Episode 20
Caesar's Chilly Childhood
Caesar Zeppeli was born to the most famous furniture maker in Naples, Mario Zeppeli.
Mario was a proud Neapolitan and a loving, reliable father of five,
a man Caesar saw as his role model.
But when Caesar was ten-years-old, that very same father walked out on his family without a word.
Caesar's mother was already deceased,
and the money left to Caesar and his siblings were swindled away by a distant relative.
Caesar's disposition as a problem-child grew rampant, and his hatred for his father festered like a disease.
I'll bet that prick shacked up with some whore and had another family!
I'm gonna find and kill that culo, if it's the last thing I do!
Caesar's youth was incinerated by his burning vengeance.
He partook in several crimes including arson, battery, larceny, and petty theft.
The only crime that hasn't sullied his hands is murder.
His infamy made him a man to be feared, even by mafiosi.
Be you the bambino who goes by Caesar?
Whose son are you?
I'm my own man!
I'm sorry, you must not be Italian then.
Y'see, we Italians like knowing who our fathers are.
Caesar's regular routine of battery begins with an unrelenting wrench to the jaw,
followed by an uppercut to his immobilized opponent.
Caesar had yet to know that his fists were empowered with Ripple energy.
And when Caesar was 16-years-old...
It's him...
That son of a bitch!
...he was ready to soil his hands after spotting his father in the streets of Rome.
Alas!
Wh-What are these things?!
A diamond...
An embedded diamond.
Giovane,
don't touch that damn diamond!
Vaffan-!
What's with this wall?
D-Don't touch these jewels...
They're booby traps...
Caesar was completely clueless
to the crusade of his grandfather, Will A. Zeppeli, which led to his brutal death,
and the dedication of his son, Mario Zeppeli, who traveled the world to learn the Art of Mystics
for the sole purpose of defeating the very Pillar Men embedded within this wall.
Caesar had no idea of the scope of their crusade.
G-Giovane, hear my plea...
In Venice, there's a lady by the name of Lisa Lisa...
Only she knows how to deal with these damn things...
Whether it was by the pull of the wall or Caesar's matured visage,
Mario was unable to recognize his own son in his final moments.
Pa-!
Caesar realized then
Hurry!
that his father left him and his siblings in order to keep them safe from the horrors of his crusade.
Please, hurry...
Padre!
Shijima no soko kara
Once, four folks arose from the fires of Hell
Shijima no soko kara
Once, four folks arose from the fires of Hell
mezameru sono hashiratachi toki wo koe
and awoke from their pillars after eons of eternal slumber.
mezameru sono hashiratachi toki wo koe
and awoke from their pillars after eons of eternal slumber.
Shinku no chishio ga
Their ambition for power assembled
Shinku no chishio ga
Their ambition for power assembled
tachiagaru yuuki wo hikiawaseru
the blood of a few bombastic braves.
tachiagaru yuuki wo hikiawaseru
the blood of a few bombastic braves.
Uketsugu ai wo sadame to yobu nara
But one brave, whose fate was bound in his blood,
Uketsugu ai wo sadame to yobu nara
But one brave, whose fate was bound in his blood,
hohoemu me de tsugi no te wo
shot a sly smirk at his destined demise.
hohoemu me de tsugi no te wo
shot a sly smirk at his destined demise.
Yami wo azamuite setsuna wo kawashite
He would deceive the darkness and dodge the danger!
Yami wo azamuite setsuna wo kawashite
He would deceive the darkness and dodge the danger!
Yaiba surinuke yatsura no suki wo tsuke
He would exploit the flaws of the foes he faced!
Yaiba surinuke yatsura no suki wo tsuke
He would exploit the flaws of the foes he faced!
Tsuranuita omoi ga mirai wo hiraku
And his memory would live on for all posterity!
Tsuranuita omoi ga mirai wo hiraku
And his memory would live on for all posterity!
He's like a bloody storm!
Atsuku like a bloody stone
Red-hot like a bloody stone,
Atsuku like a bloody stone
Red-hot like a bloody stone,
ketsumyaku ni kizamareta innen ni
but would he be ever free of the cursed fate of his family?
ketsumyaku ni kizamareta innen ni
but would he be ever free of the cursed fate of his family?
Ukiagaru kienai hokori no kizuna
Who can say, but the bonds of these braves
Ukiagaru kienai hokori no kizuna
Who can say, but the bonds of these braves
nigirishimete
will never be buried.
nigirishimete
will never be buried.
Episode
Caesar's Chilly Childhood
I get it now...
From that moment, his years of hatred for his father converted
to profound pride for his family name.
Caesar took up the cause of his father
and began training in the Art of Mystics.
Caesar owes Cars some payback for his pappy...
Sorry about that, Caesar.
I had a cock-up about your granpappy with all the corpse-talk...
But if you're game to be walking straight into Cars's trap,
then I'll bet you've got a scheme or two up your sleeve.
I've changed my mind!
