#part3op2

@praeteritus-memories Jotaro/Joseph

Joseph got out of the car, leading the way up a grassy hill where a small group of people were already gathered. They hadn’t actually been allowed into the viewing. Why? Simple because Joseph Joestar was one of the main reasons that Noriaki Kakyoin didn’t make it home at the end of their trip. He had been the one to allow the teen to accompany them in the first place. And as the adult that had been in charge of everything during their Trek to Egypt, it had been his responsibility to ensure that everyone returned home safe. Of course, Kakyoin was not the only friend that they lost. Iggy and Avdol were also killed in action during the fight against Dio. The difference between them and Kakyoin though was that Kakyoin still had a family back in Japan that had been expecting him to return. Naturally, they had all been left in the dark about what the nature of the trip would be. As far as they were concerned, there had been some terrible accident and Noriaki had lost his life as an end result. Thanks to the Speedwagon Foundation, they had convinced the family that a closed casket ceremony would be better for the family, as his state when he died wasn’t for the faint of heart. Of course, given the circumstances when Joseph had tried to get into contact with his parents about the funeral proceedings and when they might be held, he had been promptly told that he and Jotaro weren’t welcome there. If Noriaki hadn’t gotten himself mixed up with the two of them then it was likely that he wouldn’t have died in the first place. And while Joseph could agree with that, he felt that paying his respects was the right thing to do. That’s why, whether they had been welcomed or not he had decided to take Jotaro to the burial. It was easy to tell them not to come to the funeral home, but it would be a little more difficult to keep them from being part of his burial.

Joseph was dressed in a fine, pressed black suit with a matching undershirt and gloves. He had left his hat behind this time and purposely slicked his gray hair back into a neat fashion. For once he actually looked like a distinguished old gentleman as opposed to an old troublemaker. Regardless of what the dispute was with Noriaki’s parents, Joseph didn’t want to come anything less than something nice. He was there for Kakyoin after all. It was to their fallen friend that he wanted to pay respects to. Although part of him felt as though he did owe his family some kind-of compensation. He wished there was a way he could ease the pain that they felt at losing their son. Truthfully, he had already donated quite a bit to the funeral despite being told he wasn’t welcome and had sent a good-sized arrangement of flowers to the family as a way to apologize for what had happened. All of that hardly seemed like enough though. He didn’t have to imagine what they felt at the loss of their son, someone that they loved though. Because this was not the first time this had happened to Joseph. The first had been when he lost Caesar all those years ago. A hole had been ripped into his heart that would never be filled. And Joseph had been there during Kakyoin’s final moments. Just as before, he hadn’t been able to do anything to prevent it from happening either. At the time he didn’t know about Dio’s power to stop time nor could he have anticipated what would have happened to the teen because of that fact. Every day since it happened thus far though, he had wished that Dio had taken him instead. He was an old man, a Joestar well past his prime. Yeah it would have been tragic for his family, but Kakyoin had had so much life left to live.

Leading the way towards the burial site, one of the people standing around caught them. They moved around the small group of people, taking fast strides towards them. Joseph didn’t know who this person was, but if he had to guess it was likely some family member of the Kakyoin’s. Someone he had never met, but someone who had been made aware of Joseph Joestar and Jotaro Kujo. It was by the way that they approached with a hand up as though meant to stop them from walking forward. Joseph did slow his approach, aged teals looking upon the other younger male with a saddened look caught in them. Just for a few minutes, couldn’t they ignore their hard feelings? All he was asking was to be allowed to be able to pay some respects to Noriaki in person. Joseph felt like he owed it to him. His mind wouldn’t be able to rest until he was able to say a proper goodbye. Although as it had been with Caesar, he didn’t believe he would ever stop blaming himself for allowing the other to die. Being late was a habit for the Joestar family and Joseph was especially bad about it. His being late though had cost the lives of people he cared about. He didn’t get to see Caesar at all after his death. His crushed, broken body had been retrieved but there had been no burial ceremony held for him. Caesar had died an orphan after all, his siblings scattered about and with only Joseph and Lisa Lisa at his side. It was different for Kakyoin, who had people. It was important to Joseph to at least be able to see him be put to rest. To say goodbye in some form or another. While he understood it might be his fault, he felt like he still should be allowed that much.

