Jump 1: Samurai Jack

Jump 1: Samurai Jack Age: 22 Origin: Drop-In Race: Human Location: Arabia Perks: Navigation Cooking [950] Acrobatics [900] Strategy [800] Animal Handling [700] Martial Arts [600] - Karate Melee Proficiency [400] - Swords, Spears, Clubs. Ranged Proficiency - Bow [0]

Items: Signature Outfit - Shirt, blue jacket, red scarf, jeans. Camping Equipment Motorcycle [200] Classic Weapon - Scimitar [50], Bow [0]

Drawbacks: Bloodless Violence [100]

I woke up with the taste of sand in my mouth and the feeling of a hot sun bearing down on my skin. The blistering heat felt like an extra ten pounds of weight pressing down on every cell in my body, and I found myself scrambling for some kind of water. Mercifully, I found a backpack and a full canteen on my person. Problem is, I don't remember getting these. Or a motorcycle, for that matter.

I checked my phone. No reception, and the battery is nearly dead. The time read 7:03 PM. The sun was bearing down on me from directly above. To say I was panicking would be an understatement...but I had enough sense to know that screaming into the abyss while in the desert on high noon is probably a bad idea.

I wonder if this motorcycle is all-terrain? Never rode one before.

Okay, I can safely say it is not all-terrain and I am very bad at driving motorcycles. It's like riding an angry bicycle with serious childhood trauma. Still, it's slightly faster than walking so I try to roll along with it. From the position of the stars, I know where north is, along with an idea of where to find civilization. I don't know how I suddenly know this. Or why I know I'll find an oasis or two along the path I'm taking. Like only half of my brain got the memo and my instincts were taking orders from it.

I'm too preoccupied with wanting to stay alive or find my way home to really care.

Eventually, I found a city in the middle of nowhere, that reminded me a little bit of Agrabah from Disney. Except...well, the camels were several hundred feet tall and there were plenty of strange, bipedal creatures going about their business, and some humanlike ones there, too. It was a while before I saw another human. I think that's about when I realized ‘alright, I’m not in

1/77 Kansas anymore.' I was familiar with the trope - someone being taken away from home and pulled into a new world, acquiring some new abilities to survive or thrive. But...

Well, wasn't there supposed to be some kind of reason for this? There was nothing special about me. No one showed up to explain this or why I suddenly knew things that should have taken years of training for a random first-world nobody like me. Had I just stumbled into a pothole somewhere, and ended up here...?

I didn't even know where ‘here’ was until I heard the name Aku being mentioned by some of the locals.

I also knew how to fight, now. A bar brawl taught me that much when some of the locals apparently didn't like the look of me. A little bit after, a group of riders invited me to join them. I guess they were impressed by me hitting some poor sap over the head with a table? Anyways, that's how I ended up in the desert equivalent of a gang. I didn't know what I was doing and I was honestly intimidated by both my situation and those around me, just going with the flow of things until I had enough sense to set off on my own the moment green land was in my sight.

And still, I did not know where to go, or where to find my way home. I only walked, fought, and tried to survive. I wasn't like Jack. I didn't fight off armies of robots. I usually hid, ran back, and kept to myself except when it was absolutely necessary.

Sometimes, when I stopped to listen, I could hear the ringing of bells.

Jump 2: The Evil Dead

Jump 2: The Evil Dead Origin: College Student Age: 24 Perks: “Groovy." Hail To The King, Baby [900] Name's Ash. Housewares. [700] Good. Bad. I'm The Guy With A Gun [400] Hero From The Sky [100]

Items: Oldsmobile Workshop [0]

Drawbacks: Just Cut Up Our Girlfriend...[500] Deadite Outbreaks [700]

Some people deal with things like an existential crisis, a dead-end job, or just having to wake up in the morning on a Monday. Meanwhile, I deal with the forces of evil possessing and/or killing all of my friends, except for Ash...who's kinda...well, twitchy after the whole experience. Did I mention this is happening every week and I still have to hold a job at S-Mart?

2/77 ...

More than that...I remember a whole other life, now. I remember wandering a desert and riding with twelve thieves. I remember a whole other life before this. Before I had to get used to the idea of fighting the Evil Dead, day in and day out, blood, guts, and bits and pieces that used to be people...

