Sometimes in life two people seem to be destined for each other. They might not always get along, they might argue and fight and fall out but it's plain for anyone to see that they care for each other deeply and would go to the depths of hell and back for their partner. Normally reserved for romance every once in a while there comes along a platonic friendship so strong that it might as well be a romance. In todays battle we pit together two of fictions strongest 'Bromances' in;
Joseph Joestar & Ceasar Zepelli: Two young Hamon users out to continue the fight their grandfathers started 50 years ago.
vs
The Monster Hunters: Book writers, inventors and supernatural vanquishers all wrapped into one.
Who is Deadliest
Joseph Joestar & Caesar Zeppeli[]
| “ | Your next line is...
— Joseph when trolling his enemies.
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” |
Equipment
- American Clackers: In order to come up with a special attack, Joseph adopted a pair of American clackers as his main weapon. Joseph infuses these clackers with his Ripple energy in order to make them much more lethal, able to break the skin of a person with ease. They can also be used as a projectile weapon, either to strike and opponent or tangle them up and Joseph can also use it in a boomerang like effect.
Powers & Abilities
- Ripple: Known as Hamon in the east, Ripple is the usage of energy of sun rays through a special breathing technique which allows the user to harness solar energy as an attack. Mostly used as a way to combat the undead, Ripple will also cause a severe pins & needles feeling before fainting on a normal person. An object, while charged with Ripple energy, will become more dangerous, and its user can perform several techniques that can combine with the warrior's own tactics, to allow for a very flexible fighting style. The biggest weakness of this style is that the user must have controlled breathing in order to use Ripple and if the user cannot properly breathe (aka they were being choked) then it cannot be used. Joseph most commonly uses the following types of Ripple attacks;
- Ripple Hair Attack: Joseph infuses strands of hair with Ripple which hardens them enough to block incoming projectiles, including gunfire. Joseph was also able to use a similar technique with spaghetti where he hardens it and uses it as a projectile, powerful enough to break a wine glass.
- Overdrive: Overdrive sends a large pulse of Ripple energy through an object. Joseph uses this in many creative ways, from sending a burst of Ripple through a cactus, along a string to entangle someone and most notably to fire the metals caps of a bottle drink at an opponent with enough force to break bones.
- Rebuff Overdrive: Another usage of the aforementioned Overdrive, Joseph uses Rebuff Overdrive to transmit Ripple into his elbows to deliver a powerful attack.
- Ripple Overdrive: Another usage of Overdrive is to channel the Ripple energy through the users arm to perform a powerful chop. This slowly transfers Ripple through the point hit, advancing until it blows up, with enough power to cut through solid bone.
- Zoom Punch: The Ripple user launches his fist forward and strikes his opponent. This attack involves a ripple breathing technique that dislocates and stretches the joints to extend the arm and give it greater reach while also using the same ripple to dull the pain caused by the move.
- Skilled Hand to Hand Combatant: Trained in hand to hand combat by Lisa Lisa as part of his Ripple training, Joseph is a skilled hand to hand fighter and can go toe to toe with vampires, other experienced Ripple users and even the incredibly powerful Pillar Men.
- Quick Wit: Undoubtedly Joseph's greatest asset in any battle is his keen intelligence and quick wit which enables him to outhink and manipulate his opponent. Joseph's favourite strategy is to psyche out his opponent by predicting what they are going to say next and analysing their personality in order to figure out how to anger them or put them off. Joseph is quick to exploit any character flaws that he can pick up from his opponent such as pride, honour or determination towards a certain goal, to his own advantage. Moreover Joseph makes great use of his environment and any objects he can find lying around to aid him in battle and his Ripple Overdrive technique makes any object he does pick up all the more dangerous. Joseph has successfully used bottles, icicles, pasta, hair, pebbles and even a plane as weapons to gain an upper hand. Joseph also uses his own goofy demeanour to attack from unexpected angles or make critical moves under the guise of clumsiness and will sometimes use on obvious trick to mask another trap set up to defeat his opponent.
| “ | This is the Zeppeli Family Spirit, from the past to the future! It's the human spirit!
