Genon

Dragon Ball Gaiden

Master Wu's foot collided with the side of Juze's face for what felt like the fifteenth time that afternoon, sending him flying a hundred feet through the open air. He managed to recover before he hit a nearby mountain, stopping his momentum by flying in the opposite direction briefly. But no sooner had he gotten his bearings before the old man was in front of him, having used the wind to dramatically enhance his speed. Juze barely blocked the punch, but Wu was faster still, vanishing and attacking from another direction with a kick to Juze's back, sending him upwards slightly. Then, Wu appeared above him and struck at his abdomen, which sent Juze down to the Earth...only for the master to be dragged along for the ride. The cause quickly became apparent as they hurtled downwards: Juze had intentionally wrapped his calves around Wu's right leg, and with some mid-air maneuvering, Juze was able to let go at a specific time and deal a heavy blow to the chest, sending Wu to the ground and leaving a small crater.

"Ugh...you've done well!" Wu said, as he pulled himself out of the depression he'd created with the force of his fall. "You managed to catch me off-guard, and reversed the flow of battle to boot!" He looked at the sun in the sky. "It's about lunchtime. What do you say we go to the nearby village and get some ramen to celebrate?"

"Sounds good to me!" Juze said as he descended to the ground. They both started to walk off down the mountain path when Juze stilled. "Hey...do you feel that?"

Wu stopped, and closed his eyes. "Hmm...I sense that power as well. It feels...not of this world."

"...Can we investigate?" Juze said, perhaps a bit too giddily.

"No, not yet." Wu said quickly as he opened his eyes, realizing the implications of his previous statement. "It may be hostile, and I don't want you risking your life needlessly, especially if it's as strong as it feels."

"Um...Master?"

"What?"

"I think it's getting closer."

"Skip the ramen, go inside and let me handle this!"

"Master, it's an alien. I need to be here, and it doesn't feel that strong."

Wu looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. "Aren't you more cautious than this most of the time?! Go inside and hide your energy! If you really must, go find a place to view it and take notes! Maybe record it or something. It's broadcasting its energy and rushing straight towards us, I don't think this will be the peaceful first contact you think it will!"

"...Yes, master," Juze said, looking crestfallen as he suppressed his power level to a minuscule amount. He began to walk away.

"If it proves too much for me to handle on my own," Wu said as Juze walked back towards the dojo, "Then you can help me, within reason. If it's strong enough that both of us can't deal with it, then just run."

"Yes, master!" Juze said, much more enthusiastically, as he ran into the dojo and quickly tried to find a hiding place that would let him observe the battle from there. It didn't matter, of course: Feeling their energies would be almost as useful as a direct view.

Master Wu Lin, in turn, stood outside, waiting tensely for the threat to get close.

Dragon Ball Gaiden

Name: Juze Ito
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Human

Appearance:

Faceclaim

Personality: Juze is fascinated by the stars, and even more so by the prospect of life beyond Earth. Once the Saiyans arrive, he will be ecstatic rather than worried, at least at first. He also learned the Falcon style primarily to protect himself. It was only at his master's insistence that he may end up fighting other superhuman martial artists--some who may be less than savory--that he regrettably decided to learn its more powerful (and dangerous) techniques. He tends to be obsessively neat and organized, and, while outgoing, tends to be careful, not liking to take risks.

Still, just because he doesn't like to take risks doesn't mean that he won't do so when necessary, and he's been known to help others in danger whenever he can. He's also notable for not keeping his martial arts as much of a secret as he probably should, as he uses them in his everyday life, be it flying to class when he's running late or making a nice campfire with his flame powers. If his master chose not to on the day he was almost kidnapped, why should he?

Juze can sometimes be a little prissy as well, due to his rich upbringing. His training with Master Wu largely conditioned this out of him, compared to his earlier days, and he tends to keep his discomfort to himself, but he's definitely not used to the horrors of battle. While Master Wu warned him about conflicts with other ki users, it certainly hasn't happened yet.

History: Juze was born into a family of prominent astronomers, and as a result, Juze grew up surrounded by scientific knowledge. Scientifically-literate at an earlier age than most, he often dreamed of the stars as a child. And he could afford to do so, as rich as his family was through his father's groundbreaking research.

It was a near-tragedy, however, that completely changed his trajectory in life. When he was 14, on the way home from a party late at night, a gang of kidnappers shoved him into a car at gunpoint, shoved a bag over his head, and drove off with him inside. Almost as soon as the car had taken off, however, it was stopped dead in its tracks, even as the tires squealed in protest to the driver still trying to floor the accelerator. Juze didn't know what was happening, but the kidnappers around him started screaming in panic and metal could be heard tearing. Gunshots were fired, the sounds of fighting were heard, and before he knew it, the bag was ripped off of his head.

A serious-faced old man was staring back at him, and the car around him was an absolute mess. The engine in front was smoking, the doors had been ripped clean off, and the kidnappers around him were either groaning in pain from their shattered bones or out cold.

