The Forgotten Stardust Crusader

Tuesday's Gone

The group had arrived in Varanasi and began walking around the city.
"I had something that I thought was a bug bite before but, it's starting to get worse. I'm going to head to one of the local clinics to get it removed. Don't go to far without me."
Joseph let the group know as he walked away. The group nodded their heads and went on their way.
"Why did we stop here instead of just staying on the bus?"
Sid asked as they wondered the streets.
"I think it's so we don't put too many non-standusers at risk. Plus, I remember hearing the old man talk about there being a car waiting for us here. Thanks to the Speedwagon foundation."
Jotaro replied.
"Fair enough."
Sid stated.
"Why don't we go get something to eat?"
Polnareff suggested. Sid visibly cringed at the idea.
"What? Not hungry? I haven't seen you eat since I met you."
Polnareff noted.
"I get enough food so, please, stop saying that. I really bothers me."
Sid replied.
"Alright, I'll stop bothering you."
Polnareff replied, putting his hands up as if he was surrendering. Sid found a bench and sat down, resting her chin in her hands. Jotaro sat down next to her and lit up a cigarette.
"Good grief, you two always argue about this. But, I'm on Sid's side, mind your own, Polnareff."
Jotaro stated.
"Sid and Jotaro have had the hardest day out of all of us. We should let them decide what we do."
Kakyoin suggested.
"Nearest liqour store?"
Sid asked.
"Varanasi is a dry city."
Kakyoin replied.
"Damn,"
Sid stated flatly.
"What's taking the old man so long?"
Jotaro questions.
"There could be a long wait time."
Polnareff replies.
"Isn't it almost Christmas?"
Sid asks.
"Yes, but I don't know how that would effect wait times."
Kakyoin replied.
"What wait times?"
Sid asked.
"The old man's."
Jotaro retorted.
"Ok, don't get all mad at me. I was thinking about something else. But, it could because people might ignore some smaller issues if they're busy with holiday preperations or spending time with family."
Sid noted. Everyone gave her a perplexed look.
"What, the first time I was in prison, I worked in the infirmary. Even in jail people had those they wanted to spend time with during the holidays instead of  coming to the nurses."
Sid replied.
"You've been to prison?"
Polnareff asked in shock.
"Jail, not prison, those are two different things."
Sid replied.
"Oh yeah, what's the difference?"
Polnareff asked sarcastically.
"Prison is for sentances of over a year and those who committed for serious crimes. Jail is for shorter sentances and less serious crimes. I went to jail because I stole food I needed to survive because my mother kicked me to the curb without a place to go. The second time was for stealing a couple bottles of booze from a large chain convience store. What would've been the third time was for punching my stepmom in the face after she tried to slap me so, you be the judge."
Sid replied in a matter of fact way. Everyone was silent for a moment. All of a sudden, the woman that had been with them started gushing blood and Joseph appeared.
"We have to go, that woman was an enemy standuser."
Joseph shouted. He started running and everyone followed him.
"Why do I keep going along with these idiots? Charlie is in danger because of my relation to them and I keep going along with them like it's fine. I was a fool to stay with them, that night in Singapore. I should've ran like hell, but, with no word from Charlie, where do I have to go?"
Sid thought to herself. Within a few blocks, they got to an alleyway with a car, Joseph pulled out the keys and told everyone to hop in. Everyone quickly got in the car and they sped off.
"You know she wasn't chasing us, right? And what happened anyway?"
Sid asked.
"Oh, uh, I guess I got so wrapped up in everything that I didn't notice she retired. That bump on my arm turned out to be her stand. I ran around the city trying to find a way to get her stand off me."
Joseph replied.
"Where are we headed now?"
Polnareff asked.
"We're using this car to get to Pakistan."
Joseph replied. Part way through their journey, on desert roads,
"Is that? No way in hell, that's the kid, that's Anne."
Sid starts wildly pointing to a child attempting to hitch hike. They stop the car and Sid gets out. She gets down on her knees to get to Anne's eye level.
"What did I tell you about accepting things, including rides, from strangers?"
Sid disiplined Anne.
"That it's a dangerous idea that could get me in some bad situations."
Anne reluctantly replied.
"Exactly, you're not staying out here, come on."
Sid motioned for Anne to come with them. Anne happily agreed and got in the car with them.
"Well, look who's back."
