AN: Welcome back everyone!

First of all, thank you for the responses on the last chapter and such! They really helped me out.

In fact, I went ahead and rewrote this chapter because of some of the reviews because they got me thinking about how to effectively utilize enemy Stand Users and some fights. So thanks for that :D.

As for some of the questions in the reviews, rest assured, the others will have their chance to face off against enemy Stand Users of their own or enact plans while Cyrus is otherwise occupied. In fact, in the Hellrider battle, you may recall that Thalia served as support by hitting the car with lightning bolts which allowed Cyrus to discern the Stand's weakness.

But you are correct, at least for the first two Stand battles, the others will stay back a bit because they're extremely new to the whole concept of Stands and how to combat them while Cyrus is much more well-versed in Stand combat.

As for the Holy Corpse parts, those will not be appearing, as the Holy Corpse only exists in one specific universe, that being the one where the Saint made his way to America. However, I do have a few ideas on how to further incorporate Stand granting and such. As for the possibility of Stand User allies...well yes, at least partially. You'll see :).

Right, enough talk.

Let's begin!

Disclaimer: I, Beowulf, do not own PJO or JJBA. I only own this plot, my OC, and the disappointing truth that I do not possess D4C. If I did, I'd be jumping around universes like a bunny on crack.

~Chapter 10~

"I'm going to rip that damn pelt off of it." Cyrus grinned wildly as he spun the Last Word in his hand before reentering the fight.

Currently, Percy and Thalia were locked in combat with the Lion, knocking aside its strikes with their weapons and trying to get some hits in, only for their weapons to just bounce off of the creature's impenetrable hide.

"Hey, you furry moron!" Apparently that had offended it, because the beast turned towards the insult Cyrus had thrown at it.

Crunch!

A punch supercharged by D4C's strength smashed into the Lion's jaw, throwing it across the room as it roared in pain. The two demigod children of the Big Three sighed in thanks as they regrouped to the Stand User's side.

"What is that thing?" Percy asked as he leaned a little on his sword from exhaustion.

Cyrus didn't take his eyes off their foe as he replied, "It's the Nemean Lion. Context clues Sharkbait, come on." He mocked lightheartedly as the boy scowled a little.

The lion was getting to its feet once more as it roared in annoyance. Arrows rained down on it from above as Zoe and Phoebe took aim with their bows. While none were able to pierce the feline beast's hide, it kept it occupied.

"So how do we kill it?" Percy asked as he crouched next to Thalia and Cyrus behind cover.

"The muttonhead Hercules choked it to death I think. Either that or he wrestled it to death. Or both." Cyrus rattled off, before he smirked at Thalia. "Wanna give it a try?" He said as he gestured towards the beast.

Thalia scowled at him, "I'm good. How about you Kelphead?"

"I'll pass," Percy replied as he eyed one of the food stands nearby. The gears in his head began to turn as a plan took shape. "Cover me, I have an idea!"

Cyrus watched him run off with a chuckle before turning to the big cat. He cracked his neck, "Well, considering I'm the only one who can tangle outright with it, let's do this!"

He tried standing up, only to be pulled right back down by Thalia. "What are you doing?!" She hissed out.

"Isn't it obvious Thals? I'm going to go fight the Nemean Lion." Cyrus grinned down at her as he got up and ran forward, only to be pulled back a bit by an also standing daughter of the Sky.

"Are you insane? It'll kill you!"

"Not permanently!"

"The Hades does that even mean?!" She screamed at him.

"I-" Cyrus's eyes widened and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Down!"

They dropped to the ground as the lion leapt right over them, pouncing right above their heads as it landed just a few feet away. It snarled before roaring in annoyance at another barrage of arrows.

Thalia blushed faintly as she felt herself on top of her fellow raven-haired teen, before she pushed herself off of him and back onto her feet.

"Thanks," She murmured out as she pulled him to his feet.

The boy simply grinned as he cracked his neck, pulling out the Last Word as he continued to fire off bullets to keep the beast at bay. "No problem Thals! I wonder, was that as good for you as it was for me?" He teased lightly, seeing a light dusting of red on her cheeks even as the beast bounded towards them, slashing and swiping with its claws and jaws.

"You perv!" She glared at him even as he smirked at her.

He simply laughed as he gave her a wink that made her blush even more, before pulling the lapels of his coat over him and disappearing. She huffed a little as she dodged the beast's claw swipes, before brandishing her shield in front of the Lion to make it cower for a moment. "I really hate it when he does that..."

