And here we are with a new chapter! Meant to get this out a month earlier, but I'm just glad I got it posted so close before this fic's birthday. Anyway, hope you all enjoy.

(Also, funny story. I was gonna upload this chapter a few days ago, but the moment I finished proof reading on my phone, I came home to find my laptop finally shat the bed after 5 years of service ._. Welp, I still managed to upload the next chapter before this story's birthday, so I'll live.)

Joseph Joestar: Hamon Hunter

One of the first things Joseph felt when he regained some level of awareness was a sensation of raw soreness that peppered his whole body, with some parts feeling worse than others. It was a familiar sensation, not unlike how he first felt when he woke up in that alley in Vale all those months ago. However, unlike that literal world-changing day in his life, the cocky young man didn't feel the soreness in his body get agitated and worsened like he did from lying on dirty concrete. Instead, his body felt… comfortable, or at least as much as it could given the soreness he felt all over. Simply put, Joseph felt like he was lying on an actual bed rather than on the ground somewhere.

'Eurgh… what… what was I even…?' As that muddled thought went through his brain, Joseph tried to remember what it was he was doing before this blackness overtook him. However, try as he might, he just couldn't muster up the energy to really think and try to remember what happened. All he could muster up at the moment was that it was unpleasant, involved a lot of burns, and that he got himself out of it by the skin of his teeth. That last point was just standard routine in his life at this point though. 'Ahhh, forget it. Too tired… Too comfy to try thinking…'

And with that in mind, Joseph stopped bothering and merely continued to enjoy blissful nothingness… for a time at least.

Eventually however, the drowsiness that permeated through Joseph began to fade, and with some difficulty, was able to open his eyes. When he did so, he was greeted with a grey ceiling and the realization that he was lying down. Slowly forcing himself into a sitting position, Joseph gave his surroundings a quick once over and realized that he looked to be in some sort of infirmary.

"Ugh… what the hell…?" Joseph groaned, bringing a hand up to his head as he tried to recall what he was doing before waking up here. However, upon opening his eyes again, he noticed that most of his left arm was wrapped up tightly in bandages. Closer inspection of the rest of his body after noticing this showed that a good chunk of him was wrapped up in them, specifically where he got all… those… burns...

"Oh FUCK! AVDOL!" Joseph exclaimed, practically leaping out of the bed as memories of his battle with the fire-wielding stand user and lackey of Dio came rushing back to him like a flood after a dam breaks. However, the sudden movement on his end caused a dull spike of pain to hit his entire body, causing Joseph to let out an involuntary yelp of pain before collapsing onto all fours.

"H-Huh!? Where's the fire!? Where's- Joseph!"

But before Joseph could try to gather himself and stand back up, a familiar voice to his left caught his attention. With eyes widening in surprise, Joseph craned his head behind him and saw that Yang was looking at him with similarly wide eyes while sitting on a chair that was perched next to his bed. "Y… Yang…!?"

Upon seeing that he wasn't alone, Joseph tried to stand back up so he could better address the blonde, but he could only force himself back onto his knees before that dull, throbbing pain once again shot through him. "H-Hey! Easy there, tough guy, just take it easy." Yang called out, quickly getting up from her seat and helping the brunet back onto his feet, taking care to do so slowly as to not upset his burns. "C'mon, how about we sit down and talk for a second before you try to run off and take on the world?"

"I… guess I can put that suggestion into consideration. Thanks..." Joseph groaned as Yang helped him over to the edge of his bed. Upon making sure he was sat down properly and wasn't about to collapse onto the floor again, the boisterous blonde let out a small breath of relief before slumping back into her chair.

"Sooo… uh, how're you feeling?" She asked after a moment's hesitation, feeling a bit awkward as she placed both her hands behind her head.

"Judging by the pain I feel whenever I move too quickly… still a bit on the crispy side." Was Joseph's quick sum-up of his current state, much to the bemusement of Yang.

"If you weren't talking about yourself when you say that, I'd say you have an even worse sense of humor than the people who say my jokes suck." The brawler said dryly, her bemused expression quickly morphing into a relieved smile nonetheless. "Buuut, I guess if you still got the energy to say dumb stuff like that, you must be mostly okay. Anyway, you remember everything that happened?"

"Yeah, it's all coming back to me now…" Joseph groaned, bringing a palm to his forehead as he recalled everything that happened during the Grimm breach. "I remember showing that bastard who attacked me why it's a shitty idea to mess with a badass genius like me, I remember those fucking Grimm not even giving a minute to enjoy my hard-earned victory, and I especially remember a couple of charming girls coming in to give me a much-needed break. Am I missing anything here?"

"Nah, seems like you're all caught up for someone that's been out cold for a few days." Yang hummed, an amused grin creeping onto her face. However, what Joseph had to say next made it clear he wasn't in a very joking mood despite his previous words.

"Eugh, well nonna that would've happened if I didn't have to deal with a bunch of stupid slobbering monsters! Seriously, if someone ended up causing that shitshow with those Grimm, then I'll have to find them and knock their goddamn blocks off for making me deal with their messes!" The brunet vented angrily, which in turn caused Yang to suddenly look away from him and out the window, the look on her face featuring a combination of forced innocence and embarrassment.

"Uh… hehe…"

"...That nervous giggling of yours tells me you know something I'm not gonna like." Was Joseph's immediate response once he noticed Yang's odd behavior, a deadpan, unamused expression on his face.

An embarrassed blush and smile coming onto her face now that she'd been outed, Yang briefly contemplated how to break this to Joseph before finally speaking. "Yeaaaah, that… might've kinda indirectly... been me and my team's fault, if we're gonna be honest here."

"..."

"Look, we went to mountain Glenn to follow up on that White Fang lead, Torchwick was there with them, they apparently wanted to blow a hole into Vale with a train so the Grimm could flood in and it's more their fault than ours!" Yang blurted out rapidly, taking up a defensive tone and posture as she looked at the unamused Joseph.

"If you say so. Still, nice to know I made the right call when I decided to stay outta that." The brunet shrugged, his previous annoyance already beginning to fade away now that he had an understanding of just what the hell was happening that day Avdol attacked him.

"Oh, what? So you're saying getting barbequed on one end was the better option compared to helping us kick Grimm and White Fang butt?" Yang demanded in a snippy tone.

"Damn right it was! Mainly because I finally got a lead on how the hell I ended up in this world!" Was Joseph's heated and confident retort, which also had the effect of making Yang recoil like she'd been sucker punched.

"W...What? For real!?"

"You're god damn right I'm for real! I might be a magnet for strange and bizarre shit, but that bastard trying to burn me to a crisp wasn't some sense-defying instance of bad luck on my part! He outright told me he was sent by the guy that had me brought to Remnant in the first place!" Joseph exclaimed, a determined scowl on his face as he slowly stood up. "Point is, answers I've been waiting a very long time for a finally just around the corner, Yang, and I plan on getting them right now!"

"H-Hey! Come on, JoJo! Are you forgetting that you're still injured!?" Yang pointed out quickly, alarm and concern clear in her tone.

"Urgh… well, I can't argue with the stinging ache I feel all over…" Joseph conceded, coming to a stop as he said this. However, before Yang could even let out a breath of relief, a familiar glow and chime of hamon radiated from Joseph for several seconds. When the glow and chiming finally faded, the trickster wasted no time in tearing some of the bandages from his body. When he saw no sign of any burnt skin and muscle, he let out a pleased sigh before quickly doing away with the rest of the bandages. "But I can shut it the hell up."

"Oh yeah, uh… hamon healing." Was a slightly wide-eyed Yang's response to Joseph's quick recovery, eliciting an unamused look from him.

"You really have forgotten that this mythical breathing technique I took the time out of my day to teach you has more uses beyond just being an anti-aging remedy, have you?" Joseph asked bluntly, his deadpan tone complimenting his unamused look

"I did not! It just… slips my mind during times like these." Yang denied, her flustered tone combined with her embarrassed blush and inability to look Joseph in the eye not helping her case. "Hey, don't we have better things to be doing than this routine where you give me totally unjustified 3rd degree?"

"Whatever. Anyway, you can come along if you want, but I'm going." Joseph shrugged, already walking towards the door that led out of the infirmary.

"Ahhh, before you go, there is one other thing." However, Yang stopped him before he could leave, reaching for a plastic shopping bag as she spoke. "Now, while I can't deny that you running around campus in nothing but a pair of medical pants is a sight that a majority of Beacon's female student body would adore and pay money to see, 'myself included,' how about you do yourself a favor and put this on before we go?"

And before Joseph could even try to respond to her teasing, Yang shoved the bag into him, forcing him to grab it. Grumbling under his breath, the brunet reached into the bag and pulled out whatever was inside. "Huh… so I see you picked some clothes out of my room while I was out, did you?" Joseph thought aloud when he took in the articles of clothes Yang brought him. Specifically, she seemed to have picked out a pair of black jeans, some brown, knee-high boots, a set of fingerless gloves and a dark purple leather jacket that curiously enough, had an armored shoulder pad with a cross design on the left shoulder.*

He was just about to thank Yang for picking all this out of his room when he noticed something curious about the ensemble. "What, no shirt?"

"Nah, I had you pegged for the kinda guy that wears leather jackets and no shirts underneath." The blonde explained with eyes closed and a confident grin on her face.

"Well, aren't you a presumptuous young lady?" Joseph scoffed, shooting her a bemused look.

"Hey, I'm not hearing any kind of denial from you~." Yang shrugged unrepentantly. The trickster let out another scoff in response, but said nothing as he turned around, ditched the medical pants he was wearing and proceeded to get some actual clothes on. Before he did so, he gave Yang a very pointed look and she responded by placing a hand over her eyes as he dressed up, buuuuut… regardless, he couldn't help but feel a burning, lecherous gaze burning into his backside as he got dressed.

...It was probably nothing, and even if it was something… well, why the hell should he care, really? If it was the latter, then it was merely clear affirmation that he's an attractive SOB.

"Ahhh, nothing quite like rocking an eye-catching new look." Regardless of whoever was or wasn't eyeballing him, Joseph was nonetheless pleased to feel clean, healed up, and in a fresh set of clothes. The inside of the jacket felt nice on his bare skin and fit him like a glove. Turning towards Yang, he decided to hear her thoughts on his current look. "Sooo? Am I looking good, or am I looking really damn good?"

