Chapter Text
Today, the news finally gave Caesar and Suzi something.
Caesar reread the newspaper's cover story again and again, to make sure that absolutely nothing was misunderstood. St. Moritz, a place in Switzerland that tourists loved to go to, had had a lot of disappearances occur in the past few weeks. Caesar vaguely recognised all the names listed in the article, them being people from wealthy families. No wonder why it was a front page story, then.
"Suzi, I think this might be it!" She peered over his shoulder, reading the article for herself. Though she was behind him, he could feel her face light up.
"We have to go investigate! Let's go let Speedwagon know!" She said excitedly. After paying for the paper in the shop (they needed a copy for future reference, after all) they rushed home.
Suzi's place had been tidied up a lot since they first arrived there. The place was no longer dusty, and it had been spruced up a little, a vase of flowers by the windowsill viewing the sea.
Knowing Speedwagon's number off by heart, Caesar dialed him. The phone rung once, twice, before being picked up.
Caesar spoke before Speedwagon had a chance to. "We need your help."
"Caesar?" Speedwagon started, sounding surprised at who was on the other end. "What's wrong?"
"JoJo's been kidnapped by the Pillar Men, but we're pretty sure-"
"What?!" Speedwagon fumbled over his words. Maybe that wasn't the best way to break the news to him.
"Let me start from the beginning..."
Caesar recited the events of the past few weeks – the kidnapping, the abandonment, him and Suzi leaving to go find Joseph, and then now.
Speedwagon cut him off when Lisa Lisa's name was mentioned.
"Lisa Lisa's your hamon teacher?" He asked to confirm, something like concern or fear edging his voice.
"Yes...? Did I not tell you that she was my hamon teacher when we first got into contact with each other?"
Speedwagon was quiet for a moment. "...Does she know who JoJo is? That he's a Joestar?"
"No, I don't think it was ever brought up." There were things not being said, a bigger picture. One that Speedwagon seemed to be trying to obscure. "Why's it important?"
"Oh, good heavens..." Caesar didn't know what face he pulled at the sound of that, but from the look on Suzi's it certainly wasn't a good one. "Well, Caesar, Lisa Lisa's...very close with the Joestar family, to put it lightly. It's a long story. If she knew who JoJo was I'm sure she wouldn't be doing this..."
Still not the full picture. "If she's so close with the Joestars, how come she doesn't know that JoJo's a Joestar?"
"She cut off contact with me and the Joestar family around seventeen years ago. Said it was to try keep us out of anything to do with vampires and the stone masks. Lisa Lisa...I don't think she knew him long enough to make the connection and realise." How tragic. She'd left the Joestar family behind to protect them, only to leave one to die at the hands of those monsters. Caesar would feel bad for Lisa Lisa, if the act of giving Joseph away wasn't so abhorrent in the first place.
"Ah... Well, once we get Joseph back we'll be able to tell her. Maybe it'll finally knock some sense into her."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Caesar." And so it wasn't a good idea. He hadn't uncovered the full story yet, that much was apparent. But he definitely wasn't going to uncover it all today; There were more important things to attend to.
The two discussed how they'd get Caesar and Suzi to St. Moritz, and after a formal goodbye Speedwagon hung up. He usually ended his calls more informally and friendly, but these weren't usual circumstances. Time really was of the essence here.
"The Speedwagon Foundation are on their way. We need to get ready."
"What happened?" Suzi asked, dying to be in the loop. Caesar relayed the information back to her while they packed their things again, including the information on Lisa Lisa's connection to Joseph.
"Oh, that's horrible..." She said sadly while expertly putting her clothes into her suitcase. He'd have to ask her how she did it; It seemed like she could conjure extra space up out of thin air. "Nothing's gone right for anyone here, has it?"
"Not even for the Pillar Men." As far as Caesar knew the Pillar Men were still stoneless. If anything changed, he'd certainly know. Everyone would know, with all the chaos they would wreak with its power.
Caesar still didn't have many possessions to pack away, and so he helped Suzi with what she had left. "But soon enough, things will start going our way. The Pillar Men will be defeated and the stone protected. JoJo will be saved, and we can go about our lives happily and put this all behind us."
The last part felt like he was spitting a lie.
Something deep inside of him knew he wasn't going to get out alive. That was always the way the tale was spun – why would it change for him, of all people? He was a Zeppeli. They came. They helped the Joestar. They died for the Joestar. They became a footnote in the Joestar's legacy.
Even in cases like Caesar's father, they still managed to lay down their life for someone, very much before their time. The odds were stacked against against Caesar horrifically, and Joseph, a Joestar, was involved. And he was so incredibly devoted to Joseph. Tragically kindhearted and noble under all that crass... How could Caesar not grow to respect and care for him (the more he thought about it, the more it felt like there were other feelings mixed in with his feelings of respect) as badly as he did?
"Would I be able to stay with you, once this is all over?" Suzi asked. "I don't want to go back to Lisa Lisa, but I also don't want to go to live on my own. I've been living with others for so long, it'd feel wrong to be alone."
"Of course! You don't need to ask. I've enjoyed living with you. I don't want to change that."
She smiled warmly. "It'll be nice. We can finally do whatever we want, stress free... Oh, and JoJo can join us too! We'll be an inseparable trio!"
Caesar listened to her as she happily ranted on about the beautiful future she had conjured up in her mind. It was so vivid, for a moment he almost thought it possible.
He couldn't let false hopes like that cloud his mind. A future like that simply wasn't possible. He'd fulfil his duty to save Joseph, and die. That simply was his fate.
Though, he guessed it wouldn't hurt to indulge in fantasies just a little bit.