"Are you sure about that?" Grover asked as he continued to throw various items and tin cans at the Nemean. His only response was a death glare and a huff.

Cyrus reappeared on the catwalk next to the hunters, making them jump a bit. "How are we doing on arrows?"

Zoe scowled as she continued to fire off arrows alongside Phoebe. "I am almost out, as is Phoebe. We have more stored away, but I would rather not lose a whole quiver of mine to a pathetic feline!" She snarled out at the end.

"Then we need another distraction until Jackson can get back with his plan..." Cyrus mused, before his face morphed into a mad grin. He ran towards the guardrail of the catwalk before jumping off.

Zoe and Phoebe's eyes widened.

"WHOOHOOO!" Cyrus whooped as he fell, smashing into the beast's back and standing on it. Thalia's jaw dropped and Grover dropped the next random item he was going to chuck at the mighty king of the jungle.

The beast was none too happy about its impromptu passenger, roaring and bucking like a wild bronco. Cyrus simply laughed madly as he dropped down on it like one would sit on a horse, grabbing fistfuls of its golden fur.

"Giddy up you mangy cat!" Cyrus jeered mockingly as he summoned D4C's arms, using them to pummel the Nemean Lion in the head.

Whack! Crunch! Smash!

The creature roared and snarled as light blue and pink fists crashed into the back of its head, rearing up and trying to fall on its back to crush Cyrus.

"Oh no you don't! D4C!" As the beast fell onto its back, Cyrus disappeared, reemerging right next to it and hitting with a backhand strike across its jaw.

Cyrus scowled as the beast turned back to him with hatred flickering in its eyes, performing a flurry of claw strikes and swipes. "Come on Jackson, where the hell are you?!" He thought as he dodged as swipes as he could while deflecting the rest with the arms of his D4C.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Percy running out from behind the snack bar. "Lure it over here! Make it open its mouth!" The boy shouted.

Cyrus's eyes widened in understanding as he nodded. The beast snarled in his face, swiping with its claws. Ducking under the swipe and sliding under the lion itself, Cyrus triggered D4C as he emerged from the lion's back, once again riding it like one would a horse.

Giving the fur multiple hard tugs and ignoring the loud snarls from the Lion, he slowly but surely steered it towards the snack bar, giving it 'encouragement' with smashes to the head with D4C's fist.

As he finally got it in front of Percy, Cyrus's orbs made contact with sea-green, and he nodded. Percy raised his secret weapon before saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"Your mother was a fur coat!"

Cyrus facepalmed.

That was the best he could come up with?

The Stand User gave the Lion another strike to the back of its head. "Come on you mangy sack of shit! Roar!"

"King of the jungle? You're about as intimidating as a little kitty cat!"

"What he said! Roar for me kitty cat!"

The Lion apparently had more intelligence than either had given them credit for, as it refused to roar for them. As it continually refused, Cyrus's impatience reached a boiling point.

With a snarl of anger, Cyrus summoned D4C's arm once again. Shaping the hand into a knifehand, he roared his own battle cry as he drove the fingertips of the Stand's hand into the eye of the Lion.

He also absently noted in his head that he was literally gouging out the "Eye of the Tiger".

As expected, the Lion's remaining eye widened as it gave a roar of pain loud enough to shake the building.

"NOW!"

Percy reared his hand back and threw his secret weapon right down the beast's gullet. A freeze-dried sandwich lodged itself in the Lion's throat, making its remaining eye bulge as it hacked and coughed.

Seizing the opportunity, Cyrus flipped himself off of the Nemean Lion's back to land in front of the choking beast. With a savage grin on his face, he clenched a fist as he let D4C manifest fully. "There you are!"

Squelch!

The Stand's light-blue hand was in the same shape as when it had destroyed the Lion's eye, and was now clean through the Lion's head through the roof of its mouth. Pinkish residue coated the Stand's fingers as it impaled the beast clean through the skull. Quickly withdrawing the arm from the Lion's skull, the beast collapsed onto the ground at Cyrus's feet.

A collective sigh escaped the group's lips as the big cat's corpse dissolved into golden dust, leaving behind a pelt of Lion's fur and two claws. Cyrus tilted his head at that, picking up the lion's pelt and watching with fascination as it changed shape.

