AN: Uuuuugh Life comes at ya fast. That's all I gotta say honestly.

Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for the time I've spent away. Not sure why it took so long to come out, but I suppose I could say a mix of writer's block and trying to brainstorm a mix of new Stands or old Stands to bring in.

Anyways, enough of my rambling!

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 28~

It was dark in all directions as far as the eye could see. In fact, Cyrus wasn't even sure his eyes were open, it was so dark.

He looked around as he floated in what looked like inky blackness. He couldn't feel anything. He didn't feel any ground beneath his feet, nor the wind on his skin. He couldn't even hear anything. The silence was almost deafening as he seemingly floated in the murky dark. There was just...nothing.

Where was he?

Suddenly Cyrus gasped and gritted his teeth as he clutched at his head and eye, the stabbing pain surging once again.

"This is a foolish decision sister! His patron will not take lightly to our interference with him!" Voices?

"On the contrary. I encourage it. He is not a demigod in the same way as most of your kind, but he is still subject to you as all things are. He must know at least a little of what is to come...Gravity marches forward no matter the cost..."

Who were these voices? Were they talking about him? What was to come? Wait..was that last one the Saint? Golden sparks of light began to flicker in and out like little fireflies in the darkness.

"You have my permission...show him what you can."

Cyrus gasped again as a myriad of other voices poured into his head, some familiar, others not but all echoing and merging into a cacophony. The lights began to spark in and out faster and brighter as the voices grew louder.

"You cannot stand against us! We have been here before the Gods, and we shall remain even after!"

"I AM THE TITAN THAT HAS HELD THE SKY FOR MORE CENTURIES, THAN YOU HAVE DRAWN BREATH IN YOUR LIFETIME! YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME?"

"There are things far worse than Titans my fellow Stand User..."

"The Nails must be found, to stop _ from achieving his goals..."

"The Arma Christi are more than just the Nails. Those are small fry...there is a secret they hide Cyrus. They hold keys to..."

Cyrus didn't know how much more of this he could take as could feel his nails digging into his skin and tears coming from his shut eyes.

"Champion _ _?"

"Second _...?"

"He is worthy of _ _ _..."

"You have to stop the Wolf King, Cyrus! He's worse than Kronos! He can _ _!"

"Fate, Gravity, all of it will bend to me! My Stand will ensure it!

"I WILL ATTAIN _!"

"BEHOLD MY POWER! D4C: _ _!"

Golden light exploded. (1)


Cyrus's eyes snapped open as he jolted from his bout of unconsciousness. He blinked rapidly as he took stock of his surroundings...namely the fact that he was currently thousands of feet in the air. Mountains were seen from above as he felt the wind in his hair and on his skin.

He also felt a pair of arms clinging onto him like their lives depended on it, and looking down he realized just who it was.

The daughter of Zeus was holding on with her eyes shut tighter than Fort Knox while D4C was emerging from his body and had a firm grip on the shoulders and holding onto the back of one Angel Statue, specifically one of the Angel Statues they had been looking at on the roof of the Hoover Dam. Looking around, he could also spot that Zoe and Phoebe were being held in the arms of the other Statue and that Grover and Percy were being held in the arms of the Statue that Cyrus was holding onto with his Stand, with little Rina being held onto by Percy. He could definitely tell that the Percy and Rina were enjoying the sights and a small chuckle left his lips. As for Grover, well the excitable satyr was no doubt having a great time, not.

As for the other three Stand Users, Risotto was sticking onto the back of the other statue with his Stand, having loosed a little of his blood from his wounded foot (much to Anette's displeasure) to use his Stand's magnetism. HP had done something similar, using Cream Starter to attach herself to the statue by (Cyrus turned a faint shade of green for a moment) liquifying her flesh and then solidifying it to the Statue's back. Finally, Anette was actually not on or in the arms of either Statue, instead using Scaretale (who had manifested in the shadow of the Angel) to dangle a little. Risotto and HP were chatting about something or the other while Anette was having a blast kicking snow off the tops of mountains and grinning as she enjoyed the view.

"...What the fuck happened? Why are we so high up?" He asked bluntly as everyone suddenly took notice of his reawakening. Thalia groaned and buried her face in his back a bit more, determined to not look down...or anywhere for that matter.

"Shut up, I don't wanna think about it..." She spoke muffled into his back as she mentally blocked out the fact that she was thousands and thousands of feet above the ground and very not okay with it. Normally she would try to keep her impassive mask while inwardly panicking, but of course, being near Cyrus was helpful at breaking down both of those parts of her.