“I thought I told you, you’re not welcome here Mr. Joestar.” The man said in a low voice as he approached them. “Take your grandson and go home.”

The Old man cursed under his breath to his response. Aged eyes watching his movements carefully. They had all learned the hard way that he could track his opponents by sound and vibrations in the ground. Without his cane it was likely that his ability would be hindered if only a little bit. He was aware that there were other ways of detecting sound and movement even without the use of his cane. But he needed the information that he had. He said he wasnt afraid go die and if he was threatening his life, he believed it. Even so he had to do something.

(Come on Joseph, think!)

His eyes moved around the room, glancing over his allies before they settled back on the cane he had taken from him. That's right. Vibrations and movements are what he could detect! That meant that if he could do something to detour his concentration away from him, he wouldn't be able to determine where Hermit Purple was. There was no way his vines could move anywhere near him without alerting him. But if he could just get the vines close enough to use his Hamon to stun him, he wouldnt have to worry about another attack from his stand. It was risky, but he was going to try.

With that in mind, Joseph scooped up the cane that belonged to the blind man in one hand. "You're telling me you'll throw your life away for someone who doesnt give a shit about you?!" Joseph exclaimed, purposely raising his voice so it would carry throughout the room. At the same time he slammed the tip of the cane hard into the floor as if to express frustration. "You've got to be kidding me! Have some sense!"

He was really in a tight spot, it seemed. Facing an enemy stand user was one thing, but now that the other three had been taken he wasn't all that sure how he was going to go about defeating the guy on his own. Using Hermit Purple wouldn't be a bad thing, if he could get ahold of the user, his stand wasn't exactly meant to fight with. Not only that but there was another problem that he was facing now. The problem he was looking at now was the simple fact that he couldn't use his stand--at all. (What's going on?) At first he didn't really understand the situation, until he realized where he had been standing. Joseph had seen what the stand could do to anyone that stood within its range. It reversed their ages and the longer that they stood there, the younger they got. Luckily, Jotaro and the others had realized this and managed to get themselves out of harm's way before they regressed too young. But, while Advol and even Polonarff could use their stands even as children, Jotaro was left without his. Much like his grandfather, he hadn't developed his stand until he was a bit older. All of this because of Dio. But now--it seemed that even Joseph couldn't use his stand. That could only happen if he had been caught in the range of their enemy's stand and somehow it had reversed his age enough to the point before he had even learned how to use his stand. 

(Not good!) 

The only way he would have been hindered from using his stand was if his aged had been reversed backwards enough to his late teens. Fifty years. Which meant that he needed to get out of the way before he aged any younger. With that thought, he jumped out of the way, landing on the ground with a thud. Dust kicked up around him as his body hit the ground, dirtying the yellow shirt he had on and soiling the white gloves that kept his hands covered. He got up on his knees, supporting himself with one had as he coughed through the dust that filled his lungs at the moment. He wasn't really making this easier on himself and with the sand in his eyes, it would be hard to figure where the stand was. It looked like the user manipulated shadows in order to reverse the age of those that were affected. Which meant that he would be in danger anywhere that could cast a shadow. If his age kept reversing than the use of even his Hamon would become less reliable. Joseph was at his peak age now, where he had worked hard to become a master at using it. The age where he had just defeated the Pillar Men and had been given his metal arm for the  first time. However, if he kept going backwards in years he wouldn't be able to control his use that much, even if he had the knowledge to do so. Or at least that's what he was betting.

He could hear the footsteps behind him, the voice of the enemy stand user, mocking him. It seemed he may have figured out that he might not be able to use his stand. Judging by how smug he sounded. Well this wasn't good. He needed to think of something fast or else they would all be in trouble. There was no way he would be able to help the others out if he couldn't fight and none of them were probably strong enough to defeat him at this point. There seemed to be only one other choice then. (If I can't fight him like this, I'll just have to figure something out) Jospeh didn't think twice after that, he sprung up to his feet, taking one glance over his shoulder as he made eye contact with their enemy. What he was about to do probably wasn't responsible, but he had no other choice. He just hoped that the others would be able to hang in there long enough until he was able to figure something else out. His only tactic at the moment was to use his special move. The one thing he always resorted to whenever he couldn't figure out another plan. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going to go yet, he just knew he needed to keep out of the stand's range. He needed to keep his shadow away from where he would be able to reach it. Something that would be hard to do with the sun glaring high in the sky still. What a time to attack! Although he supposed that was the whole point. 

