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Chapter 26: Brawl o' Brothers, Part 3

Was it a victory or a loss?

This was the question that currently perplexed the large group of rebels from Passione as they waited for their leader to finally arrive. Venice and most of Northern Italy and the Islands have been taken over by them, and the battle for the Serenissima had successfully removed Diavolo's influence from the area. Yet, the ruthless mob leader had run away and left them to handle the broken pieces left behind by the intense skirmish.

Some called it a 'fair win', others saw it as a potential mistake since Diavolo was known to be a 'difficult monster to put down'. Memories- no, tales from the older members which remarked how the mobster had decimated the old mafia groups in the span of a couple of years resonated deep in them as they waited for a proper response to this matter.

Sakura could understand why they would feel so upset about this entire ordeal, but, at the same time, she herself was struggling to understand the details of what had happened in the 'background'. And she wasn't the only one having many questions on the man that had allowed Diavolo to escape but... was also behind the arrival of Giorno's half-brothers.

The blond was still recoiling by this matter, shocked that Dio had actually created other children beyond him and... the results were nothing short of jarring. They were all secured and guarded, with their 'Cards/Servants' having been split: the Golem-Maker's card was to be sheltered away from anyone's reach due to its unusual might, while the two others were currently 'owned' by Giorno.

The plum-haired girl sighed heavily at the sight of her cousin struggling to keep both 'Alice' and Mordred from bickering and... it was indeed a sight. Alice was what one would expect from a gothic-dressed young girl with pale-white hair and violet eyes. She was all in black with her petite dress and hat, clinging on Giorno as an overbearing sister would.

In a way, it reminded Sakura of Illya when it came to Shirou. Mordred was an entirely different individual. Some may not have seen it, but she was quite similar to Giorno in some core aspects. Both were blonde, both had blue eyes, but, what really stood out the most through their personalities was how they were wired into a rebellious but righteous mindset. Wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a pair of mini-jeans, Mordred didn't seem to care enough for Trish's disapproving comments over her 'poor fashion choices'. What really got a reaction out of her was when Giorno lamented how 'clunky' her armor was.

"I-It's not that clunky!" She defended, confirming that her priority wasn't the same as many girls had.

Something that Sakura respected considering she too didn't care much about having an overly-feminine style. Still, she was quite sure she would have been cast aside with Narancia, Trish, Caren and Arcueid by the time Risotto arrived at their current base, but Sakura was surprised when she was asked to be there by Risotto's own orders.

At first, she thought it was because she could provide some insight, yet the truth was that she had to be around her guard since he was meant to tell them what he knew of the situation. After all, he had faced the cause of this whole mess and... it wasn't anything to smile at from the way he put it down in his narration.

Risotto carried himself with incredible politeness and calm, yet he looked fairly uneasy when it was mentioned the name Goetia and Mr. Dawn muttered some not-so comforting words in that regard. Sakura had never heard this name before... but she felt like she did. It was an odd feeling, like a tug coming from within her chest as that name was uttered. It was an odd sensation, but nothing that really stunned her as she felt this wasn't the first time she had this sort of reaction. And it became a bit clearer to her why this information was known to her. Or rather, the relation it carried through with it.

"So, this Goetia- what's his final goal?" Risotto finally inquired, quite absorbed in the explanation but focusing on the big issue at hand: Why was this happening? And from there, how do we stop this?

"Humanity's destruction as imperfection on a perfect world," Arlecchino explained flatly, dropping such a truth bomb without a genuine hint of concern. "Goetia's purpose was initially to guard the 72 Pillar Demons. Ever since King Solomon left this world, his last creation turned on his original purpose, gaining interest in erasing humanity because of the taint they represented on Earth."

"That's a fairly strong view on humanity as a whole," Prosciutto commented dryly, while Risotto merely nodded in agreement.

"How does he seek to achieve this? How would Diavolo fit within this equation?"

"Diavolo's Stand- right now its power allows him to alter small sections of reality to his whim, shifting through it as a defensive mechanism and relocating to advantageous positions," Arlecchino answered. "Just that was powerful, yet what Goetia may be after is the Requiem Arrow."

