Caesar: I'm sure Kars lives there during the day. I bet he's waiting for Wamuu.
"That's perfect!" Ruby exclaimed. "Yeah. He had nowhere to go if 4 hamon users cornered him." Weiss agreed. Yang took a slice of the pizza.
Lisa Lisa: So what's the plan?
Caesar: That's easy! We should blitz him now!
Messina: I agree. Kars cannot go out during daylight. We have the advantage.
Lisa Lisa: JoJo?
Joseph: I refuse.
Messina, Lisa Lisa, and Caesar: Eh?
The team trusts Joseph's judgement. Watching him throughout his journey, they are pretty sure he had something sensible to say.
Joseph: I think it's more dangerous with the sun up. Listen, Kars has lived for thousands of years like this. He won't have left himself defenseless!
Caesar: What?!
W: That's right... Kars has proven himself to be smart. I'm sure he realized what disadvantage he was in, he probably gathered vampires for all we know...
R: I think I get it... Woo! I'm finally starting to think like a Joestar.
B: We all are. But Caesar...
Joseph: Walking into his lair would be suicidal! I won't go! It'd be like a bug walking into a web!
Caesar: Where is this coming from..? JoJo, this isn't like you at all. Are you... Are you scared?
Joseph: I'll take Sun Tzu's advice here. Only fight when victory is assured. I said I won't go!
Blake's ears perked up at the mention of that name. "He was having doubts. I mean, Kars already showed that he was pretty fucking terrifying." Yang understands her man.
Suddenly, Caesar grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close to shout in his face.
Caesar: ARE YOU CHICKENING OUT?!
Joseph: Chickening out? My head is cool. I'm thinking straight. We have to wait for his move! Also, keep it down, you're starting to sound like Stroheim...
Caesar: You want a sure victory?! Kars is alone! There's four of us! You, me, Messina and Coach Lisa Lisa- We have the numbers! We have to strike now, before Wamuu arrives!
Joseph: Caesar, you're going off half-cocked! Keep your head. Calm down and think. If we walk in there, he's the one in control. We don't know the building's layout like he does and it's not like we can blow it all up to expose him to the sun. The possibility of us getting picked off one by one is high.
*RIIIP*
WBY jumped as the leader opened a bag of chips. "What? It's getting intense, I need something crunchy to chew on." Ruby said. "Ughhh! They are both making valid points! I don't know which one is right!" Weiss was ready to tear her hair out.
Caesar: I'm not half-cocked! I'm gonna end this! I'll finish the fight that killed both of our grandfathers! I'll destroy Kars!
Joseph: You'll finish it?! What about our dead grandfathers?! Who cares?! Don't drag the dead into this, you idiot!
Caesar: What did you say, JoJo?!
Joseph: Family you've never met doesn't mean shit! They might be cool and all, but come on, man. Only a complete moron would die for that!
"Wha- I thought you don't like having the dead disrespected, Joseph, come on, be consistent." Blake whined, referring to Joseph's first scuffle with Caesar, unknown to them, the second and the last one will start just about shortly.
Caesar's eyes widened before he grit his teeth. There was a visible flare of Hamon, and Joseph took a step back as Messina and Lisa Lisa got ready to intervene.
Messina: Caesar?
Caesar: Watch your mouth, JoJo!
Caesar suddenly threw an uppercut at JoJo, throwing him onto his back and splitting his lip. JoJo spat out some blood before holding his jaw. The team gasped, they knew Caesar had beef with Kars but he didn't know it was this intense.
Joseph: What the fuck do you think you're—?!
Caesar attempted to stomp on him but Joseph's strong trunk prevented him from doing so, the bigger man stood up angrily.
They began trading punches, Joseph landing a left hook on Caesar's cheek, while Caesar slammed his fist into Joseph's stomach.
Joseph: A sucker punch?! No dignity!
Caesar: Oh, it's fucking on!
Joseph: What the hell is wrong with you, Caesar?!
Caesar: Shut the fuck up, JoJo!
Lisa Lisa: Caesar, stop it!
Messina: You too, JoJo!
They each landed a punch on each other's face, and as they fell back Lisa Lisa grabbed Caesar, while Messina grabbed Joseph. They each gasped for air as they glared at each other, blood dripping from their mouths and noses.
The team were silent during the entire scuffle. Their mouths agape, speechless at what just happened.
Joseph: Y-You fucker… Have you lost your goddamn mind?! You're acting like a bonehead!
Caesar: JoJo… I thought you'd understand inheriting a battle like this… I thought you carry the same pride in your name like I was. I thought... I thought you're different. I was wrong. I'm going.
Lisa Lisa: Caesar, JoJo is right. It's too dangerous. We don't know what might be in there. We will wait for Kars. That's an order, Caesar. Protecting the Stone is our first objective. Anything else comes second.
The team still had nothing left to say as Caesar had his back turned on the three hamon warriors. The blonde italian was silent for awhile.
Lisa Lisa: Caesar?
