Deus Vult

March 3rd, 8:15 AM

Osaka's Shopping Mall.

"Your Stand changed," Cyrus commented, his Stand still aiming towards the woman as he rubbed his chin, curious, "How peculiar… you managed to move fast enough to slice the incoming bullets in half, that isn't good for me."

"You don't have the right to speak, so keep your mouth closed!" Jin demanded as she suddenly leaped over to him, her eyes quickly shifting over to Altessa which quickly fired twelve more rounds at the now brave woman; she could feel energy pump through her being as she suddenly swung at the bullets, smashing some of them into pieces, but others simply came to a stop and fell to the floor.

"Jin, move to the left!" Clark ordered, looking at her expectantly, though he smirked once she had managed to move; before Cyrus knew it, Clark suddenly charged forward as Voltaire jumped forward, smashing its fists against the lanky man.

"KA-BOO BOO BOO BOO BOOM!" Voltaire screamed, its inhuman voice nearly straining as it rang throughout the mall, its heavy fists colliding with Cyrus's body, again and again, eventually sending him flying at least ten feet away and into a table, his body slumping over as he groaned in agony.

"You get punched and you just can't stand up, huh?" Clark sighed, though he kept his distance, unsure if Cyrus was really down and out; Jin bent down to pick a bullet off from the floor, then carefully stepped towards the man.

"I'm not d-done!" Cyrus cringed as he tried to move his body, only to feel both sides of his body snap, a sudden intense pain taking control of his body, though he was not immobile; before any other events could unfold, Altessa phased out from his body once more, aiming its machine gun-like hands towards Clark.

"You never learn, do you?!" Jin shouted as she suddenly tossed the bullet five feet forward, watching as it bounced into the air and then penetrated Altessa's left shoulder; this caused Cyrus to nearly scream, but it seems he was unable to do so as he finally went under.

"I just can't catch a break," Clark murmured to himself before walking over to Cyrus, tossing the man's lanky body over his broad right shoulder, "Someone's always trying to cause trouble, so it's a good thing we were here. I'll call the Speedwagon Foundation to let them know what happened… also, Jin, thank you. You did a damn good job."

"Oh, uh," Jin's cheeks turned into a bright red, embarrassed by the compliment, "Thank you, it was nothing… people like that are disgusting, so I couldn't help it."

"Right," Clark gave her a thumbs up before carefully slipping his cell phone out from his left pants pocket, "Let's hope they pick up quickly…"

[Two hours later, at the Speedwagon Foundation Headquarters…]

"I didn't think there was anyone left that was under the influence of Firestart's Stand," Irene sighed, crossing one leg over the other as she witnessed a medic treat Clark's wounded foot, "It's scary to think his Stand's ability persists, even after death; I'll have to check up on everyone he's tampered with. Before you go, I have a few things that I need to talk to you about."

"I'm all ears," Clark cringed as the medic pulled away, his foot wrapped up and taken care of for the most part, "Is it anything new?"

"In two days, we're going to be confronting Damon Lustbader at the local park," Irene informed him, her demeanor remaining as resilient as ever, "Normally, I would have you accompany us, but that isn't the case now; we're going to be moving around the city quite a bit, and we can't afford your wound to slow us down."

"I see," Clark rubbed his chin, slowly moving out from his seat with a slight cringe, "Shit… well, I guess that makes sense. But who's going to be fighting? Is your son involved?"

"Not at all," Irene shook her head, folding one hand over the other, "My father, Masujiro, Dororesu, and Shinnosuke will be battling him; they're going to lead him into a trap I've concocted, and we'll only get one shot at it."

"Good luck to you, then," Clark gave her an understanding nod before dragging himself over to the office door, "If you need help, make sure to call me, and no one else; bringing in too many people would cause a lot of fuss and the bastard would be able to get away easily."

"You're correct, and besides," Irene continued, somewhat surprised at how stubborn this older man appeared to be, "You and the others have to work on what to do about Akiko Mikami, so try not to get too carried away."

"Yeah, right," Clark turned his back to her, slowly opening up the office door and slipped through it, letting it close behind him, his murmuring voice still audible, "Damn foot…"

"Now, all I have to do is wait for confirmation, and then I can gather everyone here before it all starts," Irene whispered to herself, sighing as she turned around in her chair, "Numbers mean nothing if we can't work together, I have to remember that…"

[Later that night…]

10:45 PM, Osaka's local park…

"You're still so hung up on what happened a few nights ago, huh?" Damon questioned Akiko has he leaned against an enormous oak tree, his hands in his pockets as the woman slipped her nurse's mask off from her face.

"I was having so much fun, but then that old bastard got in my way! And then those other two kept me from killing him! How could they know where I am?! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" Akiko screamed, her fingers tugging at her dark locks roughly. "Why aren't you angry?! You were caught!"

