Lugubrious

World of Light

<Snipped quote by Lugubrious>

I have no opinions seeing as I’m not a fan of Kingdom Hearts and this no nothing about it. If this situation is in some way unusual, I’d have no idea.

@ProPro

Oh no, I meant IC.

World of Light

Say hello to an expert in the art of murdering things, the famous assassin droid HK-47.

HK-47

Name: HK-47

Game Origin: Knights of the Old Republic

Appearance:

HK-47

Personality: HK-47’s personality programming makes him appear misanthropic, bordering on sociopathic to those who encounter him. He enjoys observing (and more preferably causing) lots of death and destruction. Despite this, HK-47’s programming requires the assassin droid to maintain a level of professionalism, preventing him from senselessly slaughtering his way to a target. HK-47 has also displayed several unique behaviour tendencies because of his programming. He had a definite sense of pride and considered himself superior to all organic beings and droids except for Revan, who was the only man he seemed to admire.

HK-47 also had a unique speech trait and vocally prefixed every statement he made with a speech conditional that described the type of statement it was. For example, if asking a question, he would first say “Query” before beginning to speak.

Background: Revan created HK-47 using Czerka’s HK-24 as a basis for his model and included several of his own upgrades. Not wanting to repeat the devastation caused at Malachor V, Revan turned to using HK-47 to assassinate political opponents as a more selective way of achieving his goals. HK-47 continued to serve Revan during the Jedi Civil War, a devastating conflict between the Sith Empire that Revan had created after his turn to the dark side, and the Galactic Republic. During this time, HK-47 helped Revan locate the Star Forge superweapon and also assassinate beings who could destabilize the galaxy.

While on a certain mission in Mandolorian space, HK-47 had successfully completed the mission but his motor functions were damaged, and he ended up in the possession of a Mandolorian soldier. After a string of events, the assassin droid would end up in the hands of master to master following the previous one’s death (which he may have indirectly caused every time). After an incident with a Systech Corporation officer, he ended up being sold to Yuka Laka, who was a Ithorian droid dealer on Tatooine. It was there that HK-47 would encounter his original master, Revan, whose mind was erased by the Jedi Enclave Council after being injured at the hands of Darth Malak. HK-47 was prepared to once again serve his first master, well, he was until the Light came and ruined his reunion.

Specialty: Assassin / Ranged Attacker
Level: 1
Experience: 0/10
Powers:
Burst of Flame - HK-47 is able to bring out a small turret gun from within a section of machinery on his wrist and shoot a short burst of flames for a very limited duration (usually about a couple of seconds or so) in front of him. Alternatively, he can also use it for a slightly longer duration as an AOE style attack if need be.

Strengths:
Assassin Droid - True to his design as an assassin droid, HK-47 is a very dangerous opponent. His combat programming made him a deadly combatant able to wield a large variety of weapons, including blasters of any designs as well as a multitude of droid weapons, such as flamethrowers and carbonite projectors.

Mechanic - HK-47 possessed other skills beside his combat proficiency, one of them being mechanical engineering. He is able to build of variety of equipment (usually blasters and other deadly equipment) for either himself or allies.

Metal Body - HK-47’s metallic body allows him to withstand at least some degree of damage greater than that of any regular organic being.
Weaknesses:
Faulty Components - Due to the Light’s effect on him, a lot of hiscomponents are dysfunctional and wont work properly until he levels up and gains the ability to use them. This especially affects his melee combat programming and while he still can fight in close-quarters sometimes, it usually isn’t very effective.

Uncooperative - HK-47 is extremely opposed to working alongside anybody who isn’t his master, Revan. This has definitely caused him a lot of problems in the past as he would rather do something solo then fight alongside anyone but his master. However, he is able to put aside his pettiness temporarily and work with others if it is absolutely necessary in achieving victory.

Spirits: None yet

Kindred Spirits:
Revan - A man who has been both Sith and Jedi, an extremely powerful force user who just so happens to be HK-47’s original master.

Doom Slayer - HK-47 has no idea who this armoured individual is, but he shares the assassin droid’s interest in killing things. This should be interesting.

Inventory:
Assassin Droid’s Rifle

Dual-wield Blaster Pistols

Again let me know if I need to add more on anything.

