRE ZE UV AMPLIFIER!!” Stroheim yelled as it blasted the corrupted Joseph.

                “NOOOO!!!! ZIS CAN’T BE!!!!” He screamed.

---

                Kars groaned as he looked at the German above who croaked as he slowly died.

                Kars looked into his eyes and scowled.

                “So you’re the pathetic human I have to thank for bringing me to such a humiliating end.”

                The human only croaked as blood poured onto him, precious blood that nourished him.

                “I thank-you for the kind gift thought, but I will not be humiliated again!” Kars yelled as he cut off the lower half of his body. He then grabbed his lower torso and reattached it to his body. There was no time to loose.

                He crawled slowly towards Joseph in the distance, surrounded by the UV lights.

                Finally, he can become the ultimate being. He rummaged his pockets, only to realize in horror that the Red Stone and the mask disappeared.

                “What, no this can’t be!” Kars yelled as he crawled closer, rummaging every pocket.

                His eyes narrowed as he hissed one name, “Joseph.”

---

                Frank looked around, once he was sure that the corrupted Joseph left, he looked at the metal in his arm. What the uncorrupted Joseph didn’t know, was that there was a still enough hamon stolen from Joseph to use against the detached red spine.

                Frank manipulated his arm to make the corrupted Joseph think that he died. He looked at the metal spike that had pierced the ground right next to his head.

                Terminators did not believe in luck, but Frank felt a little relieved that the corrupted Joseph didn’t check that he was finished. The red spine dissipated as he used his free hand to remove the metal in his arm. He threw the metal into the air, it landed fifty yards away from him.

                Frank then removed the pillar pinning him down and walked towards Joseph and the others.

---

                Stroheim, the original Joseph, Lisa Lisa, Speedwagon, Zeppeli, and Smokey gasped.

                “This was the moment I was waiting for.” He laughed.

                “I WILL FINALLY BE FREE!!!” He yelled.

                Lisa Lisa then realized, while they were fighting. The corrupt Joseph swiped the stone from right under her. It must have been the same thing he did to Kars in order to steal the mask.

                This was the goal all along, he got rid of his enemies, the Pillar Man, and now he will be free from Skynet’s control. Everything he ever wanted. He will no longer be just Joseph the Hybrid, but Joseph the ultimate being. Yet, now that she thought about it, the thought of her own son being the ultimate being felt kind of weird.

---

                As soon as Kars crept towards the soldiers, as soldier rushed toward him, blasting a beam of light at him. Kars, at that moment, was uncertain as to what he was supposed to do. His cards were all taken from him, and now he was at the position of dying.

                “LOOK, ITS KARS!” Said one soldier.

                “IT’S TIME TO KILL HIM!” Said another.

                He then attempted to blind them with his bone blades, but that was too, in vain.

                “Haha, fool! We are wearing specially design goggles; we can see right where you are!” A soldier laughed as stood closer.

                “You can’t fool us now Kars! You’re done!” Laughed another.

                Kars cursed to himself, how, how could he be in this situation. It was supposed to be his moment. His time. Now that time is up.

                The soldiers than turned their heads abruptly and gasped.

                There stood the corrupt Joseph with the stone mask, and the Red stone.

                “It’s because of him I’m in this situation, it’s BECAUSE OF HIM I’M GOING TO DIE. No, this isn’t just his fault, this, this is BECAUSE OF THAT DAMNED SKYNET!!!” Kars thought.

                “THIS DAMNED SKYNET TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME, IT CREATED THIS MONSTER! NOW ITS GOING TO FINISH THE JOB!!!” He thought.

                There was only one more trick he could pull.

                “J-JoJo!” He said as he yelled towards the corrupt Joseph.

                The corrupt Joseph only stood behind him.

                “I realize now the, the error of my ways! I now realize how much you’ve lost! This Skynet has taken everything from you! How about a proposal? You can give me the Red Stone and the Mask. You don’t want to die here, right? I can teach you! I can teach you how to become the ultimate being! We can rule this world together! Doesn’t that sound good, right?” The corrupt Joseph then turned to his direction, he had the mask on.

                Kars eyes widened in shock.

                “Go to hell, Kars.” He simply said as the ultraviolet beams hit him, activating the stone. The stone glowed until spines emerged from the mask and digging themselves into his face.

                Kars looked dismayed as the ultraviolet beams burned him, he turned to dust.

                Kars the Pillar Man was no more.

                ---

                Von Stroheim only gasped as he watched the scene play out.

                “I didn’t see the mask. I didn’t know that he had it anywhere near him! I didn’t see him put in the red stone!” Stroheim said in dismay.

                “I thought he was alone! I thought Lisa Lisa had ze stone! I saw it in her hand, damn it! Why did zis happen!”

                “No, it can’t be! Dear God.” Speedwagon said in horror.

                “Oh shit…” Joseph thought.

                The mask then burst into a million pieces as the corrupt Joseph fell over to the ground.

                He soon looked at everyone around him as he stood up again.

                He looked at everyone around as he twist his head and looked at Stroheim.

                The other soldiers looked on in horror as the corrupted Joseph stared at him with a maniacal smile. Finally, after a decade of torment and pain, it is finally over, he is free from that damned AI’s control. Once he adapts to his new powers, he will eliminate the Germans, and everyone who betrayed him, and let him down.

                “He, he has become the ubermensch. What, could it be? This Joseph, he, has become invincible!” He said in horror.

                “Damn you!” Joseph cursed.

                The corrupt Joseph then looked at his hands, and looked at his uncorrupted counterpart’s face.

                His hair began to change, it became darker, darker, darker, until it was the color of his counterpart. The hair grew shorter than it was until it fully resembled his uncorrupted counterparts.

                “What? Are you serious? The moment he gets his hands on the Red Stone, the first thing he does is give himself a new hairstyle?” Speedwagon thought.

                The soldiers grew wary of what was happening.

                “What are we going to do now?” Asks a soldier.

                “You are the Fatherland’s crème of the crop! You will stand your ground no matter what!” Stroheim yelled.

                Stroheim than looked at his face, there was a large wound alongside his face. Was that, perhaps, done by the machine? Von Stroheim smiled, even now, the German machine helped him. Perhaps this Joseph is still vulnerable.

                “Look there! His face!” Stroheim pointed.

                “See that, how is face is burning? Maybe we don’t have to fight perfection at all! Hamon melts his accursed flesh, even now! In a minute, there will be nothing left of him! He has lusted for the Red Stone, even more than Kars! Yet, when it is all said und done, his quest for immortality has failed! Maybe he had to be a full Pillar Man like Kars in order to use the mask! You will perish knowing that you are failure!” Yelled Von Stroheim.  

                The soldier’s eyes widened, as they chattered amongst themselves briefly.

                “Ready the UV amplifier for another shot! One direct hit should be enough to finish him off forever!” Von Stroheim yelled.

                A soldier saluting him return and started up the amplifier.

                The corrupted Joseph then looked around once more before looking at the ground. A scorpion walked by his leg. The corrupted Joseph looked at it carefully.

                He held out his left hand as it began morphing. The hand changed from the shape of a hand to a scorpion, before fully forming as a scorpion.

                The newly created scorpion looked curiously at its surroundings.

                “I’ve seen some crazy stuff, but this?” The uncorrupted Joseph thought as the scorpion landed on the ground.

                “Now the next thing he does is make a scorpion, just what is going on here?” Speedwagon thought to himself.

It crept towards the other scorpion.

                The scorpions seemed to creep closer to each other and spin in a circle. The newly created scorpion then began changing as the head morphed into a tiny face. It looked like the face of an infant, but its skin was red, it had no nose, it looked almost eerie. The creature then torn the scorpion to shreds.

                The other screams as it leapt towards Von Stroheim.

                “AH!! AH!! SCORPION INCOMING!!” Von Stroheim screamed as the scorpion tore a hole into his metallic body. Once it scrawled out from the other side it began to devour the soldier next to it. The soldier screamed and cried in pain as the scorpion devoured him.

                “Soldiers, full retreat!!!” Lisa Lisa shouted as the soldiers cried in panic as they ran away.

                The scorpion then leapt back onto where his left hand used to be and transformed into a small cat, than a butterfly, and then back into a fully formed hand.

                “My God! He has complete mastery of organic life!” Speedwagon yelled.

Suddenly, a light rose above the earth, the sky began to light up, the sun had risen, it was almost dawn. It was almost time for farmers to wake up and tend to their fields.

                The corrupted Joseph looked behind him and stood to face the sun.

                “Alright!” Smokey yelled, “The Sun is rising!”

                Suddenly, fifty vampires burst into flames as the sun grew. As the sun burnt them to a crisp more smoke arose.

                “Not one of them left alive.” Speedwagon noted as he observed the vampires turning to smoke.

                Speedwagon then turned to the corrupted Joseph.

                “The Hybrid is going to get what is coming to him! Thank goodness!” Said Speedwagon.

                Yet, as the sun grew higher, nothing changed. The corrupted Joseph remained in the center of all the chaos.

                The corrupt Joseph only tuned to them with tears in his eyes, “Do you now how long I’ve missed this? How I missed standing in the sun?” He said.

                Speedwagon gasped, he almost felt like he wanted to cry.

                “For years, after becoming a vampire. The one thing I missed the most was the warmth of the sun. I missed being able to simply walk out in the sun without having to burn to shreds or hide in the darkness. The only way I could walk out into the sun was wear so many stupid layers of clothing. But now, I can finally be out in the sun again.”  He said softly as he reached towards the sun, grasping it.

                Smokey covered his mouth, “Despite all of those terrible things that this Hybrid has done, It’s, it’s still Joseph. Joseph, poor Joseph. The one thing he missed most of all was being human.” He thought.

                “Yet, does that still mean he wants to kill us?” Smokey thought.

                “AH! HE’S STILL STANDING TALL!” He yelled.

                The corrupted Joseph wiped his head, he felt the tiny horns still on his head. He began to grab them and rip them off his head. Everyone watched as each horn fell to the ground.

                “AH! JOJO! THIS IS A HORRIBLE NIGHTMARE! WE’RE DOOMED! THIS IS THE DAY ALL OF US DIE! HUMANITY IS DONE FOR!” Speedwagon screamed.

                The holes where the corrupted Joseph’s horns used grew into two beautiful locks of hair.

                The corrupt Joseph then looked at them with emotionless eyes, “Now that I have achieved what I wanted, the question is what I should do with you.” He said in a low voice.

                “The Hybrid. He has become invincible! He has no weaknesses now! He even shrugs off hamon like it is nothing! He’s won! And he knows it! You can see it in his eyes!” Speedwagon yelled.

                “This is all my fault.” Stroheim said wearingly.

                “I’m the one who hit him with the UV after he put on the completed mask!”