Caesar: Coach, I'm sorry. I can't obey. You know this is a blood issue. It's a Zeppeli problem! I can't leave it unsettled while I know where Kars is! I can't sit back and just wait for him to come!
Caesar leaped off the balcony while they watched. After a moment, Messina turned to Lisa Lisa and raised an eyebrow.
Messina: Well?
Lisa Lisa: Follow him and stop him from entering, even if it means force.
Joseph: C-Caesar… why? Why are you so grim all of a sudden? If he wants me to fight Kars, I'll fucking fight. But not now! Why is he in a hurry? If anything, I'm the one with the rings, I should be the one who-
Lisa Lisa: JoJo, you've touched upon a piece of his hidden past. You didn't mean it, but your words hit him where he's most sensitive.
As he stared after his blond friend, the opening, quiet strums of roundabout began to play. Back with Caesar, his footsteps crunched through the snow as he looked up at the abandoned hotel. He gazed forward with an intense and determined look as his hair and headband waved in the wind, before striking forward.
To be continued
"NO! Come on!" Yang yelled at the screen. "I got it! Gray remote overdrive!" Ruby clicked the next episode as soon as she can.
"I ponder about what made Caesar flip out like that... Of course, he is proud to carry the Zeppeli name but, what gave him that fiery rage?" Weiss pondered. "Oh don't fret, I am sure it will be explained in the next episode." Blake mocked her sophisticated speech.
"SHHH!" the sisters shushed.
Caesar was seen with his family sitting on the steps of a house, with three other boys and one girl with brown hair and himself smiling at their father, who looked strikingly like him, except with his own brown hair and darker eyes.
Y: Wait, why is Caesar the only blonde kid?
R: Maybe he is adopte-
WB: SHHHHH!
Narrator: Caesar was the son of Mario Zeppeli, the best furniture maker in Naples. Mario was a proper Italian, dedicated to his family. To Caesar, he was the ideal best role model a son could ever ask for.
The scene changed, showing a half-eaten meal and the five boys staring at an open doorway. "Oh." Ruby said.
Narrator: When Caesar was ten, Mario left without a word. They were motherless and distant relatives stole all they had. Caesar became delinquent, and grew to hate his father.
The team know that it was far too cruel to be true, Ruby grinned in excitement, imagining Mario and Jonathan's son going on a bizarre adventure, but she frowned as she realized the effect it gave Caesar and his siblings.
Young Caesar sat in a cell, glowering at nothing.
Caesar: I bet he's living carefree with some woman! I'll find and kill him!
His shit disintegrated in to a tanktop in fury, causing Yang (and me) to burst out in laughter.
Narrator: He threw away his youth and his future. He committed theft, arson, assault… anything short of murder. Even mafiosos feared him.
B: Shouldn't he be in school..?
W: How old is he at this point?
He was shown kicking a man to the ground while wearing thuggish clothes, and a chain around his shoulder, likely to whip people with. A mafia man with two scars below his eyes and wearing a dark trench coat and hat smirked at the boy who looked at him disdainfully.
Mafia man: Hey, you're Caesar, right? What's your last name?
Caesar: I don't fuckin' have one!
Mafia man that is about to get destroyed: Then you aren't Italian. Italians are proud of their families.
Caesar growled at the man, before grabbing a wrench he hid behind his back and striking at the man, sending blood flying. "WOAH, that escalated quickly!" Yang said as the rest of the team gasped.
Narrator: never holding back, he started fights by using a wrench. With his foe stunned, he finished them off!
He threw a punch, and the familiar yellow glow and electricity of Hamon was visible as he uppercut and threw the man away. The team squinted, they saw that one coming.
Narrator: though he didn't know it, he was already using Hamon. Then, at age 16 in Rome…
Y: NO. WAY. That's not 16! That's a grown ass man-
B: You alreadyt said that about Jonathan and Dio! Shut up!
W: He looks... Too muscular for a 16 year old.
The heiress supressed her blush.
Caesar was seen staring at something, clear shock on his face as sweat dropped down his cheeks. The camera swung, showing Mario, wandering down the streets. He glanced over, before continuing to walk. "Oh no. That can't be good." Ruby sweated.
Caesar: No mistake... It's him! I've been waiting years for this moment..!
Narrator: Caesar felt he might murder his own father. However!
Caesar had followed the man, and came across a wall and saw three almost butt naked buff men forever sealed in fabulous poses.
The Pillar Men we're still stone, and Caesar and the team looked it over in confusion. RWBY had the same question in mind, weren't those supposed to be under that manhole entrance thingy?
Caesar: W-What is that?! What is this?!
A glint from near Kars' body drew his eye, and he saw the gemstone that the leader of the Pillar Men held.
Caesar: It's... a diamond, all right..!
He leaned in and attempted to touch it, before the sound of running footsteps hit his ears. Mario ran forward, panic clear on his face.
Mario: Boy, don't touch that stone!
Caesar: YOU!
However, his fingers brushed the diamond, causing light to shine from the wall. Caesar stepped back in shock, watching in awe and horror as hooks erupted from the wall.