"Oh, hey there kiddo! Finally awake huh?" The angel that he was sitting on while D4C held on asked him, his voice sounding the definition of rusty with a touch of amusement.

"Looks like it Chuck. Hope you're feeling better." The other angel said with a metal smile. Said statue's passengers immediately tried to check up on him as best as they could. Zoe and Phoebe glanced as far as they could to see if Cyrus was actually up, while Risotto and HP looked over, with the former giving a nod and the smallest of smiles while the latter gave him a smirk tinged with...worry? As for Anette, she craned her head as best as she could while Scaretale glanced over and grinned its toothy grin.

In Chuck's(as Cyrus now knew him) arms, none of them thought to look back and check on Cyrus, seeing as they were either too stressed or awed to do so.

"Jeez, what the hell did I miss?" The teenage Stand User asked in confusion as he glanced around.

Thalia finally pulled away from his person a little and looked at him. If nothing else, telling what happened would help distract her from being so very far from her comfort zone back at ground level.

Apparently after his cry of pain and the strange light, Cyrus had entered a catatonic state, being completely unresponsive with D4C simply hovering above him like a guard awaiting orders. Which turned out to be horrifically unfortunate as the situation escalated quickly. The 'Bonetroopers' as Cyrus had named them, had found them on the roof and surrounded them. With their being surrounded and having most of their strongest fighters out of commission (as stated with immense reluctance by Zoe and agreed by all others), Grover had come up with the idea of Thalia praying to her father for assistance. She had been hesitant but Grover insisted.

Which of course led to Chuck and Hank giving them a ride. The two angel statues had awakened and with rusty wings had sent the Bone Warriors flying off the roof and into the watery depths below the Dam. The threat now dealt with, the group had set the unresponsive Cyrus on Chuck's back, with D4C automatically holding on for its User's preservation and Thalia joining him.

Hank had been a bit annoyed about having to carry so many people ("How am I supposed to carry all of them?!") until Risotto had the idea of using their Stands to hold on just like Cyrus had, albeit while unresponsive on the young Don's part.

After that, it was just a matter of taking flight, and here they were.

"...wow, and this was three hours ago?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Thalia regarded him for a moment, before her features softened just a minuscule amount. To most it would just be her face normally, but not to him.

Cyrus noticed quickly. "What's wrong?"

She bit her lip for a moment and held onto him a little tighter. "What happened to you?"

As per usual, Thalia was too proud to admit that his moment at the Dam had scared her. The cry of pain had been such a shock to everyone, with Cyrus going completely unresponsive after the light that had flared from his left eye. She'd never known Cyrus to outright cry out like that, so whatever it was, it must have hurt. A lot.

"I...I don't know..." Cyrus replied, looking down at his hands in confusion, his brows furrowing as he tried to remember the voices. Some were familiar, some definitely were not...but one thing nagged at him hard.

That last voice he had heard was him.

Risotto in particular narrowed his eyes curiously. It took a lot to shake his little brother like whatever had occurred at the Dam. HP also glanced at him in worry.

Cyrus shook his head. "It's nothing," he said with a smile of reassurance that didn't quite meet his eyes. "It can wait till after we get to where we're going."

Risotto and HP glanced at each other, while Thalia frowned. However, the three let the matter go...for now.

"Speaking of where we're going..." Cyrus murmured to himself as he looked around, before grinning as he spotted the shining lights of the city. "Ah, California. Good, good. We're making good progress towards Artemis."

Risotto shifted from his spot on Hank's back and winced a little as his muscles protested against the sudden movement of his legs. Being the tallest member of la Squadra was not fun at times. "Good, when can we get down?"


Having pointed out a very flat-roofed building, Hank and Chuck landed and let the group clamber down before quickly flying off, mentioning something about lots of parties.

"What an odd duo..." Cyrus thought to himself with a chuckle as they all descended the stairs to ground level.

"Well...now what?" Grover asked, brushing himself off and relatively calmer after having disembarked from their flight a la Angel Statue. The group stopped next to a very pretty looking fountain as they tried to figure out their next moves.

Percy shrugged as he glanced around. He grimaced a little. "We know one thing: we're in San Francisco. The worst place to be if you're a demigod." "Also where Annabeth's from." His traitorous mind reminded him.

"Specifically if you're the Greek variant..." Cyrus muttered under his breath, prompting a glare from both of the Hunters and for Cyrus to quickly look away. "Regardless, we have two things that need to get done. First things first..."