"Pretty damn hot, if we're gonna be real here." The boisterous young woman chuckled, her lavender gaze looking hi up and down while her overall expression said she approved. As she looked him over though, her expression lit up in remembrance before she spoke up once more. "Oh, and there is one more thing you should keep in mind; after we clear everything up, we need to go find Velvet and you need to give the both of us a proper thank you."

"Huh? Whaddaya going on about, Yang?" Joseph asked, giving her a questioning gaze at the sudden shift in conversation topic.

"What, you not fully awake yet? In case you need some reminding, it was yours truly and another gorgeous girl that saved your rear from that Deathstalker, and don't think I'm gonna stop bugging you till you give us both the 'thank you very much' we deserve." Yang responded easily, a cheeky tone in her voice.

"Pfft… well I can see you didn't suddenly decide to become a more humble girl in the time since I've been out." Joseph noted dryly.

"Humble or not, doesn't change the fact that you owe me and Velvet… and I guess the rest of my team too, but eh, we were the ones that did all the heavy lifting when we heroically dropped in." Yang boasted, a pleased smile on her face as she bragged about her heroics to Joseph.

"Yeah, right, I'll be sure to get right on that. Hell, maybe I'll even sweeten the deal a bit and plant some kisses on the ground you were both on. Would that satisfy a demanding cut throat like you?" For his part, the Joestar in question was more mildly annoyed by his friend's bragging and teasing, although his remarks nonetheless had a very recognizable hint of humor to them.

"Hmm! Now that's a pleasant thought!" Yang laughed. However, upon hearing that, an idea quickly planted itself in her head and it appealed to her greatly. With her smile quickly growing more mischievous and a slight blush beginning to grace her face, she suddenly stepped up close to Joseph, surprising him and causing him to recoil back slightly. Doing this, however, didn't change the fact that her half-lidded, lavender eyes took up a good chunk of his vision. "Tell you what though, with me in particular, I'll sweeten the deal and accept your thanks as long as you plant one right here~. Only if we're in private though! Wouldn't want Velvet seeing me get the better end of the bargain." She explained, coyly tapping her index finger towards her pretty, kissable lips to top off her words. A part of Yang contemplated if doing something like this would be considered fair to the bunny faunus, but at the same time, just like the old saying said; 'all's fair in love and war.'

Joseph, for his part, looked blindsided by Yang's blatant flirting with him, opening his mouth in an attempt to speak, but closing it a second later when no words came out. To the blonde's great amusement, the sight reminded her greatly of a fish gasping for air. Opting to give him no time to even try to respond, Yang quickly followed this statement up by striding towards the door that led out of the infirmary before turning towards him with a cheeky grin. "Welp! Time's a-wastin'! Let's get going, kay?"

Upon recovering from his shock, Joseph responded to Yang in the only way he could think to at the moment… "Ah… heheh, yes ma'am!" ...and that was with an enthusiastic affirmation, complete with a salute.

"Now that's what I like to hear~!"

As they both left the infirmary to find someone who could point them to where Mohammed Avdol was being held though, Joseph couldn't help but dwell on her statements. Despite the flippant and nonserious way she worded it, it was true that both Yang and Velvet saved him from dying when answers to how he ended up on Remnant were just around the corner. For all the joking and bullshitting they gave one another, even in this regard, he was ultimately very grateful to the both of them for what they did...

"...Thanks though, Yang. Seriously, you and Velvet really did pull my ass out of the fire and I'm both glad you did." Joseph said after putting a moment's thought into his words. In response, Yang merely slowed to a stop and looked at him in slight surprise before her smile came back in full force.

"Hey, don't worry about it, JoJo. I always got your back." She said with the utmost sincerity, giving him a hearty pat on the shoulder as she said so.

And so, with any and all words of gratitude now out of the way, the brown and yellow duo double-timed their pace and set out from the infirmary.

***O***

"Ah! Hey Goodwitch!"

Perking up at the sound of her name being called out, Glynda turned towards the source of the sudden voice, and was surprised to see Mr. Joestar up and on his feet with Ms. Xiao Long accompanying him. The stern instructor was especially surprised by the expression on his face he approached. During most of her interactions with the bizarre and irreverent young man, he usually had some sort of expression that was somewhere between 'taking nothing seriously' and 'plotting to say or do something that would get on her nerves.'

As a result, it made the dead-serious look of determination currently on his face all the more of a surprise.

"Ah… Mr. Joestar. I see that you're up and that you seem to have fully recovered from the ordeal you went through during the Vale Grimm breach." Glynda greeted, making sure her surprise didn't show as the two freshmen approached her.

"Yeah, I get my shit beat in pretty often, but I heal quickly so I guess that makes up for it," Joseph shrugged, clearly not interested in dwelling on his speedy recovery. "But enough about that. Listen, I know you're one of those types that always gets told about important shit that goes on around here, right? So you gotta know where the bastard that landed me in that infirmary is. I need you to take me to him ASAP!"

"I see… and might I ask why you're so eager to see this man?" Glynda asked slowly, her raised brow complimenting her questioning expression.

"Beyond the fact that he's a stand user like me and almost killed me? I dunno, maybe the fact that he knows how I got dumped in this world!" Was the Joestar's snippy response. When he noticed how the blonde instructor's eyes widened slightly before drifting over to Yang, who was merely observing their conversation, Joseph was quick to quell her worries. "Relax, will ya? She already knows all about me and how I'm not from here. The rest of her team knows too."

"...You went off and decided to tell others about the fact that you're from another world? Mr. Joestar, I've seen enough of you to know that you're a smart -albeit very irreverent- young man, so with that in mind, why would you go off and do something so utterly stupid and reckless?" Was the only question Glynda could think to ask after a moment of shock, giving the two teens a scorching look that cemented the stern woman as Beacon's most intimidating and feared professor.

Instinctively, having been on the receiving end of that icy yet burning gaze multiple times during her year at Beacon, Yang flinched up before quickly looking away, whistling out a merry tune as she did so. Joseph, however, was in no mood to fold up under a scolding gaze, especially given the situation at hand.

"Hey, don't go giving me that 3rd degree look and scolding! She and the rest of her team are my pals and I decided to trust them with that info! Isn't that one of the lessons this school never shuts the hell up about? How trust, friendship, and all that other junk is the cornerstone of humanity or some shit?" Was Joseph's heated defense, looking completely unrepentant on the whole matter. Glynda kept her admonishing and judging gaze on him for another moment before sighing, conceding that he had a point and that there were more important matters to focus on now that the brunet was awake.

"Certainly not how I would have worded it, but I suppose you do raise a fair point." And before either of them could respond, Glynda turned away from Joseph and Yang and began to walk away. "Very well, the both of you come along."

"Alright, where are we heading?" Joseph asked, both he and Yang quick to follow the stern woman. As he asked this question, he noticed that she pulled out her scroll and began to tap away at it, indicating that she was trying to contact someone.

"Headmaster Ozpin, General Ironwood, and Mr. Speedwagon all made it clear they wanted to discuss your encounter with that man the moment you woke up and were able to stand on your own two feet. I was just contacting the three of them to let them know that you've done just that. Now if there aren't any more questions, we can continue on our way." Glynda elaborated, punctuating the end of that explanation by hitting the send button on her scroll and continuing on with her steady stride.

"Huh… well that was a lot easier than I would've figured…" Yang said quietly to Joseph, taking care to make sure the strict woman didn't hear her talking about her.

"Hehe! Did you forget that I'm leading this little endeavor of ours, Yangy? As long as I put my mind to it, I can get anything done, and that applies doubly-so in this case. I got some long-overdue answers waiting for me, and I'm not gonna keep them waiting a second longer than necessary."

"Hmph~. Yeah yeah, I've known you long enough to know that's how you operate, JoJo." Yang conceded with a roll of her eyes and an amused expression, to which Joseph only chuckled bashfully, both at the attention and the nervous excitement he felt at the prospect of finally getting some long-overdue answers.

"Quite so. Such a shame to see that sort of determination has never been applied to your studies here." The two of them immediately flinched up at the sound of Glynda's voice addressing them both. Now considerably more aware of their surroundings, both Joseph and Yang immediately looked ahead to see Beacon's stern instructor giving the both of them a stoic, deadpan look. Both hot-headed youths immediately tried to look away and look innocent, and the Beacon instructor could only roll her eyes at their antics before speaking up once more. "Now then, if you're both done with your small-talk, might I recommend that we pick up the pace?"

"Yes ma'am!" Were Joseph and Yang's simultaneous and immediate response, the both of them picking up their walking speed.

***O***

It wasn't long before the trio of Joseph, Yang, and Glynda eventually found themselves in the cold, metallic halls of General Ironwood's airship, with the three men they'd come here to meet visible at the end of the hall.

"Ah, Mr. Joestar! It's wonderful to see that you've recovered from those grizzly injuries so quickly!" Speedwagon was the first to greet them, expressing clear jovility and relief at Joseph's speedy recovery.

"I said it once, and I'll say it a thousand more goddamn times if I gotta, I'm a quick healer. Comes naturally with using hamon." Joseph shrugged, smirking at the dapper man's energetic and affable attitude before looking slightly past Speedwagon and noticing something peculiar, and that peculiar something was the subtle tension that seemed to be brewing between Ozpin and Ironwood.

It was well-hidden -practically invisible thanks to the expertly crafted poker faces both men sported- but Joseph was a man that prided himself on his ability to read people and the two important men in Remnant's world order were no exception to this skill he picked up over the years. While the brunet certainly couldn't discern the reason why just from looking, it was obvious that something negative had recently occurred between the two headmasters. He couldn't even tell if it was just some lingering shittiness from a simple disagreement on something trivial or something much more serious. 'Sheesh, wonder what's up with them? They experience some kind of lover's quarrel?'

Well, given what Joseph experienced first-hand a few days ago, he'd place his money on the reason for this tension being over some serious politics and the like. Still, regardless of whatever was going on between them, both Ozpin and Ironwood nonetheless walked up from behind Speedwagon to properly greet their newfound company.