Now it was more akin to a cloak/blanket made out of the beast's fur, with two tooth-like hooks on the shorter side of it. It was about as wide and long as a flag, and was still shining the same molten gold coloration that the beast had sported. (1)

Cyrus gave a low whistle, already thinking of ways he could use this thing with his powers. "Don't mind if I do." He grinned, before he picked up the two claws.

The claws slowly shrank, becoming two silvery bracers engraved with images of big cats. He tossed them to Percy, who caught them and looked at him in confusion. "Here you are Sharkbait, your spoils of war."

"Wait but you killed it!" Percy cried out in protest, trying to give them back. "I just threw a bit of bad food at it."

"True, but it takes quick thinking to come up with a plan like that and even more courage to put it into action. You've earned it Sharkbait." Cyrus argued, leaving Percy to struggle between taking the compliment or grumbling at the new nickname he'd managed to acquire. The boy put on the bracers, smiling a little as they transformed into small wristbands.

Cyrus threw his new spoil of war over his coat, attaching the hooks right near his collar. He grinned a little as he gave a little whirl. "How do I look?"

Thalia smirked a little as she looked at him. "Weird, but it kinda fits. You look like a magician."

The Stand User chuckled as he gave an exaggerated bow, before looking over to see the remainder of their group walking over.

Looking over at the security guards, he raised an eyebrow as he saw many of them repeatedly walking and smacking face-first into walls. He glanced at Grover, who held his reed pipes up. "I'm guessing that's your doing?"

The satyr nodded, "Give it fifteen minutes, it'll wear off." Stifling a chuckle, Cyrus nodded. That should be long enough for them to escape.

He looked over at Zoe and Phoebe, who appeared to have refilled their quivers with arrows from their backpacks, and nodded. "Right then, are we ready to leave good ol' D.C.?"

Getting a bunch of nods, he smiled and turned around to lead them back to the car...only to stiffen as a video seemed to emerge out of a rainbow in front of him. And within that video were two men chattering in Italian.

"Oh fuck me sideways why of all times do they IM me now?!"

"(E-erm bro, are we doing this right? I really don't want the) Boss (to get mad at us...)" A man who seemed to resemble a cauliflower was talking nervously. He had no chin to speak of, along with cauliflower ears and a shock of green-dyed hair.

"Pesci (quit being so much of a worrying mammoni! The) Boss (won't get pissed over us just updating him of some things!)" The other man was tall and slim, with combed blond hair and a stern expression on his face.

"(I'm not mad about that...though your timing leaves much to be desired)." Cyrus spoke, his tone cold and businesslike. The two in the Iris Message stiffened, one more so than the other, before looking at Cyrus.

"(Call me back later) Prosciutto, (I'm on a bit of a time crunch)." The young Stand User bit out before slashing through the rainbow with his fingers, disconnecting the call.

"Cy...who were those guys?" Thalia's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I'll tell you later." Cyrus replied coolly, trying to diffuse the situation and move on so that she wouldn't press the subject further.

Thalia's eyes sparked a little, but she relented. If anything she could just corner him in the car hopefully.

As they made their way back to where they had parked, that plan went up in flames.

Literally.

The car was in flames, as if a bomb had detonated right in the driver's seat. Cyrus's jaw dropped as he felt his mood dampen further. "My beautiful new...Who the hell..?!...oh that motherFUCKER!"

He turned to see the Stand User from earlier leaning on a nearby light post, smirking at him with a expression that screamed 'I'm an insane murderer.'

"Would it kill you to just piss off?" Cyrus snarled out, subconsciously putting himself between his friends and Ernesto.

"I do not go back on my word Khan. You of all people can understand that much."

Cyrus scowled, shouting over his shoulder. "Run! I'll catch up with you guys!"

"The hell we will!" Thalia snarled, not willing to be parted with her best friend after what had happened seven years ago, along with the experience with Hellrider.

"I agree Khan," The Spanish Stand User smirked as he looked at the six in front of him. "Besides, from what I understand, un público is where you do your best work!"

The gray and gold-clad teen grimaced, before looking back at his group with a dead stare. "Look at me. No matter what, do not interfere."

"We don't have time for this! We need to get Lady Artemis to the Solstice meeting!" Phoebe protested, only to get a death glare from Cyrus.

"Do. Not. Interfere."

Cyrus snarled as he summoned D4C, marching forward to face Ernesto. "Perhaps your memory is failing you. You and I remember exactly how our last encounter ended, Puente." The young Stand User spat out the name in disgust.

