Sana stepped closer to Anne as Jotaro and Polnareff went over to check out the car. Mr Joestar was busy interrogating the bartender guy. "Hey! Tell me something. Who's the owner of that car parked over there? Come on, spill it!"
The bartender seemed terrified and confused. "I'm not sure, sir. To be honest, sir, I didn't even notice it was there!"
Sana frowned. This was getting worse by the minute. They had to find the driver of that car.
"The driver isn't just going to come out and announce it," Noriaki pointed out as Jotaro and Polnareff walked back over. Evidently, there had been nobody in there at all. So it was one of the customers that Sana had completely discounted. Maybe their arms were similar...
"He's messing with us!" Polnareff said.
"Yeah. I guess that only gives us one option, right, Jotaro?" Mr Joestar frowned, and looked at his grandson. Jotaro nodded.
"Yeah. Poor innocent bastards. We'll just have to beat them all down."
It made sense, but... seriously..? Couldn't Jotaro just try that cigarette trick again? That would just be the easier, less violent option...
But it was too late to even bring that one up, because Mr Joestar and Jotaro had already started beating up the guys casually sitting at tables. Polnareff joined in. Sana regarded them, and didn't even know what to think. Of course this was how their day was going.
"Hey, Jotaro, this is crazy!" Noriaki protested. "Mr Joestar, not you too!"
"Yeah, come on, is there nothing else to be done?" Sana asked, but she knew it was probably pointless to even try and stop them now. It was too late to avoid most injuries, anyway.
They didn't stop beating the poor guys up, and Sana just crossed her arms. "You know, Noriaki, sometimes I think we're the only sane ones here."
Noriaki sighed. "I think you're right."
"Anne, don't look," Sana said. "This is pretty bad."
"I'm fine," Anne protested, but Sana noted that she stared at the floorboards anyway.
Sana just watched. There was nothing else to do. No matter how strong the three of them were, they still hadn't gotten any kind of result, beyond splattering blood everywhere. Sana sighed. Maybe she should just-
Then the car revved to life behind them. Sana turned around. She hadn't just misheard. That was the car. It quickly sped out from its place under the tree.
So that was it, Sana thought. Over, just like that. Damn. When had the driver even gotten back to the car? Sana hadn't seen anything, and judging by Noriaki's stunned face, he hadn't, either.
"That slippery bastard just played the lot of us, didn't he?" Polnareff said. Sana looked back. Polnareff stood still, holding someone by the collar, one fist still raised and ready to strike.
"Damn it," Mr Joestar said. "Did anyone see his face?" Mr Joestar asked, from much the same position as Polnareff.
"I didn't see anyone," Sana said.
"No. What is he trying to do?" Noriaki asked. "He could just be some madman with a car, or he could be trying to kill us."
And that was the predicament. Did they have to be on guard constantly, or only when the car was around? Something about this was off, but there wasn't much to be done. They still had to keep travelling, with or without the insane driver around them.
Polnareff lowered the guy he was holding, and exhaled angrily. "We need to take care of this crap. I won't rest until I get to the bottom of this! Everyone, get in the car. We're leaving."
Mr Joestar tossed some money on the table for the juice, and everyone quickly piled in the car. They didn't need to be told twice. So far, this guy was a smart bastard, and Sana wanted to see him getting beaten up as much as everyone else.
Polnareff started the ignition and swung out of the parking lot. "Not to mention we owe him payback for that truck that almost hit us earlier."
They caught up to the guy pretty fast. He was driving quickly now, swinging around corners and accelerating most of the time. It wasn't safe at all, but Polnareff kept pace with him. Sana found herself not caring. He was within reach. Soon, they'd get revenge for the mess he'd caused.
It was odd. Sana only cared when it was innocents. But as far as she was concerned, it was allowed to be as bloodthirsty as you wanted when it was some smug bastard like this.
And then she realised she sounded like Jotaro, and mentally kicked herself. But then again- right now, his philosophy sounded a lot better than her usual one.
"That's strange," Noriaki said. "According to the map, it says we should be running parallel to some train tracks, or something."
"Who the hell cares?" Polnareff asked incredulously. "We'll catch up soon anyway. That bastard! I'm gonna nail him once we round this curve-"
Polnareff yelled something completely incomprehensible as the car almost plummeted off a cliff. It didn't. Polnareff just managed to swerve in time, but-
That had been too close. It was one thing after another today, with this guy- what the hell was his problem? And where had he gone?