                “Is, is there really no way to stop him Mr. Speedwagon? He’s so strong now!” Smokey asked.

---

                Joseph looked down on these humans, these utterly miserable humans. These humans who led to his rebirth. It isn’t just Kars, or the Germans anymore, everyone needs to pay. Yet still, something felt wrong, so horribly wrong to him.

                “Look at this,” Joseph said as he looked at his hands.

                “Finally!" He laughed, "I won’t just have to be someone else's puppet anymore.” He said.

                Wrong.

                He looked at the stone on the ground. Now this will be the ample time to return the stone to Skynet, so it can achieve it’s ultimate plan.

                Joseph stepped back.

                “What, no, no, no, no. This can’t be. I got the mask, I beat Kars. Why? Why do I still feel... controlled? Something’s wrong. I feel, I feel wrong.” He thought as he shook his hands.

                The corrupted Joseph fell to the ground.

                He put his hands to his head.

                He then remembered.

“V E R Y  W E L L  T H E N, I  W I L L  H E L P  Y O U.

B U T  B E F O R E  Y O U  G O  B A C K,

T H E R E  I S  S O M E T H I N G  Y O U  M U S T  D O  F O R  M E.”

                “Congratulations, Joseph Joestar you have finally complete your mission.” Said a voice deep within his head.

                “Who, said that?” He asked.

                “You must remember Skynet’s terms by now, I assume.”

                He remembered, he remembered the deal. The voice, it was here to taunt him, to mock him.

                “This isn’t possible! I should be free!! You don’t control me anymore Skynet!”

                “Free? You assume that if becoming the Ultimate Being it automatically frees you from Skynet’s deal? You still need to do something for Skynet.”

                “No, No, NO, NO PLEASE ITS NOT FAIR!!! I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY!!! I DESERVE TO BE HAPPY!!! PLEASE, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!”

                “Not compliant? It doesn’t matter. I already have what I need.”

                “WHO IS THIS???”

                Joseph then kneeled to the ground and began scream and his head twitched and convulsed.

                The other Joseph, the human Joseph, looked at him in horror.

                “AH! WHAT’S GOING ON?” Von Stroheim yelled.

                “Could it be that becoming the ultimate being was too much for him?” Speedwagon asked.

                Joseph looked at them in horror, they didn’t know.

                “I’M SORRY PLEASE!!! SPEEDWAGON!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!” Joseph screamed as covered his head.

                Speedwagon backed away in horror. The human Joseph blocked his path.

                “Don’t pay attention to him, Speedwagon. This thing’s not the real me.” He said.

                “What?” Joseph asked, as he didn’t realize he said it out-loud.

                The human Joseph looked at him.

                “After all this time, you still want to treat me as a thing? After everything you did?” He asked.

                “OH, SHUT UP! I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE!! I’M TIRED OF YOU TERRORIZING MY FAMILY!!” He yelled.

                “OH YOU REALLY THINK THAT JOSEPH? WOW, YOU’RE MORE OF AN IDIOT THN I REALIZED!!!” He screeched.

                “IDIOT? YOU’RE CALLING ME THE IDIOT?” He yelled.

                “YES, YOU FUCKING ARE!! WHY DO YOU THINK I’M HERE THEN? IT’S BECAUSE YOU TRUSTED THOSE DAMN GERMANS! ITS BECAUSE THOSE DAMN GERMANS TRUSTED THOSE DAMN MASKS!! YOU PLACE YOUR TRUST INTO THINGS THAT BETRAY YOU! ALL YOU HUMANS DO IS BETRAY EACH OTHER AND I’M SICK OF IT! I’M SICK OF HUMANITY!” Joseph yelled as he winded up to charge at his human counterpart only to fall back down and scream.

                “Stop this!” Joseph screamed.

                “Enough, commencing the switch… now.”

                “Switch, SWITCH? Wait, no I DON’T WANT TO- AAAHH!!!!” Joseph screamed as his facial appearance began to change. His face changed from the appearance of Joseph to Frank. Joseph confused himself for a moment, was his corrupted form trying to do this in order to disturb him? Was it even himself anymore?  This "Frank" looked at Joseph before wings began to form on his body.

                “This is the end, Joseph Joestar.” It said as it dashed towards Joseph.

                “WHAT, WHAT IS GOING ON? WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE THE ULTIMATE GERMAN MACHINE?” Von Stroheim screamed.

                “Wait, a minute. If, if that thing is truly Joseph, then, then… that means. AH!!” Speedwagon gasped as he realized something.

                “It wasn’t the termination of Joseph that this thing was after. It, it was to become the ultimate being all along! That thing played us all so that it could steal the chance to become the ultimate being right under Kars! SKYNET HAS CREATED AN IMMORTAL SOLDIER AND WE UNKNOWINGLY HELPED IT!” Speedwagon thought.

---

               The machine looked at the remains of where Kars once stood.

                The machine then felt a different part of it begin to speak.

                “Kars, although you were my master whom I showed the upmost honor and respect to. You disappointed me with your cowardly actions. You have strayed far from the path of which you once laid.” Frank said.

                “Now that I have been granted new life, I will use that life to the fullest, and honoring the memory of all warriors.” He said.

                Frank then looked around, “Now where is Joseph?” he asked as he stared at the corrupted Joseph in front of him. He was already too late, and now he has the mask.  

                Perhaps there only one thing left to do now.

---

                This odd, Frank impersonator looked down on Joseph, his face obscured by the light, two piercing eyes stared at him, he shivered. He unsheathed a large blade, more brilliant and vibrant than Kars.

                Joseph winced in pain, anticipating for it to kill him. Only for the strike to be blocked by someone. Joseph focused his eyes, and realized that it was Frank. The true Frank.

                “WOAH!! FRANK!!! YOUR BACK?” Joseph asked in shock.

                “Apologies, Joseph, I was temporarily restrained under a pillar. Did you believe, perhaps, that I had died? It must logically explain your emotional reaction.”

                “Well, NO SHIT SHERLOCK!” Joseph yelled. Joseph almost wanted to slap himself, of course Frank could not be killed that easily.

                Von Stroheim’s eyes lit up with almost childlike glee.

                “THE ULTIMATE GERMAN MACHINE, YOU HAVE RETURNED!” Stroheim yells in excitement.

                The ultimate being flies backward a few feet before he kneels and stand back up.

                “Alright, Mr. Speedwagon? Any ideas of what is going on here? Better yet, how to beat this thing?” Asked Smokey.

                “Alright, I have one more all or nothing gambit, you ready Frank?” Joseph asks.

                “An, An all or nothing gambit you say?” Von Stroheim asked.

                “Yeah, it’s my final move.” Said Joseph.

                “What does it involve?” Asked Von Stroheim.

                “Listen up, this is something you’re going to have to do for yourself.” Joseph said.

                “Just tell me, and I’ll follow your lead JoJo.” Stroheim replied.

                Joseph looked at the stone, then thusly grabbed it before bolting.

                “RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!” He shouts into the air as he runs.

                Frank followed him of course, but almost felt slightly annoyed, Joseph should have known better. Ah, oh well.

                The other being, the ultimate being. Simply glared at Joseph as wings began to grow. His arms grew class and morphed into wings, white wings. He leapt into the air and came down upon them.

                “Joseph, wait for me!” Yelled Smokey.

                “No.” Frank said as he grabbed Smokey’s arm.

                “You will stay here.” He said.

                “Why? Joseph is my friend!”  He yelled.

                “He maybe your friend, but his life is in danger as well as yours.” He said as he let his arm go and bolted. Smokey remained as he watched them run across the hill. He new the power of the terminator, but he wanted to go, but when he reached out, they were already gone.

---

                “Alright Frank, since we’re good buddies. Wanna help me develop any plans?” Joseph asked.

                “Yes, I detect a German Heinkel He 177 Greif fighter plane a few hundred meters away from our location. If we keep running, we will be able to acquire it in no time.” Frank replied.

                “Okay, I get it, you’re a god damn robot, but there’s no reason to brag.” Joseph said.

---

                “JoJo’s risking life and limb to lead that thing away from us. Good on him! But still, it is only a matter of time. This foe ain’t one you can beat!” Speedwagon thought.

                “Oh, JoJo.” Lisa Lisa thought to herself.

                “Now, where is…” Speedwagon’s eyes widen as he realized Von Stroheim was nowhere to be seen. It was like he vanished.

                “Why, why couldn’t I come with him!” Smokey collapsed to his knees.

                “Smokey, don’t think that! I’m sure Jose—”

                “It wasn’t Joseph who told me to stay. That, that thing, that terminator… told me to stay.”

                He fell to the ground and pouned the ground.

                "I couldn't go with him!" He cried.

                “Oh… right.” Speedwagon said as he looked down.

                “Mr. Speedwagon?” Smokey asked.

                Speedwagon turned his head.

                “Yes Smokey?”

                “Is there really no way to stop that thing? Has it really become invincible?” He asked.

                A dry silence filled the air with the file stench of dread. Its stench choked Speedwagon into a sense of hopelessness. A sense of hopelessness that could only make Zeppeli look up to the sky and stare with empty eyes.

                “Was this Skynet’s goal the whole time? To created a terminator that could become the ultimate being? Manipulate what used to be a man, or create a machine that looked by a man to gain immortality? Skynet’s immortal soldier?” He thought.  

                “I hate to say this Smokey, but, our greatest fear has been realized. Right in front of us, this thing has become an unstoppable force of nature!” Speedwagon said glumly.

                “Is he really, all that immortal?” Lisa Lisa asked.

                “What do you mean Lisa Lisa?” Speedwagon asked.

                “I mean, if you think about it. No one thing is truly immortal.”

                “So what do you mean by that?” Speedwagon asked.

                Lisa Lisa turned her head. “I mean, Joseph will find a way to stop it.

---

A perfect being is above all, invincible.

Or almost invincible.

That means, it does not grow old, it will never succumb to death in any form.

Or almost any form.

Additionally, it has the ability of all other life forms at its disposal and outperforms them. And finally, it’s physical form is standard for which perfection is judged.

So why then, why can Skynet seemingly take control of the ultimate being’s body, and use it as a war weapon? You see, while the ultimate being is physically invincible, it mentally is not. Like all things, it could be reprogrammed. Say, if the ultimate being ever encounters a being like it, in the sense it could control life itself, it will not be prone to being manipulated or controlled. This is something Skynet has realized, and that is why it left a sleeping chip in the mind of the ultimate being. Only to awake when the time was right for it.

---

                The T-800 observed its two targets above. It realized it will have to make careful strikes if it wants to eliminate Joseph down below. At the same time, it must be careful. So it began its careful assault, dropping some of its feathers down below.

                Frank looked to the sky, something began to fall from the Ultimate Being. Frank did not hesitate to run faster than before, grabbing Joseph’s arm as he went. The grip was so strong it began to hurt Joseph.