— Caesar Zeppeli
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” |
Caesar Zeppeli is the grandson of William Zeppeli, the Ripple mentor of Jonathan Joestar. When he was young his father abandoned him and without a father figure he quickly descended into delinquency. When he was sixteen he spotted his father and tailed him with the intention of killing him but after he saved his life from the Pillar Men, Caesar finally understood why he father had abandoned him and set out on a journey to continue his family legacy.
Equipment
- Gloves: Caesar has coated his gloves in a special soap-like substance. Ceasar uses this to create bubbles through his hand movements which he can then infuse with Ripple to use as against an opponent.
Powers & Abilities
- Ripple: Known as Hamon in the east, Ripple is the usage of energy of sun rays through a special breathing technique which allows the user to harness solar energy as an attack. Mostly used as a way to combat the undead, Ripple will also cause a severe pins & needles feeling before fainting on a normal person. An object, while charged with Ripple energy, will become more dangerous, and its user can perform several techniques that can combine with the warrior's own tactics, to allow for a very flexible fighting style. The biggest weakness of this style is that the user must have controlled breathing in order to use Ripple and if the user cannot properly breathe (aka they were being choked) then it cannot be used. Ceasar most commonly uses the following types of Ripple attacks;
- Bubble Launcher: Using the aforementioned gloves, Ceasar fires out a barrage of bubbles from his gloves, each coated in Ripple, which increases their density and strike an object or opponent with greater impact. The barrage is powerful enough to completely knock someone off their feet.
- Bubble Barrier: Instead of several miniature bubbles, Ceasar instead creates a single gigantic bubble which is capable of absorbing and trapping its target.
- Bubble Cutter: Unlike his original attack, the bubbles spin at high speed and use centrifugal force, but are able to stay intact due to the Ripple. This causes them to form shapes much like saucers with a small blade-like ring surrounding each bubble. These bubbles move at a higher velocity and can slice through flesh and bone like blades.
- Bubble Cutter Gliding: A variation on the above technique, Caesar creates fewer bubbles but ones which can be aimed much more accurately. These bubbles can be used as a homing projectile and Ceasar can manoeuvre them around obstacles and have more precise strikes.
- Bubble Lenses: The bubbles have the ability to refract light and focus them into beams, much like a magnifying glass. After launching them, the bubbles become stationary and any light source passing through will cause a domino effect, connecting the bubbles together and eventually shooting multiple beams at their target.
- Repel: Caesar is able to use his Ripple as a repellent as well as a shield. He was able to use Ripple to deflect a high pressured oil jet to avoid harm.
- Skilled Hand to Hand Combatant: Trained in hand to hand combat by Lisa Lisa as part of his Ripple training, Caesar is a skilled hand to hand fighter and can go toe to toe with vampires, other experienced Ripple users and even the incredibly powerful Pillar Men.
The Monster Hunters[]
| “ | Gracious is book-smart. He leaves the real thinking to people like you and me and the small dogs he meets.
— Donegan on Gracious.
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” |
Equipment
- Handgun: Gracious always carries an standard handgun around with him even at inappropriate times.
- Red Bouncing Ball: One of Gracious' many inventions, the rubber ball emits a flash bang like blast which causes temporary sensory shutdown on anyone within a several feet vicinity for several minutes, leaving them unconscious.
Powers & Abilities
- Superhuman Strength & Durability: Despite his small stature, Gracious is heavily muscled and his magical discipline is Superhuman Strength. Gracious is strong enough to punch holes in walls, send a person flying with a single blow and if other users of the same discipline are anything to go by he can also crush or snap bones with his powerful grip. Gracious was the only person capable of delivering a blow strong enough to send the warlock Charivari, a 10 foot tall heavily muscled mage, reeling. As a side effect of this strength Gracious also possesses superhuman durability and can withstand multiple punches, being thrown into walls and even take a punch head on from the aforementioned Charivari without serious injury.