If you're gonna assault Cars in the afternoon,
then I'll be there to assault him with you,
Caesar Zeppeli!
Snowfall from last night left a fresh layer of snow and a pair of footprints.
Wh-Who's that?!
I could've sworn I saw something just now!
Do my eyes deceive me?!
They do not!
They're honest!
Who the Hell is that?!
Caesar...
They've disappeared again!
They can keep up this Harry Houdini act,
but I know they've gotta be within five meters of me!
Could this be one of Cars's tricks?!
With the sun shining this bright,
there's no way he could set foot outside!
The Feline Feet!
A fundamental stance in Wushu!
Caesar is by no-means a practitioner of Wushu, but he instinctively adapted a flexible stance
which would allow him to effectively anticipate and counter attacks from any direction!
Caesar!
What's wrong with you?!
The Mistress specifically told you not to attempt any entry!
Stay where you are, Instructor Messina!
I can't move a muscle now, let alone attempt an entry!
Something's guarding the door leading within!
"Something?"
I see nothing, aside from snow-!
Th-There's a footprint!
It leapt!
They're attacking from the air!
You're...
Wham!
Instructor Messina!
This is bad!
That was Wham,
meaning that he and Cars are both holed up inside!
But why?!
How could Wham manage to bask in the sunlight?!
Could it be related to his transparency?!
Where is that provocative prattler at?
I've heard of Jojo's remarkable growth from Master Cars.
Where is the man responsible for Master ACDC's annihilation?
Wind...
Wham possesses the mastery of wind,
making his transparency the work of wind.
And the pipes that are protruding from his abdomen
are producing air.
I can only barely make him out due to the steam from those pipes...
That's it!
Those pipes are blowing out the steam in his abdomen, and he's coating his body with it!
His body's undergoing the photorefractive effect!
The steam surrounding him is causing sunlight to bend and refract,
giving him a windbreaker from UV rays!
That's why he seems transparent!
Jojo's not with you.
You are Caesar, the Bubble Blower, aye?
Your reaction to my action was instinctive, leading me to believe that you too have grown as much as he.
Very well!
You will have the honor of being whacked by Whirlwind Wham first!
"Whack" my ass, Wham!
You've got my blood boiling back to when I was a rogue in the rookeries of Rome!
Back, to when my proud father was ensnared by your booby trap!
I was a cold and cruel criminal,
and I will kill you!
You think your wind'll burst my bubbles again, do you?!
Well not this time!
I've got the suds to slice through your wind!
It's a technique inspired by Nonno Zeppeli's Ripple Ripper!
Suds Saucers!
They're high-speed, high-rotary spinning saucers of suds!
The Ripple energy within each saucer makes them unburstable!
Your windbreaker of steam is like a vacuum for my saucers
to be sucked straight into your skin!
H-His Ripple powers have improved vastly beyond my own expectations!
You Mystic menace!
You're not going back into the hotel without a few souvenirs!
Skimming Suds Saucers!
As you fall from being struck by my suds
I'll finish you through my Ripple Kick!
Wham's next reaction would shock Caesar!
Caesar expected Wham to stabilize himself to stop from stumbling over
in order to shorten the distance between himself and the hotel door.
But instead of stopping...
Wham utilized the momentum of the fall to escape!
Wh-Wham's no ordinary immortal ogre...
The intellect he displays in battle is nothing short of ingenious!
But no matter his intelligence, he surely sustained severe wounds from my saucers...
Now I have the advantage!
And I know just what scheme to use within to ensure my victory!
At this moment, my senses are at the pinnacle of their peaks.
I'm sensitive to even the slightest shift in the air.
I'm on a high, like how I was back in the day.
I'm without a bead of sweat, and my respiration's stable.
I'll finish this fight with my reinforced Ripple powers!
Instructor Messina!
Are you ready to fight me without that windbreaker of yours now,
Wham?
They're gone!
Both Caesar and Messina!
Did they go inside the hotel already?!
I-Is that an arm?!
Be blown to bits, Wham!
Bubble Blaster!
I've burst these bubbles before!
Suds Saucers!
Fight me, you coward!
I am no coward!
Suds Saucers!
You're washed up, Wham!
Skimming Suds Saucers!
Wham!
Enough child's play!
Savor...
my Sacred-!
Hold your horses and survey your surroundings!
The saucers I've unleashed have been orbiting the interior as Suds Lenses!
Lenses?
And that hole in the wall you escaped through
is like the shutter of a camera, frozen in its photographic flash!
The lenses will refract
the UV rays of sunlight outside,
and enlighten this interior!
Sunlight?!
You are paralyzed!
Paralyzed into a strip of photographic film!
Bathe and burn in the warmth, Wham!
Deploying your windbreaker once more?
Not while I'm around!
This time, I'll finish you off directly with my Ripple energy!
The single lunge
in that single moment
would cost Caesar dearly!
The single moment when Caesar's body eclipsed the UV rays
was the moment when Wham turned the tables on him!
Once more, Caesar learned a painful lesson from the intellect of the weathered warrior!
