Over the course of the year, Polnareff and I travelled in and out of Paris to look for some leads on the Stand Arrow.
As agreed, Rita called us every few days to give us an update on her findings, unfortunately she was having a much luck as we were in getting any information or clues to help us find the arrow.
Eventually, our time in France was up, and Rita returned to us so we could make our way to the next location we planned to go to, Switzerland.
We should have expected that we'd again have no luck in Switzerland either, so we decided on moving onto Germany after 9 months of being in Switzerland.
We made our way over to Germany and our first main stop which was the city of Stuttgart.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Polnareff asked.
"Once we get to Stuttgart, we'll split up. I'll start headin' towards the East of Germany whilst you two start goin' North," Rita suggested, then added, "like we did in France, we'll make a point of callin' each other every few days to give any updates on the search."
"Sounds like a plan," I agreed.
As we approached the border of Stuttgart, dark clouds started to fill the sky.
"Are you kiddin' me? It was sunny only moments ago," Rita hissed and glanced over at us. "If you two want to get inside the carriage to stay dry, feel free to do so-" She was cut off when a lightening bolt hit the ground at least twenty metres away from us. Rita's horses reared back and whinnied at the lightning and the loud bang of thunder that came afterwards.
"Woah boys, it's okay. It's just a bit of thunder and lightning," Rita said to try and calm her horses.
Another bolt of lightning hit the ground, only this time it was closer to us.
"Shit! It's heading towards us! Let's get out of here!" Polnareff yelled.
Rita pulled on the reins and guided the horses backwards. As she directed the horses to go in another direction, a bolt of lightning hit the ground in the direction we were about to go.
Rita let out a low growl and turned the horses round again, only for another bolt of lightning to strike the ground in front of us again.
"Why the hell does it keep hitting where we're about to go?!" Polnareff growled, then added, "it's as if the lightning is being controlled!"
I looked at Polnareff with a raised eyebrow and jumped slightly as another lightning bolt hit the ground a lot closer to us. "How can lightning be controlled? They travel between different charged areas, so it's something it does on it's own," I pointed out.
"What is it you've said before? Anything is possible, even the impossible. What's the bet that the lightning is being controlled by a Stand user?" The Frenchman argued.
"Why would we be attacked by a Stand user?" Rita asked as she tried to steer the horses in another direction only to be blocked by another bolt of lightning.
"Y/N, don't forget about what Horse Face said, there will be people after us that want to go after the arrow as well. Someone must have caught wind of us looking for the arrow, so they want to stop us from finding it," Scarlet Phantom warned through my head.
"Shit..." I hissed, and looked back up. "We need to abandon the carriage."
"What?! I'm not abandoning my carriage!" Rita yelled over the thunder.
"We don't have a choice. The carriage is too big to turn around quick enough. We'll take the horses and get away from here."
"Y/N's right. If we are to stand a chance of survival, we need to get out of here quickly," Polnareff agreed.
"Scarlet Phantom and I will play decoy whilst you and Polnareff get the horses free from the carriage," I said as I stood up and jumped off the carriage as Scarlet Phantom materialised beside me and spread her wings.
"Are you insane?!" Polnareff and Rita exclaimed in unison.
"What if the lightening hits you?" Polnareff frowned.
"I'll make sure it doesn't. I'm quick enough to change direction, so avoiding the lightning shouldn't be a problem," Scarlet Phantom said as she grabbed onto me, then added, "just make sure you get the horses free and get out of here, we'll catch up with you."
Before Polnareff or Rita could protest, Scarlet Phantom jumped into the air and started to fly away from them.
Everything was going according to plan. The lightning was following us and leaving Polnareff and Rita alone.
"Looks like whoever the Stand user is can only strike one bolt of lightning at a time, hence why they're going after us," Scarlet Phantom theorised before dodging an incoming lightning bolt.
"We need to track them down, and fast," I said.
"I'm already on it, I've been able to sense their energy, so they can't be that far away."
Suddenly, another bolt of lightning struck, and Scarlet Phantom narrowly missed it.
"Shit..." The red-haired Stand hissed. "That one was stronger than the others!"
"Do you think we're getting nearer to the Stand user? Maybe their Stand works by range, so the further away the target, the weaker the Stand is?" I suggested.
"It's possible seeing as most Stands work like that."
As we continued to fly around, I swear I could feel electricity in the air which made the hair on my arms stand on end.
