Double

Dragon Ball: Shattered Worlds

Ovaan

@vancexentan @IceHeart @Chev @KillamriX88 @PPQ Purple @AtomicNut @NacNak @King Kindred

Everyone was voicing their concerns, and rightfully so. In truth, Ovaan was not without concerns of his own regarding this mission objective. For all they knew, this universe had been rendered completely uninhabitable and they could die mere moments after arrival due to any number of unforeseen hazards. Granted, that was a worst-case scenario. But still valid, nonetheless. Ovaan decided to keep those concerns to himself, being too busy gathering the capsule cases he had brought to verbally voice any of them for the time being. Well, there was one thing he decided to provide a verbal response to.

"Payback is all well and good, but I for one would appreciate us not allowing such things to cloud our judgement. Thank you." he had seen his fair share of would-be "heroes", both in and outside his time in the Freeza Force. And in his experience, it never ended well. Heroes had a bad habit of acting on emotional impulse, resulting in poor decisions being made that only served to get people killed. His own crew had tended to make a point of avoiding such mistakes at all costs. Which of course required them to make decisions that often seemed rather callous to those observing from afar. But if the choice was between doing something one might feel guilty about later and getting everyone including one's own self killed outright? Ovaan would choose the former every time.

He remained quiet after that. Instead he focused on steeling himself for whatever waited for them on the other side of that portal. No matter what, it probably wasn't going to be pleasant. And so, with a hardened resolved, the former Captain stepped through the portal.

And what awaited on the other side was... exactly as he had mentally predicted, and then some. Crimson spheres filling out the skies. Bodies dumped in truly immeasurable numbers, only to be scooped up and hauled away by 8-legged machines. It was enough to make Ovaan want to puke on the spot. He took another breath, reaffirming his resolve and maintaining his composure for the most part. But he still looked visibly uncomfortable at what he was seeing. He couldn't recall a single instance of the Freeza Force doing anything even remotely on this level. They at least maintained some kind of governmental order. This? This just looked like pure horror. And yet, a certain question nagged its way into his mind. One that every single person likely wondered as well. And it looked like Ovaan would have to be the one to ask what they were all probably thinking.

"Harvesting? What could they possibly be harvesting these... remains... for?" he asked in a hushed, low voice. The truth was they probably didn't want to know. And yet, he had the distinct feeling they would need to find out, anyway.

The Key of Twilight (Kingdom Hearts AU)

One could tell that Seifer had a rather harsh definition for the phrase "training Vivi". Because it looked less like training and more like Seifer using Vivi as a training dummy. Vivi swung when he could, clearly showing a determination to see this through. But Seifer's guard was just too tight and impenetrable for the little guy. Finally, after another failed attack by Vivi, Seifer appeared to start losing his patience and came at Vivi with a hard enough blow to knock him flat onto the ground.

"Come on, Vivi!" Seifer barked, appearing to wait for Vivi to stand back up before making any other moves, "Stop thinking and trying to hit me, and just do it!" he said in what sounded like a taunt, but could also be interpreted as his own brand of sagely combat advice. Meanwhile, Vivi did still get back up on his feet, but did so slowly, likely indicating fatigue settling in. Despite looking tired, Vivi weakly made another lunge for Seifer. But like the previous time, he was side-stepped and knocked face-first onto the Sandlot floor.

Vivi didn't say anything, but did sound like he was whimpering a bit. He wasn't hurt, but he was starting to look pretty disappointed in himself for this showing. Unfortunately for him, Seifer caught it and was finally starting to get angry.

"What did I say at the beginning of all this, Vivi?" he demanded, now even pointing his struggle bat in Vivi's direction in what looked like a threatening gesture, "That you better not whine or complain once we start! Well this looks a lot like whining to me." This time Vivi had only staggered back to his feet before Seifer immediately knocked him back down. This wasn't even training anymore. It was a merciless beatdown, "Come on! If you expect to make it anywhere in the Tournament, then you better start putting up a better fight than this!" that was when Seifer caught a glimpse of Droka in the corner of his eye.

Seifer had targeted Droka once in the past, but he was clearly no fighter and so Seifer stopped bothering with him after a certain point because of this. He had always been more interested in going after people who would fight back and give him a challenge. But that didn't mean he couldn't use Droka as a means of mocking Vivi. Suddenly Seifer pointed a finger over in Droka's direction, "Even four-eyes over there could put up a better fight then you! Now stop whining and actually take this seriously!" after this, he knocked Vivi down once again.

This was about where Zack and the Banks Siblings came in. Like with Droka, Seifer was quick to notice their arrival. He anticipated at least one of them would try to play hero, and decided to nip that in the bud right away, "What do you want, Chicken-Wuss?" he looked back in Zack's direction in particular, "This doesn't concern you!"

---

@Bright_Ops@Stylobilly@Spectral@Wayward

Dragon Ball: Shattered Worlds

As have I.

The Key of Twilight (Kingdom Hearts AU)

@Wayward@Spectral@Bright_Ops

I apologize if it seems like I'm not here. Rest assured, I am reading every post and paying close attention. For now I'm just letting the conversation at the house play out before I make anything else happen.

Also wanted to make sure everyone knows that my activity for this week at least will be a bit sporadic. Currently recovering from throwing out my back on Sunday so sitting at my desk for long periods, especially after having to do so at work all day, takes its toll. But I will be back fully once the pulled muscle is healed.