"This will not be a repeat." Ernesto replied, grinning madly as his own Stand appeared, its avian eyes burning with malice.

"Oyecomova (1) has grown since our last battle, and with God as my witness, I will use it to blast you into dust."

Thalia gritted her teeth. Cyrus was really starting to piss her off with his lack of answers regarding the seven years he was gone.

Like, who were those people that had somehow Iris Messaged him? What was with all the foreigner Stand Users after them now? Why was he speaking Italian with them? Who was this guy that Cyrus apparently had a bad history with?

She snarled as she just stood off to the side, unable to help him. She hated it so much. During the last battle Cyrus had gone through, he'd almost burned alive and she'd been powerless.

Percy would have been all in favor of just ru- um, making a tactical retreat if it weren't for the fact that Cyrus would have been left behind, dealing with the creepy guy from the museum earlier with what looked like explosion powers.

He gritted his teeth as he stood with Grover. He felt so useless.

He was really hoping that they'd be able to get out of this one alive, because it would really suck if he ended up dying next to a goat boy. No offense to Grover.

Cyrus stalked forward slowly as Ernesto did the same, the two approaching each other with tension that could be cut with a knife. They circled each other like two animals waiting for the right moment to strike.

His face giving away nothing, D4C materialized in an instant, rushing forward with a flurry of punches.

Ernesto grinned madly as his own Stand leapt from where it had draped itself over his shoulders. "Ah, so you wish to see which is stronger? Very well!"

Oyecomova's fists crashed against D4C's in a brutal clash of fisticuffs.

Crunch! Bash! Slash! The two Stands dipped and dodged as they weaved in attacks, D4C striking with its fists while Oyecomova struck back with slashes with its talons and sucker punches.

Finally, one punch got through. D4C's fist ripped forward through the air, smashing into Oyecomova's own hand and shattering it.

"Nrgh!" Ernesto gritted his teeth as the injury mirrored itself onto his own body, his hand being broken and bleeding beyond repair.

Giving an avian shriek of anger, the Spanish Stand rushed forward, slashing across D4C's eye with its other hand's talons.

Cyrus growled in pain as he put a hand over his bleeding eye, stumbling back into the light post that Ernesto had been leaning on before he had approached them. "Bastard..."

Despite his bleeding face, the younger Stand User sneered, "Looks like even though you've 'grown', you're still no match for my D4C. I'm still faster and stronger! (2)"

Cradling his hand, the Spanish terrorist continued to grin despite his injury. "So it seems, but you haven't noticed yet."

"Noticed?" Cyrus questioned before he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He turned slightly, seeing four clocks affixed to the side of the light post. His eyes widened.

"Shit!" He jumped away from the light post just as a loud series of pings echoed out. The clocks ejected off of some kind of pin and everyone's eyes bulged.

A massive explosion rocked the ground as the clocks detonated, making the quest members shield their faces from the heat.

Ernesto smirked as his Stand fixed itself to his back once again, walking with confidence towards the smoking crater in the parking lot. "I cannot fight you outright Cyrus Khan, but it appears mi poder can still blow you apart." He spoke calmly, his tone underlined by a tinge of insanity.

As the smoke cleared, Cyrus stepped out, gritting his teeth. Ernesto sneered again. "You understand now don't you, mi poder?"

Cyrus nodded, wiping the blood out of his eye as he kept his gaze on the enemy Stand User. "I remember now...your Stand...its power is to be able to stick those bomb pins of yours onto anything your Stand touches, isn't it?"

The group's eyes widened at the revelation, Percy's in particular. That explained what he was able to do to that Cyclops at the Natural History museum.

Cyrus took a step back, grimacing. "This is bad. If he can stick those things on me, I'll be in big trouble..." Ernesto tilted his head at him.

"Why do you try to flee? We can't have that!" He shouted as he kicked a pile of snow at him.

The wielder of D4C growled as the snow fell on him, only to stiffen as he heard another loud couple of pings.

The snow exploded in Cyrus's face, knocking him back as he coughed out blood. The boy went flying, crashing into another pile of snow near a wall.

Thalia gasped and tried to rush towards him, only to be pulled back again by Percy. She gave her cousin a death glare as he shook his head. "We can't risk it. That power that this guy has is nuts, and we don't have anything to help him with. Stay back."

