mattmanganon

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

@IAmTheIsland Yes, i'm happy collabing on a post. That last one was just a little post to get back into the flow of Leon and Launchpad.

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

Leon spent most of his time in the cramped apartment at his work-desk working on the Plasma Cannon. He saw Launchpad at the window slumped over asleep. "No..." He groaned "Marc, i promise... I'll do better on the next question..." He grumbled in his sleep.

"Ugh, he's playing Win, Lose or Draw again..." Leon groaned, getting up and moving to the next room. He set himself up on the windowsill in here instead. If Launchpad was going to sleep, then he was going to stand guard. Sitting down and pulling out the standard issue blaster. He then sat, watching the streets. At one point, he was rather concerned by a man and a dog seemingly leading a loud parade down the street, but that quickly passed. That's when he saw something... a man in full, black armour stood, watching him in the street. He stared back. The armoured figure continued to stare, Leon slowly beginning to raise the blaster. The knight slowly raised a hand, before he began pulling the helmet off, but as soon as he did, there was an explosion and screams of people. Suddenly, he didn't seem to be in Traverse Town anymore. Back in Altifaria again. It had been so long since he had seen these streets. Lilties and Yukes running past him, running for their lives, he raised the blaster, only to see a strange axe was now in his hands and before him, a terrible creature. A large dragon like monster exuding miasma He raised the axe and gave a terrible cry of battle rage, rushing forwards, leaping through the air, spinning and readying to bring the blade crashing through the dragons skull when suddenly it opened its mouth and-

"Come on, Nebula's gonna kill us!" It yelled at him, before he suddenly awoke as well to see Launchpad shaking him. He looked around, then back down at the street to see a girl with brown hair talking with Hoshi, then turning to face a horde of Heartless. He pointed it to Launchpad. "HEARTLESS!!!" He yelled, before, once again, tucking Leon under his arm. "STAR COMMAND!!!" He yelled, before summoning the magical Thunderquack again. Launching high into the air, then crashing back down into one of the Heartless that was about to attack Aerith. Leon going flying as he exploded out of the magical construct. "I AM THE TERROR THAT FLAPS IN THE NIGHT!!!" He yelled, a blue aura smashing into the ground around him, the charging heartless suddenly begining to move in slow motion. "I AM THE... Ugh..." He stood thinking for a second. "Midnight Snack... that... leaves crumbs in the bed!!!" He managed to slowly blurt out while the Heartless slowly continued their charge towards him. He then turned to Aerith. "Don't worry, ma'am, you're not the first damsel in distress we've rescued today." Leon had recovered from the crash and brought his blaster around, firing at one of the closest ones.

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

@Daxam Well, if you want a third, i was thinking of maybe throwing up a sheet for Sparky or if you want Am, i'm happy for him to jump in there.

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

Figured a way for Zen-Aku to rejoin the fight with Dotty abscent. Next post will be as Launchpad and Leon. @IAmTheIsland Would you rather they found their way to you for the interaction with other Leon or would you rather they helped Aeris with the Heartless?

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

Dotty seemed to dance through her slumber, strange faces and places waltzing before her eyes. She seemed to struggle awake and found herself in a strange tent. "Poodlewolf?" She called. She then saw a pet look around at her. A tall woman in a yellow shirt and had long, brown hair. She was... Possibly beautiful, Dogs were a poor judge of human beauty. She yawned and stretched as the woman walked over to her. "Where's Han?" She asked. The woman knelt down next to her bed.

"Well, hello." She smiled. "I'm afraid i don't know a Han. But i'm Jane Porter" She replied. "Was that the name of that rather grumpy individual who dropped you off?" She asked. Dotty was about to confirm this, but then remembered about Han being in disguise at the moment.

"Y-... No, his name is Taivas." She said, not very convincingly.

"Oh, Taivas. Very odd name, but then again, Tarzan tells me that Mr Clayton is a very strange name to him. So, is that a London Accent i hear?"

"Oh yeah, i'm from Camdon." She replied.

"And Mr Taivas is... Your Father?" Jane asked. Dotty smiled, bit her lip, then began snickering, before fell back into the bed laughing maniacally.

"DON'T ME WEEEEEIRD!!!" She laughed maniacally. "Oooh dear... Nah, my dads name is Doug, he's a Fireman."

"Oh, brave man then. My father is..." She looked around and huffed. "Probably out looking for the Gorilla's, i do hope he's ok with all of these shadow monsters around."