I'm...not a fan of violence. At least, not after this. I hope this stops soon. It can't get any worse, right?

Jump 3: Harry Potter

Jump 3: Harry Potter Origin: Muggle-Born House: Hufflepuff Family Wealth: Middle Class Perks: Dedicated Just and Loyal Setup Wizard [900] Most Potente Potions [750] The Only One He Ever Feared [550]

Items: Wand Pet Owl Flask of Felix Felicis [500] Dark Arts Cache [400] Potion Reagents [300] Goblin-Made Sword [0]

Drawbacks: Prophecy [500] Bully Teacher [600]

I remember, when I was a kid, I absolutely loved the Harry Potter series. The books, the characters, losing hours of time into my own imagination thinking about what life in Hogwarts would be like, using magic to make my own life easier or to get revenge on anyone who bullied me by doing things like making them stuck in the air...it was a childish thing, but it filled young-me with wonder and imagination. I attribute the series a lot to my own interest in literature and stories, even though I feel like I outgrew it years ago.

That's why I went into shock when I realized I was standing at Platform 9 3/4, and was back in the body of a smaller youth. I remember my last three ‘lives’, but right now, I was a young First Year wizard-to-be. In the distance, I think I could faintly see a certain lightning-scarred kid boarding the train a few doors down. I only snapped out of it when a crowd tried pushing past me, and I found myself dragged onto the Hogwarts express.

I've been thinking about my circumstances for a while. Like the fact I seem to keep living new lives, ending up in new worlds I recognized from my own. It's, uh...it's overwhelming, putting it

3/77 bluntly. I kept expecting to see cameras around the corner, some unseen audience watching me like a special edition of the Truman Show. But no one ever explained my predicament to me and I spent almost the entire last world fighting Deadites with whatever household tools I could get my hands on. Come to think of it, I've already seen more shit than most of these kids combined, and I'm pretty sure things are going to get bad pretty soon. Like, in a few years soon.

I contemplated running away. Just finding someplace to hide and let all of this be someone else's problem. But two things stopped me. One, the temptation of learning magic - something I had been fascinated with in my youth and beyond. Two...I remembered something. This is a place where magic exists and is at least studied with regularity. And there was someone here who could possibly help me. Someone familiar with how things like magic and curses worked.

I got sorted into Hufflepuff because, honestly, was I going to end up anywhere else? Not only was I not exactly naturally talented, but I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going with this new life of mine. I wasn't paying any attention to anything else right up until I got a moment of free time. At that point, I ran right for the Headmaster's Office.

...well, tried to. This castle is a bitch to navigate and the damn staircases change randomly. I had to give it about two days of attempts before I finally found my way there. Finally, I knocked on the door of Albus Dumbeldore's office. The door opened and a very curious old man was staring at me from his desk.

I hurriedly explained what was going on to him. He had to stop me a few times to tell me to calm down, slow down, and compose myself before I continued. I told him everything. The fact I was from another world, that I was much older than the life I was living right now. That I knew about this world from my own, and I didn't know how to stop any of this. I was out of breath by the time the wizened old sorcerer finally spoke up.

The only thing he asked was if I was carrying a key on me. I immediately checked my pockets, and...sure enough, there was a key. I didn't remember ever picking it up, nor did I even notice it up until now. Like it had only shown itself once I had tried looking for it. And then he asked me to hand the key over to him. I was a little skeptical, but I was the one who asked for help, so I did. He closed his hand and then opened it...the key was gone. And I felt something ‘clank’ in my right pocket. I reached back into it, and sure enough, the key was there.

“...but, what does that even mean?” I asked.

That's when Dumbeldore told me of a prophecy he had heard just one year prior:

Beware the one in crimson's shadow; The one foretold and seen - Turning gears, consuming legends; 'Neath the spokes of its machine. - Bearing paradox and cataclysm; Wandering where none can see - Opening the way beyond; The one who carries Heaven's Key.