Cyrus grimaced as he slowly got to his feet, mentally taking stock of his wounds. He had...four broken ribs, probably both of his clavicles shattered, and his face was bleeding near his eye, which meant he'd be blinking blood out of his eyes a lot. His shoulder was dislocated from the blast and he coughed thickly, seeing blood spew out onto the white snow. "Oh good, one of those ribs punctured my lung..."

He held his side as he glared at the Spanish Stand User, gritting his teeth. "This isn't like with Acciaio where he was an amateur, this is a fight to the death. And that...isn't an option for me!"

Snarling to himself, Cyrus slammed his shoulder into the wall next to him, relocating his shoulder forcibly. He wouldn't have full strength in it, but he'd be able to fight with two hands at least.

"I'll admit Ernesto, you've grown as a Stand User. Your power is dangerous..." Cyrus declared, giving credit where it was due. "However, you have no clue what my power is...and I will use that!" Cyrus dove into the snow pile he was standing up from, disappearing instantly.

The user of Oyecomova snarled as his target escaped, rushing over to the snow pile to see what had happened. His eyes widened as an arm shot out from the pile of snow, grabbing him by the throat.

"You fell for it!" Cyrus snarled out as he emerged. Much to everyone's surprise, he was completely healed, with no indication that he'd been blown up at all. His green-fuchsia eyes burned with anger as he reared back a fist and struck. Hard.

Ernesto went flying, crashing into the curb and spitting up blood from the impact to his stomach.

"Y-you got him!" Grover cheered from the sidelines, but Cyrus didn't drop his guard. His eyes were fixed on Ernesto, who was getting to his feet.

The Spanish terrorist cackled madly even as he stood. "You got me good there...perhaps I have underestimated you. But now I hold the upper hand!" He finished with a grin as he held up a set of reed pipes.

"Wait wh- those are my pipes!" Grover cried out, realizing that they were missing. The Spanish Stand User chuckled with cold insanity.

"I managed to snatch them up while you and the others were dealing with el gato largo that el General managed to send against you all. Judging by your faces, you niños need this." He smirked even as blood dripped from his lips.

Cyrus scowled as he glanced at Grover's distraught face. Not only were those pipes a must for Grover, but they were one of the few ways they had to track Artemis down. Letting them go wasn't an option.

Ernesto grinned cruelly at the group before turning on his heels and running away from them. Cyrus cursed as he followed, "Come on! We can't let him escape!"

Grover was the first to follow, desperate to recover his pipes while the rest followed with the same sense of urgency.

"Spill it Cy, who the hell is this nutjob?" Thalia asked as she ran alongside Cyrus, who keeping his eyes on their enemy.

The boy grimaced, "Ernesto Puente. Former demolitions expert in the Spanish Military before he decided to turn terrorist and tried to blow up his country's legislature building. Managed to develop a Stand and escape his imprisonment. He turned assassin-for-hire after that."

Phoebe narrowed her eyes as she caught up to the daughter of Zeus and the boy. "How do you know all this stuff?"

"Because I fought him once over a year ago." Cyrus bit back, not wanting to give out more information on the topic. He's facial expression soured further as he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "We need to be careful...those bombs of his are no joke. If he touches us, he can put those bombs on us too...we can't get too close."

The young Stand User murmured to himself as he began to slow down. Zoe frowned at his slowing pace.

"Why art thou slowing down?! Pursue this male!" She argued, her frown deepening as she noticed Cyrus shaking his head in disagreement.

"He's slowed down to a walk, so we don't need to go running after him." Percy frowned at that, tilting his head in confusion.

"If he's slowed down, why not just jump on him? He can't stand a chance against all of us." The boy asked bluntly, only to receive a look of incredulity from Cyrus .

Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just said we can't get too close because he could put his bombs on us. No, we have to either go for long range, or surprise him by getting in close very quickly." He narrowed his eyes at his enemy for a moment, noticing that Ernesto was taunting them, looking back over his shoulder and grinning.

"Besides, do you know what it means when someone you're chasing is walking normally?" Noticing everyone shaking their heads no, he tensed up a little. "It means that there's a reason they don't have to run."

Thalia scowled a little, her eyes sparking. "What if I just hit him with a lightning bolt?"

Grover's eyes went wide in alarm as Cyrus quickly rejected that idea. "No, we can't do that either. Your lightning strike would probably destroy Grover's reed pipes along with it, and that wouldn't be ideal."