Sana glanced around at the cliff edge. There was a rope bridge that definitely didn't fit a car, the road they'd come in on, and a cliff. And unless the car somehow had the ability to climb, it couldn't have gone anywhere. But it wasn't there, and there was no sign of it at all. It was like the car had never existed.
"Where the hell did he go! He's gone!" Mr Joestar said, eyes wide.
"Did he drive off the cliff?" Polnareff exclaimed.
"There's no way he could've driven over the suspension bridge," Noriaki said, completely calm. Maybe they should all just take notes from him.
But then the car jolted with a loud crash. Sana looked back. The car was behind them, ramming into them, reversing, and doing it again. The group was thrown around a little. Sana held onto the seat.
"It's him! He's pushing us," Mr Joestar said.
"How the hell did he get behind us?" Noriaki exclaimed, his calm exterior completely gone. So that was his breaking point. It was fair enough. The car was now dangerously close to the cliff edge. Too close. Polnareff put the car in reverse.
Thump. Closer. Thump. Closer still. Sana's heart raced. Was there anything they could do, aside from bail out of the car..? But the reversing should have worked- yet it wasn't, and with each hit, the car moved closer and closer to the cliff edge, and soon they would fall over entirely, crumple up at the bottom, and-
"Damn! How much horsepower is that thing running with?" Polnareff yelled, frantically trying to reverse the car. It wasn't working at all. "Dammit- it's like fighting a tank!"
Another hit, and Polnareff screamed and undid his seatbelt. "It's no use- everyone, get out! It's our only chance!"
Everyone moved except for Noriaki, who just frowned at Polnareff. "Polnareff, what are you doing?"
What..?
Polnareff stopped moving, as did the others.
"You can't get out until all of us are clear first!" Noriaki exclaimed. "You have to hold down the brake!"
Oh.
"Huh..?" Polnareff frowned.
Thump.
"Sorry-"
Thump.
No-
The car plummeted off the edge. Everyone screamed. Sana didn't even know which voice was hers. She was scrabbling at the ceiling, trying to find a purchase when she knew that holding onto something wasn't going to help her because that void they were falling into was so so endless and was this really how she died? Like this? Because Polnareff didn't hold the brake down?
What was the Speedwagon Foundation going to tell her mother..?
"Hierophant Green!"
And suddenly there was emerald green everywhere, and Sana had no clue what Noriaki was doing but she trusted that he had to have some kind of plan because of course he did, he was him and he always had a plan-
"That won't work! Hierophant can't support that kind of weight!" Mr Joestar exclaimed, holding onto the seat behind them, and Anne, who was wide-eyed with terror.
"Mr Joestar, with all due respect, I am aware of my own abilities. I'm not a fool," Noriaki said, completely calm once again. Sana envied that, but also admired it, in probably ways she shouldn't have done.
Either way, the car was no longer falling. Hierophant Green had secured the tow cable between the two cars, and now the other car was holding them up. So now they wouldn't die, unless the driver had a death wish... Sana wouldn't put it past him.
"Ah, I get it!" Mr Joestar said. "You used the car's winch instead of just brute strength!"
"Noriaki, you're a genius," Sana said. Her voice shook with the adrenaline rush from the fall. Noriaki smiled.
"Not bad, Kakyoin," Jotaro said. "Got a question for you: you like sumo?"
Sana glanced over at him. He had some mischievous glint in his eye, and the way he asked it made Sana realise that he did, in fact, have some kind of plan. Sana didn't know a single thing about sumo, but-
Star Platinum pulled down on the tow cable. "Especially the deadlocks at the end, at the edge of the ring? It's exciting, isn't it?" Jotaro grinned.
Sana watched as Star Platinum pulled on the cable, and then they were moving up, and Star Platinum punched the car, and the situation was swapped and suddenly they were on land and the other car most certainly was not.
"Yeah, I'm a fan of sumo," Noriaki said, half-smiling. "But in sumo, it's against the rules to punch your opponent."
"Hm," Jotaro grinned.
They really were an odd pair. Still, it was nice to see them getting along, Sana supposed.