"Sorry, I'd love to stay and chat. But I really need to get going! Jotaro--try to hang in there while I'm away!" He called over his shoulder as he leapt into action. 

Just like that, he had taken off down the street running as fast as his legs would carry him. (I haven't been able to run this fast in years!) He rounded a street corner as he heard Alessi shouting at him from over the shoulder. Was he yelling or cackling, he couldn't tell. He need to think of a plan though, he couldn't keep running. And without Hermit Purple, it would be easy for him to get lost. Eventually the guy would probably catch up with him and without a stand, he wouldn't be able to get close. But the others weren't going to be of any help either. (Okay, think Joseph. You can get yourself out of this) They didn't have anyone else with them that could use a stand to fight the guy off. Jotaro, Advol and Polonarff wouldn't be able to fight in their current conditions, either. If he couldn't get close enough to the user then that would be useless as well. It seemed like their enemy really had them this time. Which meant that if he didn't figure something out soon, they could be in trouble. Holly was depending on all of them to defeat Dio. If this was where their journey ended though, not only could it be their lives but she would die as well. He passed another corner, not really sure where he was going at this point nor was he sure if he was being tailed or not. For all he knew, Alessi could have taken hold of the other three--who were now children and done something to them. (Please be okay.) He just had to trust that at least Advol and Jotaro would be smart enough to keep them from getting themselves killed while he figured out another plan. 

(Wait a minute....what about...?) 

The thought popped up in his mind as he passed a sign with a large H on it and an arrow. The sign for a hospital. A hospital! That's right, Kakyoin was still in the hospital! It wasn't exactly a great plan and he was sure that their friend was still healing after N'doul ruined his eyes, but he was the best bet that they had right now. Actually, he might be the only one that they had. Joseph had no idea how far along his healing had come after all that attack hadn't happened that long ago. But he was going to at least try. If that didn't work then maybe he could come up with another plan. Granted, at the moment he didn't have another option--but soon enough he was going to get tired of running. And of course he couldn't just abandon the other three, not in their current state. If he did that then they would probably die for sure. Well without any other options at his disposal, he decided to go ahead and take the only one he could think at the time being. Of course, Joseph wasn't taking into account that the younger didn't really know him when he was this age. Hell, none of them did actually. Convincing him that he was who he said he was--especially if he couldn't see--might be a little bit of a task. In the very least, he could convince him that he knew his friends were in danger. Maybe he would be willing to help him then? Well, he would have to worry about that once he got himself to the hospital. 

It didn't take him long to reach the hospital, when he arrived though he had to take several minutes to catch his breath. Breathing hard in the lobby, a hand resting on the counter while the receptionist stared him down. She asked him a couple times if he was okay, but he just waved her worry away with his other hand. Once he was sure that he would be able to properly respond to her, he stood up straight and faced her. He flashed her a wide, charming grin. It was one he used even as an older man, but now that his face had been restored to its younger state, the woman behind the counter couldn't seem to take her eyes off of him. (That's right this worked better when I was younger) He wasn't family of Kakyoin or anything, but he figured with that smile and maybe a little bit of charm, he would be able to convince her to tell her where he could find him. The Speedwagon Foundation was doing a good job at keeping him secured while they restored him back to good health. Boy, were they going to be in for a surprise when he showed up like this. Getting them off his back probably wouldn't be as hard as convincing Kakyoin to help--if he even could. Again, he didn't have any other plan at the moment and time was running short. So, there was no harm in at least trying right? 

"What a pretty young face they have working the counter. I don't suppose you would be able to do me favor, would you?" Joseph asked. (Well, my accent has come back that might be a little bit of a problem.) 