"Shadow monsters?" She asked, suddenly stopping laughing, her head shot bolt upright and then looked around. "POODLEWOLF!!!" She yelled. "GET YOUR BIG BROODY BUTT IN HERE! WE GOTS HEARTLESS!!!" Jane looked utterly confused by this.

"Is... Poodlewolf some kind of pet?" She asked.

"Don't be silly, you're the pet." She replied, matter-of-factly. Jane frowned, assuming that to be some kind of insult.

"I will have you know i'm just as capable in this jungle as any man. Why, the other day, i escaped a horde of rampaging baboons." She crossed her arms. Dotty was now the one confused by that comment.

"Well, of course pets are capable." She replied, getting out of bed and running over to the tent entrance. She pulled back the flap and looked out. There didn't seem to be any Heartless around at the moment. "POODLEWOLF!!!" She yelled, angrily. She then rolled her head around letting out a long, annoyed sigh. "Ugggh, he's probably on one of his broody mountaintop grumbles." She growled.

****

Deep in the jungle, elsewhere, Master Phant stood watching Zen-Aku perform his Kata. With every movement of Zen-Aku's body, Phant seemed to either nod or shake his head. He then jumped out in front of him, striking a mighty pose, arms held aloft, before striking forward with both arms, then jumping, backflipping and bringing his foot down with a mighty boom. He then looked Zen-Aku in the face "The Wolf style is about swiftness, about surefooted strikes." He struck his first Kata pose. "From me, you will learn the Elephant style. Power, strength, brute force."

"Everything one thinks of about the elephant." Zen-Aku responded, before striking the pose. Master Phant then quickly grabbed his arms and corrected the posture a little.

"But tempered by wisdom." He replied, striking the second pose. Zen-Aku transitioned into the next movement. "A Rogue Elephant is a terrifying force, but without those around to support him, he's but a single boulder rolling down a hill. Ended by the first wall he runs into. He then struck the next pose and watched as Zen-Aku transitioned again. He shook his head. "No, those are the movements of the wolf. Cautious and ready for anything. The elephant moves with certainty. There is NO creature in this jungle that would dare attack the Elephant." He guided Zen-Aku's arms as he went through the Kata another time. "Better. Again. More certainty. You are a Duke Org, the very top of the food chain. No creature is going to attack you. So show your certainty!" He demanded. Zen-Aku ran through the kata again and again. "You learn quickly." He then extended his hand out and the same ball on chain that the Dream Eater from before had. He began slowly twirling it. He then motioned for Zen-Aku to try again. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Power Rangers?" He asked. A twinge of pain seemed to resonate through his skull, like a migraine that only lasted a few seconds.

"It's... Almost familiar..." He growled. continuing to kata.

"An ancient order of warriors all across the many worlds. Tapping into powers. The key to the answer, becoming stronger than before, flying higher, when the signal is calling, timeless wonders they performed." He smiled. "I was one of the masters of the Order of the Claw. For generations, we trained these rangers. But now... Scattered, few... Those who use the Keyblade made us somewhat obselete. But you will prove to others that the order is still around. And still willing to take up the fight."

"You mean that this is for sheer damn pettiness?" He asked. "I suppose that there's worse reasons to train an apprentice." Master Phant laughed.

"I don't give a damn about how relevant we are. How many people thank us. The Power Rangers were always thankless warriors. We never asked for recognition and did our best to avoid it at all costs. What matters is that we saved lives whenever they were in trouble." He replied. He then twirled the maul and launched it at Zen-Aku. Zen-Aku ducked under it and twirled around, bringing his claws to Phants throat. "Stop fighting like a Wolf!" He demanded. "Use what i have taught you, face me as the elephant." Zen-Aku growled in response. Phant kicked him hard, he flew back, before clawing into the ground to stop his skid. Phant flourished the flail and then struck a pose. He then motioned to Zen-Aku who was about to charge, but then recognized the motion he had made. That was the same motion Phant made when he was ordering to follow. "MIGHTY SPIRIT OF THE ELEPHANT!!!" Zen-Aku suddenly understood. He struck the same poses as before, powerful, sure movements.

"MIGHTY SPIRIT OF THE ELEPHANT!" He growled, the same flail weapon then appeared in his hands. Phant smiled at him. He smashed the ball on the ground, before jumping, twirling around in the air and using his own bodys motion to send the ball hurtling at Zen-Aku at lightning speed. Zen-Aku threw the ball in the same direction, the ball smashing into the other and sending it off-course. Zen-Aku then followed the same motion, sending his own flail blistering towards Phant. Phant flourished his flail, before dropping it and stopping the ball with his bare hands. A mighty elephant trumpet sounded from him as he smashed his foot on the ground and then threw the flail head back towards Zen-Aku.

