The Forgotten Stardust Crusader

Garden of Stone

The next morning the group woke up and met to have breakfast at the hotel's breakfast service. They all got their food and sat down. Everyone except Sid started eating.
"Have you been able to call the Speedwagon foundation yet?"
Sid asked Joseph.
"I was going to after breakfast."
Joseph replied.
"I'm not hungry, mind if I call them for you?"
Sid asked.
"Sure, let me give you their number."
Joseph grabbed a peice of paper out of his pocket and wrote down a phone number and gave Sid some coins. Sid thanked him.
"Please, while you're on the phone with them, ask about Holly Kujo's condition."
Joseph asked, Sid nodded her head and dialed on the hotel's phone they kept in the dining area.
"Speedwagon foundation, how may I help you?"
A familiar voice asked over the phone.
"This is Sid Joestar, I need information on the cases of Holly Kujo and the address you were given in Seattle."
Sid stated.
"Oh Sid, remember me? It's Florence."
Florence asked.
"Yes, I do. Now, I'd like the information I requested."
Sid demanded.
"Of course. It looks like Mrs. Kujo's condition isn't getting any better. The resident's of the Seattle address were found dead from what look like gunshot wounds. The people listed include 46 year old Jeffery Burton, 42 year old Karen Burton, 10 year old Jeremy Burton, 15 year old Dexter Burton and 18 year old Charlie Burton. The bullets perfectly hit the brain and heart, we believe this was done by the enemy stand user, Hol Horse."
Florence stated, though Sid didn't hear anything after Charlie's name. She hung up the phone and sat down at the breakfast table.
"What did you hear about Holly's condition?"
Joseph asked.
"She's not getting any better."
Sid flatly replied, staring off into nothingness.
"What about Charlie?"
Joseph kindly asked.
"She and her entire family... killed by Hol Horse."
Sid flatly replied, a few tears fell down her face.
"When are we leaving?"
Sid asked Joseph.
"Not for a few hours."
Joseph replied.
"I want to go back to bed. Someone come wake me up twenty minutes before we have to go."
Sid left the table.
"Should we go and say something?"
Kakyoin asked after Sid had left the dining room.
"I think randomly taking a nap like this could be her way of coping. I'd say we should just let her be for now."
Joseph answered. Sid had made her way to the hotel room. She sat down on the bed, took a couple of her painkillers and immediatly feel asleep. She woke up to Joseph shaking her awake.
"We've got to go. Our plane is almost here."
Joseph stated. Sid got up, gathered her things and made her way downstairs. They made their way to the small airport where their plane was being stored. Sid heard some sort of a comotion about a baby making it on the plane or not. Jotaro placed his hand on Sid's shoulder.
"I'm sorry about Charlie."
He stated, Sid fell to her knees and started uncontrollably sobbing. Everyone stopped talking and stared at her. Sid sensed all the eyes on her and waved her hand in the air.
"Sorry, ignore me, just been a rough day."
Sid admitted between sobs. Eventually they agreed that the baby would come with them. Sid went back to sleep on the plane, along with Kakyoin and Polnareff.
"God, I guess everyone is tired."
Joseph stated. Jotaro, being the only other one who was awake, ignored Joseph. Kakyoin, Polnareff and Sid had woken up in the feris wheel of a colorful amusement park. They see a balloon with something tied to it float towards them. Kakyoin pulls the balloon towards them.
"Death thirteen."
Kakyoin read off the card from the balloon. Suddenly, a stand wearing a clown mask, long black robe and weilding a scithe, rapildly approched them. Death thirteen began to wildly swing it's weapon at them. All of a sudden, Polnareff disappeared.
"Can you change our fellow travelers diaper?"
Joseph asked Polnareff.
"Why would I know how to do that? You're the one with the kids."
Polnareff complained.
"I'm also pioleting this plane. Change the diaper, Polnareff."
Joseph instructed. Polnareff let out a sigh.
"Sid, Sid, Sid."
Polnareff repeated as he tried to shake her awake.
"Who? Oh my god, I just had a horrible nightmare. Though, I can't remember a thing about it."
Sid mumbled.
"I feel the same way but, I need your help changing this diaper."
Polnareff admitted.
"That's what you woke me up for?"
Sid shouted.
"Well, can you help me?"
Polnareff asked.
"No, I've never changed a diaper in my life."
Sid stated.
"Neither have I,"
Polnareff admitted.
"Fine,"
Sid stated with a sigh. Sid and Polnareff changed the diaper to the best of their ability. Sid threw the dirty diaper out the planes door.
"Are you nuts?"
Jotaro shouted.
"Calm down, I only opened the door a crack. Did you really think I was going to keep that gross thing in here?"