"The... Requiem Arrow?" Bruno inquired with a hint of confusion. "Is this like a normal Stand Arrow or-"

"The Requiem Arrow, to my own understanding, is unique to this world. While other Arrows exist with the purpose of generally creating Stands, this one allows Stand User to unleash an even stronger Stand whose abilities would be greater than their original selves. If Diavolo gets his hands on it, then his Evolved Stand could potentially get the power to alter reality as he wishes."

"...It's not the only thing you can tell us, right? This isn't the end goal for Goetia."

"It's one of the last steps. The moment Diavolo obtains this power, he can use this to allow Atrum Galliasta to gain my ward and use her unique wishcraft innate potential together with a pseudo-Holy Grail to enable an absolute reality-bending control over this dimension... and beyond."

"T-This is absurd," One of the lesser subordinates argued. "Boss, this- this is plain insanity. Reality-bending? Multiple dimensions? This sounds like-"

"Possible within the reality of things," Risotto confirmed dryly, eyeing the naysayer with a dull look, causing the man to go quiet. "I was familiar with some unique arrows, I had heard of rumors of someone that had stolen it from Passione years ago. I am not familiar with its whereabouts, but this thief is still around, so we have to get to him. At once."

Many nodded, while Arlecchino stunned all of them with a single response.

"That will not be necessary," He remarked calmly as he turned to the only door within the meeting room. "Because I've been in contact with the 'thief' and I had safely led him to Venice before we reached this revelation."

"You-" Bruno started to say, yet his voice failed to finish that sentence as someone knocked at the door.

"Yes?" Risotto asked, one of the guards outside opening the door with an awkward look.

"Sir, there's someone that says he had been invited to this meeting but-"

"Let him in."

The guard nodded, letting the new arrival inside the room. And that's where Sakura felt her eyes widened in recognition since she had seen this face before.

The man had long white hair that was shaped to stand up vertically, a blue eye, his left one, staring around with wariness while the other, ruined, now hidden by a transparent eyepatch. He was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt with golden covers around his shoulders and... Sakura felt her face paling as she saw how his lower body was fully bandaged with his legs now replaced by crude metal-made prosthetics.

"This man is an old friend of mine. He went missing a while ago, but I know he is still alive and doing well. I know he was sent to Italy to investigate some disturbances but... since he has been quiet for a while, I guess he is just wasting a few years having fun," Jotaro had said back when he was describing her the 'Stardust Crusaders', tapping at the picture of the same man she was looking at, but faring better than now. "Good grief-"

"...Polnareff?"

The man that her father had been so worried about, someone that had been as close to a brother to him and that now was... well, heavily hurt by what seemed to have been the worst fight possible. Sure, her father did mention that some fights can be rough, she had seen him getting heavily injured a couple of times already, but not... to this level. Not this horribly.

Dad- dad isn't going to be happy about this...

Sakura's surprised gasp was not missed by anyone, but the aforementioned Jean Pierre Polnareff looked surprised at being addressed with his name so suddenly. He turned his attention to the girl and... his only working eye widened. "You- So he was right, the guy on the phone said..."

He wheeled closer to Sakura stopping right in front of where she was sitting and... smiled. "Kujo Sakura, daughter of Jotaro. How's your father?"

"G-Good," The girl gulped nervously. "W-What happened to you?"

His smile grew a bit sadder. "Diavolo. But... I am alive, and that's all that matters."

"Polnareff, that's your name," Risotto commented. "Apologies for interrupting this reunion, but I think there's an urgent matter to discuss before we can rest."

The Frenchman nodded in agreement. "Yes. It's... I am sorry for the little emotional moment. I believe you all are interested in this."

A small rectangular box was dropped on the small table within the room. The item inside, once revealed, gained the shock of everyone inside. All in there were Stand Users, and they could all feel it, a powerful energy hidden within the seemingly 'known' Arrow tool used to unlock Stands. It was different, they could all tell at first glance.

"I am afraid to say that despite its inner power, the Arrow will not work with everyone," Polnareff admitted. "I tried to use it, but it seems that anyone using it when they are not 'worthy' will just lose control of their Stands."