@Ninja

While to me personally this character seems less interesting and to have less personality than Death, it's your decision to make. If you proceed, go ahead and put it into the Characters tab. It looks like you already reset your progression, so no need to remind you. There will be a chance to recruit this droid once other characters reach the Scrapyard.

I'll forego posting this round since, well, I'd only really be lying down and making mental notes, but if need be I can get something up c:

@Delta44

You're by no means obligated to, but I figured that Minako might have poignant thoughts about what the Master of Masters said about seeing her friends in the future, or about his explanation of all the various things in general, or the various characters that approached.

As a humorous side note, characters are really taking it in stride that the Master of Master's eye is not only out of his head but also able to relay anything it ever sees to him.

World of Light

Hey guys, just checking in. Hope everyone is having a merry Christmas. Any opening for Fawful yet?

@StarInaBox

As it would happen, you've just been given your chance! The Hunter has stumbled upon a figure in a clearing, an ominous stranger: Fawful. Who knows what he's been doing up until now? Perhaps he's been trying to impose some sort of order on the creatures near him, or just been messing with them. And who knows how he, blinded into indiscriminate antagonism under Galeem's influence, will react to the Hunter approaching?

Chances are good this will become PVP. You know the rules, gentlemen; no autohitting, engage in fair give and take, and so forth. Direct any questions my way, and if you want to collab a fight rather than post normally for it, feel free to do so.

World of Light

@Lugubrious
So to get that horde of chickens I've been dreaming of I'd have to fill every available striker slot with chickens?

@Gentlemanvaultboy

Not necessarily. There are three possibilities I can think of already.

First off, there are certain characters that are known for being in groups, as duos, or trios. An example is Techies; if they're defeated, there won't be three spirits -one for each goblin- but one spirit with all three inside. This is the case for spirits in the game, too; Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are a single spirit. So, you could just get a spirit that's ten cuccos all together. Of course, it'd be a really tough fight.

Second, Linkle could just get one cucco as a striker. Since the cucco's defining ability is summoning more when it's attacked, it can be reasoned that doing so is simply its power, and it can bring out a bunch more cuccos for a limited time, thus getting your horde while only occupying one slot.

Third, she could just absorb one's spirit and take the cucco's power, gaining the ability to summon cuccos when attacked herself.

World of Light

I should probably ask this before bowser gets to hoovering up souls for striker army perposes: Does anyone actually want any of em for anything? It seems unlikely but i thought I should ask just incase.

@DracoLunaris

I should have made it clear earlier, but so you know, there's a limit on how many strikers you can have; the number is equal to your character's level. As such, you cannot have an immense mob of strikers, forcing characters to be selective about who they choose and keep as strikers.

World of Light

Well, it's been a fantastic first week for World of Light! Thank you all so much for giving this RP such a great start. Hopefully it'll be the first of many such weeks to come.

With the Master of Masters' breakdown given, anyone with the know-how can now engage with the Spirits system. Power up and customize your character as you see fit, but be discerning; not all spirits are created equal, and every power comes at a price.

Roadhog

---

𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗴

_{"I'm an one man apocalypse."}

---

Background
Mako Rutledge, leader of the Australian Liberation Front, became increasingly tired towards the government that granted omnics their own land in the Outback. For months, he read reports about how family farms were torn apart because the Omnium, an self-improving automated robotics factory, required more room. Eventually, he came up with a plan to get rid of the omnics and return the Outback to people. With explosions and volunteers, he sent them on a mission to destroy its fusion core. But, nobody knew the unseen consequences for the entire Outback.

The second explosion killed most of the volunteer group that were either trapped inside or escaping the explosion while the radiation spread all over the Outback. Following the explosion, the Australian government deemed the Outback to be irradiated and left thousands of citizens to rot. The remaining survivors of the Australian Liberation Front quickly placed the blame on Rutledge and left him for dead in the ruins of the Omnium. It was the day that Mako died. Wearing a gas mask and riding a homemade chopper, he became a wanderer. His humanity forgotten. His face forever hidden by a gas mask. He forced himself to survive his personal hell as Roadhog, the man that replaced Mako Rutledge.

After wandering for years, he found his purpose as a bounty hunter for the Queen until he was sent to capture Junkrat. Junkrat had something valuable that the Queen wanted and didn't care if Roadhog killed him as long as he got it. However, he was smart (for a Junker) to not have it on him. Shortly after learning about it, Roadhog was ambushed by two other bounty hunters and learned that the Queen betrayed him. He teamed up with Junkrat for the purpose of finding out what made the treasure special and get revenge on the Queen.