- Top Class Marksman: Gracious is a highly skilled marksman able to hit targets from long distances.
- Skilled Hand to Hand Combatant: Owing to his great strength and centuries of hunting monsters, Gracious is a highly skilled hand to hand combatant able to go toe to toe with vampires and take on a horde of rage zombies alongside Donegan.
- Master of Stealth: As his job requires hunting down monsters, many with highly developed senses, Gracious is incredibly stealthy and even a group of seasoned mages were unable to find them after a mission went wrong and he was forced to flee.
| “ | We're going hunting. Just like we always do. Don't let him worry you, Fletcher. We've done this a thousand times and we'll do it a thousand more. We're professionals.
— Donegan Bane
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” |
The other half of the Monster Hunters, 'Donegan Bane is a lot more serious than the more goofy Gracious and is often required to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. An equally talented inventor, Donegan specialises in the more practical and less flashy side of science.
Equipment
- Handgun: Donegan carries a standard handgun.
Powers & Abilities
- Energy-Throwing: Donegan's chosen magical discipline is Energy Throwing which as the name suggests involves firing a powerful blast of energy from the users hands. The power of these can vary from causing a nasty burn to being able to cut through even the toughest of materials and can even be used to slice through and kill Wraiths, beings who are tough enough to shrug off sword blows and bullets with ease.
- Top Class Marksman: Donegan is a highly skilled marksman able to hit targets from long distances.
- Skilled Hand to Hand Combatant: Owing to his centuries of monster hunting, Donegan is a highly skilled hand to hand combatant able to go toe to toe with vampires and take on a horde of rage zombies alongside Gracious.
- Master of Stealth: As his job requires hunting down monsters, many with highly developed senses, Donegan is incredibly stealthy and even a group of seasoned mages were unable to find them after a mission went wrong and he was forced to flee.
X Factors[]
Training: J&C=88/MH=65
Joseph & Caesar have both received an intensive month long training in Ripple and general combat skills which included scaling a 24 metre tower using only Ripple and being trained in how to use Ripple Breathing even under immense physical strain. Donegan & Gracious would have likely have had training to develop their magical abilities but aside from it's never explained if they have any further training in their other skills or if they are self taught.
Experience: J&C=62/MH=83
While exceedingly well trained, Joseph & Caesar don't have much in the way of combat experience with only a few battles against the Pillar Men and their undead minions and even then most of that was just Joseph, with Caesar only really fighting Wamuu. The Monster Hunters have been hunting monsters for centuries and on top of that have also taken part in several battles against other mages including the Seige of Roarhaven and against insane magically boosted mages.
Brutality: J&C=79/MH=75
Both Joseph & Caesar show little remorse to their undead opponents and even people who are simply rude to them, with Joseph more than willing to beat up policemen & mobsters for rudeness and Caesar was a violent delinquent in his youth. Donegan & Gracious hunt monsters for a living and can be quick to resort to violence but against normal sorcerers they prefer to leave them alive rather than kill them.
Creativity: J&C=90/MH=83
As previously mentioned this is Joseph's forte. The guy is ridiculously creative and intelligent in his usage of his Ripple and the environment around him and outsmart millennia old beings without breaking a sweat. Caesar may lack the keen wits of Joseph but he can still use Ripple in a creative and unorthodox way as showcased by his Ripple bubbles. Both Donegan & Gracious are genius inventors and make use of their invention often in their monster hunting as well as outsmarting and evading other mages.
Teamwork: J&C=62/MH=85
Joseph & Caesar for the most part don't get on very well and even while they can work together well it's only ever briefly that we see them teaming up in combat. The Monster Hunters have been working together for centuries and have an almost telepathic knowledge of how the other fights and often finish off each others opponents as showcased against a horde of rage zombies.