From there, the expected happened. He was escorted back home, the police got involved, a news crew showed up at his house, and the old man was seen as a citywide hero for saving a child.

But Juze, after his shock faded, wanted something more from his savior. He wanted to learn how to do what the old man did that night, so that it could never happen again. The old man, who introduced himself as Master Wu Lin, agreed to teach him as a normal student at his dojo, though it was quite a trip to get there, being several miles outside of town, in the nearby mountains. His parents agreed that Master Wu would tutor Juze every summer between school years, and the training became a harsh, if regular, ritual of his life.

Every year, he would be driven up the mountain road to Wu's dojo, and he would tolerate the rustic conditions (he was a rich city kid, after all), while he learned the way of ki-infused martial arts. The stuff he learned was nothing short of fascinating. He learned to fly, lift trees and boulders over his head, sense the energy of nearby individuals, and learned Master Wu's specific style of martial arts: the Falcon school, a martial arts school that focused on harnessing one's own ki to release elemental-infused attacks. There were many directions a Falcon student could go into once they completed the general training, as the school opened up access to the Five Elements, or godai: Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and Void.

Now in college, Juze continues his training, but has much more to learn. But he would have never imagined that beings from the stars he cherished so much as a child would visit Earth during his lifetime, and wouldn't have dreamed he would need to punch them in the face!

Techniques
--> Earth Shell: By using his ki to grab onto the dirt, stone, or metal round him, Juze can manipulate earth from the nearby ground into super-dense stone or metallic body armor capable of absorbing ki attacks by infusing the earth with his own energy. If he puts it on a striking surface such as his hands or feet, strikes do significantly more damage. Of course, the durability of the armor is limited by his own strength: Attacks from stronger beings will compromise its integrity, and it may even break it outright if they truly outclass him.
--> Flame Sphere: Juze can release a sphere of plasma-like ki-infused flame from his hand, which he can shoot at an opponent and detonate in a large explosion, or choose not to detonate it and strike the opponent with the mass of flame, setting them alight. Juze does not like to use this technique because of how dangerous it can be if mishandled. While Juze can put out the flame and end the technique if someone or something is caught in the crossfire, it's still risky.
--> Water Barrage: Juze can coalesce ambient water molecules into droplets (or generate water from his ki, though this takes significantly more energy to do), infuse them with his ki, and shoot it at the opponent in a barrage of ki projectiles.
--> Wind Rush: By harnessing the air around him (or even generating it from his ki, though this is taxing and rarely necessary), Juze can dramatically enhance his speed, soaring towards an enemy and usually unleashing a barrage of blows.

World of Light

Donnie

Word Count: 992

EXP: (14/30) + 2 = (16/30)

Donnie's heart sank as he followed the van on his Disc. He should have known from the name "Dead Zone." He had thought it was merely a barren wasteland. That would have been par for the course. Instead, it was chock-full of ghouls and what looked like man-sized insects with vaguely humanoid features.

But it was mainly the undead he was concerned about. The Plague of Undeath, also known as the Blight, had not only killed his whole family while he was on the Wandering Isle, but it had nearly wiped out all life on his world. It still would have, if the Jailer of the Damned didn't exist. He did not hate the Forsaken, unlike most humans, but that did not mean he didn't take their more mindless cousins extremely seriously.

Some of the undead he was used to dealing with were armed with weapons, protected by armor, or even remembered some magical techniques from their former lives. But even the more mindless ghouls were capable of overwhelming an experienced opponent. There was a reason that, from the things he'd read, the Scourge had used them as shock troops. And that wasn't even getting into the diseases they could carry. Or the smell.

He didn't remember Detox. Catching something from one of those zombies could be disastrous. All in all, it reminded him far too much of the Plaguelands, and the Northrend conflict. The worst part was that he hadn't been adventuring at the time that war was fought, and didn't have nearly as much experience in this scenario. This could be bad.

Of course, he'd have to be blind to not also notice that Nico drove like a drunken dwarf going for a joyride in a stolen steam tank. While it definitely killed a lot of zombies (and shoving her still-burning cigarette into a bug's face was a nice touch), he was more worried for the integrity of the car. Shouldn't the windshield at least have been smashed in by this point? It had to be made out of sterner stuff than it looked.

Then the car had to stop at an intersection where there had likely been some kind of pile-up. Nero got out of the car, brandishing some kind of sword, and ordered them to deal with the zombies while he cleared out the insects.

Frankly, he'd probably have been more comfortable with those disgusting things than the zombies, but he was professional enough to know when to defer to the person with the most experience. Unlike Jak, Daxter, Ratchet, and Clank, who went completely gung-ho, he was going to stick to the plan.

"Very well!" he said to the demon hunter as he flew into the fray, Fists unsheathed. The first zombie didn't even have time to react before it was decapitated, the corpse falling over and leaving a Spirit behind. Quick as a flash, he grabbed it.