It turned out that the treasure was an omnium fusion core and it made them targets for everyone. Eventually, Junkrat and Roadhog were targets for Overwatch and Talon because of the fusion core. But, they were planning on using both of them for their own personal gains. However, it all changed when the whole world was consumed by a light.

Personality
Roadhog is a ruthless killing machine that shows no remorse for his victims and often laughs during his bloodbaths. He doesn't care about people and only looks out for himself. And he doesn't speak because his mask muffles his voice and perfects to get things done right away. But, he never could manage to get rid of his past life. He does care about his partner Junkrat and often tries to protect him from trouble or causing too much trouble. He's quite observant and has a logical mind due to his time as the former leader of ALF. And he honestly wants to do good like his boss, Junkrat (whenever he isn't acting crazy and killing people like its Christmas).

However, Roadhog seems himself as a monster for turning the Outback into a radioactive wasteland and knows that redemption will be difficult to achieve. Even if he honestly wants it.

Specialty
Tank

Powers
Take a Breather - Pulling out a small gas container full of "Hogdrogen," inhaling it restores a portion of his health and grants him fifty percent damage resistance while inhaling. It can be used as a defense buff as a way to survive instances of high damage. However, he isn't able to move and look around normally when taking hogdrogen.

Strengths
Overweight - Roadhog is a big person that has its benefits. With an inhale of his hogdrogen, he is able to act like a shield for characters in danger.

Very Brawly - Thanks to his hogdrogen once more, he can put the pressure on the enemies longer than many other tanks.

Weaknesses
Overweight - The obvious problem with Roadhog's weight is his mobility, making him slower than others, and his size makes him an easy target for his enemies.

Anti-social - Due to living in irradiated Outback, Roadhog has a hard time trusting strangers and his mask makes talking difficult.

Spirits
None

Kindred Spirits
Junkrat - Overwatch - Roadhog's only friend that he made in the Outback. Even know he's crazy and often
comes up with idiotic plans, his heart is the right place and means well for his bodyguard and himself.

Arthur Morgan - Red Dead Redemption 2 - Thought both of them are from completely different universes, they
have a common goal of seeking redemption for their actions. And both of them suffered as the result of their
choices in life.

Ratonhnhaké:ton - Assassin's Creed III - Another person from a different universe, he reflects Roadhog's
past life before the explosion that forever changed him. Both of them care about their communities and want
the best for them against outside (and inside) threats.

Inventory
Scrap Gun - The Scrap Gun is his primary weapon of choice. The primary fire is a shotgun that deals damage close range while the secondary allows him to fight medium range. The secondary launches a projectile which, after traveling a short distance, explodes and shoots out a cone of pellets.

Chain Hook - A chain hook that Roadhog carries and often uses it during combat.

Level One - 0/10 XP

---

@Star Lord

Looks good to me. Stoic characters that don't talk or interact much can be difficult to continue playing as, but if you're confident you can keep him going you can post him in the Characters tab. I'll start thinking about how to get him integrated.

For some reason I'm having second thoughts about playing Death. Not sure if it's allowed but I kinda want to get him killed so I can play a different character.

@Ninja

That'd be a shame. If you're not quite aware of the reason I would consider the matter more thoroughly, but if you do decide you can't continue as him, he won't get killed; he'll just leave the group and go his own way, maybe to be met again later on. After all, he's one of the original thirteen, which carries some significance.

World of Light

Tora

Level 2 – (4/20) EXP
Location: 1-1, Master's Mushroom
Word Count: 1134

Along with a few of the others, more or less engaged in conversation, Tora retraced his steps toward where he saw the cloaked stranger last. Bowser made the Nopon quite aware of what he would be doing for the time being, but a couple glances back confirmed that neither Din nor Ratchet seemed to be following him, either. Instead the pair looked to be proceeding toward the obstacle course-like section of the road beyond where the skirmish went down, maybe eager to jump and climb around. Either way, that left pretty much everyone who didn't head down the canyon accounted for. On that subject, he did hear what sounded like explosions going off in the direction of the rocky area, but while that worried him he reasoned that the tough-looking men who chose that path could handle it.