"I'm in much the same camp as Robert, Mr. Joestar. It's a relief to see you've recovered so quickly. Hopefully, a first-hand account from you can provide us with a better understanding on at least one of several unfortunate events that have come to pass…" Was Ozpin's greeting to Joseph, his usual tone and expression not betraying the underlying tension he felt between him and Ironwood.

"You know, Joseph, I'll admit. While I have more than a few questions regarding the mystery of this fire-wielding stand user that attacked you, one particular thing I haven't been able to stop thinking of is quite mundane by comparison; and that's why exactly you were lounging around eating pastries in that airship's cargo bay before getting attacked." Ironwood's greeting, and despite the affable tone to his voice and the surprisingly joking smile on his face, Joseph felt himself stiffen-up like an employee that was caught slacking off on the job red-handed… which in this case, isn't really that far-off from reality. "However, given what you experienced not long after, the impressive way in which you handled it, and the general fact that there are more important things to focus on, I suppose it's a mystery that will just have to go unsolved for the time being."

"U-Uh…! *AHEM!* Yeah, I'd say we have bigger fish to fry at the moment, so is there anything I should know about that bastard before we continue on with this whole discussion?" Joseph coughed, feeling a peculiar mix-up of embarrassment, stiffened-up awareness, and relief that he wasn't going to get admonished for his slacking off. Judging by her muted chuckles and the curious, amused way she looked at him currently, it looked like some context for all of this was another thing he'd have to explain to Yang later on.

"We'll get to that, but first, we need you to clarify a few things for us if you can, Joseph." Was Ironwood's immediate reply, his expression almost immediately shifting back into a neutral, professional one that betrayed nothing.

"Yeah? What kind of things do you need me clearing up?" Joseph asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Ironwood and the others curiously.

"Well, first and foremost, Mr. Joestar, we'd all greatly appreciate it if you could provide us with a first-hand account of what exactly happened during your encounter with that stand user…"

"Avdol. He said his name was Mohammed Avdol."

"Right, of course. Ultimately, before we divulge what we've learned since you've been unconscious, hearing from your own mouth any potentially important information he might have divulged to you could greatly help us clear up matters we've learned about him since you lost consciousness." Speedwagon explained, and Joseph merely nodded in understanding, a thoughtful expression on his face, before deciding on what to say.

"He told me a lot, actually. Guess he was so convinced of his victory that he didn't think to censor himself regarding some important info." Joseph explained, a thoughtful expression on his face as he thought back to his violent encounter with his fellow stand user. Perhaps, now that he wasn't trying to make heads or tales of the situation while under very literal fire, he'd realize something he missed earlier.. "Like the fact that DIO was the one who brought me here."

All the adults present had some sort of reaction to that name being uttered by Joseph, but none were as pronounced as Speedwagon's. "D-Dio!? No… surely… surely what you're suggesting can't be possible, can it…!?"

"Unless there are any other 'Lord DIOs' in this dumbass fantasy land I should know about, I think we're all thinking of the same guy. Avdol said himself that Dio was the one who dragged me into this world and he apparently sent that freaking pyromaniac here to find and bring me to him alive! Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to understanding why he apparently wanted me brought to him and while I was still kicking, but one thing that's obvious was that it didn't matter if I was brought to him in a state where I was alive, but wishing I was dead…"

"I… I see. Ever since our conversation all those weeks ago, such a dreadful possibility lingered in the back of my head, but…" Speedwagon muttered, a cold sweat brought on by dread running down his face. "This situation has just taken a very real turn for the worse."

"Uh, okay, let's rewind for a minute and pretend that not everyone here knows who 'Dio' is supposed to be. Could someone be polite and get a girl up to speed?" It was at this point that Yang, who felt like she was several miles behind in this whole conversation, decided to speak up and hopefully get some context.

"He's a vampiric pest that had a vicious blood feud with my grandfather. Both versions did, as a matter of fact." Was Joseph's blunt clarification, which at the moment, only served to further Yang's floored confusion. "Between the way things are shaping up and what Avdol told me, it's looking like Remnant's version of that blond, fruity bastard is still kicking and was the one that dragged me here in the first place."

A moment of silence ensued as Yang could only look at Joseph with wide-eyed baffled eyes. As she tried to make sense of the bombshells Joseph casually dropped on her all at once, the adults present merely watched on passively. "O-Oh…! Uh, okay, wow. That's… a lot to take in all at once."

"Beyond that, another thing I know for a fact is that whatever reason DIO had for bringing me here, he needs me alive for him to fully realize it. That bastard made that fact crystal clear to me with how he tried to take me down." Joseph explained, suppressing a shudder as he recalled the horrific way in which Avdol tried to incapacitate him. "Still, in that case, 'alive' also meant 'praying to god that someone do me a favor and put me outta my misery.'"

"Hmm… well this certainly gives us all a rough understanding of this entire situation. Robert has taken the time to tell Ozpin and I of this man and his history with your family, Joseph. If he truly is as vile as you both say… then we have a very real problem on our hands." Ironwood mused, brows knitted together as he wondered how they should approach this newfound threat.

"Well, I don't know about any of you, but this is one issue I sure as shit wanna tackle head on! Where's that bastard Avdol being held? Conscious or not, I have perfect means of getting the information we need out of his head." Joseph proclaimed, punctuating the last part of that sentence by allowing Hermit Purple's vines to manifest on his arm. Regardless of Avdol's loyalty to DIO, he was certain that the mind reading his stand bestowed upon him could easily draw the secrets they need out of Avdol, no matter how against it he likely would be.

However, rather than getting any sort of enthusiastic response regarding his sure-fire and painless way of interrogating someone, all Joseph got instead were all the adults present looking away from him with varying levels of discomfort. "Huh? What's with those looks you're all giving me?"

"Shot in the dark, maybe they think your solution to our problems being thorny tentacles is weird?" Was Yang's helpful comment. Just before Joseph could bark out any sort of scathing retort, however, Ironwood spoke up first.

"Mr. Joestar… I'm afraid that in wake of recent discoveries the General and I made regarding our mutual friend, we really can't get any more information from Avdol beyond what we've learned already." The General explained in a controlled, measured tone, contrasting greatly with the look of indignant surprise on Joseph's.

"H-Huh!? Well why the hell not!? And why when we're right on the verge of discovering some crazy, narrative-changing revelations here!?" Joseph demanded, baffled and more than a little frustrated at what he was hearing when answers regarding his situation on Remnant were just around the corner.

"That's because… Mohammed Avdol only has a few days left to live." It was Speedwagon who clarified things from there, and once again, both Joseph and Yang's only response to this were shocked, wide-eyed looks on their faces.

"W-W-WHAT!? What the hell do you mean when you drop a bombshell like that outta nowhere!? A-At least give me a little warning before you hit me with a one-two punch like that!" Joseph said incredulously, unable to wrap his head around what he just heard. "W...What, did I hit something important during our brawl or something…!? I know I kicked his shit in good, but I didn't think I did any lasting damage…!"

"You needn't worry about such thoughts, Joseph. If what the General and Robert told me are accurate, then that man's unfortunate fate was set in stone long before he was charged with hunting you down." Ozpin explained, his stoic features taking up a slightly more somber air as he brought the fortune teller up, much to Joseph's growing confusion. With the way they all kept talking, they were acting like the bastard was some poor victim dying of a terminal illness, and not the fanatical psycho that nearly roasted him alive.

"Uh… once again, I know I'm kind of like the person who stumbles into a movie screening when it's halfway done, but you all gotta realize just how confusing all this is with zero context, right?" Yang added in, her shaky understanding of the current situation not being helped by how everyone present seemed very eager to drop shocking bombshells at the drop of a hat, all of which she was still trying to wrap her head around.

"Perhaps… it's best if we simply show you the problem with Mr. Avdol firsthand." Ozpin sighed, turning around and walking up to a door that automatically slid open when he approached. Before stepping inside wherever that door led, the headmaster of Beacon turned around to better address his company. "He's just beyond this door."

And with that, Ozpin said nothing else as he walked into the airship's infirmary. There were shared looks of grim understanding on Speedwagon, Ironwood, and Glynda's faces as they all silently followed after him, leaving only a thoroughly confused and unnerved Joseph and Yang in the hall. After a brief moment's hesitation, Joseph exhaled before bringing a hand up to the side of his head. "Ahh… I'm not liking where this is going, Yang."

"You and me both… but uh… in my case, that's more because I'm still having trouble piecing all this together." Yang admitted in an awkward tone of voice, scratching her head before looking towards Joseph and gesturing her head towards the door. "Well… come on. We're not gonna get you any closer to home by just standing here."

Now that was certainly something Joseph didn't need to be told twice. In a brief moment, the hot-blooded duo stepped inside the infirmary, with them both taking a second to take their surroundings in. As Joseph had come to expect from Remnant at this point, the room was filled to the brim with futuristic-looking technology and medical equipment that all looked to be beyond his understanding, topped off by rows of beds separated by privacy curtains.

Gathered around one particular bed -which also happened to be covered by a thin blue curtain- was Ozpin's group, with all of them having apparently waited for them to come in. The grim atmosphere the two of them felt in that hallway earlier only seemed to have increased with each step they took towards the group.

"Mr. Joestar, what I'm about to show you and the subsequent explanations I'll provide will likely end up changing your perception of this man drastically." Speedwagon began, a grim look on his and the other three adults' faces as he gripped onto the edge of the curtain. "Now… please do brace yourselves for what I'm about to reveal, especially if either of you have a weak constitution…"

With that warning laid out to the now thoroughly unnerved Joseph and Yang, Speedwagon yanked the curtain away...

"WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT!?" "OHHHH MY GOOOOOOOOOD!"

...and the two teens reacted about as well as you'd expect to the horrific, cancerous mass of throbbing flesh jutting out Avdol's forehead like a parasite.

Yang instinctively clutched onto her throat as she desperately swallowed back the bile that was building up and Joseph was quite literally green in the face as they tried to make sense of the horrific sight before them and the possible implications it had on the situation at hand.

"That is the reason this man swore loyalty to DIO and came half-way across the world to hunt you down. It's proof that this man is just as much a victim of that vampiric fiend as you are, Mr. Joestar." Speedwagon elaborated, gaze drifting towards the flesh bud with a serious expression. "To properly clarify things in more scientific terms, that tumorous mass of flesh on Avdol's head is a vampiric flesh bud. Something a vampire can create with their own cells and cultivate in the bodies of others."