After talking her up a for a couple minutes, he was finally able to get the information he needed out of the girl at the front. It wouldn't do any harm, right? It's not like he was going to ever see her again, anyway. He left her blushing though, which was what he needed to be done to get his way. Finally heading up to Kakyoin's room, he was now faced with a couple members of the SWF, who were standing outside his room to keep watch. They were good people, really. They got a little defensive when he neared the room, taking a step to stand in front of the door. They were large men, too about his size. He didn't doubt that they could probably fight if they needed to. But, Joseph had something that they didn't. He gave them a quick 'Sorry about this,' before using his hamon to knock them both out with a punch to the gut. He was sure that would buy him a little bit of time--at least until someone came looking or walking by. Which meant that he would have to make this fast. He was sure that the noise was probably heard inside the room too, it wasn't like a couple of bodies falling to the floor was quiet. Now, all he had to do was try to talk to Kakyoin. 

Jotaro/Joseph

Stardust Crusaders...?

“Oh no you don’t!” Joseph called to the man facing him. He had stopped when he came across Joseph, indicating to himself and Jotaro that he intended to defeat them.

No doubt, one of Dio’s lackeys. Which meant he was a stand user. Joseph wasn’t about to just allow him to attack though. This one didn’t seem all that bright if he thought that just announcing himself would stun them enough not to provoke them to act first. And if he was that bold and easy as to make himself known to them as their enemy, he had to wonder what other bits of information he would give, if they caught him. That’s why he opted to using Hermit purple first before the guy could unleash his attack upon them or even think about doing such a thing. Joseph was pretty confident that his preemptive attack would prevent their enemy from doing anything. And the moment his Hermit Purple made contact, he intended to use his hamon charge in order to force some truth out of him. They would get the information they were looking for on where Dio was hiding, one way or another. While his stand wasn’t meant for fighting in the way that Jotaro’s was, the old man still had a trick or two up his sleeve. He felt that he would be able to handle a guy like this. Which, of course was why when the guy said something to them, he was the first to react. Sure, Jotaro could have just as easily sent Star Platinum to pummel the guy, but Joseph’s stand had a longer range than his. There was no point in having him step up to beat this guy up when he was standing close enough for Joseph to take the initiative instead. Besides, the sooner they got rid of this guy and got what they needed, the sooner they could meet up with Polnareff and Avdol. There was no telling what they were getting themselves into at the moment. For all he knew, this guy could have followed them here with someone else and they took the opportunity to attack the divided group.

Hermit Purple sprung from Joseph’s palm as he extended his right hand towards their foe, the coiling purple vines shooting directly towards their target. They never reached him though. Just falling short, the vines seemed to crumble and disappear just before they made contact with him. This confused Joseph, he was sure he was within his range. So, there was no reason why his stand should have failed. Making a second attempt to bring Hermit Purple out with his left hand, he found that the results were the same, except this time the vines appeared to be disappearing sooner than they had the last time. Concerned something was wrong, he glanced down at his hands. Was this an attack? Perhaps he was already under attack by a stand and didn’t realize it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, or so he thought anyway. Except, looking down at his hands he began to notice long strands of dark hair hanging in front of his eyes. Smashed down by the hat he was wearing; a long fringe slowly became visible as though it had grown out of his head on the spot. His eyes widened at the sudden realization of what it was he was looking at. That was hair! It was his hair! But… how was that possible? His hair hadn’t been this dark since he was younger, much younger. A bad feeling suddenly washed over him as he stood there trying to grasp what was going on. He was certain he was being attacked already. But he hadn’t seen where it had come from where what was causing it. Hell, his opponent hadn’t even taken his hands out of his pockets. Where the hell was his stand?

