This chapter has some major deviations from canon. Also, something I wanted to talk about regarding Mark's Stand, since he'll be showing up here. I was originally gonna call his Stand White Album, a tribute to how the Beatles got their start in Germany. Then I remembered there already was a Stand named White Album, but could still keep the Stand's appearance by naming it Abbey Road, a reference to how John Lennon, who is leading the procession on the cover, is dressed in white.

Applejack and Twilight watched as Lisa Lisa used Hamon hypnosis on Suzi Q, now healed after the incident with Esidisi. "You ever try anything like this?," Applejack asked. "Once as a test," Twilight replied, "My husband's old Ogre Street gang still have jobs back in London. One of them, Yun, suspected an employee of his apothecary was selling off poisons, something he refused to do ever since he picked up the business from it's former owner, Wang Chen, a less scrupulous apothecary that had thrown his lot in with Dio. I tried using Hamon hypnosis to sort out the culprit, and eventually found the one responsible. Yun promptly had him turned over to the police. Never tried it for more subconscious thoughts, however."

"It certainly sounds more reliable than Joseph and Caesar trying to retrieve the package from the post office," Applejack admitted, "Those ijits won't get anywhere." Under the effects of the Hamon, which Suzi Q made no efforts to struggle against, she finally spoke. "Saint-Moritz, Switzerland..." She then went into detail about the address the package was sent to, using Lisa Lisa's official seal to insure it got through safely, and the cargo train it was supposed to leave on. "Messina," Lisa Lisa said, "Go and inform Jojo and Caesar. We're leaving for Switzerland as soon as possible." Messina nodded, and hurried out.

Soon enough, Joseph, Caesar, Messina, Applejack, and Lisa Lisa were ready to depart for Switzerland by car. "We must be prepared to play to dirty to catch up with the stone," Lisa Lisa noted, "We may even have to break the law." "You sound like you have experience in the matter," Applejack noted. Lisa Lisa remained silent, but the saddened look on her face spoke volumes. Before they left, Joseph Suzi Q and grinned. "Hey, Suzi Q! We'll be leaving for now, but I'll be sure to return to Venice soon!"

Suzi Q smiled. "Really?" Joseph grinned. "So make sure to heal that beat-up body of yours until then." Suzi giggled. "You really will return?" "Don't make me say it again!," Joseph said as they drove off, "Even if you do wind up an old hag by the time it happens!" Suzi smiled and picked up a rock to chuck it, calling out, "You stupid jerk!" Regardless of her words, the joy in them was evident. Joseph smiled. "I'll definitely be back soon..." Caesar couldn't help but chuckle. 'I doubt my usual techniques could work on Suzi Q, but Joseph's style works like a charm. Perhaps they were made for each other.'

Out in Switzerland, Kars was waiting in the streets. Because of his distinct appearance that could tip of someone who might alert Joseph and the others, he wore a dark jacket and wide-brimmed hat. He felt something nuzzle his leg and saw a hungry dog begging. "Sorry," Kars said apologetically, "I've no food to offer." As if understanding him, the dog lowered its head sadly and started down the street. Just then, Kars saw a drunk driver racing the street about to hit the dog.

Acting quickly, he caused a blade made of bone that shined like steel to emerge from his arm and made a quick slash through the car. The car swerved away from the dog and missed it, Kars having sliced off the driver's hands. Considering he smelled alcohol coming from the air in the vehicle, he figured they wouldn't realize until it was too late. "I've noticed many humans have evolved tremendously over the last two millennia," he said aloud, "But a select few seem to have evolved backwards rather than forwards. Well, every species has its degenerates. Now, it's been hours since Esidisi said he would call. He said he found a clue to the stone's location. I wonder if something happened to him."

The next day, the Joestar group managed to catch up to the train. "We seem to have caught a lucky break," Joseph noted, "It's an hour from here to Saint-Moritz." "Strange," Messina said, "They stopped at the Italy-Switzerland border, but it looks like they already finished the paperwork. So what's the holdup?" "Uh, how about the guys behind us," Applejack said. The group whirled around to see a car with the Nazi insignia on it, Mark and Donovan visible in the front seats.

"Caesar!," Mark called out excitedly, "Good to see you again!" As he waved, a wedding ring was visible on his hand. Donovan, by contrast, looked nervous to see Applejack again. An officer was visible in the back seat, who smiled at seeing Joseph. "Jojo. It's good to see you in such good shape. You've made some progress since the last time we met." Joseph gasped. "Stroheim! Is that you?" The officer titled up his hat to reveal he was indeed Stroheim, now sporting a visible mechanical attachment to the right side of his face.

"Indeed," he said, "I have returned from the depths of Hell, ready to stop the remaining Pillar Men from ending this world for the sake of the Fatherland!" "But even if you barely survived the grenade you blew yourself up with," Applejack noted, "How in the hay are you looking like you got put back together?" Stroheim chuckled. "German science is the greatest in the world. Our secret research into advanced cybernetics has allowed me to live again."

Out from the train came another group of Nazi soldiers. "Major," one of them said, "We've retrieved the stone." Lisa Lisa gasped, recognizing the thug who tried to pickpocket her a few days earlier. "There's no need to get upset," Stroheim assured her, "Keeping the stone for an extended period of time would just put a target on Germany's back. Having heard the stories, Herr Hitler doesn't want the Pillar Men anywhere near Germany, much less Berlin. We simply wish to borrow it to reverse engineer its properties. We're staying at a nearby inn. Please, join us. We must discuss a strategy for dealing with this threat."