As Tora drew near the mushroom along with Michael, Agoston, and Blazermate, he spotted the Master of Masters coming around the side of the giant fungus, an ordinary-looking human girl in tow. Though he threw the man a worried look, he did not speak up, and instead listened in on him telling the girl, “Hmm...well, it's tough to explain, but in a way, yes. They must join you later on.” He helped her into the hammock, saying, “Close your eyes and rest a moment, missie. If you listen in the meantime, you'll see what I mean.” At the same time, he leaned a strange-looking weapon against the mushroom trunk.

After that he turned to see a small crowd assembled, then clapped his hands to his face in a gesture of surprise. “Goodness, you've all come 'round just for li'l ol' me? What an honor!” A single finger flew into the air to forestall anyone's comment. “Hold it! While I'd like a nice, long chat as much as the next guy, you've got more important stuff to do than gab with me, so I'll spill the beans first and answer specifics later if you've got them, 'kay?”

“I am the Master of Masters,” he reiterated for any whose previous absence deprived them of an introduction. Moving more deliberately, he leveled his index finger at the resplendent icon floating far away, serenely tucked away in its airborne bed of flashing colors. “And that...is Galeem. The oh-so-scary Lord of Light!” Never passing up a chance to emote, he threw an arm sideways in a dramatic sweeping motion. “It wiped the slate clean, so to speak, and made this world from the ideas it devoured. Now, I'm pretty darn sure that destroying Galeem will return everything to the way it was, but if ya wanna stick it to 'ol light-bright, you're gonna have to take out its shield first.” He held up ten fingers, then three. “Thirteen terrible enemies lurk in this world, each one powering one of Galeem's colors. Beat all thirteen and the way's open.”

A mysterious air enveloped the Master of Masters as he crossed his arms. “Want to know how I know all this? Here, take a looksie. I'm going to need you to find this.” He held produced a peace of paper. On it was a drawn picture of an eye, murky teal with a black slitted pupil. “This is my eye. Anything it ever sees, I can see, so it allows me to see the future. I know Galeem's name because in the future, one of you writes it down and shows it to the eye. Know what that means?” He clapped his hands together. “The fact that I see you all again means you survive well into the future, find my eye, and challenge Galeem! Woohoo, congratulations! But don't rest on your laurels just yet. Find the thirteen foes, beat 'em up, go after Galeem. Easy-peasy, right?”

The Master of Masters shook his head vigorously, pounding a fist onto his other hand's palm. “Wrong! You'll get thrashed! Maimed, mauled, annihilated. No fun for anyone. But good news, kids, this world if full of ways to get stronger. For instance, these things...” he reached down below his makeshift table and pulled out a corked bottle. Inside, a gleaming rainbow mote containing the face of a goomba could be seen. “These are spirits. Though this is basic knowledge where I come from, you all might not know, so let me just tell you that everyone has three parts: body, heart, and mind. Galeem's light destroyed everyone's body, sealed their hearts, and flooded their minds. It made new puppet bodies for the spirits to inhabit, but if you defeat one, the spirit -the heart and mind- is set free. You can bond with them to make yourself stronger. Here's how.”

He pointed at his temple with his free hand. “Take it into your mind to gain a spirit's skills or knowledge.” Holding the hand in front of him, the Master of Masters opened wide his fingers before making a crushing motion. “Smush it and it'll become some kind of equipment. Weapon, armor, who knows?” Finally, he placed his hand on his chest. “Take it into your heart, and you'll gain its powers.” Seemingly as an afterthought, he gave a shrug. “Or, if you don't want the consequences of just 'taking' a spirit, you can try to connect with it and have it fight alongside you. If the bond's strong enough, it should maintain its own consciousness and be able to manifest physically for a time. Whaddya think of the name 'Striker'? Hah, too bad, it's final.”

Setting the bottle down, he reached a finger into the darkness of his hood to scratch his chin. “'Course, your existence means there are ways to free the spirit without destroying the body. The keyblade's one way, but it'd take years to train any of you to use one right.” Another shrug. “Ah, no matter. If your hearts are strong enough, you'll find a way. For now, if you find any notable enemies near me, drag 'em back here and I'll set 'em loose.”

His gaze flew between the gathered heroes. “Capiche? Now you know your mission, and how to accomplish it. If you choose to accept it, of course. 'May your heart be your guiding key' ….I say it all the time. Ultimately, you have to do what your heart feels is right.”