Polnareff told Anne sarcastically. Sid gave him a dirty look.
"Where's your dad? I thought you were going to meet up with him in Singapore."
Sid questioned Anne.
"Well, um, that was a lie. You see, I want to travel the world before I have to be a grown up. Before I have to do stuff like pay rent and get married and all that."
Anne replied, thinking she was making a good argument.
"So you're a runaway."
Polnareff stated.
"Is there a reason you wanted to run away from home besides traveling the world?"
Sid asked, worried that something was going on in Anne's family life.
"What's it to you?"
Anne suddenly got defensive and Sid knew she had touched a nerve.
"I see you're still wearing the earrings I gave you, they look nice."
Sid tried to change the subject as to not let the last thing she said hang in the air.
"Yeah, I really like them."
Anne replied. Silence hung in the air and Sid knew she had gotten to personal.
"I'm sorry if I asked you too personal of a question. How your life is at home is none of my buisness."
Sid apologized.
"My dad, he was going to meet me in Singapore but, he never showed up."
Anne stated somberly.
"I'm sorry."
Sid replied, the car was silent for most of the remainder of the ride. A red car suddenly pushes them off their path and toward an on coming truck. Jotaro summons Star Platium to help them avoid the crash.
"What the hell was that?"
Jotaro questions.
"It has to be an enemy stand user."
Kokyoin concluded. The rest of the group agreed and they stopped at a roadside cafe. They saw the red car parked near the cafe. Right as Sid started to use Good Eye Closed, the car sped off into the distance.
"Well, there's no point in just standing around. Let's give chase."
Jotaro concluded, the group ran back to the car and got in. They sped along the desert roads, kicking up sand under their tires. They followed the red car past a sign that said "Pakistan" and pointed one way and "Dead end" that pointed to another. Both cars drove on the side that read, "Pakistan." They kept driving and wound up on a dead end surrounded by cliffs.
"We're screwed, the guy disappeared and we're surrounded by an abyss."
Sid stated. All of a sudden the red car comes from out of nowhere and the groups car is being pushed over the cliff. Hierophant Green launches one of his cables and hooks it to the front of the red car.
"Hey Kakyoin, I got a question for you, do you like Sumo wrestling? Especially deadlocks at the edge of the ring. It's exciting, isn't it?"
Jotaro shouts as Star Platinum takes the cable that Hierophant Green attached to the red car and uses it's momentum to swing the groups car back to high ground. In the process, the red car is swung off the cliff  with an "Ora", and Star Platinum disconnects the cable from their car.
"You should have listened to your female traveling companion, you are screwed. My stand, Wheel of Fortune, will be your demise."
A voice coming from their car radio stated.
"Do you think he can hear us?"
Sid asked.
"Probably not, how come you ask?"
Joseph questioned.
"I should have let you guys know sooner but, if I ever say, Full On, you need to cover your ears immeditatly. I need you guy to trust me on this one."
Sid replied. Sid got out of the car to see the red car had spikes with which it was using to climb up the cliff.
"Is she insane?"
Polnareff questioned aloud.
"She maybe brash and down right strange but, she's still my daughter so, have some respect."
Joseph replied. Polnareff apologized.
"Soundgarden, Full On."
Sid shouted, Soundgarden appeared and let out a deafening sound. The group covered their ears, the sound broke the glass in both cars windows and the driver appeared try to cover his ears but, screeched in pain. Though, the cars spikes were not impacted and it continued up the cliff. The rest of the group got out of the car just before the red car destroyed it. The enemy stand growing in strength afterwards.
"Well, I was hoping that move would stop him from getting up the cliff from the vibration of the noise but, I'm out of ideas now."
Sid admitted. The group started getting hit with what seemed to be invisible bullets.
"Soundgarden, Kickstand."
Soundgarden grabbed a bass guitar out of thin air and used it as a shield.
"Get behind that rock, we can't all fit back there and I can hold him off for now. I'll let you guys know when I think of something."
Sid shouted, most of the group followed her instructions.
"I'm not going to let you die out here. I couldn't protect my sister and Avdol was killed because of me."
Polnareff cried.
"I'm not going to die, now listen to me and get behind the rock with the others."