"A… A flesh bud…!? That's right, I've… I've seen this before!" Joseph exclaimed, ignoring the wide-eyed looks of surprise that reaction got him as he continued to stare at the writhing mass of flesh implanted into Avdol. "Back on Air Supplena, when I was readying myself for my clash with the Pillar Men, I decided to take some time to better educate myself on the Stone Masks and the undead freaks they produce with just a drop of blood. That island was the home and training grounds to plenty of hamon users and masters in the centuries that passed since its creation, and as a result, housed an archive of texts and documents from several generations of vampire hunters…"

As Joseph continued with his explanation, everyone looked on at him with clear interest. Speedwagon especially looked intrigued at the thought of a library full of information on vampires, the devices that create them, and the architects of those devices. The sheer amount of similarities between Earth's version of vampires and Remnant's definitely seemed to imply any potential differences between the blood-sucking fiends were superficial at best. "If I'm remembering what I read from those texts right, then Dio must've implanted this into his brain so he could control his thoughts…"

"C-Control…!? What, are you really saying the guy who did this to him essentially brainwashed him into hunting you down?" Yang asked, thoroughly unnerved at the prospect. The thought of losing your freewill was bad enough, especially given that Remnant was flush with people that potentially had semblances that could do just that, but the thought of losing it to that ungodly lump of flesh writhing away on this poor bastard's head? The mere thought of it made Yang gag and her stomach churn.

"Indeed, although it's honestly much more insidious than that. The flesh bud isn't so much controlling this man so much as it is influencing his thoughts… bringing out certain feelings from him. Influencing his thoughts and emotions in a way so that he would swear undying loyalty to DIO. Easily the most disturbing form of mind control I've ever seen." Speedwagon cut in, providing information based on his own discoveries regarding vampires and the flesh buds. "As unfortunate as it is, it doesn't surprise me that Dio held such powerful sway over this man, to the point that he could use this flesh bud to bring out such feelings. All accounts of the man paint him as an insidious manipulator, one that could very well convince you to slit both your wrists solely for his amusement."

"I… I see now…!" Joseph breathed out in realization, his words once again gaining everyone's attention. "Those feelings you're talking about… they've gotta be CHARISMA!"

"...Charisma? Joseph, what does a person's charm have to do with that… thing…!?" Yang asked in confusion, wincing as she once again forced herself to look at that disgusting mass of flesh.

"It has everything to do with it, Yang. You're underestimating just how terrifying and potent the charisma of certain individuals can be! Charisma is the quality that will make a soldier follow a dictator's orders to the letter, even if those orders are essentially suicide! It's what cult leaders use to enthrall weak-minded individuals to the point that they'd drink poison at their command without a second's hesitation!" Joseph emphasized the gravity of his claims with a hard clench of his fist before pointing at the unconscious Avdol. "Avdol here admired DIO, the charisma he radiated, and swore loyalty to him!"

"Whoa… Can… can having a way with words really let someone do so much…?" Yang couldn't help but ask, having no kind of retort or argument in mind for Joseph's claims. The fact that he seemed completely sure of himself as he spoke was part of the reason for that.

'You'd be very much surprised at the loyal followers one can amass with the right words and inflection, Yang…' Ozpin thought, a touch of bitterness running through him as he silently watched the conversation before him play out.

"You're goddamn right it can. And that's not all… While I've never seen DIO in person, I've been left with some mounting evidence that leads me to believe he in particular is a master when it comes to utilizing his charm." Joseph further explained, keeping his narrowed gaze on the flesh bud. "Even without the flesh bud, he's able to easily sway others with his overwhelming charm. Both those factors combined were how he was able to get Avdol and so many more of his followers to search Remnant for me. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the flesh bud's just insurance so that his followers don't get any second thoughts."

"A-Alright, I get it, this 'Dio' guy was making Avdol take his orders through that nasty mass of flesh on his head, but if it's really gonna kill him if it's still in there… why don't you just get a surgeon or something to remove it…!? You all make it sound like he'd be okay if someone removed it right now!" Yang pointed out. If the flesh bud was the cause of all these problems they were experiencing regarding Avdol, wouldn't getting rid of it be the best and easiest way to solve everything?

Glynda was the one who chose to answer that question, shaking her head soberly as she did. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Ms. Xiao Long. To work its influence, that bud of flesh is essentially sicking a fleshy needle directly into this man's brain. Brainwashing and the degradation it will cause several days from now aside, it's currently harmless if left untouched, but… unfortunately, Mr. Speedwagon has made it very clear to all of us that even the slightest nudge to that it would cause permanent brain damage to its host."

"Holy shit…!"

"My company and I have had several encounters with the unfortunate victims of these cancerous mounds of flesh in the past. We've certainly tried to remove them whenever we managed to subdue them, but even with top of the line medical gear and surgeons that are masters in their field, each attempt just ended up being a miserable failure." Speedwagon elaborated, wincing in regret at the memory of all the previous flesh bud victims his company had dealings with in the past. "Not even exposing the flesh bud to direct sunlight had any notable effect."

"Huh… okay," Yang muttered, immediately trying to think of anything else that could help now that she had a better understanding of the situation regarding the flesh bud. In a surprisingly impressive show of quick thinking for someone who normally acted so headstrong, it only took a few moments of silence and thinking before her lavender eyes lit up once again. "Well in that case, JoJo, why don't me and you do what we did for Ruby during the dance?"

This idea had Yang getting either confused or surprised looks from everyone. When Joseph silently gestured for her to hurry up and continue, his rapt attention completely on her, she quickly found her words. "Y'know, flood him full of negative and positive hamon? I know you already blasted him full of the stuff when you fought him, but maybe a nice balance of positive and negative will burn that thing up without hurting him?"

"Yeah… yeah, that could work, actually! Perfectly, even! I know it!" Joseph was the first to say, his eyes lighting up in a combination of remembrance and realization. The former feeling was due to remembering that he'd been forced into a very similar situation back when he was still on Earth… It still felt so surreal to Joseph that such a time felt so far away now... "I actually dealt with a situation just like this back home -and that particular kind of medical treatment was the perfection solution to it- and that was on a much grander scale than some dinky little hellflesh left by some vampire scumbag."

"Huh… so you really think this idea of mine -or I guess ours- can work?" Yang asked, a pleased smile on her face as Joseph's words sunk in for everyone.

"Definitely. If that stunt could be pulled off with something bigger, older, and much, much nastier than this little flesh bud, then we shouldn't have any trouble repeating it here and using it to purge Avdol's mind of DIO's influence." Joseph reiterated, his tone conveying an utmost confidence in this plan. On the blonde girl's end, she just let a pleased smile grow on her face at how sure the brunet was of her plan.

"Heheh, alright then 'Dr. Joestar,' your lovely nurse assistant is ready to fix this guy up when you are!" Yang easily stated in a tone that said she'd happily do everything she could to help with this matter. Rolling her neck around, Yang shook out her hands as they and the rest of her body glowed with the warmth-inducing aura of hamon. Joseph could only mutely chuckle at the young blonde's ready-to-go attitude, quickly beginning to warm up for this procedure himself as he cracked his knuckles and let the UV aura envelop him as well.

"Likin' the enthusiasm, Yang. Best to go into these kinda matters with confidence in your success rather than a lack of resolve." As he stepped over to the head of the bed, where Avdol's head was lying, he turned towards the adults present, and they all immediately took notice of how the normally eccentric and goofy young man's face displayed an uncharacteristic seriousness regarding the situation at hand. "I take it there are no objections from anyone present that Yang and I try this? The way you all worded it made it sound like you had no other options."

"Certainly not, Joseph. I can see you're taking this seriously, and if you honestly believe you can help, then the floor is yours." Was Ozpin's say on the matter, having not letting any of his surprise at this turn of events show barring the brief widening of eyes when a newfound development occurred. Of course, immediately after saying this, his placid gaze fell upon Ironwood. "Although… this is the General's airship, so I suppose the decision ultimately falls upon him."

Making sure not to flinch at the weight hiding behind that placid gaze, James exhaled before addressing the two teens. "...Joseph, I can clearly see that both you and Robert are likely the world's leading experts on vampires and their abilities. Assuming Robert has no objections regarding all this, then you're free to try and use whatever method you have in mind to help this man. 'And if it doesn't work, I suppose it makes no difference in the end. There's nothing to lose and a chance to gain some important information.' Ironwood said in a firm, calm manner, making sure to keep his more blunt thoughts to himself. Pleased with where this conversation was going, Joseph looked towards Speedwagon with a confident smirk.

"Alright! How 'bout you, Speedwagon? You fine with Yang and I working our magic on Avdol here?" The man in question looked off to the side briefly, considering everything he'd heard and whether it was the right way to go about things, before looking back at Joseph with an answer in mind.

"The hamon technique you described could very well be used to purge the flesh bud from his body. This would be my first time seeing such a technique put to use, so I certainly can't confirm whether it would work in practice, but I can see the confidence in your eyes, Mr. Joestar. Just like the General himself said, if you're sure this could remove the flesh bud from Avdol without killing him, then you'll get no objections from me." And with the go-ahead given and no protests from Glynda, who opted to silently watch the proceedings with rapt attention, Joseph's smirk only grew before looking back towards Yang.

"Well, you heard em' Yang! We're all good to go!" The blonde's only response was to give the trickster a confident smile and nod in response. Satisfied with it, the two wasted no time in getting into spots near Avdol's bedside that mimicked their positions over Ruby when they treated her injuries.

"Now, if this is anything like what happened with Suzie Q and Ruby, then a repeat of what we did during the dance should do the trick. Yang, you just do what you did before and put your hands on his chest, about where his lungs should be," Yang didn't hesitate to wordlessly follow Joseph's instructions, placing her hands exactly where they were meant to be and ready to start letting her hamon flow into his body. "Perfect! And I just put my hands on the side of his head. From there, all we gotta do is make sure our Hamon frequen-"

*SPL-TCH!* "CIEEEEEEEEEEES!?"

Joseph's train of thought and speech, however, was unfortunately cut off the moment he began to let a stream of negative hamon flow into Avdol's body, which seemed to trigger a… 'reaction,' so to say, from the flesh bud implanted in his head.