Everyone got out of the car, and regarded the fiery wreck down below, at the bottom of the cliff. There was no sign of life at all. Sana assumed - or, rather, hoped - that the guy was dead, and their trouble would be over. And maybe that was the truth. After all, that didn't really look survivable...
"Nothing here suggests a Stand attack," Mr Joestar said. "I think it's just a weirdo with an axe to grind."
"Yeah. Either way, he's a goner after that," Polnareff said, and then laughed. "I guess what goes around, comes around."
"But I'm still wondering how he got behind us," Anne piped up. "It was like watching a magician or something. It's so strange."
It was a good point. That part was still unexplained. Then again, so were a lot of things. Sana hoped it was just some strange coincidence. One of those things you never get closure on, but they never bother you again.
"Actually, little girl, it's not strange at all."
Sana's gaze snapped to the source of the sound, the crackly voice that had spoken those words. Her eyes came to rest on the car. The car that had brought them this far and so had to be safe. So-
"The radio," Sana breathed. "It's the radio."
"It's coming through the AM/FM!" Polnareff exclaimed.
"I was able to do that because of my Stand, Joestar!" the voice hissed. So he was a Stand user, after all. Great. Sana's fists clenched. It had only been one day since the last one. Could they just catch a break for once?
"What? He knows my name!" Mr Joestar said. "That confirms it. He's an enemy Stand user!"
"Where is he?" Noriaki asked, already looking around for him. "Could he be sending a signal from that car down there?"
"No way! Do you see the wreck down there?" Polnareff said.
Sana couldn't see anything. There was nothing else. It explained his antics until now, anyway. So the driver was the Stand user. So-
"No. That old jalopy could well be a Stand," Jotaro muttered, reaching the same conclusion as Sana at the same time. "Do you remember the boat Stand? This may be a repeat."
"Behold! The Wheel of Fortune!" the guy screeched from over the radio. "My Stand will lead you to your maker!"
Everyone was confused, uttering various things like "huh?", as they looked around. There was no Stand in sight, and yet-
"The Wheel of Fortune?" Mr Joestar asked.
Then the ground started to shake. This was going from bad to worse. They were already cornered against a mystery Stand, and now there was an earthquake?
"What the- an earthquake..?" Noriaki said, still looking for the Stand.
"I've got a bad feeling-" Polnareff said.
"Well, that makes two of us, Polnareff-" Sana said, trying to keep her balance. This was the worst earthquake she'd seen in a long time, or maybe even ever.
"Everyone! Back in the car!" Mr Joestar started to run, but-
"No, stay back!" Jotaro yelled. "Don't go anywhere near it!"
What the hell-
The earthquake was coming from the car, so did that mean that-
"Couldn't be-"
"Below us!"
Mr Joestar and Anne screamed.
The ground split beneath their car. The car soared in the air, thrown by the Stand. The Wheel of Fortune, that car that had given them so many problems, looking as shiny and new as it had before, the red paint not even scratched by the excavating it'd just been doing.
And the impact was so strong, and the ground kept on shaking, and time slowed down just a little and sped up all at once, and suddenly everyone was on the ground.
"Impossible!" Polnareff exclaimed. "It burrowed up through the ground! Alright, I think it's pretty obvious that car is actually a Stand-"
Sana tried to push herself up, and got to a half-standing position. She turned to face the car. It was just staying there. The driver was watching them, she knew.
"Looks like the Stand user's inside the car!" Noriaki stood up in front of Sana.
The car shifted and moved and morphed. Sana wasn't sure what was happening, but the headlights had turned into sharp things, and-
"What the hell?"
-and it kept on going, still transforming, still changing.
"Now what's it doing?" Noriaki said.
"It's like it's alive!" Mr Joestar yelled. Sana didn't like that at all. No. This guy was a problem. The car kept changing, and then it revved.
"It's heading straight for us!" Polnareff exclaimed, terrified.
And Jotaro only laughed. "If it's a duel you want, then I'm happy to oblige."
"Don't do it yet, Jotaro!" Mr Joestar yelled. "Don't fight it until we know what the Stand's power is!"
But he was too late, and his grandson was shot by something. Sana couldn't see the projectile. It moved all too fast, but it came from the car. So this Stand had both transformational and medium-long range abilities.
"Jotaro!"