The grey-coated teen held out a hand towards Risotto and Anette. "Phone, give."

Risotto raised an eyebrow while Anette smirked a little between the two men. "What?" "What?!" The demigods chorused in concerned surprise.

Cyrus gave them all a look he hoped was reassuring. "Don't worry, monsters won't come after us if we use phones...well specifically if I use phones." He corrected before turning back to Risotto.

"I know Razione gave you a phone to contact him with. Normally I'd try to get an IM to him, but we can't waste time with rainbows. Phone! Give!"

The red-black eyed Assassin shifted a little, while Cyrus scrunched his brows together in confusion. Why was Risotto so reluctant to give up his phone?

Finally, Risotto reached into his pocket to pull out a standard flip phone. It was fairly normal looking...except for the color, which was a shocking shade of neon red and decorated with various little cute sparkles.

Almost everyone watching began to grin or smirk in some way as they watched Risotto, one of the darkest and most vicious people they'd ever met, hand over a red phone covered in pretty sparkles.

Cyrus looked at it in his hand. Then back up at Risotto, then back at the phone, then back up. Risotto's eye simply twitched as if he was itching to commit a murder.

"Huh...maybe I should give Razione a raise for this one."

After the ensuing laughter died down, Thalia reached out to get his attention. "Wait, why do you need to contact Razione?"

The raven-haired Stand User gave her a grin. "You'll see." He replied as he stepped away, muttering something about "reptile" as he dialed a number.

As the teen stepped away, HP smirked a little as she shook her head. "I see he still enjoys being a show-off here and there."

"Oh when hasn't he? It's part of his 'charm'." Anette giggled a little as she did air quotes, before holding out her arms for a hug. "Anyway, it's so good to see you again HP!"

The pink haired girl sighed even through her smile, knowing how Anette was with her hugs, before relenting and hugging the blonde Stand User. "I'm guessing you're still the liaison between us and them right?" The musical blonde asked curiously.

"Of course I am Anette." Hydrangea confirmed with a smile while the demigods just looked between the two in confusion. Thalia in particular was starting to grit her teeth a bit in annoyance at the lack of being in the loop.

"Then why haven't we seen you in Napoli? It gets sooo boring with the others of la Squadra there!" Anette pouted while Risotto looked at her with his usual stoic face baring just a hint of incredulity.

Anette glanced at him to see the expression, scrunching up her face in mild annoyance. "What?"

"You mean to tell me...that dealing with la Squadra, is now boring to you?" Risotto asked, his voice colored with the slightest touch of disbelief. He could already remember the last time the two of them were with la Squadra.

"Ghiaccio, you aren't allowed to kill the damn mailman just because he-"

"BECAUSE HE SAID TO BREAK A LEG WHEN I TOLD HIM ABOUT THE POKER GAME WE WERE HAVING TONIGHT? WHAT THE HELL DOES BREAK A LEG EVEN MEAN?! DOES HE WANT ME TO BECOME A CRIPPLE? IN THAT CASE, I'M GONNA BREAK BOTH HIS LEGS AND HIS ARMS!"

Risotto could feel the headache already as he thought about that incident. So many cold snaps and cases of frostbite...

While the Jester-themed assassin struggled with his girlfriend's confusing statement about their team, Hydrangea's face faltered. "I um...I got a lead on her. My sister."

Immediately, Risotto snapped out of his confusion while Anette's smile dropped, both of them giving their full attention to the pink-haired girl. Unnoticed however, Phoebe had stiffened up a little at Hydrangea's words.

Thalia's eyes softened as she regarded her suddenly. She could understand losing a sibling. "What can you tell us about her? If you're okay with it, I mean."

The spray-can Stand User nodded slowly and smiled in remembrance as she explained. "She wasn't my sister by blood, but we were very close. She just kind of...appeared one day! Out of the woods!"

She smiled as memories came back to her. "She was always so caring! She always played with me whenever we were in the woods and she was always looking out for me. Sometimes she disappeared for some reason, something about a leader she had, but she always came back!"

Then her smile faded. "Then one day..." She bit her lip and swore as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Big Sis! Help me!

"Hydra! Get away from her you mangy little-!"

ROAAAR!

The bear that had cornered them in the woods snarled and slavered at the prospect of meat.

"Run Hydra! I'll handle this!"

"Bu-" "RUN!"

With tears in her eyes, the little girl ran long and far, hearing roars of pain from the bear while her big sister held it off.

"I was stupid and ran too far from home. There was a bear and she told me to run..." She stopped speaking, looking down at the ground. The group of demigods (and satyr) did the same, a sense of sympathy for Hydrangea's loss hitting them with some harder than others.

