AN: Welcome back everyone!
I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter!
To answer some of the things in the reviews:
D4C is partially sentient, much like Star Platinum or Weather Report where it displays self-preservation instincts towards its User. It effectively acts subconsciously for Cyrus, defending when he's unaware, while also submitting to his commands. As for the Pillar Men, they will not be appearing, though I'm sure you will soon see by the end of this fic, which JoJo antagonist will be showing himself to challenge Cyrus.
As for the Spear of Longinus suggested in the reviews...ooh my friend all I can say is, read on. I have big plans for the Arma Christi.
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 26~
It had been going so well. The group were enjoying their well deserved break from being hunted by various monsters and enemy Stand Users as well as enjoying some dam food (four of them were still snickering a little at that joke). By now, the nervousness between Risotto and Anette and the rest of the demigod group had crumbled, with the two sides conversing like the best of friends.
Currently Grover was munching on what seemed like his fifth enchilada from the Cafe, listening with amused attention alongside Thalia while Anette told them all stories from Italy and Cyrus's time there.
Much to Cyrus's and Risotto's chagrin as they actively tried to keep from meeting everyone else's eyes. Meanwhile, Percy had taken upon himself to explore the dam and go over to the dam's gift shop along with Rina.
"Probably because Rina wanted to see the pretty things in the shop and because he wanted to get Annie a gift to make her less mad at him." Cyrus noted absently in his mind as he struggled with the embarrassment from Anette's stories from Italy.
"You're kidding! So you're telling me, that a group of assassin Stand Users, had trouble figuring out the enemy, so you literally beat up a random person?" Thalia laughed as she glanced over at Cyrus, who's ears reddened as he quietly sipped on his cola. Grover swallowed down the last bite of his enchilada before howling in laughter alongside the daughter of Zeus. Phoebe and Zoe were holding back their amusement, albeit poorly as their eyes reflected a hint of mirth at the story.
Anette smirked as she shot a glance at Risotto, who ducked his head in embarrassment. "Oh definitely. Everyone was on high alert after we got back onto mainland Italy, so we decided to grab a bite at a cafe to cool our nerves. Some poor guy apparently got some wine spilled on him from Ghiaccio's glass and got really pissed about it."
"Understandably angry, he tried grabbing at Ghiaccio and yelling at him about how he'd ruined his four million lire suit or whatever..." Cyrus groaned quietly in embarrassment while Risotto just set down his second drink, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
In their defense...they were on edge. Anette shot them a grin as she continued. "So obviously, Ghiaccio smashed his wine glass into his face and said 'Hey guys! An enemy!'"
Slap! Immediately Cyrus and Risotto facepalmed in sync.
"And of course, with everyone on edge well..." Anette was stifling laughter as she tried to get through the story, "Formaggio and Illuso jumped right on the train and started kicking the crap out of this poor guy right along with Ghiaccio!"
Thalia and Grover burst out laughing while Phoebe tried desperately to keep from cracking up. Zoe was much better than her fellow hunter with her composure, but even she was struggling to keep a smile off her face. Anette of course was smiling along with the rest as she tried to continue the story through laughter. "A-and when Proscuitto noticed that they were kicking the crap out of this guy, he just took a sip of his wine and..." By now she was just struggling to keep going on with the laughter and aching cheeks. "H-he started kicking the shit out of him too!"
"Prosciutto, why the hell did you even join in? You definitely knew that guy was a civilian, man, come on!" Cyrus thought to himself as he shook his head. In retrospect it was kinda funny, yes...but what the actual fuck.
"Finally after like fifty kicks, Prosciutto finally says something like 'Hey guys wait a second, I don't think this guy's an enemy. He's completely out cold. He's probably some random civilian...'" Anette hit the table as she laughed some more alongside the rest of those listening to the story. "As if it wasn't clear from the poor guy who got the crap kicked out of him!" (1)
Cyrus shook his head some more as he finished his meal, wiping his face and tossing the napkin away. He leaned back in his chair as Anette continued the story, the words themselves muting quietly as he focused more on his own thoughts than the story. "Well...small mercies at least. Anette doesn't know about the time Formaggio tried to trick me into drinking his piss when I was first introduced to la Squadra..." He thought quietly as he wrinkled his nose. "Still feel kinda bad for that poor guy that was a few tables from ours...I'm sure he was looking forward to his soup until that moment..." (2)
He smiled softly as he watched his friends laughing together, friends from both sides of his life. The demigods and Passione, all coming together. It was a nice feeling, the fact that they were so amicable with each other, even laughing like this.