Voting System/Notes []
In order to be counted in full, votes must be at least 5 lines long or have been done in an edges format
I will inform anybody if their vote is considered a half vote and allow them to amend it to bring it up to a full point.
Irrelevant votes will not be counted at all.
I reserve the right to award a vote as half or discount it entirely for reason not mentioned here if I feel it is applicable.
Battle[]
It’s a chilly night in Grisons and nowhere is colder than famous Piz Berlina, which pokes out through the ominous clouds gathering around it. Blanketed in the shadow of the mountain sits the ruins of the Skeleton Heel Stone. The crunching of footsteps is the only sound as a figure emerges from behind a stone pillar. Short but stout and wrapped up snuggly in his parka Gracious O’Callaghan, Monster Hunter and amateur inventor scans the area for any sign of his quarry. “Hey Gracious come here a second.” Gracious strolls over to his partner, Donegan Bane, who is crouched down within the coliseum. “See these tracks here, they’re imprints from a chariot wheel.”
“So, this did use to be a Coliseum so it figures they’d have had chariot races”
“No, these are recent” Donegan continues. He takes off his glove and runs his finger through the tracks.
“Be careful Donegan or your hand will go blue and I’ll have to be the one to nurse you back to health.”
“Okay mom. See this,” Donegan holds up his dirt covered finger.
“Dirt?”
“Not just Dirt, the soil here is soft as if it’s been overturned recently.”
“So, what are you suggesting, that some rowdy teens have been sneaking out and having secret chariot races.”
“I don’t know, maybe,” Donegan says straightening up.
“Think it has anything to do with the Vampire?”
“That’s another possibility” Donegan checks his watch. “We’d better get moving it’s almost nine and the vampire will be getting hungry. His tracks lead this way.” Gracious looks at the chariot tracks in the dirt.
“Vampire Chariot Races, yeah right” he snorts and follows his partner towards the base of the Piz Berlina.
“It’s freezing out here” Joseph whines rubbing his hands together frantically to keep them warm and pulling his woolly hat further down over his ears. Caesar looks back over his shoulder at him in annoyance.
“I heard you the first ten times so shut up about it.”
“And another thing why did we have to have such a horrible mean woman for a teacher. Why the hell is she making us go out in the cold like this anyway.”
“JoJo! I won’t have you talk about Master Lisa Lisa that way. And you know why we’re out here. We’ve got to make sure that there are no more of Kars’ vampire minions wandering about.”
“So, what. Can’t we just wait for them to get hungry and show themselves.”
“Your father was killed because one of Dio’s minions was left unchecked I thought you of all people would understand the importance of why we’re out here.” Caesar snaps suddenly. Joseph grumbles begrudgingly and goes quiet for a few seconds.
“Even so why are we out here freezing to death while she lazes around in the warm.”
“Give it up JoJo we’re here now so we might as well just focus on the job at hand.” Just as he says this his ears prick at the sound of what almost sounded like a growl. “Did you hear that”
“Hear what.”
“It sounded like a growl.”
Joseph waves his hand dismissively. “It was probably just the wind.” Just at that moment something leaps out of the shadows and pins him to the ground. Joseph is quick to react and uses his legs to push the mysterious attacker off him and scrambles to his feet. In the dim light of the moon stands a creature pale as the flecks of snow around the peak of Piz Berlina, teeth bared and claws trembling in anticipation.
“Just the wind was it now?” Caesar says smugly.
“Shut up.” The vampire’s eyes dart between the two men before it lunges at Joseph again. Quick as a flash he unfurls his clackers and charges them with a blast of Hamon. Ducking under the attack he snags the string around the vampires outstretched arm and yanks down, sending a Hamon blast through it as he does. The vampire falls clumsily but still manages to land on its feet however its clawed hand has somehow changed into a normal human hand. Before Joseph can ponder this development the vampire lunges for him again but he’s quick to react once again and slams an elbow into its face with a cry of “Rebuff Overdrive” which rocks its head back.