The Master of Masters slumped down on the table, dramatically appearing to collapse from the effort of talking so much. “Ahhhh. So, there you have it. Please tell me I covered all my bases?”

Tora, having been at rapt attention, seemed to be processing all the new information still, but he managed to pipe up, “Whew! Talkipon must be Master of Masters of Exposition. World and spirits pretty complicated, meh.”

The cloaked man shot him a look, though with his face hidden, it proved completely ineffective.

---

Location: Ancient Gardens

Beyond the section of traversal undertaken by Ratchet and Din, the terrain mellowed out once again. A clearing of grass lay beyond, serving as the reunification point between the three paths. The area going forward changed once again, more uniform in composition. It appeared to be a handful of sections of land, separated by wooden bridges over cliffs and water. Giant plants and blocks could be seen scattered around as well. This area bore a few goombas, but not nearly as many as the previous one, and they did not seem to be as aggressive, either. That said, new enemies awaited them. The strange rabbit creatures goofed around, harassing one another or the wildlife, engaging in all sorts of irritating, zany behavior. More could be glimpsed farther off, though they seemed more driven, moving in groups across the terrain toward whatever area lay beyond the Ancient Gardens.

What the pair could see, however, did not form the complete story. Even from this distance they could hear the rattle of gunfire from across the way, though those sounds paled in comparison to the reverberation of explosions going off in the canyon path behind them and to the left. The duo could proceed into the Gardens proper and tangle with its long-eared, blaster-toting residents, or take a closer look at the canyon.

If they chose the latter, they might be able to see Courier 6, Death, and Zer0 besieged by bomb blasts, but more importantly, they could see their assailant. Moving along the edge of the canyon was a cart full of bombs being pushed by a large goblin with a barrel on his back, which itself appeared to contain a second goblin. A third, with a helmet and what appeared to be a crude rocket launcher, rode in the cart. All three eagerly chucked mine after mine down into the canyon, oblivious to either Ratchet or Din on the path ahead.

---

Location: Moat

Bullets sprayed the surface of the water, but they lost all momentum within moments of entering it, rendering them harmless so long as Geno stayed submerged. The world he entered, however, bore its own share of peril and uncertainty. Within the moat he could spot a variety of underwater creatures. One, large and almost comical-looking, appeared oddly amiable even with the woeful coloration he'd come to expect, but the others did not share that look. Squids propelled themselves around using water propulsion, ready to blast any threats with ink. Jellyfish monsters floated without any care in the world, filling the water around them with electricity. Dangerous-looking beasts, part man and part fish, scrounged the moat bottom for food, but they avoided the small schools of bombfish that swam around with impunity. Toads wearing diving suits patrolled the area closest to the castle's stone foundations, providing a more concerted danger. A closer look at said foundations, however, revealed a pipe covered by a sturdy metal grate near the bottom, perhaps the very mode of entry Geno sought.

Project Crossover [Video Game Crossover RP]

Slayer
Level 5 || Day 3 || King Boo's Castle
@Zarkun @Majoras End @Tenma Tendo @ONL
Experience: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| (26/50)
Word count: 183

One after another, the heroes' attacks devastated King Boo, leaving the specter scarcely able to maintain cohesion. The sight invoked subdued laughter from Slayer. ”Hohoho! Serves you right for fighting with a gimmick rather than your strength and wits! Where I come from, every warrior of renown is able to instantly kill an enemy under the right circumstances, but the impracticality makes those moves terribly rare.” Once again, the vampire began to approach King Boo. “This ridiculous fight will end without you having landed a single blow on any one of us! Now, my friends, let us see this charlatan off. Hrrah!”

Having entered his effective range, Slayer lashed out with a volley of simple blows, nothing more spectacular than punches thrown with such speed and power as to be enveloped in purple flame. He rained the burning punches upon his adversary, striking again and again in quick succession, fast enough that the strikes ran together into a single continuous attack. He ended the fierce barrage with a hammerfist from above, and stepped back to allow King Boo's next assailant room to work.

World of Light

Gonna play it safe here and put this down in case anyone isn't into hella dark imagery. I suggest reading it if you're sensitive to the topic of suicide, because I don't want anyone having to dredge up any bad memories because I wanted to include a character from a dark game. There are workarounds that can be made in advance so nobody gets hurt reading my posts, which is the last thing I want. I'm more than happy to make changes to my posts or the character's summoning technique in question if it's too much for some people, as I don't want anyone to have an uncomfortable time with this RP. That said, again please read this if you're uncomfortable with the subject of suicide, and preferably with an open mind to the game's subject matter and presentation.

