We're just one chapter away from the end of the DR:AE arc and from the reveal of Dio's Friend. I try to keep to a weekly schedule, but keep in mind that Christmas Eve is next week, so the next update will be around 27-9th December. Should be back on weekly schedules otherwise. Might see another Bonus Features after this Arc and either before or after the next Holy Diver IF chapter after this.

So yeah. Last chance to speculate who Dio's Friend is in the reviews. If you've got any questions about the fic, in or out of the narrative, feel free to ask and I'll answer as best I can without spoiling. Think of it as a way to make up for the lack of an update next week.

Enjoy! Remember that feedback is always appreciated too.

Arc 3: Crazy Noisy Killer Town Girls

Chapter Ten: She Sells Sanctuary


Nagisa Shingetsu shouldn't have been able to do this.

He was never physically active. His parents had preferred to emphasise the mental capacities of Talent and seeing how they developed in a child. Physical attributes were to come later around puberty. The real motive was likely to be when he no longer had the will to resist would they risk making him athletic.

Even if they had, there was no way that a child of eleven should have been able to defeat two grown adults, no matter their lack of physique. They weren't unhealthily inactive, but they were below the national average.

Only Nagisa knew that they could have easily held him down. They had done it before when he didn't want the IV and they should have been able to do it now. Dio's expectations for him were almost too high.

Nirvana wasn't meant to be a combat-Stand. All it did was supply Nagisa with information. Information that could be used for Dio's cause and to increase Nagisa's own knowledge. It seemed like a cruel joke, at the time.

He never told anyone about how disappointed he was with it. A mere thin metallic circlet that wrapped around his head, blue circular lights every thirty degrees, that had another wire coil down and branch out into one of those scouters from Masaru's anime.

Nagisa hadn't been allowed to watch those kind of shows. His father didn't want him exposed to outside influences. He only knew it from the other Warriors of Hope.

All it could do was give Nagisa the information he was supposed to understand. How could it have been able to make him truly useful? Dio shouldn't have expected anything of Nagisa; he'd have been thrown away like trash if it were anyone else.

But Dio believed in him! He saw something of value in someone like Nagisa. Soft words were whispered on how he'd help lead the others into Heaven if he just tried a bit harder. If he tried to put Nirvana to its very limits.

To see and learn about those under the eye of Nirvana might have been enough for others; but not for Dio. Nagisa had always thought of himself as a failed experiment that couldn't be what his creators wanted, but Dio changed that.

He was the Sage of the Warriors of Hope. He was the one who kept them focused and wary of their surroundings. He was the one who would protect them all from the Demons.

Monaca's smile burned into his back as he looked down on the brutalised sacks of meat before him. It was amazing how the Boss Demons all looked the same after their defeat. The only difference was Kotoko's and burns took the place of blood.

"I, Dio, knew that you had potential, Nagisa," Dio was crouched by his side and hummed appreciatively at the final gasps of Doctor Shingetsu. "But this? To think that a Stand could evolve the way that yours has. To have 'Acts'."

"How? How was I able to-"

"Because I willed it so." Dio turned and smiled at him. It was small and proud, like the ones Nagisa always wanted from his parents. His voice turned to a whisper. "You know that the others can be...distracted. They are loyal in their desire to see me bring Heaven, but they need someone to guide them. Someone with your abilities."

"I'll be it, Dio. I won't let you down. I'll be everything you need me to be." Nagisa had to keep the desperation out of his voice. The heavy breathing was more than enough to help.

Act 2 might have helped him kill his pare-Demons, they were Demons, but it was still a lot of work.

"I know you will, Nagisa. It's why I, Dio, expect nothing less from you. The new generation will need idols to look up to. There may be those who avoid the eyes of Heaven and still resist. It will fall to those like you and the Warriors of Hope to destroy them. To keep the Hope of the new world pure."

"I will. The Warriors of Hope will exterminate whoever you need us to. There won't be any Demons left when we're done with them." Nagisa said.

"Nirvana has potential. This is not the end of its abilities. Who knows? Maybe its peak will be lesser to only Holy Diver." Dio mused. Nagisa could barely contain himself. Almost as strong as Holy Diver?! That was impossible. Dio seemed to sense Nagisa doubt. "But that power, just like Heaven, can only be reached by those with the desire and self-belief to do so. You must become like me; able to believe that it is only natural that a Stand with such power is yours."

Nagisa nodded and Dio stood up to turn back to the others. They had mostly been happy to sit back and watch while Dio's Friend entertained them. The mask he wore during all this had been weird. Red cloth hid the lower half of his face and some kind of blacked-up set of goggles and head-gear for the upper-half.

Dio had insisted on keeping his friend's identity a secret, though, and even Nagisa was forbidden from using Nirvana Act 1 on him. Not that he'd ever need to enforce it. None of the Warriors of Hope would ever think of disobeying him.

Plus they got to see Pet Shop as a reward.

Nagisa looked back down on the bodies of his parents. He felt no guilt about this. The feeling inside him was merely that of anticipation for the world that was to come. The world where no child would fear Demons. A world filled with Hope. A world under Dio's rule.

He turned away from them without a second thought. The sight that greeted his eyes was none other than Monaca's smile. She was pretty, smart, and had a heart that seemed to have no end to it. The suffering she went through, enough that it left her crippled, didn't damage her smile.

Its strength was enough that it almost seemed to burn through Nagisa whenever Dio pulled him away for their private talks. It was mostly to discuss Nirvana and how to unlock its potential. Monaca was probably happy that Dio's cause could be helped further.

Dio, the Warriors of Hope, and children everywhere. Those were the three pillars for which Nagisa knew that his cause was righteous. The death-toll of Dio's actions meant nothing to him. It was the price to be paid for Heaven; a place where the sins of the past would be erased and Despair was no more.

Nagisa didn't care what it took. He would do anything to create the paradise that Dio envisioned for them. Make any sacrifice necessary and do whatever Dio asked of him. He wouldn't fail them like he failed his parents. He couldn't let his weakness destroy his worth to Dio.

He'd rather die than be useless.


"What is this?" Kira asked. The photograph-the fucking photograph-was shaking with his hand. He could barely see the image clearly.

Why would he want to? Kira should never have tried to follow this 'Komaeda' or 'Servant' or whatever he called himself here. He should have just stayed with the group and not separated himself during the fight. Blissful ignorance would have been better than...this!

Society had laws of which all people must follow to live a peaceful life. Some of them were codified into laws such as banning murder, robbery, rape, and other acts that are labelled crimes. The punishment for which is to be either sent to jail or killed by the state, depending on where you are.

Other laws are unwritten and instead are determined by the society itself. Acts which offend sensibilities and are frowned upon, enough for some to even physically engage in what are seen as 'crimes' themselves. Acts that defy the 'decency' of society, or particular pleasures that offend that 'decency'.

For those like Kira, he broke both laws in that he killed women and used their hands for his fetish. If it were for Fate siding with him and the power of his Stand, he'd have been in jail by now.

But this? This?! This disgusted even him. Not least because the sight of Haiji Towa masturbating was in itself offensive to his sensibilities, but also because of what he was pleasuring himself to.

It was hentai of some kind, but the cover showed girls far below the age of consent in a pose and state of clothing their parents likely had nightmares about. Kira didn't know what kind of porn it was and didn't care.

This was his body doing this. The body that Haiji's Stand cursed Yoshikage Kira with was tainted. There was proof that the heir to the President of the Towa Group was a pervert. Proof held by the enemy themselves.

In Servant's arms was a laptop showing the face of a young girl with green hair. She was smirking at him and leaning against a closed fist. She said that she was Monaca Towa; Head of the Robotics Division and little sister to Haiji Towa. If Kira chose to believe her.

"You know, big bro, you really should learn to hide your mags better. Or learn to hear better." Monaca's face went from a smirk to a false look of childish disgust. "To think your adorable little sister had to sit through all that. Eeeww."

"Oh, are we still playing that game? I didn't think we had the time." Servant asked, looking down on the screen. Kira would have wanted nothing more than to destroy him with Killer Queen, but controlled himself.

"Fine. Ruin my fun." Monaca crossed her arms and adopted a fake-frowning face more designed to look 'cute' than angry. She sighed and returned to her normal smug expression. "I'm guessing you've learnt all the problems with being a leader too, haven't you, big bro?" The smile sharpened and her eyes held a sense of superiority. "Or should I say Yoshikage Kira; the Hime Hand Killer."

His eyes widened. They even knew his secret identity! Not only did they have proof that Haiji Towa was a lolicon, but also that he wasn't even Haiji Towa. How? Kira replayed the scene in his mind a thousand times. Neither Monaca nor Servant were there. Haiji was the only adult who noticed Kira and the Murralsee hadn't-

Murray. The blue Murralsee who had discovered him. The one who demanded that he help in establishing the Resistance. The one who was hiding a secret of his own; that he was working for the Warriors of Hope all along.

So that was how Kotoko knew about Sheer Heart Attack. That was how they found out about where the camp was. It was easy to know when you chose the location yourself. I'll kill you. I'll destroy every last nut and bolt from you. Then I will erase these pieces of shit as well.

"You're thinking of killing us, right? Use Killer Queen on people like Servant and Murray and hope this all goes away? Come on, you're smarter than that." Monaca's smile and high-pitch dropped. There was nothing but a cold emerald ocean facing Kira. "If we die, certain people will know, and these pictures of Haiji go everywhere. Plus a rumour that Haiji Towa and Yoshikage Kira were allies may leak out. That'd be pretty big. Even if you faked your death, people will look for you. A leader can be a fine martyr that no one tries to find. A lolicon? Oh no, those don't get to go away."