Sid shouted, Polnareff didn't move. Sid turned around and left the small amount of protective cover provided by Soundgardens guitar and shoved Polnareff down near the rock. In that moment, one of the invisible bullets suddenly struck Sid in the upper stomach. Blood suddenly splatterd from the wound and Sid fell to the ground. Jotaro used Star Platinum to quickly drag her behind the rock. Soundgarden and it's bass guitar faded away. Jotaro got up and walked away from the rock.
"Check her pulse, if a stand suddenly disappears like that, it could mean the user has died."
Joseph stated somberly. Kakyoin put his fingers on Sid's wrist.
"She's still alive, the fall may have given her a concussion, which is why she isn't awake."
Kakyoin noted.
"Jotaro, get back here, Sid was nearly killed and she has the only stand with something that resembles a shield."
Joseph shouted. All of a sudden, Jotaro was set ablaze. Behind the rock, the rest of the group started treating Sid to the best of their ability. Joseph grabbed a device and pressed the only button on it. Suddenly, Jotaro emerges from the ground without his jacket on. Star Platinum destroyed the car and pummeling the driver. The driver was chained to the rock with a sign that read,
"Do no unchain me under any circumstances."
Within a few moments, a Speedwagon foundation helicopter showed up and took Sid inside.
"Is she going to make it?"
Joseph asked, holding back tears.
"You responded quickly, so you have that on your side."
The doctor onboard replied.
"Where are you taking her?"
Kakyoin asked.
"We should have everything we need in here. But, if her condition becomes more crtical, we might need to rush her to headquaters in the states."
The doctor replied, two other doctors behind him and already gotten to work on Sid. The helicopter had been fashioned into a miniture hospital. Heart rate monitors, medical supplies and a hospital bed were accessable from the back of the copter.
"We're sorry but, we need to close the door in a few minutes to do emergancy surgery. If you have any goodbyes or anything else you want to say to her, now is the time."
The doctor stated flatly.
"You can do surgery in the back of that thing?"
Joseph loudly questioned.
"We have state of the art equipment but, it's also all we can do as their aren't any hospitals close enough to wait long enough to fly her there."
The doctor responded. Everyone tried to climb in the back at once.
"I'm sorry, one at a time."
The doctor informed them. Joseph got in the back first.
"I'm sorry for all of your childhood. All the birthdays, Christmasses, Halloweens, sports and showcases I wasn't there for. I wasn't there for your first word, first day of school or anything and I regret every moment of it. You have grown up to be a headstrong and kind hearted woman despite all you've been through. I am beyond happy that you got to be a part of the family, only if it was for a short time. I love you and am very proud of you. I'm sorry I forced you on this journey to what could be your death."
Joseph stated inbetween sobs.
"We're sorry but, we have to start the surgery now."
The doctor stated, slamming the door as he got in the copter.
"What do we do now?"
Polnareff questioned.
"All we can do is wait. Our car got destroyed and personally, I'm not leaving until we know if Sid survived."
Kakyoin stated.
"Didn't she say she worked in the infirmery the first time she was in jail?"
Polnareff recalled.
"Oh right, she did just before we left India."
Kakyoin remembered.
"Yeah, she patched me up after my fight with Yellow Temperance. She knew what she was doing too."
Jotaro added.
"She never told me that."
Joseph somberly added.
"It feels so strange that someone who is seen as the groups healer is dying from a bullet wound."
Polnareff somberly noted.
"She's not dying, the doctor said we had time on our side. She's going to have surgery, wake up and things will continue as if nothing ever happened."
Kakyoin rambled. Joseph looks away from the group to hide that few tears that had begun to stream down his face. While facing the other way, he sees her sunglasses and cigarette case. They had fallen out of her pocket during her battle against Wheel of Fortune. He walked over and grabbed them, the overwhelming grief brought him to his knees.
"Sid,"
he shouted, tears streaming down his face. All of a sudden, the group saw something they thought they never would. A single tear streamed down Jotaro's face. He didn't say or do anything, just a shed a single tear. They were in the middle of nowhere, the only other souls around were the doctors and possibly Sid's. Though they tried to hold out hope, they had no clue if she was still alive. While Jotaro remained stoic and lit up a cigarette, the entire group broke down.
"Avdol, Sherry and now Sid. All these people died because of me and my arrogance. Even worse is Avdol and Sid were trying to save my sorry ass."
Polnareff lamented. No one had the strength to say anything to him, they were busy trying to pull themselves together.