Content warning

For those of you who aren't familiar with Persona 3, or the Persona series in general, it can tend to be pretty messed up when it comes to the themes it presents. However Persona 3 is often regarded as the second darkest in the series, and the darkest of the popular persona games, because the theme of death is central to the game's identity. And I don't just mean it's dark here and there, the themes are interwoven into the characters actions, as well as how they summon their persona, a manifestation of the psyche given physical form. In persona 3, personas gain physical form through extreme stress and trauma, as well as an acceptance of death in spite of that trauma, and are summoned using an Evoker.

If you've read over my application fully you might have an idea where I'm going with this.

In order to simulate the extreme stress and trauma of dying, the Evokers look like pistols, and summoning your persona with an Evoker requires the user to put the Evoker to their head and pull the trigger. Of course, me being an idiot, I didn't think this through when making the character and only came to realise after the fact that not everybody is a little edgelord like me and has had the same experiences as I. Personally I like the idea, it's a creative way to express the themes of the game as a whole and weave it into one of the big choices you can make during battle. But not everyone would agree, and that's OK, which is what this post is for.

Persona 3 also has a couple notable character deaths, a few of these happening as a result of firearms. Should it ever be brought up in the RP for whatever reason (Minako's weakness), I might write it a tad viscerally, basing it off of how Minako felt when experiencing those deaths for the first time. People also have pretty bad experiences with guns, namely you Americans, which is incredibly unfortunate and I hope it hasn't happened to anyone here. But if it has, I need to know. Same with the suicide references, I need to know if this bothers people, or even if you guys think it would be a smart idea to put the more sensitive content in a hider. In fact, that was my first suggestion: to put my more sensitive content behind hiders with appropriate warnings, so those who don't want to read it simply don't have to. Those that do can choose to do so, so it's a win-win.

The alternative is to keep these things to a minimum and change the way Minako summons her persona. Which I can do if necessary, as I won't disagree with the GM's decision. A sprinkle more amnesia would do wonders to help her forget those gun deaths too, which would mean nobody would have to worry about annoying hiders. BUT, this also means her character will have to be rewritten, which isn't a huge undertaking, especially so early, but it will need to be done. Which is why I realised I needed to say this all now before I got into anything too personality-rich for Minako, because that would require rewriting posts, which can be a lot harder.

But yeah, that's basically the gist of it. If anyone has a problem with this kind of stuff and would like me to hide it behind hiders, I can do that! It'd be preferable for me if hiders were used over rewriting aspects of her character, but if it's necessary I can also do that to make sure nobody has to worry about their escapist hobbies dredging up bad memories. Again, I want everyone to be able to have fun with this RP, and I definitely don't want to be the cause of a bad time. If everyone's cool with it though, then sweet! If not, lets talk about what I can do to accommodate you.

Sorry for the long post, and thank you for reading. I just felt it was important enough to warrant a warning.

@Lugubrious I'm not entirely sure if you're familiar with Persona 3 as well or not, so please read this over when you get the time, since I don't want any conflicts of interest to happen either.

@Delta44

I personally have no problems with this, but I understand if measures need to be taken to avoid exposing others to themes they wouldn't want to. If nobody approaches you within another week or so, I would conclude that nobody harbors such concerns.

How would you guys feel about Roadhog (Overwatch) joining?

@Star Lord

A completely legitimate pick. Feel free to apply for the last spot with him if you so choose.

World of Light

Good suggestions. I was planning for only one miniboss in the current region, but it'd be possible to encounter him as a notable enemy, similar to Techies. It would be almost ideal for Geno to have such an encounter to keep him occupied until the rest of the team arrives, but unfortunately Geno doesn't have the ability or know-how to free spirits from Galeem's influence without killing them first.

Since I imagine it'll be too long before someone with the know-how reaches Peach's Castle, it makes the most sense to encounter him as a notable enemy in Ancient Gardens (the very next area), perhaps just wrapping up playtime with some Rabbids as a main character wanders off and discovers him.

Would any non-Geno individual or pair from the Central Route party care to volunteer for such a role in the near-future? Since it would be its own encounter, there would be an associated reward, and reward increases with fewer party members and higher difficulty.