Even if it was at their expenses.
But apparently it wouldn't last very long. Cyrus's hand suddenly moved up to his chest as a pain twinged near his heart, making him grimace a little. "Wonderful." If there had been anything he'd learned, it was that whenever that phantom sting showed up, trouble wasn't far behind.
His eyes scanned the area, and he cursed in annoyance when he spotted it. "Shit!"
"Huh?" Thalia and the rest turned at the sound of his voice, and noticing the glare, followed his gaze. Her eyes widened a fraction.
Entering the cafeteria were the group of skeletal warriors that the General had summoned to attack them after their battles in D.C. Phoebe's eyes narrowed along with Zoe's and Thalia's while Risotto and Anette looked on in confusion. "How did they find us?"
Cyrus shook his head before he stiffened, noticing a scrap of fabric clutched in one of the skeleton's hands. One that matched the shirt he'd been wearing before it had been shredded by his and Percy's fight against Catch the Rainbow. He cursed. "You're shitting me...it's me. They're tracking me."
"How? You're usually a slippery operator Cyrus." Risotto asked, eyeing the skeletons with a ruby stare.
"I don't know how exactly, but I guess when I caused that explosion back at the train station, one of those things must have ripped off a piece of my shirt. They can't be going off of scent, considering I'm wearing a different shirt...so they're tracking my energy. You guys have to get out. Now!"
Thalia growled as her eyes sparked. "What part of 'not leaving you behind again' did you not get Bamf Boy? We can stay and fight them!"
Cyrus shook his head as he glanced at the mortals milling around. "These warriors have rifles and we're in the middle of a group of mortals. The Mist won't do us any favors if we actually start a fight here...we have to split up, but we have to grab Percy and Rina first."
Just then, a blur of movement rushed across the cafeteria towards them. As it stopped, it showed itself as Rina with a worried expression on her face. She hugged Cyrus before looking up at him. "Mr. Cyrus! You have to help, they were chasing him!"
Concerned and looking down at her, he hugged back gently. "Shh, slow down Rina, who was chasing who?"
She sniffled, before explaining what had happened. They had been browsing the gift shop with Percy buying a shirt with the money he had graciously procured from Cyrus (who had taken it off of Giuseppe), when suddenly Percy stiffened at seeing a few "creepy" skeleton warriors. "H-he told me to run and find you so you could warn everyone!" The poor girl looked up in worry. "He'll be okay right?"
The young Boss of Passione grimaced a little. So the Sharkbait had gotten a few of the Skellies on his tail too...he patted Rina's head and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Rina, he'll be fine after I go and find him. Stick with the others okay?"
She sniffled a bit more, but nodded. Cyrus got up slowly, putting on his coat and cloak before whispering to them all. "Here's the plan, you guys all make for the roof of the Dam while I distract them. Once I find Percy, I'll meet you all up there. Clear?"
Thalia did not like that. She frowned deeply as he was yet again throwing himself into the fray with no regard to his own safety. She glared at him, but he simply met it with his own stubborn gaze. The daughter of Zeus, knowing it would be pointless to argue further, simply grumbled. "I hate you..."
"No you don't." He smirked as he pecked her cheek, making her flush red and sputter a little. "Now, get ready to run." Risotto and Anette looked at him for a moment. Then at each other.
"This can't end well."
"Oi! Boneheads!" Cyrus shouted, immediately attracting the attention of the skeletons. Grinning widely, the teen raised his right hand, summoning the Last Word from the tattoo on his wrist.
Grover's jaw dropped while everyone else's eyes widened. "What in Hades are yo-!"
Ratatatatata!
The rattling of assault rifle fire rang out as the skeletons had wasted no time in pulling out their weapons and opening fire on Cyrus. Everyone, even the mortals, dropped to the ground as bullets flew through the air. Everyone except for Cyrus.
Every bullet hit their marks, perforating through the teen Stand User's torso and throat. He choked, blood flying from his lips and spewing from his bullet wounds.