"By the time I got back with help, all that was left was blood everywhere and the bear's dead body...nothing of my sister."

Grover blinked a little at that, scratching at his little goatee. "Hmm, that's strange...so your sister's body was never found?"

She shook her head in response. "No. We searched for weeks but nothing turned up." The rosette Stand User held her arms as she looked down at her boots. "And for the longest time that guilt really stuck with me."

"That is until I met Cyrus and he told me something..." Everyone perked up at that as HP let a little smile show. "If there wasn't a body...then maybe she was still out there! The lead I was following led me to the Dam!"

Thalia raised an eyebrow at that, "That lead being...?"

Hydrangea opened her mouth to speak but just as she did, Cyrus came walking back with a grin on his face, having just finished his call. He tossed the cellphone to Risotto, who caught it and pocketed in one swift motion. If one listened carefully, one would hear the silver-haired assassin grumbling at his luck for such a phone.

Looking around, Cyrus definitely noticed that he had interrupted something, but unfortunately, whatever it was would have to wait. "So!" He clasped his hands together and smirked, "I got what I needed out of Razione, the ol' General said he should be around here somewhere..."

The rosette grinned as she caught on, much to the demigods' slight annoyance. "Is he still as crabby as the last time I met him?"

"Yes." The three members of Passione chorused, all with varying expressions of amusement.

Grover glanced around, looking for whoever their eccentric leader had been talking about. "So uh, who's this friend we're gonna be meeting? And where is he, if he's already here?"

Another cheeky grin curled Cyrus's lips as he made his way over to the fountain. "Well let's see..." he muttered to himself as he dunked his head into the water along with his two hands.

While the rest of the Quest group looked on outright confusion Thalia just raised an eyebrow. Now that she thought about it, it was probably not a good sign that she was getting so used to the antics of her closest friend and maybe boyfriend.

"There we go," he finally pulled himself out of the water, holding a...

"...a turtle? Why art thou holding a little turtle?" Zoe frowned as she looked between the face of the now semi-drenched Cyrus and the turtle held in his hands.

Snick! The turtle's head snapped to Zoe. "Little?! Listen here you child, I am not 'little'! You young ones ought to respect your elders when they're doing favors for you lot like I am!"

Zoe reared back in shock as all the questers stared in surprise.

Cyrus's lips twitched, threatening a smile. "Now now Coco, behave! These are my friends!" He chided a little with a smirk, looking down at the turtle in his hands.

The now named 'Coco' grumbled faintly as the Stand-using turtle turned back to the group while the young Mafia Don continued to hold him. "Well everyone, this is Coco Jumbo, wielder of the Stand Mr. President! Coco, this is everyone."

Coco tilted his head a little as he began to regard each of the questers. "Let's see...you two girls feel like the Ones who Hunt, so perhaps you two are fine in my books...rude but fine." He muttered out to them as he turned his attention to each of them one by one.

"Hmmm one of the Wild One's kin? Curious to see one of you here...good good..." Grover perked up at that, confused but intrigued. The young satyr would have spoken up, but the turtle had already shifted its attention.

"Well hello little one." The turtle's eyes and visage shifted into what seemed to be a welcoming smile as its gaze shifted to Rina. The little girl jumped for a moment before smiling faintly and waving. "H-hi sir."

Coco's expression changed as he studied the little girl, but whatever conclusion he came to, he kept to himself. He shifted his sight once again. "Ah, Miss Poronin. How interesting to find you here."

The pinkette smirked as she waved at the turtle. "Yo Coco. How are la Squadra treating you?"

He grumbled. "Depends. The old General, the Shrinker, and the Fisherman are annoying me. And they never give me good food."

Abandoning the conversation at that, Coco turned his gaze again. "Risotto, Anette, good to see you two are doing quite well. Your comrades are wearing on my nerves." The turtle finished sternly.

Risotto closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation as Anette smirked at her boyfriend's annoyance. "Duly noted. Good to see you too Coco."

"Hrmph" Coco grumbled a little at that before looking over at Percy. The reptile's eyes widened slightly before sharpening. "Impossible...so you are my Lord's scion?"

Percy blinked a little. After years of being able to talk to sea creatures and them referring to him as their lord, it still came as a shock sometimes. Especially now that everyone could hear the turtle. "Uh...yeah?"