It was...ominous, putting it bluntly. He told me that while he wasn't sure if he could do anything to actually ‘fix’ this, it wasn't a complete secret that there was something special or unusual about me...or at least, whatever was causing all of this. And that key painted a big bullseye on me, especially since I couldn't get rid of it or give it away. Albus promised he would do what he could to help and keep my secret, but otherwise, nothing had really changed. 4/77 I don't know who else he told, but I know Snape spoke in a condescending voice to me whenever I asked questions in class. Well, moreso than usual. The same sort of tone you used for someone with brain damage or a crippling learning disability. Either way, I did my best to act like...well, ‘myself’ in this world. Just being a kid in Hogwarts. I made friends. I learned magic. I barely paid any attention to what Harry and friends were up to. I was average, but good at study and potions.

Though, I did find a stack of strange books that looked very, VERY illegal. Like ‘go straight to Azkaban, do not collect 20 galleons’ illegal. I read through them and figured I understood it well enough, but I didnt' want to bother with such things. At least, that's what I thought until I realized how bad things were getting, and there wasn't much I could do to really stop it. I risked getting expelled or worse by trying to perform the Killing Curse on a bug.

Key word ‘tried’. I could never pull it off, not even once, the entire time I was here.

Once Voldemort had returned, I ended up being ambushed by some Death Eaters who attempted to recruit or capture me, promising me things if I gave them the key I was carrying. Naturally, I told them to fuck off shortly before running the hell away. They weren't expecting the random Hogwarts student to know how to fight using karate and a bow, that's for damn sure. I think I broke one's nose at some point. Not to say I did much of anything impressive, after that...I was in ‘Dumbeldore’s Army' and ended up getting dragged into the battle at the Ministry. I brushed with death so many times I felt the urge to give it a high-five with each pass. I was terrified. Absolutely and utterly terrified.

I lost more than one of the friends I had made here, despite my own efforts. I was just a little more savvy, a little more used to fighting...but I was no warrior. And I messed up more than once. But not enough to die. Just that sweet spot of being able to survive and having to live with ‘what could have been’. War isn't any prettier when people are waving glorified glowsticks at each other.

At the end, I just felt exhausted. I wasn't any closer to finding the truth or figuring out how to get back home, and I just knew that people would be after me and the key I was apparently bound to. What about it made others want it...? They could have it for all I care, but it doesn't seem like that's even possible unless I die...and I'm not giving up my life for them. Speak of, wanna know what I found when I actually used it?

[Cosmic Warehouse] Utulities: Electricity [140], Plumbing [130], Heat/AC [120] Structures: Shelves,Medbay, Housing, Terminal [70] Misc: Food Supply [60], Stasis Pod x2 [0]

[Bodymod] Body Type: Athlete [500] Stats: Speed 3 [100] Dexterity 3 [150] Appeal 1 [450] Sense 2 [350] Endurance 2 [250] Strength 1 [200]

Perks: 5/77 Flexibility 1 Metavore [0]

On top of that, there was a weird mess of gears in one corner that looked like they had been broken several dozen years ago. I wonder...is this the ‘machine’ that prophecy was talking about...?

Well. I guess I have to worry about it later. Right now, I need to say my goodbyes to my ‘parents’ and friends in this world. That's the least I can do for them, right...?

Jump 4: Nightmare on Elm Street

Jump 4: Nightmare on Elm Street Origin: Drop-In Age: 16 Perks: Sweet Dreams Lucid Dreamer [900] In My Dreams [700] Dreamless Sleep [400] I'm Into Survival [100]

Items: Merchandise 1428 Jumper Street [0]

So I've noticed something. Almost all of these ‘new worlds’ are definitely based on fiction from my own. Sure, things are progrssing in a slightly-logical fashion, but it feels like everything goes ‘the way it is supposed to’ when I'm not going out of my way to observe it. Not only that, but I seem to be being protected by something...each time I'm about to die or suffer some kind of body-destroying injury, something pulls me out of the fire at the last second. I don't want to try and test this theory, but it feels like...I don't know, I get a bit ‘better’ with each world I enter?

How do I know this?

Well, Freddy of all people showed up in my dreams at some point, to my own surprise. And to his surprise when I picked up my old scimitar in my dream and began to fight him mano-a- mano before I kicked him in the balls and then off a conveniently placed dream cliff. I doubt it killed him, but goddamn, was it hilarious. I don't even know if he was after my key or if he just got the wrong house or something.