"Cyrus!" Thalia watched in horror, until she noticed that even with his wounds, the teen was still smiling. He winked as he fell back, his hand pulling a chair with him.
With a clatter, the chair fell to the ground with him, covering his body as it vanished in a whirl of warp-like energy. The skeleton's tilted their heads in confusion for a moment.
"Dojyaan..." There was a quiet rumble as three voices spoke in unison.
Crunch! Crush! Shatter!
The sound of smashed bone came from behind as three blurs emerged in unison from the backs of the skeletons. A flash of baby blue showed as fists crashed into the skeleton warriors, sending a few of them flying through the air and into tables around the cafe. As expected, the mortals started panicking and screaming as they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, fleeing the cafeteria with great speed.
As for the group of demigods and Stand Users...
"...You've got to be kidding me." Grover watched with eyes wide open while Zoe and Thalia stared blankly. Risotto smirked faintly as he watched while Anette rolled her eyes. "Always the showoff."
Standing up were three Cyruses, all sporting the same wide grin as D4C loomed above all three, staring down the bone warriors. From the angle, it almost seemed like D4C was being shared by all three of the Stand User, or at the very least, it was impossible to tell which one the Stand was emanating from.
All three of the Cyruses laughed at the misfortune of the skeletons. "Which one's the real one?" They all spoke in unison, their voices filled with chaotic glee. "Huh?" "Huh?" "Huh?" They taunted, one speaking after the other, making everyone's heads hurt a little.
"Come find out! Chase!" "Chase!" "Chase!" "Catch the base me if you can!" D4C disappeared, followed by each of the three Cyruses splitting off in separate directions as they all cackled madly.
The group of seven watched in silence as they watched their leader(s?) lead the bone warriors on a merry chase as they all split up, chasing after all three.
"...So has he always been like that..?" Grover asked Risotto as he still struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Risotto gave him a stoic stare, though there was a twinkle of amusement in his eye.
"Oh, much worse. This was probably one of his more tame strategies." Thalia snapped out of her shock, gritting her teeth. He'd made her panic that he'd died again! Her fingers twitched in anger as Zoe sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I question the stability of his mind every day that he is our leader." She muttered, getting nods of approval from mostly everyone.
Phoebe snorted. "Stable? He outright let himself get shot and called that the 'distraction'!"
Anette laughed a little, before gesturing around at the empty cafe, considering that everyone else had fled with haste and with no casualties. "In his words, if it works, then it isn't stupid, now is it? Now come on, he mentioned getting to the roof right?" She asked as she started walking away with the group in tow.
Thalia growled a little to herself. "Oh no, he's definitely stupid...when I get my hands on that insufferable little..." She groused and started to walk away, before pausing for a moment and glancing back at her half-eaten burger. It had a little toothpick in it with a tiny note attached with little scribbles.
Picking it up and squinting, she was able to make out a few words in Ancient Greek. "Yes, I know you'll want to kill me. You look hot as hell when you're angry with me by the way. I'm looking forward to the pissed off kisses! Love you Thals!" Her face reddened a little as she took the toothpick out. "Frickin' perv..." She grumbled even as she took another bite out of the burger and followed her friends.
Cyrus grinned as a third of the bone soldiers who had assembled in the cafe chased after him as he used his Stand to overshadow his legs slightly, hopping off the walls and zipping down the halls even as he cackled madly. His tactic had worked, as he'd split up the skeletons into chasing him and two of his alternate selves, both of which had orders to immediately slip back to their dimensions or suicide themselves if they got the chance.
Thankfully, upon dying their souls would go back to their respective universes. That had been a lifesaver when Hades and Thanatos had been none too pleased with him. (3)
Back to the present however, the skeletons, if they had any emotion, were probably not having a good time, as they fired at him with their assault rifles and either missed outright or had their bullets blocked by D4C's fists appearing or Cyrus's Nemean cloak. "Aw what's wrong? Hit me, hit me, hit me! Seriously, your aim makes me feel terrible as a sharpshooter; it's like watching Stormtroopers, but worse!" He jeered as he blocked another shower of bullets with a flick of his cloak.
One of the warriors took exception to that, throwing down his rifle and pulling out a grenade. It pulled the pin and tossed it at Cyrus's feet. He grinned. "Stupid choice."