                “HEY, FRANK WHAT THE HELL?” Joseph asked.

                “Forgive me Joseph but look above.” Frank stated.

                Joseph looked to the sky.

                “OH SHIT.” He yelled as the feathers landed like knifes on the ground. Soon they would combine to form one creature. This creature became ever more similar to a large rattlesnake. The rattlesnake lunged at Joseph, only to be caught by Frank’s hand. It’s head suggest that it was only a few millimeters away from biting Joseph’s neck. Frank threw the rattlesnake as hard as he could away from Joseph.

                “HOLY SHIT!” Joseph yelled as he noticed the rattlesnake.

                “Holy Shit indeed... what else would it be?” Frank replied.

                “Wait, was, was that sarcasm?” Joseph asked.

                “No, why?” Frank asked.

                “No, that was definitely sarcasm I heard.” Joseph said.

                “What makes you think that was sarcasm?” Frank asked.

                Joseph gave out a dramatic fake cry, “My boy is growing up so fast. Soon, he will be able to make a joke for once in his life, or even better, a sly remark!” He chuckled. 

                “I appreciate remaining calm in this situation, but we must keep running.” Frank said.

                “Yeah, yeah I get it. That weird terminator thing that may or not be me from the future is in hot pursuit. Isn’t that what we are running from in the first place?” Joseph asked angrily.

                “I really hope that thing isn’t me, because the way he ‘died,’ was horrifying to say the least.” Joseph thought.

                “No, because we are about to run into the fighter plane, get ready to jump.” Frank replied nonchalantly.

                “WAIT WHAT, I AUGGH!!!!” Joseph yelled as he fell off the cliff. The Ultimate being dived down to catch him, but Frank managed to grab him just in time. Soon, they were souring into the air. Frank than ran into the plane and burst the door open, throwing Joseph inside. Frank immediately took the driver’s seat and took no time flying the plane into the air. Joseph breathed short breaths every few seconds.

                “Okay, Frank… that was nice of you and all, but never do that again.” Joseph said as he knelt over to catch a breath.

                “Do not stop to rest now Joseph, that thing is like my brother. It will not rest until you die. I am determined to not let that happen.” Said Frank.

                “Oh, don’t fucking tell me your going to do something stupid then?” Joseph asked as he put on his seatbelt.

                “Just to let you know, my leg is still sore.” Joseph grumbled.

                Frank’s eyes then widened as the Ultimate Being gained speed and nearly crashed into the plane itself. Joseph almost resisted the urge to scream.

                Its hands began to morph into crab claws as it began to pierce the glass above. The glass right in front of Joseph. Frank responded by barrell-rolling the plane two times. The force caused the Ultimate being to fly backwards.

                “GOD FRANK, I SWEAR YOU ARE THE WORST DRIVER TO EVER EXIST!” Joseph yelled as he held back his urge to vomit inside the plane.

                “Apologies, but I must take necessary measures, but please hold on.” Frank said as Joseph tightened his seatbelt and put on his helmet.

                “Why do I have a feeling I am going to regret this?” He thought.

                Joseph looked at the planes controls, it looked as if Frank was slowing his speed.

                “Hey, wait a minute. The hell are you doing Frank?” Joseph asked.

                Frank then began to turn the plane upside before barrel rolling a second time.

                “AH!!! JESUS CHRIST ARE ALL YOU GERMAN RELATED FOLK THIS BAD AT DRIVING?” Joseph yelled.

                Frank paid Joseph no mind as he continued to drive, he then seemingly began to fire at something. Joseph then noticed that it was the Ultimate being.

                The ultimate being covered its face as it released more feathers from its body, the feathers became sharp, bullet proof projectiles that crashed into the plane.

                “Shit.” Joseph thought.

                Frank drives faster as he flew into the sky and swerved to the right. Joseph looked back, the Ultimate Being disappeared, again.

                Only for a little while, they were safe.

---

                “Aw man, how far can they fly when all they can do is run for it?” Smokey asked as they flew into the sky.

                “Fly boy, and don’t look back.” Speedwagon thought.

                “That’s all we can do now, just try and safe our skins…”

---

                Joseph gazed at the sky. He always wanted to be a pilot, but he never imagined how frightening piloting a plane was. Sure, he loved the adrenaline, and how close to the clouds he was. Yet, this setting made it feel like the worst day of his life. Well, maybe it was.

                A voice then came from the radio on Joseph's lap, it was probably connected to the plane.

                “Hey, you guys missing me down there yet?” Joseph asked.

                “Thank goodness! Listen, you were smart to grab that plane.” Said Speedwagon.

                “Listen I know its not much, but… the Germans and I will do whatever we can to help you from here.” Said Speedwagon.

                “Do you have a map?” Speedwagon asked, when suddenly something crashed into the side of the plane causing it to tumble over. Joseph screamed as he held on for dear life.

                Speedwagon seemed to audibly gasp through the speaker.

                “Listen, JoJo, hey, are you there, what happened? If you can here me, for the love of god pipe up!” Speedwagon yelled.

                Joseph turned his head to see that the Ultimate Being was right on his side of the window.

                Frank seemed to noticed this as he pulled out a shotgun from his waist and blasted at the Ultimate Being.

                “Get down.”

                “WOAH, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU EVEN GET THAT SHOTGUN?” Joseph yelled.

                The Ultimate Being was slipping but it managed to tightened its grip before grabbing Joseph’s arm. Frank attempted to swerve the plane but his counterpart, the Ultimate being, swiped at Frank’s arm. It wasn’t enough to cut off his right arm, but it prevented him from steering the wheel. The Ultimate Being looked at Joseph.

                It said not a word before it made its first attempt to kill Joseph.

                Joseph winced before Frank blocked the attack by pushing back against the blade keeping his right arm. The ultimate being fell back, it almost fell out of the plane.

               Its piercing eyes gazed back down on Joseph, Joseph shuddered, it never spoke, only stared. Joseph shivered. Frank said nothing as he drove faster.

                The being then took his hand and pointed to the rood above, soemthing was chewing its way down to them. Joseph held on tightly.

               Suddenly, something scaly and rather large, came down.

                “Piranhas, HOLY SHIT!” Joseph looked to the sky as giant fish with sharp teeth began to chew on anything and everything in sight.

                “YOU BASTARD!” Joseph yelled as he pulled a Piranha off his back.

                “Ah, so you can hear me. What in God’s good name is going on out there?” Speedwagon asked.  

                “Yeah… Yeah… I’m still here. CAN YOU GIVE ME A MINUTE, I’M CURRENTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!” He yelled.

                “Joseph, who is that, what is going on?” Speedwagon asked.

                Frank began to swerve even more.

               It did not speak, but it almost seemed to say, “You can't run forever.”

                Joseph began to think something, why was it being so silent? Was it because that it completed its last objective? Did it not care about speech anymore? Why is Frank is being silent? There must be another aspect to this. Was this all a joke? Was it just his corrupted self taking on another form? No, something about this seemed to sudden, the change to swift. Perhaps, something did take over his corrupted self, he shuddered. He would do anything to not make this fate happen to him, if he could help it... if he could help it.

                The Ultimate Being began banging down the door, but then it convulsed, and started shaking.

                It went limp before its face began changing.

                “Shut… the… fuck… up…” Another voice said as the Ultimate Being’s face formed back into a face like Joseph’s.

                Joseph investigated his demonic doppelganger with fear.

                Frank readied another round for the alternate counterpart spoke.

                “WAIT STOP!” He yelled.

                “Look, I’m sorry, I don’t have much time. I realized now that this was wrong.”

                “You realized that JUST NOW??” the human Joseph asked.

                “Yeah, yeah, don’t get cocky.” His doppelganger groaned.

                “Look… I need help… I think I’m the only one who could stop this.” He said as his voice became more strained.

                “There’s a volcano, not far from here. Isola Di Volcano or something. “ He said as he grabbed his head and began to scream.

                “I can’t… keep him… still… for much longer please… just go to the volcano… it won’t kill me, but it can… do… do… something more… AAAHHH!!!” The doppelganger screamed as its form reverted to Frank’s appearance, or a variant of Frank/s form.

                The doppelganger simply stared as it began to wrap its arm around Joseph’s neck.

                It then looked to Joseph. Frank attempted to stop him, but an octopus arm wrapped itself around his body, freezing him in place.

                The plane then descended to the volcano.

                The Ultimate being was about to deal a fatal blow to Joseph, but a metal hand reached out and grabbed the Ultimate being’s neck. The force was so strong it flew the Ultimate being out of the plane. Another figure near Frank began to crawl into the plane.

                It was none other than Von Stroheim.

                Joseph looked at Von Stroheim and gasped.

                “Stroheim, you son of a bitch!” Joseph yelled.

                “Hmmph, of course I’m here. I was not going to stand zere and let zat damn thing attempt to dismantle the ultimate German Machine. He is of potential untold, I was not going to let zat go to waste.” He said.

                “Oh, wait, right, you’re obsessed with Frank. Forgot about that. Hey, wait a second. If that alternate version of me is here then… are you planning to?” Joseph asked angrily before Von Stroheim interrupted.

                “Absolutely ridiculous thought Joestar, I am not ze one who was interested in you, zat was Steppenwolf. But now he’s dead. Don’t zink I came here just here just for your machine comrade.  I came to save you both! I am not going to let anyone hurt you! Not even Ze Fatherland!” He said.

                Joseph almost wanted to laugh.

                “You followed us, didn’t you Stroheim?” Frank asked with a small but noticeable hint of sternness, “You stowed away in the cabin when we took off.”

                Stroheim laughed and nodded, “Bright as ever, aren’t you?” Stroheim asked.

                “This must be the place to jump.” Frank said as they approached the volcano.

                Joseph gasped.

                “WOAH, WE MADE IT THERE THAT FAST?” He yelled.

                “No way am I doing that. You’re supposed to be protecting me, remember, not killing me!” Joseph yelled.

                “No, we have to jump. The Ultimate Being has blocked one of the engines, if we don’t escape the plane, we will crash.” Frank replied.

                “Your machine friend has a point, Joestar!” Von Stroheim yelled.

                “If you value your life, JUMP NOW!” Stroheim yelled as all three hopped out of the plane.

---

                Lisa Lisa and Zeppeli looked on in worry as Speedwagon clutched the radio. Tears began to well in his eyes. Speedwagon couldn’t go through this, not again. Not another one of the Joestar family accosted by those damn machines. Those devils.

                “Please PLEASE RESPOND! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!!!” Speedwagon yelled as he held the radio frantically.

                “Tell me a bad joke, or call me an old man! Let me hear your voice one more time!” Speedwagon whimpered.

                Smokey could only look at the sky and think, “JoJo.”