“Nice hit JoJo” Caesar shouts encouragingly but to both of their surprise the vampire’s head has not been melted by the blast. Instead the area Joseph has struck shifts and changes and the creatures jaw half splits into a normal human mouth, however the unaffected side remains the same.
“The hell, why isn’t it doing anything” Joseph says frustrated as the vampire lunges for him again.
Donegan and Gracious watch the battle unfold from behind a rocky outcrop a short distance away.
“Wow that guy is good” Donegan says.
“I know. He’ll put us out of business,” Gracious moans “although that being said if he wants to take care of vampires then all the best to him. Never like dealing with those things.”
“His friend doesn’t seem to be helping out much.” Just as Donegan says this Caesar unleashes a barrage of bubbles from his gloves. They all hit their mark and the vampire is forced to his hands and knees. It looks up with a snarl just as Joseph drives a kick into its chin which sends it hurtling through the air and a short distance away from where the Monster Hunters are hiding.
“Hey Donegan look at that” Gracious says pointing to the vampire as it struggles to get to its feet. Its human skin has almost completely grown back and even as they watch the vampire’s face contorts further until the last of the vampire’s night form has disappeared, leaving behind a naked and very confused human in its place. Donegan notices Gracious shifting into a lunging position.
“Gracious what the hell are you doing!?” he whispers roughly.
“I’m going to try and take it out while it’s in its human form.”
“Are you sure about that, maybe we should let those other guys handle it.”
“Come on Donegan don’t let them hog all the glory and besides one punch and that thing will be out for the count.”
“Alright but be careful.” Gracious places his hands on the top of the rock and pull himself gently over, landing silently on the other side. The vampire is still groggy and doesn’t notice him and Gracious readies himself before throwing himself forward, drawing his arm back ready to punch. Just at the moment however Joseph suddenly appears and drives another kick into the vampire’s face. Unable to change his trajectory, Gracious tries to angle his punch away but he can’t in time and hits Joseph full force in the chest, sending him flying back with the impact of the punch. “Gracious you idiot” Donegan snaps clambering out over the cover. The vampire uses this momentary confusion to make a run for it. “Shit it’s getting away” Donegan shouts as he gives chase, Gracious not far behind.
Joseph hurtles through the air before landing heavily and skidding across the surface before coming to a stop at Caesar’s feet. “JOJO” he says alarmed and rushes over to him. “What happened?”
“I was ambushed” Joseph says spitting out dirt “another one of those undead freaks jumped out from nowhere and attacked me.” He gets unsteadily to his feet. “Look they’re getting away” he shouts pointing to where Donegan and Gracious are chasing after the vampire. “Leave this to me JoJo while you catch your breath.” Caesar contorts his hands to create some bubbles. “BUBBLE CUTTER” he yells and sends out several homing bubbles after the Monster Hunters. They all hit their mark and they go tumbling to the ground as the Hamon infused projectiles slice into their legs.
“Good work Caesar. Now it’s my turn” Joseph takes a deep breath and dashes towards the downed pair with Caesar not far behind as the Monster Hunters dust themselves off and ready themselves for the attack. Caesar builds up the bubbles in his gloves before forming them into one large bubble which he pushes towards the Donegan. Donegan fires a blast of energy from his hands but he doesn’t put enough power into it and the bubble engulfs him, carrying him up into the sky. Joseph barrels toward Gracious and when within range lets out a cry of “Zoom Punch”. To his surprise his opponent doesn’t even attempt to avoid the punch heading straight for him and instead delivers a punch of his own to intercept. Their fists collide and the Hamon crackles at Gracious’ knuckle but it doesn’t seem to have any effect and Joseph cries out as pain shoots through his arm.