Surge forth...
Sacred Sandstorm!
Th-This destructive force...
I-It couldn't be!
could only come from Wham's Sacred Sandstorm!
Then Caesar's been struck by it?!
I am astounded by the strength of your growth...
I am sate...
Sate from a duel long overdue...
Master Mystic!
My victory was but a close victory!
Were it not for my Sacred Sandstorm which blasted back your Suds Lenses...
I would've succumbed to the sunlight of your saucers.
Were Master Cars to have met and dueled you with his Shining Sword instead of my Sacred Sandstorm...
Master Cars would've emerged victorious,
while sustaining injuries more grievous than my own.
Enough.
Your body now stands broken and battered from our battle.
My Sacred Sandstorm has left your muscles and veins in shreds.
Enough!
Our duel is done.
No longer will you feel even the slightest spark of Ripple energy,
for you suffer from severe desanguination.
The severity of this desanguination has doomed you to Death.
Enough.
Farewell.
Go now, and begin your ascension.
What?!
The antidote to my wedding band?!
What good would it do you?
I fear not Death...
I am the proud successor to the Zeppeli family...
but I've failed in my crusade.
An ogre would never understand the human value of family...
My father gave his life to save mine,
unknowing that the life he saved was that of his own son's.
Even Nonno relinquished his life and powers
to save that of Jojo's grandfather, Jonathan.
With the curtain of my life coming to a close, my final act must be as theirs!
One final performance of panache before departing...!
My soul shines with the same zest of the Zeppeli men that preceded me!
The zest of the human soul!
Jojo!!!
This is my Ripple of Rest!
Take it away!!!
That was Caesar!
That was Caesar's goddamn shout!
I heard it!
Did something happen to him?!
Caesar!!!
He blew one last bubble with his blood.
One last bubble infused with his remaining Ripple energy.
He used his remaining energy to make a memento for Jojo, instead of channeling it into his fists...
Then he shall have it.
I do not consider this an act of sympathy,
but I do respect the strength and will of a warrior.
An honorable warrior whose will and sacrifice is worthy of my respect.
Your memory shall remain within my own for all eternity,
Caesar...
A Mystic whose brief life burst as beautifully as the bubbles he bore.
Th-The only tornado that could've torn through here
is Wham's Sacred Sandstorm!
If Caesar took his attack head-on...!
A bloody bubble...
Th-This couldn't possibly be...
Caesar's bandana is inside!
And so is...
a ring!
It's Wham's lip ring!
This Ripple energy I feel is definitely...
C-Caesar's!
Ever since we set foot in here, I tried so hard not to shout out for Caesar.
I was too scared to shout out for him,
because if I did and there wasn't any response from him,
save for a serene silence, then I would know...
Know, what I tried so bloody hard to deny!
But I can't deny it anymore...
I now know everything that happened in here...
from the sensation of that bubble, alone.
Caesar died shortly before we broke through...!
Goddamn him!
Goddamn the snobbery of that irritable Eyetie!
That prick left us stupid prezzies to boot!
Caesar, where the Hell are you at?!
Wakey-wakey!
I'll dig you out, so just give me a sign, Caesar!
Jojo!
Do cease your sobbing and searching for Caesar already.
Come again?!
The odds are now even between them and ourselves.
Two-on-two.
That stairway of blood above is a real sigh of relief
since Wham had surely sustained severe injuries from Caesar as well.
We may be in their stronghold,
but we'll still push on and persevere.
Get to it, Jojo.
Take that antidote and we'll begin our pursuit.
Y-You heartless homegirl...!
Won't you shed a goddamn tear or two for Caesar already?!
Mistress Lisa Lisa...
your butt's backwards.
Lisa Lisa is my Master,
and as a master, she has to act cold to keep my focus fixed.
But she's the one who really wants to wail n' weep...
for the man who looked to her as a mother and mentor.
She's telling me to keep my eyes on the prize...
Caesar, I know I was a real selfish jerk in your eyes,
but even I've learned to clue into the tune of another.
Maybe I've matured some...
But when I murder them, they'll wish I was even more mature!
I won't let your sacrifice be in vain!
I-It's blood...
So Caesar's underneath...
Caesar...
Caesar...!
CAESAR!!!
Within this hotel, Cars and Wham await the arrival of Jojo and Lisa Lisa,
but their arrival will be postponed due to an outburst of emotion.
Jojo screamed for Caesar ceaselessly,
while Lisa Lisa shed tears for her tragic disciple.
Jojo continued screaming with the expectation of hearing Caesar's shout, but it was not to be.
Caesar was now deceased,
and the serene silence
that followed their anguished cries only affirmed this fact.
His body may be gone, but his soul still lives on...
Under this slab, Caesar Zeppeli rests eternal.
Next Time
You've caught me in a foul mood.
An embrace to end all embraces!
When the full moon is at it's apex, we shall race!
Both of you shall be broken before the break of dawn!
Shine with me, Caesar!
Episode
Lisa Lisa's Long Shot