Well, this was what he was dreading: Holding an enemy's Spirit. He instantly decided that later on, he'd turn it into an object. Better than absorbing it, or worse, making it a Striker and potentially spreading diseases around when it attacked people. If there was something similar to the Blight responsible for this, he didn't want to be responsible for spreading it further.

He continued to fly around, rapidly slicing through his victims efficiently and mercilessly. It was as he was bearing down on his thirty-first target, however, that something slimy grabbed a hold of his left gauntlet. The tongue, as he soon discovered it was, was pulling with significant force, possibly enough to pull him off the Disc if he hadn't grabbed onto the flying artifact by hooking his right elbow over the edge of the Disc and clinging for dear life. He could have tried slicing it, but with both hands occupied, that was a bad idea. Instead, he tried something more creative. And fun.

He gunned the Disc, zooming across the street and dragging whatever it was behind him. He heard the sound of it being agonizingly pulled along the pavement, and risking a look back, he saw it was some kind of zombie with several growths on its head, growths that were bursting under the friction and releasing some kind of foul green gas as it left a trail of blood in its wake.

Having completely overpowered this long-tongued zombie, he gained altitude slightly and sent the zombie careening into a nearby group of undead, bowling them over, followed by intentionally crashing the zombie's face into the side of a nearby truck in a collision powerful enough to shatter its skull, send it flopping to the ground, and break the tongue as Donnie flew on, getting back to his feet.

Turning back to the gathering of ghouls that were attempting (poorly) to pull themselves back up after the Smoker-collision had knocked them into a loose pile, Donnie sheathed his handblades and fired a few Chi Bursts down at the crowd, blasting them to bloody giblets.

Unfortunately, it seemed that all the mayhem had attracted one of the insects away from Nero's gang, and it quickly entered his personal space, attempting to claw his face off. Donnie retaliated by grabbing its forelegs before they could meet his exposed jaw and throwing the thing over his shoulder, holding the shrieking insect off the edge of the Disc. He then stomped on its face, over and over, until the disgusting mockery of an insect stopped moving, before he dropped the inert corpse to the ground below, where the force of its impact caved in the roof of the car it landed on.

Ugh. I hate bug-monsters. They remind me of the mantids, Donnie thought to himself as he finished collecting the Spirits he had taken through rapid use of the Luggage (and grabbing the first zombie's Spirit item from where had dropped it), and unsheathed the Fists again, prepared to kill more zombies.

Note

About 40 Zombie spirits collected by Donnie, but 1 was turned into an item leaving about 39 more. Also, one Empusa Spirit collected by him too.

Dragon Ball Gaiden

Name: Juze Ito
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Human

Appearance:

Faceclaim

Personality: Juze is fascinated by the stars, and even more so by the prospect of life beyond Earth. Once the Saiyans arrive, he will be ecstatic rather than worried, at least at first. He also learned the Falcon style primarily to protect himself. It was only at his master's insistence that he may end up fighting other superhuman martial artists--some who may be less than savory--that he regrettably decided to learn its more powerful (and dangerous) techniques. He tends to be obsessively neat and organized, and, while outgoing, tends to be careful, not liking to take risks.

Still, just because he doesn't like to take risks doesn't mean that he won't do so when necessary, and he's been known to help others in danger whenever he can. He's also notable for not keeping his martial arts as much of a secret as he probably should, as he uses them in his everyday life, be it flying to class when he's running late or making a nice campfire with his flame powers. If his master chose not to on the day he was almost kidnapped, why should he?

Juze can sometimes be a little prissy as well, due to his rich upbringing. His training with Master Wu largely conditioned this out of him, compared to his earlier days, and he tends to keep his discomfort to himself, but he's definitely not used to the horrors of battle. While Master Wu warned him about conflicts with other ki users, it certainly hasn't happened yet.

History: Juze was born into a family of prominent astronomers, and as a result, Juze grew up surrounded by scientific knowledge. Scientifically-literate at an earlier age than most, he often dreamed of the stars as a child. And he could afford to do so, as rich as his family was through his father's groundbreaking research.

It was a near-tragedy, however, that completely changed his trajectory in life. When he was 14, on the way home from a party late at night, a gang of kidnappers shoved him into a car at gunpoint, shoved a bag over his head, and drove off with him inside. Almost as soon as the car had taken off, however, it was stopped dead in its tracks, even as the tires squealed in protest to the driver still trying to floor the accelerator. Juze didn't know what was happening, but the kidnappers around him started screaming in panic and metal could be heard tearing. Gunshots were fired, the sounds of fighting were heard, and before he knew it, the bag was ripped off of his head.

A serious-faced old man was staring back at him, and the car around him was an absolute mess. The engine in front was smoking, the doors had been ripped clean off, and the kidnappers around him were either groaning in pain from their shattered bones or out cold.

From there, the expected happened. He was escorted back home, the police got involved, a news crew showed up at his house, and the old man was seen as a citywide hero for saving a child.

