Yet another intersection with Lupin's adventures. You'll have to imagine how Lupin's new gang and supernatural gifts would change things, however, since I don't plan on doing that sort of story. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Persona series, Lupin the Third, or any other referenced media.

Fortieth Caper: When a Thief Isn't a Thief, Cornelius' Ring and Ritual Book

Albert d'Andresy burst into a room with a gun drawn to pure confusion. His associate Guillaume, whom he suspected had actually been working with Jose, was tied up and stripped down to an undershirt and boxers. Nearby at either end of the room was Lupin and Joker, both of them aiming guns at him. Albert noted that Joker's was a model, but since he was a Stand user there was a good chance his Stand could make that gun very real. "I figured you couldn't let anyone else take your score," Lupin noted.

"I heard you used to be a thief partnered with Lupin," Joker noted, "Guess in the end you never stopped being one, you just slapped on a different title." Albert chuckled. "I'm only interested in a bigger prize, something that the greatest thief in the world wouldn't be able to steal." "Unless they're name was Carmen Sandiego," Joker quipped. "That only turned up during that crazy game show on PBS," Albert pointed out, "Her heists in the cartoon and book series were more realistic. Well... To a point." Lupin shrugged. "Either way, we're just interested in dealing with some dangerous criminals. Ones that happen to be in your way..."

Albert smirked before lowering his gun. "Looks like our goals align then." Lupin and Joker let Albert get to work interrogating Guillaume, with some rather ballistic methods. It turned out Jose was working with a corrupt politician named Calvess. Calvess intended to use the black notebook to win an upcoming election and put the police in his back pocket, while Jose was carrying out terrorist attacks to justify Calvess getting elected. "Where is Jose?," Albert asked. Guillaume stayed silent until Joker placed his blade to the man's ear. "Bullets are effective, but it's a little sloppy. If you accidentally shoot him you won't get any info."

He pressed the blade a little closer. "But you don't need ears to talk. And blades are better for removing them without killing someone..." Guillaume freaked. "He's at the Chateau de Pouvier!" Joker smirked as he removed the knife. "I thought you were going to let me handle the interrogation," Albert noted. "We were," Joker said, "But I was afraid that your shots were hitting a little too close to home. However skilled you are as a gunman, even monkeys can fall from trees." Albert sighed and they hurried out to the location.


While Lupin and Albert were driving in Albert's car, Joker and Violet were driving on his motorcycle. "Something you should know," Violet said, "I spotted a sealed book and an iron ring with a gear on it in Albert's trunk." Joker narrowed his eyes. "Cornelius' Ring and the Ritual Book. Cornelius Joestar was a talented alchemist, and while he never turned lead into gold, he did learn a number of other special tricks that he wrote down in his journal, which was sealed with his signet ring. So Albert has it, huh? Guess we'll be giving him a calling card when this is all over..."

Just then several goons in black masks drove up in black vans and started shooting. "Jeez," Violet said, "Can't catch a break when dealing with high-profile action." "Alibaba," Joker said, "Get me a read on any recent contracts." 'One second,' Alibaba said, 'Ooh, you're not gonna like this. Seems that Guillaume character had a grudge and sent those guys after you.' Just then a shot rang out, knocking one of the thugs' guns out of his hand. Kirei and Riko were driving up, Riko holding a pistol of her own. "That was some impressive shooting," Albert noted. "I wonder if she's been taking secret lessons from Jigen," Lupin said.

"Who is that girl anyway?," Albert asked, "Her eyes look a little like yours." "She's my daughter Riko," Lupin explained, "Unfortunately I was missing from the first ten years of her life." "I always figured you were a deadbeat dad," Albert quipped. "It's not like I could help it, being dead and all," Lupin pointed out. Albert resisted the urge to hit the brakes in shock. "Wait... So all the rumors about you dying back in the 80s?" "My old body is probably bones by now in its grave in Paris," Lupin said, "But I have a new body now thanks to being resurrected as a Heroic Spirit."

Meanwhile Rebecca had taken the wheel while Kirei leapt out to strike at the vans with his Black Keys. "Those remind me a little of claws the way he wields them," Violet noted. 'Huh, like Wolverine?,' Alibaba asked. "A little longer than that," Violet said as she turned around on the bike and started firing on the vans with her rifle. As the group reached the chateau, Kirei had to tangle with a female assassin with sharp nails and sharper teeth named Chio. "That smell of blood on your hands is enticing," she said, "It makes want to eat you alive." "Lady, I'm not the sort you can handle," Kirei warned, "I've served for years as an Executor for the Holy Church."


Lupin's cyber monocle noted all the tripwires along the front door. "So how are we getting in?" "Through the front of course," Albert said, "If that girl trying to kill us is any indication then Jose already knows we're here, so why bother sneaking in?" "Because doing so means he can't plan any counters against us," Joker countered. He and Violet leapt into the air. "We'll deal with the guards along the roof!," Violet said, "Wait until the laser grid is down, then rush in!" Albert scowled. "Don't take it so hard," Lupin said, "After all, they're the new generation. And quite the competent duo at that."