He'd be tracked down forever. No one would believe that he truly died in Towa City. People searching for links to Yoshikage Kira, people searching for Haiji Towa to punish him for his deeds, and even people trying to find him to find out if he was really dead. It'd be a matter of time before he'd be suspected of working with the Warriors of Hope as well.

Kira was trapped. He couldn't do anything but listen to their demands. The only consolation was that it'd only be for now.

"Don't be too sad. Our interests are still aligned," Monaca said. "We both want the adults to get off their butts and do something for themselves. We want to keep your identity a secret."

"The only problem is that a certain someone is approaching this whole thing wrong," The Servant added. "There's a way that these stories are meant to go. It doesn't make sense if the hero-to-be abandons the story three-quarters done."

"So that's why we need you. Mister Kira, I pinky-promise that your identity will remain hidden forever and ever, if you agree to do a few things for me." Monaca raised her right fist and only raised her pinky finger. Kira restrained a growl at her offer, especially when the joking mood dropped again. "The first is to not leave Towa City. You're needed here."

"The second is that Komaru Naegi has to stay as well." The Servant smiled at him as if he was asking Kira to pick up some coffee. Some brat just over half his age! "You'll get help with that. Fukawa will provide all the support you need."

"Serial Killer Club!" Monaca threw up her arms and cheered. A joyful cackle was soon replaced by a happy smile and dead eyes. "We mean it. Komaru Naegi must stay. She must reach her destination utterly and completely unharmed. The same goes for her friends. Kill whoever gets in the way of that."

Yoshikage Kira knew that his temper could flare. There were things he just couldn't stand. People who threw on mismatching socks, people who walked with wet stains on their clothes without caring about how it'd stain other people's clothes, the co-worker who could never meet deadlines. Small things that piled into something more.

Take this Servant, for example. The stains on his clothes, the giant mitten on his hand, and even the way that his hair looked like it hadn't been combed in years. All of that just stoked embers inside Kira.

It was nothing to the inferno raging inside of him. These little shits dared to blackmail him into being their errand boy. They spoke down to him like he was some dumb intern on his first day of the job. He could kill Nagito Komaeda right now. Killer Queen and Sheer Heart Attack together.

Only he didn't know who their connections were. Those pictures couldn't come out. It was too much of a risk.

To have a normal life, I have to be these people's puppets. It wouldn't be forever. That was how Kira comforted himself. He'd let the two of them lull themselves into a false sense of security first. Just when they think they're safe. When I know how they could distribute these photographs. That's when I'll strike.

Just like a predator moving slowly and carefully, ensuring that its prey was unaware of the trap being set for it, Kira would wait for his moment. He would be cautious and vicious at the same time.

"There's a third request too!" Monaca chirped. She fake-coughed and her Servant checked his pockets. Kira mentally made note of the two figures holding the laptop for him, likely his Stand, as Komaeda handed over a photo. "Kill the woman on this photo."

Kira looked down and his world shattered.

Hiroko Hagakure was in his room. She was looking in the drawer he had kept locked. She was looking at his nail collection. She was investigating his room.

Why? What made her suspicious of him? To go so far as to break a lock, likely with Smoke On The Water, and to track him down. It wouldn't be long before she asked questions. If she didn't know now, she'd figure it out quickly. The reason why Takaaki Ishimaru had to die.

This is it. My life is ruined. Kira's world was nothing. It was the end of all his hopes and efforts for over ten years. All he had done to have a normal life was for nothing. He almost drowned in his despair when Monaca's laugh kept him in the real world. It was deep, artificially so, as if trying to imitate a grown-man's chuckle.

"Is this what you become when nearing the pits of despair? When the pillars of your life come tumbling down? Then fine. Allow I, Monaca, to provide you with peace of mind." Monaca's smile was calm and superior. It made Kira want to beat it off her from rage alone. "Murray has kept her from revealing the truth. She's waiting for the others to get back."

So that was it. One of the people who Kira had helped reach safety had rewarded him with betrayal. Touko Fukawa or Rohan Kishibe. It had to be one of the two.

Kira would have to work fast. He'd need to get the Kawajiris out and then deal with Hiroko himself, then do the same with whoever had convinced her to do this.

"The Murralsee will give you an opportunity to move in. Just make sure you pick the right moment to strike." The Servant explained. At least Kira now had a window of opportunity.

"Heaven is coming, Kira, and you can enjoy the fruits of it as well. So long as you keep on playing this charade." Monaca laughed. It was an empty husk of it, but a laugh still. "It's funny. You actually thought that someone like Haiji could be like that. Some jerk of a brother who fantasised about little girls and whose father didn't even trust him with a department. Only spineless wretches would follow him." Monaca grimly smiled at him. "People like your followers."

He could take a guess at what she wanted from him. They wanted Kira to rally the adults to take action. Not to evacuate, but to fight as an army against the forces of the children and Murralsee. Whether they wanted to slaughter the adults in some elaborate ceremony, or something else, didn't matter.

All he needed to do was cut loose ends and get Komaru Naegi on that air-ship.

Fine. This isn't the first time that I've had to eat dirt for the sake of a peaceful life. Simply play the passive actor. Simply go with their demands and follow their instructions. Kira knew it was humiliating to even think about. He had something to keep his spirits up, however, as he frowned at Komaeda. Their guard can't last forever. Brats like her let their guard down eventually. They'll pay for threatening my normal life.

"I really hope that we can be friends. At least until tomorrow." Monaca beamed at him. "After tomorrow, you can be whoever you want. Bye-bye!"

The laptop screen shut off. The distant sounds of battle with the Murralsee echoed over. Just when Kira thought he had found an escape out of this city, he was trapped in an even deeper hole. The Servant closed the screen and smiled at Kira.

"She's an intense young girl. Really see Lord Dio in her." Komaeda laughed. It was like hearing a broken car-engine, sputtering out air. "I wonder what role you'll play in this? Fukawa is the treacherous friend; Rohan the doomed mentor; and you as the mole. It's pretty funny, when you think about it."

"Get out of my sight." Killer Queen manifested behind Kira and moved towards Nagito Komaeda, Servant of the Warriors of Hope, who had the good sense to step back. "Unless you believe yourself to be of equal worth as me to your master."

"I'd never think such a thing." Komaeda insisted. Yet he remained still as he looked at Kira's Stand. The slave dared to look at Kira with pity and contempt. "Killer Queen and Sheer Heart Attack. Those Stands together could have defeated Dio and yet you did nothing."

"All I want is to live an ordinary life where I can express myself in peace. Nothing more, nothing less." Kira would destroy anything that got in the way of that.

"And you want to be normal. This must be how it felt for others to see me." The Servant grimaced. "Really weird."

Komaeda, with his Stand looking back at Killer Queen in case it tried anything, turned his back on Yoshikage Kira and walked out of the room. The sounds of battle outside were dimming down, giving Kira some quiet to organise his thoughts, but forced him to think fast.

It wouldn't be long before the others started looking for him. He'd need a plan. Was escape so unreasonable? Could he not try to take the same path as the Kawajiris?

This city was doomed anyway and he could fake his death on the road with Shinobu and Hayato. It was still a possibility. All he needed to do was eliminate the others and it'd simply be a story of how a group was wiped out.

No. Not if one of the others suspects me. No one would ask questions about people like Rohan or Fukawa, but Komaru Naegi was the Ultimate Hope's sister. The entire Future Foundation would come looking for her. Not to mention that Hiroko might know his secret. Once they learned that he had replaced Haiji, they would never stop looking for him. There can be no loose ends or mystery to this. Riding out this storm is my only option.

He would somehow convince Komaru to stay and fight for Towa City. He would somehow convince the adults to fight. Yoshikage Kira could do it. He had the power of Killer Queen, his own intelligence, and Fate itself had always blessed him in the long-run. All he had to do was to be practical about it.

Hiroko Hagakure would be dealt with soon enough.


"When do the helmets come off?" Hayato didn't look away from Nagisa's glare.

He kept quiet this whole time. Nagisa made his offer-even having some of his brainwashed minions bring in a box filled with Rohan's work that he left in his room-for them all to leave and Hayato didn't say a word. It wasn't a bad offer.

Hayato and his mother wouldn't be accepted by the adults and the kids and Murralsees would hunt both of them down. It was better to get out now and be safe. The only issue was that it extended to Komaru and Rohan too.

Haiji said he wouldn't take it up, but Hayato didn't trust him. His mother was smitten and believed the excuses on checking the tunnels to ensure there wasn't a trap. Hayato thought he just found a new escape route.

Only, he didn't entirely believe that anymore. Something changed about Haiji's posture after one of the fights. Maybe he saw another pile of bodies, or realised how desperate Nagisa was, but there was a reluctance about him now. As if he genuinely feared Komaru going down that tunnel.

Whatever it was, Hayato didn't trust the man who his mother called a hero. The only good thing about this whole thing was that they'd get away from him. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut.

But he just couldn't! Not after hearing all this crap from Nagisa about 'Heaven' and 'paradise for children'! The Warriors of Hope were victims of cruel adults, so they were going to make victims of every child.

How would this society work? Who would keep the city functioning? What about food, water, electricity, and keeping the city safe from outsiders? Nagisa just said that the Murralsee would handle the grunt-work. The machines of death would bring life?

What about the children too young for the helmets? Who had taken care of them all this time?

It was one final word, just as they were approaching the shrine, which made Hayato say the words on the tip of his tongue. The claim that the children would be free and happy.

Who would be happy in this city now? Hayato thought to himself. Every memory has been stained by blood. Every family has been destroyed. You haven't created Heaven; you've created Hell.

Hayato didn't back down to Nagisa's glare. "You heard me," He growled out. "When do the helmets come off? Those helmets that you're using on the kids. The ones that make them kill the adults."

"The helmets are doing this?" Komaru asked, gasping out her words. "That sounds like something out of sci-fi."