Cyrus didn't even bother dodging. The grenade exploded, sending shrapnel ripping through his body, filling it with stabbing pains. Yet even through the pain, Cyrus grinned inwardly as the skeletons had played right into his hand.
"D4C!" He commanded mentally as the Stand's power washed over his body. He could feel it. He was in between the shrapnel and particles generated by the detonation, and he smirked as he instantly warped away, swapping with a healthy version of himself (while quickly snatching the same assault rifle that the grenade tossing skeleton had thrown down from his alternate's dimension) and returning to this reality.
He emerged behind them all, grinning cockily as he held the rifle behind his back. "Hey!" He shouted, his foes whirling around in surprise. "You dropped this!~" With a wild smile, he threw the rifle at them, before tugging his coat around him to warp into a nearby vent on the ceiling. The skeletons chattered in panic as they retreated, having fallen for that trick once at the train station in D.C.
"Sayonara!~" He cried out a mocking farewell as the rifle met its counterpart, exploding with great force but unfortunately not taking out any of the bone warriors. As the skeletons regathered themselves, a hand slipped out of the ceiling vent, dropping a scrap of paper.
There was a pregnant pause of silence before one of the skeletons knelt down to pick up the paper.
On it was a chibi drawing of Cyrus and his Stand blowing raspberries at a pile of bones with a white flag waving atop said pile, and a little note that read "Bye bye Bonetroopers! Better luck next time!"
Another moment of silence ensued before the skeletons, if it were possible for them to snarl or scowl, did exactly that, gnashing their teeth in anger. They had a goal to kill this boy and the son of Poseidon, but if they got the chance, this annoying idiot would be the one to die first.
The Stand User grinned as he moved through the vents with ease, using D4C to manifest as another pair of arms and legs to kind-of-sort-of scuttle through like some strange form of spider. "Huh...not the best comparison but good enough." He mused internally as he always took the vent pathway to go up towards the roof.
Seeing a faint bit of light up ahead, he summoned one of D4C's arms, punching through the vent as he began to clamber out before pausing. "...Shit, this isn't the roof."
There was a feminine chuckle as a hand reached down to pull him out. "No, no it is not. Are you hurt at all?" He winced as he looked up at the bright lighting after having passed through the vents before taking the offered hand and pulling himself out.
"No, I believe I'm fine. A bit stiff, but that's to be expected when...when uh..." His eyes widened as he began to stutter on the word as he recognized the female that was standing in the elevator with him.
"Our conversation has been long overdue, Cyrus Khan," the woman started, "How are you?"
"I-I-I-I..." Warning sirens were blaring inside Cyrus's head as he began to sweat and back away a little, his caramel complexion paling more and more by the second. She appeared to be one of the Hoover Dam tour guides, but her face and eyes gave away exactly who she was, and who she was, was not someone that Cyrus had any intention of being in a one-on-one conversation with without any witnesses or backup.
Her grey iris eyes were tinged gold with ichor, with bags under them, and while usually appearing reasonable and impartial, she seemed at least partially on edge and certainly unhappy.
The Goddess of War gave him a sickly sweet smile. "Well? I'm waiting for you to answer my question, Khan."
"WHY DOES THIS SHIT HAPPEN TO ME?!" "Ah hello! Right, yes, sorry I-uh..." He struggled to put his mouth back under control of his brain as he used his Stand's extended senses to try and find a way out of this situation. There was none. "Shit!" "I'm doing good! Uh..wh-what brings you here?"
The usually calm and collected Athena gave him a smile that sent shivers down his spine. "Oh nothing too much...just the usual lack of answers and such regarding your little mystery," she stressed the word, making him wince a little, "as well as the fact that you seem to have been in contact with the...Romans?"
"DOUBLE SHIT!" Cyrus gulped audibly as he recomposed himself. "Well uh...as to the 'mystery'," he began, using air quotes, "I can see if I can uh...explain, some things, but perhaps it is best to...leave those till after the quest for Artemis, at the Winter Solstice, seeing as it's a very long story. One that Zeus, no doubt will want to hear?" He added quickly, seeing as there was a slight eye twitch from the Goddess at being denied the information she wanted.
