Sorry for putting up a notice yesterday. I underestimated how time consuming uploading three stories would be. Hopefully you guys will notice when this replacing the notice. But anyway, we finally finish off the Court of Owls this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Fate series, Lupin III, Ni No Kuni, or My Hero Academia.
Chapter 39: Confrontation
Zenigata nodded as the busses started to fill up with passengers, overseen by SWAT units and uniformed officers. "Are we sure this isn't part of Lupin's scheme?," Akimi asked. "I'm sure as all hell," Zenigata said, "There's a lot that Lupin would do for the sake of a heist, but mass panic leading to an evacuation isn't one of them. He likes an audience, after all. I'm just the Speedwagon Foundation was willing to listen to us." "So they know about everything," Akimi realized. Risei approached. "Of course they do. If the Magus Association is the magic side of the world and Holy Church is the religious side, then the Speedwagon Foundation is the human side."
"Father," Zenigata said as he tipped his hat. Risei nodded. "I've just confirmed the death of Rider." With him was a young boy Zenigata recognized as Shiro. "Why isn't he with his parents?" "It turns out the boy has a strong potential for magic," Risei explained, "I'm sending him to the Fuyuki Hotel with Kayneth, where he can be kept safe and perhaps learn a little. I've already gotten his parents consent. Without hypnotizing then, for the record." He looked around. "Where is Mister Kujo?" "He's staying in town until the Court of Owls is dealt with," Zenigata explained, "Personally I intend to take the fight to them once the evacuation is over."
"So," Kariya said as he felt Rider's mana disappear, "Now you four fight?" "Not just yet," All Might clarified, "First there's one last detail to get out of the way. And a young lady to save." He engaged One For All's power, and Kariya noticed he had donned his superhero costume from when All Might had first been summoned. This was when All Might was at his best, when he was able to act as a real hero. And perhaps to go out with a blaze of glory. Their attention was turned toward the sky as more fireworks lit up the night, just like the ones that had drawn Rider to the civic center, and his demise at Evan's hands.
"Jigen's found them," All Might noted, "The Grail will be manifesting in the Ryudou Temple. Head there and I'll catch up." Kariya nodded as All Might leapt off. "I honestly never thought I'd survive until the end," Kariya muttered to himself, "Guess somewhere along the way, a god was looking over my shoulder. Well, the War ends tonight. I've already sent Aoi, Sakura, and Rin off. Now I just gotta make sure they can come back to their new home." He closed his eyes as they glowed, and several swarms of moths attached to his back in the form of wings, letting him fly off for the temple.
As Lupin drove to where Jigen had indicated, he heard the ominous sounds of gunfire. "Ah crap! Don't tell me he got made!" He hurried over to where the shots were coming from to confirm his worst fear. Jigen had been shot. He managed to take out his attackers, but he wouldn't be lasting the night judging from the placement of the bullet wound. "Jeez, Jigen, you didn't have to go and get yourself shot on my account." Jigen chuckled. For once there was no sign of joking, no jovial grin on Lupin's face. "I guess I was slipping more than I thought. But save the final cigarette for the finale. I've still got time. And you have a damsel to save. Again."
Lupin looked at the large warehouse where Jigen had found the Court. All Might landed next to him, Evan dropping in as well. Jonathan was already at the front door. "What kept you all?" Lupin grinned. "Do you know how many abandoned warehouses are in Fuyuki? But in all seriousness, let's end this farce and get back to our War." All Might walked up to the door and punched it, easily knocking it off its hinges. "Ding dong, Avon calling!," Lupin called out in a joking manner. Several owls were shocked at the arrival of the four Servants.
"You certainly know how to rip a script in half, Lupin the Third," said a voice from the very back. The man known as the Count walked into view. "My men haven't even located your Masters yet." He smirked as he held up his arm, the Command Seals visible on it. Lupin grinned. "What can I say?" He held up a detonator, giving the Count a bad premonition. "I'm at my best when I improvise." He hit the switch, and the Count's arm exploded, causing him to scream in pain. "Kill them! Kill them right now!" Several Kuken moved in. Jonathan, having fought them before, immediately pulled out his sword and struck down the first one to approach.
The other Owls were stumbling upon seeing how easily these men dispatched their assassins. "Don't just stand there!," the Count called out, "Use the Fraulein Eule!" However, the first Owl to pull out his supply suddenly found himself exploding in a spray of blood, the packet now floating in midair before burning up entirely. Of course, the four Servants could easily see what the reason was. Jotaro had shown up out of nowhere, with Avdol destroying the dangerous drug. A Kuken moved to attack, only for Polnareff to strike her down using Silver Chariot.