"Very good." He laughed, panting a little, before waving his hand that had caught the ball. "But your training has only just began. Next, we will need to work on yo-" At that point, a scared Gorilla seemed to run through the clearing, followed by a number of monkey-like Heartless. "They are here!!!" He roared. He then looked at Zen-Aku and grinned. "Enough training for now. Time for a field test."

"How? Dotty is no-where near here and i cannot interact with the material realm without use of her body." He replied. Master Phant ran up to Zen-Aku, before spinning him around, kicking the back of his knee's and forcing Zen-Aku into a kneeling position. He then grabbed the side of Zen-Aku's head and... It felt to Zen-Aku much the same as when he and Dotty were fusing.

As Terk ran through the jungle and into another clearing, she would see Tarzan and Taivas there to greet her. "TARZAN!!! IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!!! Now, if it's not too much trouble, GET THOSE MONKEYS!!!" She screamed at them. As the monkey Heartless burst through the tree-line, suddenly, the sound of an elephants Trumpet would be heard. "Tantor?" Terk asked. As suddenly, the green and white clad warrior appeared next to Taivas and Tarzan. He looked at his hands and then around his body. He looked at Taivas.

"It's me, Zen-Aku. Don't ask." He then struck his Kata poses again. "MIGHTY SPIRIT OF THE ELEPHANT!!!" The flail appeared in his hands and he prepared for battle.

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

@IAmTheIsland That's why i said "Maybe"

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

@Crimson Flame Eh, 125 experiments appeared on screen, i think that's more than enough for an RP like this.

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

@King Kindred Honestly, i never bothered with this sidequest in the game, so i'm not too fussed about soloing this sidequest in reality. I was thinking of maybe doing something similar to this later on in the story, only with the 626 Experiments. But that's another matter.

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

Pretty much to keep things as in-universe explaination friendly as possible, i'm pretty much saying that Zen-Aku in his little phase of reality is pretty much in Dream Realm. Hense why the Elephant Spirit Ranger is refered to as a Dream Eater in that post. Hope that's fine, will edit if this conflicts with GM plans.

Kingdom Hearts: Heroes of Hope

Zen-Aku watched Taivas and the mostly naked man enter to prevent Dotty from being eaten. He thanked whatever creator that they had succeeded as the Jaguar jumped out of the window and ran. Dotty tried to stumble to her feet. "I'M COMING ELIZABETH!" She called before falling flat on her face, unconscious. Zen-Aku sighed and walked over to her. He stared down at her unconscious form. He poked her with his foot, before looking at Taivas.

"Can you pick her u... Ugh, you can't even see me..." He thought for a second. He tried picking her up, but after a few seconds, she phased through him and onto the floor. He then bent over and grabbed her hand, before curling her finger into a point and writing "She's out cold. You will need to carry her." In the dust on the floor. Well, while she was out, there wasn't much he could do. Tarzan walked straight through him as he approached Taivas, as if to punctuate his point. "I hate being incorporeal..." He growled. Maybe... Maybe while he was stuck in this state, he might still be able to do something useful... Running over to the window, he sniffed deeply and smelled the smell of spirit energy. He then catapulted out through the window, jumping through the forest.

Continuing to follow the smell of spirit magics through the jungle, he flashed through the tree's and up the large mountain in the middle of the island, getting near to the top of the mountain, the smell became inescapable. He stopped and looked around, before seeing a cabin in the side of the mountain. He approached the cabin, attempting to walk straight through the door, but ended up only bumping into it. He was used to phasing through doors like this... This was weird... He then knocked at the door and waited for a few seconds. Then, he heard a swooshing sound beind him. He turned around to see a man in a green and white outfit. "Who are you? Are you the old man from before?" The man then drew a weapon. It was an ornate handle with a chain leading down to a ball on the end of it. The man then flourished the weapon, not making a sound, swinging it around, as if dancing with it. He then smashed the ball on the ground and stared up at Zen-Aku. Zen-Aku then adopted his own fighting stance. "I am more than able to defend myself if you insist on this." He growled. The man rushed him, swinging the weapon, the chain wrapped around his arm with the metal ball striking him in the shoulder, Zen-Aku then spun, pulling the man into him, before backhanding him with the other hand, the man fell on his back, but quickly flipped back up and used the chain to pull Zen-Aku into a grapple, Zen-Aku flipped him over his head, with the man landing on his feet, a roundhouse kick followed from Zen-Aku next, the man backflipping, landing on his hands before flipping back in front of Zen-Aku with a punch straight towards his snout. Zen-Aku pushed the fist to one side, before the other fist came at his face, sending Zen-Aku spinning backwards, but the chain once again kept him in close quarters, pulling him back in, before wrapping his arm around Zen-Aku's throat and pulling him backwards, so that Zen-Aku was bent over backwards, Zen-Aku then swung his legs over their shoulder and landed on his feet. He rung the chain off before reached his arm out and his Creasant Moon blade appeared, he flourished it as he prepared for the next phase of the fight.