"Scar? Something's not right..."
"What do you me—"
Without warning, an extremely strong bolt of lightning struck, and unfortunately hitting Scarlet Phantom's right wing in the process, causing both of us to yell out in pain.
Scarlet Phantom pulled me closer to her chest as we started to fall to the ground before suddenly de-materialising.
As I felt myself get closer to the ground, I braced myself for impact, knowing full well this is not something I would make out of without a few broken bones.
My mind cast back to when I was in a similar situation and I was fighting DIO. His Stand had hit me so hard that it had sent me flying into a hotel sign and crashing to the ground below. I ended up with many broken bones after that attack, and I couldn't imagine how my now-healed bones would handle another great fall 6 years later.
As I was about to hit the ground, I felt myself get grabbed.
"It's okay, I've got you!" A familiar French accent said.
I looked up to see Polnareff. He had saved me from crashing to the ground just in time!
"Polnareff," I said the Frenchman's name with a sigh of relief. "You saved me."
"I'm glad I was able to make it in time. I saw you fall from the sky and Scarlet Phantom de-materialising just as we managed to get the horses, so I bolted over here to save you," Polnareff explained as he reared the horse round and rode back towards Rita as the lightning bolts followed us.
"I think we were near the Stand user," I said. "The lightning bolts were starting to get stronger, and I felt the electricity in the air."
"Well, once we get back to Rita, we'll head back over there. I don't want you being near them though. If they see you weakened, they'll direct their attacks at you," Polnareff said with a stern tone.
"I'm fine, Pol."
"Your Stand was just struck by lightning whilst in the sky! How can you say you're fine?!" He growled.
I didn't argue back because I would just lose against the Frenchman's concern for me.
We finally made it back to Rita and Polnareff jumped off the horse before grabbing me and carrying me over to the carriage bridal style.
"Where the hell did you run off to?!" The Irish fortune-teller growled as soon as we reached her.
"Scarlet Phantom got struck by lightning," Polnareff said as he gently placed me down. "I wasn't just gonna stand there and watch Y/N fall from the sky." He looked down at his hand and his eyes widened as soon as he saw blood on his hand. His gaze shot over to me and frowned. "Shit... She's been hurt."
I looked at the blood on Polnareff's hand and back up at him as he and Rita stood over us with concerned looks on their faces.
"Where about's is the bastard?" Rita asked.
"Y/N said she was near them as the lightning was stronger," Polnareff said as he knelt down beside me. "Take your shirt off," he instructed.
"What?! I'm not taking my shirt off!" I exclaimed.
"I need to check your injury, now take your shirt off."
"Hell no!"
"Y/N!"
"I'm fine!"
Our bickering got cut off at the sound of a horse whinnying and our attention was brought over to Rita on her horse.
"What are you doing?!" Polnareff exclaimed as he stood up and spun round to face her.
"I'm going after that bastard. You tend to Y/N's wounds," she said before riding off into the distance before Polnareff could argue.
A low growl rumbled from the Frenchman as he turned to face me and folded his arms over his chest. He let out a soft sigh before scooping me up in his arms.
"W-what are you doing?" I stammered.
"Taking you inside the carriage so I can patch you up. I don't think Rita'll let me live it down if I left you here to go after her," he said as he walked around to the carriage doors and held me closer to his chest as he used Silver Chariot to open the carriage doors.
Once inside, he set me down on the plush cushions and knelt in front of me. "Okay, you're not outside now, so can you take off your shirt so I can look at this injury?" He asked softly.
I brought my hands to my chest and glanced away. "It's probably just a scratch. I'll be fine."
"I'll be the judge of that, now do as you're told."
I let out a sigh of defeat and turned round so my back was to him. I tried to take my shirt off, but the moment I raised my arms, I felt a sharp pain below my right shoulder blade. I let out a yelp of pain and lowered my arms.
"Here, let me help you," Polnareff offered as he gently turned me back to face him.
"I-I can do it," I stammered.
"That little yelp of pain you let out says otherwise, now lean forward slightly and hold your arms up as far as they can go before you start to feel any pain," he instructed as he knelt over me and grabbed onto the hem of my shirt.
I did as instructed and Polnareff slowly and carefully peeled my shirt off of me. I heard him hiss through his teeth and say, "Just a scratch, eh?"