Then again, it would make a good amount of sense for him to explain it all at the Winter Solstice to all the Olympians instead of just to her. Then it would sate her curiosity, and save her the trouble of reporting it all to her father...win win.
But that wouldn't stop her from asking about the other issue. The one in particular that she would not let slide. "Very well, but I suggest that you shall explain everything regarding your little enigmas, or I will rip them from you. But what about your...involvement with the Romans..?"
"Ah...that..." By now the elevator had begun moving and Cyrus was racking his brains on how to slip away from the increasingly displeased Goddess. "There is...a very reasonable and logical explanation for my involvement there."
The Goddess's ichor-shot eyes twitched a little and then narrowed. "I am waiting."
Cyrus grimaced before just steeling his nerves and just going with the brute force option. "I sought them out myself."
"And how did you find them? Interaction between camps is forbidden and neither can find the other's location." The Goddess asked, her voice now carrying an unpleasant edge that felt like walking the tightrope between two skyscrapers.
"I...was alerted to their existence by a benefactor, and decided to see it for myself." That was a half-lie. Cyrus had already theorized the existence of a Roman camp, with the research done regarding the Greco-Roman pantheon, but the Saint had confirmed it and disclosed its location for him to see.
In all honesty, he wasn't too big of a fan, even if he had made a few friends here and there.
It seemed that his response was not the best one, as Athena seemed to coil up like a snake threatening to strike, her grey eyes flashing dangerously. "And who was this benefactor?"
"I can't say, though I can at the Solstice."
"I see...the one who gave you your powers and brought you to this world, among other things?"
Cyrus bit his lip. "...Yes, but again, I cannot say."
"How unfortunate...regardless, I am not amused or pleased that you were able to find them and their camp." The Goddess of War's eyes flashed as her lips curved down into a deep scowl. "In any case, I will take your memories and knowledge of it all from your mind."
Here, Cyrus's previously confident but nervous demeanor turned icy as his eyes narrowed. There were many things he was willing to put up with, but erasing pieces of one's mind was an absolute no. With no mental command or prompting, D4C materialized in an instant above him, its fuchsia eyes glaring coldly down at Athena.
For a moment she faltered at the quick change in demeanor along with the appearance of the Stand, but in less than a millisecond she had regained her composure. She spared the Rabbit-like figure above him a glance. "I see...are you threatening me with your Stand? I must say, it is quite nice to finally see it up close and personal..."
"And I would advise that you do not attempt anything unless you wish it to be closer and even more personal." Cyrus spoke coldly as D4C clenched its fists a little.
The Goddess's eyes flashed again as they narrowed, and for a moment he could see whole armies being slaughtered by hailstorms of arrows, and enemies being cut down by spear and sword reflected in those eyes. "Do not threaten me, mortal one. You are powerful, and a Stand User, but it will not save you from my wrath. A mind is a terrible thing to lose...and I can make it happen for you. Do not test your luck with me."
Suddenly, a grin curled Cyrus's lips as a wicked gleam entered his multicolored eyes. "On the contrary, if you were to try, you would fail in erasing things from my mind..."
Now that, surprised her. "What?"
"I don't believe you have become properly acquainted with my Stand. This, is Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. And its power, allows me to slip from universe to universe with ease. It also allows me to swap myself out by transferring my Stand to alternate versions of myself." He grinned as he explained further.
"You see, when I transfer my Stand, I also transfer my memories and thought processes to the other version of myself. In this way, D4C is like a backup copy of aallll my memories. So do try to erase them, I can just swap and get them back..." He smirked.
Athena scowled at that. "Now for the trump card." "And besides...I don't think you'd want to hurt Annie, now would you?"
Her nostrils flared. "Jackpot."
Noticing the glare that the Goddess was giving him, the young Boss of Passione grinned even as D4C loomed over them both. There was no way that Athena, like any parent, would want to see her child come to harm. Was it a dirty move? Yes.
But let it be known that she forced his hand.
"See, let's say you wipe my knowledge of the other camp. That would suggest you intend on wiping my mind of the information regarding Jason. Not only would that harm Thalia by removing the chance to learn about her lost brother and make Thalia sad, but that would harm Annabeth by extension and make her sad too...and you don't want that, now do you?"
The Goddess gritted her teeth a little. She must have been horribly off her game if he was able to do all this. Perhaps the past few years without sleep while hunting information on the Stand User were finally getting to her...