But Juze, after his shock faded, wanted something more from his savior. He wanted to learn how to do what the old man did that night, so that it could never happen again. The old man, who introduced himself as Master Wu Lin, agreed to teach him as a normal student at his dojo, though it was quite a trip to get there, being several miles outside of town, in the nearby mountains. His parents agreed that Master Wu would tutor Juze every summer between school years, and the training became a harsh, if regular, ritual of his life.

Every year, he would be driven up the mountain road to Wu's dojo, and he would tolerate the rustic conditions (he was a rich city kid, after all), while he learned the way of ki-infused martial arts. The stuff he learned was nothing short of fascinating. He learned to fly, lift trees and boulders over his head, sense the energy of nearby individuals, and learned Master Wu's specific style of martial arts: the Falcon school, a martial arts school that focused on harnessing one's own ki to release elemental-infused attacks. There were many directions a Falcon student could go into once they completed the general training, as the school opened up access to the Five Elements, or godai: Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and Void.

Now in college, Juze continues his training, but has much more to learn. But he would have never imagined that beings from the stars he cherished so much as a child would visit Earth during his lifetime, and wouldn't have dreamed he would need to punch them in the face!

Techniques
--> Earth Shell: By using his ki to grab onto the dirt, stone, or metal round him, Juze can manipulate earth from the nearby ground into super-dense stone or metallic body armor capable of absorbing ki attacks by infusing the earth with his own energy. If he puts it on a striking surface such as his hands or feet, strikes do significantly more damage. Of course, the durability of the armor is limited by his own strength: Attacks from stronger beings will compromise its integrity, and it may even break it outright if they truly outclass him.
--> Flame Sphere: Juze can release a sphere of plasma-like ki-infused flame from his hand, which he can shoot at an opponent and detonate in a large explosion, or choose not to detonate it and strike the opponent with the mass of flame, setting them alight. Juze does not like to use this technique because of how dangerous it can be if mishandled. While Juze can put out the flame and end the technique if someone or something is caught in the crossfire, it's still risky.
--> Water Barrage: Juze can coalesce ambient water molecules into droplets (or generate water from his ki, though this takes significantly more energy to do), infuse them with his ki, and shoot it at the opponent in a barrage of ki projectiles.
--> Wind Rush: By harnessing the air around him (or even generating it from his ki, though this is taxing and rarely necessary), Juze can dramatically enhance his speed, soaring towards an enemy and usually unleashing a barrage of blows.

Dragon Ball Gaiden

@Double

Hey, I've got couple of questions before I make my character.

One, how closely-related is this game to canon Dragon Ball?

If two Saiyans are due to come to Earth to test its fighters rather than to obtain the Dragon Balls as Vegeta and Nappa sought, and the Saiyans are conquering planets to make homes for themselves rather than simply genociding everyone on the planet so that Freeza can sell it, than it's reasonable to assume that this isn't exactly going to follow canon too closely.

So that begs the question of whether the same canon characters are going to show up. Freeza, Cell, Goku, Bulma, Vegeta, etc, especially if we're going to have original arcs instead of arcs that follow the canon sagas.

Two, I know you've stated that power levels won't exactly matter, but even if power levels are simple numbers, certain species are naturally stronger in canon Dragon Ball. I was thinking of making a human, and humans in canon Dragon Ball tend to almost exclusively lag behind their Saiyan counterparts (often to the point of simple irrelevance in the big climactic battles) simply due to Zenkais and Super Saiyan forms. If this isn't following canon, is the power gap going to be any narrower? I really don't want to wind up sitting out of big fights like Yamcha and Krillin do, or batted aside by the arc villain the second he shows up to show how badass he is and need the Saiyans to save the day. Will this be a problem for human characters?

World of Light

Donnie

Word Count=799

(12/30) + 2 = 14/30

After the conversation with Tora and Poppi, Donnie's stomach started growling in earnest. Noticing the building with the name "Grillby's" on the front, he decided to head inside, figuring that it was an eatery of some kind by the name. Opening the door, he was indeed correct. In fact, the almost-entirely wooden decor reminded him of a tavern, especially with the bar in the back. He also noticed Courier playing poker with some...dogs. Over dog treats.

Well, he'd pegged the Courier as a weirdo already, didn't like gambling, and had already annoyed him by pissing off Captain Falcon, so he ignored the game (though he did send an approving nod his way when he noticed the massive pile of dog treats in the Courier's corner. He could appreciate skill when he saw it, even if he wasn't a gambler himself) and walked over to the bar, which was tended by what looked like an armored mechanical figure whose head was on fire, not unlike the clown he'd killed earlier.

Sitting down at the barstool, he took off his helmet, asked for the strongest stuff the robot had, and got to drinking when it was placed in front of him. Quickly downing glass after glass, he finished by ordering what looked like the most interesting thing on the menu, something known as a "cheeseburger." He'd never heard of that back on Azeroth, so he figured he'd check that out first. In short order, he was passed a platter of what looked like some kind of meat slab on a bun with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, ketchup, and mustard inside the whole mess, with some fried potato sticks in a pile next to it. Weird. Taking off his gauntlets, the pieces of magical gear coming off with some quick work of the leather straps, and placing them to the side, he picked up the whole mess with his bare hands (since he could at least tell this was finger food) and dug in.