"Impossible. I couldn't see it," Jotaro muttered from in front of Sana. "What the hell did he shoot at me, and why did he-"
The Stand user laughed. "Don't even know what hit you, eh?" he kept cackling. "You'll soon find out - the moment you croak, that is!"
"Jotaro!" Noriaki yelled, rushing forward to try and save Jotaro. Polnareff had the same thought process. Sana almost went after them, when-
The car lurched forward and shot sparks at Jotaro, but not only that, those other projectiles, too. Or, at least, Sana assumed that, because she couldn't see them, but Jotaro, Noriaki and Polnareff all cried out in pain, and Sana could see the blood staining their clothes.
Sana yelled their names, she wasn't sure why. This was getting bad, and fast. She had to do something, but she didn't know what.
The car flew over them. Sana watched it go, almost in a trance. Anne screamed, breaking her out of it.
"Damn it!" Polnareff yelled. "What the hell was that? The wounds aren't deep but they sting like hell!"
"I can't see it at all!" Noriaki looked intently at his bleeding arm. "I thought the car threw something at us, but there's nothing inside the wounds! What the hell is going on here?"
"Jotaro! Are you alright?" Mr Joestar asked.
"Don't worry about me, old man," Jotaro muttered. "I don't know what the hell he's hurling at us, but he's got damn good aim."
Sana frowned. This was getting stranger by the minute, and they had to act fast.
And then all their time was gone, because, from behind them, Wheel of Fortune was revving and ready to slam into all of them at high speed.
"I'll pulverise your legs so you can't move, and then I'll run you over!" Sana could hear the guy's voice, and her skin crawled. This bastard was pretty sick, and he just kept on proving it.
"Everyone! Run between the boulders!" Mr Joestar yelled, and everyone did so without a second thought. Sana's heart raced, thumping in her ears in time with her footsteps on the ground. She had to think of something. The fact was that she was the only one with a combat Stand that hadn't yet been shot, so-
So it would fall to her if the others were too injured to do anything. Sana set her jaw. She had to pay more attention, so she glanced back. The guy was yelling at them now. "Stop running away, cowards!"
Sana turned back to the front of the group. The gap between the rocks wasn't big enough for him to get in, so-
A cracking, crumbling sound immediately proved Sana wrong. The car was cutting through the cliff edge, Sana realised, and if it could do that, then it could get through-
Noriaki glanced back, eyes wide. "What?"
"What are you, roaches?" the Stand user cackled. The Stand kept on digging through. Was there anything this car couldn't do?
It crawled through the gap. Sana kept running. Mr Joestar and Noriaki were having some panicked conversation or another. But the car's weakness- it had to have a weakness-
And one voice reached her above all else, because it was just a simple, harsh command: "Just keep running!"
And she did. And soon enough, that objective shifted to climbing the cliff face, at Jotaro's request. And then, as he gave Sana a hand up - because she knew she wasn't strong enough to start on her own, because of course she wasn't - Anne fell, and started begging the Stand user not to kill her, as the car flew over her head.
"Jotaro-" Sana muttered, but he was already on it. Anne was crying. Sana knew he'd have her, and it'd be okay. She turned her attention back to climbing.
"Good grief. If you have time to say all of that, you have time to run away, you damn little brat."
"I love you so much, Jotaro!" Anne's laughter was giddy as he pulled her up the cliff face.
"Are you okay?" Sana asked. Anne nodded, and that was enough for Sana. She kept climbing. It was a workout and a half. Sana never thought she'd have to train for this moment, but-
The car was still waiting at the bottom of the cliff when Sana got to the top. Noriaki and Polnareff helped her up, and Anne and Jotaro followed, hopefully, finally safe.
They'd been up there for all of three seconds when the Stand user laughed maniacally from the bottom of the cliff. "Go ahead and climb! There's no path left for you to take! No way to escape, no way to survive, and last but certainly not least: no future!"
Sana watched as the Wheel of Fortune manifested spikes on its wheels. "Because Wheel of Fortune is going to grind you into mincemeat and splatter you all over these boulders! I'll paint the mountain red with your guts!"
That was a cheerful thought. Sana's senses were heightened now. Somewhere, she could smell gasoline, and she was beginning to feel something familiar, something she hadn't felt in a little while: that fire that had appeared during the first fight with Noriaki. That determination, that anger, that power.