"It makes sense. I was wondering what could have driven those kids mad. Brainwashing's more developed than you think." Fukawa muttered. She moved a hand up to bite her nails.

"They're a temporary measure. Heaven is worth any sacrifice." Nagisa said. His eyes didn't meet Hayato's.

"Is that what you're gonna tell them?" Hayato heard his mother gasp. She was obviously afraid of what Nagisa might do, if upset too far, but also didn't want to restrain Hayato. It'd probably upset Nagisa even more. "When they wake up and realise that their parents were murdered. That you made them laugh and play in a river of blood? You think they're going to see you as a saviour? Or are the helmets gonna be kept on until they stop seeing demons?"

Nagisa's eyes flared with anger. The only thing keeping him from attacking Hayato was the fact that he had four Stand users all willing to take him down if he tried something. Fukawa and Haiji already didn't trust him, after the Murralsee kept trying to attack him, and they were ready for anything.

The Warrior of Hope balled his fists and was piercing Hayato's gut with his eyes. It seemed like he was ready to explode for the first time since this entire trip, leaning in close to Hayato, only stopping when the others tensed up.

"Get out of our city." Nagisa turned his back to Hayato and began walking up the shrine stairs.

"Hayato," His mother was already turning him around and hugging him tightly. "You shouldn't have done that. Who knows what he might have done?"

Memories of Mister Fujisaki warning him to avoid the Murralsee came rushing back to Hayato. No one told him how he had died, but Hayato guessed it was by the same way that everyone else died. The Murralsee got to him.

He wasn't going to let that happen to his mother. He had to be the protector of the family now that his father was...gone.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Hayato said, both to his mother and to himself. "Nothing's going to hurt you."

"I'll make sure of it." Haiji said. That was enough for Hayato's mother, gazing up at him with adoration in her eyes.

I'll keep her safe. Hayato told himself, as everyone began to slowly follow Nagisa up the stairs. Especially from you, Haiji Towa.

For the rest of the city, he'd just have to believe in Komaru, Fukawa, and Rohan. Hope that Komaru and Rohan wouldn't follow them and leave Fukawa alone with Haiji. If they did, Hayato had a sinking feeling.

As if that decision would doom all of Towa City. If not the world itself.


Rohan knew Fukawa was hiding something.

That white-haired diabolus ex machina hadn't been expected. Rohan himself had been wondering if he could really leave Towa City to its fate. Komaru had been disappointing in that she simply did what Fukawa gave permission for, but was he any better?

Was simply leaving Towa City to its fate truly the best option? Could Rohan really judge Komaru if he was doing the same thing?

In some ways, this Nagito Komaeda had saved him the trouble of answering these questions. There was nothing more that seemed to please this person other than seeing Komaru succeed. That should have made him at least a nominal ally.

Yet everything about him was wrong. It might have been hypocritical of Rohan to say so. He himself indulged in writing off the masses as simply part of the background for more interesting figures. The main characters. He even tried to push others into being more like the people he felt were needed.

What he didn't do was bow down to a megalomaniac dictator and burn the world for utopia. Komaeda was one of those Remnants of Despair that Komaru's brother was talking about. The lost followers of Dio Brando that served his every whim.

He was sincere when he spoke of his desire for Hope to spread across the globe. But it wasn't hope! He wanted to force Komaru into a fate that suited his desires. The chance for someone else to fight against Despair after he had given up.

Komaeda was a leech. A leech that was trying to change the blood-type of the very person he was feasting on. There was no way that Rohan could allow him to have his own way.

The fact that he had Togami to hold over Fukawa might have made her a liability. Someone for Rohan to fight against alongside Komaru while Komaeda could just watch and entertain himself. Her act might have worked if it wasn't for one thing.

Rohan wasn't an over-emotional idiot like Komaru.

The tears that ran down her face was the regret of a traitor forced into their circumstances. Komaru couldn't see past her own heartbreak and betrayal for her best friend turning her back on her. Emotions clouded her judgement.

For Rohan Kishibe, who saw Touko Fukawa as nothing more than a stuck-up hack author, her true feelings were laid bare. It would have been easy for Rohan to use Heaven's Door and make her tell the truth.

That was when Komaeda stepped in.

"I'm sorry, Rohan. You can't be allowed to interfere in this." Komaeda said, as Fukawa became Syo, placing himself between Rohan and the two girls. "If Fukawa is made to let you and Komaru pass, then all this Despair would have been for nothing. Hope will die out in Towa City. We can't let Dio win, can we?"

"You let Dio win when you became his minion." Rohan replied, getting his pen ready. "I didn't spent the last few decades honing my craft as a writer and artist, to become some piece on a cosmic game-board. You're simply an inconsistent side-villain who's come too late into the plot to be anything worthwhile."

Komaeda laughed at that, scratching the back of his head, and smiling happily with shut eyes. "Hearing this from the Ultimate Mangaka would be just deserts for trash like me." The good mood dropped then. His voice lowered and his expression was one of contempt. "But you're not the Ultimate Mangaka. You're an average mangaka with an unattractive sense of superiority. It really is pitiful when the normal people try to act like they're deserving of Ultimate status."

His eyes are shut. Rohan cursed under his breath. Komaeda must have had footage of all their battles with the Murralsee and Warriors of Hope. He knew exactly how their Stands worked and had adapted. Closing the eyes. Simple but effective. It's just too bad I know how to counter that one.

It was easier said than done. Komaeda could play up the inferiority-superiority complex all he liked, this guy was smart. He didn't rise to any of Rohan's taunts and restricted his attacks only to keeping Rohan from involving himself in the fight between Komaru and Syo.

Get Lucky was proving difficult as well. Rohan quickly figured out how it worked; one of its bodies filled up when good luck happened and another filled up when bad luck happened. Once a body was full, they exploded and either a 'Miracle' or a 'Tragedy' happened.

But this was the Ultimate Luckster. Talent was something that only this world seemed to have turned into an upper-case idea. Fukawa could churn out a book within a day, if she felt like it, and Komaeda could enjoy very good luck.

All of his 'bad luck' was just small and minor things to him and curses to others around him. It wasn't just his luck that Get Lucky was feeding on either, but the battle between the girls beside them. Rohan wasn't being held back by Komaeda's stubbornness but by the will of his comrades!

"This is why you let Shingetsu send Haiji below, isn't it?" Rohan asked. Komaru was managing to hold her own against Syo, but she'd need all the help she could get. He had to end this fight quickly. "You got scared about the odds and let him guard the Kawajiris. You can't fight Killer Queen and Sheer Heart Attack with yours eyes shut."

"You're smart for an average person," Komaeda replied. A soft smile was on his face despite the pen-scratch cutting from his right cheek to just under the eyelid. "This is a matter for friends to discuss. A mentor figure like you really shouldn't get involved. Although, now that I think about it, the death of a mentor figure is a great way to inspire the hero."

"I'm not a fan of Death of the Author." Rohan refused to die now. Certainly not to some character that the heroes nor the mentor had ever seen before.

But he was stuck with a problem. How did you go about defeating someone who could command luck itself? Not exactly command, but utilise it for their own benefit. It wasn't even simply random occurrences that fuelled Get Lucky, but simply actions with positive or negative consequences.

Wait. Rohan had a shock of inspiration the likes of which he hadn't felt in a while. This was a new tier of inspiration. He hadn't felt this since Morioh Town! It's not about Luck. It's about consequences and perception.

Rohan didn't need to try and find a way around luck, but he simply needed to have faith that a Tragedy would occur. Not just any Tragedy, but a Tragedy that only applied to Komaeda.

It was a long-shot. It might be that the Tragedy would strike Syo or Komaru, or even the Kawajiris underground, yet it was the only shot he had. The Miracle was almost completely full. There would be no other way for Rohan to defeat him if he let that happen.

So, Rohan took a step forward, pulled back his arm, and ran towards Komaru.

"Rohan-sensei, what are you-Gah!" Komaru yelped as Rohan shoved her forward. Straight towards Syo, in fact.

"What the hell are you doing?" Syo howled as she slashed at Komaru.

To Komaru, it looked like she barely managed to dodge out of the way in time, as We Built This City burst out and formed its shield over Komaru just where the scissor was about to cut cloth. Smells Like Teenage Spirit didn't even land a single scratch on the powerful metal.

Syo gave Rohan the dirtiest look he had seen in a while, but he ignored it. It was necessary for bringing Komaeda down. Besides, it helped with Syo's cover; she was letting Komaru get too many hits in for it to be real.

Komaeda hadn't noticed a thing. All he guessed was that Rohan and Komaru were having terrible coordination like a couple of average people would. His own contempt for the non-Ultimates was working against him.

Rohan then found a way to fight. Little accidents and having the two battles intercept created a chance for Get Lucky to have its Tragedy side fill up. Komaeda must have noticed that Syo was being light on Komaru.

Komaeda was probably thinking of his luck. Rohan and Komaru were sabotaging each other and made it easier for Syo to try and break Komaru's spirit and make her turn her back on escape. It was like searching for treasure and tripping on a bottle containing the map itself.

The Tragedy side of Get Lucky was full. The black figure shook and stirred in place and was just about ready to burst itself. Unleashing the Tragedy that would change the course of both battles.

That was just was Rohan needed.

Komaeda was happily smiling, thinking that he was in control even when blind, when Rohan readied his pen and stabbed himself in the left index finger. He didn't need it to write, so it was no big sacrifice.

What was a sacrifice was his scream. It was a pain-filled one as he tried to make the tip of his pen touch bone and nerve endings.

"Rohan-sensei!" Komaru howled out in horror. Rohan sounded like he had less stabbed a finger and more shattered a kneecap.

Get Lucky's Tragedy-side first had its silver robotic head swell like a balloon before the weight fell to its stomach, then its arms, then its legs, before its whole body expanded to about double its size. That was when it burst out in the strangest explosion Rohan had ever seen.