He wanted to be sure he wasn’t imagining things. So, he reached up and brushed his gloved hands over his face. A stun shock came over his features as teals widened further. There was no beard there, not even a scrape of scruff on his chin. In fact, he was completely clean shaven and what was more alarming was that his face—it felt youthful. Both hands suddenly cupped the sides of his cheeks, fingers finding their way across high cheekbones and a sculpted jawline. He knew this mug. It was his but it hadn’t been his in a long time. He hadn’t looked this good in a long time. Which meant that somehow, whatever was happening to him, it was reversing his age. He was being aged backwards and the longer he stood there, he had to bet that more he would be affected. Which meant if he stood around for too long trying to figure this thing out, he would probably become so young he wouldn’t be able to defend himself. Right now, if he had to guess, this guy had reverted his age backwards about fifty years. Joseph’s ability to see and use stands had started to fall away from him as he was unknowingly being attacked. That would explain why his Hermit Purple had been affected. It was because he hadn’t learned how to fully use his stand until a short while ago. And fifty years ago, the only thing he could use was hamon. Hamon! He still had his hamon! And in his current age—if he was correct—his hamon skills would be at their peak. He ahd to do something fast, especially if he couldn’t see now where the attack was coming from.

(Think Joseph! If you keep standing here, this guy will take away your control completely!)

“I see what you’ve done. You think you’ve got me! Sorry to break it to you, but I really don’t have time to be standing around.” Joseph spoke. That accent! He hadn’t heard his own natural accent in years. The one he was raised with, that British accent he had learned from his granny. One that had long since been Americanized over the years.

(Focus! Focus before it’s too late!)

Taking a deep breath, he focused all his energy into his hand, curling his fingers into a fist once the sparks formed around his fingers. He didn’t have much time to do anything else, he was certain that being too close to this guy was bad news. So, with that, he threw his fist into the ground at his feet, disrupting the pavement and sending large jagged fragments upwards in different angles around him. Instead of trying to use one of these chunks of earth to attack his enemy, he ran up one of the pieces of concrete, using it as a lever to leap for the nearest building. Joseph only had a moment to transfer his energy to his fingertips, catching himself on the wall before he plummeted to the ground. Of course, that didn’t stop him from smacking into the wall face first regardless. Something he met with his other hand, rubbing his nose and wincing at the surge of pain that went through his face. Remembering he still needed to finish escaping the attack, whatever it had been, he recovered quickly. Placing his other hand back on the wall and using it to help him climb to the top of the building. He was pretty certain that he would be safer up there, then he was on the ground. Standing close to that guy was the reason he had become like this to begin with. So, in his mind if he managed to get farther away from him, he couldn’t’ continue to reverse his age. If he wanted to have any chance of fighting this guy off, he needed to retain some of his skill and strength. At eighteen, Joseph was at the peak of his Hamon use, but he couldn’t yet see or use his stand ability. Any time before that would have had him out of practice and unable to control his Hamon. He was a natural born user after all but hadn’t learned how to handle it until his training at Air Supplena Island.

Kakyoin/Joseph

Have you seen my grandson?

“I think it’s best we get some rest for the night and start our search first thing in the morning. We still have some time left to spare and it wouldn’t be a good idea to roam around Cairo at night.” Joseph said with a sigh.

The city of Cairo was immense. It seemed impossible that they might be able to find one specific building in the mass of identical buildings all around them. Not to mention, the city limits stretched on for miles. It was no wonder that Cairo was one of the largest cities in Egypt. All they had to go one were the photos t hat Joseph had managed to pull with his Hermit Purple. And even in that image, it hadn’t been very telling of the exact location of Dio’s hideout. They had to keep looking though, even if it meant splitting up and scouring every inch of the city. Giving up just because it was like looking for a needle in a haystack wasn’t an option. Holly’s life was on the line here and he would be damned if he just let her die because he couldn’t find the right building in time. If finding it by word of mouth or on foot didn’t work, he was determined to find another way. While Joseph may not have had a whole lot of time to spare, he did have one thing on his side and that was money. If he couldn’t find Dio’s mansion by asking people for help or searching the city on foot, then he would do it by air. Joseph wasn’t going to leave Egypt until he was certain he could save his daughter’s life. That much he had already decided. He hadn’t come all this way and dragged his grandson and their companions halfway across the world just to leave this place empty handed. Dio had to be stopped. He was a terror on the world and his existence would only bring them all suffering. At least that was what he had come to understand from the stories he had heard about him in the past. Between his grandmother and Caesar, he knew enough to know that he would only bring chaos upon the world.