"Why do you say that like a question? Speak up and be confident with it! Hmph, young ones these days. No one's going to follow you into battle if you're looking all confused like that." Coco shot out the words, grumbling all the while as the son of Poseidon's jaw dropped before he got his thoughts in order. "Hey!" But the turtle had already moved on.

Finally, the turtle turned his gaze to Thalia. He raised an 'eyebrow' as he looked her up and down. The punk woman shifted a little under the reptile's scrutiny before a spark of recognition entered its eyes. "Ah, you must be Miss Grace. My Owner speaks highly of you."

Immediately both Cyrus and Thalia flushed red in embarrassment. Clearing his throat, Cyrus spoke up as he set Coco down on the ledge of the fountain. "Right, well now that we've gotten acquainted and all that, I'm assuming Mr. President is prepped and ready?"

Coco gave him a deadpan stare. "Cyrus. It is always prepped and ready." The turtle stated emotionlessly as its features shifted back towards annoyance.

"Erm, yes right. How could I forget?" Cyrus scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. "I need you to take Risotto, Anette and Rina back to Italy. Which reminds me!"

The young Stand User whirled around to face the Rosette of the group, smacking his head with his hand. "Can't believe I forgot, could you heal his foot properly...?"

HP nodded, pulling Cream Starter from where it sat on her belt. "Alright Riso, let me see what I'm working with here."

Zoe and Phoebe tilted their heads in confusion as Risotto limped over to the edge of the fountain to sit down. "I...don't think I quite understand. How can thy little spray can help with-"

"Shh! Let her work!" Anette gave the huntress a small glare, her concern for her significant other's health showing.

Hydrangea knelt down as she lifted the assassin's damaged foot a little, grimacing as she assessed the damage. "Uff, rough time huh Riso? Complete amputation...at least it was a clean cut though. Good work with the staples...alright," she muttered before taking hold of the foot and pressing it back into what would have been Risotto's stump, her Stand in hand. "Get rid of the staples Risotto."

The resident medic of the Quest group's eyes widened in shock and almost stepped forward to interfere, if it weren't for a quick glare from Cyrus. Risotto grimaced in pain, but did as he was told.

Almost instantly, the iron medical staples binding his foot to his leg seemed to disintegrate as the pink-haired teen pushed the amputated limb back hard, before holding up Cream Starter.

Spritzsh!

The brownish fluid spurted from the can's nozzle, quickly encircling Risotto's foot as it settled and seemingly hardened. Phoebe's eyes widened in wonder alongside the rest of the demigod party while Cyrus gagged again.

Within seconds, the wound had healed over and Risotto gently took his leg back, testing its weight gingerly. "Hrm." He grunted a little in approval after feeling no pain and slowly stood up.

HP smirked as she hooked Cream Starter back onto her belt. "You're welcome Riso."

"Thank you Hydrangea." Risotto's voice rumbled out, only for HP's eyes to narrow before she sighed.

Cyrus cleared his throat as he looked up at the sky, trying to gauge how much time they had while trying to come up with some plans. "Right! Coco, I need you to take these three back to Razione and the others." He said, pointing out the two associates of la Squadra as well as Rina.

While Risotto and Anette nodded, albeit with some displeasure, while Rina blinked a little in confusion. "W-wait why me?"

The young Don knelt down in front of Rina. "I hate to tell you Rina, but it's really not safe here with us. Coco will take you somewhere safe! With Risotto and Anette, you'll be just fine."

"B-but what about...?" She hesitated as she looked back at Percy. He blinked in surprise, but Cyrus felt a small smile curl his lips. He shouldn't have been surprised, after how much of an impression he'd made on the young girl he'd saved.

Percy stepped forward to kneel down next to her. "Cyrus is right Rina. It's too dangerous with us right now. But once we're done with this quest maybe I can come visit! Or maybe the other way around." He added at the end as he recalled Zeus's threat to smite him out of the sky should he ever go flying in an airplane again.

Rina seemed hesitant, but the son of Poseidon gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, it'll be okay." And slowly but surely, Rina smiled back before nodding.

Coco seemed pleased with the turn of events as he made a noise of approval. "Good, good. Now come on, I'm not getting any older!" He barked out, eliciting smirks and chuckles from the Stand Users of the group.

The child Stand User blinked before nodding and quickly walking over to Coco Jumbo alongside Risotto and Anette. "So...how do we do this?" Rina piped up a little in confusion as she looked down at the turtle. Coco just rolled his eyes, but it had a kindly feel to it.