No sound. No light. Simply a being that was no longer there.

Komaeda opened his eyes and looked confused for a brief moment. He probably expected that Rohan's accident was meant to have been the Miracle he desired. The one-in-a-million chance that would end the fight in his victory, without even opening his eyes.

Instead, Nagito Komaeda had just admitted defeat.

Rohan ripped the pen out from his hand and began to write out the design for Pink Dark Boy. The character that made him the world-famous mangaka in two worlds. The representation of his fighting-spirit. The shape of the Stand that had stayed by him even after the end of two worlds.

His own body seemed to align itself with the mind. The blood that sprayed out from his hand served as ink itself, forming the shape of Heaven's Door before Rohan was even finished sketching out the design in his head, and a red outline gave way to the white and gold Stand. There was barely any time to react.

Komaeda had been busy looking at Get Lucky-realising that the wrong half had gone away-and turned back with wide eyes to see a design of Heaven's Door. This was it! The ending moment of their battle!

Once you saw the design of Rohan Kishibe's manga, even if you closed your eyes after seeing it, you couldn't fight against Heaven's Door. Your entire body became a stack of papers that he could read with ease.

How ironic it was that someone who considered himself, along with all non-Ultimates, to be trash and called himself Servant to the Warriors of Hope could be so arrogant. How someone who believed in the grand cosmic idea of karma cycling through itself would assume he could avoid it.

Rohan loved nothing more than taking people like that and denying them what they wanted. Nagito Komaeda wanted to turn Komaru Naegi into some tool for which he could make others Hope. Make her a propaganda tool in a war against a corpse and its declining followers.

He had lent aid to the deaths of thousands of innocents and happily stood by for someone else to be the hero. Rohan couldn't deny it. He had spent so many years crafting dangerous yet pathetic villains who the readers could yearn to see defeated. Yet he still lagged behind reality, if it could create someone like Komaeda.

There was only one punishment suited for him. Komaeda's face peeled open into pages, the son of a bitch smiling and laughing like it was a game, as Heaven's Door cast down its judgement. It came as two simple sentences.

I cannot do harm to Rohan Kishibe, Touko Fukawa, or Komaru Naegi.

I cannot feel Hope.

This monster wanted to set up some cosmic wheel which everyone was forced to dance around? Then let him feel exactly what people like Rohan and Komaru did when forced into these plays. Let him see himself was the slave to Dio that he truly was; rather than some kind of secret saboteur.

The air stopped. It didn't grow cold or tense, but simply stopped. As if time itself was trying to understand just what it was that had just happened. Syo and Komaru had stopped fighting themselves, Komaru having gained the upper-hand with We Built This City keeping Smells Like Teenage Spirit from doing anything, to see what Rohan had just done.

Komaeda didn't move. Rohan couldn't move himself. How could anyone move?

There was just something about gazing into the abyss of Despair that made movement impossible.

The Ultimate Luckster had lost every ounce of happiness and mockery within him. What was left was a shaking shell of a man who threw his hands against his face to try and tear out the pages. Rohan used Heaven's Door to throw the pages back into Komaeda's face, sealing them in until Rohan decided otherwise.

It didn't stop Komaeda from hyperventilating and bringing his fingers to his face.

"W-Wha-Wh-No-Nononononononono-Bringitback-Bringitback-Bring the Hope back!" Komaeda screamed. His eyes were a vortex of horror, sorrow, fury, heart-break, just about every negative emotion under the sun. "Yoshi, Mother, Father, everyone, Chiaki, Miss Yukizome, we all fell-we let Dio-I fell into-Dio-he f-I-I-I-I'm going to die."

His pupils had become mere dots, his fingers were trapped against his face, and his mouth was just slightly open. A few whimpers came out, his mouth widened, and then it happened.

The loudest, emptiest, most horrified scream that Rohan Kishibe had ever heard.


Nagito Komaeda had won the battle. Well, technically it was a loss seeing as Rohan defeated him, but that wasn't the goal of Komaeda's actions.

"That was a close one."

Nagito Komaeda laid in an ever-growing pool of his own blood, spurting from his legs, barely kept together, and looked up at the sky. Every part of Towa City was drowning in Despair; even the skies above. The blood of the innocents below had managed to reach into the clouds above.

It'd take a miracle to heal this kind of damage. The same type of miracle that saw the last beacons of hope for the old world rise up and strike down Dio Brando from his throne. The same type of miracle that carried underdogs through impossible odds.

The miracle of Komaru Naegi deciding to turn back and fight despite being insignificant and weak.

"It didn't go entirely to plan, but it's still hope." Komaeda said to himself. That was all he could ask for.

To think that Syo's fondness for Komaru would extend so far that she'd actually refuse to kill him by her words alone. It might have been a great source of Hope, if it weren't for the fact that it left him alive to report this to Monaca. Now the Warriors of Hope would know everything.

Warrior of Hope, more likely. Every single one of Monaca's friends had been turned into nothing more than a stepping stone for Komaru to go from an average piece of trash to a beacon of hope. It was really cold-blooded of her.

Probably shouldn't have said that. Komaeda thought to himself, as his legs stung at the memory of the word 'blood'. His Luck would protect him from bleeding out, Get Lucky was already filling up on a Miracle, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Smells Like Teenage Spirit truly was a terrifying Stand. Nothing less for an Ultimate. Had Genocider Syo managed to strike Dio's neck or head, in that final battle, she might have been able to chop it off before Holy Diver could even act. Then who'd be the Ultimate Hope?

Komaeda probably should have taken the fight more seriously. It was bad luck that Yoshikage Kira had been busy escorting the Kawajiris, who were pushing the box holding Rohan's manga, across the tunnel, while Komaru and Fukawa fought it out. It meant that Rohan lacked an opponent.

It wasn't as if Komaeda could just let him interfere. He'd have used Heaven's Door to force Syo to back down and Komaru could have just fled into the tunnel with him. It was dark enough that few could see where they were going other than forward. Kira might have turned around to see Rohan use Heaven's Door on him too.

Mutual suspicion could be poison for hope.

Still, Komaeda had never been gladder to be away from Rohan. It just felt unnatural that such a talented mangaka could exist without being an Ultimate. It implied that Hope's Peak made mistakes. Mistakes implied that they were fallible. Fallibility meant being just above-average.

Then again, that's why it was destroyed. The school where I first met my friends and had purpose. All turned to dust because of Dio's Despair. Komaeda repressed a shudder. There were times where he wished he could have killed Dio himself for his crimes against Hope.

But there were also times where he wanted to fall to his knees and worship Dio. The man who forced the world to create the Ultimate Hope in Makoto Naegi. There wasn't a Despair stronger than Dio's and there was no Hope stronger than Naegi's.

To have been affected by Livin' On A Prayer would have been a dream come true. Maybe it'd actually come true for Komaeda! The bad luck he had with Rohan meant that he was in for some kind of miracle.

Normally, he'd be glad that he didn't lose any of his legs-despite the cuts being really deep-but he needed something more.

Rohan Kishibe tried to take away Hope from Komaeda. If it hadn't been for Get Lucky, that command would have been inscribed into Komaeda for the rest of his days, and he'd live a life of eternal despair.

If it hadn't been for Get Lucky creating a Miracle; Komaeda might have been cursed to live in eternal Despair. Never able to feel Hope again. That would have been a fate worse than death.

Komaeda stroked the stubs on his face where his nails had dug into the skin to wrench out the papers. That Miracle was the only reason that his face wasn't bleeding out as well as his legs. He sure was lucky to have had that Stand.

The mangaka obviously hadn't expected Komaeda to be so determined to reach those pages, or ripping them out himself. What was a birthday compared to Hope? What was the name of his parents compared to Hope? That was what it meant to truly be an enemy of Dio; to sacrifice everything to destroy his works.

It still sent a chill up Komaeda's spine. Nothing could have been worse that a life without Hope.

His skull began to ache. It was probably a reaction to the blood-loss. Komaeda put a hand to it and held his head steady. It was coming down from the front of his skull where Rohan had written in his commands. Maybe Komaeda was going through Hope Withdrawal?

He'd have to have faith in Komaru Naegi. If she didn't get to that air-ship and defeat Monaca, Komaeda might have to find a new source of Hope to draw on, and that'd be difficult while still being Servant.

Ah, Hope really is a wonderful thing. Komaeda had moments of doubt in the past. When he was a child, it had been when he lost his dear pet, and then his parents shortly after. How could he have ever escaped the despair that tied him down and threatened to swallow him whole?

The kidnappings, the diagnosis, the suffering of those around him. It had been horrifying for a child to witness. Why, if it wasn't for Komaeda's discovery of Hope, he'd have killed himself.

But that was when he realised the basic truth. For all of the tragedies in his life, Komaeda had been blessed with miracles as well. His dog died in place of him. His parents died and he became rich. The lack of loved ones meant the kidnapper let him free.

Komaeda wasn't cursed; he was lucky.

Good luck and bad luck. Hope and Despair. The eternal cycle that defined everything. Komaeda had almost lost faith with Dio's Mutual Killing Game. Even Ultimates couldn't stand up to Holy Diver's raw power. It seemed like Hope was doomed.

But it wasn't. Hope won. It won by a miracle. The victims of Dio's past and present actions had come together to bind him down for Makoto Naegi to deliver the final blow. An Ultimate Hope destroyed an Ultimate Despair.

Komaeda's left hand twitched. It never liked it when he remembered the death of Dio. It was natural for such an egotistical maniac to resent the memory of his crushing defeat.

The pain that shocked through his entire left arm was nothing compared to the Hope he experienced.

Next to him, filled with white light, Miracle exploded. Komaeda closed his eyes and laughed to himself. He wondered what sort of good fortune would befall him that could match the bleeding in his legs and the fate he almost suffered.