At the inn, the group talked under the protective barrier of Mark's Stand, Abbey Road. As an added precaution, Donovan secluded himself nearby using his Stand, Whispers in the Dark. "Herr Hitler has been making some decisions that even nationalists like the three of us question," Stroheim admitted, "We still believe the German people will rise above all others, but not if we keep listening to the Fuhrer's ramblings." "Why would he want the stone in the first place?," Messina asked.

"Even a superior human is only human in the end," Stroheim explained, "Prone to mortality. Hitler knows this, and is worried that our empire will not stand the test of time. He hopes to use the stone mask and the red stone to fix that." "Believe me," Lisa Lisa said, "Trying to gain immortality using that method will not end well for Hitler or his followers." "Ja, I believe you may be right," Stroheim admitted, "Especially after what we learned about the man known as Dio Brando from Speedwagon."

He smiled. "But there's no denying the stone has another use. It's ability to focus light in a concentrated point has numerous applications. Our research department wants to borrow the stone and try to reverse engineer the process. Once we've learned it's secrets, its uses could be limitless. Military, certainly, but also industrial, engineering, or even medical." "Major Stroheim," Donovan said, "I just saw a shadow move outside. I think one of the Pillar Men might have found us."

"But is it Kars or Wamuu?," Applejack wondered. "What about the third one?," Stroheim asked, "I was told there were three." "'Were' being the operative word," Joseph explained, "Me and Caesar already destroyed Esidisi." Stroheim nodded. "Then by now the Pillar Man outside has heard of this." He got up. "Allow me to make the first move against him. It will be the perfect field test for my new cybernetics. After Mark's report, we had to make some modifications, and I wish to see how close we've come to matching the strength of the Pillar Men."

Outside, Kars found the inn and felt the outside wall. Placing his hands on the wall, he felt the temperature in the room to determine what was inside. 'There's a fire lit in the fireplace... Four lamps on the wall. Two... No, wait, three on the tables. Four humans standing against the wall, from right to left their heights are 178, 174, 181, and 178 centimeters. One additional human by the fireplace, height 183 centimeters. Five in total, all men.'

He brought out his bone blade and made a quick slashing motion through the wall, deviating only to account for the heights he had detected. Once he confirmed the ones inside were dead, he retracted his blade. He then hopped in a window and started counting heads. "One... Two... Three... Four... Five..." He then looked at another figure on a nearby sofa. "So then who might you be? And why can't I feel your body temperature?" The man, his face hidden, smiled. "You must be Kars. I must admit, you work fast. It was only hours ago that your companion was defeated, yet you found that out, learned we had the stone, and discovered our location."

Kars narrowed his eyes as the man got up and looked around the room. "And your attack was a sneaky and quick one. My men died without even having time to scream." Without another word, Kars leapt at the man, blade unsheathed, and struck at him. The man simply raised his hand to block. Kars was surprised as the block was successful, his attack only succeeding in slicing the man's officer hat, revealing Stroheim. Kars took another look at the man's hand, the glove having been torn away. The sight was surprising. "You're... A machine?"

"You're sort of right," Stroheim noted, "I do still have some of my original human parts remaining after my reconstruction. It's accurate to say... That I'm a cyborg." Kars narrowed his eyes as he tried to push harder, but only made so much ground. "Not quite enough to match your strength, it seems," Stroheim admitted, "But enough to slow you down. German science is the greatest in the world, and you see the proof of that now." "Certainly fascinating, I'll admit," Kars said, "But I don't have time to indulge. I came for the stone, and I'm not afraid to turn you into scrap to get to it."

He tried to turn his blade to strike, but Stroheim held the blade in a death grip and then twisted his other arm around in an manner unlike any human to grab Kars' hand. "Did you think this new body would move as a human's would?," Stroheim taunted, "Thanks to Santana, we have extensive knowledge of your control over your own bodies. And thanks to my cybernetics, I can mimic those same movement patterns to a degree." He proceeded to rip off the chunk of flesh he held, making Kars grunt in pain.

"Do you think to try tearing me to pieces?," Kars asked sarcastically. Stroheim chuckled. "Yes, in fact." He relished the blank look Kars gave. "Are you surprised? After studying the amount of damage done to Santana, and accounting for your more advanced strength, we began to calculate how much damage it would take to make all your vital functions cease." He threw off his coat to reveal a machinegun in his chest, a long ammo belt coming out it. Kars threw his guard up as Stroheim opened fire.

The damage proved extensive, actually tearing chunks out of Kars' flesh, as well as sending him crashing out the wall. Stroheim laughed at Kars' look of surprise. "Two-thousand years ago, there was no human weapon that could possibly injure you. But after so many centuries of war with itself, humankind has developed all new and powerful weapons. I know from Santana that you understand the concept of guns. This heavy machinegun installed in my torso is capable of firing six hundred armor piercing rounds per minute, and each round can tear through a thirty millimeter steel plate."

Kars managed to stand up. "I'll admit that your technology is astounding. Given time you could probably destroy any one of us. But time is something I do not have, and do not intend to give. I must honor the memory of Esidisi by retrieving the stone he gave his life to send to me! Bright Saber!" Instantly his blade seemed to glow bright white, blinding Stroheim. That's when Applejack came out. "Who's firing guns around here?" She then noticed Kars. "Oh shit! To The Core!"

She put up her hand to block Kars' blade as it came in on her, then backed off quickly as she felt something odd brush against her hand. "You're durable enough to withstand my Bright Saber!," Kars realized, "I heard you were strong enough to destroy Santana, but it seems your strength is far greater than I thought." Applejack shook her hand to deal with the sudden numbness. "Watch it, Stroheim. That blade's like a chainsaw." "That explains the brightness!," Stroheim realized, "His blade has multiple, teeth-like claws running across it! The complex reflection gives off the incredible shine!" Kars lifted up his blade. "That is my mode... The power of light!"