RWBY: Whaaa..?
Caesar: W-what's this wall doing?!
His father was suddenly there, shoulder-barging him away from the wall. But, before Mario could get away, the hooks and chains began digging into Mario's clothes and skin.
RWBY: WHAT?!
Mario: S-Stay back! It's a trap!
Narrator: The events of fifty years ago were unknown to Caesar. Will, Caesar's grandfather, had died tragically. Mario had taken up his torch, trained with Hamon, and discovered these ruins.
R: Oh no no nononono! Mario!
W: That was so sudden! I..!
B: Is he actually..?
As the narrator spoke, Mario was slowly sucked into the wall, even as he struggled, in clear pain and agony. He searched the world for a way to defeat the monsters within. But Caesar was totally unaware of this.
Mario: Y-Young man, I ask of you a favor… Speak with a woman in Venice named Lisa Lisa… She is the only one who can stop them… Please..! I beg of you! She needs... To... Know...
(The unholy rage of Ghiaccio screeching about how it's called Venezia breached the fourth wall.)
Narrator: Perhaps because Caesar had grown, Mario did not recognize his own son.
Caesar: Fa…
Narrator: Caesar's father had left to keep his family safe from all of this.
As Mario was finally sucked in completely, Caesar's horror transformed into grief as he realized why his father had left. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he knelt lifelessly on the floor, before he weakly whimpered
Caesar: Father..!
The team were utterly shocked and felt sorry for him, Mario got introduced and he was gone in a snap.
The scene transitioned back to the modern day, with Caesar standing before the abandoned hotel, his headband waving in the wind. Carrying the proud Zeppeli name. Yang cleared her throat, the feeling of dread still iminent. "Make your family proud."
Ruby finally realized how much it meant to Caesar, Blake felt sympathetic towards the blonde man standing proud, while Weiss wondered that there could be a reason her father was such a twat.
He clenched his fist with closed eyes, before glaring at the hotel, intent on getting his revenge. The brave, misguided man channeled his rage about abandonment and father issues towards the reason of suffering for him and countless of others, Kars.
Chapter 20: Young Caesar
Revealing Joseph and Lisa Lisa looking at the hotel from the balcony. "Oh so that flashback was Lisa Lisa telling him- oh!" Ruby realized it.
Joseph: I see…
Lisa Lisa: Caesar's misunderstanding led to hatred. But that became pride for his father and his family. So Caesar picked up where his father left off.
Joseph: Caesar, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to speak ill of your family. If you want to go in there despite it being obviously a trap, then you must have a way to beat Kars. I've changed my mind! Don't hog all the glory to yourself, wait for me!
Caesar looked down at the ground, seeing indents in the snow shaped like footprints.
B: Must be remnants of Kars' travel last night.
Caesar: One set of footprints leads in…
The doors suddenly burst open, wind blowing out of them. A humanoid form began appearing, outlined by the wind, but what it truly looked like was unknown due to it being invisible. RWBY simultaneously rubbed their respective eyes.
W: Okay, what WAS that?
Y: Hell if I know!
Caesar: w-who was that? I swear I saw someone. Am I seeing things?
A foot suddenly slammed down, and Caesar could see the sparkling outline of the person.
B: It's... It's transparent!
Caesar: No, that's not my imagination! What the hell is that?!
The shape suddenly burst forward, running through the snow and sunlight.
R: UGHHH, it's creeping me out!
Figure: Caesar?
It suddenly disappeared, and Caesar held up his arms to block the whirlwind of snow that blew up into his face. He gasped and his widened as he noticed that the figure had vanished.
Caesar: He vanished! But I know he's here. He's within a few steps. Is that you, Kars?! No, the sun is too strong. He can't be outside!
The camera panned down to his legs to show that he was on his toes, his knees close together.
Narrator: the cat stance, an element of kung fu. Caesar has never heard of kung fu. But he relaxes his limbs, ready for attack from any direction. For him, it is a reflex.
B: Interesting...
Y: What is a kung fu?
W: Seeing as the narrator said stances, it must be some sort of yoga.
R: Or a dance! Caesar looks like he was about to groove.
Caesar brought his arms up, ready for an attack from any direction, before a voice called out to him.
Voice: Caesar!
It turned out to be Messina, walking through the gate.
Messina: Hey. What are you doing? Going in alone is suicide, do you wanna die already? You're too young.
Caesar: Stay back, instructor! I can't even move forward, let alone go inside. Something is hiding in the entrance!
Messina: What's that? I can't see a thing—
Yang groaned, knowing that Messina was going to be the first casualty.
Suddenly, there was a crunch of snow as something stepped in it, and Messina and Caesar tensed.
Messina: A-A single footprint.
Caesar: He jumped! He's coming from above! Get ready, instructor!
A shadow flew overhead, and they both looked up to see the figure once more. Caesar's eyes widened, and he gasped.
Caesar: I-It's… Wamuu!
RWBY: WAMUU?!