It was surprisingly good. For good measure, he also ordered a slice of chocolate cake, because he could. And lots of water (as well as a cup of coffee) to help with the hangover that would inevitably happen the next day. After his meal (and a quick trip to the bathroom), he re-equipped the missing pieces of his armor and it was time to pay. The bill was...the bill was...

"...Holy shit..." was all Donnie could say as he saw a bill for a cool 120,000 "g." He assumed that stood for "gold." His eyes widened as he looked at Fire Man's mechanical face. "Is...is gold the base currency in these parts?"

"We only accept gold," the robot said. "If you can't pay, I can put it on your tab."

Donnie replied quickly, trying to save face. "No, no, I can pay, it's just...copper's the base currency where I come from. It's 100 copper to 1 silver, and 100 silver to one gold. So, 120,000 gold is...." he let the robot fill in the blanks himself.

"I understand," the robot said, "But you said you can pay, so...."

Well, there goes any hope of getting away with putting it on my tab, Donnie thought to himself as he magicked the luggage into existence, reached into one of its pockets, and prepared to dump armloads of gold coins onto the counter. Instead, the robot put up an arm to stop him. "I can tell that you don't have a higher denomination on you. I can't have the restaurant fill up with a pile of metal reaching to the ceiling over one meal. It would make it impossible to work. I'll put it on your tab until you can find some normal gold, and I won't come after you. Just go." He beckoned to the door with his right flamethrower.

"...Thank you. You're a lifesaver," Donnie said in a shaky voice as he got up and walked to the doors. He thought to himself, By the Four Celestials, I just dodged a bullet. I forgot patience. Prudence. Next time, I'll ask for the price before I order. Then he heard a commotion and booked it over to the garage, where it looked like a fight had happened, and ended just as quickly in his allies' favor. Shrugging, he turned over to Gene, who was offering a demon-slaying sidequest. The party was already fairly large, with Jak, Daxter, Ratchet, and Clank joining, along with the four new guys and of course Gene, but he'd been killing the demons of the Burning Legion for a while now, so he walked over, his previous shakiness fading.

"Count me in. I've killed my fair share of demons, so I think I'd be a pretty good fit for this."

@Simple Unicycle @ProPro @Lugubrious

World of Light

@Nate1008

I'm not the GM but I feel qualified to answer this.

1) This is definitely a fantasy/sci-fi mix, as this is an expanded adaptation of World of Light, the campaign mode of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and is thus a megacrossover of several established video game franchises. We have more fantasy characters than sci-fi at the moment, but we used to have Zer0 and Gaige from Borderlands (before they died due to the player quitting anyway), and I saw someone sign up with Zero from Mega Man X. Not sure what happened to him.

2) No, they don't. We've got someone playing Ratchet and Clank, and another guy is playing Bowser, Bowser Jr, and Kamek from the Mario franchise.

3) Since this is a megacrossover, basically you can use any race you want as long as it's one from an established game franchise. Generally, canon characters and races only though. I'm playing a custom character, but I was only able to get away with it because I'm playing an MMO protagonist and they can be whatever race and class you want.

4) Within reason. You should discuss it with @Lugubrious.

Also, feel free to join the Discord to talk about this in real-time.

World of Light

Donnie, Tora and Poppi

Word Count = 1,195 words

Donnie, Tora, and Poppi + 2 EXP

NOTE: This is a collab between myself and @Lugubrious.

Donnie, fresh off of the Courier muttering curses at him and the Captain walking away thinking he was crazy, was a bit annoyed. However, he’d certainly dealt with worse in his time adventuring. If he had a copper piece for every time he’d gotten on someone’s bad side, he wouldn’t have needed to do errands for random townsfolk or track down bounty targets just to get the gold necessary to fund his questing.

The thing he planned on doing next, however, was significantly more troublesome. Seeing as Tora and Poppi were done talking to Cid and Cindy, now was the opportunity to pull them aside, if he wanted to do it.

No, he had to go through with this. This talk needed to happen sooner rather than later, before it became a problem.

Dismissing the Disc on the ground nearby and walking up to Tora and Poppi, he asked, “Hey. Do you two have a minute to talk in private?”

The pair recognized the man, by sight if not yet by name or reputation, as an ally. While at first glance he didn’t seem particularly interesting, encouraging Tora to have gladly walked right by, the way he spoke -and sort of got in their way- commanded their attention. As such, the Nopon raised his eyebrows and replied, “Am listening.”

“What can Tora and Poppi help with?” his companion chimed in, an innocently curious expression on her face.

“Look, we need to talk,” Donnie said, beckoning to a relatively out-of-the-way spot at the east side of the gas station. When they followed him, leaning against the wall, he said to them. “SInce the fight earlier in the scrubland, there’s been something that’s bothering me. When we killed the clown, you two immediately treated it as a casual act and started talking about Tora’s weight.” He looked at both of them, standing next to him.