"Just reach out to touch the gem on my shell, little one. I'll take care of the rest." He replied, as Rina scrunched up her nose in confusion, but shrugged. She tenderly reached out to touch the gem. In an instant, she was sucked into the gem in a swirl of color and light with a yelp.

Zoe's brows raised in surprise. "Wait, how did-" "Wow it's big in here!" Rina's faint voice exclaimed from the gem as the members of Passione chuckled. Risotto and Anette turned to the rest of the group, with the silver-haired assassin giving them a small nod and Anette waving excitedly.

"See you guys around! Maybe one day come visit us in Italia eh?" Anette asked excitedly as the questers and HP smiled back at them. With that, the two adults reached towards the gem on Coco's shell, entering Mr. President.

Coco grumbled a little. "Finally...now the harder part." The turtle closed its eyes as a bright light seemed to envelop Coco before collapsing in on itself into a swirl. With a tiny pop, Coco Jumbo was gone. (2)

"Well...that was weird." Grover muttered quietly. Cyrus had to choke down a laugh. When the satyr thought an interaction with an animal was weird, it really said something about their lives, now didn't it?

Zoe shook her head to shelve the incident, as it were, in her mind for now and focus on the task at hand. "So, we must seek out Nereus, correct Jackson?"

Percy nodded and grumbled a little as he rubbed his forehead a bit. "Yep, in San Francisco Bay...where none of us have met him or know how he looks like." Yeah...this plan was looking less and less thought out than he realized when he said it all out loud.

Both hunters shot the son of Poseidon a glare. "Both of us have seen Nereus before." Phoebe replied, shaking her head a little. Thalia gave them a raised eyebrow.

"When you guys say 'before', you guys mean this century, right?" She frowned.

Zoe scowled at her. "Our memories are unmarred Grace, be certain of that. All we must do is find the foulest smelling being on the docks."

Cyrus and Percy blinked for a second, before grimacing while Grover moaned in agreement with them. That sounded particularly unpleasant, doubly so with Grover's enhanced senses and Cyrus's corpse-part induced vitality.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm not the biggest fan of that plan?" D4C's user piped up as they finally made it to the docks of San Francisco Bay while glancing at the rest of the group. Phoebe scowled at him. "It is the only way we have, Khan."

"...So what I'm hearing is Sharkbait has to go find him and we can just sit back and watch right?"

Percy shot him a glare while Thalia gave him an exasperated glance that just said 'what am I gonna do with you'. "Uh, I'm not a fan of that!" Percy argued back.

"I mean we don't have a choice." Grover hmmed as he scratched at his goatee, "I second Cy's idea." The son of Poseidon looked at him in exaggerated betrayal while the Satyr gave him an apologetic look.

While the team bickered back and forth over the plan, Cyrus felt a stabbing feeling in his chest and grimaced quietly. Immediately his senses went on high alert as his eyes hunted for anything that seemed out of place. Immediately he spotted a single figure in the small crowd that milled around the area.

The figure seemed to stare for a moment, before turning to walk away into the crowd. Cyrus scowled before slinking towards them even as the group bickered. However two in particular took notice and frowned.

He quietly tailed the figure as best he could, slipping and pushing past multiple locals and tourists as he tried to catch up. Before he knew it though, he'd lost them and was just standing in the midst of the crowd.

Cyrus grimaced as he scanned the faces in front of him. "Mrgh...damn. Something's not right."

"Sounds about right chief, hehe." A slimy male voice spoke up behind him. At the same time, his senses screamed danger as he whirled around.

Bam!

His hand came around to grip the threat he'd detected, a fist covered in spiky brass knuckles. The young Don grimaced as blood dripped from his fingers, the spikes having stabbed into a few of them as he grabbed the fist.

"Oooh, speedy one, ain'tcha?" The voice spoke up again, making Cyrus look up at his would-be assassin.

In a word, he looked...unstable.

His hair was blond with tints of red nearing the tips, but extremely greasy and hung from his scalp like ropes in a dreadlock style. His face was of fair complexion, and would've been attractive if it weren't for his bloodshot black eyes blown wide open, with equally black bags under them. He had studs and spiky piercings all over his ears and face, with a tattoo above his eye with two letter Bs. His face was grimy and covered in an equally greasy beard. His lips curled in a vicious grin, baring yellowed teeth that had a few gold and silver crowns interspaced as he tilted his head to regard Cyrus.