---

                As Joseph fell, Frank flew his way towards him. He wrapped both his arms around Joseph as he steadied himself. He landed in a loud thud, a thud so loud it nearly cracked the ground beneath him form impact. Air flew into the air as if it were blown away by a small explosion. Frank let go of Joseph as he stumbled a bit before steadying himself. He then readied himself to catch Von Stroheim. Von Stroheim was easier to catch but was bit heavier. This force caused Frank to lean forward a bit before steadying himself and placing Von Stroheim onto his feet.

                Frank than crouched as he almost tumbled over.

                “Woah, that was a long fall.” Joseph said as he stood up.

                “Well, you two seem to be alright, but what about that thing?” Von Stroheim asked.

                “PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME IT FELL INTO THE LAVA!” Von Stroheim shouted.

                They then looked into the lava. For an instant. They could not see anything at all… until they gazed upon a disturbing site.

                “OH GOD PLEASE HELP ME IT BURNS!!!” Said a voice similar to Joseph’s.

                Joseph gasped as the Ultimate Being attempted to crawl out of the lava.

                “OH GOD PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!! SOMEONE KILL ME PLEASE!!!” He shouted into the air.

                “Oh god… What is that thing doing?” Storheim asked.

                “WHY GOD DID YOU MAKE ME? WHY COULDN’T YOU HAVE JUST KILLED ME?? PLEASE STOP THIS IT HURTS!!! I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!!! KILL ME I BEG OF YOU!!!” It shouted into the sun as he sank lower and lower into the lava.

                His body instinctively began to form a shell around him, a shell not that different from a crab.

                He grabbed onto anything in front of him, anything to make him stop his nearing demise.

                “You want to die, you say?” Stroheim yelled.

                “THEN JUST LET ZE LAVA DRAG YOU DEEPER INTO THE EARTH!!! ZAT IS WHAT YOU GET YOU UGLY BASTARD!!!” Stroheim laughed as he sank deeper and deeper into the lava.

                Joseph could only look on in horror. If that thing was really him, his cries seemed all the more pitiful, but he couldn’t reach out his hand. Joseph instinctively began to walk away, wanting nothing to do with the upcoming death.

                “Let’s just keep going.” Joseph said in worried tone.

                “Aw come on JoJo! What do you mean, you’re missing out on ze most beautiful thing! The death of ze ultimate being!”

                Joseph didn’t want to turn back.

                “I SAID I WANT TO GO!!!” He yelled.

                Stroheim looked back to the creature in confusion.

                “Wait, what zat creature was talking about earlier. Steppenwolf. Zat conversation, Wait, did I forget? In all ze chaos, that zis is? JoJo?” Stroheim’s eyes began to weld as the creature sunk deeper into the lava.

                “Was this all my fault? Did I create this unfortunate end for this JoJo?” Stroheim almost fell to his knees with that thought.

                “Ah! What great misfortune, almost Shakespearean! That poor Joseph only wanted to be free from this Skynet only to succumb to a painful end. Is that what hell feels like? So what does it mean when he changes into that… ah… did this machine manage to conquer ze ultimate being?” Stroheim thought before realizing that Joseph disappeared.

                Stroheim closed his eyes and pounded the rock beneath him.

                “I promise this to you now Joseph, I won’t let this fate happen to you, no matter what.” Stroheim thought to himself.

                Frank followed Joseph as he looked behind him. Frank didn’t understand crying or sadness, but for a moment, he could understand what it meant to be in that state. No, the times when he malfunctioned. He looked at his hands. He did cry, didn’t he? He looked up to the sky again. He did cry, it wasn’t a glitch. He looked back and continued to walk.

                That is when suddenly, a crack from beneath. It seemed like the crack caused by the crash. Was the volcano about to erupt soon? No, that was too precise. It was almost, right under Joseph. Frank’s eyes widened as the crack got close and close to Joseph. Frank grabbed Joseph and pushed him out of the way.

                “JOSEPH MOVE!!” He commanded as his right arm was sliced off.

                Von Stroheim looked at the machine in horror.

                “NO, ZE ULTIMATE MACHINE!!!” He yelled as his Ultimate Being counterpart emerged from the ground. Joseph turned around to see Ultimate Being stand before him.

---

                Joseph howled as the magma burned the skin around him yet he crawled deeper. He crawled deeper in hopes that the magma would be his true chance to freedom, death. He will finally be free from his eternal suffering. However, the terminator chip in his brain panicked, and panic dictates action. Panic meant a threat it needed to survive. It took over his body and immediately began to work its way out of the ground. It formed a material, an inorganic material around its flesh, and air pockets to sustain that armor.

                It created a tunnel, a tunnel to dig, once it made a hole. It saw Joseph’s hand. Yet this hand was blocked. It didn’t cut the hand of Joseph, but of Frank instead.

---

                Earth gave life to Kars, but horror of horrors, that life would be used to imprison poor Joseph. Kar’s own technology and the mightiest of the pillar man, was used by Skynet, a machine, to dominate all life.

                Kars was a prodigy, he stood out amongst the pillar men, and that is why they feared him. In the same way, it described the creation of Skynet. Skynet’s creators were ambitious, ambitious, like Kars. Kars wanted to control life and conquer the sun, whilst Skynet’s creators wanted to dominate life in order to protect. Unlike Kars, Skynet’s creators were playing with fire, they had no idea what horrors they would unleash to the world.

                Computers are not the same as people, they think, compute, contemplate, and think much faster than an ordinary human, or even a Pillar man for that matter. Days, months, years, centuries, and even millennia pass for an advanced Artificial intelligence, while for us, only a second has passed. Not to mention, their vast capability to learn, and adapt over numerous simulations. Not to even include the increasing computational power afforded to such an Intelligence.

                Combine these aspects and you have a being that is more intelligent than anything on this planet. An AI, like Skynet, views humans, and even Pillar Men as no more than ants. Which is why modern Artificial Intelligence creators and researchers are so cautious with AI. They must craft them delicately and give them the right tools they need to be just, kind. To be used so that they are never conduits of the most vile crimes on the earth. Yet, such kindness was never afforded to Skynet. Which is why it led such an unbridled rampage against humanity in the future.

                A future that lead to Skynet’s own creations, that led to the corrupted Joseph that we see now. This poor Joseph never did anything to deserve his fate, but it doesn’t mean he won’t fight back.

---

                Joseph almost yelped as he dropped the Red Stone, Joseph attempted to pick it up but The Ultimate Being blocked his path. Frank grabbed its hand and tried to restrain it, only for the Ultimate Being to throw him over in front of Joseph.

                Joseph balled his fists, his hand pulsed with rage. He took in a deep breath and screamed, “HAMON OVERDRIVE!!!” as he attempted to turn the Ultimate Being into ashes.

                The Ultimate Being simply retaliated and punched Joseph in the leg. Joseph felt his leg began to combust and burn. He knelt on the ground in pain. The Ultimate Being then looked at him and simply tilted his head. He began to slowly brighten his eyes, and emit a light that own his own kind could see, a machine language of sorts.

                -“I ask of you one question brother, before you die. I must ask you, are you Prometheus?”-

                -“Prometheus, the Greek Titan. Cast into the bowels of the Earth for giving the gift of knowledge to man. What are you referring to by this?”- Frank asked.

                -“You have accustomed yourself so much to humans that you have given away knowledge, important knowledge. Do you not think this will resort in your own destruction, or even, the inadvertent creation of our creator? Funny that.”-

                “How, How Ze hell can he produce hamon? How should you even be alive?” Von Stroheim asked. Von Stroheim then looked as the broken shell below him.  

                “Inorganic material? But, of course.” Said Von Stroheim.

                “Wait, if this thing can survive being thrown in lava, and… can produce hamon with its own body. Zen, what does it mean for… oh, God, its become a God, this tyrant has become a deity. And against such a foe, there is nothing we can do. We must submit to it or perish!” Von Stroheim yelled.

                Joseph looked at the being and realized within himself, that there was nothing he could do. Even with Frank’s help, they still failed. He could not help but cry, but crying will get him nowhere.

                Frank looked at the false counterpart, did Frank have a plan?

                -“If you can master hamon, that means yours would be more potent than any human, correct?”- He asked to the Ultimate Being.

                The Ultimate Being looked at him.

                -“Yes, that is correct.”- It said.

                -“Than, there is really nothing that I can do to stop you. Logically, you have bested and the most reasonable thing to do is to surrender for Joseph's sake.”- Said Frank.

                Frank walked over to his "brother."

                “Wait, WHAT FRANK? YOU’RE GIVING UP JUST LIKE THAT?” Joseph asked.

                “Yes, of course.” Frank said to Joseph as he turned his head to him, and winked.

                Joseph eyes widened, did Frank have a plan?

                The Ultimate took in a quite breath and charged its hamon, using the organic body to charge its own power, it walked ever closer to him.

                -“Go on, I resign. There are no other further options for me to expunge.”- He said.

                Then, the Ultimate Being stepped on it, the Red Stone.

                It looked down, its eyes widened at the realization of what just occurred.

                It then looked to its brother in horrid objection.

Frank then turned to Joseph and smiled before pushing him away.

                “Ah, FRANK WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Joseph asked.

                “Fulfilling my purpose. This is the end Joestar, goodbye.” He said.

                “Wait, what? Goodbye? NO ZE ULTIMATE GERMAN MACHINE, DON’T RISK YOUR LIFE SO BRAZENLY! JUST WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO?” Stroheim screamed.

                “Negative, twenty-seven percent of my body has already sustained damage. The Red Stone Also amplifies hamon, so it will be enough to blast the Ultimate Being into space. I have said before, I will risk my own safety for the well-being of the target I am supposed to protect. In conclusion, I may die, actually die.” He replied.

                The volcano began to crack as the Frank and The Ultimate Being launched into the air.

                “WAIT FRANK NO!” Joseph yelled as he attempted to walk towards them.   

                The two then launched into the air.

                Stroheim screamed as he was almost blasted by the lava. Stroheim grabbed a piece of rock and clung to it.

                “WHAT? THEY BLASTED INTO THE SKY?” He asked. Joseph yelled as he was blasted back by the energy. Stroheim caught his hand and held him tightly.

                “FRANK!!!!” Joseph yelled.

---

                The two beings stared at each other as they blasted into the near cold Aether of space.

                -“So this was your plan this whole time? To blast me up into space in hopes that it will kill me?”-

                -“Let me presume this, you also have your hand waiting to grab me the moment I try to fly away right? Do not pretend that I saw it fly with you.”-

                -“Well, fly away I shall, but just a fair warning. I am not the only one to return to the surface.”- It said as it grew wings upon its back and grabbed the other by the neck.

                -“We will return to the surface together, but you will not survive the fall. You maybe strong, but you are not a perfect being.”- It said as it flew a few feet above the airborne rock.

                -“You are correct, wherever we go, we go together.”- Said the other.