Meanwhile Donegan has managed to burst his way out of the giant bubble. Caesar sends forth another barrage of bubbles but Donegan either dodges them or pops them with energy blast. He fires a powerful blast at Caesar who just about manages to twist out of the way but the attack is just a cover for Donegan to close the distance and deliver an uppercut to Caesar’s chin. The Italian stumbles backwards and Donegan closes in but this too is a ruse and Caesar scores several minor hits with a bubble cutter attack. Angered Donegan hits Caesar square in the chest with an energy blast which sends him stumbling back into the path of Joseph who is rapidly backpedalling away from Gracious, clutching his injured hand.
“I think that bastard broke one of my fingers” he mutters to his ally. He unfurls his clackers with his good hand and gathers momentum before tossing them at Gracious with a cry of “CLACKER BOOMERANG”. However Gracious easily avoids the feeble throw and instead draws his handgun and levels it at Joseph’s head.
“That’s enough of that” he says triumphantly.
“For once I’m actually glad you brought that bloody gun of yours” Donegan says and draws his own gun which he points at Caesar. “Okay now we’ve all had our fun beating the shit out of each other but I think it’s time we had a mature and adult conversation about the situation.”
“What did you say?” Joseph says holding his hand up to his ear mockingly. “Are you really stupid enough to think this is over?”
“What the hell are you talking about it is over. Have you missed the guns pointed at you? Or do you have another one of those children’s toys to throw at my partner.”
“Hey! Why does nobody ever take my metal balls seriously?!” Joseph says exasperated. “Fine then but before you shoot us let me ask you a question. What did I say when I threw my Clackers?”
“What?!” Gracious says confused.
“I said what did I say when I threw my Clackers?”
“I dunno some insane rambling.”
“Eh-err. Wrong sorry you don’t win today’s Jackpot. What I actually said was Clacker Boomerang.” Gracious notices for the first time a faint whizzing sound behind him and he turns his head slightly to see the clackers spinning in the air behind him. They suddenly shoot forward and take his legs out from underneath him and Joseph catches them. Donegan shouts out and gets ready to fire when he notices that the bubbles Caesar fired earlier are now hovering in the air around him. As the moon pokes out through a brief break in the clouds the light refracts off the bubbles and focuses into a beam which is directed right into his eyes, blinding him and making him drop his gun to attempt to cover his eyes.
Gracious, having recovered from the blow opens fire on Joseph from his position on the floor. Thinking fast Joseph reaches behind him and grabs Caesar’s hair and tears out a large chunk. Infusing them with Hamon he creates a makeshift barrier which blocks the bullets.
“JoJo you moron” Caesar says feeling the back of his head “Next time use your own hair.” He turns his attention back to Donegan who is using his arm to block the light from his vision. Darting forward he keeps his eye of the moon as the clouds slowly cover it once more. The light from the bubbles quickly dispersers and Donegan sighs in relief as his vision is cleared again but he takes a sharp intake as he spots Caesar almost upon him. He fires off an energy blast but Caesar has anticipated the move and he effortlessly flips over it and places his hands on either side of Donegan’s head. Taking in a deep breath he channels Hamon through his fingertips and sends a powerful blast directly into his brain. Donegan jerks around under the effects of the Hamon and is quickly knocked out by the blast and Caesar, with surprising tenderness, lowers him to the ground maintaining the flow of Hamon until he has stopped jerking.
“Damn it, looks like it’s up to me then” Gracious says grimly as he watches Donegan go down. Pulling himself up from the floor he charges forward. Joseph charges up a Hamon punch but Gracious ducks under it and jabs his fingers into his chest, right under the lungs. Joseph feels the breath in his lungs leave him and Gracious uses the distraction to deliver a powerful back hand to the side which knocks Joseph away. He continues his run to Caesar who attempts to block the incoming punch with his arms. However the blow is far too powerful and his arms give way under the impact. Gracious follows up with a powerful kick to the thigh, not powerful enough to break anything, but enough make the Italian drop to his knee. Gracious then plunges the palm of his hand on the top of his head, slamming his brain into the base of his skull and making him black out.