They arrived at Cairo in the late evening that day. The sun was just starting to sink on the horizon, casting an orange haze all across the desert city. It had been a pain in the ass just to get this far and already they had met more stand users than he would have liked just by arriving to Egypt. Luckily though, they had finally made it. He was sure their fight wasn’t about to end there though. No doubt there were more of Dio’s followers waiting and lurking around the city to try and slow them down or stop them before they were able to reach him. They could try. That was all he had to say about it, but they had come this far without being stopped. With night approaching though, he thought it might be a good idea to retire for the night. Dio was a vampire and would likely awaken in the night. He didn’t want to risk being ambushed and being at a disadvantage for not knowing the city. That’s why he wanted to bring the fight to Dio instead. Joseph wasn’t’ about to make the same mistakes he had with the battle against the Pillar Men. He wasn’t going to lose someone else to a miscalculation or an argument. He was the one making the decisions in this journey and that was the way it was. It had been that way from the start since he was the oldest member of the crusaders and the one who was funding their whole trip in the first place. Naturally, when he announced their plan, he led the way to the nearest hotel upon their arrival to the city. They didn’t have a reservation of course, but Joseph had found that he didn’t necessarily need one when some of the clerks could be bought with the right price.

Arriving to the hotel entrance, Joseph was the one to reach for the door first. He paused once his hand had gripped the handle. As per usual he intended to dish out the sleeping arrangements. Once more, making the decision for everyone as opposed to letting the others choose their own rooms. Why he did this every time was a mystery, as it was always divided the same way. Joseph and Avdol would take a room, Polnareff would have his own and the last room would go to Kakyoin and Jotaro. It was what made the most sense to him and what everyone seemed to be comfortable with. Considering Jotaro and Kakyoin were about the same age and Joseph knew Avdol the best out of all of them. Polnareff just happened to be the odd man out. Not that he had anything against him, personally. He just didn’t think Jotaro would be comfortable with rooming with anyone else. And breaking up a fight or risk getting kicked out of a hotel wasn’t something that he was too keen on. At least this way there was little to no fuss and they all got the rest that they needed. Except there was one thing missing. When he turned around to face the others, parting his lips to make his usual announcement, he stopped. Confusion suddenly contorted the old man’s face. He took a step away from the entrance to their hotel, to glance around the street, looking one way and then the other. But no matter where he looked there was no sign of Jotaro. Where had he gone?

@gazelessmenagerie Joseph/Ndoul

Joseph put a hand on top of his head, pressing his hat down over his eyes. Teals closed for a moment while he paused in thought. What a mess this had become. Polnareff had decided to go off on his own all because he wanted to avenge his sister. And while he understood that was why he had wanted to join the Crusaders in the first place, by now they had established that they were a team. They could have handled the enemy together and allowed the chance for him to get his revenge while keeping the group together. Since he had decided to try and split on them, an idea that Joseph had felt might only get him killed. This coming from the fact that the last time someone had walked out on him to go off on their own when their emotions were high, they ended up dying before he could do anything about it. This was likely to be t he same fate that Polnareff would meet if he didn’t think logically about the whole thing. What did he know, though? Joseph was just much older than anyone else on this journey and had experienced loss of someone dear before. He knew what happened to those who broke off from the group. And just as he had thought, it would be bad. Now he was looking at a severely injured Avdol and a missing Polnareff. And to top things off, they were dragging along two former followers of Dio that had decided to go rogue and try to appeal to the Joestars. This whole trip was becoming more and more complicated than what it had originally started out as. He should have guessed it might end up this way, but even to end up here now, it was still incredibly frustrating for him. At the moment he felt as though he was ready to pull his hair out.

