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Ready2Create — Incredi-Kubo Issue 9

#beetle #comic #kubo #moonking #kameyo #kuboandthetwostring #theincredibles2
Published: 2023-01-01 05:09:38 +0000 UTC; Views: 2329; Favourites: 16; Downloads: 0
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It's predawn.  It's taken that long for Kubo to so much as fly home to his village.  But it doesn't feel like home.  Right now, he's knelt in his backyard, beside the vase he and Sariatu have been using for Hanzo's grave.  This morning, it has a lotus in it.  And it goes out to his parents.  

He still can't believe it.  He had found his parents all along, and just as quickly, he lost them last night. 

He doesn't want to go inside his house.  The silence that used to welcome him in his mother's absence feels all the more unfriendly, now that she's gone for good.  For all intents and purposes, he has no home. He doesn't know what to do.

For what seems like hours, he sits there, trying to absorb the grief of it all.  He doesn't feel like a hero.  He feels like a failure.  Suddenly, he feels a jostling in his pocket.


Samurai Beetle!  He still has some remnant of his father!  …for now.  Kubo starts to realize that the origami version of his father is growing weaker, his tiny movements now labored.  What Kubo doesn't know is that because the real Hanzo remembered who he was, Origami Beetle is losing his integrity.  The lost memories that gave him life are fading.  All Kubo knows is that his time with his father is brief. And he has something important to tell the boy.

“What are you trying to tell me, father?” Kubo urges his tiny hero.  “Please, so I can honor your last wishes.”

Wearily, with the last of his papery strength, Samurai Beetle points.... towards Kameyo’s hut.

_______

Beetle IV tosses and turns, suffering a terrible nightmare.  In it, he sees a boy knelt down in a courtyard, weeping over the broken bodies of his parents.  He wants to reach out, but he's experiencing sleep paralysis and can't comfort the poor child.  

...he wakes up in a cold sweat, deliriously feverish!

And as he blinks awake, he sees Sariatu dressing his wounds.

“You…” Beetle gasps, giving a heartbroken smile as he reaches up to Sariatu’s face.

He realizes they're still at the Sun City Military Base, in one of its infirmaries.  

“Hanzo, please, if you move too much, it’ll open a wound.” Sariatu cautions Beetle.

“Hanzo…?”  For an instant, he’s confused why she's calling him that name.  Until he remembers…

“Tha-that’s right!  Hanzo!  I’m General Han- OW!” Hanzo winces as his abrupt sitting up re-opens a cut.

“Told you.” Sariatu chuckles wryly, gently lowering him to lie back down. 

"How did we get here?" He wonders, panting as the pain subsides.  "All I remember was falling into the water. That should've killed me."

"It should've killed us both, that's true." Sariatu explains.  "But I designed my suit for aquatic rescue.  It's not my first time, but it always damages my suit."

"Guess monkeys can swim after all." Hanzo jokes.

But his smile fades as he mulls over what he's discovered. 

"I have so many theories what might've happened the night you..." Sariatu's voice trails off.

"The night I died?" Hanzo finishes.  "I guess that's one way of putting it."

"I only saw my father rip the neural part of the suit." Sariatu theorizes.  "It was supposed to kill you.  But I think instead, he only succeeded in wiping your memories."

"I was Hanzo all along!  All these years, I could've come home" He whispers.  "I.. I didn't even know!"

"None of us knew." Sariatu solemnly comforts, stroking his stoic face. 

“For years, I read Samurai Beetle comics because they made me feel I was once part of something great.” Hanzo sighs.

“Funny, your past was literally under your nose, cover to cover, and you... you couldn’t remember.” Sariatu points out soberly.

"But that doesn't mean I can't make the most of it." Hanzo points out optimistically.  "Now that I remember you both."

But then it dawns on him: "Kubo!  Where's Kubo?" 

"I want to find him, too." She gently lowers him back onto the bed, worry creeping into her voice. "But you're in no condition to find anyone; I'll go find him."

"Nonsense!" Hanzo barks with indignation. "I've been away from my boy for too long."

His attention turns to the room across from the infirmary.  It's a lab housing old prototypes from back in the day.  And his favorite red one is still there in one piece. 

"And as for being in any condition to find him," Hanzo grins. "I just need a change of clothes."

 ________
Kameyo readies herself for the day ahead.  She hasn't seen Kubo lately, and it worries her.  But she has a suspcion he's all right.  Maybe it's because she's heard the bad guys who run Sun City have been taken down.  Maybe it's because of rumors of a Super named Ori-Gami, the new sidekick to White Monkey.  But she feels as though wherever he is, Kubo is as safe as could be.  