Meanwhile Joseph sits in the snow taking heavy breaths as he tries control his breathing, the jab from Gracious has winded him badly. He closes his eyes to concentrate and when he reopens them again he sees Gracious strolling towards him with his hands in his pockets, Caesar’s prone body behind him. He continues to try and master his breathing, never breaking eye contact with his opponent as he slowly closes the distance between them. He stops a short distance away and watches cautiously for any tricks. “I figured that magic you used had something to do with your breathing. You’re lucky Donegan was only knocked out by your friend back their or we wouldn’t be having the conversation.”
“What did you do to Caesar?” Joseph asks breathily.
“Don’t worry about your friend he’s only unconscious.” Joseph nods and steadily gets to his feet. Gracious watches in interest as he settles into a fighting stance. “Why do you want to continue this fight?” he asks.
“At first I thought you were one of those undead scum. But seeing how your face hasn’t been melted off by my Hamon that’s clearly not the case. Now I’m fighting for Caesar’s honour.” Joseph jumps forward with a cry and aims a kick right at Gracious’ head but the telegraphed attack is easily avoided by the Irishman. Adjusting quickly Joseph goes for several quick jabs but once again the attacks are either dodged or blocked. Gracious waits for the right moment and lunges forward using his palm to push Joseph flat down on the ground. Still undeterred Joseph uses the icy ground to push himself forwards and grab onto Gracious’ boot but he easily shakes free from the grasp.
“You just don’t give up do you?” Joseph scrambles to his feet but gets a punch to the jaw to send him back to the floor. Crouched on all fours he looks up at Gracious. “Enough playing around I have a vampire to deal with.” Gracious is about to deliver the finishing blow when Joseph chuckles.
“Your next line is, what’re you laughing about”
“What’re you laughing abo-?” Gracious says, hesitating mid sentence as he it dawns on him. He suddenly feels his something not right and when he looks down he sees a thin trail of string trailing around various points on his body including his arms, shoulders, chest and all finished off with a tidy little noose around the boot Joseph grabbed earlier.
“You were so focused on avoiding my attacks earlier that you missed me setting my trap.” Joseph tugs on the string in his hand more and the bonds tighten slightly. “Wool is an excellent Hamon conductor you know” he continues pointing to his hat which has shrunk considerably. His breath, once laboured and heavy is suddenly completely controlled and timed and with a cry of “HAMON OVERDRIVE” he sends a blast of Hamon through the strings. The effect is immediate and Gracious hunches over, only his magically enhanced durability keeping him standing and conscious. “About bloody time you felt something.” Joseph takes another deep breath and increases the Hamon’s intensity until Gracious’ body can’t take anymore and he slumps to the ground.
Joseph unfurls the string from Gracious’ body and rolls it around his injured hand as a makeshift bandage. He walks over to where Caesar is lying and puts his ear to his mouth, relieved to find that Gracious was telling the truth and he is just unconscious. He tries to shake him awake but gets no response. Smirking, he gets an idea and places his good hand gently on Caesar’s forehead and uses a tiny blast of Hamon to give him a jolt. His eyes shoot open and he instinctively lashes out and catches Joseph on the nose. He rolls on the ground in pain. “What the hell Caesar.”
“Sorry JoJo. I thought it was one of those vampires.”
“They’re not vampires idiot,” Joseph says “Don’t you think they’d be a pile of dust if that was the case.”
“Well if they’re not vampires then why did one of them attack you earlier?”
“I don’t know. The short guy said they hunting that vampire we found earlier during our little tussle.” Caesar looks over at where Gracious lies unconscious.
“What should we do with them?”
“I say we just leave them here. They’re not a threat, if anything they could turn out to be allies. We’ll report back to Lisa Lisa and see what she thinks we should do. Besides I need to get my finger sorted out.”
