Crux III crawls out of Crux IV
James
Have you seen this one yet?
Will
No, I haven't
So be careful, I'm not sure what it can do.
James nods
James
It's better if we just shoot it while we have the distance.
Lacerta raises its arm as it gets ready to fire
The puppet moves out of the way faster than James or Will are able to see
Will
What the?!
James
Behind you!
Will blocks a punch with Auriga
Flashback
Queen
A puppet for speed?
John
That's right, all of your current puppets are rather slow, aren't they?
It's not because of your skill, it's because of the joints, so I want the third one to focus on speed and use that to its advantage.
Because of your Manifesto, you don't need to worry about weight
So focus on making it use its physical body to its advantage.
Ok?
Queen
Uh, yes boss!
Queen leaves as John stares at the puppet
He grabs a knife and makes a cut across its face
John
There, now if I ever need to use Queen's power, I'll be certain to have his greatest creation at my disposal.
This Manifesto will undoubtedly be one of the fastest once it's completed
End of flashback, Will pushes Crux III off of him as it gets back to its feet and gets ready to move again
Will
(I see why Queen warned me about this.)
(I can't tell if it's because of the puppet or John's usage, but this thing is deadly!)
(It's way more dangerous than that old lady, or even Chuck!)
James! What's the holdup?!
James
I can't get a lock on it!
It's too fast!
If only we could predict where it was going!
Will
Predict?
!
This might be a long shot, but I have an idea
James
It's not like we have a lot of options!
What's the plan?
Will
Well, when I was fighting that old lady before—
James
Why were you beating up an old lady?
Will
Not important!
Anyways, while we were fighting, it was almost like I could see the movements of her Manifesto before it made them!
I think I might be able to do the same thing here!
If I'm able to tell you where it will go, can you beat it?
James
Of course.
Let's see what you and Auriga are capable of.
Will smiles
Will
Right!
Ready?
Crux III gets back up and begins running again
Auriga appears as the black flames begin to circle around it
Outlines of Crux III's path appear around Will
Will
!?
James
Where am I aiming?
Will
Uh, every–
Crux III lands a punch, Auriga barely manages to block
James
Will!
Will
I'm fine!
(I didn't think of this!)
(Even if I can see its path, I'm not able to react early enough to actually do anything about it!)
(There's gotta be some way of overcoming that)
Crux III appears next to Will's head as a bullet grazes it
Lacerta's black flames are burning more than before as its arm is raised
James
Take your time!
I trust your judgement.
I'm sure whatever you plan you come up with will work!
Will nods
Will
(He's right, my plan has to work!)
(If it doesn't then what did Caroline and Queen, and every other victim of John die for?)
(James is keeping his composure because he knows he will defeat John, there's no doubt in his mind!)
(So I can't be doubting myself either!)
(I just need to take decisive action, here and now!)
Will takes a deep breath in as black flames begin to erupt out of Auriga, as Will sees a clearer path of Crux III
Will
(I can see it!)
(All of it!)
The images fade out as the street returns to normal
James
Did it work!?
Will begins running towards a lamp post
James
Will!
Will
(No time to explain to James, I'm better off going straight for it!)
Auriga launches a punch that makes direct contact with Crux III
The puppet is shoved into the ground, it tries to push itself back up, but Auriga pins it down
Will
Do it now, James!
James looks surprised, before smiling
James
I knew you had it in you!
Lacerta…
Fire.
The puppet looks at the bullet before going lifeless
Lacerta fires off a bullet, accelerated by the black flames
The bullet pierces through Crux III's head
Will
We did it!
We destroyed his Manifesto!
James
I wouldn't be so sure about that…
Will
?
James
That puppet stopped fighting back the minute I used Lacerta against it.
From how John was talking earlier, I think he's scared of its ability to destroy Manifestos.
Now that we're done here, the next step is to–
James collapses to the ground
Will
James!
James
(W-what?)
(Oh, I guess my body's at its limits…)
???
Limit?
Hardly.
James looks up towards the figure and sees Mercury
James
(What?!)
(No, you're dead. I held your dying body in my arms!)
(The fact I'm seeing the ghost of my mentor proves that I died!)
Mercury
Not exactly.
There's a lot we need to talk about, how about a change in scenery?
Fade out, as we focus on John, collapsed and bleeding out
John
Huff, huff…
(Shit, if I hadn't recalled Corvus when I did, there's no telling if it would have been destroyed.)
(The biggest drawback of its ability is that I can't use multiple powers at once…)
(...but with that said, I made the right decision holding the two of them off and giving me time to escape.)
(Now, with Corvus back at my side, I can utilize the Manifesto I've been longing for since I discovered its ability!)
Corvus manifests itself
John
Ack…that's right, I need to assign a hand sign to it, or else Corvus won't transform.
Without the hand signs in place, Corvus could transform into any Manifesto I possess.
John starts coughing up blood as he looks down at the holes in his body from James
John
I have the perfect sign in mind…
Now, for Corvus to reach the pinnacle of its potential.
Corvus begins to transform as the silhouette is revealed: Possessing a crown, a halo, and 4 wings.
John starts smiling as Corvus plunges its hand into his body
John
"Dying of natural causes" just means parts of your body stop functioning, like an organ's cells dying, or your nerves failing, but with this new form of Corvus, all of those worries are a thing of the past!
Organ failure? Being shot in the chest? Losing massive amounts of blood? Impaled?
None of them can harm me now!
Through Corvus, so long as I draw breath, nothing can kill me!
(With that said, there is still one final problem to my immortality.)
(One pest who continues to defy me and mock my principles.)
(He alone possesses the power to stop me.)
John smiles again
John
I can't wait to imagine the look on James' face as I take everything away from him.
I hope you're ready James Spectre, because very soon, your strength will become my strength.
I will take your Lacerta and use it for my own ends.
John impales himself again with Corvus
John
Ha…hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
John's hair begins to grow longer, his wrinkles disappear, the bags under his eyes vanish, he becomes far more muscular compared to before
John has become the spitting image of his younger self, when he was at his prime
John
I've never seen two men with such intertwined fates as ours.
I can't wait for our next, and final, encounter.
See you soon, James Spectre
Image showing James and Mercury outside of James' childhood home as his child self cries over his parents' bodies.