Cursing to himself, Cyrus summoned the Last Word to his hand and took aim. "We'll have to go for long range. Zoe, Phoebe, get your bows out. We'll-" His eyes bulged in shock.

Ping ping ping!

Boom!

"Gragh!" Cyrus snarled as his foot was suddenly engulfed in a small explosion. He gritted his teeth in pain as blood spewed from the holes in his foot and leg.

Everyone gaped in shock. "Wh-how? He's so far away from us!"

"I don't..." Percy stopped himself for a moment, realizing with a start that they were running in half a foot of snow. He looked down slowly, his blood going cold.

"Move!" He shouted as he grabbed Grover, yanking him along. The rest looked down like he did, before following in his footsteps. Zoe and Phoebe scrambled for it while Thalia pulled Cyrus out of the way.

They took cover next to a wall with a water fountain sitting nearby.

About fifteen more pings went off before another massive explosion shook the ground and the wall they were near.

D4C's user snarled as blood spurted from his damaged leg. Of course. The bastard had put bombs in the snow as he'd walked, leaving traps for them when they chased!

"Shit! Hang on Cy." Thalia cursed as she tried to pull a canteen of nectar out to pour on his wounds.

"No, save it for now. I'll be fine." Cyrus replied, grimacing a little. He glanced at Zoe and Phoebe, quietly approving as they did as he asked. Already, they were firing off arrows on Ernesto.

The only issue was that Ernesto had summoned Oyecomova to deflect them, the birdlike Stand's talon-tipped hands knocking the arrows aside.

Ernesto picked one up, and smirked, before handing it to his Stand. The avian figure took it in hand, before launching it. The Hunters snarled, as they took cover, hearing the loud ping of the Stand's bomb pins before another explosion shook the wall they had hid behind.

"Face it niños! You cannot win! Come out, and I shall use my bombs to grant you all a swift death!" Ernesto called to them, his insanity-tinged voice mocking them.

Thalia growled, thunder rumbling in the distance while Grover and Percy looked worried.

Percy grimaced as he racked his brain. "There has to be something we can do!" As his thoughts raced, his eyes fell on the water fountain nearby.

Another idea began to take shape in the son of Poseidon's mind. He concentrated for a moment, focusing as he felt a pull in his gut.

Ernesto frowned a little as a massive spray of water erupted from behind the wall that his target had managed to throw himself and his friends behind. Oyecomova was a very effective Stand in most cases, but the issue was its close range.

He had to touch something to implant bombs into it and unfortunately it seemed that Cyrus had managed to grasp that, refusing to engage in direct combat again. The Spaniard smirked a little.

However, he'd managed to land a crippling blow with the little minefield he'd concocted with the snow. And he was so glad that the hunters had managed to give him so much more ammunition for long range attacks!

He'd been careful to focus on Cyrus. With his Last Word and his unpredictability, he was currently the biggest threat. Oyecomova's speed was definitely not as fast as D4C and it certainly would not be able to deal with bullets from the Last Word. (3)

Ernesto grinned. Victory was in sight, one more shot at him, and Cyrus would be nothing but a bloody stain in the snow.

The water that was spraying suddenly twisted in the air, splashing him in the face as he snarled at the cold water seemed to harden and pelt him with drops that felt more like airsoft bullets in the winter air.

"What? Why is the water spraying towards me?" His eyes widened as he noticed a light blue fist erupting from the water flying towards him.

Smash!

The fist of D4C collided with brutal force, nailing the Spaniard in the chest. "Huragh!" Ernesto skidded back, spitting out a glob of blood as he looked up from where he'd been sent flying.

His target's friends were clambering out from behind the wall, their jaws dropping.

Cyrus was standing tall again, completely healed and emerging from the spout of water. His foot and leg didn't even have a spot of blood or anything on them.

Ernesto swore to himself as he held his side. He grimaced as he felt several broken ribs from that strike, "How?! I blew apart this idiota's lower leg! How is he completely fine? How did he get so close?"

-Flashback-

Percy gave a grunt as he focused on the water inside the drinking fountain. Thalia took notice, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Percy...what are you doing?" The drinking fountain rumbled a little, before Cyrus's eyes widened a little in understanding.

The fountain exploded, water spewing up and out as the spout that one would drink from blasted off. Everyone flinched at that, with Zoe glaring at the son of Poseidon.

"Boy, thou art giving away our-" "Shush!" Cyrus cut her off, making her turn her glare to him.