"By the brothers!"

"OH GROSSGROSSGROSSGROSSGROSS!"

And by 'reaction,' your narrator is of course referring to the flesh bud suddenly sprouting long, fleshy tentacles that writhed from their spot on the unconscious Avdol. At the moment, Joseph was left petrified with disgust and everyone other than Ironwood and Yang, both of whom were much more vocal about their shock, could only watch on in silent horror at what was occurring.

"Euuuuugh! None of you said this thing was gonna start sprouting tentacles! It was nasty enough as is, but now!?" Joseph wailed in comical horror and disgust, echoing the sentiments of everyone present and conscious before his panicking gaze snapped towards Yang, who flinched back in response. "Yang, hurry! Hurry up, put your hands on his upper waist and pump him full of hamon! Hurry! HURRY UP AND DO IT NOOOOW!"

"O-Okay! Okay! Just stop with the screaming, will you?!" Yang responded as quick as she could, wanting nothing more than to keep the disgusting mass of flesh and tentacles on Avdol's head as far away from her as physically possible, but well-aware that she simply had to bite the bullet in this case.

"A-Alright, N-Now just do what we did last time and stay calm! YA HEAR THAT!? EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP, CALM THE HELL DOWN AND LISTEN TO THE SOOTHING SOUND OF MY VOICE!" Neither Yang nor anyone else present had the patience to call Joseph out on his current hypocrisy -being the only one present that was still in the throes of blatant disgust and horror- and the former simply opted to close her eyes, ignore the horror that was occuring inches away from her, and concentrate on keeping a steady flow of positive hamon going into Avdol's body. Joseph, despite the panicked hysterics he was in, did the same with a flow of negative hamon and in mere moments, the fruits of their efforts began to show.

Slowly but steadily, the writhing tentacles coming from the flesh bud began to writhe less and less as Avdol's body glowed with the cleansing aura of hamon. The bud itself began to lose its dark-red, fleshy coloration and began to turn grey. Eventually, the tentacles went completely limp before they and the flesh bud itself crumpled away into ash.

An unbearable tense moment of silence passed in the infirmary where everyone present was hesitant to even breathe. After what just occurred, everyone was just a bit hesitant to react in any way at all for fear of more disgusting tentacles suddenly bursting out from Avdol.

"I… Despite how… hectic it was, I believe it's safe to say your efforts were successful." Glynda was the first to regain her voice and composure, cautiously eyeing Avdol and the blood that was slowly beginning to ooze out of the needle-sized puncture hole in his forehead. The fortune teller would have to receive immediate medical attention to make sure he properly recovered from that.

"Y… Yeah, I guess so…" Was all Joseph had to say between heavy breaths, taking several steps back as he too eyed where the flesh bud used to be. "Huh, y'know, I thought I'd be feeling a lot better about successfully pulling that off, but I guess I'm just feeling a little mentally numb in wake of WHATEVER THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED! You forget to bring up anything important here, Speedwagon!?"

The man in question couldn't help but wince when all eyes fell upon him. Clutching onto the brim of his hat, he looked away briefly and took a moment to consider his words before finally responding. "...I believe that was a… self-defense mechanism of the flesh bud, another reason why even the most skilled surgeon couldn't remove them from a person. The moment the flesh bud detects a foreign entity trying to remove it from its host, it essentially goes berserk, flailing its tentacles at anything it can reach." As Speedwagon muttered out this next part, a keen observer would notice an embarrassed blush beginning to grow on his face. "In retrospect, perhaps I should've warned you both of that particular feature before you did anything."

"Yeah, maybe you should've before Yang and I started messing with that thing!" Joseph snapped, shooting the blond man an annoyed glare. However, the look of genuine guilt on his face, combined with sharing so many personality traits with the Speedwagon of his own world, meant that the trickster's irritation didn't last. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he decided to go easy on the man. "Speedwagon, you're a great guy, and I sure as hell appreciate everything you've done for me, but maybe try to remember an important detail like that next time, yeah?"

Speedwagon was quick to give Joseph a nod of affirmation at this, now looking at Joseph with a slight smile that had both gratitude and embarrassment written all over it. "For whatever it's worth, I'm very sorry I neglected to bring that up before your attempt to remove the flesh bud."

"A-Ah…"

"Uh… hey guys…?" Whatever Joseph had to say to Speedwagon next was cut short by the sound of a shocked intake of breath, followed up by Yang calling out to them for their attention. Turning back towards the bed, everyone was surprised to see a wide-eyed Mohammed Avdol slowly rising up into a sitting position.

'Is he…?' Joseph thought, instinctively tensing up and ready to react as he watched the dark-skinned fortune teller slowly look around the infirmary, his gaze briefly slowing as it fell upon everyone present. Awed, Avdol's wide eyes slowly drifted down to his hands, looking them over thrice as if to confirm that this was truly reality, before his right hand rose up to his forehead. He instinctively winced at the feeling of a pinhole sized... hole on his forehead, but that negative feeling was quickly overridden by a combination of relief and joy at the distinct lack of writhing protrusions stabbing into his head.

"It… it's gone. I'm free…!" Avdol muttered out, disbelief and joy in his tone as he gazed at his blood-slicked fingers before slowly bringing his gaze back over to Joseph. "You… You saved me. Despite everything I did to you while under DIO's thrall, you…!"

Rolling his eyes at the sentimentality on display, Joseph opted to walk over to Avdol and firmly lie him back down on the bed before letting a minor flow of positive and negative hamon flow from his hands and into the fortune teller's body. "Yeah yeah, just keep your mouth shut and hold still so I can heal that pin needle hole in your forehead, will ya? You can thank me after that and definitely after you explain to me just what the hell's going on." And doing such a thing shouldn't be a problem, either. Hamon healing certainly required a more careful and methodical touch when it came to things like centuries old brains possessing airheaded girls, healing drastic maul wounds, and of course, getting rid of flesh buds, but something like healing the hole left by the bud in Avdol's forehead was a trivial matter for the brunet.

"I… of course… thank you, for everything." Those words of gratitude were clearly about much more than Joseph currently healing him, and everyone present knew it. From there, Avdol merely lied there and stayed quiet as the soothing buzz of hamon enveloped his body and caused the stinging in his head to gradually fade away.

Once Joseph was finished, he reached over to a nearby nightstand and handed Avdol a small towel to wipe off the blood on his head. As he did so, Ironwood was quick to step up and speak as the dark-skinned man cleaned his head. "You seem to have recovered quite well thanks to Joseph's efforts, but I feel it's important to ask; how do you feel?"

"How do I feel…?" Testing the question on his tongue, Avdol looked down at his body for a moment before shutting his eyes and letting out a relieved chuckle. Returning the General's gaze with a confident expression, he responded. "For the first time in months, I feel like an unbearable weight has been lifted off my shoulders and that an oppressive haze has finally been lifted from my mind. I finally feel like I'm in control of myself again." For the last several months, while forced to do DIO's bidding thanks to that flesh bud, Mohammed Avdol had experienced the unique hell of being trapped inside his own body. Having his own thoughts and feelings forcibly altered to suit his former master's whims and desires, all while the brief moments of lucidity he had left him with the knowledge that he was powerless to save himself from a life of servitude.

Having experienced this horrific sensation for months on end, the knowledge that his free will had finally been restored to him might very well be the happiest moment he's felt in recent memory.

"I see… and do you know where you are right now?" Ironwood asked further, his tone calm, neutral, and measured, making sure to sound firm, but not demanding with his questions. In response, Avdol's smile slowly melted into a firm, stern gaze not unlike his own, but the distinct look of non-hostility still shone in his brown eyes.

"Yes. While I had no control over my actions, I was -for better or for worse- completely aware and conscious the entire time. I know that I'm currently in the infirmary of an Atlas airship, quite an illustrious one at that, and I'm also aware that I'm currently in the presence of several important figures in the world's political and militaristic affairs." It was obvious to everyone that Avdol was specifically referring to Ozpin, Ironwood, and Speedwagon when he said that.

"Mohammed Avdol, was it?" Ozpin began, an inquisitive look on his placid face as he stepped forward. "Now that your mind is your own again, we'd like your assistance regarding this entire matter. Any information you can provide us regarding Dio Brando -be it his powers, location, or the exact scale of his influence on Remnant- could be used to ensure that no other innocent people end up as his slave."

"Of course, I'll gladly tell you everything I know that can be of assistance… whatever I can properly recall, that is…" Avdol nodded, wincing as he quietly added that last part of his sentence in.

"Didn't you just say you were entirely lucid while under the influence of that flesh bud?" Glynda pointed out, her bright-green eyes gazing at the fire-wielding stand user questioningly. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"One thing I can assuredly inform you all about DIO is that he's a cautious and careful creature, one that doesn't leave his vital spots open to chance. Despite a method to remove them safely only being discovered mere moments ago, he seemed to have installed some sort of… mental block into his flesh buds."

"A mental block?" Ozpin repeated, tilting his head slightly as he implored Avdol to elaborate.

"Any and all important details I might have learned about him while being forced to serve him just appear as this… formless haze in my memories. Even the details about his stand, its special ability, type, what it even looks like, completely eludes me. The only thing I can assuredly tell you is that he's currently hidden away somewhere in Vacuo."

'Huh… well, good news is that I finally got a rough idea of where the bastard who brought me here is hiding. The bad news is that he's a 100 year old vampire with a serious vendetta against my family, and any other important details that could've helped just flew out of our reach.' Joseph thought, already thinking about what he should do with the game-changing information he was getting from this conversation.

"Hold on a moment, if what you're saying is true, then how is it you can be so certain of that particular point? Who's to say he's not hiding away somewhere in Atlas, Mistral, or even Vale and he just implanted that thought into your head through the flesh bud?" Glynda was quick to point out, giving the robe-clad fortune teller a look of skepticism. "While certainly I mean no offense, it's becoming readily apparent that you aren't exactly a reliable source of information on this matter, Mr. Avdol."

"An understandable concern, but I can assure you all that DIO is indeed somewhere in Vacuo. I know this because I'm from Vacuo, the capital city to be more precise, and DIO essentially appeared outside my doorstep the night he made me his slave…" Avdol explained, grimacing in a combination of shame and fear as he thought back to that horrific night all those months ago…

***O***

(Close to a year ago, the city of Vacuo.)