He was the man in charge ultimately, everyone would be looking to him for answers. But dammit! He didn’t have any! He was Joseph Joestar, he had hardly ever gone into anything with a plan in mind. The exception to that rule had been whenever he had been ready to face off against the Pillar Men. Even that had fallen through though, and he had had to wing it in order to survive. That’s usually how everything went for him. Always an idea of where to go next, but not a real plan to execute it. Joseph had always been good at those things, quick on his feet. But with everything going on now and his own emotions a mess, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Their focus should be on stopping Dio, but they kept hitting roadblocks and now this. That was fine because right now they still had time. What they didn’t have time for though was for him to stand around and try to think of what he should be doing. The last time that happened he had gotten there just minutes too late to save Caesar. Damn! He was certainly going to give Polnareff a piece of his mind once he caught up with him. This was beyond the stupidest thing the Frenchman had yet to pull. They were a team! They had to go on to defeat Dio together, that was the plan! He just wished sometimes they could see passed their own emotional states. Joseph knew better than that though, he was even notorious for doing it from time to time.

“God dammit,” He muttered through clenched teeth. Gloved appendages had formed into fists, shaking with rage and frustration. “Jotaro, I want you to take Kakyoin and see if you can’t find any leads on where Polnareff went. I’ll have N’doul come with me. We gotta find him before he gets himself killed.”

“What about Avdol?” Jotaro questioned, glancing at his grandfather from under his hat.

Joseph shook his head. “I’ve already contacted the foundation to come and take care of him. They’ll make sure he’s treated with the best medical care they got. We should get going before this gets worse.”

The elder Joestar took one last look at his friend, unconscious still from the bullet that had nearly lodged itself in his head. He was lucky that he had managed to survive the attack. Just a few more inches in and that bullet would have killed him for sure. He would have to alert the front desk and let them know what was going on. He didn’t have time to wait around in the lobby for them to show up and take Avdol. They needed to follow after Polnareff while the trail was still fresh. It was hard to say what might become of him if he was left to his own devices. Not that Polnareff wasn’t a capable stand user, it was more so that he knew his emotional state would cloud his judgement. He would likely be too eager to get rid of Centerfold to really think clearly about what he was doing. That’s why it was important for them to locate him before things got worse. It was bad enough that they would be parting ways with Avdol here from their travels. There was hope that he would recover before they made it to Dio, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath for that one. Above all else, Joseph wanted to make sure that he was taken care of first. And if that meant that he would have to bow out of the rest of the journey, then that was the way it would have to be. Somehow, they would have to muster up enough strength on their own without his help in order to defeat Dio and the rest of his stand users. Avdol’s company and his stand ability would be greatly missed on the rest of the trek to Egypt, but it would be better this way. With that in mind, the old man turned away from his unconscious friend and headed for the door to the hotel room.

He paused once just in the entry way of the room. Though he kept his back to the others, he tilted his head just enough to allow him to speak over his shoulder. “If you’re ready, let’s go N’doul. We don’t have time to waste. I’m sure there’s already trouble waiting for us.” Judging by the tone of his voice, he didn’t sound very happy about the situation. Further emphasizing this, Joseph didn’t wait too long for the other to respond, turning to leave the room and head for the lobby.

He stirred in his sleep, rolling over once and then again. No matter which way he turned, Joseph just couldn't seem to get comfortable where he was. It was because sleeping on the ground was not very comfortable and to make matters worse, the desert nights were chilly. So much so that they had to keep a fire going most the night just so they wouldn't freeze after the sun had sank below the horizon. Crashing the plane this time though he felt like it hadn't been entirely his fault. There'd been a struggle in the back, which had jarred him and the controls. The result of that though meant that they were now again without a vehicle. Going on foot was a little bit of a pain, but with hope they would be in town within the next couple days or so. The others had already gone on ahead, Joseph insisting on not moving too quickly since he had the baby to look after. Even with time running thin, there was still enough time for him to make sure that the child got to the nearest town safely. He didn't seem to have anywhere to go after all, and he just wouldn't feel right leaving a baby out in the desert all alone. The child clearly needed to be taken to someone who would be able to take care of him properly since they weren't able to actually get to their destination, thanks to the plane crash. It was just lucky that none of them had been seriously hurt or else the whole point of the trip would have been lost.