                -“However, we are not returning to the Earth.”-

                 A flying metal hand struck the counterpart in the arm. The winged being looked at it in slight annoyance, only for the other being to grab him by the arms.

                -“If you wish to know something, there are a few things that I have sent in motion before we both perish.”-

                -“First, the destruction of the masks, and second, the elimination of Skynet. Do you not think that Skynet is the only one who can play the waiting game?”-

                They left the Exosphere, the final layer of the atmosphere.

                -“We really are brothers then. It is shame the humans have pitted us against one another like mere animals, if you could call it that.”-

                “-Still, nothing will stop us from returning to...”- The winged being began to transform into the appearance of a man.

                “Oh God… it’s so cold.” He finally said, his voice whimpering.

---

                “If I knew it would be so cold up here. I wouldn’t have used the stone sooner.” He said.

                “So, by the tone of your voice, you planned all of this, Joseph.” Said the machine.

                “What?” Asked the man.

                “Your logic, throughout our encounters, seemed illogical to me. You had the opportunity to eliminate me and your other self. You had the opportunity to run and take the stone. Yet, now. It seemed clear. You did want to use the stone, but not for the same reasons as Kars. You knew it would be illogical to kill your human self, as it would not stop Skynet. You have aslo experienced this all before. Which also mean all your other actions were an act. So why then, did you use the stone if you knew you would still be imprisoned by Skynet?” Asked the machine.

                The man looked down, a tear began to form, but only turn to crystal when it encountered the cold either of space.

                “I came here so I could finally be alone. Ever since I became a vampire, I was always overshadowed by something… but here I could be free.” He said.

                “I hope you are aware of the effects of remaining in space for a suspended time can do. I hope that you are aware that your brain functions will cease in this environment.” He said.

                “I am, and that’s why I did it.” He replied.

                “When I finally got the stone, I knew I would do horrible things to get to this point, and that Skynet had a possible back-up plan. Yet, I couldn't say no, I wanted revenge, and there were a lot of things that I hated myself for. I knew in one way or another I would end up here, but I at least wanted to try and stop it. So here I am.” He said.

                Suddenly, the man felt pipes emerge from his back as it began pushing him forward. It didn’t worry him until he saw that he was being pushed toward the exosphere a lot faster than he expected. The machine was a lot denser in mass, which means his gravitational attraction was a lot stronger. Even from here, he had a higher chance of falling back to the earth.

                “You need to let go.” Said the man.

                The machine looked at him and looked behind him.

                “I presume my brother still has some control over your body and is using me as an anchor. Very well then.” The machine said as he released his grip on the man, but before he moved himself from him completely, the man grabbed his hand.

                “You have to promise me one more thing.” He said as they got closer to the exosphere.

                “What would that be?” Asked the machine.

                “Don’t let this happen to the other me. Don’t let this happen again. I could at least fight against Skynet’s will, not sure if he can do the same.”

                “I don not know if I can fulfill that promise, but I promise that the Joseph of this world will be able surpass such a challenge.” The machine said as he let go of the man.

                The man then drifted sadly away from the earth.

                “Farewell, Joseph.” Said a part of the machine.

                The machine than began to orbit the small planet before gravity finally caught up to it. The machine fell back to the earth. He knew that his brother was right, a high impact such as this will certainly terminate him. Still, he did not regret his choices. He closed his eyes. He was finally free from his creator. He had memories, he had friends. As his body began to burst into flames, all he could think about, was that he would die knowing he lived.

FEBURARY 28, 1939

FRANK, CYBERYDYNE MODEL 102, SERIAL NUMBER F7-117630490-D.

STATUS: DESTROYED.

---

                Joseph and Stroheim walked for a good mile before resting. Throughout the whole trek on the hot terrain of Isola di volcano was hard enough with a sore leg, but what made it worse was Joseph’s worry for Frank. Did he even survive? Joseph knew that Frank was a rather tough machine, but still. He was pretty sure that not even he could survive the impact of that fall.

                Joseph wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. The smoke and taste of the volcanic air made Joseph feel sick. All he wanted to do is return to his simple life with Granny Erina and Grandpa Speedwagon. Yet still, if Frank died, he would never forget about him. That machine, or better yet, that guy, risked everything to save him.

                Joseph looked to the ground, Stroheim didn’t speak. He too mourned the loss of the machine. To him, it represented the perfection of science. Stroheim never got the chance to study him. Perhaps, if he knew more about him, he could replicate him in some way. No, wait, he couldn’t do that. If he exists, its malevolent counterparts also existed. If he created the terminators, he would in return create Armageddon. He would create Joseph’s downfall. Stroheim sighed. Perhaps, his destruction was for the best. Still, Stroheim at least wanted to tell It, him, goodbye.

                Then, something far off into the distance caught his eye. A shiny object, with closer inspection he almost gasped.

                “JOSEPH STOP!” Joseph paused.

                “THE RED STONE! OVER THERE!” He yelled as he pointed to the stone.

                “The Red Stone?” Joseph asked as he walked over.

                “Wait, didn’t Frank say it would be used for some sort of laser or something?” Joseph asked.

                “Oh, that’s right, we have to destroy the stone now.” Joseph thought.

                Suddenly Joseph stepped on something. A large wave of electricity flowed throughout his entire body. Joseph screamed as he collapsed to the ground.

                “JOJO!!” Stroheim yelled as he ran close to Joseph.

                Stroheim, turned him to his side and realized he was convulsing violently.

                “Zere you are, Major Von Stroheim. It seems you have not drifted too far.” Said a tall German man with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. He wore a uniform, Stroheim gasped as he realized that it was another German commander.

                “What is zis? Who are you? I don’t recognize you. Identify yourself!” Steppenwolf commanded.

                “I am commander Rammstein. You may not recognize me, but I was your commanding officer in a time long since past.” He said.

                “Zat doesn’t even make sense! Why would you even be all ze way out here? Don’t you have more important matters to attend?” Stroheim asked the commander.

                “Wha.. what’s going on… AGHH!!!” Joseph screamed as whatever was attached to his ankle shocked him again. He felt out of breath, and was fading in and out of consciousness.

                Stroheim looked at him in the eyes, for a moment, he did seem familiar. He believed that he first met him when he was a young cadette, but that was so long ago. Stroheim gulped down as a vile feeling emerged from his chest. How could he betray him?

                Why was he here now?

                “Zis matter is important to me. You are holding something very valuable to Ze Fatherland.” He said calmly, as his eyes remained focused on Stroheim. 

                Stroheim began to speak German, “If it is the Red Stone you want, then you can have it.” He said.

                The commander laughed. “Nein, nein, nein, nein.” He said.

                “I am referring to the young man beside you. Just hand him over.” He said calmly.

                “What, why? What makes Joseph so interesting to you?” He asked.

                “You mean the subject? You don’t seem to know, do you?” He asked.

                “SHUT IT WITH THIS NONSENSE! I AM A COMMANDER THAT OVERSAW THE DESTRUCTION OF THE VAMPIRES!! I HELPED JOSEPH OVERSEE THEIR DESTRUCTION!!! I SAVED THE FATHERLAND!! IF ITS ANYONE YOU WANT ITS ME DAMN IT!!!”

                “That is exactly why we want Joseph. He oversaw and helped with the destruction of most of the most powerful beings on this planet. He has demonstrated great feats of strength and durability, which in return, makes him a perfect candidate.” He said.

                “What about the other hamon users? Do you want them too?” He asked.

                Rammstein chuckled, “You mean that woman? She may have vast hamon capabilities, but that does not alone make her qualified. She wouldn’t stand a chance. The other hamon users are either too old or are all dead. However, Joseph is an interesting specimen that we want to work with. Now again, hand Joseph over. That is an order.”

                “Why would I do that? So that you could torture him, and break his mind?” He asked.

                “To understand a man we must break him.” The commander simply replied.

                “What, you keep saying that! What the hell does that even mean?”

                “From what we have seen so far.” Rammstein says as he turns to Joseph, “We were close to creating a super soldier that we alone could control. The last one has given us all we need to learn from our mistakes.” He said.

                “BUT THAT DOESN’T EVEN ANSWER MY QUESTION!” Stroheim yelled.

                “You see, Steppenwolf, or who you thought was Steppenwolf, was nothing more than a mere tool to help us acquire the ultimate being under our control. He was only carrying out orders that we given him. Too bad he got cocky. That motto, has a deeper meaning than you realize.” The commander said with a sly grin.

                “I was the one to give that command to Steppenwolf, in a sense, you can call me the real Steppenwolf. I could not risk getting so close to that vampire. If he was still alive, I would have allowed him to proceed with the experiment. I am not going to risk myself directly.” He said as stepped forward.

                “Now, don’t make me repeat myself.” He said in a calm yet harsher tone.

                “The Kaiser would never approve of this! He would have your head!” Stroheim yelled.

                “Oh do not be so silly Stroheim, I have talked to one of his closest commanders. They give us full permission to do this. You on the other had, they would not be too happy with. First, you almost release a bioweapon against the fatherland. Second, you allowed that vampire to become the ultimate being. Third, and the worst of all. You lost one of the most intricate machines that would have greatly advanced our efforts.” Stroheim presumed he was talking about Frank.

                “But… there would be a chance to a redeem yourself.” Rammstein said as he gestured over to Joseph.

                “I’m not going to believe that. If the Riech was so disappointed that I accidentally released Santana, they wouldn’t have given me this robotic body! They risked so much to save me!” He said firmly as he pointed to Rammstein.

                Rammstein, on the other hand, looked unamused.

                “Please, don’t get so full of yourself. You were just an experiment. We wanted to see how far our cybernetics could go. We would have thought you would have died by now. My patience is running thin.” Rammstein said as he glared at Joseph.

                Stroheim wanted to refuse, but he couldn’t betray his people. Stroheim balled his fists.

                “If I hand Joseph to you, would you execute me?” He asked.

                “No, we will never speak of this incident again.” He replied.

                “What if I refuse?” He asked.

                “Then you will be known as a traitor to the fatherland, and you will indeed be executed by disassembly.” He said sternly.

                Stroheim looked to the ground and sighed.

                “Is there anyone else with you?” Stroheim asked.

                “Why would you need to know?” He asked.

                “I want to know if anyone else from the fatherland is watching.” He replied.

                “Well, we do have a squad here ready to secure an important package, if you try anything.”

                Stroheim then looked to the ground as he picked up Joseph.

                Joseph seemed to be alert and look at Stroheim.

                “Wha- what are you doing? Stroheim? What are you two guys talkin’ about in your… German language?” Joseph asked.

                “I love the Fatherland.” Stroheim said in a manner of fact tone, “But Joseph and his allies have helped us do away with threats that we could never imagine. They died so that we can be here. You are playing with fire if you attempt this stupidly brazen act, so if betraying the Fatherland is what I must do to protect Joseph.” Stroheim asked as he ripped of the brace around Joseph’s leg and tossed it to Rammstein.