The illusion around Wamuu dropped for a single moment, allowing both him and the viewers to see Wamuu's serious face as he stared down. He suddenly spun, striking out, and a moment later an arm hit the ground.
W: When did he got here?! How is here?! WHY IS HE HERE?!
R: I DON'T KNOW!
Messina fell back, his arm having been chopped off at the bicep, before yelling out as Wamuu grabbed his legs and dragged him into the building. The doors closed behind them, pulled by the wind.
Y: Come on, Messina! You can't die! I thought you're gonna eradicate them all?!
B: Yang, you can't expect this to be a deathless journey for them.
Y: But still... He helped Caesar and Joseph get stronger... He can't just...
Caesar: Instructor Messinaaaaa!
Caesar tried to reach forward, before grunting as blood spurt from a gash on his shoulder.
Caesar: What the hell? That was Wamuu. Are he and Kars in there together? But how can Wamuu come out during the day?! He does look transparent somehow.
The doors suddenly burst open, and Caesar leaped backward, getting ready for more fighting. Wamuu was visible in the doorway, but his colors were muted as the wind flowed around him, before he became more opaque.
R: There he is.
Wamuu: Where is that smartass JoJo… I heard he's learned much. Where is the man who killed Master Esidisi?
Caesar: Wind. Wamuu can control the wind. That's why he's transparent. Air is coming from those pipes in his chest. It's slightly visible because of water vapor. I've got it! He's cloaking himself in vapor from those pipes. It's refracting the light. It's like a suit that bends light, protecting him from the sun! That's why he's transparent! You crafty monster.
The show made diagrams as he talked, showing how the sunlight bounced off of Wamuu's vapor shield, protecting him. RWBY was silent and observed the illustrations.
B: That makes sense.
Y: Ughh... This show is making me learn so much, it hurts.
Crafty monster: So JoJo isn't here. You're Caesar, the bubble guy. Just by looking at you, I can see you've also learned alot.
Caesar narrowed his eyes, while Wamuu widened his own, suddenly shouting.
Wamuu: Very well. Let's see how much you've grown as a warrior, Caesar, man of the bubbles!
Caesar, man of the bubbles: BRING IT ON!
R: YEAAAAH!
RWBY silently agreed that they will watch the fight without speaking too much
Wamuu charged, and Caesar prepared his Hamon.
Caesar: I feel like I did when I was poor! Just like when you killed my father! I'm going to crush you with everything I've got!
Wamuu waved his arm, and a wall of wind buffeted Caesar. He dug his feet into the snow, and he managed to stop himself from flying back, instead only sliding a few feet.
Caesar: Don't think your wind will just blow my bubbles away! Some bubbles go through wind! I took a page out of my Grandfather's Hamon Cutter! Bubble Cutter!
RY: PEW PEW PEW!
He swept his hands across each other to create bubbles, before reaching back and throwing his arms forward. Bubbles flew through the air towards the Pillar Man, but their shape was odd. Instead of normal spheres, they had edges, or rings, like those around Saturn or something. They began glowing yellow and sparks of lightning jumped from them as they charged up with Hamon
Caesar: High speed rotation turns the bubbles into disks! Hamon ensures they won't pop! The wind protecting you is just air to them! Instead of defending you, it'll suck them in, you sucker!
The colors on screen went funky as the bubbles closed in, RWBY was already used to the changed in color schemes that barely noticed. before they began piercing Wamuu's skin, sending blood flying. He cried out in pain, recoiling as more and more sliced him.
Wamuu: His skill with Hamon is more than I bargained for.
Wamuu turned and made for the hotel's doorway, but Caesar wound up and prepared more bubbles. He sent them gliding across the ground, sending snow flying up in their wake.
W: It's like a glorified gunfight!
RY: SHHHHH!
B: More like a ninja stars fight.
RWY: SHHHHHHH!
Caesar: Hold it! I won't let you go inside! Gliding Bubble Cutter! Now, while you're off balance… I'll give you a Hamon Kick!
Wamuu leaned back, off balance as the bubbles pierced his ankles and calves. Caesar leaped up high, preparing to strike and kill Wamuu. The team didn't believe it, it was too easy to be true.
Narrator: But Caesar was in for a shock! If you are tripped, you try not to fall. Especially if you need to escape the sunlight. But Wamuu was different! He bent backwards!
Wamuu rolled back into a handstand and kicked at Caesar, simultaneously launching Caesar far back, and sending him towards the hotel. But, he couldn't reach the door. Instead, he punched out, and broke a hole through the outer wall of the building, allowing him to dive inside away from the light.
R: Ughh... I knew it would be too easy if it ended there.
Y: Well, we get round 2, baby!
Caesar: He's not just an immortal monster! With senses like that, he's a fighting genius as well! But my Bubble Cutter must have damaged him severely. The advantage is mine! I have a way to beat you indoors, you piece of shit...
He made his way forward, climbing through the hole and down the rubble it had created. The room was dark, and Caesar couldn't see where his enemy was. Still, he prepared himself. "He should continue while he's at it. Wamuu is still heavily damaged." Weiss lamented. "Easy, Weiss, you're sounding like Miss Goodwitch." Yang teased.