Concentrating heavily, Percy took control of the water that was now spraying out of the fountain, focusing on twisting the spout. Grover, ever the best friend, caught onto what he was doing, and gave a grin.

The son of Poseidon used his hydrokinesis, twisting the spray of water over the wall at their enemy. "Good thinking Sharkbait!" Cyrus said with a grin as he moved his hand in between the spout of water and the wall.

Cyrus grinned as he felt D4C's power embrace him, allowing him to warp into the water he was using as a portal of sorts (4). The others watched in surprise as his body appeared to be sucked into the spray of water, leaving nothing behind.

Thalia got over her shock quickly, opting to look over the wall instead. The others followed her lead, with their eyes widening at the sight of Cyrus being restored to full health once again.

"How the hell is he doing that?" Phoebe asked outright.

Cyrus grinned as he stared at the downed Spaniard, who was now spitting up blood from the blow to his chest. By his calculation, that should have shattered at least three ribs.

He stalked over slowly, grabbing Ernesto by the throat and readying a Stand enhanced punch to crush the bastard's skull.

So he was baffled to see Ernesto look at him with a grin as he spat out another glob of blood. "Why the hell are you smiling asshole?"

A crazed giggle escaped the terrorist's lips, as Cyrus let go of the man in surprise. "You fell for it! You forget about my Stand's poder once again! I have made an ally of God himself!" The Stand User crowed as he pointed at Cyrus's hand that he had grabbed with.

Cyrus looked down and paled.

On the back of his hand, were about five of Oyecomova's bomb pins, tipped with with clocks. He cursed, as he put his hand over it. "Fuck me are you serious?!"

Ernesto cackled as he trudged forward. "I must admit, you surprised me with your little truco there. I forgot about that strange ability of your D4C and I do not know how you somehow managed to heal yourself...but it's all over now! When you grabbed me by the throat, I managed to have Oyecomova slip some bombs onto your hand! With those on your hand, you need to focus on not blowing up instead of fighting me directly!"

The wielder of D4C cursed again as he held his fingers over the clocks on his hand, his thoughts speeding like an out-of-control bullet train. "After all I was saying about not getting in close like that, I fucked up!"

Oyecomova manifested on top of Ernesto as he tossed the reed pipes to Grover, making the group flinch as they expected to hear a loud ping. Surprisingly, there wasn't and Grover quickly took them off the ground.

Their hopes however dampened with the Spaniard's next words.

"Take your pipes, I have no use for them now. Mi objetivo is all but finished. Victoria is mine!" The Stand User cackled madly.

AN: Phew, and done for now.

Hopefully I did a decent job with Oyecomova's powers and how the gang tried to tackle it so far. I originally had this fight much shorter, but looking through the reviews and my own look back into the source material had me rethinking that.

So, Cyrus is in a bit of a bind huh? And he seems to be getting sloppier with hiding the full extent of his powers haha.

So many questions too...What were Prosciutto and Pesci doing? How did they manage to Iris Message Cyrus? Our gang must be getting so very tired of secrets now.

Notes:

(1) So as some people in the reviews guessed, the Stand is indeed Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure, however I've changed the name to Oyecomova because that was technically the original namesake of the Stand and since the user isn't Italian I made him into Ernesto Puente, who is a play on Ernest "Tito" Puente who sang "Oye Como Va"

(2) D4C's strength and power is absurd, and while we never see Boku no Rhythm's actual combat abilities in terms of dueling outright, it can be inferred that it packs a punch, but it's pretty slow and not as physically strong, based off of its Stats which are lower than D4C's in terms of Strength and Speed

(3) This is similar to how Oyecomova disabled Gyro by putting bombs on his hands in order to make sure he couldn't use his Steel Balls to fight him. Ernesto knew that Cyrus had him beat in range and speed with his proficiency with the Last Word, so the logical conclusion? Take him out of commission first.

(4) As we know, D4C's power of warping can be triggered from any object or surface, including water, steam, or dust, and that in using D4C's 'portals' Valentine could actually hover and hide within said portals, such as when he did so during the fight with Diego and Wekapipo by hiding inside the American Flag. This means that D4C could use water as a medium for a portal.

Right, that concludes our notes!

Bit of a longer chapter but hopefully one that contains some solid substance for you guys!

Remember to leave solid reviews if you would be so kind. The criticism and feedback sustain my mind.

Cheers!

Beowulf