"As you're likely already aware, I work as a fortune teller by trade. I have a shop set up in the city's bazaar. A full moon was shining down upon the city when I saw him…"

Avdol still remembered what he was doing and what his exact thoughts were as he walked the usual route to his shop in the dead of night, with not a single care in the world. Most people in Vacuo, even those with aura and combat training, would be more weary of walking the streets of such a ruthless city after dusk, but Avdol had no such reason to be afraid. Afterall, with a stand as mighty as his Magician's Red always by his side, what did he have to fear from some overconfident thief that unlocked their aura?

At the time, he'd just finished taking care of some late-night book purchases and decided to retire to the spare room in his store for the night, thinking it would be best to start the day off there and ready to go to work at the crack of dawn.

Those care-free and content thoughts immediately came to a stop the moment Avdol spotted a humanoid figure standing atop the steps that led to his store.

"I can still remember as clear as day how the moonlight provided such a disturbing air to him as he stood atop the steps to my shop, as still as a statue. Even at the time, with no knowledge of who I was truly dealing with, I can remember how my mind screamed at me to flee while I still could, but…"

Avdol didn't even have an instant to show any sort of confusion before he was bombarded and overwhelmed by the powerful and imposing aura this man radiated. Upon closer inspection, he looked to be incredibly pale, unnaturally so, and of a muscular build, topped off by a head of golden blond hair, although it was worth noting that both his trapezius muscles and his strongly defined face were marred by coal-black veins. In terms of clothing, he appeared to be wearing an expensive and extravagant sleeveless outfit, although its exact details were difficult to make out when the only illumination provided by this part of Vacuo came from the eerie moonlight, which only served to frame him in an even more intimidating light.

"I've been told you possess a special ability, even beyond that of those enhanced by aura. If this is true, then it would please me greatly if you would provide me with a small… demonstration." The man explained, and the soothing effects of the unnaturally reassuring tone in his voice was undermined when he licked his lips immediately after making his request. In the back of his head, the simultaneously unnerved and captivated Avdol was reminded of a hungry man leering at a delectable and filling meal.

"The moment he spoke to me, I found myself frozen in a combination of terror and captivation. Every word he spoke calmed me to my core, made me want to trust him despite my instincts screaming at me to do anything but…"

Despite every nerve in his body screaming at him in red alert to turn around and flee, to do everything in his power to get this bizarre man away from him, Avdol's brain and muscles didn't respond at all. His feet remained rooted to the ground even when his nerves screamed at double the volume when the man's golden and silky hair somehow began to extend and rise up.

"At the time, it was also exactly what made me realize I was in grave danger...! That dangerous sweetness in his voice, the inhuman charm he radiates… is precisely what makes him so terrifying!"

The man's silhouette looked absolutely monstrous as the tips of now-several feet long hair somehow began to morph into something fleshy, moist, and had an organic red and green coloring to it, which quickly turned Avdol's conflicted awe of the man into full blown terror.

"Avdol… come here~."

"A-AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...The book Avdol purchased didn't even have the time to fall to the floor before those protrusions shot forward and deprived the unfortunate stand user of his free will...

***O***

"...and from that point onward, I was forced to spend the next several months forcefully manipulated into serving as loyal DIO's slave until you came along." Avdol finished, a cold sweat running own his face as he recounted this tale to his company. "The mere thought of being forced back into such a horrific fate is enough to leave me nauseous…"

"...Holy shit, that all sounded intense…" Was all Yang had to say on what she just heard, frankly more than a little unnerved by the vivid way in which Avdol recounted his first encounter with Dio, a sentiment that was shared by everyone else. What particularly unnerved Yang about that entire account was the insidious way Dio was described. This year, Yang certainly had her fair share of run-ins with morally dubious individuals from Vale's underbelly, with Torchwick, Junior, the Malachite twins and all of Junior's goons coming to mind, but at the end of the day, she saw them more as people willing to do reprehensible things to get a quick buck, nothing more, nothing less. But Dio…? The way Avdol described him made him come off as more of a monster wearing a man's skin… which was likely far more accurate in several ways than the blonde realized.

"In any case, the point to this entire story is that I can assure you, while it's possible that DIO's cancerous influence through that flesh bud is having a lingering effect on me through some omitted memories, I'm certain I can trust the memories I had before he enslaved me. There are some things that even his brainwashing can't alter..."

"This… is all quite a lot to take in." Glynda muttered, unconsciously bringing out her riding crop and twisting its handle in her grip as she tried to consider what they were to do with this information.

"Indeed, if what you're saying about this vampire is in any way true, then quite the serious and insidious threat is lurking somewhere in the west…"'possessing a ruthlessness I am far too familiar with…' Ozpin grimaced, making sure to keep the last part of that sentence to himself. The thought of an unexpected third player to take into account in the waking headache that was maintaining an illusion of peace across the world with his associates was more than a little daunting to the headmaster. Already, Ozpin had an impression that Dio Brando was a ruthless man that would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and he shuddered to think what would ensue if it was half as big as hers. Brothers know they got enough in common given that Dio likely had the third largest lifespan of any creature on Remnant that wasn't born a Grimm.

"We'll have some more questions ready for you soon, Avdol. Right now though, I think it's best that we run a few tests to ensure that the flesh bud is having no other lasting effects on you." Ironwood pointed out, maintaining a firm but reasonable air.

"Very well then. But if you don't mind, there's a question of my own that I'd like to ask." Avdol conceded, showing a reassuring willingness to cooperate before suddenly leveling his gaze on Ironwood with a steely expression. "Simply put, am I going to be held responsible for the illegal actions I performed while under DIO's control?"

"Of course not. I'm not going to hold you accountable for your actions when you were very literally being forced to do it." The general was quick to say, raising a single hand in a placating manner before continuing. "I'll just place all charges against you on your former master, alongside all the crimes against humanity he's committed." Despite himself, Avdol couldn't help but let out a muted chuckle at the notion.

"This process will take some time. Don't worry though, Mr. Joestar. I'll see to it that you're kept in the loop should we learn anything new regarding DIO. For now though, you should return to your dorm room and get some rest." Speedwagon explained, and Joseph was quick to agree with his suggestion.

"Yeah, now that sounds like a plan I can get behind. I know I've been asleep for a while now, but after everything I went through, I think I deserve a day of willing napping." Joseph grumbled, his entire body feeling slightly heavy and drowsy. Perhaps some time to sleep on all this info would give him a better idea on what to do next. Looking towards Yang, he made a gesture with his head for her to follow him. "Alright Yang, let's get outta here, looks like the 'grown-ups' all wanna talk by themselves now."

"Aye-aye chief." Was all Yang had to say, giving Joseph a flippant salute before she began to follow him as he walked towards the doorway.

"Mr. Joestar." Just before they left, however, the two teens heard Avdol call out Joseph's name. They both turned to look at him, and Joseph in particular was taken aback by the look in his brown eyes. The honesty, gratitude, and inherent goodness behind them provided a night and day contrast to the cold, malicious stares he gave Joseph when he was still being puppeteered by DIO.

"I don't mean to repeat myself, but once again, I must express my sincerest thanks to you for freeing me from that hell. I owe you a debt that I have trouble believing I'll ever truly repay." The utter sincerity behind that thanks left Joseph recoiling slightly with a surprised expression. Quickly realizing everyone was now waiting on him to speak, he averted his gaze from everyone with an unreadable expression for a brief moment, seemingly contemplating what to say, before looking back at Avdol with a neutral look on his face.

"Oh yeah? Well… don't get split hairs over some idea that you owe me your life or something. From the way I saw it, it was a win-win. I get some much-needed info, and you don't have to be that vampire bastard's bitch anymore." Joseph said, maintaing a casual and nonchalant air as he spoke.

Glynda looked as though she was about to admonish Joseph for what he said at the end, but was stopped by Avdol's amused chuckle. "Perhaps so, but the fact of the matter is that I owe you a great deal, Mr. Joestar, and my soul won't be at ease until I start working towards repaying your actions."

"Ahh great, so you're one of those super-hardcore honorbound guys, huh?" Joseph groaned, already knowing all too well the tell-tale signs of the overly honest and honorbound types. Having Whammu set his sights on him gave the brunet one hell of a crash course regarding them. "Fine, I can already see that arguing about this would be worth a lot more effort than I'd care to put in, so go ahead and repay me however you please if something comes to mind."

If anyone had some sort of response to that flippant statement, Joseph didn't give any of them the time to think up anything before he turned around and walked out the doorway.

"Yeah, that's… about the response I expected." Was all Yang could think to say on Joseph's usual brand of flippant attitude before looking towards all the adults present and giving them a mock salute. "Well… hope everything goes well. And don't expect me to sit back and do nothing if you try keeping some secrets on all this.'

And as the two left the adults alone and they began to discuss exact details and questions regarding DIO, Ozpin could only think one thing on this entire matter.

'Where to even start on this entire mess?'

***O***

"..."

"..."

"Hm… so… vampires."

"Yep."

"Bloodsuckers."

"That's one word for them, yeah."

"The big threat in this story of your life that you're facing… is a blood-sucking, night-dwelling, coffin-sleeping vampire."

"Yang, why in the hell are you stressing out about that point in particular?" Joseph groaned, turning towards the befuddled blonde with an annoyed look on his face. "I distinctly recall giving you, the rest of your team, and JNPR a front-row seat to my memories fighting creatures that were essentially super vampires using anabolic drugs. Hell, in all the times I've taught you about hamon, I know I must have filled you in about vampires at least one of those times. So if you're gonna repeat things gratingly like a goddamn broken record, then why, out of all the crazy revelations we learned just a bit ago, why is this point in particular the one you're stressing out on?"

"Okay, look JoJo, hearing is one thing, seeing is another." Was Yang's immediate defense. "Plus, all those memories you showed me, while a blast to watch, also took place in another world. These bloodsuckers seem to be a lot more common-place back in your home and I just figured that wouldn't apply to Remnant too, okay?"

"Well, whether you wanna believe it or not, that nasty lump of flesh we purged from Avdol's brain is proof enough that they exist here as well. Now do you wanna stop being a broken record for a minute so I can mentally chart out what I'm gonna do now?" Joseph demanded in a combination of irritation and impatience, crossing his arm as he kept his narrowed gaze on Yang.