"He's climbing up the cliff," Noriaki observed. It was.
"Is there anything this car can't do?" Polnareff exclaimed.
Sana reasoned that this was probably what it had done before, when it had mysteriously vanished. Climbed up the cliff, climbed back down again, and threw them off the edge. But that realisation didn't help anyone at all, not now. It was too late for that.
"Good grief," Jotaro said. "Looks like the time to fight is now. Rest of you, stay back. He's mine."
"Jotaro, you were shot. Are you sure-" Sana started, but he glared at her and she fell silent.
"Once he climbs up here, the underside of the car will be bare," he said. "Then we'll see just how strong this thing is."
"I get it," Noriaki said. "Once the underside is exposed, we may be able to attack it."
Sana understood. The car flew up over the cliff edge, and as Jotaro had guessed, the underside was exposed. He manifested Star Platinum, and they got ready to punch, but-
But the driver only laughed. "You're pretty fast there, Jotaro, but not so bright! Your bodies reek and you haven't noticed! Try paying attention." the driver laced those last words with a sickly-sweet tone, and Sana frowned. What the hell did he mean..?
No, wait, he didn't mean that-
"Come to think of it, I think I smell gasoline," Noriaki muttered.
Polnareff sniffed the air. "Oh no, it's coming from us, our bodies smell like a gas station!"
Sana cursed herself for not realising that before.
"That's what it was shooting! Gasoline!" Noriaki exclaimed, almost like he was admiring it. "It was shooting small amounts of it at a high speed. Incredible!"
Was now really the time for admiration? It didn't matter. The pieces were falling into place. If he was shooting them with gasoline- and at gas stations, you couldn't risk any kind of sparks-
"This is nuts!" Polnareff exclaimed. "So he wasn't trying to wound us, he was hitting us with gasoline! We're covered in the stuff."
"You need to get back," Sana said, stepping closer to them. "He'll use this to his advantage. Do you remember earlier, when-"
Jotaro got shot again.
"-that asshole driver tried to hit Jotaro with sparking wires?" Sana glanced at Noriaki and Polnareff, and they fell back. Sana looked back to Jotaro, and her blood ran cold as she yelled his name. If he didn't move, then-
"Looks like you've finally caught on, but you're too late now," the driver said-
"Jotaro! Get back! I don't care if you-" Sana called to him, stepped forward-
"Now all you need's a little-"
"-want to fight him, you're gonna-"
"Jolt–!" and the sparking wires were back, and Jotaro was hopelessly out of reach-
And he screamed in pure pain, some animalistic, scream of pure agony, as the flames licked his coat, and he fell to the ground, and Sana had been too late-
Anne screamed his name. Sana screamed his name. The others screamed his name. Jotaro didn't hear a single thing, or, at least, he didn't act like it. He just lay on the ground, motionlessly, his burning coat moving in the gentle breeze-
"Mr Joestar, we can't! We're covered in gasoline, too! It's dangerous!"
And laughter, laughter from the enemy Stand user. And suddenly, Sana's heart was on fire, but not from the gasoline. Jotaro was-
No. No, he wasn't dead. Because Sana couldn't see his body at all. The only form beneath those flames was Jotaro's coat, and that bastard of a Stand user hadn't noticed yet. So that meant Jotaro had another one of his insufferably painful plans.
But, once again, Sana thought, no, knew, she needed to buy him some time. It was that fight with Noriaki all over again, but this time, the weapon Sana had at her disposal was much more advanced than some regular book.
"Hey, asshole!" Sana yelled, stepping forward. "Stop laughing. You haven't won yet."
"Oh? And who's gonna beat me? You?" he cackled. "I don't think so, princess. You can't hurt me. You're just a girl."
"You're gonna regret that," Sana snapped, and she called upon The Sun. It appeared beside her, and Sana could feel the heat on her skin. It was good. The sunlight was white-hot and scorching today, especially up here, where they were so exposed. Sana could take power from that, she was sure-
And as long as she didn't get shot, she could buy Jotaro enough time easily.
"Sana-" Noriaki called, but Sana didn't even look back.
"I'm doing this, Noriaki."