"ENOUGH!" A voice split through the mountain and the man in the suit stopped, before fading to dust before Zen-Aku's eyes. Zen-Aku looked around and saw the man open the door and walk out. It was the man who had saved Dotty. "Why have you come here?" The old man asked. Zen-Aku got down on one knee.

"You... You saved my host. I have come to thank you and to ask you about the power you possess. It is so very familiar to me." The old man shook his head.

"And what kind of power might a Duke Org find familair?" The man asked. Zen-Aku was taken aback.

"A Duke Org... You know about me?" He asked. The man looked him up and down.

"An Elephant never forgets..." He grunted. "But it seems the Wolf does... It's that horn, only Orgs have those. And your stance is fully humanoid, that indicates something higher, but you're not Nazor, Mandilok or Retinax, meaning you're not a General. So you must be a Duke." He answered. So, Duke Orgs were humanoids with a large horn like his. That was... Well, that was at least more than the Wizard gave him.

"Nazor... Who are they?" He asked, his face and voice more confused now than before. The old man looked him up and down before approaching and placing his hand on Zen-Aku's chest, closing his eyes. He suddenly opened them and took a few steps back.

"That's... Not..." He looked very visibly flustered, equally as confused about this as Zen-Aku. He looked down and then up as if contemplating something, he then turned around and walked back inside of his hut, not closing the door behind him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in." He called. Zen-Aku took several brave steps inside, only to see that this house was... Well, exactly as it looked on the outside. Dusty, cold, scrolls laying everywhere, nobody had cleaned in here for some time, except for the dishes which were all immaculate. The old man sat down in a large chair and guestured Zen-Aku to sit in the smaller chair across from him. "So..." He began as Zen-Aku took his seat. "You don't know who you are... Where you are... Where you are going... Where you come from..." He grunted. "But... You have a Heart. Which is... Odd to say the least." He once again looked around as if still mulling over this moral choice.

"I am... Heartless?" He asked, looking at his hands.

"No, no, no. Heartless are not part of the natural order. They are abominations from outside of it. You are very much a part of your natural order... It's just that your kind tends not to have hearts... Although yours is very faint... Very whimsical. Almost-"

"Like a childs heart... No, that's not my heart. I am linked by a curse to the child you saved. You must have heard her heart through me." The old Elephant man simply stared at Zen-Aku.

"Perhaps..." He replied. "You faught my Dream Eater without problem. Most would have been easily destroyed. This makes you a... Interesting case..." He once again looked around. His mouth seemed to quibble quickly as if having a conversation with someone. "Tell me why your really sought me out?" He asked.

"Because i require answers and you may be the only one with them." Zen-Aku replied, matter-of-factly.

"No, that's why you followed me, but why did you come in here?" He asked. "I gave you answers and yet you followed. You assumed i had more, but that's not enough. Why did you REALLY follow me in here?" Zen-Aku cocked his head to the side, now very confused.

"Because... You invited me?" He asked, continuing to try and play through this game that he clearly hadn't been taught the rules of. The man nodded his head, mouthing Zen-Aku's words back to him.

"Yes, i invited you. You could have burst down my door and demanded answers, you could have given me a royal thrashing and demanded them, but you didn't, why not? You know i am not unarmed, so don't give me any of that honour warrior nonsense." He replied.

"Because..." He watched the man wait with bated breath. "Because that would have been rude..." The man mouthed the words along with him as they came out of his mouth.

"Because it would have been rude!" He laughed, repeating him, before laughing out loud. He then got to his feet and walked over to a scroll and opened it. He read it a few times, before rolling it back up again. "Alright. Your training begins now then." He said, looking rather excited. Zen-Aku got up, still very confused.

"I don't need training, i need answers." He protested.

"Just as one does not discuss business on an empty stomach, one does not answer questions on an empty soul. Come, you will need this if you are to continue." He walked out of the hut. Zen-Aku rolled his eyes and got up to follow the old man.

"Old man, i don't even know your name." He growled.

"You may call me Master... Master Phant."