It was when the wind around him began to rush away from him, as another gust pushed down on him, causing his head to hurt even more, that Komaeda realised that he had forgotten about a certain someone. A certain someone who didn't react well to being told what to do.

Maybe he shouldn't be so negative. He doubted that Nagisa Shingetsu would let him bleed to death. Not here, at least.

What was that phrase that Dio liked to say? Komaeda wondered, staring at the giant robot behind a very vengeful-looking Shingetsu, before the answer came to him. This is the final round.

Hope against Despair. Which would triumph? Not that it should be of any relevance to someone like Shingetsu.

Pawns weren't to be concerned with the bigger struggle.


"You know I never expected anything from you, right?" Monaca asked. She wheeled in closer to Nagisa. "That's what you've always known. Your parents, Dio, and now me. We say we expect things from you, but we know you'll never deliver."

"Shut up!" Nagisa howled throwing a fist at Monaca. Nirvana Act 2 fed into his strength.

Or rather it should have. An invisible force caught Nagisa's fist, throwing him back.

"See? What would Dio have wanted with a brat who screams and tries to hit girls his age when he realises the truth?" Monaca tilted her head and moved closer, making Nagisa stumble back. "Shingetsu can't do anything on his own. He has to be told what to do. But Dio never liked those people. It's why Monaca was his favourite. Why I'm your favourite. Even though you're so useless."

"Shut up!" Nagisa tried a punch with his other arm and Monaca's Stand stopped him, holding his arm in place.

"Useless." Monaca drew closer.

"Shut up!" Nagisa tried the other arm and was caught again.

"Useless." Monaca said, looking at how Nagisa struggled and wailed like a trapped animal.

"Shut up!" Nagisa tried to kick Monaca's chair. Her Stand was quicker, throwing Nagisa's arms down and taking his body with it.

"Useless." Monaca looked down at Nagisa, broken and weeping on the floor, and seemed to consider breaking the illusion of her disability to step on his head to keep him down. Instead, she had her Stand do it for her, its foot likely pressing down on Nagisa's neck. "This is where you belong."

Vizier Murralsee watched this battle of wills, or more Monaca asserting hers over Nagisa, with the beaten Servant besides him. Dio restrained the urge to finish Nagisa's work in that regard. There was the risk that Komaeda could use Get Lucky to defend himself.

Instead, he contented himself with watching the results of this fight for supremacy. It had been won long before Nagisa realised he was fighting it. Monaca's jealousy was always one-sided, but Dio let it burn anyway. Monaca could only grow stronger from a hunger for more.

Nagisa, on the other hand, had failed. Dio had long-since realised that he would not be what Dio needed him to be. The boy was unable to break his reliance on the expectations of others, in the end.

Nirvana's strength comes from the will of a broken boy. It was the curse of this body that prevented the Vizier from seeing Monaca's Stand in action. Memories of the original Dio were all he had to use to understand what was happening. For Dio, it was enough. The power of She Sells Sanctuary. To utterly deconstruct someone and turn them into nothing more than a machine.

The skeletal-looking Stand, easily double Monaca's height when fully formed, was one of the stronger Stands that Dio had ever seen. Not least because Monaca actually tried to use it to its full potential. It was greater than Kazuichi's Welcome To The Machine; perfectly fitting for a Warrior of Hope to surpass an Ultimate Despair.

Those who became a part of Dio's will by the use of their own free will and attaining peace of mind. Not like the slaves who had to be moulded into extensions of Dio's will. Ultimate Despair did have their benefits, however, one of which being that they were less mentally fragile.

"They're only children. They can't be who you want them to be. Not until we start Heaven." His Friend's voice echoed through Dio's mind.

It appears you were right. I, Dio, may have overestimated them.
He thought to himself. Monaca was still standing. The last Warrior of Hope to have kept peace of mind and now she had taken her place as the master of her group. It brought an inner smile to the Vizier. But they will be enough.

There were few pleasures on this air-ship. He couldn't torture and break Byakuya Togami-his being intact was essential for the plan-so he had to amuse himself by watching the wretch's drugged state. That, and seeing Monaca Towa evolve into a true apprentice of Dio Brando.

Nagisa's head was being lifted by what Dio presumed to be She Sells Sanctuary. Monaca held his head in her hands and pressed her lips against his. Dio restrained a chuckle at the sight of her manipulations. It was like looking into a distorted reflection of himself.

"It's okay, Shingetsu. I love the you that's nothing more than a useless pathetic failure. The one who is nothing more than a pawn who needs commands." Monaca moved to hug Nagisa closely to herself. "So no more of this 'thinking for myself' and 'initiative' thing, okay? That's for Monaca and Dio. You can just do what you're told."

"Y-Yes." Nagisa's eyes were dull. It seemed that She Sells Sanctuary had did its work after all.

"Great!" Monaca cheered. She kissed him on the cheek. "Now how about you go to where I tell you and make sure that you do as I tell you to."

"Yes." Nagisa replied. His voice was like his mind; completely broken and subjugated to Monaca's will. Just as Dio himself had done to so many.

"Who knows? Maybe Monaca will give you cookies, or a kiss," Monaca slithered closer, her lips almost touching Nagisa's ears "Or something like the magazines you like to hide."

The Vizier's body stilled. Komaeda made a slight hum. How could he be so calm? Dio was normally immune to the horror caused by breaking social taboos-but even that one had caught him off-guard.

Had Monaca observed Dio using such tactics and rewards for the followers that attracted his eye? The reflection was staring back at Dio with eyes he almost didn't recognise.

"Like a queen and a servant, Shingetsu. The servant should obey the queen and find happiness in their natural place. The queen should have her servants obey commands and do her work and she'll be happy." Monaca pushed back on her wheelchair and rested her head on her hand, supported by her leaning an elbow on the wheelchair. "That's where your Hope, your peace of mind, lies. In ensuring that Dio's return is assured. Then Heaven. Say it back to me."

"Dio first. Then Heaven." Nagisa said. He was more machine than human now, awaiting commands to be inputted.

"Good." Monaca turned her back on him and wheeled towards Komaeda and the Vizier. "Now leave us."

Dio could not help but be reminded of himself when looking at Monaca. She had clearly been practising her poses and mannerisms to try and perfect her impression of him. The passive yet power-filled look in her eyes, the soft smirk on her face, and the calm yet domineering presence she emitted.

He wondered if this was how he looked to his Friend.

It was not just physical mannerisms. Her actions matched Dio's as well. To use everything and everyone around her to gain her heart's desire. To pay whatever price needed. To see Dio Brando again and rule by his side, even at the cost of the Warriors of Hope.

The strongest will survive. The Vizier realised that Dio's Friend would be upset with this. Monaca wasn't supposed to be doing this, and especially not to this extent.. He will understand when Dio has returned. All sins will turn to zero in Heaven.

"What should we do about the news on the two intruders?" Servant asked. "We can have the Murralsee destroy them."

"No." The Vizier hissed. Monaca turned to him and titled her head in confusion. For good reason. He rarely interjected in this meetings with such force. "They are likely fellow followers of Dio. We shall welcome them with open arms. It is the will of Dio."

Dio knew who these people were. One was his Friend and the other was Izuru Kamukura. The latter was an unwelcome presence for this glorious day that would soon go down in history. The former, however, was necessary for this. His presence had defined the history of humanity and today would be no exception.

It will be good to see him again. Perhaps he'll bring Pet Shop with him. Dio mused to himself. Just as his friend was essential for the plan, he was also good for pleasure as well. It had been so long since Dio had spoken with him, and had enjoyed seeing his pet again.

Pet Shop was also more than a pet. He was the only reason that this plan was happening at all.

"If you say so, Vizier." Monaca replied. She wheeled in closer to the Vizier, but her eyes did not meet his. They were focused on his chest. "We'll be together again, Dio. You and me, just as it was always supposed to be. Before the others got involved."

The obsession with him risked ruining everything. Dio was Monaca's entire world. He defined who she was and what she did. Yet she did not take rivals well. Nagisa had his spirit broken because he loved Monaca more than he loved his position. Would Dio's Friend hesitate to hurt a child, if Monaca tried something on him?

No. She wouldn't. Monaca had to know that Dio would not react well if she had tried to attack his friend. The Vizier had no need to worry about Monaca taking things too far. He could simply sit and watch in approval as she worked in his name.

Monaca reverently put a hand over the sealed chest. If she tried, she could wrench the front-plating open and see just what it was that she saw when looking at the chest. But she wouldn't.

Dio's head-or what remained of it-needed protection more than it needed adulation.


"Shit." Hiroko said to herself. The Murralsee in front of her exploded as Smoke On The Water wafted out from its remains. "Where the hell are they?" She asked herself, as if it'd make them come back faster.

It had been five minutes and the Murralsee were already running rampant across the entire base. Containers were aflame, make-shift homes were being torn down, and blood and guts were being thrown about like water-balloons in the summer.

She and Murray did the best they could, but all that amounted to was getting everyone to hide in the only fortified place left-the council building-and saving whoever they could on the outside. It was all they could do. Murray had run out of ammo and Hiroko was just one woman.

This attack hadn't been like the first. There was no warning signs from the scouts nor was there a frontal assault. These things attacked like cowards; striking from the back and hurting the civilians.

At least the Oingo Boingo Brothers are safe. Don't know how long that'll be. Hiroko trusted the two to hide out until the others got back. She just didn't trust the adults to control themselves this time.

Hiroko couldn't focus on that. She just had to take out the enemies in front of her.

It didn't matter what kind of Murralsee they were, or what armour or weapons they had, so long as she had Smoke On The Water. One advantage of a big wide space with lots of fire, and the ability to move around, was that the fires entered her range. She could smother the flames and have a lot more firepower to work with.