The first attack was a quick one. She was using her short-range attack, and the guy yelled a little in pain. That wasn't enough, not for Sana. She needed to ramp up the temperature. It was getting uncomfortably hot, even for her, but-
"If you think that we're all reliant on Jotaro, if you think that he's the only one-" Sana said, frowning. "You're wrong. It just so happens that I'm the only one left to fight you, so-"
He cried out in pain. The car had scorch marks on it, and the paint was starting to flake. Sana could feel the power flowing through her now, and it felt good.
"Not bad for just some girl, huh?" Sana grinned.
"Ahahahaha- that's funny-" he said, and then- "But you've overlooked one crucial thing: there's no cover here!"
Sana's fists clenched. Sun on her skin. Sun on her skin. A dry breeze. Jotaro's burning coat. How much longer did he need? Sana didn't know. Was he dead? Was she delusional? It didn't matter, because now-
She hadn't overlooked it, she'd just hoped that she could finish him off before he attacked, but-
Sana ramped up the heat more, but she could feel the power dwindling. She dug deeper. Maybe a charge attack would've been a better idea, but-
But the volley of bullets attacked anyway, and there were never any take backs in life, and they met their mark, all too soon. Sana was so close to killing him, though- his arms were reddened by burns, Sana could see that, she was hurting him-
But Polnareff had been right, the wounds stung like hell, and Sana-
She had to finish him, now.
And so Sana, clutching at her bleeding arms, felt the warm blood-gasoline mix run through her fingers, and she breathed through her teeth, fast, shallow breaths, her heart raced, and she decided that she had to charge up an attack.
And slowly, slowly, The Sun gained that lovely, bright, golden orb between its hands as the driver only laughed, and-
Footsteps. Sana turned. Noriaki. He shouldn't have been putting himself in harm's way like that- he shouldn't be here, he was shot, but so was she, but she was willing to have her own blood on her hands for this-
"Sana, you can't, you've been shot," Noriaki said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, and then at the car, and then at Jotaro's burning coat. But there was no Jotaro yet. She hadn't won. She had to buy more time.
"Noriaki-"
"No. I'm not letting you die," his voice shook just the smallest amount. Sana looked up at him, and slowly inhaled the gasoline fumes. Noriaki looked intently at her, like he was begging her to just give up and go back with him. There was an odd intensity there, one that Sana had never seen before, and-
Sana nodded, defeated, and let him gently steer her to the rest of the group. It was over. She'd done what she could. Sana just prayed that it would be enough. She'd done what she had to do, but was it enough? There was still no Jotaro.
And without him, no matter what she'd said- well, now they were all shot, they'd all die.
"You couldn't do anything," Noriaki pointed out. "Your attack may even have set you on fire. I had to stop you, Sana."
Sana bit her lip and hoped. She didn't say a word. Instead, the Stand user did. "I win!" the driver laughed. "Your valiant hero finally bit the dust, and the girl is nothing but a petty obstacle! It's over, face it!" he cackled, so loudly, so maniacally, and Sana clenched her hands into fists so tightly that they shook.
"Is that so? And who exactly would replace me, Kujo Jotaro?"
Sana's face relaxed into a smile, her hands dropped. She'd done enough. She turned around. What had Jotaro pulled this time..?
And he wasn't there. Or, at least, not until he punched through the ground. Sana supposed that he was just insane, and that's why he acted like that, or maybe he just had a flair for the dramatics. Still, she'd been right, and it was okay.
"Let me guess - you thought it'd be you, roadhawk?" Jotaro grinned, pulling himself out of the hole he'd made.
"You- you burrowed into the ground with Star Platinum, so the only thing that burned was your jacket?" the driver said, his voice shaking.
"A little parting wisdom," Jotaro said. "What you said earlier, about paths was dead wrong. You see, in life, you have to forge your own path. No-one can do it for you, so I'll offer you some guidance."
The driver didn't say anything. Jotaro just shrugged, and spoke. "But first, you'll have to go through a little more pain!"
Star Platinum manifested and quickly started punching the car, yelling "ora" with each punch. Its fists moved so fast that they were only a blur, and the car was getting absolutely destroyed.
"You go, Jotaro!" Anne yelled, grinning.
Star Platinum just kept punching. It was pretty satisfying to watch, Sana thought. Even if she would've rather it be her beating this guy up, it was still nice to see.