His clothes seemed to hang off his near skeletal frame, a red and black striped dress shirt buttoned only halfway up with rolled up sleeves, a pair of dark blue jeans that had clearly seen better days, and black flipflops. He had a gold chain necklace that was far too long and dangled almost down to his belt buckle even as he kept his hunched over posture. Over it all, he wore a jacket that was frayed and thready but had almost definitely been a very expensive one, featuring a furry collar and silvery cufflinks stylized into blood droplets. Atop his head sat a top hat that was ragged and torn.

Cyrus scowled. "Who the hell are you?"

The man grinned even wider somehow. "Name's Bleeding Jack, kiddie boy," he spoke, sending shivers of revulsion down Cyrus's spine as he spoke. "An' I'm 'ere to get paid an' beat ya bloody!" He laughed, a disgusting choking sound as he ripped his fist back.

"Grgh!" The spikes drew even more blood as Jack pulled back his brass knuckles, with Cyrus scowling as he looked down at his bloodied hand and fingers.

Jack just laughed again, not even trying to be subtle as he lunged forward like a brawler. The younger Stand User dipped back a bit, grimacing as the crowd had now taken notice and was backing away with yelps of shock as the unstable looking man swung at Cyrus.

Cyrus finally had enough and lashed back at him, shadowing D4C's fist over his own. With an audible crack, it made contact with Jack's nose, breaking it instantly and sending him skidding back. The crowd panicked, dispersing quickly as the brawl escalated while blood coated D4C's knuckles. Cyrus slowly let the stand emerge from his body, standing over him.

The apparent assassin hunched over for a moment, raising a hand to touch his face. "Hehehe..." Cyrus blinked at that. He got his nose broken and was...laughing?

Crick! Jack snapped his nose back into place and stood tall again. A gasp of shock left Cyrus's lips as he took a step back as a wash of tingling heat swept over his body

"Now, ol' boy...now we've got some Bad Blood!" Jack grinned wildly as he slowly licked the mix of blood, his and Cyrus's that stained his hand. Immediately the change began as his black eyes suddenly flared blood-red. His once skeletal frame seemed to swell into bulging muscle, his spine straightening as he soon towered a foot over Cyrus. His greasy beard turned wild and grizzled, lengthening into locks of chaotic hair. His teeth spiked up and seemed to turn into sharpened fangs. Even his voice had changed, now more booming and bloodthirsty, like a pit fighter thirsting to break some jaws.

Even as this change happened, Cyrus felt a twinging, tingling sensation that started from his hand and crept through his body. He grimaced as he suddenly just felt...weaker? "Urgh...what the?" He looked back at his hand and his eyes widened. Where the blood from his catching of Jack's spiked knuckles should've been lessening, it was quickening, gushing blood as Cyrus gritted his teeth at the growing sense of weakness in his body.

"Hehehe! HAHAHAHA! Th' Boss says to break ya! Jack is back, and it's time ta beat ya black an' blue!" Jack clenched a fist, the bulge of his muscle almost tearing clean through his jacket.

Suddenly Jack vanished. Cyrus's eyes widened in shock as the now-gargantuan man appeared above him throwing a vicious haymaker at his face. On instinct, D4C shot in front of its master, crossing its arms to block the damage.

Crush!

Cyrus didn't even realize what happened. His arms hurt like hell, his chest was killing him and he was crashed into a brick wall, having made a imprint in it. He tried to pull himself out of the hole he had been put in, only to scream out in pain.

Looking at his arms, his jaw dropped. His arms had been shattered. His forearms had been broken like wishbones, with fractures sticking out through the skin and pouring the liquid of life. He choked as he spat out a glob of blood, the crimson fluid splattering down his chin and staining his lips.

"I-I didn't even see him move! Why am I feeling so weak? He...he hit D4C's arms when he struck. I'm sure of it! Is he some kind of monster? Unlikely...only a few monsters can harm a Stand...so he has to be a Stand User, that's the likeliest option! But what the hell kind of strength and speed is this?!" Cyrus gritted his teeth as he breathed in and out weakly.

"GET UP BOY!" Jack's voice was soaking with bloodlust as he stomped forward, cracking his knuckles. "I CAME 'ERE FOR A FIGHT! Don' let me down!" He finished with a growl, settling into a battle stance. He stomped one foot forward, cracking the concrete he stood on while hunching over a little, leaning forward as his guard remained open, elbows by his side but hands and forearms ready to defend if needed. He looked like an unstoppable berserker as his eyes glowed a brutal red while the same shade of red wafted off him like vapor off a hot sidewalk. (3)

Menacing...

With a roar, that bared his now sharp and spikey teeth, Jack launched himself at the currently crippled Cyrus, who could only think one thing.

"Fuck."