"I see you're keeping that silver tongue of yours in good shape, huh JoJo?" Yang sighed before opening her eyes and giving Joseph an exasperated look before putting up her hands in surrender. "Got it, I'll keep my mouth shut. Got a lot to think about myself anyway."

"Pfft, surprised you got anything to think about at all when you're more of an airhead than a blown up balloon with a face drawn on it." Joseph teased with a small smirk, and Yang merely responded with an annoyed look and a very rude gesture, not that it did anything to make him lose the smug expression. If anything, it made it worse.

And so, despite their shared volatile natures, both Joseph and Yang completed the rest of the trip back to the dormitories in a contemplative silence. The latter was still trying to wrap her head around the surreality of the whole situation while the former mentally replayed that entire meeting and everything he learned from Avdol. One thing that was a certainty was that Joseph would need to brush up on as much info on Vacuo as he could before he proceeded with whatever he decided on.

"Sooo…" Yang began as they walked through the homey halls of Beacon's dormitories. "Thought of anything yet?"

"Only that after I decide on what I'm gonna do next, I oughta fill everyone in. I've long since learned that it's better to bite the bullet on that rather than let the nosey bastards sniff around and invade my damn privacy again. (And yeah, that includes you especially, Yang)"

"Well, that's a reassuring thing to hear!" Yang smiled, ignoring the (admittedly true) comment about her at the end as she spoke. "Definitely wouldn't have been happy if you tried to keep all this secret from the others. It pisses me off a lot when people do stuff like that."

"Y'know, that's an awfully mean-spirited thing to say to a guy that takes a tone of pride in his tricks of trade and deceptions!" Joseph said in a defensive tone, taking offense to Yang's words as someone who prided himself on his deceptions.

"Yeah yeah, I know you're Mr. Smart And Tactical, I get it. But there's a difference between fighting dirty like you do and someone that deliberately leaves out important detail and lies to someone." Yang clarified without missing a beat.

"...Eh, whatever." Realizing that arguing this with Yang would be an exercise in futility, Joseph decided to drop it and focus on more pressing matters. "Look, I'm gonna go back to my room and try to think up what I'm gonna do now. You can go and tell the others whatever the hell you want in the meantime."

"Hmm… nope~!" However, just as Joseph was about to walk off on his way, a vice-like grip suddenly locking around his wrist stopped him in his tracks, all topped off by Yang's cheery denial of his words. In response to the questioning look Joseph immediately gave her, she merely looked right back at him with a cheerful smile before elaborating. "Nah, what'll happen now is that we're gonna go back to our friends, tell them everything that happened, and then we'll decide what to do next!"

And before Joseph could even think to protest, Yang proceeded to drag him off towards her dorm room with a cheery spring in her step. "Hey, who the hell are you to boss me around like this!?" Joseph demanded angrily once he found his voice again. He tried to yank his wrist out of Yang's grip, but as one would likely expect, the energetic punch-girl's grip on him was vice-like. "Seriously, let go and stop dragging me around like a dog on a leash! I'll have you know most guys aren't into pushy girls!"

Yang could only close her eyes and smile in amusement at the Joestar's indignant protests before suddenly whipping around and facing him with a playful grin, tight grip still maintained on his wrist. "Alright, how about this? If you can use those big, strong, muscles of yours to break out of my grip, I'll let you go and figure things out by yourself. I'll even make things easier for you and let you use hamon if you think that'll help~."

"Oh you're gonna regret saying that, Yangy!" Joseph was quick to take Yang up this challenge, confident that a combination of his own natural strength and his hamon would be more than enough for him to slip out of her grasp. However, the moment he locked his free hand around Yang's hand and pulled, he had to hide his dismay when her dainty extremity didn't budge even the slightest inch. "Rrrgh…!" Making sure to look anywhere but at the painfully smug gaze burning into him, Joseph doubled down on his efforts to pry the energetic blonde's hand off him, but just like before, despite his best efforts, she didn't budge in the slightest.

"Hmm, looks like you're having trouble there, JoJo. Need me to give you another handicap and loosen up my grip a bit?" Yang asked, and if it wasn't for that half-lidded, painfully smug look on her face that she had, one might've actually thought that innocent tone in her voice was genuine. Growling in a combination of frustration and indignance, Joseph quickly allowed a charge of hamon to flow through him as he tried once again to pry her hand off him, but any numbing affect the energy might've had on the blonde easily countered it with a flare of her own hamon energy.

*PING!*

While harmless, the two different forms of hamon clashing together ever-so-briefly was enough to send Joseph's hand recoiling off Yang's wrist like it was on fire. He likely would've stumbled back a few feet, but unfortunately, Yang's grip on his other hand was still vice-like. (And she still had that infuriatingly smug look on her face!)

"This might come as a shock to you, JoJo, but I actually have been keeping up with all my breathing exercises. Knowing that it'll keep me young and hot is a pretty sweet motivator." Joseph made his dissatisfaction very clear as he met Yang's oh-so smug smile with an indignant scowl. The knee-jerk reaction was to call the blonde out on cheating, but considering that he regularly prided himself on his cheats and tricks, he just knew that such a remark would only lead to more teasing, and they both knew it.

"..."

"So what was all that about making me eat my words~?"

"...Your face is looking awfully punchable at the moment. I just thought I'd let you know that." And that was all Joseph had to say to that face.

"I get that a lot~." Yang said with a cheery tone, making it very clear Joseph's grousing had no effect on her. With matters now out of the way, the blonde once again started dragging the brunet to her dorm room, and such a thing left Joseph very irritated despite how it wonderful it sounded out of context.

***O***

"So… alright, what you're saying is that during the Grimm breach, you found out that the person that sent you to Remnant was some century-old vampire that has a blood feud with your family, and that he sent some guy he brainwashed with the same powers you got to assassinate you?"

Things definitely went by in a speedy blur the moment Yang brought Joseph back to her dorm room and he was immediately greeted with the anticipating and concerned faces of the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR. Eventually, between all the bombardments of 'are you okay!?' 'Who was that guy who attacked you!?' and 'did half your face really get covered in burns!?' Joseph and Yang managed to roughly fill the two teams in on what happened after the brunet regained consciousness.

Everyone present all had varying reactions to the apparent revelation that an honest to god vampire was what brought Joseph to Remnant, with Ruby and Weiss looking on with wide-eyed disbelief, Blake and Nora looking at him with varying levels of curiosity and apprehension, and Jaune looking horrified and slightly nauseated at everything he heard regarding the flesh bud. Ren and Pyrrha didn't let much show by comparison, but the slight widening of their eyes as he explained was enough to show Joseph that they were surprised by the extraordinary tale.

"No no no, Jaune, you got that last part all wrong. Even a comically evil bastard like DIO wouldn't be so petty as to bring me here just so he could get one of his brainwashed goons to kill me. If there's one thing I know is a fact about this vampire fruitcake, it's that he never does shit without reason." Was Joseph's correction to Jaune's sum-up of the situation regarding DIO, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face and in his tone. With his expression morphing into a contemplative one, he continued with his explanation. "Avdol made it crystal clear that he needed to bring me to DIO alive… although apparently, there was no issue if he brought me to him in a state where I'd wish I was dead. Either way, he wouldn't have wasted the energy and effort to rip me from my home and bring me here if he didn't need me for something, something that I apparently need to be still kicking for."

"Well… if this 'Dio' wants you brought to him alive, what could he possibly want from you?" Pyrrha asked, having listened to Joseph's tale with rapt attention.

"How the hell should I know!? It's not like I can just get inside the bastard's head and find out for myself, can I!?" Was the hot-headed trickster's irritated response, finally letting the frustration he felt about the lack of information they had on DIO clear.

"But… you can! Can't you?"

"What the hell are you babbling about now, Nora?" However, that frustration soon turned into an irritated confusion in response to Nora's sudden words, giving her a look that implored her to elaborate.

"Hey, don't take that tone with me, Mr. Forgetful! If I'm remembering things right, then if you can show us your own thoughts with something like a TV, then can't you do the same with someone elsem They'd be awfully lame psychic powers if you could only use them on yourself after all." Despite the childish reasoning behind it… there was a certain -quite frankly surprising- degree of wisdom to the air-headed girl's words, and it left Joseph utterly blindsided.

"Well, I'd need a… clear image of him and his face in my head for that to work, but…" Slowly, Joseph desperately wracked his brain for a clear reason for why he couldn't have done such a thing months ago, but to his utter dismay, nothing that could help him came to mind. The potential justifications at his lips died away and were transformed into words filled with depressed resignation. "Now that I think of it… I actually got that part covered."

"Are… you alright there, Joseph?" Weiss couldn't help but ask, honestly surprised -and more than a little put-off- by Joseph sudden display of sullen attitude.

"I'm fine!" Joseph snapped in an overblown display of defensive gusto, surprising a now-affronted Weiss and the rest of his company. "I'm fine, alright!? Just… all of you shut up and give me a second to think clearly, got it…?"

"Hmph. Rude, ill-mannered, air-head." Weiss huffed out in offense, although it was slightly mitigated by Joseph at least having the decency to mutter out a genuinely remorseful 'sorry' before falling to self-deprecation.

'I am a fucking idiot! If I had just thought of exactly that at any point during this fucking year instead of lounging around with a thumb jammed up my ass, then I could've had my lead on this world-teleporting mess at any moment after initiations! The worst part of it is that a scatterbrained spazz like NORA thought of it first!'

"Alright… Well now that we got a solid idea of what to do on the table, I'm gonna need to borrow a TV or some kinda monitor to make this work…" Joseph groaned out, his numb tone muffled by his palms. Removing his hands from his face, the brunet was quick to level an annoyed glare at everyone present, since lo and behold, the looks on everyone's faces was akin to that of horror when they all realized just what happened the last time they let him near one of their monitors. "And before any of you dumbasses get all defensive about me blowing something up, I'll have you know that I've actually taken some time to properly hone my divination. I know how to get info outta tech without leaving it damaged, and I can guarantee you that if something happens to your TV, it won't be cause of me."

"..."