Joker took the left side of the chateau while Violet hit the right, each of them firing on the gunmen who were too confused at their sudden appearance to aim properly. Once they were all down, Joker stopped. "Okay, Alibaba. Shut down the grid." 'Time for my special Arabian Cannon,' Alibaba said, with a hint of braggadocio in her tone. Albert looked on in shock as the laser grid went down. "Did they get inside so quickly?" "No," Lupin clarified, "They have a very skilled cracker on their team. The next step is ours."

The two of them rushed through the courtyard to the door on the other end and rigged up some C4 to blow it open. However, several more guards were inside and firing off machine guns. Anyone who went in the front door would be turned into swiss cheese. Fortunately, Joker didn't need to use the front door. He quickly phased through the ceiling and started tearing apart the goons with W Boiled Xtreme. "What the heck is he attacking with?," Albert asked, "It's like he's wielding ten knives at once."

Violet heard a shot go off in the distance. "What was that?" "I think Jose tried to have one of his boys offed for leaking information," Albert suggested, "Waste of good manpower, though. After all, no one in the chateau leaked that information. Not that he'd ever believe that." As they kept moving through the chateau, they got fired upon by a masked assassin with twin hand cannons named Revenant. "I got this guy," Violet said, "The moon's full tonight and there's not a cloud in the sky, so I have plenty of light to work with."


Meanwhile, Kirei's Black Keys were sheering off Chio's steel piercings and nails. "Impressive," she admitted, "But now playtime's over!" She used her steel teeth to grab onto one of Kirei's Black Keys, he quickly let go of the ones in that hand and slugged Chio right in the gut. She backed off in shock. "Most people I've fought keep hold of their weapon until the very end, and that's when I get them." "Not this time," Kirei said, "Those weapons are not what they seem." Chio was shocked when the Black Keys vaporized, even more so when another got jammed into her head, killing her instantly. "It is by God's grace that I can call my weapons at will," he explained, "It's nice to know that even now He has not abandoned me..."


Revenant and Violet clashed, the masked assassin using his cannons as tonfa. Meanwhile Joker had an encounter with a young woman with white and an eye patch over her right eye named Araignee, who fought using weighted razor wire. "I've got this one," Joker said, "Hurry and deal with Jose." Lupin and Albert nodded. As Joker leapt to deal with the third assassin, Violet had lured Revenant into an old storage room for weapons and torture devices. Using her rifle and rapier to deflect his attacks and strike back, finally tripped him into an iron maiden and shutting it on him, watching the blood seep out from it.

Elsewhere Joker was dodging and leaping about to deal with Araignee, using his phasing power to avoid her wire attacks. "Why do I keep missing?," she asked, not understanding his supernatural abilities. Joker smirked, then let himself get tangled and flung to the floor, dropping his pistol. Araignee smirked as she picked it up. "I don't like loud toys like this. But I thought it'd be fun to finish you off with your own weapon." Joker smirked. "Toys, huh? You couldn't be more right." Araignee was confused, but pulled the trigger. She was shocked when all that happened was that a few loud bang sounds went off without any bullets.

Joker took advantage of the confusion to leap forward and grab the gun, blasting Araignee through the liver. "This gun is actually a model," Joker explained, "But I'm a Stand user, so I can channel my Stand's power into the gun and fire off bullets made from pure shadow. You picked the wrong fight here, kid. Only one member of our party is playing at the kid's table, and he has enough natural skills to make up for it. You just don't come close. By now your fellow assassins are dead as well. You can all have a fun little reunion in Hell." He finished off Araignee with a final shot between the eyes.

Violet came over. "Poor kid wasn't much older than us. It's a shame she had to get roped into this job." Just then an explosion went off further into the chateau. "What was that?," Joker asked, "Did a bomb go off?" 'I'm still picking up Lupin's phone,' Alibaba chimed in, 'Albert's too. So we can safely assume they're both still alive.' "That's good," Joker replied, "That means we just have one final operation. By now Albert will have found the calling card we slipped into his jacket, so we just have to finish our heist."


Sure enough, Albert had spotted the calling card in his jacket as he and Lupin left the chateau. "Albert d'Andresy, we are the Phantom Thieves Joker and Violet. This evening we will steal Cornelius' Ring and the Ritual Book from your possession." And sure enough, those two pieces of the Joestar Collection were gone from his trunk. "So much for using them to further my goals." He sighed. Lupin had managed to pull a fast one on him as well and make off with the black book. "The younger generation, huh? Yeah, it seems this game is well-suited to them. Then again, I walked away from it long ago..."


"Just twenty-three pieces left," Joker noted, "We're almost there." He and Violet were driving off into the Paris sunset. "So what now?," Violet asked. Joker smiled. "Well Paris is the city of lovers. We could spend some time getting to know each other behind the masks." Violet blushed and smiled. "Yeah... I'd like that." She tightened her grip around Joker's waist, and he smiled warmly at it. 'We are both the twilight and the dawn. Light and dark, two sides of the same coin that rely on each other. If I was going to fall in love with anyone... Sumire is definitely my first choice...'

Next time, the actions of the Inaba copycat hit close to home for Yu when a cavern is found right under Dojima's house. His cousin Nanako is at risk, and he may just have to rely on Joker and Violet to find the culprit and stop him. But Nanako may not be the only victim this time. Read and review.