"Is it really that bad?"
"From what I'm able to see, yes. I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to need to unclasp your bra so I can get to the wound since it's right under it."
"What?" I shot up and brought my hands up to my chest to try and cover myself up as I looked at the Frenchman with wide eyes. I instantly regretted the sudden movement as the pain shot up my upper back and to my shoulder.
"Oh, come on, Y/N. I just need to look at the wound, and I can't do that with your bra in the way. I'm not asking you to take it off, just to undo it, that's all." Polnareff rolled his eyes.
He scanned around the carriage before his gaze landed on some loose fabric in the corner. He stood up and grabbed the fabric before bringing it back over to me. "Here, use this to hold up in front of you if it will make you feel comfortable," he said as he held the piece of fabric out to me.
I looked down at the fabric in his hand and gratefully took it from him and held it up to my chest as I turned my back to Polnareff once more.
I felt the Frenchman's cool fingers brush against my back as he unclasped my bra, sending a shiver down my spine.
"Jeez... How could this be an injury just from a bolt of lightning?" I heard him ask, then add, "It's like you've been slashed with a knife more than anything." I caught a glimpse of Polnareff rummaging around the carriage. A few minutes later, he returned behind me with a first aid kit in hand.
"This might sting a bit, but I need to clean it before I can bandage it," he warned before I felt him pat the wound with alcohol. I winced at the searing pain in my back and tightened my grip on the fabric and Polnareff kept saying sorry after every time he felt me spasm against the pain.
I felt his hands on my shoulders as he pushed my bra straps out of the way before he started to wrap my torso up in a bandage, making sure he was careful not to brush his hands over my breast as he bandaged me.
"There, all done. We'll need to keep on top of that to make sure it doesn't get infected," he said as he did my bra up on the loosest hook to make sure it didn't dig into the wound.
As I turned to thank him, the carriage doors were thrown open and a blood-soaked Rita staggered inside, slamming the doors behind her.
"What happened?" I gasped as soon as I saw the state of the Irish fortune-teller.
"What happened doesn't matter. What matter's is I took the bastard down and managed to get some information out of him," she said as she started to peel the top layer of her bloodstained clothes off.
"How the hell did you manage that?" Polnareff asked, then added, "I assumed Gin Blossom wasn't the type of Stand you could use to fight."
"Looks can be deceiving. Gin Blossom can fire thorns like bullets from a gun, and if one of those thorns land a hit, they can cause more damage than you'd expect. The user and his Stand had no hope against my Stand," she explained before looking over at me. "How is she?" She asked Polnareff.
"She'll be fine now that her wounds been cleaned and bandaged. It's crazy to think that lightning could cause the much damage."
"The lightning hit Scarlet Phantom's wing, so it's likely that it caused damage to me where her wing would be on me. I haven't been able to check her wing since she de-materialised, and I doubt she'll be able to materialise for at least a day or two since I'm weak and wouldn't be able to handle her," I explained.
"I think we should stop in Stuttgart for a little longer than we anticipated. That way you'll have time to fully recover from that injury of yours," Rita suggested.
"Sounds like a plan. Anyway..." Polnareff trailed off as he looked over at Rita. "You said you managed to get some information?"
"Ah yes. Well, you'll be pleased to know, we're on the right track for the arrow," Rita announced.
"What? Seriously? How?" Polnareff looked at Rita with wide eyes.
"The Stand user I went up against told me everything he knew when I had him pinned down. He told me some geezer shot him with an arrow a few years ago, and that's when he got his Stand," she explained.
"And where was it he was shot?" I asked.
"Here in Germany, but he said this guy wasn't from around these parts."
"So even though we may have a lead, we're looking in the wrong place," I said with a sigh.
"Even so, we may be able to go on the same route that the geezer went. The Stand user said it looked like he was heading up north, and he's certain he heard him say something about the Netherlands," Rita said, and my breath hitched in my throat as Rita's vision replayed in my head along with the Netherlands flag that appeared in Avdol's crystal ball.
"The... Netherlands?" I repeated.
Rita glanced over at me and nodded.
"A-are you sure he said the Netherlands?"
"That's exactly what he said."
I glanced at Polnareff and he gave me a confused look and I felt my cheeks heat up. I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Are you okay, Y/N?" I heard Polnareff ask.
I opened my eyes and swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat before croaking out, "Just peachy..."