Joseph's annoyance only smoldered when he noticed that, despite his words of reassurance, everyone present still looked apprehensive about letting the trickster anywhere near their TVs. Letting out an irritated sigh, he was about to say he'd simply try this on his own time with his scroll when Ruby beat him to the punch.

"Not it. I say that if we try this, we do it with JNPR's TV." The silver-eyed girl blurted out, blindsiding all of Team JNPR.

"I agree. The less explosions that go on in here, the better."

"Aye."

"That's my sis, always thinking one step ahead~!"

And before they had any chance to react, the rest of the all-girl team were quick to voice their support of this COA, each having very matter-of-fact tones in their voices.

"I-! But that's…!" Jaune spluttered out, a combination of shock and betrayal in his tone before his posture began to deflate like an undone balloon. "It's like I never even left home…"

"Dangit! Won't be beaten to the punch next time…" Nora groused while Ren simply grimaced and Pyrrha simply patted Jaune on the shoulder in a consoling manner.

Say what you want about them, but they knew when they'd been beaten.

As for Joseph? He just watched all this play out with an irritated and bemused look on his face.

***O***

"So do you really think you can use your ability to peer into this vampire's head?" Weiss asked, a slightly skeptical expression on her face as she and the rest of her team and Team JNPR watched Joseph kneel in front of the latter team's monitor. "Using that power on yourself was one thing, but if we what do know is accurate, then 'DIO' is likely somewhere on the other side of the world! Even if your ability works in this manner, then the issue of range looks to be a very real problem."

"Ehhh, you're worrying too much, I know this'll work. I might not be able to read a person's mind unless I got em' first-hand to use my stand on, but Hermit Purple's spirit photography is a lot more varied in its uses. As long as I got a clear mental image of it in mind, I can make my stand use almost anything as a medium to get an image of whatever it is I'm seeking out, with more details coming in the closer I get to it. I already know what this bastard must look like, so now it's all a matter of concentration. Besides, if this hunch of mine is correct, then we might be more connected than I'd like, but in this case, that works in my favor.' Joseph explained offhandedly, nonetheless having the presence of mind to omit a particular theory he had about DIO. If this theory proved accurate, then the malicious vampire might have a connection to the Joestar bloodline that Joseph could use to his advantage.

"So yeah…" Joseph continued, closing his eyes in concentration as his stand's purple vines wrapped around and phased into the TV. "Just give me some time to concentrate and I guarantee I'll make some important images come up."

And with that explanation provided, Joseph once again kept silent and focused on his Hermit Purple's spirit photography as he let his stand's vines sprout out from his hands and immediately into the inner workings of Remnant's future-TVs, as he so eloquently dubbed them. Moments after the thorny vines integrated themselves into the TV, the screen little up with the image and sound of static, ending the relative quiet of the dorm room. "Hmm… this is feeling a lot more obscure than I would've thought. This might take a bit longer than I fi-"

*BLINK!*

Joseph was cut off, however, when the entire screen suddenly went dark blue, as if the TV encountered some sort of error. Before anyone could think to comment on this odd turn of events, everyone present was stopped stiff when the sound of static came blaring back with a vengeance and the static returned to the screen.

"Ugh, how grating! Are you doing that on purpose, Joseph!?" Weiss groaned in clear annoyance and discomfort, echoing the sentiments of everyone else present as they covered their ears from the overwhelmingly loud blare of static. However, rather than some sort of cheeky reply or snippy retort like she expected, the white-haired girl was put off when Joseph didn't respond, instead continuing to look at the static-filled screen with a wide-eyed look of apprehension. "...Joseph?"

"This… This doesn't feel right…!" Was the only thing Joseph could think to say at the moment, beads of dread-induced sweat running down his face.

ゴゴゴゴ

ゴゴゴゴ

ゴゴゴゴ

ゴゴゴゴ

Before anyone could think to ask Joseph what he meant by that, they all began to notice a figure framed in shadow slowly beginning to fade in amid all the static.

"Is… what is this…?" Blake asked, a wide eyed look on her face as she took in what little they could discern of the figure despite the shadows that surrounded them. For starters, the figure was clearly a male, the lack of a shirt exposing a figure very similar to Joseph's muscular build, albeit with what looked to be marble-white skin that provided a stark contrast to the trickster's tanned skin tone, with the contrast made all the more apparent by the large mullet of golden blond hair he had. In terms of what he was wearing, he merely wore an expensive-looking pair of white nobleman's pants that were complimented by an extravagant looking belt that had a purple heart emblem emblazoned on the front of it. Beyond that, the only other thing the man could be seen wearing was a pair of gold and jewl-encrusted wrist-guards.

"Joseph… is this what… normally happens when you use this particular ability on another person?" Ren asked slowly, feeling a cold, icy dread envelop him like a wet towel. There was just something about the man on his team's TV screen… it was as though his very presence -not even in person- made one suddenly feel smaller, like a sheep that wandered into the cave of a wolf. 'Whoever this man is… he just radiates an air of domination and evil…!'

Joseph didn't immediately respond, beads of sweat still running down his face as he took in the shirtless figure appearing on the screen. It was at that moment that Joseph realized that his theory regarding Remnant's DIO was right on the money, because not only did the faint scar around his neck and star-shaped birthmark on his left shoulder make it painfully obvious that he succeeded in his plan of stealing Jonathan Joestar's body all those decades ago, but the moment he laid eyes on his form, he felt a spot on his left shoulder, exactly where his own star birthmark should be located, flare up with a peculiar but unignorable prickling sensation.

"That's… That's him! That's DIO!" Joseph finally exclaimed, a look of wide-eyed alarm complimenting the cold sweat that came over him, flinching back in dread when DIO's shadow-framed face suddenly turned towards the screen, and the oppressive air in the dorm room suddenly increased tenfold as a result.

"Huh… soooo, that's what he looks like…?" Yang asked rhetorically, forcing a blatantly fake joking tone into her voice in an attempt to lighten the mood and subsequently lift the veil of dread that had fallen over them. When it was clear that her attempt didn't work, she could only rub one of her wrists before casting off her hesitance and continuing. "Yeah, uh… I'm gonna be real guys, this is kinda freaking me out."

"I know you're watching me… Joestar."

And then, as if in response to Yang's admittance, DIO immediately made his presence known by speaking up and seemingly addressing Joseph, shocking everyone present.

"Okay now I'm REALLY freaked out!" Was Yang's knee-jerk exclamation upon hearing this, a very unnerved look on her pretty face that everyone else shared as they stared at the screen. While they hadn't seen much of Joseph's spirit photography in the past, it was very clear to see that the person they were spying on with this ability wasn't supposed to know they were being watched.

"D...DIO…!?" Joseph muttered, unable to tear himself or his stand away from the screen as the shadow-covered vampire began to slowly walk towards the screen. The disturbing realization that he knew who was on the other side of the screen did nothing to ease everyone's nerves, especially after he began to speak once more.

"So you've finally become aware of my presence, have you…? Good. And what's more… now that you've finally used this ability to see me, I know EXACTLY where you are now. I suppose, given that you're in Vale, this means that Avdol has failed. A pity… but ultimately a set-back that's of no consequence. Now, whether you try to find me or stay put till my servants bring you to me… I can assure you we'll be seeing each other soon. Until then…"

*F-FTTZZ! CRACKLE!*

"Oh shit NOT AGAIN!" Joseph exclaimed, quickly realizing what was about to happen as he hastily retracted his stand's vines, causing DIO's image to disappear from the screen but doing nothing to stop JNPR's TV from letting out a series crackles and pops, all topped off by the sight of electricity zipping off it and smoke beginning to rise up from it. "GET DOWN!"

*BOOM!*

It was just after Joseph yelled out this warning that the monitor proceeded to explode in a surprisingly large explosion for such a mundane device, subsequently filling the modestly sized dorm room with smoke and the coughs of people who inhaled that smoke.

"Oh brothers, can someone open one of the damn windows already!?"

Eventually, after a lot of swearing, fumbling, and coughing, Ruby was able to force open JNPR's window and proceeded to apply her semblance to her arms and spun them around rapidly to filter all the smoke out of the room, finally allowing everyone inside to actually breathe some proper air.

Eventually, the coughing that took up the room petered out and was replaced with a stagnant silence, with everyone present unsure of what to say in wake of what just happened. What was one even supposed to say in wake of all of that? Not only did they get irrefutable proof that one of the night-walking, bloodsucking vampires Joseph fought in his own world was lurking somewhere on Remnant, but almost everyone present recognized that this vampire, DIO, was a man with ambition. He clearly needed Joseph for something, and he wasn't going to stop sending more of his minions after the brunet til he got that something. The dilemma this new foe presented was something that neither team had ever even remotely dealt with while dealing with Torchwick and the White Fang.

"...It was DIO's fault that the TV blew up this time, not mine." And when someone finally did speak, it was just Joseph making it clear he didn't think he was liable for Team JNPR's TV exploding. Everyone present (Except for Nora, who just gave him an accusatory glare for having a part in their TV blowing up) just gave the brunet unamused, disbelieving looks before the most-level headed among them spoke up.

"...Joseph, I think I speak for my entire team when I say our TV blowing up is irreverent at the moment." Ren sighed, ignoring Nora's indignant exclamation of 'You don't speak for me, Renny!'. "If anything, I think we're all a bit more focused on deciding just what we're going to do in wake of what we just saw."

"Well I don't know what you guys have decided on, but I sure as hell know what I'm gonna do." The brunet responded in a calm and resolute tone, which was quite the surprising instance of whiplash given what he said mere moments ago. In fact, in stark contrast to his usual eccentric and playful demeanor, the look on Joseph's face was one of narrow-eyed conviction and determination. Whatever it was he was planning on doing, he was dead-set on doing it.

"I'm gonna go to Vacuo, I'm gonna drag that bloodsucking shitstain out of whatever hole he's hiding in, and after I make him tell me how he brought me here and how I'm gonna get back, I'm gonna kill him." Joseph declared in a chillingly certain tone a voice.

The end-goal he needed to accomplish ever since first arriving in Remnant having finally revealed itself to him, and he was through waiting around now that he knew what needed to be done…

-To be continued...

*For a bit of context, Joseph's outfit is essentially a purple version of Rei's in the Fist Of The North Star spinoff manga Rei Gaiden.