Several Owls tried to escape, only to get wrapped up in vines from Fluttershy's Stand. Lupin meanwhile was walking up to the Count, a big grin on his face. "Man, your plans are really crumbling all around you. And the best part is… Half of this isn't even because of me." "How…?," the Count muttered, "How could it go so wrong?" "You're a thousand years to young to try the whole shadowy mastermind routine," Lupin pointed out, "I've dealt with plenty like that. Sure, you caught me off guard the day you killed me, but even that didn't keep me down forever."
The Count growled. "I would have had everything if it hadn't been for you meddling Lupin! And your friends too!" Lupin snorted. "What are you, a Scooby-Doo villain? Well in that case, let's do the traditional unmasking." He grabbed the Count's mask and pulled it off, then blinked in surprise. Jonathan walked up and looked at the guy. The face was surprisingly feminine, but it was clear this was supposed to be a man. Lupin was looking at the young man in confusion. "Is this someone you know?," Jonathan asked.
"Yeah, which is surprising," Lupin said, "I was sure this kid was dead. This is Oscar, a former partner of Zenigata's. Last I saw of him, he was falling into a river with a bomb meant for a bridge. I guess he wound up falling in with Almeida. "But why go to all this trouble? Especially for the partner to such a venerated Interpol inspector." "Because I didn't want to drag the inspector into my filth," Oscar explained, "Not after everything Almeida's organization put my through. Including turning me into a brainless copy of that spittoon Fujiko Mine."
"Hey watch your mouth!," Lupin interrupted, "Fujiko may not be the picture of a perfect lady, but she is still far too classy to be referred to as a spittoon!" Oscar smirked. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I didn't do all this because of Almeida's obsession with her. All these years, it's been about you. Zenigata obsession, Almeida's actions, all of it ties back to you." Jonathan shook his head. "Lupin may do a lot of heinous things, but but he would never influence a man's life choices. He may manipulate people in the short term, but he prefers men and women to be free to live their own lives."
"And it's not like every instance of danger Pops gets himself into is because of me," Lupin pointed out, "After all, I'm hardly the most dangerous criminal out there. Just the most notorious. But I really gotta ask, why did you want the Grail so much that you would be willing to interfere in the middle of the War?" Oscar smiled. "Simple. To wish for a world without you. One where Zenigata wouldn't have his obsession. And one where he and I might…" Jonathan scoffed. "I won't admonish you for your sexual preferences. That's not how a gentleman acts. But I will admonish you for confusing love with lust."
"He's right you know," Lupin said to the outraged Oscar, "You only saw a image of Zenigata in your mind and lusted after that. You knew nothing about Pops as a person, just as an inspector. Pops probably saw you as a son, and I doubt he'd be grossed out by your emotions. He wouldn't answer them, but he wouldn't be disgusted." He sighed. "So that's why you killed me. Y'know, I'm not mad that you killed me at all. I mean, it was bound to happen to sooner or later the way I live my life. But for you to say that you killed my just for Zenigata? That's the ultimate insult, to me and him."
Meanwhile, the four Masters had encountered a group of Owls at the temple, no doubt sent there to kill one of them and let their leader lay claim to one of their Servants. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be happening so quickly. The sound of sirens in the distance distracted the lead Owl. "Those are heading for the warehouse. But why would… No! The Command Seals!" A sudden rumbling could be heard within the depths of the temple, causing the Owl to whirl his head around. It was the last mistake he would make as Kirei slammed one of his Black Keys into the man's head.
The four Servants had arrived on Loftwind, having felt the rise in prana. "What's going on?," Evan asked. "I'm not sure," Sola-Ui replied, "But it's coming from beneath the temple." "That can't be good," Jonathan said. "Where's Iris?," Kiritsugu asked. "Safe in police custody," Jonathan assured him. The four Servants headed for the chamber where the Grail had manifested. The Lesser Grail was there, and it was spewing inky black gunk. "Is it supposed to do that?," All Might asked. "No…," Jonathan noted. He remembered what the voice had said shortly after he died. How the Grail had suffered corruption.
The bubbling continued to grow until it became a wave. "I don't like where this is going!," Lupin called out. The four of them put their guard up, but it didn't help as the blackness hit them at once, then began to spread further. The four Masters also saw it. "What is that!?," Kariya asked. "The Grail…," Kirei realized, "It must have become corrupted somehow. Where are the Servants? Did they get hit by that?" "They're not lost," Sola-Ui noted, "The connection is still there." Kiritsugu's eyes widened. 'This could have been inside Iris… What god was so merciful as to make sure that couldn't happen?'
The Infamous Man's story had Lupin be kinda villainous toward the end, and that's fine for his story. But for my story I wanted to highlight Lupin's more positive qualities, like what you see in the anime. It helps that he has three other people who, while not willing to turn to crime for his sake, are on his wavelength. Takes off some of the tension and gives him someone to fall back on. As for why the corruption got unleashed when there are still four Servants? The Court of Owls really set off a karma bomb with all their shenanigans trying to realign their script. The negative emotions triggered the corruption to awaken. And we deal with it next chapter. Read and review.