“I’m not going to claim sympathy for that piece of horse dung, far from it,” he continued. “But I’ve killed many in my travels as an adventurer, and killing people never gets any easier, even when they’re violent, murderous monsters like him. I’ve learned to deal with it a lot better, of course, but it’s still an incredibly serious situation. When I saw you talk like that, I figured you two had been simply gotten used to conflict better than I have. And I wanted to ask you about that.”

The implication was clear. Donnie had, under his rough yet casual exterior, had been quite disturbed by what he had heard from them. How would they respond?

Poppi, who didn’t know the answer herself, turned with an expectant look to Tora. “That good question. Poppi assumed Masterpon had good reason all along, but never ask.”

Plainly in deep thought, Tora took a few more moments before responding in a slow, less-than-confident fashion. “W-well, meh...did not think very hard about it. Back in Alrest, Tora and friends fight all the time, lots of monster and machine but a few people too. For some, it very simple: it either them or us. Still, we never kill people, even rogue driver.” A hefty silence momentarily filled the air. “...Suppose I look at it like this, meh. When Galeem beaten, according to Master of Masters, everything return to what was before. That mean everything done in this world get undone. So, even if Tora have to kill to stop very bad man here, it not really real, meh.”

After getting it out there, Tora started to sound a little more sure of himself. Closing his eyes and rubbing his non-chin in an authoritative manner, he continued, “Plus, if it is what seems like and everyone really just spirit in this world, with fake bodies, destroy body not really kill spirit. Meh, meh. Can be brought back in way or another, yes?”

The explanation took some consideration from Poppi, but after a few moments she nodded in agreement. “For once, Masterpon make sense. This world clearly work different from normal. But is obvious that even if actions not matter so much in temporary world, should still hold to principle.” A notion occurred to her, prompting her to gaze off into the distance with a worried expression. “Plus, what if friends cannot win? Would have to live on in this world, with consequences of actions. Very interesting.” Her Nopon creator, who clearly didn’t think of this last point, mulled over her suggestion.

Donnie seemed to stiffen during their explanation, and stare at his hands. “You know, I arrived late last night. I got filled in on the whole MegaDragonBowser thing from the rest of us, but I wasn’t really there for the Master of Masters’ explanation. Hell, I didn’t even really know who he was. I got the basics, of course--Galeem ripped our universes to shreds and stuck them together with duct-tape and glue for some insane reason, and we have to kill it--but uh”--he looked back at them--”that does explain a lot.”

“Still, Poppi brings up a good point. Galeem is extremely powerful even by cosmic standards, we might not be able to kill it. And if we fail, we’re going to have to live in this sick experiment it’s cooked up for the rest of our lives in these fake bodies even if we survive. Hell, we’re stuck like this for the foreseeable future even before the final battle. Playing the long game is admirable, but the short-term matters as well. Our actions do have consequences as long as we’re here, and this quest might take years. If we go around acting like killing people, even in self-defense, is no big deal, others are going to judge us.

“And,” he continued, recalling the conversation with Captain Falcon painfully, “Not everyone is going to believe us about what’s really going on here, nor that we’re somehow the only people who are free.

“Besides, even if all the spirits are gonna restored to normal with Galeem’s death, that doesn’t actually mean that the Spirits that were consumed, turned into items, and so on will have their consciousness intact until then. I’m not sure how spirit fusion or spirit-infused item creation works, but there’s nothing I’ve seen that shows their minds are still intact. For all we know, they might cease to exist until we kill Galeem, which may never happen. And what if the person who’s been fused kicks the bucket, or the spirit item is broken beyond repair? What then?

“What I’m getting at here,” Donnie said, “ is that this is all a lot more complex than you’re making it out to be, Tora, and it’s best to tread with caution even if it seems at first like your actions don’t have consequences in this world.”

At some point Tora lost the thread of what Donnie was saying and stopped really paying attention, but when he arrived at his eventual conclusion, it seemed straightforward enough. Plus, the Nopon really wanted to resume his exploration of the garage’s facilities. Vigorously nodding, he said, “Yes, yes, mehmehmeh! Tora will be very careful. Poppi too.” he glanced at the artificial blade for assurance, who gave a grave nod.

World of Light

Donnie

Word Count: 1,963

EXP: 7/30 + 3 = 10/30

Note: This was a collab between me and @Lugubrious.

Donnie hadn’t even gotten to get inside the clown-shaped robot when someone managed to activate a self-destruct sequence (why would anyone want to install a self-destruct sequence in that thing anyway?), and hadn’t even gotten more than fifty feet away before the weaponized truck he wanted was turned into little more than a pile of scrap metal and a scorch mark on the ground. He wasn’t that far from the blast, so he got thrown at least a good few dozen feet away by the shockwave, leaving him face-down in the dirt. He hadn’t even been able to roll to mitigate some of the damage, he was thrown so fast.