Caesar: My nerves are honed to a razor edge. I can even feel differences in the air. I have the itch like when I was poor. My breathing is normal. I'm not sweating. Perfect Hamon conditions! I am on top of my game. No way I'd lose at this point.
Caesar looked to the side and gasped, spotting his instructor laid out on a table. His eyes were blank, but he gave off a few twitches, showing he was still alive.
RWBY: Oh thank goodness.
Caesar: Instructor Messina!
He spotted movement, and turned to the main staircase of the hotel to see Wamuu standing at the very top.
Caesar: Taken off your coat, have you, Wamuu?
He raised his hand to his face, preparing for battle.
Joseph and Lisa Lisa entering the Hotel's grounds through the front gates. Yang clapped her hands, cauing the rest of her team to jolt up as they were on edge.
Y: PERFECT! Go inside and help him!
Joseph: Caesar and Messina aren't here! Are they already inside?
Lisa Lisa suddenly spotted Messina's arm, followed by Joseph, and they both stared in horror.
Lisa Lisa: T-That's… what happened?!
R: Don't worry about him, he's fine.
Inside, Caesar was beginning his assault on the Pillar Man.
Caesar: Take this! Bubble Launcher!
Wamuu: I said that won't work!
He twirled the knives attached to his headdress, popping all of the bubbles before they could damage him.
Wamuu: I said that won't work!
Caesar: Shut up I said it will work!
He threw back his head, before launching two streams of condensed air as he threw it forward. Caesar dodges one by diving to the right as it slammed into the red carpet, before dodging another by ducking, and jumping over a third. Four more were launched at him as Wamuu threw his head forward, and Caesar countered by launching a stream of bubbles at the wind. The team watched in awe as they exchanged incredibly powerful projectiles. Now it is a glorified throwing stars fight.
The wind died off before it hit him, allowing Ceaser to launch another wave of Bubble Cutters at Wamuu, shattering the stone handrail. Wamuu ran to the side and jumped down to a lower level of the stairwell as Caesar launched a third wave.
Caesar: Running away?! Get back here, you're not JoJo!
A stone vase shattered as bubbles slammed into it, and Wamuu prepared more wind.
Wamuu: I won't run or hide!
He launched a beam of wind, which Caesar once again dodged. The wind easily cut through the carpet and destroyed the rock underneath, showing how destructive even the small beams Wamuu was firing out. Caesar attempted to block a second wave, unable to dodge in time, but was only able to deflect it, being knocked aside in the process. It smashed into and destroyed the ceiling, Wamuu looking up at it I'm surprise, before looking back down towards Caesar.
The feeling of uneasiness returned hoever, but they tried to ignore it.
W: Why aren't the two of them just come inside already?
R: No way, Caesar doesn't need help! Look at him go!
Perhaps Ruby hadn't felt it yet, or she was in denial. Three older girls glanced at eachother, they knew something would go wrong. Something bad will happen.
He breathed in to regenerate his Hamon with the signature sound effect, before throwing his scarf behind his shoulder. He looked up at Wamuu for a moment, before a smirk fell into place. Wamuu's eyes widened and he roared with rage, winding up to blast more wild waves of wind at the much younger fighter.
Caesar dodged both, launching another Bubble Cutter wave at his enemy. Wamuu dodged, blasting out more wind which destroyed another vase as Caesar dove to the side, sliding on his side, before rolling to his feet while launching more Hamon bubbles. They cut through Wamuu's biceps, causing him to look at his arms with worry, as Caesar charged.
Caesar: You're dead, Wamuu! Gliding Bubble Cutter!
The bubbles circled around the staircase, going from the right stairs, around the top, and back down the left staircase to strike at Wamuu's unprotected side.
Wamuu: I have the higher ground!
Caesar: Not for long!
The Pillar Man didn't expect it, and his legs were torn up by the attack. He tumbled down the staircase, landing with a massive thump, and struggled to get up, nearly defeated.
Caesar: Wamuu!
Caesar stood at the bottom of the stairs, glaring up valiantly. Wamuu stood, blood streaming from all of his wounds.
Wamuu: Enough! Time to end this!
WBY gulped, they remembered that Wamuu hasn't used THAT yet.
Wind began being sucked into his body, and surrounded his wrists.
Wamuu: Divine Sand—
Caesar: I wouldn't do that if I were you! Look around!
Wamuu paused in his attack, looking up to see dozens, maybe hundreds of Bubbles floating through the air, all of them having swirl patterns on them.
"What in the world...?" the team simultaneously whispered. They leaned closer to the screen to further understand.
Caesar: My Bubble Cutters are now Bubble Lenses floating in the air!
Wamuu: Lenses?
Caesar: And that hole you knocked in the wall is like the open shutter of a camera!
Sunlight streaming through the hole suddenly began jumping from bubble to bubble, becoming beams of light. The team hummed in realization "OHHH!"
Caesar: The lenses send sunlight… into the hotel!