Dozens of Murralsee were being filled with smoke that cut, smashed, or even burnt the machines out from the inside. There was even enough smoke for Hiroko to use as a shield to protect herself with. There hadn't been a single blow that she couldn't deflect.

Her priority was to meet up with the others. They had to be arriving back soon. One of the last reports that Hiroko had heard was that the others were heading back, having defeated the girl who kidnapped Komaru. All she had to do was hold on until then.

What then? The Murralsee would be defeated, yeah. Then the enemy to worry about was Haiji-if that even still was Haiji who Hiroko had been taking orders from. She had to tell Rohan about the nails. It fit the profile of Yoshikage Kira perfectly.

She didn't know how it happened-maybe Kira's Stand had a third power that let him steal identities-but Yoshikage Kira had become Haiji Towa in all but physique. He was too small and underweight to be the real Haiji. Bastard changed up his belt and clothes to hide that fact.

You killed Ishimaru. Guy just wanted to see his son again, and you didn't even leave a body. Hiroko's cigarette almost broke in half from the force of her bite. She couldn't forgive that kind of stuff. Maybe if he had been forced to, and wanted to make amends, but not when Kira did it just to keep his identity safe.

She was almost blind with rage when a Murralsee dropped down from the ceiling. She summoned Smoke On The Water and readied to move back, but it was almost too late. The Murralsee was at least going to get a hit in.

"Miss Hagakure!" Murray jumped from the roof of one of the containers and full-on rugby tackled the Murralsee to the ground. The force of his push and the strength of the container's walls was enough to break the Murralsee's head between the two. He rushed to her side, his whole stance suggesting triumph. "We're saved. The others have returned. They've found an escape route!"

"Was K-Haiji with them?" Hiroko asked. Murray's pose weakened. She could understand why.

Murray had been so sure that Haiji was the real thing. That the man he'd been working with to save everyone was truly a good man. When it finally sunk in, the machine wept bitterly, but accepted the truth nonetheless.

Not that it'd make it easier on him.

"Y-Yes. I spoke with the group. He suspected nothing about our discovery." Murray said, not quite looking Hiroko in the eye. It was weird how machines could act. "To think that he was an enemy of justice. That he was deceiving us this whole time."

"Nothing for it." Hiroko sighed. "I'll tell Rohan. No reason why Koko and Fufu have to be thrown into all this."

That managed to bring some spirit back into Murray's step. "Those two? Ah, it's beautiful, Miss Hagakure. Where they were once cold to one another, now it is they are of one mind. Two fires burning and fuelling one another into something larger and brighter!"

"If you say so." Hiroko couldn't help but smile though. That enthusiasm was too infectious.

Good for those two. They needed the other, especially in these times. Komaru was a sweet girl but was naive and a bit quick to give-up. Fukawa, on the other hand, really needed someone to both give a hug and tell her off. It was good to have those kind of friends.

Yasuhiro, I wonder if your friends at Hope's Peak are like that too. Hiroko wanted to meet them. She only heard rumours and the like, but she never imagined that her adorable little guy could have really fought someone else and won. At least I did something right in that marriage, raising you right, if you managed to stand up to that Dio guy. Not a piece of shit like I was at your age.

She could hear the Murralsee being torn apart by the second. Komaru, Fukawa, and Rohan together were more than a match for anybody. Kira's Killer Queen was a handy Stand, probably the strongest she had ever seen, but they could survive without it.

That went double, now that they had an escape-route. All Hiroko needed to do was to find Rohan and tell him the truth. Haiji was missing, presumed dead, and Yoshikage Kira took his place.

Hiroko was going to need a cigarette for this one. She had a break from the onslaught of the Murralsee and needed to take the edge off somehow. Being a hostage for months on end and the sense that someone was watching her right now really wrecked the idea of quitting.

As she navigated her way through the containers, she could see Fukawa and Rohan together in the distance, fighting off the Murralsee. It seemed that Komaru and Kira had split off to fend off the other Murralsee. Probably for the best. Better to say it individually.

It was while thinking of a way to both explain what she learnt and how they'd take Kira down that Hiroko realised that she had an empty pack.

"Where the hell are they?" She stopped to wrench the pack open and found that every last cigarette was gone. "Guess I used them up."

Murray quickened his pace to stand next to her. "You know, Miss Hagakure, I have some concerns about the amount of cigarettes you have been consuming-"

"I appreciate the gesture, but I've been rationed these things by a bunch of kidnappers for what's been years now. It's honestly a matter of principle at this point." Hiroko said. It wasn't the best reason, but one nonetheless.

She'd quit when this was all over.

Or maybe just switch one a day. Be gradual about it. Hiroko thought, cutting herself a break. An act of self-mercy that was rewarded by what looked like a fresh pack of cigarettes in Murray's hand. Hiroko smiled at the machine.

"See? You can be a cool robot too." Hiroko chuckled at Murray's clear embarrassment. She lit up the cigarette and relaxed herself. Where did Murray even keep all this stuff?

"I'm glad to be of use," Murray said. As he walked ahead of her, Hiroko swore that she saw pure-white eyes darken. "It's amazing how a lying piece of shit like your son could have come from such an interesting woman. If only you knew when to stay out of the business of others."

Those words froze her in place. That wasn't Murray's voice. The passionate and almost overly-polite tone had been replaced by something quieter, darker, and much ruder. What did he mean by what he said about her son? He never met Yasuhiro before. Why would he say that?

"Murray, what the fuck did you-"

"Look over here."

Hiroko knew those words.

The words that spoke whenever a Murralsee's burning wreckage was close enough to a few others, but Haiji didn't want to risk going out in case the Alarm Murralsee went off. The little tank-thing with a skull for a head that could destroy small shops with enough heat to attract it. The second Stand power of Yoshikage Kira.

Sheer Heart Attack flew from the ground behind her and towards the burning cigarette in her mouth. Smoke On The Water, trailing behind her, had managed to muffle the sound of the mobile bomb and hid it from sight as well. All until it sensed the heat above.

There was no time to act. She had to do something.

Smoke On The Water wafted above to surround her and Sheer Heart Attack. It'd at least act to protect her against the explosion. Maybe, if she timed it right, she could evem turn the explosion into smoke and-

Sheer Heart Attack detonated.

It was strange how the mind slowed down in death. Seconds became years and the world became a frenzy of bright colours that could almost blind you.

Hiroko could see the shock-waves that slammed against her chest and shattered every rib in her body. She could touch the flames that scorched through skin and muscle, charring pale skin and turning it crisp-black. She could even taste the smoke that flowed inside her from an open mouth, rapidly losing teeth, as Smoke On The Water was blown back.

All she could do was make a last few changes with what was becoming nothing but a skeleton with burnt meat on it. Change the pressure of the smoke around her hands so that at least something would come flying off. Something far away from Kira's reach.

Rohan must have known about the Hime Hand Killer. That was why he asked her to investigate him. So he'd understand what five charred finger bones could mean, right? Hiroko wasn't just being an idiot in ripping off her own hand and flinging its remnants towards him and Fukawa.

She wasn't exactly sure when she died. All she felt was her skull crashing against the metal container, the shock-waves smacking against her heart, and the smoke around her giving way to flame.

Hurts a lot less than I thought. Hiroko thought. I'm sorry Rohan, Koko, Fufu. You guys are just gonna have to take this guy out on your own. Or who knows? Maybe I'll come back as a ghost. That'll be fun. I can mooch off Yasuhiro and make sure he dates a nice girl.

Just wish we could have met again. See what crazy thing he's predicting this time. That'd have been nice...

Hiroko Hagakure then died.


"I know that a lot of us didn't want to be here," Komaru's voice couldn't even find strength. The first actual sentence she managed to say and it was in whimpers. "We all wanted to be back home with our families. Talking about whose turn it was to take out the trash, or what to watch tonight, or who really won that Monopoly game. Not underground in some stinky smokey base afraid for our lives."

Everyone was silent and downcast as always. Komaru wasn't reaching them at all. Not after everything that had just happened; not after everyone that they had lost.

Komaru's bottom lip wobbled and her fists shook when she remembered seeing Hagakure's body. She had been defending the base with Murray while they had been out. Murray said that one of the Bomber Murralsee got to her.

There was barely anything left on the body. The cool and collected Hiroko Hagakure had been replaced by a roasted and unrecognisable corpse. The only way to identify were was by the pack of cigarettes that laid next to the body.

Haiji had been one of the first to see the body and fled to his room. She must have been one of his few confidants and now she was dead. Maybe he thought this was his fault for not staying.

Rohan had been heart-broken as well. He knelt by the body and was shaking all over; the sadness finally getting to the stoic mangaka. It wasn't right that he'd look that way. But it wasn't right that someone like Hagakure had to die like that.

The only reason Rohan got up was to tell Komaru that it wasn't her fault. It didn't stop her from thinking it. If she hadn't been fighting with Fukawa, if she hadn't let herself get kidnapped, then the others wouldn't have needed to find her. They could have been here to help her.

Fukawa and Murray told her otherwise. They were pillars of support for her, just as Rohan was, and Komaru almost felt like she was relying on them again. Leaning on them physically and emotionally while crying her eyes out.

Was this what everyone else had been going through? Did Makoto have to hold people like this and tell them that they couldn't give up? Komaru just wanted to see her brother and parents again.

Hagakure wanted to see her son again too. Yuta wanted to see his sister. Fujisaki his daughter, and Takaaki Ishimaru his son.

Who's going to help them now? All those people on the Hunted List? Komaru knew the answer to that. It was going to have to be her. She was going to have to be the hero she had been waiting for. I'm not running away anymore. I won't let them be victims.

Komaru breathed in and out. In and out. She had to summon every last bit of strength within her. The strength that saw her through this whole adventure so far. The kind of strength that Rohan, Fukawa, and Hagakure were able to show this whole time.