The Key of Twilight (Kingdom Hearts AU)

@Wayward Probably not. No way to feasibly pull that off. Instead I'll probably stick to a ring out rule instead.

Kingdom Hearts: Alternate Lights [Reboot]

@Letter Bee Finally got around to finishing Osvaldo's CS.

The Key of Twilight (Kingdom Hearts AU)

@Spectral The Struggle Tournament is still 4 days away in-universe. It's not "today".

The Key of Twilight (Kingdom Hearts AU)

@Wayward I'll accept it, but I'm also officially closing applications after this. So you'll be the last player I'm allowing.

The Key of Twilight (Kingdom Hearts AU)

@Bright_Ops@Stylobilly@Spectral

And here we... go!

So if it wasn't obvious. We're kicking this off with Dives Into The Heart. Just write out your character's various responses and choices in the dream sequence and then you're free to have them start doing whatever after they wake up.

The Key of Twilight (Kingdom Hearts AU)

Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived... in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return. So listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away.

---

Deep down in a seemingly endless abyss, there glinted a small shimmer of light. A Heart, whose inner strength waited, ready to be awakened. Suddenly, a pair of eyes belonging the young person sprang open. As if they were awakening from sleep for the first time. And as they did so, the dark ground below their feet gave away. Appearing to fly away in pieces like birds released from a cage. What appeared was a circular platform, atop a pillar that reached down into the endless Darkness. Their eyes would see colors, forming images both strange and familiar. They saw themselves, or occasionally those they were familiar with. Almost like staring at their entire life, their entire being, all depicted in the colorful mosaics.

"So much to do, but so little time..."

A voice, though not exactly heard through their ears. No, they felt the voice, communicating to them within their Hearts.

"...Take your time."

An apparent warning? And yet also reassurance. So real it could be vivid, and yet somehow surreal all at the same time.

"Walk forward..."

The voice now beckoned.

"Can you do it?"

No more was said, as if whatever this was awaiting a response. Only one thing to really do, and that was to walk forward as the voice asked. But upon doing so, something appeared. And not just one something, but three somethings. Stone pedestals, and floating above them were three very distinct objects: A sword, a shield, and a staff. The sword looked sharp, bearing a golden hilt and a mysterious emblem at the center of the pommel. The shield was large, flat on its top and pointed at the bottom. It's black face contained a crimson red border, and within the center there was the red image of the same mysterious emblem. The staff was silver, but with a golden tip attached to a blue, bulbous shape that resembled the emblem seen on and sword and shield.

"Choose."

It seemed the sleeping Heart was to be granted a weapon, giving them the power to fight. Which ever weapon they approached, the warm voice described the power they reached for.

"Power of the Warrior. Courageous strength. A sword of destructive power."
"Power of the Guardian. Invincible resolve. A stalwart shield to protect your friends."
"Power of the Mystic. Inner strength. A wondrous staff of magic and sorcery."

But upon choosing one, the other weapons vanished in a flash of light, and their pedestals sank into the floor. The sleeping Heart had gained the power to fight, as they held the chosen weapon in their hand.

"There will be times you have to fight."

As if on cue, small shadowy shapes appeared to crawly flat along the floor. Soon they emerged into three-dimensional shapes. They appeared to be little feral shadows with yellow beady eyes. There were five in total, and they began closing in. The sleeping Heart now possessed a weapon, and now had to use to defend themselves until all five mysterious shadows were slain.

"The closer you get to the Light, the greater your shadow will become."

This seemed to cause the sleeping Heart's own shadow on the floor to slowly emerge. It grew in size, getting bigger and bigger until it became a hulking version of the previous fight shadows. It's yellow eyes gave a sinister glare as it raised a mighty fist to strike.

"But don't be afraid."

The monster struck the ground, and Darkness oozed from the spot. More of the smaller shadows began to emerge as if acting as soldiers under the command of the large one. Their numbers multiplied, far too overwhelming for even the bravest of souls to stand against. The sleeping Heart began to sink into the growing Darkness.

"And don't forget.
"You hold the mightiest weapon of all."

And finally, as the Darkness covered the sleeping Heart completely, the warm voice that had been guiding them said some final words.

"You are the ones, who will open The Door."

---

It was morning. The sleeping youths awoke in their homes, discovering that they had overslept a bit. Perhaps this put them in a rush. Or perhaps it didn't matter to them. But it was long past time to wake up. The first day of the New Dawn Festivities were beginning that day, and they certainly weren't the sort of thing one wanted to miss out on.

As for Twilight Town itself. It was bustling already. The shops had all opened and put up their various signs indicating holiday sales and offers. Even the usually quiet Sandlot had its share of activity. Namely in the form of a young man named Seifer using to practice some of his moves in preparation for the upcoming Struggle Tournament. He was using one of his posse - Vivi - as a sparring partner. Not that Seifer cared that much about having any kind of training partners, but Vivi had apparently insisted on taking part in the Struggle this year and had begged Seifer to help him practice. As always, Rai and Fuu were watching from nearby. These four were known around town, primarily for Seifer's jerkish behavior towards those he deemed as weaklings. They didn't bully anyone outright, but they did jeer and call names, primarily in an effort to goad people into fighting with Seifer to satisfy his ego.

---

@Bright_Ops@Stylobilly@Spectral