"That is how it's done," Jotaro said, after about a minute of constant punching. "See, you just paved your own path! Congrats on being a fast learner. Here ends the lesson."
The driver had, in fact, paved his own path, due to the momentum of him getting decked by Star Platinum. Sana had to admit that it was just a little bit funny. Sometimes Jotaro was. He wasn't so bad all the time. Maybe she'd put him as the wrong kind of guy before, but-
And once the smoke cleared, the group got to see the driver in the flesh, how he normally looked. They approached him, and-
He was just-
All proportioned wrong. Sana didn't know how to put that. He had huge arms, so you'd think that he'd look like that everywhere, all strong and tall and built like Jotaro, but-
No. He was just kinda scrawny, and then had a round stomach, and, of course, the huge arms. It was odd, like someone had combined three bodies and the driver was the result.
"He's an odd guy," Noriaki commented. "His arms are the size of boulders, but... everything else is so small. Talk about a bluff."
Sana grinned. The driver crawled along the floor and clung onto Polnareff's leg, while staring at Sana, Noriaki, and Jotaro. He wasn't looking at where he was going. He had no idea at all what he was holding on to.
"Going somewhere?" Polnareff asked, twitching his leg. The driver screamed, and Polnareff placed his foot between the enemy's shoulder blades.
"Please, don't kill me!" he exclaimed "I'm just in it for the money, honest!"
Sana snorted. Seriously? That was his defence? To be that much of a bastard for only money- and to bluff like how he had- it was just so-
Sana didn't know who started laughing, but everyone else soon followed, and suddenly everyone was genuinely, properly laughing at this idiot that had almost killed them all. Talk about a comedown. Of all the people-
And then the car even deflated into some sad little car, and Sana laughed harder. That was in line with the user, at the very least.
"Oh, would you look at that," Mr Joestar said. "I can't believe that Stand was disguising such a small car the entire time. Kinda reminds me of a fluffy little sheep that had all its wool shorn off. What a pathetic hunk of junk!"
Sana laughed again, as did the others. Mr Joestar certainly had a unique way of looking at things.
"So, what do we do with him?" Sana asked, after the laughter had died down. "I mean, we can't just leave him, not after what he did to us..."
There was a moment of silence when everyone just regarded the pathetic guy whimpering in front of them, and then:
"I think I have an idea."
A little while later, the Stand user was chained upside-down to a rock, with a note beside him that read "I am a monk in the midst of spiritual training. Respect my ascetic practices by not undoing my restraints.". He was yelling for help, but nobody would ever do it, most likely. So, effectively, they were condemning him to a slow and painful death, but it was him or them.
Sana regarded the group's handiwork for a moment, and suddenly had the strangest thought: 'This is what happens when Mr Avdol isn't around'. She shook her head to clear her mind, and then turned to the others.
"Well then, let's take his car across the border," Mr Joestar said. "Only fair, since he smashed ours."
"It's pretty beat up, though. I wonder if it'll last that long," Noriaki mused, looking at the tiny car. It was even smaller than theirs, and that was cramped enough... But by some miracle, they all fitted once again, and off they went, over the border. Polnareff was driving again, and Sana was content in that they were all alive, and more or less okay.
"Hey, Anne," Jotaro said. Anne looked over at him, her eyes alight. "You're on the first flight to Hong Kong once we find an airport."
The light in Anne's eyes died. "Oh no! Why?"
"Shut up!" Polnareff said, from the front. "Don't you understand that you're in the way, you little brat?"
Sana was taken aback, and she glanced between Anne and Polnareff for a moment. Anne didn't respond. Nobody spoke for a moment, and then-
There was a loud bang, one that shook the whole car. Sana sighed. Maybe she'd gotten ahead of herself, thinking that things will get better from here.
"Uh... we might not make it that far," Mr Joestar said.
"Hm. Never a dull moment, I guess," Sana muttered, looking around at the scenery, and feeling the breeze in her hair. While the car lasted, it would be okay. Sana just hoped they got there in time, and that, for once, they could have a dull moment. Who knew? Maybe they would. Sana just watched the sky, and hoped for the best. The trip continued on, and, for once, everyone was in something of a good mood. They'd made it this far. They could keep going a while longer, just as long as they had each other.
Still, as the car clunked again, Sana wasn't sure how long that sentiment would continue if they had to walk all the way to the airport...