Wamuu: Wha- AAAAAAUUUUUUGGHHH!
The sunlight from the bubbles blasted through Wamuu's body, hurting as badly as actual sunlight. His body began steaming up, dozens of beams of light killing him. Eventually, blood began spurting from where each beam impacted.
Caesar: You can't move! You're film! A frozen image! You're totally exposed!
R: A .jpeg!
Air pipes suddenly erupted from Wamuu's body, absorbing air.
Caesar: Trying your cloak again? I won't let you! I'll finish you off with a direct Hamon blast!
As Caesar jumped up to deliver his kick, he made a mistake. He moved in front of the hole.
Narrator: One point. One moment. A tiny blind spot. Caesar's body created a shadow at one point! Wamuu didn't lose his chance! He showed Caesar once again that he was a fighting genius!
WBY: I KNEW IT!
R: What- OH NO!
The color palate went funky once more, Wamuu using the single moment where he wasn't in agonizing pain to focus his power. Caesar, recognizing this but unable to do anything, could only widen his eyes in shock.
Wamuu: Wind Mode: Divine Sandstorm!
Two massive streams of air buffeted Caesar's body, twisting it into horrid shapes while slicing open his flesh.
The team screamed in horror and despair.
The power was so great that the front doors of the hotel were blown off their hinges along with a stream of dust and rubble, causing Joseph and Lisa Lisa to cover their faces. Joseph opened his eyes to see the front entrance collapsed and blocked with rubble, sweat running down his face.
Joseph: S-Such destruction!
Lisa Lisa: I-It couldn't be!
Joseph: It's Wamuu's Divine Sandstorm!
Lisa Lisa: So that means Caesar is…!
Yang puts her hands on her head and stood up. Weiss gulped as Blake trembled. Ruby covered her mouth and whispered "No..."
Back inside, Caesar lay on the floor, eyes white, with blood streaming from his forehead and various other wounds, looking dead to the world.
"NO! NO!" Ruby yelled as tears threatened to fall. Weiss gasped and Blake closed her eyes, Yang lets out a shaky exhale.
They all remembered how strong it was, being able to shred a powerful pillar like a piece of paper, it was essentially a wind blender and Caesar took the brunt of it.
Wamuu stood atop the destroyed staircase, wind flowing around his wrists and hands.
Wamuu: You had grown so much. I am satisfied. I haven't had such a fight in ages… warrior of Hamon.
Wamuu suddenly fell to his knees with a bang, holding his chest and gasping. His heavy, muscular features heaving for air. Visible, glowing holes were all across his arms and torso, steam rising from the yellow holes.
Wamuu: And it was a close one, too. If my wind didn't have the strength to blow away your lenses… I have no idea how I could've stopped the light.
The back of Wamuu's hand suddenly began disintegrating, yellow, melting liquid visible through the hole. His face showed clear pain, with sweat dripping from it and his neck. At this point, the team were too distraught to even say anything, with one question on their mind 'Will Caesar survive?' it must be what drove the brunet away earlier.
Wamuu: And if Lord Kars, Who cannot use wind, had met you here first… and met your power…
They find it rather entertaining to think that Caesar could have defeated Kars. But that's a thought for later.
He grunted and squeezed his eyes shut, focusing his strength to heal the wound on his hand, regenerating the flesh that had melted.
Wamuu: Even If he had won… he would've been in worse shape than I am now.
His eyes snapped up, and widened in clear shock. The camera changed to over his head, and Caesar was shown standing at the bottom of the staircase, determination clear on his face, and eyes staring hard at Wamuu. He was breathing hard, his body broken.
Weiss started to cry "His spirit... Isn't broken yet..."
He took a step up the stairs, that one action obviously difficult and strenuous.
Wamuu: Don't. You will not fight again. My Divine Sandstorm has shredded your body.
Blake touched her own face, confused to why it's wet.
Caesar breathed in and wound up, while Wamuu simply closed his eyes. Caesar threw a punch, but it was weak, and there was no flare of Hamon. Wamuu easily lifted his hand and blocked the strike.
Wamuu: Stop. The battle is done. You have no more Hamon. See?
The camera panned down the steps, showing the vertible rivers of blood dripping from Caesar's wounds. Ruby covered her mouth and gasped.
Wamuu: You've almost bled out. That means you have no hope.
Caesar gasped, clear agony on his face as blood spurted from his body. He threw another punch, and Wamuu didn't even bother blocking, letting Caesar strike him weakly across the chest. He followed it up with another, and another.
Wamuu: Stop…
Caesar threw another punch.
His last one.
As Wamuu tilted his head back, causing Caesar to miss, and slip on his own blood. As he fell backward, Wamuu turned away, attempting to give honor to one of his greatest opponents final moments.
Wamuu: Goodbye. Your life has ended.
A foot landed. Caesar slammed it down onto the steps, preventing him from falling. He glared up, his willpower and anger showing on his face. He launched himself up, and was suddenly over Wamuu. Wamuu did not notice, continuing to climb, as Caesar's eyes glowed, literally, with his determination. Wamuu suddenly sensed him, and tried to turn, but he was too slow this time.