“Owwwwwww…” he managed to groan out, before he painfully pushed himself to his feet. Thankfully, the armor wasn’t dented from that impact (probably because he had landed on soft dirt instead of a rock or something), but that did nothing for his temper.

Thankfully, he managed to restrain himself from walking right over there and beating the shit out of Jak and Daxter, who seemed to have gotten into the robot without his knowledge.

But, sometimes the solution wasn’t conflict, nor to butt heads with your allies. He had enough equipment as-is, and would probably have needed to figure out the controls for that thing anyway. Hell, he might’ve caused the same effect in the process of figuring it out.

Besides, if the clown put a self-destruct button into a vehicle that was clearly his pride and joy, what else was waiting in that truck? He would’ve been better off not knowing.

Without another word, he hopped on the Disc and flew off after the convoy.

* * *

Donnie arrived a little later than Tora and Poppi, slowing the Disc to a halt and smoothly getting off of it, palming it like a skateboard before he reduced it down to an orb and put it in the Luggage.

Looking around at the gas station, he noticed quite a lot of interesting types here. He saw red eyes on all of them, so they were clearly all under Galeem’s control, but it seemed his brainwashing was more subtle than he realized, since they weren’t attacking him, much less Tora, who was striking up a conversation with the managers.

On the one hand, he kind of wanted to crack some heads and free them right now. On the other...well, one look at the white-haired man and the four fancy types they were talking, much less the helmeted driver by the futuristic pump, told him to back off.

The first rule of adventuring was to never get into a fight you can’t win. Many, many foolhardy adventurers had gotten killed by the likes of gnolls, kobolds, and bandits because they went in unprepared. And that was before you took into account large-scale adventuring missions, like five-man, ten-man, and twenty-five-man quests.
What really interested him, however, was the muscular man’s vehicle. It reminded him an awful lot of the kart that Ratchet and Clank were piloting earlier. Was that kart meant to be some kind of copy of this futuristic hovercar?

While the argument that the white-haired guy and the four fancy gentlemen were having about this ‘Qliphoth’ looked like it would make an interesting quest for sure, they were all brainwashed anyway and he didn’t want any of them to turn on him at a moment’s notice. The last thing he needed was to head off with this adventuring party only to get backstabbed.

But talking cars with the helmeted man seemed a lot safer, so he walked over to the guy and sat down next to him, saying, “Hey, that’s an awesome car you have there.”

After glancing up from his magazine, the pilot briefly affixed Donnie with an examinatory glance. His visor hid his eyes, making them look like glowing white triangles, but they seemed to hold no malice. A second later, his chiseled features showcased a wide smile. “Hehey, someone’s got good taste! Although, it’s not really a car. More of a high-powered racing machine. Would you believe me if I told you it maxes out at a four-fifty kilometers an hour?” He gave a chuckle, realizing he’d let his enthusiasm run away with him just a touch. This man, clothed in medieval armors and garments, was surely a world apart from even the vehicles he himself deemed archaic, let alone his own. “Uh, let’s just say it’s the fastest thing around and leave it at that, huh?” He struck Donnie’s shoulder with a light, jovial punch, more of a tap than anything. “So, you into racing? Or just the hardware? Name’s Douglas Jay Falcon, but most everyone calls me Falcon.” A gloved hand extended to shake.

Donnie shook the pilot’s extended hand. “Well met, Falcon. The name’s Donovan Lee, but you can call me Donnie.” He laughed a little afterwards, saying, “And don’t worry, we’re not that primitive where I come from. We do have spaceships, tanks, giant war robots and lots and lots of magic.” He summoned the Luggage, pulled out the orb for the Disc again, and threw it to the ground to his right, revealing the Disc. “That there’s what I prefer to use. It gets a pretty high speed, but I’ve never measured it. The thing doesn’t have a speedometer, after all. It flies, but it can’t break the sound barrier or anything. Titan-forged flying machine and it can’t even break Mach 1! Kinda disappointing, really. But I can fire chi attacks from it, so it works for what I need it for.”

“Hey, not bad for a start!” the Captain reassured Donnie.

He looked towards the Blue Falcon, saying, “Thing I’m wondering about is that our group has a go-kart we found in a scrapyard that looks just like that racing machine. Was the design licensed out or something? Are you famous back home?”

Falcon rubbed his head, though the helmet prevented it from doing much good. “I don’t know about go-karts, but I’ll admit I’m preeeeetty famous. Bounty hunter turned racing champion, a superstar known across worlds! And wouldn’t you know it, I’m humble too!” His hearty laughter rolled across Hammerhead. After composing himself, he looked out at some of the new faces that had glanced his way. “Friends of yours?” he asked, curious. “Odd-looking bunch.” Falcon zeroed in on a familiar face and pointed it out. “Bowser. I know him at least from the tournaments. Not that we’re pals or anything. He’s kind of a jerk.” With narrowed eyes he scanned everyone else, but recognized nobody. In a cruel turn, Peach escaped his notice, thanks to her changed appearance. “So what’re you all up to?” The man seemed to hold nothing back when it came to conversation; he practically oozed confidence and geniality.