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Who could it be?  She answers the door and sees a strange young boy dressed as what appears to be a Super.  He looks rather somber, holding an unfolded sheet of red origami paper. He looks familiar, but she doesn't linger on the thought for long. 

"Why hello, young man!" Kameyo greets enthusiastically.  "Care to come inside?" 

The boy nods, and Kameyo welcomes him into her homestead.  She has a soft spot for lone children.

"You must be the Ori-Gami." She guesses.  "We've heard much about you.  You've certainly made a name for yourself.?"

He doesn't respond, instead taking in her wallpaper, patterned to look like the Japanese mountains.  And he's staring at the old cooking pot she keeps in her glass cabinet.  

"Wait... Where's.. your partner?" Kameyo's heart sinks at the boy's despondent expression.  She hopes something hasn't happened to the Champion of the People.  

Ori-Gami's gaze lowers sadly.  He doesn't need to say anything.  

"Is... is there anything I can do?" It feels like it's all she can do to keep from bawling over this sudden tragedy.

He simply points over to the cabinet.

"My cooking pot?" She tilts her head in confusion.  "I guess you can have it.  It's not a very good pot, but I still use it.  Did you know I found it the day after Samurai Beetle disappeared?" 

That gets a reaction out of him.  He practically perks up at hearing this.

"If you want, I can give it to you." 

A nod. 

He takes it rather graciously, as though it were the most holy of reliquaries. 

"...Would you like to keep it?"

Another nod. 

She doesn't understand what Ori-Gami could want with her old pot, but she won't question it.  This may as well be White Monkey's last request.

Before he leaves, she says what's been on her mind the whole time: 

"Kid, if you ever need a home, you're more than welcome here." 

"Thank you, Kameyo..."  He says in a familiar voice.
________

"Are you sure about this?" Sariatu questions, as her husband dons the neural mechanisms of the prototype.

"I may not know everything (or anything for that matter)" Hanzo assures.  "But I remember how I trusted this prototype with my life."

"Just promise me one thing." Sariatu whispers.

She gives him a kiss on the cheek, the kiss Hanzo didn't know he needed all these years.

"Hanzo, keep our son safe." Sariatu urges.  "No matter what." 

“I promise I will…”  General Hanzo smiles, bracing himself for the suit to reconnect with his nervous system.

As the suit’s components sharply inject themselves into his spine, he grimaces against the pain!  It feels like someone just thrust a sword into his back!  He clutches at his chest, expecting to feel an actual sword tip poking through it.

But once the pain passes, General Hanzo recognizes a familiar sensation: that’s not his hand on his chest.  He looks down to find the extra limbs from his suit have activated and are clutching his chest instead.

It's certainly a start.

 _______
"There is a place where the helmet lies, surrounded by glass, and guarded by mountains on all sides."  Kubo remembers these words from his dream the other night. 

Kubo now realizes (if tragically too late) that the old man in his dreams wasn't talking about the Sun City Military Base: he was talking about Kameyo's house! 

And perhaps, that old man wasn't just any old man.  But it's too late to settle the score; he doesn't even know where to find him.  All he can do is keep the armor by his side, and bide his time to defeat the Moon King.

But as fate would have it, a nearby radio broadcasts how the Mayor of Sun City has recently left on a summit meeting meant to make Supers legal again, as a gesture of peace.

Kubo's eyes light up a bit at hearing this announcement.  Now that he knows what to do, there's only one last step before he finds the Moon King: don the armor. 

Automatically, the suit pieces activate and attach themselves to Kubo, assembling all around him until he's firmly encased in an impenatrable, unbreakable, and invulnerable form.  

Small jets errupt from his back and, instinctively, Kubo flies across the sky, bent on ending the Moon King.

Outside the suit, it's a maelstrom of noise and wind and jet-fire as he soars through the air. Inside, it's silent...

Kubo resents that his home will have this same silence from now on, but all the more, it's fuel to the fire: he's going to settle matters with the Moon King once and for all...
_______
Hanzo is suited up.  He still doesn't remember his old life, but now he feels like his old self.  He looks over himself for a moment, his mind wandering to old memories of adventures long-forgotten. But Sariatu reminds him they're short on time.

"We have to find our son, remember?" She presses somewhat impatiently.

"Right! Right!" Hanzo nods from within the suit.

He lifts Sariatu into his arms.

"Now, where do you think you'd go if you lost your parents?" Hanzo asks.