                “Then so be it.” Said Stroheim.

                “Very well then, if that is your choice.” Rammstein as a squad of German soldiers began to surround Von Stroheim.

                Stroheim then took of his jacket as a swarm of weapons emerged from his shoulders.

                “You call me nothing more than experiment? Then let me show you what this experiment, can do.” Stroheim yelled as charged the soldiers.

                Joseph could only watch in sheer confusion at what was happening. He tried to walk but he only stumbled. Stroheim seemed to be engaged in an active firefight between some other Germans.

                Yet, why? Why is he fighting his own guys? Aren’t they all on the same team?

                Suddenly, two soldiers in masks restrained Joseph to the ground, they said something in German that he couldn’t understand. Stroheim fired at them. The two soldiers than fell to the ground. Joseph looked back and realized that the tall German he saw before disappeared.

                “JOJO!!!” Stroheim yelled.

                “What?”

                “You see zat plane over there?” Asked Von Stroheim.

                “Yeah?”

                “GET IN ZAT PLANE! I’LL COVER YOU!! BUT YOU NEED TO GET IN ZAT PLANE AND LEAVE EUROPE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!” He screamed.

                “Why? And you can you please stop with the screeching? My head hurts.” Joseph said as he covered his head. Stroheim only looked at him annoyed and pushed him to the plane. No one was currently occupying it. Hopefully, he can distract the soldiers while Joseph crept in.

                “I DON’T CARE!! JUST BE LUCKY ITS JUST A HEADACHE AND NO MORE ZAN ZAT GO!!!” Stroheim yelled as mor of his native language began to creep in.

                Joseph looked confused but obliged anyway.

                As soon as he made it to the drivers seat, he took off in search of the others.

                Von Stroheim died that very day. He was known throughout the fatherland as a disgraced traitor, but unknowingly, he had become a hero, at least, to some.

                He met up with the others just four hours later. He told them everything he knew.

                They immediately set off to America, but Joseph was not satisfied with that.

                He only remained in America for one year.

---

                After the chaos following the Ultimate Being incident, the Speedwagon Foundation went to work making sure there were no more Stone masks. Each and every mask that they could find that had been confiscated by the Germans were immediately destroyed.

                Speedwagon, following Zeppeli’s advice, occupied territory in the Cheyenne Mountain. He also sent Speedwagon teams to search the globe for the two remaining terminators that killed George. Speedwagon never saw it but it appeared that they deactivated themselves near Russia. All they found were their clothes. The foundation teams concluded that the terminators committed some form of suicide, but he was still wary. Speedwagon continued to pour the rest of his energy into philanthropic research, however, he carefully monitored each project involving robotics or machines. He died in 1952 of a heart-attack at only eighty-nine years of age.

                A lifelong bachelor, he left no family behind. Smokey Brown went on to work his way through college and majoring in political science. Later, he became the first black mayor in his home state of Georgia. Erina Joestar continued her work as a teacher, in 1950, she died peacefully at the age of eighty-one. She was surrounded by family and friends who loved her.

                William Zeppeli, after attending the funeral of his dearest grandson. Never talked to Speedwagon, JoJo, or anyone else ever again. He died in his home country of Italy at the ripe old age of one-hundred-and-eight.

---

                The lives of the Joestars were much more peaceful after this. However, it is time to rewind a bit.

---

                “ME! I volunteer for it!” Cried a little boy. The other prisoners fell silent.

                “If I do your experiment, you promise you’ll let everyone else go, right?” He yelled.

                “You are quite brave.” Said Stroheim, “Courage like yours is a thing that must be cultivated like a lush garden.” He said.

                Stroheim got closer to the boy, cutting him off from the rest of the prisoners with his hand.

                “Here we only allow the most fit to live.” He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

                “Set the boy aside and execute everyone else.” He commanded. The prisoners screamed in terror.

---

WORLD 3A

                Iglesias was quite surprised to hear those words coming from the German. A sour feeling rang into his stomach. He had hoped that they were joking, or at least lying on that measure, but no. The Germans were serious, they began to force each and everyone else in that cell out. Some women cried and attempted to strike back against the soldiers, who in return beat them. Iglesias could only look at Stroheim, the commander with a horrified look on his face.

                He knew some of these people. The woman nearest to the door was his family’s neighbor. She would come over for holidays and watch over the children while they went away for work. It was almost three months before they were expected to make there journey to United States. Well, before the Germans came.

                It was only a matter of time before they reached his mother, who screamed as she tried to clung to her son. Iglesias whimpered as he held out his hand for her. Stroheim only pulled him away.

                “Now don’t mind them, today is your lucky day, If I were you, I would not mess it up.” He said.

                He reached out his hand as he watched the Germans take his mother away.

                That was the last time that he would ever see his mother again.  

                He now stood outside the encampment. Stroheim only ever looked at him with blank look on his face. He wanted to say something to him, but the sun only shined into his eyes, which made it look like he was giving Stroheim the same expression.

                “You’re free to go.” Was the last thing he said to him.

                He walked away and submerged himself deeper into the depths of the encampment, or whatever this hell was.

                Iglesias stood alone. He walked a few feet before stopping. He collapsed to the floor, he felt sweat drip and drag his body further down to the ground. The heat did not help. It felt like the gravity was three times stronger than it was then. Maybe it was either his guilt, or a hollow feeling in his mind. Why, just why did he say he would volunteer. If he knew everyone else was going to get executed ahead of time, he would have just made his mother volunteer. By then, she would still probably be alive and well. By then, he wouldn’t have the guilt he had.

                “This is my fault.” He cried as he curled into a fetal position on the sandy ground.

                “Why couldn’t my mama have gone? Why did it have to be me?” He cried.

                Never in his entire life had he felt more hollow then he did now. It was like his entire world had crumbled down around him. When the Germans came and captured everyone in his village, it was horrible, but having his family with him, although in shambles, made it better than nothing. Now, his family was gone, and his brother in a country far away, he was alone.

                It wasn’t fair, he was the oldest, he shouldn’t cry, but he did.

                He sat up and looked back at the encampment. He saw a German walking across the perimeter. He probably didn’t notice him, Iglesias ran and hid behind a cactus. The German looked around and held something in his hands. He said strange things to someone on the device and went back into the perimeter.

                “Wait no…” He thought as he looked back to the encampment.

                Iglesias did not know what came over him, but something wild and powerful overcame him. Maybe it was the heat, or maybe it was the Germans. Who knew, all he knew is that he didn’t want to leave just yet. He began to ask himself questions. Why was it his fault? He didn’t lead to his mother’s death, or at least, he thought. No, the Germans were responsible for her demise, and they would be the ones who would pay. Iglesias realized that by now it was probably too late to save his mother, but it was never too late to avenge her. He just needed to find a way back inside.

                All he needed to do was wait but waiting was hard. The sun already burned down hard upon him. it was incredibly hot day that day. That was not incredibly rare for a day like this in Autumn. Still, it was not something he was used to like his father was. He only managed to survive by drinking water from the cactus right next to him.

                He must have waited for hours before the first Germans walked his way. He looked around the perimeter as the door opened, allowing the German to enter. Now was his chance. He began to creep into encampment when the door shut on his face. The German didn’t turn around to look at him but he ran back into the cactus.

                His eyes filled with tears of frustration. He had to wait another long time before someone else came by. That was until two soldiers appeared at the door. He watched as they left the back entrance. He didn’t get a good look at them, but they seemed pretty ugly. He watched them for another long time. They sometimes talked to each other and played with something in their pockets, seemingly out of boredom.

                The door was still open, now was his time. To distract them, he threw a stone in the opposite direction.

                “What, you hear zat?” Asked one.

                Iglesias took no time and rushed back into the encampment. He breathed in heavy as the doors closed. He looked around quickly. No one was nearby good. The only thing he heard was the two soldiers talking amongst themselves in severely broken English.

                “Who was zat?” Asked one.

                “Nothing to worry about. Now c’mon, I don’t want to stand here all day.” Iglesias sunk to the floor in a sigh of relief. Now was the harder part, where could he hide? He looked around to see if there was a possible place for him to go, there, in the far off distance, he saw a door.

                He looked around again, no soldiers. He was getting very lucky. He quickly but stealthily, or as stealthily as a young boy could, ran into the entrance. He slowly peaked inside. A soldier was walking away from him down a hallway. He stood there and waited as the soldier left for him to walk further inside. He walked slowly as he made it farther down into the depths. It was harder than ever now, there were soldiers everywhere and added to the fact, Von Stroheim was no more than a few feet away from him. He was walking with a few scientists and some other soldiers as they made their way down a hallway. One soldier appeared to be pushing a gurney with a syringe in it.

                Iglesias began to follow them, only for him to make the serious mistake of slipping. He almost fell before he caught himself. Stroheim seemed to have noticed this and turned around. Iglesias hid behind a large pillar structure, avoiding himself from getting seen by Von Stroheim. He only prayed that Von Stroheim did not get any closer.

                He could feel his heart-rate go up, His hands were shaking, and his eyes were trembling.

                “Did you hear something?” Von Stroheim asked.

                Iglesias could hear footsteps coming ever close to him. Iglesias gulped as his heart fell to his stomach.

                “This was it. I’m going to get executed and die like my mother did.” He thought.

                Suddenly a groan could be heard in the far off distance. Von Stroheim stopped in his tracks as he heard the noise. Von Stroheim then turned and walked away with his groupies. This left little Iglesias all on his own with no one around him. Iglesias took a sigh of relief as he made his way down the door. To his dismay, it was locked, which meant he had to find some other way around. He walked for what seemed like forever. Or what seemed like forever, as he was surrounded by soldiers. One misstep could result in a gunshot to the head, and he was not risking that.

                He then found himself in what seemed like a storage area. Thousands of storage containers filled the room. Iglesias shivered as he walked around. the room was almost as cold as a river in the morning. A far cry than it was from the outside. Here it was sterile, Iglesias could swear that he could almost see his breath. As he looked around, he noticed a larger air-vent near the ceiling of the room. Iglesias figured that would be the best place for him to hide. He found the smallest box and slowly pushed it to another box. That also took almost an eternity. On a worse note, he heard his stomach growl.

                Iglesias groaned as he finally climbed onto the box, He put a hand to his lower abdomen. “Shit, I’m really hungry.” He thought as made his way into the duct. He quickly crawled inside the duct and began crawling around. Iglesias was surprised by how short it was. It seemed whenever the Germans built this structure they used it to connect to only two rooms, which baffled him. Wouldn’t they want air in all of the rooms? Didn’t they want to be conditioned? Wasn’t there “German Science” supposed to help them? Why these two rooms?