Hydrangea bit her lip as she glanced back at where Cyrus had disappeared. She had spent enough time with the enigmatic Don of Passione to know that...usually...there was a good reason he would disappear. This would've been fine, but he was taking quite some time.

Which never did bode well. She could count a few moments during the establishment of the new status quo in Italy as the restructuring of Passione was underway.

The group at hand seemed to still be bickering over their plan to find this Nereus character, and she was in no mood to deal with the smellier inhabitants of the pier. She weighed her options. Go follow Cyrus and his brand of whatever crap he had gotten himself into? Or deal with trying to find and old smelly shapeshifter that had hidden himself somewhere on the pier?

She thought for a moment, before she muttered to herself, "Fuck it," and began walking off towards where Cyrus had gone.

Phoebe took notice of the two's disappearance and cursed. While she could understand Cyrus's idiocy, she would never understand why Hydrangea opted for following him! So impulsive and unwise, what could she be thinking?! She scowled before taking off after her.

"Foolish girl. You haven't changed at all!"


Zeus frowned deeply as he drummed his fingers on the armrest of his throne. His brows furrowed as he rested his chin on his fist, not brooding because he was the King of the Gods and did not do that sort of thing.

No, he was...reflecting, on the recent news and stirrings that had currently been circulating around Olympus. Specifically regarding the certain enigma known as Cyrus Khan. He scowled.

That boy was not normal, and while he knew a portion of how that was the case, it was not the whole picture. Even now Zeus could tell that nearly all of Olympus had taken an interest in one form or another regarding the strange Stand User that had chosen to throw stones into Fate's pond, making ripples every which way.

Athena was damn near tearing her hair out at trying to connect everything together with Apollo in the same boat but to a radically lower degree (not counting his minor grudge for having lost a contest to the young man). Hephaestus found his weapon to be fascinating and as quiet and reclusive his son was, even the Thunderlord could tell that the Forge God was itching to ask about having a look at the handcannon Cyrus boasted. Hermes was immensely fond of him, from what his son had mentioned, what with the boy's incredible cunning and trickster-style strategies.

Aphrodite (no offense to her) could not keep her mouth shut about the young man and Ares was now notoriously spooked by him. Demeter and Hera didn't have an opinion that they had shared on him, but Zeus could tell that they had their eyes on him for whatever reasons. Even his brothers, Hades and Poseidon had their grievances and intrigues with the young Stand User.

Even now he would occasionally hear annoyed mutterings from his Trident-wielding brother about 'how the hell did the lad manage to slip through my fingers...'

Personally, Zeus was torn. On one hand, Cyrus was exceedingly powerful and influential in a way that the Thunder God could not fully understand or control. And that grated on him. He wasn't a godling in the conventional sense. None of his kin had claimed him for Order's sake! But that left the question, what was he? Was he one of their...their flip-sides...or was he one of the old One-Eye's...? Or was it part of the great game played by forces beyond his control? He grimaced at that thought.

On the other hand though, he could tell that Cyrus was a leader, strong and sharp. And just as he thought before, powerful. As much as he didn't like that he didn't immediately understand the young man or that he wasn't fully under the King of Olympus's control, he was simultaneously intrigued. He just...HAD to know what was going on with this young Stand User.

A small cough roused him from his not-brooding as he glanced up. Apollo stood in front of him, shuffling a little as he scratched at his head holding his sunglasses. The God of Thunder sighed. "Yes Apollo?"

The Sun God shuffled a little more. "Got some time? Found out a few things about our...common interest."

"Joy..."


AN: UGH and done!

Not much to say here, but thanks for reading! Hopefully it was enjoyable haha, but I'm looking forward to see what else the crew have in store for them!


Notes:

(1) A few little glimpses into the future? Who were the first two voices? The rest of them? Questions questions, but no answers, hmmm...

(2) It is...wayy too fun writing Coco Jumbo, I love the cantankerous little guy already! But alas, off he goes with Rina and the two members of la Squadra. This quest is no place for a little girl and Cyrus needs la Squadra to hold down the fort in Europe...for now at least.

(3) So one big issue I had with this chapter was that I wanted a Stand User to battle...but not one that had already been made/one that was already in JoJo's. All I knew is that "Risotto, the resident blood-based Stand User is leaving" and I wanted something that was blood-based to be the enemy Stand User. Enter Jack. He's quite inspired from the champion Jack from Legends of Runeterra (amazing game btw if you're into card games like Magic the Gathering and such) and I can't wait to see how I'm going to have him and Cyrus brawl it out.


And 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