“If you just practised your Hamon that bit more you could heal it yourself”
“I don’t need you lecturing me on my Hamon training as well as Lisa Lisa. If your such a brilliant Hamon master then why don’t you heal it smart guy.” Caesar places his hand on Joseph’s and tries to channel his Hamon into healing it but it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. Joseph looks at him smugly.
“Alright then fine we’ll go back to the Hotel then. You’re only saying that so you can get out of the cold”
“Damn right I’m freezing out here.” Ceaser shakes his head and starts off back in the direction of the St. Mortiz Hotel, hobbling on his injured leg with Joseph following not far behind.
Donegan wakes up with a dull pain in his head. He rubs his fingers on the side of his temple and sits up, looking around groggily. He remembers firing an energy blast at one of those teenagers but after that nothing until this very moment. It doesn’t take him long to see Gracious lying prone in the snow and the last of his grogginess disappears instantly and he rushes over to his friend. He puts his hand to his neck and feels for a pulse, sighing in a relief at the faint beats. He shakes him gently, then roughly, then slaps him, then pinches his belly until Gracious eventually wakes up.
“Would you stop that” he says batting away Donegan’s hands.
“What happened to you Gracious?”
“Well after you got your ass handed to you by that pretty boy Italian-”
“I didn’t get my ass handed to me I gave as good as I got” Donegan interrupts.
“Whatever. Alright so after you got bested in a gentlemanly duel I was left to clean up your mess as per usual-“
“What do you mean as per usual I’m the one whose usually stopping your stupid ideas and saving you when shit hits the fan and every-”
“Are you going to let me finish my story or what?” Donegan shoots him a glare but let’s him continue. “Like I was saying you got beaten, I knocked out the Italian Stallion and then me and that American guy duked it out in a battle of brains, brawn and witty banter until eventually I was unfortunately bested.”
“And the Truth”
“He tied me up with string and shocked me like you were”
“Seriously string.”
“Hey! It was a good hustle. He used all this sleight of hand business and distracted me with his attacks and-"
“Yeah but string”
“Oh shut up you got beaten by some bubbles.”
“Now wait a minute they weren’t some ordinary bubbles they were, um” Gracious looks at him in mocking doubt. “Magic Bubbles.”
“Took you a long time to think of that didn’t it.” Donegan goes to retort when Gracious stiffens, looking off in the distance. Donegan follows his gaze and sees the two men from earlier walking towards them. This time however they’re joined by a woman, dressed in white with sunglasses and a red scarf which shimmers and glistens in the pale moonlight. The two monster hunters get to their feet cautiously and watch warily as the small group approaches them.
“Now hold on a minute we don’t want any more trouble.” Gracious says.
“Yeah there was clearly some miscommunication between us earlier things were said, punches were thrown but that doesn’t mean we can’t all laugh about it later right? Right?”
“What are you doing here” the woman says suddenly.
“Well as we tried to explain earlier we’re hunting a vampire that’s been sighted in the area. It’s kind of what we do?” The woman doesn’t give anything away as she studies them.
“If that is the case then maybe we can lend you a hand. My name is Lisa Lisa. These are my students, Caesar and Joseph. We’re checking this area out for any remnants of an undead army that was here recently. Perhaps we could lend you a hand in your own search, providing your willing to help us as well”
“Well that went better than I expected” Donegan says relieved. “My name is Donegan Bane and this is my partner Gracious O’Callaghan. We’re Monster Hunters...”
Winner: Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli
Final Verdict[]
While lacking in experience and teamwork when compared to the Monster Hunters, Caesar and Joseph made up for this in spades with their unorthodox fighting style, more varied abilities and quick thinking. The Monster Hunters had very basic magical powers such as superhuman strength and energy attacks and while effective they don't lend themselves to much creativity when compared to the seemingly limitless possibilities that Ripple did.