  He grunted in frustration, finally sitting up. Joseph blinked slowly, still shaking off the sleep. He had a mind to check the fire since he wasn't able to get comfortable anyway. Raising a gloved hand, he rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the grogginess he still felt from the restless sleep. Then he turned his attention to the location of where the fire should have been. The pit had been placed between Jotaro and himself, intended to be large and close enough to the both of them that they could both stay warm. The baby's basket was placed above the fire pit, also between Jotaro and himself, just in case the child needed anything while they slept. Although now that he was actually looking for it, he couldn't find it. In fact, he didn't seem to recognize anywhere he had ended up. He could have sworn that he had fallen asleep in the shelter of some desert rocks with a fire and only his grandson and the baby to keep him company. But now, he wasn't seeing any of those things. Actually, he wasn't even in a desert anymore. He thought for sure he had woken up just now, at least it had felt like he did. But looking around at his new surroundings--even rubbing his eyes again to make sure he wasn't seeing anything, he was positive that he must be inside some kind of dream. Truthfully though, it was the strangest setting he had ever seen. He couldn't imagine one his dreams ever being like this. 

(What is this place? Is this...some kind of weird dream?) 

The old man got to his feet then, taking a better look around as he stepped out of the sleeping roll he'd collected from the plane after the crash. The place was oddly colored in bright obnoxious pastels. And from what he could tell he was in some kind-of seashore amusement park. Turning around where he stood, he confirmed this by spotting the various rides that seemed to fill the beach. A tall ferris wheel up on a wharf that boarded the strangely colored ocean. Then there were various other, smaller carnival rides. A teacup ride was the nearest to him since he appeared to have woken up on the platforms between a pair of over-sized, colorful teacups. Nothing was moving though, the rides were quiet which only gave the place an eerie feeling. He didn't see any people wondering around, in fact he was certain that he was the only person there. Now he just had to figure out what the hell was going on. If this was a dream, he sure as hell didn't really feel like he was asleep. Actually, he felt aware of everything going on around him. But then, he had just been in a desert a few hours ago so the only other explanation was that he was dreaming this somehow. He was never one to really lucid dream anything. Even the visions he had from his past were just that, echoes of his past flashing before his mind's eye in a dream. This felt way too real though, he felt a little too real for it to be that. The only other explanation he could think of was that he had been caught by some kind of stand. But if that was the case, where was it's user? 

(I better find out if Jotaro was effected as well.)

If there was a chance that a user was nearby and had somehow trapped him here in whatever dream-like place this was, he thought that he might make sure his grandson wasn't effected either. Although there was a good chance that he could have been pulled into this too, especially if the user had waited until they were asleep to attack. They had been sleeping fairly close to one another after all, with just a few feet between the two of them. Which meant that even a short distance stand would have probably been able to reach the both of them. That was a little troublesome. If Jotaro was stuck in this place, too he wasn't sure how they were going to get out of it. At the same time though, he might be able to come up with a better idea of how to escape. And if Joseph really was still 'asleep' while this was happening, then there was a chance that the only way out was to wake up. But that was the question, how was he supposed to do that? First thing was first before he got too far ahead of himself, he needed to find out if Jotaro had joined him here in this place. If that was the case then maybe together they could figure out a way to get out of it. A way to wake up and even locate how this was happening. If they were under the influence of a stand, they needed to get out of there as soon as they could find the user before they got themselves killed. Not to mention that baby was still out there all by himself with no one else to look after him. 

He remembered Kakyoin's thrashing in the plane. He had seemed to be having a bad dream then as well, but it didn't really occur to him at the moment that the child could have been the reason for those dreams. All he had known was that he had thought it was a good idea to send Kakyoin away with Polonaroff and Advol to secure a place for them. The heat from the desert had seemed to start to get to him after all. Rather than the poor kid loosing his mind out there in the sun, he figured getting him away from the child was probably best for everyone. What Joseph wasn't aware of, was this was exactly the place where their friend had been dragged into and terrorized by a horrifying stand. A stand that was lurking about, just waiting for the right moment to come out and strike. It's user toying with them and enjoying the fact that Joseph didn't' seem to know what was going on and had lost his trust in the only person who could have given him away. It left Jotaro and Joseph both open targets now and the old man didn't even know the danger he was in as he rounded the teacup. Taking in the rest of his surroundings before he placed his hands up to cup his mouth as he called out to the empty amusement park.