Sid calmly replied. She started feverishly using rubbing hand sanitizer between her palms. Kakyoin started convusling in his sleep, causing Joseph to lose control of the plane. For a moment he thought he got it back under control but, he hit a palm tree. The plane hit the ground and was unable to get back in the air. The group starts to set up camp, all of them were worried about Kakyoin. He sat on a rock with his head in his hands. Sid stopped what she was doing and went over to him.
"Hey, do you want to talk about it?"
Sid asked as she sat down next to him.
"I don't even remember what the nightmare was about."
Kakyoin admitted.
"I have that happen sometimes too. It feels like you've had the worst dream imaginable but, you can't remember a thing about it. You can only just guess what it was about. Makes you scared to try and go back to sleep."
Sid explained.
"Yeah, I just feel bad because my reaction while sleeping caused us to crash."
Kakyoin replied. Sid wasn't sure how to make Kakyoin feel better.
"One time while I was on a train, I woke up from a nightmare screaming. They had to stop the train for an hour because they thought there was an attacker. When I told them the truth they didn't believe me until they didn't find any evidence of an attack."
Sid recalled, trying to empathise with Kakyoin. Kakyoin let out a slight chuckle.
"I don't know, just all of a sudden, I feel like I'm losing my mind."
Kakyoin admitted.
"I don't know what to tell you besides, welcome to the club. You're still probably the most metally stable person here and I include myself in that. If you want to talk about anything, let me know. We've been facing nonstop attacks and that would mess with anyone's head."
Sid stated as she got up and went to make sure no one was wounded. Joseph sent out a distress signal and prepared for the possiblity of a rescue or that another enemy stand user would attack. No one had any major wounds so, she went to go help Jotaro start a campfire.
"You should say something to Kakyoin."
Sid told Jotaro as they walked around looking for sticks.
"What do I say?"
Jotaro asked.
"I don't know, just something nice. He's your boyfriend and there's clearly something going on with him."
Sid replied. They each found a handful of sticks and made their way back to camp. Jotaro pulled the brim of his cap over his eyes.
"I'm not good at that kind of stuff."
Jotaro admitted.
"Huh, it's almost like we're related or something."
Sid sarcastically stated.
"Good grief, I'll go say something."
Jotaro stated. He walked over to Kakyoin, who was still sitting in the corner.
"Hey, you alright?"
Jotaro asked.
"I feel like I'm losing it out here."
Kakyoin admitted. They were both silent for a moment. Jotaro didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry,"
Jotaro said as he sat down next to Kakyoin. They sat hand in hand as Joseph made food for the baby. Joseph was showing Sid and Polnareff how to make it.
"Can I try it?"
Polnareff asked.
"I don't see why not."
Joseph replied, handing Polnareff the spoon.
"Oh my god, it's delicous. Sid you have to try some."
Polnareff exclaimed.
"No thanks."
Sid flatly replied. Just as Sid finsihed what she was saying, Kakyoin sprang up.
"The baby just killed a scorpion with a safety pin."
Kakyoin shouted. Joseph got up and looked around the baby's bed.
"Kakyoin, I don't see anything. Did anyone else see that happen?"
Joseph asked the group. Everyone nodded their head to say no.
"I swear that baby is an enemy stand user."
Kakyoin shouted.
"Kakyoin, I know we've been through a lot but, that's just a baby."
Sid tried to reason.
"I'm not crazy, see."
Kakyoin stated as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal cuts that spelled out,
"Baby stand."
"Oh, Kakyoin. I think we should all have some dinner and get some rest. Let me disinfect that and get some bandages on it."
Sid calmly stated as she slowly walked towards Kakyoin.
"Don't treat me like I'm crazy."
Kakyoin shouted as he summoned his stand to attack the baby. Polnareff knocked him out using the hilt of Silver Chariot's sword. Jotaro and Polnareff moved Kakyoin to his sleeping bag.
"What if we're wrong?"
Sid questioned as she disinfected Kakyoin's wound.
"It wouldn't be ideal but, we could handle it. It's better than Kakyoin attacking a possibly innocent baby."
Joseph stated.
"If we are wrong, we all owe Kakyoin a huge apology."
Polnareff admitted. Sid walked over and pick up the baby.
"Because the thing I'm curious about is, why does this baby have fangs like a vampire? Isn't that DIO guy we're after a vampire?"
Sid questioned as the baby started to cry.
"Be more careful, babies are sensitive."
Joseph stated.
"Ya know, I'm starting to believe Kakyoin on this one. Anytime we point out our suspitions, even if we're not touching him, he starts crying."
Sid explained. Sid summoned Soundgarden and was knocked out by Polnareff. She awoke in the same amusment park as before but, in the moving tea cups. They were rapidly moving to the point of Sid starting to feel sick to her stomach. Suddenly, she felt Hierophant Green's tenticles wrap around both of her upper arms and lift her off of the tea cups and onto the ground next to them.