Wamuu: What?!
The team silently watched, the only noise being Weiss' whimpers.
Caesar reached forward and grabbed his lip ring. They stared at each other for a moment that seemed like an hour, before Caesar let a smirk fall onto his face, ripping the ring from Wamuu's face with a shower of blood and fell down the stairs. As he landed at the bottom, it seemed his weight was finally enough to cause the final collapse of the building. Cracks began forming in the ceiling and dust fell, the structural integrity of the building beginning to fail.
Wamuu: My lip ring... Why?
Caesar, once again, struggled to get up.
Caesar: I-I'm… Not afraid to die... But I am a proud member of the Zeppeli family. It is in my blood... Something like this might mean nothing to an inhuman freak like you..!
Caesar thought back to his father saving him, a flashback appearing on screen.
Caesar: My father didn't recognize me, but he sacrificed his life to save mine.
Another flashback, to Phantom Blood, showing Zeppeli giving his Hamon.
Caesar: Mr. Speedwagon told me that my grandfather gave his Hamon energy to JoJo's grandfather Jonathan before he died.
Music began playing, as Caesar slowly got up, another spurt of blood shooting from his body.
Caesar: It's our tradition..! A tradition of heroes..! I have to do something. I can't let my life's flame sputter out. So I can face them... In the great beyond with my head held up high..!
R: NO! NO! NO! YOU ARE NOT GONNA DIE TODAY!
Y: CAESAR, JUST HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER!
W: A... AHH...
B: This is too hard to watch...
He held up the ring, light shining from him as he summoned up all of his Hamon.
Caesar: This is the Zeppeli family spirit, from the past to the future!
Ruby finally cried.
Images of his father and grandfather appeared behind him, both determined to protect the world.
Caesar: it's a man's spirit!
He grabbed his headband and whipped it off, tying it around his ring. He clenched his hand around it, as well as his eyes, anguished, yet determined himself.
Caesar: JOJO! This is the last of my Hamon! TAKE IT FROM ME!
RWBY: NOOOOO!
As his energy flowed from his body, whirling around him, and exploding out. Even from the outside, the amount of Hamon was visible, a yellow wave flowing from the hole. Joseph and Lisa Lisa witnessed it, having closed in, but not entered yet.
Joseph: That's Caesar! Did you hear that?!
Lisa Lisa: Yes! Caesar can't be…!
Y: WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE YOU IDIOTS?!
W: CAESAR NEEDS YOU.
R: Why won't they just go in..? Why?!
Inside, the roof finally gave out, the explosion of Hamon shaking it enough that a cross shaped rock collapsed, falling towards Caesar's kneeling form, no energy left to move. Joseph outside scrambled forward, crying out.
B: C- The rock!
Joseph and Blake: Caesaaaaar!
The rock finally fell crashing down to the ground, and crushing Caesar Zeppeli beneath.
The three momentarily stopped crying as they were speechless once more. The sound of the large rubble landing echoed around their ears, around their heart.
On the staircase, Wamuu watched, an indefinable expression on his face. He looked up and saw a blood bubble floating above the rock, Caesar's headband and his nose ring within it.
Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang staref at the floating red bubble numbly as they said nothing. Their silver, blue, amber and lavander eyes are glued to the screen. They just don't know what to say or feel anymore.
They thought he would just bleed to death. No. He was brutally squashed, he met a cruel fate like his predecessors.
Wamuu: He made a bubble from his blood. He must have used all of his Hamon to make it. He saved it for this, for his friend, rather than using it to attack me.
He held out a hand, manipulating the wind to blow it over to him. "Don't you dare..." Ruby whispered.
He stared at it, before suddenly stopping and walking up the stairs. "Good..." The leader silently said.
Wamuu: I'll let it go. It's not because I'm sentimental, his talent as a fighter was real. He has my respect as a fellow warrior. I will hold you forever in my memory… Caesar. A man as splendid and fleeting as a bubble. Caesar Zeppeli…
The team found it oddly satisfying that the monster recognized Caesar's power. But none of them uttered a word.
As the camera lowered the the cross stone, light shine into the room as Joseph and Lisa Lisa made their way inside, clearing some of the rubble. Joseph ran forward, past the rock and looked around. Yang's eyes turned red.
Joseph: T-The Place is a wreck. A Divine Sandstorm was the cause of this! And Caesar was caught in it.
Y: WHAT FUCKING TOOK YOU?!
As Lisa Lisa walked up to him, and turned and gasped. Lisa Lisa followed his line of sight, and her eyes widened. Stop the staircase floated the blood bubble.
Joseph: A bubble… c-could it be? No! It's Caesar's bandana! And… a ring! Wamuu's lip ring!
W: He did it for you... He...
Weiss broke down once again, Blake's hand slowly comforted her as it rested in the heiress' shoulder. The faunus wasn't even trying to stop her tears this time.
He reached out, and Hamon sparked as he touched it. Lisa Lisa's eyes wavered as Joseph grasped it between both hands, before the bubble suddenly erupted with energy.