Sariatu realizes the answer, as she looks in a certain direction on the horizon, a direction she knows so well:

"Home". 
_______

On the Deavors' boat, the EVERJUST, Kubo's grandfather prepares to leave.

His original plan was to pick off everyone on the boat and blame it on the Supers.  But he admires that this Evelyn girl has done his job for him.  

He may have to fake his own death in the process so as not to raise any suspicion, but he's no stranger to impersonating himself.  For generations, he's pretended to be a lost relative or an estranged son in order to continue his reign over Sun City.  Nothing will ever change. 

But before he can escape, his way is cut off by a sight he never thought he'd ever see again: Samurai Beetle!

Only, he looks different, all black and gold.  The figure leans close to his face and points and accusing finger as it declares:

"You shall pay for what you have done to me and my family!" A deep and robotic voice snarls at him.

"Hmmm, doo I know you?" The Grandfather is a bit confused, but not truly shocked or scared.

"It's me." The figure says after switching the voice modulator off, the voice becoming that of a 12 year old boy.

"Ah yes!  Hello Grandson." His voice is rather friendly, but there's a condescending inflection behind it.  "So good to see you, Kubo, so to speak. And I see you've found your father's new toy. Pity he never had the chance to play with it."

Hearing the villain chuckle at his joke causes Kubo to grit his teeth.  This fills him with rage, tormenting his soul with the grief of a family stolen from him!  Naturally, his response is nothing short of a metallic backhand to his grandfather's smug face!

...except it doesn't even leave a scratch on him.  He didn't even flinch!  Rather, he looks very cross. 

"I see you don't appreciate the pleasantries." The Grandfather seethes.  "Very well."

Before Kubo's eye, the mayor of Sun City transforms into a super villain.  Before him stands a towering, glowing blue figure of power, dressed in a mask and royal regalia!

"If it's a bad guy you want, a fight between good and evil, so be it..."

_______

It takes a few clumsy hours, but Samurai Beetle and Sariatu reach the village.  In Hanzo's defense, it's been years since he flew in an actual suit.  He's rather lucky he got in some practice from fighting Gashadokuro days ago.  

They rush towards the house and are hopeful to at least greet Kubo!  ...only to be greeted by silence and emptiness.  Where could he be?

Off to the side, Kameyo nearly drops her laundry when she spots Samurai Beetle.  Her squeeling and blubbering catches their attention.

"It's a miracle!" She cheers.  "Just as we lost our beloved White Monkey, Samurai Beetle returns!"

Instantly, the whole village is awash with villagers who dearly missed the insect hero.  Before Sariatu can get a word in edge-wise, she and Samurai Beetle are mobbed by long-time fans who crowd their resurrected Champion.

“Quite a morning!” Kameyo gasps in awe, entranced by the legend in their home town.  “First that super boy Ori-gami, and now Samurai Beetle, here!  In our own village!”

"Ori-gami??" Sariatu starts.

"Where did the boy go?" Samurai Beetle cuts through the crowd.

________

“Now how does this story end?”

“I kill you…”

TO BE CONTINUED...

Commentary: So you're probably wondering, why am I posting all these issues all at once?  Two words: Kevin Conroy.  I've often drawn each issue while marathoning "Batman the Animated Series", listening to each episode as I drew out the latest issue.  And I wanted to honor him the only way I could think of: finishing the "Incredi-Kubo" project.  

And coincidentally enough, it's on the 5th Anniversary of "Incredi-Kubo".

So, where to begin?  Well, the flower in the vase is a Lotus. According to Hanakotoba, Lotuses mean "Far from the one he loves, purity, chastity". That describes Kubo's grief in a nutshell, he's far from his parents (even if they are still alive in this version), and it's a pure, unromantic love.
And that's a Japanese Maple he's sitting under.

And while we're at it, let's address the elephant in the room: I spared Kubo's parents in this version.  I'm WEAK!  I couldn't find it in me to outright kill them!  I'm sorry!!  I love them too much as characters!  

But enough about that, I want to say I like how Super Samurai Beetle's pose came out when confronting Kubo's grandfather.  I was quite proud of how dynamic he came out.  

And most importantly, I loved drawing Kubo's glower towards his grandfather.  It's meant to drive home the intensity of Kubo planning to kill his grandfather.
Update: His glower was inspired by this image from "Trigun": tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php…

Enjoy!

(C) "Kubo and the Two Strings", Laika Studios
(C) "Incredibles 2", Pixar 

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AnaxErik4ever [2023-01-10 16:32:36 +0000 UTC]

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