I feel kinda bad I'm not in Harry Potter's world anymore, though. My magic probably doesn't work anymore. At least I've still got my karate, right?

Jump 5: Friday the 13th

Jump 5: Friday the 13th 6/77 Origin: Drop-In Age: 23 Perks: Common Sense Brave [900] Lucky [700] Deader Than Dead [400] Survivalist [300] Final Guy [0]

Items: Friday the 13th Collection

Drawbacks: He's Back! [500] Nightmares [600]

I'm sensing a theme, here. First it was Freddy, now it's Jason. What, is the fucking Terminator hiding in a tree somewhere while Predator mans a fucking hot dog stand? Unfortunately, Jason is a bit too much of a stonewall for me to just throw a few kicks at and hope to win a direct battle. My sword isn't tough enough for his undead hide, either. So a lot of this was me running the hell away and finding various ways to set him on fire before running away some more.

For some reason, this almost makes me nostalgic. Wonder if Ash is still doing alright...?

Jump 6: Freddy vs Jason vs Ash

Jump 6: Freddy vs Jason vs Ash Location: Elk Grove, Michigan Age: 25 Origin: Nightmare Warrior Perks: Survivor Arm Up [200] Monster Hunter [0]

Powers: Chosen One [700] +The King [300]

Items: Boomstick

Drawbacks: I've Been Here Before

I'm...wait, I'm back in the same world? I remember this place. This is where me, Ash, and the others all went before things got weird. The neighborhood is just like how I remember it, and...well, all of my friends from this life are still just as dead. I manage to track down Ash,

7/77 and he's a bit younger than I remember. Apparently, the long stretch of my last stay just didn't stick - it's only been a short time since the last incident with Deadites. Far as he knew, I just up and vanished one day and didn't come back.

We exchange stories and a few beers over what we've both been up to. He's still going to be looking for the Necronomicon and, with me having nothing better to do and not wanting to lose another friend due to horror or circumstance, opt to come with. Don't get me wrong, Ash is a tough bastard, but after shit like the Battle of Hogwarts, I'd feel like an asshole if I didn't at least TRY to help out. I'm kind of a shitty fighter in comparison, though...but hey, I'll do what I can.

Sure enough things get hairy in a hurry when we move over to the Super S-Mart and keep on searching for the book. Let me tell you the reactions of the two namesake foes when I entered the fray: Jason just vaguely grunted in my direction before we fought. Apparently I ate my wheaties that morning because I was actually doing damage this time - took his arm on my way out.

Freddy, meanwhile, took one look at me and yelled, “Not this chickenshit again...!” I think he might have held a grudge. Might.

Jump 7: Alien vs Predator

Jump 7: Alien vs Predator Location: LV-1201 Species: Human Background: Colonial Marine Perks: Frosty Tech-Head Soul of a Warrior [700] Bug Hunt [600] Check Your Six! [400] Exterminator [100]

Items: Sharp Sticks - M41A Pulse Rifle Motion Tracker [0] M3 Pattern Armor Bio-Mask Mesh Armor Wristcomp Melee Yautja Weapon - Dah'kte Ranged Yautja Weapon - Shuriken

You know, I'd like to be acting all cocky about this, how I was a warrior worthy of the mark of the Yautja, how I killed more than a few xenomorphs with my bare hands singlehandedly, and how I managed to finally find my way home. But...I've been fighting, fighting, and fighting and firing gun after gun after gun for so many years now and I don't know how much more of it I can take. Sure, I'm a badass, but...god damn it, this is getting me nowhere and I know it!

8/77 Semper Fi, I suppose. Anyways, I need to help Harrison on this glaringly obvious suicide mission and make sure our squad gets out alive. Preferably more alive than the other saps who cross paths with a bunch of hostile aliens in one day.

Also did I mention that being on a ship in deep space basically makes me a vomitorium? Because it does. Uuuuugh.