“Tournament, eh?” Donnie said. While the Bowsermobile was one thing, Bowser was no slouch in fighting either. This tournament that Falcon had been in could’ve been either fighting or racing, and for what he had planned, it didn’t really matter which since the man could clearly do both. He grinned mischievously. “Tell you what. I’ll tell you what we’re up to if you can beat me in a fight. We’ll do it a mile away from the gas station, just in case it gets ugly. What do you say?”

Were it not for Falcon’s helmet, Donnie would have seen his eyebrows furrow. “...You serious? You want me to fight you just to get a conversation? Sure, I fought in a few tournaments, but those were official competitions, not brawls in the desert. Plus, if the public caught wind of me doing something like that, I’d be done for. I’ve got a reputation to uphold, you know?” The Captain leaned back, a little put off by the proposition.

"Eh, fair enough," Donnie replied, looking a bit embarrassed, but quickly recovering, "I was just looking for an excuse to test my skills. I like friendly bouts, and old habits die hard. Sorry about that." He shrugged.

"Long story short, my group is headed further into the Land of Adventure. At least that's what we call this region after one of us mapped out this world from a spaceship. We come from Peach's Castle to the northwest."

“Anyway, these tournaments,” Donnie continued. “How exactly did you end up fighting Bowser? Multiversal shenanigans?"

The apology and explanation set Falcon at ease, and after a shrug he replied, “Something like that. There’ve been five Smash tournaments, and every time one’s in the works, these sealed invitations get delivered to participants. Then we’re pulled to the spot where it’s being hosted. Last time, it was this land of castles and waterfalls. Real pretty.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. “Other than that, details are scarce, but there were places from all sorts of world to fight on. Kind of like this place.” He gestured broadly to the surroundings, indicating not just the Paved Wilderness, but the whole world. His eyes settled on the everpresent Galeem, far off in the sky. “I was there when this whole thing happened. Wasn’t fast enough to stop it, or even get away.” Briefly, a bitter look took hold of his face.

Understanding dawned on Donnie’s face as he stared at the point of light that caused all this. He turned back to the Captain, saying, “Well...what if I told you our group is aiming to kill that thing and return everything to normal?”

Falcon said nothing, but Donnie could tell he had the man’s attention.

“A little pink puffball named Kirby managed to escape Galeem’s wrath, avoided getting brainwashed like the rest of us. And you.” He materialized a Friend Heart, showcasing the cartoony object in all its pink glory. “This here’s a Friend Heart. It’s what Kirby used to free us. Long story short, it’s let us act against Galeem and given us our free will back. Keep in mind that his control is subtle enough that none of us knew we were under the influence until we were freed.”

“I can free you, if you want. You don’t even have to join us if you don’t want to. I’d have to beat the shit out of you and then throw this at you, but it would work. I can heal you right up after the fact, though you won’t remember exactly how you got here. The benefits are obviously worth it though. What do you say?” He dematerialized the Heart as he spoke.

Frowning, Falcon stood up. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not under any control, and my will is my own. I’m me, same as always.” He crossed his arms. “And I’m still not fighting anyone, but if anyone’s going to be doing any beating, it’d be me, bud. As for this Galeem thing, I’m fine on my own, thanks. I’m more of the solo type.” A glance went the way of the Blue Falcon, confirming that the mechanic’s work was just about done. Falcon gave Donnie a stiff nod of farewell before heading its way, leaving the car magazine he’d been reading on the bench.

Donnie power-walked over to him, using his Windwalking to catch up quite quickly. “Just one more thing before you go, Captain. When you get the chance, take off your helmet and look in a mirror. Red eyes are the hallmark of Galeem’s influence. If they’re not there, then you’re good. Just know that you won’t get very far if you do have them.” He turned around, craning his neck back one last time. “Good luck, Captain.” He watched the man shake his head in disbelief, and give a parting wave. With that, Donnie headed back over to Tora, to see if he was done talking to Cid and Cindy.

One Piece: The Scarlet Pirates (Reboot!) [Chapter 1 END]

@Noodles

Actually, I think I fucked up that part of his sheet. I mostly worked on it in the wee hours of the morning (like I'm typing up this post now), which explains why I caught this afternoon that his new bounty description was left incomplete. I had to fix it on my phone.

I actually intended for him not to be able to use the Rokuogan at all. He was still learning the basics of the technique. Of course, I'm happy to be able to use it. After all, this is One Piece, and escalation is quite rampant with this franchise.

If he's the sole survivor, that can work. Less loose ends to tie up.

I'm wondering about more of the nitty-gritty of the game though. If I'm joining, where do I put myself? Where's the crew right now, and how am I going to join? Are you going to write up an intro post for me, setting the scene? And can I have a recap of what's happened so far?