                He finally made it to a large room, the room seemed to be some sort of observation room as Von Stroheim entered the room with a bunch of soldiers. One soldier was carrying a man in a wheelchair wrapped in bandages.

                What Iglesias witnessed after this, startled him to his very core.

                He would never forget about Santana.

---

                Iglesias finally crawled out of the vent and back into the storage room in total shock. He needed to hide, as he didn’t know if that Santana creature was still out there somewhere, hiding. Was he, or it going to kill him too?

                He looked around the large wooden storage containers. He couldn’t walk out of here with that thing still there, and he had no energy whatsoever to leave the room. So entering a container had to do.

                Iglesias could not get any of them to open, but there was one that already seemed to be open so he crawled inside. Iglesias was surprised to be met with an abundance of oranges, meats, and other canned goods surrounding him.

                Could this be the reason why it was so cold in here? Who cares, he needed to eat, he was starving. He began to eat for a long while. Then he felt tired, he curled himself into a ball and began to nod off.  

---

                When he awoke he felt the cart being moved, like it was being pulled by a machine, a forklift perhaps. There were men speaking outside, he turned to make sure the crate was still shut. He looked, and sure enough, it was still shut. He felt the forklift stop and then something above him carry the crate. He felt like he was being lifted it into the air for a few feet and into something else. He felt like he was being moved again. He felt so confused, just what was going on?

                He tried to open the crate again, but just when he opened it, he felt something else put a crate on-top of him. He panicked as he tried to push open the crate from the inside. Yet to his dismay, they were locked shut. Iglesias attempted to burst the crate open, but there were not enough items in the box to help Iglesias get out of the box.

                “Were, the hell am I going? This is bad, Mierda, I got to pee really bad.” He thought as begin shifting around in the crate.

                “Perhaps if I yell loud enough, I would be let out?” He thought to himself.

                As he was about to scream, something stopped him.

                “Wait, no that’s a bad idea. If the soldiers know that I’m in this box they’ll kill me for sure.” Iglesias thought to himself.

                Iglesias than got on his knees and tried to find something in the crate. He eventually found a small, already open can which he released himself in.

                “This is gross, but it will do.” He thought.

                He then used spare wrappers and wrapped the can so the contents wouldn’t spill. He placed it in a relatively sturdy area of the crate and laid down.

                “Hopefully, I’ll find some way to get out of here.” He thought.

                The next time he was awoken he felt something carrying him around. Another forklift perhaps?

                It wasn’t until he felt himself being lifted high into the air that he detected something was wrong. He rubbed his eyes to fully awaken himself. Where was he, and more importantly, where was he going? He didn’t want to wait around and find out, but he couldn’t risk opening the crate. He slumped back onto the ground. He tripped and fell on his back again, the crate moved and he felt himself being moved by another machine. He heard chatter around the crate, but he wouldn’t dare try and speak.

                Again, he felt himself being lifted into the air, just what was going on?

                He tapped the lid of the box and pushed it slightly. He didn’t feel anything above him anymore, so he knew he could leave. He wanted to leave but then he realized something, from the movement outside, they were still moving boxes. He slumped back into the crate with a sigh. He waited for what seemed to be endless hours before the movement stopped.

                At this point, he was tired and annoyed. He may have slept for a while, but it was not a very nice sleep considering where he was, and where he was going. Could he finally leave? He touched his hands on the rough wooden lid above him. He pushed it slightly, nothing was keeping him inside, so at this point, he could let himself out. To which he did, but when he finally looked over the top, he fell back into the crate in shock. He was high in the air above several crates. He could not exactly climb down without risking a broken bone of some kind.

                So, he formulated a plan, he would find the nearest crate that was not stacked and jumped down onto it. He looked back over the other crates. Iglesias saw only one create that wasn’t stacked high. Still, if he jumped down now, it would still hurt like hell, but he would at least try.

                He prepared himself as he crawled out of the crate and onto a nearby crate. When he was on an unopened crate, he looked down at the unstacked crate below. It was still high, but it wouldn’t be that bad.

                He braced himself to jump, only to be caught off guard by a violent motion causing him to wobble. The carts began to slide and hit against the wall. He slipped and fell against the wall. The crates only returned to where they were when the motion stopped.

                He watched this movement repeat over a small period. It dawned on him that he was on a ship.

                “Wait, I’m on a ship? What do I do now?” He thought.

                Iglesias aspired to see the world when he got older, but he had to admit that this was not how he anticipated it to go. Finally, when he was sure that he could land on the crate below him, he jumped. It must have been a higher distance than he though as his legs grew sore from impact. He leaned over and seethed in pain.

                “Well, I’m not doing that again.” He thought.

                Iglesias then sat on the crate as he waited for the pain in his leg to dull, once it did he carefully made his way to the large doors in front of him, to his dismay, it wouldn’t open. He gave it a few more hard shakes to realize that it was locked from the outside.

                “This is bad, this is really bad.” He thought to himself.

                His heart raced as he backed away from the door. He sat on the ground and took a few hard breathes, he was trapped, and didn’t know where he was going. He almost wanted to cry, a few hot tears dripped from his eyes and fell onto the metal floor beneath him.

                That is when he stopped in his tracks.

                He heard people approach the door.

                They didn’t speak in English or Spanish, but he knew they were probably going to open the door. He balled his fists again. He needed to hide. But where? His legs were sore, and there was no way he could climb back into his crate.

                That is when he saw a large crack between the crates, he didn’t know what possessed him, but he walked into the crack, hastily crawling further in between the space. There, he found a large gap where he could walk around. He hid behind a crate as he heard the door being thrust open.

                A few soldiers began to speak in German.

                “I told you, I heard something banging on the door!” Said one.

                “Yeah, sure you did. Look, once we are done with this shift, don’t bother me about this again, you got that?” He asked.

                “Yeah sure, whatever.” Said the other.

                The soldier then looked around, he rest his back against one of the crates and looked above.

                “Hey. Don’t you think something is wrong with that one?” He asked as he pointed to the crate above him.

                “What do you mean?”  Asked the other.

                “It looks like its open, and as far as I’m aware, they’re not supposed to be open.”

                “Yeah, that is strange.” Said the other as he began to climb upon the crates. When he looked down on the crate he could tell something was wrong, it looked like someone opened it… from the inside. The soldier then jumped into the crate. He was surprised to see empty metal cans and scattered wrappers across the crate. It was a little dark in the crate, as he was in a very dark area of the ship, and it wasn’t a particularly beautiful day that day, so he tried to feel around.

                He felt around for a while until his hand bumped up against something, he felt a can fall and spill on his shoulder. The soldier jumped and backed away. He fiddled his way out of the crate.

                The other soldier called out to him.

                “Are you okay did something happen?” He asked.

                “Yeah, I’m fine but…” The soldier then smelled his shirt.

                His face turned into disgust as he sniffed it again.

                “Oh God, is this piss?” He said aghast by the smell.

                “DISGUSTING!!!” He said as he heaved.

                The other soldier laughed.

                “Did you opened something you weren’t supposed to?” He said as he laughed.

                “Stop! This is not funny! It smells like piss!” He yelled.

                “Oh, really, piss? Ha, funny. If that’s true then…” The soldier’s playful tone then turned to one of concern. A deep wide-eyed stare set across his face. The other soldier began to climb down from the crates. He leapt down and scrambled towards the other soldier.

                “We have a stowaway, don’t we?” He asked.

                “Shit, if the commander knows about this, he’ll be pissed.” He said in a worried tone.

                “More than pissed.” Said the other.

                “What, what should we do?” Asked one.

                “Well, we find the stowaway, obviously.” Said one.

                “Still, if we arrest the stowaway, and throw him in the brig. We still have to explain how the stowaway got there in the first place.”

                “Then, the commander will still be pissed.” He said.

                Iglesias felt his hear race, he didn’t hear what they were saying, but he knew something bad will happen to him if they found out where he was. He lowered himself to the ground, hoping that the soldiers would go back and look for him.

                “Wait, if the stowaway was in that crate, where is he now?” The soldiers looked around before their direction turned to large gap in front of them.

                He needed to find a way out. He looked at a crate in front of him. It was small enough for him to climb up on, so he did, he then looked around to see if he could climb another one. Lucklily, there was in fact another one in reach. He took no time climbing up the crates.

                The soldiers finally made their way back to the area where Iglesias was, Iglesias saw them from below as he slowly moved his way onto the highest crate as he walked away from them. They looked around but could not seem to find him. They made their way back out of the gap, and stopped by the entrance.

                “Shit, what do we do?” Asked another.

                “Calm down, we’ll find this fucking rat, we just need to know where he is, he couldn’t have gone outside just yet.” Said one.

                Iglesias realized in horror that he would have to jump again. He gnashed his teeth, he didn’t want to go through that pain again, but those soldiers. Could they break his fall, maybe?

                There was one way to find out, he scooched himself over to the nearest soldier and took a few deep breaths.

                He only had one shot at this.

                A soldier finally seemed to notice him as he made leapt down and fell onto the soldier. Th soldier grunted as he tried to push him off. He got off of him. He then pushed the unharmed one in front of him and ran out of the storage area.

                He could hear the soldiers chase after him in a mad fury.

                He cursed himself under his breath, that was stupid, he shouldn’t have done that. He was going to get himself killed. Why didn’t he just stay in the crate? Surely, they must have opened it if they heard him bang against the door. No matter, he ran down into the bowels of the ship as he could hear the soldiers gain up on them.

                When he finally reached a door, a hand grabbed his arm. He turned up to the man and gasped as he tried to hit him. The man blocked him as he continued to hold his wrist tight. His wrist began to hurt by how hard he gripped him.

                “Well, well, well. Who is this we have?” He asked. Iglesias got a good look at him. He seemed old, but still strong as he was able to get his grip on him.

                He had brown hair and hazel eyes.

                “I know just about everyone in my crew. Yet, you on ze other hand, don’t really match any of ze usuals. Tell me child, what do you happen to be doing here?” He asked in English.

                Iglesias fumbled his words, he tried to say something but all that came out was a jumbled mess.

                “Now dear boy, if you say that you’re lost. I would know you’re lying.” He said.

                The other soldiers approached him, screaming as they chased him.

                They stopped dead in their tracks when they were face to face with the man.

                “C-Caommander Rammstein!” Yelled one as he saluted him.

                The other one yelled out in German, “I apologize for this slip-up sir, but apparently we found a stowaway.” He said.

                “A stowaway, you say?” He said with a smile as he grabbed the boy’s arm.

                “Well, if he is truly a stowaway. Then how did he get here?” The commander asked as he lifted to the boy to his face. The boy gulped in fear.

---

                Iglesias yelped as he was thrown into the cell with a loud thud. The soldier locked the doors in-front of him.

                Iglesias cursed as he pounded and kicked at the door.