"I'm not angry because there's no way they'll attempt to catch me," Damon responded, shrugging as a cold breeze touched his face, "They know what kind of person I am, and what my Stand does now; so they think I might end up killing more people. I don't think they would risk that. They may have found you somehow, but they might deem me a more dangerous threat."

"Why would they see you as more dangerous? I'm more experienced, I've killed way more than you have, kid!" Akiko stomped up to him, wadding up his dress shirt as she grabbed him, "They've seen my work, you make other people do it for you!"

"When I was still a child, I killed my first girlfriend when she broke up with me by choking her to death, which awakened my Stand," Damon spoke, his eyes narrowing to stare at the slit-mouthed woman, "When I was a teacher in the United Kingdom, I still killed using my bare hands, it's just easier this way. Besides, why would I ever risk being caught? Technology could easily find me or trace anything back to me, so I refuse to risk such a thing."

"You're terrified of being caught, even though you have a Stand? That's pathetic! It's the rush of the kill that should make you do it again and again, no matter if you get caught!" Akiko argued, letting go of the younger man's shirt as she stepped back, giving him space.

"I can't comprehend that," Damon sighed, stepping away from the large tree with a small smirk on his face, "Nor do I want to. In the end, even if they come for me, it won't matter… I'll see to it that every last one of them is destroyed for tampering with my life."

"Well, if you're gonna keep going on and on, I'll just go," Akiko said, crossing her arms as she turned away from him, "See you, kid."

"I'm a kid?" Damon scowled for a moment, though he only sighed and walked over to the wooden bench near the entrance, "Talk about projecting yourself onto others…]

[Two days pass…]

March 5th, 9:00 PM. Speedwagon Foundation Headquarters.

It did not take long for Irene Joestar to gather the people she needed for this specific operation; Shinnosuke, Dororesu, Masujiro, and Jothan stood around her desk, each of them having some sort of determination burning inside their chests.

"Before we get this rolling, I want to thank you all for participating," Irene started, her hands on her desk as her eyes focused on Shinnosuke and Dororesu, "Especially you two; your allies are caught up in something else, so I'm grateful that you offered your services."

"Of course," Shinnosuke hid the dread in his voice as he spoke, sweat rolling down the side of his head as he nodded, "If I didn't at least try to help after what he's done, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night."

"Yeah, what he said," Dororesu commented, giving her elder a confident smirk, "We have to protect our town somehow, and besides, you've done a lot here, so we might as well pay you back."

"Alright, can we get on with this? I'm itching to kick this fucker's ass!" Masujiro rudely interrupted, holding his blade over his back, his other hand on his hip.
"We're getting to that," Irene said with a sigh, looking over to her father who had been silent all this time, "We've determined that Damon Lustbader has been hiding out in the local park every night, thanks to Gustavo's Stand. I'll let Jothan take over from here."

"Since there will be four of us going in, he might see us coming, so we've come up with a plan," Jothan said, "We're going to take our sweet time getting there while Irene tries her best to sneak over as well. We're going to lead him to the subway while she does her job."

"My plan is to drag him all the way to the subway, and then, while he's there, we'll have several police officers that work for us gang up on him, some that are coming from the subway and some that belong to the force here in Osaka," Irene smiled at the mere thought of it playing out, "He'll either give into arrest or they'll put an end to his miserable life. There will be no way he can escape… what do you think?"

"But, won't there be a lot of people in the subway? How are going to work around that if something slips up?" Shinnosuke asked, rubbing one of his arms nervously as Irene stepped around her desk carefully.

"We'll have to deal with it as it comes," Irene stated, barely wavering on her stance, "I would ask you to use your ability to trap him, but he might be able to kill you faster than you can kill him, so we can't risk that; we don't know how many people he can control, so we have to be careful. Once we get him to the subway, he should be done for."

"Well, are we ready to head out now or what? I wanna put this guy in his place!" Dororesu said eagerly, taking a water bottle out from her pocket, her fingers pressing into it with anticipation.

"Alright, alright," Jothan bit down on his lip, anticipating the battle as he stepped towards the office's exit, "Let's head over to the park, but remember, take your time getting there! We have to get the jump on the bastard."

"Fuckin' finally, I get to cut this fucker up!" Masujiro cheered as he marched out from the office, the others following him, though Shinnosuke stayed behind for a moment, prompting Irene to look at him curiously.

"All I can do is hope that this goes well, right?" Shinnosuke chuckled to himself quietly, his eyes tired and his body aching with nervosity, "Let's get this over with…"

"It'll be okay, Shinnosuke," Irene assured him, her voice filled with a strange warmth as if she understood how he felt, "I'll be there in no time, so just stall him."

"Haha, yeah…"

[One hour passes…]

10:00 PM

Osaka's local park.

Masujiro Keizo could feel small drops of rain fall onto his head, but he barely paid it any mind; he held his trusty blade close, his grip tight as he led the other three to the local park.