Knowing he had her right where he wanted her, Cyrus stood tall, shaking off the little nervousness that remained as his face became serious and impassive. "Let it be known, Athena. You can do any number of things to me. Kill me if you want, shatter me if you can, sunder my body or twist me into whatever animal or plant form you can think of. I do not care, I'll come back in any other version of myself. I'll take that sacrifice any day of the Godsdamned week. But threaten my friends and their happiness?"
Here his eyes were deader and colder than Thanatos's grip. "I will tear down everything in the world to bring you down. After all, I have thousands of versions of myself to count on, from countless universes...some of them are demigods and Gods too, what with the endless possibilities of the Multiverse. So please, try me."
The two locked eyes, not willing to submit to the other in any way. They stared, with Athena scanning hard for any possible misinformation that he could have tried, but she could glean nothing from those serious burning green-pink orbs.
She could have even sworn that there was a flicker of something golden in one of those eyes.
Athena sighed as she broke the staring contest that had sprouted from their standoff. "You truly are as impressive and intriguing as everyone says, Khan, I must admit."
"I do my best for it." Cyrus grinned a little, though it faltered immediately when she locked eyes with him again.
"But now I know something about you as well...you see all heroes have a flaw in them...and now I can see yours." Her piercing stormy eyes cut through him, examining him like an insect under a microscope.
"Your Stand brings it out in you, I would think. You genuinely are willing to die every time you tempt it as long as your friends survive or you do the right thing. Perhaps even both. You think of yourself as expendable, as long as your loved ones live and you act on your sense of justice. Loyalty and your Morality, to a near suicidal point. That, is your fatal flaw." He shuffled under her gaze as she tilted her head at him. (4)
He cursed to himself a little. "Okay, what of it?"
"Nothing in particular...but now I know a piece of what makes you tick, Cyrus Khan. You may have won this moment, but do not think you can evade me fully." She threatened, her stormy, gold-tinged eyes hard and daring him to test her.
This was starting to get nerve-wracking again, as Cyrus could feel the pressure in the elevator growing with the Goddess's displeasure with him. Perhaps a hasty retreat would be suited. "Well, this conversation has been quite enlightening, but I really ought to get going!" He said, backing up as he slipped a hand inside his coat and behind him.
Athena frowned. "I am not done with you ye-" "You know, I respect you quite a bit Athena. I respect a number of the Gods as well. You truly do fit the bill of Olympus's battle strategist, no doubt about that." He smiled, even as he placed his hand in between his own body and the wall behind him, while subtly triggering D4C's ability and letting the warp envelop his hand and push it through to an alternate dimension near his other self.
"However, the thing about you Gods is...you're kind of static. You're stuck in your own ways of thinking and can't change as much as us mortals. Example, you're a strategist, but you won't be a trickster or anything like Hermes is...which means...!"
He suddenly grinned. "Surprise!" He cried out as he suddenly pulled out the Last Word.
Bang!
And then blew a hole in the side of his head. Athena's eyes went wide at the apparent suicide as the body flopped to the ground, before narrowing at the fact that he had kept a hand behind his back.
She smirked. "Well played, Cyrus Khan. Very well played."
With a snap of her fingers, the body and blood vanished.
Cyrus gave a sigh of relief as he reappeared on the floor that the elevator had just passed by, emerging from the side of the wall. That had been way too close. Athena was one of the most powerful Olympians, and one of the more vindictive ones. The fact that he had consistently gotten on her bad sides with the Romans and the whole 'mystery' deal (though the latter was not entirely intentional), was cause for a minor panic at least.
Thankfully though, he'd been able to pull off one proper point and two bluffs to escape. The first bluff was the idea that D4C would be able to protect against a mental erasure like Athena had planned, and thankfully she had not been as knowledgeable on Stands to try her luck with it. The second bluff was that Cyrus would be able to unleash alternate versions of himself that were Gods and actual demigods.