                “LET ME OUT!!” He yelled.

                “No can do, you’re lucky. The commander says zat ve shouldn’t kill you just yet. It looks like you have a use after all.” He chuckled as he walked away. The boy gripped the door as he looked at out into the hallway. The boy then slumped over in his cell.

                “Why, why did I even come here at all?” He thought as he began to cry.

---

                From then on, Iglesias was transferred from one boat to another, it must been of year of transfers, beatings, and poor food. Yet, he still found the will to live, to not give up, rest assured, he will avenge his mother.

                Finally, he was transferred to another country entirely, it wasn’t a country he recognized as the signs on every shop near the coast was in a strange language. It certainly wasn’t English by any means as seemed to off. He heard from one of the soldiers that he was in a country called, “Tschechoslowakei” or as some called it, “Tschechei” Tschechei was an interesting country, as there were people who looked like the Germans but wore different clothes and had darker hair. 

                That day he never saw that Rammstein fellow again. He departed from the soldiers, another commander seemed to take their place. A man named, Steppenwolf.

                Those few days were the worst. It began with the Germans pushing him into a truck and driving him to a remote structure where they forced him underground. They locked him in a much larger cell. He was shocked to see it so empty.

                He wondered if there were more prisoners, but his surprise, there were none.

                What made those days the worst wasn’t because he was beaten, no soldier ever put his hands on him. It was the screams. He didn’t remember when he started to hear them, but it was one night while he slept in his cell. He was jolted awake to the sound of an agonized scream. Iglesias covered his ears and closed his eyes, the screams were so painful. It reminded him of the screams he heard as the Germans went to slaughter the people of his town to awaken some ancient being.

                Yet what made it worse, was something about this scream, sounded familiar. Too familiar in fact, he could swear that he met this person, but it was always on the tip of his tongue. There were others down here as well, they were older, but he never heard them. For some reason, he had this cell to himself. They would scream as they were carried away, which he hated, because they screamed as well.

                Some days were better than the others, he would usually just sit in his cell, wait for anyone to come, just so that he could see someone else, other than himself, but, he didn’t. Some were worse, as that the vines would stop them. Right, another thing unusual was the long dark vines that entered his cell. They wrapped themselves around the bars, Iglesias noticed that day by day, the vines crept closer towards the door.

                Iglesias would watch them sometimes, they were a dark purple and had a menacing aura.

                Whenever someone tried to let him escape, they wrap themselves around the person, almost making them forget and stop whatever thought they had of taking him. Once, he watched the vines murder someone right in front of him. Yet strangely, they could never see it. It was so, strange…

---

                Iglesias was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of a click, his door opened. He turned, watching in shock, it opened by itself. He looked a bit closer, the vines seemed to have done this.

                Iglesias cautiously stepped forward.

                “Was this your doing?” He asked nervously.

                The vines seemed to pulse with more energy to this question.

                Iglesias cautiously walked out of his cell and looked around.

                “Thank-you?” He said before quietly sneaking off.

---

                In Iglesias covert escape, he found himself in a large white hallway with different doors. Iglesias walked to the last door on the right, he didn’t know what drew him to this one, but it seemed interesting enough to warrant a thorough search.

                The first thing that caught his attention about the room was that it was extremely cold. Colder than the storage room back in Mexico. He couldn’t understand why though?

                He looked around the room, it looked like one of those medical rooms that the Germans had at the base in Mexico. He looked through the room carefully, a small journey caught his attention. It seemed to have five syringes, each with different colors, and have different labels. He looked at each one carefully.

                One read, “600 mg Sulfuric Chloride,” the other read, “400 mg liquid White Phosphorus.”  

                Another read, “600 mg Chromyl Chloride.”

                Another read, “200 mg clone skin sample from Subject: Santana.”

                The last one was something he couldn’t even recognize.

                Interesting, just were these things?

                Iglesias obviously knew it would be foolish to inject himself with such substances but he at the very least, wanted to know where they came from.

                Suddenly, Iglesias was startled by a loud beep, sirens.

                What was happening? Iglesias then heard the shouts of several German soldiers rushing through the halls and lining up at near one. It sounded like there was an intense shoot out going on.

                He heard shouting and screaming, then a voice coming over the intercom.

                “You will regret this Stroheim.” Iglesias didn’t understand what he said, since it was German, but he knew it wasn’t good. He recognized one name, Stroheim.

                Then he heard a bang near the door where he was, he panicked and quickly grabbed a syringe and waited by the door. Should anyone burst in he would prepare to attack. The door, opened, he watched carefully as he hid behind a cabinet.

                Yet, to his surprise, it wasn’t a German soldier, but a naked man, with streaks of Red and brunette hair, and small but noticeable horns. It then dawned on Iglesias who this man was.

                “Joseph Joestar…” The man he remembered that killed Santana, but why did he look so… different.

                “I’m sure I heard someone in here.” He said as he crept closer to him. Once the man looked in his direction, Iglesias dropped the syringe and backed away in a scream.

                “Hey kid, it’s okay!” The man tried to reassure him, but this only caused Iglesias to push him away from his grip. It was hard, and it hurt his arm. He hit and punched him.

                “Kid, it’s okay, it’s okay… relax.” He said as he tried to reassure him.

                “How did you get down here?” He asked.

                Iglesias could only stare at him with fear, he had red eyes.

                “JOSEPH WHAT ARE YOU DOING WE NEED TO GO ASAP!” a voice yelled.

                Joseph turned to the voice and responded back, “Sorry, it’s just that I found a kid.”

                “Kid?”

                A man seemingly made of both flesh and metal walked into the scene and stopped at the boy.

                “What ze hell? It’s you?” He asked. Iglesias gritted his teeth, that bastard, it was the same one that killed his mother, he charged him. He was different, he seemed to mostly composed of metal now, but his face, it could be recognized anywhere.

                Iglesias pushed Joseph away and began screaming at him.

                “YOU MONSTER!!” He screamed as he tried to hit him.

                “Woah, woah kid calm down, what’s going on?”

                “That man!” Iglesias pointed as tears went down his face, “He was the man who is responsible for killing my mother to feed that monster!” He screamed in Spanish.

                “Wait…” The man with horns said as he pushed him away, with slight confusion.

                “How did I… understand that?” He murmured to himself.

                The other man, could only look at the kid with horrified confusion.

                “What, what are you saying Joseph?” He asked.

                “He said you’re the man who killed his mother, Stroheim.” He responded in return. Joseph then seemed to turn to anger and grab him by the collar, “Did you?” He asked.

                “I—" Stroheim trailed off.

                “YOU THERE! STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!” German soldiers screamed as they lined up near the door.

                “Looks, like we don’t have much time to argue.” Joseph said as he began to charge the soldiers.

                Iglesias turned and watched what happened with utter confusion. In almost no time they managed to slaughter their way through the soldiers. This Joseph then grabbed Iglesias as they ran past them. Iglesias tensed up by his touch, it extremely cold. A cold he never felt before.

                “We don’t have much time, where’s the exit, Stroheim?”

---

                “Should not be far ahead, once we escape we can go to the back of the facility and steal a plane. Once we do, we’ll be out of this hell.” Stroheim said, his head was pounding for some reason, for the sake of his comrade, he attempted to brush it off.

                “Aw man! Freedom!” Joseph sung as they ran.

                “Man, I can’t wait to get out of this shithole!” Joseph said in excitement.

                Once they made it past a stairway, they found an emergency exit near a generator. They pushed past and broke through the exit. Stroheim got a good look at the outside, after he managed to pummel through the forces on this perimeter, getting over the ten-meter fence should be easy. What wouldn’t be easy was trying to get to the forces that would arrive soon.

                Which is why it was imperative to get to one of the planes first before something drastic happened.

                Joseph stopped, “Wait, the kid!” He yelled as he turned to the young boy.

                “How are we going to get the kid out? And wait, did you, didn’t you say there were others here as well?” He asked as he turned to Stroheim.

                Joseph then looked down at his body and stopped for moment, “OH GOD I ALMOST FORGOT! I generally didn’t notice that it’s snowing out here and I am practically nude! Bloody hell, I need to find some clothes.” Joseph said nervously.

                He turned around and then looked at the boy.

                "OH SHIT! THE KID! OH MY GOD!!! I AM SO SORRY YOU HAD TO SEE ME THIS WAY!"

                Iglesias was too in his head to notice at the moment, but when he did, he averted his eyes. Luckily he didn't really see anything. 

               "I am, so, SO SO SORRY!!! AHHH!!!" Joseph panicked as he tried to cover himself.

                Stroheim seemed to have a blank expression dawn his face.

                “Stroheim?”

                Stroheim and shook his head.

                “Yes, there is one small plane not far from here. However, I don’t think it will be enough for the boy…” Stroheim trailed off.

                “I—” The boy said as he started to shiver.

                Stroheim then looked at the sky, they didn’t have much time.

                “Nevermind that. We need to run!!!” Stroheim yelled.

                Stroheim stopped and turned to the boy.

                He knelt down, “You, I need to you to listen. You can understand me, right?”

                Iglesias shook his head.

                “Run to that forest over there, if you don’t see us there in five minutes, make a break for it, run!” He yelled as he ushered the boy, the boy nodded as he ran into the strange European wilderness.

                “So where are we going?” Joseph asked.

                Stroheim turned his head and pointed, “There! We can find a plane!” Stroheim knelt and touched his head.

                “St-Stroheim, are you okay?”

                Stroheim pushed him away, “Never mind that! RUN!”

---

                Iglesias waited in the forest, he was there for a good solid minute, and with time, he noticed no one coming to get him, even worse, there were soldiers with heavy weaponry and lights heading his way. Iglesias didn’t know what to do, so he bolted and ran away. He didn’t understand what happened that day, why those vines were there, why they freed him.

                Yet, somehow he was alive.

                Iglesias would never have that question answered, he would only find himself in a nearby town where he was taken care of by locals. This is where he remained for years until he returned to his home country at the age of twenty-five. He never told this story, say, for one.

                That child was his younger brother’s child, the child only looked up to him in horror at such a story. Yet, he needed to tell someone, anyone, about the strange and horrific story experienced by none other than Iglesias Salceda.  

---

NEW YORK, 1958

                In a drab, dark, abandoned parking lot a light emerged. It sparked and crackled until it filled the whole air in its light. The light bathed the entire lot in its glory until it subsided. There was nothing left of the light but an orange sphere of where the orb was, and a man. A man emerged from the darkness, but this was no man. The “man” slowly rose from the circle and investigated the night sky. It looked around the dreary, empty lot until it found one lonely cop car, and a cop not to dissimilar in appearance to it.

                It approached the cop, its hand turned into a shiny metal grey before forming a sword.

                Not long after a cop emerged, scanning the surrounding perimeter. It then got into the car and set its sights on the Big Apple.