It was like Hagakure was standing right behind her, whispering the words in her ears, with that familiar smokey scent filling the air. Komaru could always see ghosts, but she had never felt this pushing force before.

Murray was there as well-the machine who sacrificed himself living on as a soul-screaming encouragements. There was no bitterness over Komaru's actions. He himself had told her to bring him down to trigger the explosives. To finally seal the hole in the barrier.

"There are worse things than death. There is to live a life filled with regrets over what we have failed to do. To continue living is meaningless if it is to suffer. Komaru, you must strike me down so that we can overcome this Despair. Do it! Before my cowardice overcomes me and I am cursed to regret my life forever!"

Yuta and Fujisaki were there too. Gently pushing her forward and cheering her on. The souls of all those who had fought and died for everyone to escape this nightmare were behind her. They were there to lend support and push her forward.

She wouldn't let them down!

"We're all scared and just want to go home, but..." Komaru almost whimpered but stopped herself. With a long and deep breath, she unleashed everything that she had. "How long are we just going to be victims?"

The scream caused the entire crowd to gasp. Whether from her words, or just the volume, they were amazed at Komaru. They hadn't attacked her yet, though, so she kept on.

"Are you really just fine with excusing ourselves like this? We're not Talented, we're average, we're weak, and so what? Does that mean we should just wait here and die? Flee across the ocean and hope we won't die on the way; while letting these people who did this own our homes?" Komaru was barely getting the words out. Her chest felt like it was getting pressed on. "We all face the same fears and suffering. Isn't that what the Tragedy was?

"If we keep on pretending like we can't do anything. If we just wait for other people to save us," Komaru had to stop. The memory of everyone who had been killed was getting to her. She was crying like a baby. "We'll just keep losing what's important to us. It's okay to be scared. I'm scared! But if I just left this place, left Fukawa to fight alone...I'd have regretted it forever. I want a happy ending with Fukawa and Rohan-sensei and everyone else here! A big cliche one that Rohan-sensei would make fun of for lacking depth! But we can't just hide, or abandon this place.

"We built this city, didn't we? So we can't just abandon it and everyone inside it to die. So, please, won't you fight this Despair with us?!"

That final howl echoed throughout the entire base. Hundreds of dejected faces gazed up at her without any emotion behind their eyes. Komaru didn't know if they hated it enough that they wouldn't even boo it, or if they were too deep in despair to hate it.

At least I tried-

A single clap cut off Komaru's thoughts. It was quickly followed by another clap, then another, and then another, until they quickly lost their pattern and became a series of claps that didn't end. Komaru's eyes instantly went to the source of the noise.

It was Rohan! Rohan was clapping her! Rohan Kishibe-the super-talented and super-picky mangaka-was clapping for her! There wasn't a hint of deception of mockery in his eyes. He really did believe in her.

Like a virus-no, that was bad-sounding, more like a stack of dominoes, the mood began to spread. It was like the single reaction had knocked them out of their shock. Blurred and vacant expressions gave way to something that Komaru hadn't seen in a long time. A noise erupted that she hadn't heard in months, if not years.

Hope. People were lighting up with hope and finding the power to have faith again.

Komaru was still crying like a dumb baby, but she was smiling too. She looked down to see that Fukawa was smiling up at her as well, even if she immediately frowned when she noticed Komaru looking and smiling at her. It was okay that Fukawa was shy. Komaru was too.

But they had been transformed. They weren't just two girls and a mangaka running from place to place, searching for safety. Now they were the heroes who would bring the Warriors of Hope to justice.

They would save Towa City, they would save Togami, they would save the adults, and they would even save the children.

I promise, Hagakure. I won't let you down. I won't let anyone down. Komaru smiled at the crowd as she began to get off the stage she had been standing on. She moved over to Fukawa while Rohan was moving towards the two. I'll be like Makoto. I'll be Hope, even if I can only do it with Fukawa, Rohan-sensei, and everyone else's help. That's good enough right?

It had to be. Komaru wasn't going to let everyone down.


"Do you think Hagakure would be proud of us?" Komaru asked.

What kind of question was that to drop on someone? Fukawa was only just starting to get used to this 'friend' thing and now she was having to comfort Komaru again? It was almost too much.

It wasn't like before. She could have just written her off as whiny or getting distracted by tragedy, but not anymore. Her...friend-gah, it still felt weird to say-had proved her courage a hundred times over. Not to mention how she died.

Komaru still felt at fault. As if she was the only reason that she and Fukawa had that fight. It wasn't as if Fukawa wasn't allowed to tell the truth back at Towa Tower. She was just as much at fault for Hiroko Hagakure's death as Komaru, and none of them were as much at fault as the people behind this.

Fukawa wanted to say that and more, but she couldn't. They were deep underground in the labs of the Towa Group and had to keep moving with all these Murralsee. These things didn't go down easy.

It was different to when Fukawa had first met Komaru. It used to take five shots from the Hacking Gun to destroy a Murralsee and now every other shot was a direct hit to the eyes. This whole experience had changed her.

So why was Fukawa so uneasy now? Why did she have a crawling feeling down her spine that something was wrong?

Maybe that was why she couldn't say anything to comfort Komaru.

Like you could. Can't even let her call you Touko. Her mind hissed. Fukawa pushed the thought down. It wasn't her fault that she wasn't used to hearing that name. Today had been the first time that she ever actually thanked someone! The first time that someone was her friend.

Maybe she should say something.

"I think she'd be proud that you're taking the fight to them." Fukawa muttered out. She no longer had control over her mouth. "I knew her kid, y'know. Real dumbass. Believed in the occult and all that crap. Tried to sell his friends organs to pay off yakuza debts and went into hiding."

"But she said such nice things about him." Komaru said, looking aghast. The occult-idiot did sound like a scum-bag when you mentioned all that.

"That's what mothers are meant to do, I guess. Act like their brats are made of gold," Fukawa sighed and looked down. How was she going to explain this to Hagakure? Maybe she could lighten up a bit. "But he did try to help kill Dio. Didn't deserve to have his mother die like this."

"No one deserved to die like that." Rohan practically barked those words out. Fukawa might have been offended if he was even looking at her. It almost seemed like he was saying it to Haiji.

Guess he really didn't like the evacuation plan. Fukawa thought to herself.

There were tensions still, but none between Komaru and Fukawa. The main two seemed to be Haiji and Rohan, the latter glaring daggers into the former who avoided even looking at him. Haiji was being distant to the rest of the group too.

He seemed to want nothing more than to reach the Saint Murralsee and get this whole thing over. Whether he was just ashamed of his earlier plans or not, he was more curt and suspicious than before. None of the old attempts at joining in with the group.

Murray was more than making up for it. The damn thing was a chatterbox in Rohan's arms. It was almost enough that Fukawa wished he did blow up.

But he didn't and now he was nothing more than a head that had to be carried everywhere. Not even by a cute girl like herself or Komaru, but some weedy glorified-doujin writer like Rohan.

It didn't help that it meant Rohan couldn't drive the bike. It fell to Komaru to drive the damn thing.

Fukawa prayed that her friend didn't get the taste for that kind of thing. That'd be Naegi's problem to deal with when they got out of this damn city. He could be the one to contain that wild woman.

Haiji slightly turned his head as they neared yet another door. "We're almost at the point where the Saint Murralsee is waiting for us." He said, before turning back ahead. "Murray, you'll have to assist in navigating the machine. It's our best chance at winning this war."

"Yes! We'll be the shining light that guides everyone out of this hell." Murray cried out. He grunted out as he tried to move forward, only to nudge ahead slightly in Rohan's hands. "If only I had a body to assist in a more useful way..."

"We're just glad you're okay. I'm happy that I didn't kill you." Komaru said, which Murray seemed to appreciate.

"Strange how you remembered this thing." Rohan kept a harsh glare on Haiji. "Why the hell didn't you use it before?"

"Too many Murralsee were down here for me alone and..." Haiji paused, as if to consider his next words. "My father didn't tell me about it." Haiji reached the door and began to type in the password. "He didn't trust me with a lot of stuff. I wasn't really the reliable type for a while. This thing was meant to be in case Ultimate Despair tried anything. We didn't know about Stands and it seemed like the ultimate defence weapon."

Haiji pressed a button and the doors opened for the group. It was easy for all five to enter and see exactly what the Saint Murralsee was meant to be.

It towered over every last one of them. A large white being in the shape of a Murralsee, it had the pattern of black chains coiling around its body painted on, the design even reaching to circle around the top of its head. It was slightly changed to resemble a crown of thorns. Its arms were held up as if the Murralsee itself was being crucified.

Just the sight of the thing made Fukawa want to vomit.

"I'd have gone with a less shitty design." She muttered.

"Marketing and Design Departments were probably going to be re-structured even if they weren't all dead." Haiji shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the Saint Murralsee. "Nothing for it than to activate it and begin the adv-"

There was a sound. A sound of air being cut apart by a small object flying at high speeds. Fukawa recognised it. It was the sound that she and the rest of the Class 78 survivors had to learn about to survive that period between slaying Dio and the Future Foundation picking them up.

The sound of a sniper round.

The bullet cut through the skin of Haiji's right arm, droplets of blood spattering to the ground, as the others summoned their Stands. We Built This City, Smells Like Teenage Spirit, Heaven's Door, and Killer Queen were all at the ready. The shot had come from above.

Where the hell did that- Fukawa had no time to think. The sound came again and she barely moved to the side quick enough that only some of her hair was lost by the shot. Any closer and she'd be missing a piece of her left ear. Then what would Byakuya think of her?!

The ceiling itself was shaking. The two holes were far too large to be from a mere sniper-rifle, but the distance it must have travelled meant that it was cutting through solid earth, stone, and metal. How was this possible?!