"Thanks. I owe you one. I'm sorry for not believing you about the baby being the stand user."
Sid apologized.
"It's okay, I know that the baby being the stand user is pretty out there but, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction."
Kakyoin replied. Death Thirteen appeared out of thin air.
"Pull him down."
Sid instructed. Kakyoin used Hirophant Green's tenticles to pull Death Thirteen out of the air.
"Look, I don't want to hurt you because you're a baby but, this is you're first and last warning. We may not be able to remember what happened here but, it won't be hard for Kakyoin and I to put two and two together after all this. Once we do, our stands would be able to kick your ass."
Sid told the baby. She took a sharpie out of her pocket and wrote,
"Kakyoin was right."
oh her forearm. Their dreams returned to normal. They woke up early the next morning and made breakfast. Sid rolled up the sleeves of her sweater to see the writing on her arm. All of a sudden, the memories of Death Thirteen, the dream and the night before came rushing back to her.
"I think we should make some baby food."
Sid sarcatically stated. Kakyoin agreed and they made it the way Joseph had shown Sid to. Kakyoin put a peice of the baby's poop in the food and mixed it in. Kakyoin started feeding the baby.
"It doesn't look like anyone is responding to our distress signal."
Joseph told the group.
"Do we have some time before we get moving?"
Sid asked.
"I say we wait another couple of hours for someone to respond. If we don't hear anything, then we'll have to start moving on foot. Why do you ask?"
Joseph asked.
"I'd like a moment to say a few words about Charlie."
Sid stated. Joseph nodded his head.
"I hope you guys don't mind but, I'd like to say a few words about Charlie."
Everyone turned their attention to Sid as they ate breakfast. She continued,
"I met Charlie Burton a few years ago. We were inmates at the same jail. We had all the time in the world to get to know each other. I taught her poker and she taught me piano. Whenever possible, she gave me a place to stay. Charlie and her brothers treated me as family, something I never had before. For one of the first times in my life, I felt safe. In jail of all places, because I knew she had my back and I had hers. Then, I didn't and Hole Horse was most likely paid by DIO to kill Charlie and her family. We always talked about moving to the UK or Canada and adopting a baby, living like a real family. White picket fence sort of stuff."
Sid stated as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She continued,
"It's not just the death of Charlie, the woman I loved more than anything. It's the death of what could've been. Anyways, we wrote this poem together a couple years back. It hypothesises about what would happen to the other if one of us died."
Sid cleared her throat and wyped away a few tears.
"I'm gone and you're left no longer at home.
How long will it take you to visit me at the garden of stone?
Will your soul be set adrift?
Will you find something in your way?
Or will you be a chicken with it's head cut off?
Leaping, bounding and ricocheting with no eyes to show you what could be?
Do you walk with your hands and heart bound by my memory?
Will you attempt to return home to find me?
Take the time you need to wash the blood off your face.
Don't forget me but do move on.
Carry my memory with love.
Do not live in despair over me.
You will have your day to join me in the garden of stone.
But that day is not for a long time, my love."
Sid started sobbing as she finished reading what her and Charlie had wrote together. She sat down next to Joseph, he put his arm around her shoulder.
"I should have been there, I could've saved her."
Sid sobbed.
"If you weren't here you wouldn't know about enemy stand users. If you were back home, you would be in jail or prison right now. There was no winning situation."
Polnareff stated. Sid thought about that night, knowing she could've ran and met Charlie in Vancouver. Knowing that she was convinced by people, who at that point, were practically strangers, made the twinge of guilt, that much worse. They didn't hear anything from the plane's reciver so, they made their way on foot to the nearest town. After a few breaks and Polnareff almost fainting, they made it to a nearby town. They dropped the baby off at a doctor's office and bought a boat. They made their way onto a boat and Joseph started driving it. Sid sat with her head in her hands.
"What you said back there was truly beutiful."
Polnareff told Sid as he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks,"
Sid responded, her head still in her hands.
"Did you and Charlie really write that poem?"
Kakyoin asked.
"Yeah, I never actually thought I'd be the one reading it."
Sid answered.
"How come?"
Kakyoin asked. Sid took her head out of her hands and sat up.
"I'm not a hundred percent sure. I love her but, she was always more wreckless than I was. She'd get in a fight and I'd be there to patch her up. I guess because I'm more wreckless in the sense of being willing to steal and do other dumb stuff. I guess there's no quickly patching up a shotgun wound after getting shot by the angry convience store owner after trying to steal a bottle of vodka. Charlie usually just got into petty street fights when she thought she had nothing better to do."
Sid answered. The boat continued to speed across the water.
"We're stopping at an island near the Red Sea before we head to Eygpt."
Joesph told the rest of the group.