Joseph: This Hamon energy feels strange! W-Whoa!
The bubble burst, letting the lip ring and ribbon fall into his hands. He stared down, falling to his knees. As he stared down, he began muttering to himself, falling into a sort of acceptance mixed with grief. Ruby stood up and kneeled in front of the screen.
Joseph: I haven't... I haven't called Caesar's name since we got here… it was because I was afraid. If I called out his name and there was no response. If there was only silence… That's what scared me. I wouldn't accept it. So I didn't call him… but now I know. The Hamon in that bubble told me everything. Right here, moments ago… Caesar just died..!
Joseph's voice cracked as his eyes watered. Yang's eyes mimicked his in sympathy.
Italian opera began playing in the background, as Joseph clenched the headband and shook his head. Ruby gasped as she noticed that it was the same music that played when Caesar appeared. It was a language she nor her teammates did not understand, but she was certain that it's lyrics were meaningful as the music was beautiful.
Joseph: Caesar, you fucking asswipe. You were a show off till the end. I don't want a parting gift like this, Caesar! Where the hell are you?! I'm not gonna stop digging until I find your sorry- ugh!
He dove forward onto a pile of rubble, digging it up and throwing large chunks aside.
Joseph: I'll find you! I'll dig you up! Just you wait Caesar!
Lisa Lisa: JoJo!
She pulled out a box of cigarettes, pulling one out.
Lisa Lisa: This isn't the time to search or grieve.
RWBY listened to what she's about to say, being surprised that it seems like she wasn't even shaken, not one bit.
Joseph: WHAT?!
Lisa Lisa: There are two of them and two of us. The odds are stacked against us quite evenly now. But all that trail of blood says Caesar hurt Wamuu badly. We are in enemy territory. Let's go and finish what Caesar started. JoJo. Come on. Take the antidote, then we'll hunt them.
Joseph glared at the blood trail his Sensei had pointed out, gritting his teeth. His body shook with rage, and he whipped around to glare at Lisa Lisa. She turned at the same moment, sending her cloak up as she faced away from him.
Joseph: You inconsiderate..! Could you not even shed a single tear for Caesar?!
He clenched a fist and stared hatefully at her back, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. She grabbed a lighter and flipped it open, raising it to her lips, and that's when Joseph closed his eyes, standing up.
Joseph: Coach Lisa Lisa… your cigarette's backwards.
The team saw that her face was trembling, trying her hardest not to break down. They finally understand.
She stared at nothing, eyes shining with unshed tears, as she reached up to flip the cigarette around, before instead just crushing it in her fist.
Joseph: She's our coach, she has to keep a cool exterior. I know she wants to cry even more than I do. He treated her like a goddess, like she was his own mother and he knew her much longer than me. I have to hold my feelings back. Caesar, I know you thought I was a self-centered narcissist. But sometimes... Sometimes I understand how others feel... I guess you can call that development on my part... But don't worry, pal. I'll crush them thoroughly! Your spirit rests on my shoulders and I won't let you down!
Ovunque tu vada!
A boarded up window suddenly broke down, light streaming through. Lisa Lisa turned, eyes wide, following the trail of light, as Joseph took a step forward, face downturned in horror.
Ovunque io vada...
Joseph: Blood… it's blood… that's where Caesar fell. Caesar…
R: He's there, Joseph...
B: Oh my Go-
Blake let her tears freely flow. Ruby's voice cracked.
R: Why do they have to go..? Why..? Why do the heroes have to die?!
Ruby thought nothing could faze her anymore, she thought she had seen it all, yet here she is.
Lisa Lisa lifted a hand to her face, her tears finally streaming out uncontrolled, and falling to her knees.
C'è il mio amor nella tua vita...
Lisa Lisa: Caesar…
Weiss continued to weep as Ruby started to sob, slowly lowering her head in despair. Yang stood up momentarily, her fists shaking, her teeth chattering, her tears crashing down to the floor.
c'è l'amor nella tua giornata...
Joseph and Yang: CAESAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!
Yang fell down on her knees and planted her hands on the floor, she gave in and screamed in grief while the opera reached it's climax.
Basta un tuo sorriso...
Joseph: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHH!
un tuo sol sorriso,
It was 1 pm in the afternoon, students from the other room knocked on their walls because the team was being too noisy, but they didn't care. Yang continued to scream in anguish, Ruby sobbed like there is no tomorrow, Weiss was out of breath clutching her own chest in pain while Blake buried her face on the pillow as she lets it all out.
Non morirà,
For a moment, for a moment they thought that he had a chance.
l'alma mia. È immortaaaaaaaal!
But their expectations was thoroughly crushed like his body, what broke them is the fact that his spirit still had the will to fight. But they can only helplessly watched as Joseph Joestar cried his heart out for his dear friend.
Non serve versar lacrime...
Rest In Peace, Caesar Zeppeli.
To be continued…
In and around the lake...
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there...
Twenty four before my love and I'll be there..!