"Everyone, over here!" Rohan screamed. He was standing by an extension of the room where large metallic boxes waited. Fukawa didn't care what they were; she just dashed towards them with a rush to same place. "Right side, Haiji!" Rohan barked, as the Resistance leader parted ways from Fukawa and Komaru, still looking behind.

The ceiling groaned before a part of it collapsed. The culprit was a giant robot that had the appearance of a sniper hiding out in the desert, down to the beige scarf, with an eye-patch in the shape of a Murralsee face. By its side was none other than Nagisa Shingetsu himself, holding one of those control consoles.

He looked different. Before, he looked calm, composed, and in-control of himself. Nothing like the wretch before them now. His spikes were broken, his face was blue-like something was choking him-and his eyes were shaking with Despair. There was none of that old certainty.

Around him was the Stand Nirvana. It looked different from before; the scouter had been replaced by a metallic line that almost seemed to dig into the upper right side of Nagisa's face. Fukawa followed the line to where it connected to a silverish circlet and noticed the outline of a metal line coiling around his arms and legs. They probably all connected to a single line that went from the bottom of his spine to the top of his head, where it connected to the circlet again.

"Not even Act 2...Not even Act 2..." Shingetsu mumbled to himself, his voice barely carrying over. He turned to the Saint Murralsee and empty eyes narrowed at it. "I have to destroy this machine. I have to follow Monaca's orders. She's the only one who still expects something of me."

"What the hell is he doing?" Murray snapped. Fukawa's eyes widened. That was the first time that she had ever heard him swear.

"I will destroy it. The threat to Heaven." Shingetsu's voice shook and the tears were already falling down his eyes. It might have reminded Fukawa of Komaru's speech earlier; but where hers was Hope, his words were nothing but the abyss of Despair. "Dio's paradise that he promised to us. I will protect it! Everyone is counting on me. I have to meet their expectations! I have to show that I can follow orders! I can't fail here. I'll do it. The most skilled robot-user. The Stand with the most potential. That's what Dio said. I'll work harder on it. So please! Count on me more. Expect more of me! Father, Mother, Monaca, Dio, please! Don't abandon me!"

He was going through some kind of mental breakdown. The lights of his circlet were flashing again and again while the metallic wires between the points embedded in his arms, legs, chest, and head, were doing their best to fray about. The Stand was beginning to go rogue under a user that was losing his mind.

"Act 2? This world has it too?" Rohan whispered. Fukawa had to resist the urge to snap at him. Was this really the time for role-playing? Shingetsu had already vanished from sight. Fukawa hid behind the box while Rohan went for a peek. "Komaru, Fukawa, listen to me. There are levels to his Stand. With each new level, the Stand grows stronger. Going by his words, and those shots, he's probably a skilled snipe-"

Rohan stopped speaking and ducked down. The next round wasn't like the first two. That laser-rifle could fire the whole blast rather than just the bullet. It was a miracle, well more a tragedy, that his stupid hair was only slightly burnt. It didn't help that they didn't see where it came from.

"Hey, Komaru." Fukawa said. "The next thing you're gonna say is that we need to take the fight to him, don't we? Can't let him kill the Saint Murralsee."

"Fukawa, you're physic?" Komaru asked, with total amazement in her voice. Fukawa was relieved that her glare shut her down. Komaru went back to being serious. "Right. Fukawa, your taser's running low, so you take the back while Rohan-sensei and I-"

"I'm not letting you do that." Fukawa's taser didn't have all the power in the world, but it was still enough, damnit! She wasn't going to let Komaru do this alon. "A-After all this time I've spent telling you to take charge, I'm not just gonna hide away in the back as well."

"Touk-I mean, Fukawa." Komaru whimpered, Fukawa shivering at the sound of her first name being said. Luckily, she didn't notice and turned to Rohan instead. "Rohan-sensei, are you ready?"

"Any day. The strategist that loses his mind and goes berserk isn't as original as this kid thinks. His mental instability is where he'll slip up, knowing his type." Rohan replied.

"I'll wait by the back and keep any Murralsee off your back." Haiji cried out, standing behind a different box.

Rohan glared back at him, fists balling themselves, but he probably realised that there was a time and a place for arguing. Everyone readied themselves for the fight ahead and left the cover of the metallic boxes. They separated to force Shingetsu to choose a target himself.

"When you're dead...Monaca and I will be the Adam and Eve of Heaven...we'll create a pure world." Shingetsu said, his voice echoing throughout the room. The thought made vomit rush up Fukawa's throat. "Dio will smile down from Heaven."

Fukawa readied the taser while Komaru and Rohan pulled out their weapons; a Hacking Gun and a pen. Fukawa supposed that Rohan drawing fire might distract the robot for Komaru, and maybe even lure out Shingetsu with that dirty tongue of his. The three of them were more than enough.

The only thing Dio will be doing is seeing another one of his plans go up in smoke from the fires of hell. Their Stands were ready and Fukawa was ready to use her taser the second Komaru gave the signal.

Haiji withdrew himself further back and the others began to move. That machine might have been big and have serious firepower, but it stood out like a third-grade girl who just wanted to make friends yet everyone made fun of her for having a stink-bug for a friend. As for Shingetsu, every Stand had a weakness and this Nirvana was no different.

Find out what it does. Find its weakness. Then take down the user and the robot. They did it three times before and now they were going to make it four.

As long as Fukawa had Komaru-and maybe possibly Rohan Kishibe-by her side, they would never lose.


Dio looked at the giant Murralsee that tore its way through Towa City. The metropolis that had been an island of safety against the force of Dio's power-only its survival came merely from Dio's will-was now truly in chaos.

The blood of thousands poured through the streets and now it came time for judgement for the children. They had the sense to hide while the adults marched. It wasn't hard for even Dio to listen in on the commands of the Saint Murralsee.

"March on Towa Hills. Destroy everything in the way of our Hope. Do not deviate from the path."

Yoshikage Kira and 'Murray' made for an excellent team, so long as neither got in the way of the other. Dio knew himself and believed he had the measure of Kira. Neither man could fight well as a pair. They would only negate the natural advantages of the other.

Monaca and the Vizier were waiting for the right moment. Nothing could stop Komaru, Fukawa, and Rohan from reaching the air-ship. Murralsee now fell at the feet of Naegi's little sister with a single shot and the Genocider could cut her way through armies now.

It took sacrifices to reach this point. He only wished that his Friend could have stayed to witness all this, but he knew nothing about the plan. All Dio could be grateful for was that his Friend would arrive soon enough. Izuru would have to be an unwelcome bonus; the two seemed unaware of the other's movements.

What are you planning, Izuru? Dio knew that the failed experiment was thinking of something. That a tiny part of him still dared to think of Dio as anything other than his new master. The death of his master may have made him bold.

Just as it did with those bastards who defiled him. Komaeda was lucky that he had left already. They'd best pray that Dio would be convinced to forgive their sins.

Still, it wasn't like Izuru's defiance would matter. In a matter of hours, Dio would have avenged every defeat that he had suffered ever since Kyouko Kirigiri dared to defy him, ever since Makoto Naegi didn't simply stay down, and ever since those last classmates of Dio's dared to rise up against him.

He would be complete again. He would have a Stand again. He would be like a God. It was almost enough to make him grateful to Naegi for what he did. Almost. Death had cursed him in many ways, only Pet Shop has been able to sense him, forced to watch over his corpse's defilement, and drive his Friend towards his plan.

If the Vizier was completely aware, Dio couldn't tell, but the AI knew enough that it sided with Friend's plan. The plan that relied only on the joint faith in the Fate of Dio Brando; to reach out and reclaim Heaven.

A faith that will be rewarded. Dio smiled to himself as the Saint Murralsee drew closer. For I, Dio, have finally seen what I only had glimpses of before. Heaven. Peace of mind. Hope. The destiny that I witnessed all those years ago. You, Komaru Naegi, will be the bridge that will bring me to the land of the living again. I shall spread the word of how Heaven must be reached.

The last thing that Makoto Naegi would witness, before seeing the power of Heaven itself, would be the sight of Dio's return. All of the Hope he created will turn to ash as he would drown in despair. He would curse his own weakness.

Because Dio Brando remained on this Earth. He would have a body again. He would bring peace of mind to a world trapped between life and death.

As Komaru Naegi marched towards her Fate, Dio laughed, for she was the vessel with which he would ascend to Heaven.

Hiroko Hagakure/Smoke On The Water: Dead
Nagisa Shingetsu/Nirvana: Retired
Nagito Komaeda/Get Lucky: Retired


Stand Stats

Nirvana
User: Nagisa Shingetsu
Stats

Destructive Power: E-D
Speed: A-B
Range: B-E
Durability: E-E
Precision: B-A
Developmental Potential: D-C

Abilities
Act 1 allows the user to scan their surroundings at a maximum range of 100m and supply the user with information on the environment and all 'foreign objects' which are relevant to the user's needs. 'Foreign objects' are defined as living beings and inanimate objects which do not consider the room to be their home. Cannot provide information which the 'foreign objects' themselves are unaware of. Information given to the user is dependent on the user's own priorities at the moment of scanning.

Act 2 allows the user to enhance their physical and mental capabilities. The extent of this enhancement is dependent on the perception of the user's maximum potential by other humans within a range of 20m.

She Sells Sanctuary
User: Monaca Towa
Stats

Destructive Power: D
Speed: C
Range: A
Durability: C
Precision: A
Developmental Potential: A

Abilities
Stand is activated when user initiatives conversation with a target.

When target undergoes trauma, or recalls memory of such, She Sells Sanctuary can begin to 're-program' mind of the target. Can force target to dwell on trauma and force 'memory-loops' until target breaks from it. User is then seen as a source of stability and safety by the target, and target will attempt to please user by any means necessary.