"So, what you are saying is that only those that have reached a specific unknown requirement can use it?"

He nodded and Risotto grimaced at his own assumption.

"Well, there's only one thing left to do then," The boss of the Nuova Passione commented, looking at the rest of his loyal subordinates. "We shall march south and kill Diavolo once and for all. Rome shall be his grave and there shall not be any intervention from these 'magical' evildoers. I suppose you can take care of it...Sakura Kujo."

Sakura's eyes widened at that. "W-What?"

"T-That sounds too much, sir," Prosciutto argued. "Sakura is strong, yes, but she is not-"

"I consider her part of my group, and a valiant member of it," Bruno interjected, nodding at Risotto. "But I believe you also wish for her to not be the only one fighting."

"I am a firm believer of those with value, but I will not send her alone, no. She will assemble a team and take care of this 'Goetia' issue before he can help Diavolo escape again. It's imperative this man is killed or any result of this last skirmish may see the collapse of something more than just Italy. Destiny is calling us to make a choice, and I choose to put my trust in Sakura Kujo in handling this mess."

...

"Why?" Sakura asked, still confused by this decision. "And why do you sound like you know about me?"

"That's because I do, signorina," Risotto remarked calmly, offering a smile before thinking of the past. "A few years ago, I met this individual which helped me find my way despite the evilness of this organization. Someone that held wisdom beyond our time and that spoke fondly of you."

That didn't help much with her guessing game, but something about the mention of wisdom and 'helping others find their ways' clicked with a single individual. Someone that was known to have made trips all over the world in an effort to find her inner peace once more and gain more insight on the modern world.

"I believe her name is... Sanzang."

Atrum growled as the pain was not subsiding.

He had gone over and over how this process was ruining him to a degree as expressed by the shivers and disgust of some of the women attracted to his natural beauty... now gone. It wasn't his fault he had to sacrifice something for power, but he could at least say he was going to match the mongrel that had beaten him a while back. The circuits he implanted over his nerves were burning onto his skin, sizzling even, but providing him with enough input to match up with an individual like that stiff and upsetting Lorelei

Ugly scars ran around his arms, legs and parts of his face. He looked older, wrinkler, with his air having lost its golden shade now taking a more platinum touch which made him appear a dying old man. Yet he wasn't. He was still young, handsome and- ambitious. Yes, his ambitions were the strongest at the moment.

He was strong, mightily so and he had the means to now secure his claimed target. Goetia promised he was going to get it, but the inclusion of a non-magus as the primary winner of this alliance sat horribly on his lap. He was rightfully meant to do this sort of thing, to be the main and leading force behind the acquisition of Matou Heiress and of this 'Requiem Arrow', not some thuggish mutt.

Yes, he was going to show them for good and then- then he was going to rule over the world! The ensuing cackling further stirred dread in the hearts of those women staring at their master's descent into insanity, well-aware that he had forsaken his sanity to ensure his plans succeeded. Supposedly so.

Meanwhile, staring at this scene from his 'office' through a special mirror connected to Atrum's workshop, Goetia smiled over the amusing display of arrogance and envy displayed by one of his pawns. Once again proving how humans were unfit for this world and how their taint had to be removed from existence to preserve reality itself. Once the Requiem Arrow was in their hands, and Sakura was used as the filter needed to access other dimensions, then his capacity to overcome Solomon's curses was going to be assured and his plan to erase humanity in all timelines and worlds would be complete.

This time, his creator was not going to be there to ruin his plans as this world- this unique and bizarre dimension, was fertile ground to show him off for daring to limit his powers as he did centuries ago.

This time, Goetia knew, he was going to succeed. Interdimensional intruder or not.

AN

Two Arcs are left, 'Esecuzione' and 'Requiem'. After that... the end of this trilogy, the last piece of the puzzle to complete the bizarre tale of Sakura and her true enemy all along. Stay tuned because the next four-five chapters will be quite... shocking to say the least.

REVIEW Q&A!

Dova117: Different Goetia since Solomon wasn't summoned and Chaldea isn't a thing in this universe. In fact, Marisbury Animusphere should still be alive at this point.