You seem rather accustomed to fighting with our comrades, Masujiro! Have you had a change of heart? Issues spoke into Masujiro's mind, his tone enthusiastic and excited, though his user only sighed, annoyed.

Hell no, I just wanna kick this guy's shit in for nearly breaking my nose! I mean… these guys aren't bad at all, but I wanna show this guy just who the hell I am! Masujiro protested, his grip tightening on the blade, which resulted in a grunt of discomfort.

Please, do not bruise me; I would prefer it if you handled me with care. Masujiro, you do realize that this is a very dangerous battle, do you not? You may have a plan, and three other comrades helping you, but anything could happen at any moment. Issues responded, speaking with the utmost care for his user.

Yeah, I know; I'm just so damn eager to show this punk what's what! I'm gonna be careful, don't worry about me, okay? We'll cut this bastard up and go home after it's all done. Masujiro replied matter-of-factly, filled to the brim with confidence as he grinned.

As the four saw the park in their sights, they did their best to walk slightly more steadily, so they did not disturb anyone or anything that might have been in their vicinity; Masujiro moved a little more quickly than the others, his eyes gazing across the park to see that there was no sign of anyone there.

"Huh? Is no one even there?" Dororesu murmured to herself, moving closer to the wooden bench that Masujiro was standing by, though she did not approach him.

"I guess he decided to go somewhere else…" Masujiro whispered to himself before attempting to walk towards his friends, but he felt something prick his body; it only took a moment, but he was completely unable to move.

Masujiro, I can't move! Issues cried out telepathically, though his user only screamed internally, trying his damnedest to move even a millimeter, but it was a worthless attempt; he could hear the rustling behind him, but he could not even shout for help or even turn around.

Masujiro's right hand moved involuntarily, his eyes staring down at Issues as his hand suddenly plunged forward, burying his own weapon into his gut, causing him to vomit crimson blood; as he slowly regained control over his senses, he could see that Damon was in the tree behind him.

"Fuck, FUCK! ABOVE ME!" Masujiro screamed gutturally, his body slumping to the ground as he panted heavily, seeing that Damon had slowly climbed out from the massive oak tree, his monstrous Stand right beside him.

"How disgusting, you bled everywhere." Damon chuckled, quickly moving behind the tree as the other three charged towards the park; Dororesu and Jothan were going for Damon, but Shinnosuke had sprinted towards Masujiro.

"MASUJIRO!" Shinnosuke yelled, bending down on his knees to flip him over, seeing that he had a gaping wound in his gut, fresh blood continuously flowing out from his wound, "No, god, NO!"

"Y'know," Masujiro coughed, bits of blood flying out from his mouth as he did so, "I expected to die eventually, but I never knew that this is what it felt like… fuck, this is shitty. This is what I get for being reckless, huh? The fight hasn't even started and I'm already dying… goddamn it, how useless can I be?"

"Masujiro, stop talking! I can get you to a hospital!" Shinnosuke replied, putting his hands underneath to attempt to pick him up, barely able to get him off the ground.

"Stop it, you idiot," Masujiro scolded Shinnosuke, who could only muster up a look of horror in response, "This is the end of the road for me, but it's no big deal, this was bound to happen. This is just karma coming back to bite me in the ass, but I want you to listen to me. Don't focus on what he did to me, focus on what you're going to do to him. You'll give him a punch in the face for me, right? If ya don't, I'll haunt your ass."

"Of course," Shinnosuke responded, his body shaking as a flood of tears came rushing down his already pale face, "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you!"

"Shut up, it's not like you knew," Masujiro chuckled, running one of his hands over his wound, which made him cringe slightly, "That feels gross as hell… ha, well, guess I'll be seeing dear old ma soon, huh? If I have one thing to say about you people, it's that you're fuckin' crazy, but I like that about you. You're a brave guy, Shinnosuke… if anyone's to blame, it's Damon; make him pay."

"I will…" Shinnosuke murmured before standing up, looking down at Masujiro, who had slowly closed his eyes, letting go of the tight grip he had on his blade, and he could soon hear the Stand's voice murmur.

"So, this is the end," Issues mumbled, his voice pained, though there was a strange sense of relief that was held inside of his tone, "I always wondered what death tasted like... it's so cold, but liberating? It's terrifying... but, at least I can say, I have indeed lived a fulfilling life. Shinnosuke, I believe in you... defeat him. Deus vult."

"Actually, you know, thinking about it… this feels kinda nice." Masujiro smiled warmly as his body suddenly lost any bit of tension it once had, the entirety of it finally falling limp.

Masujiro Keizo… has died.

"I promise," Shinnosuke shook as he clenched his fists, his white aura enveloping his frail body as he stepped forward, though he soon broke into a run, "I promise I'll bring Lustbader to justice!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Name: Cyrus Steinberg
Age: 45
Stand: Altessa
Stand Statistics
Power – A
Speed – B
Range – B
Durability – C
Precision – B
Development Potential – C