No doubt those universes existed, but they were too far to travel to in reasonable time, and even if that were the case, Cyrus was wary of choosing to swap with or using those universes due to the fact that he'd merged with pieces of the Saint's Corpse. The Saint had already told him how the Nails reacted to Olympian demigods, so he wasn't willing to test his luck with the Corpse parts. (5)
He grinned a little as he brushed off his coat. He quite liked his escape too, as he'd used the space between his body and the wall of the elevator to transfer D4C to an alternate of himself. The only reason that had worked is because he'd known that Athena wouldn't realize the unorthodox plan until it was far too late. Granted the shooting himself in the head part was probably unnecessary...
He shook his head of those thoughts as he suddenly heard a clacking sound behind him. Glancing back over his shoulder, he groaned in annoyance as he spotted a few skeletons a bit behind him. One of them chattered into the walkie-talkie that they all held, likely calling for reinforcements.
"Luck is just not on my side today huh?" He grumbled inwardly as he took off in a sprint, with the Bonetroopers on his heels. As he rounded a corner, he cursed a little as he almost bowled over someone by accident.
He stumbled back as the person, a woman with an apparently rough voice, shouted at him. "Hey, watch where you'r- Cyrus?!"
His eyes widened as he recognized the voice, and he looked her up and down.
She was certainly as pretty as he last remembered her to be, with her short pink hair and purple eyes, which were wide in surprise. She still wore her deerstalker and her blouse and boots, which hid her tomboyish but beautiful form.
Of fucking course, his ex, would be here...
Hearing the chatter of the Boneheads behind him, he glanced over the back of his head. "Oh, wonderful..."
"Why does everything terrible happen to me?"
AN: Phew, and that's that.
This took way to long to drag out of my brain, kicking and screaming. Particularly the beginning, but after a rewatch of Part 5 scenes, I think it all clicked together quite well. At least I hope so XD.
So, now we know what happened with Cyrus and the gang before he stumbled into Hot Pants, or as she is in this world, Hydrangea, at the Hoover Dam. A few relaxing moments from the gang, some chaos ending with giving the skellies the slip, followed by a long overdue conversation with Athena. Those issues are...partially resolved now, at least until the Solstice. I don't think Athena's too happy about being given the slip like that though haha.
We also got a bit more insight into Cyrus's character and how he still is flawed, as Athena was still able to glean off information from him, even though he was playing cards close to his chest and even get the upper hand on her.
Notes:
(1) The scene in Part 5 where the gang pretty much kicks the shit out of a poor unarmed civilian when thinking he was a stand user. La Squadra of course...they were much more assholish about it. Probably.
(2) Yet another scene from part 5 repurposed for Cyrus. Instead of Giorno using a jellyfish, Cyrus used D4C to warp it away...into a poor guy's soup.
(3) Lets be honest, with the amount of times Cyrus has to swap himself out or his duplicates end up dying, the said souls of those duplicates would definitely add up. They aren't clones, they're actually him from alternate worlds with their own souls, so they go to their own respective afterlives in their own universes, instead of this one. That issue in particular was a primary reason why Hades and Thanatos were...well, none too pleased with Cyrus until he helped out with the di Angelos.
(4) All people are flawed, and if you've read Percy Jackson before, all have a Fatal Flaw ascribed to them. In Cyrus's case, his flaws are the exact opposite of Valentine's in a way. Valentine used his Stand to cheat death and survive while sacrificing everyone else in order to achieve his goals. Cyrus on the other hand, uses D4C in the exact opposite, throwing himself into the line of fire and sacrificing himself so that others can live and all in walking the path of Justice. In a way, he thinks himself as expendable and replaceable because with his Stand, he technically is. He can constantly cycle himself out, but even D4C has limits...ones that he will have to confront soon enough. After all...I'm not too sure Thalia would be happy with that thought process.
(5) I touched on this with a previous response to a review, but to reiterate, this is why Cyrus doesn't use versions of himself or swap himself out with versions that are demigods or outright Gods. Because the possibility of a reaction between the divinity and his Stand is too unpredictable to work with, not to mention, his status as being only tied to the Saint is what allows him to get away with so much. Not to mention, those universes are a significant distance from the universe that this one exists in, which makes it also impractical to go for those.
That being said however, Athena doesn't know that, so it makes for a very good bluff on Cyrus's part.
Bit of a long notes segment, but hey, that's that!
Hopefully you guys enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed making/struggling with it.
Remember to leave solid reviews if you would be so kind. The criticism and feedback sustain my mind.
Cheers!
Beowulf