Jump 8: Judge Dredd

Jump 8: Judge Dredd Origin: Veteran Judge Age: 33 Perks: Mega City Municipal Code Basic Unarmed Combat and Marksmanship Gravel Pit [950] The Visor [900] Judge Advanced Unarmed Combat [800] Advanced Marksmanship [700] Jury [600] Executioner [400] Negotiator [0]

Items: The Badge Judge Uniform+Armor Plus+Comms Plus [200] Lawgiver Lawmaster Bike Hall of Justice Database [100]

Drawbacks: Sink or Swim

Well. I guess that's what I get for opening my big mouth. I ask for less violence, I get even more. This time I'm a years-long veteran of the Judges, and have plenty of memories of hearing about or working alongside Dredd. So, yeah. I get to deal with criminals and a city full of corruption and awful daylight executions on top of everything else. Great.

Of note, something goes a bit...kooky during a drug bust. One of the vagrants in the complex we were raiding pointed and laughed at me. Screaming ‘the machine has you’ and other weird things. I would've interrogated them, but the rookie I was in charge of that day richoted a shot off into them when he tried to shoot something with heavy armor. Idiot.

Jump 9: Terminator

Jump 9: Terminator Timeline: 1990-Judgement Day [900] 9/77 Origin: Drop-In Age: 23 Perks: Smash Those Metal Motherfuckers Most Paranoid Delusions are Intricate [850] Thank You, Jumper, For Your Courage Through The Dark Years [750] Hey, Wait! You Swore! [550] No Fate But What We Make [150]

Items: M-27 Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle [50] Your Clothes, Your Boots...[0]

Drawbacks: Nothing Dead Will Go [350]

...eeeeeh, fuck it. Might as well enjoy it. At least I'm not under someone's jurisdiction this time around. I'm not a hundred-percent sure where and when I am until I catch sight of a certain Austrian man being chased by a very cold-looking cop with liquid shapeshifting.

Well, I already know what to do, then. Time to protect John Connor and fight the T-1000. But before that, I need some appropriate music for this time period!

[Cue Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild.]

There we go.

Jump 10: Doom 2016

Jump 10: Doom 2016 Origin: Drop-In Location: Hell - Great Steppe Perks: Combat Training Pathfinder Hell Devours the Idolent [900] What Do You Mean “Reload?” [800] If You Want a Job Done Right...[500] Praetorian [200] Prophecy of the Seraphim [100]

Items: Crate of Guns Super Shotgun [0] Chaingun [0]

Drawbacks: Too Late [200] Locks and Locks and Locks...[400]

10/77 >"GIVE US THE KEY!"

I didn't know it at the time, but that's what the demons were bellowing when they went running for me. En masse. And here I was, in the middle of Hell, with a lot of guns, grit, and a determination to survive. And sometimes, that's all you need. Of course, it also helps if you run into the fray screaming at the top of your lungs like a Viking on hyper-meth.

Rip and tear.

Jump 11: Metal Gear

Jump 11: Metal Gear Age: 16 Timeline: [Free Pick!] 1972 Origin: Combat Unit [900] Perks: Marksman 10-year Vet [800] IT'S NOT OVER YET [600] CQC [300]

Items: Signature Weapon Burkov Water Gun An Explosion?! [100] Arms Material MRS-4R [0] Naked Camo Civilian Clothes The Box x4 What Was That Noise?

I'm so sick of fighting. But somehow, I've ended up under the flag of Big Boss himself. I'm not as enthusiastic as I was before when it comes to teaming up with people I like. I've been a Judge, a demon-slayer, a marine, and a goddamn retail supermarket employee. When does it stop? When does it end? I'm built like a tank, I have the grit and the skill to outfight the best of them on the opposite side of some screaming lead ripping through the air. So where's my prize? When does it all stop? What is this Key and the stupid Warehouse its connected to actually mean? And more importantly, where's the fucking ‘off’ button?

The most I can bring myself to do is to keep XOF from destroying the original Mother Base by exposing Huey as a traitor and personally going on a manhunt for Skull Face before his own game gets rolling. It's a one-man assault mission, but at this point, that's my bread and butter.

He didn't get back up.

After that, though? I walk out of MSF. I put my guns down and put myself miles away from a battlefield. I disappear as best I can, opting to hide out in England as a local hobo. Somehow, that house I had from all those years ago followed me here, on that quaint street on 1428.

11/77 Jump 12: Resident Evil

Jump 12: Resident Evil Origin: Law Official Location: Spain Age: 25 Perks: Keen Eye Off The Walls [1800] Reasonable Authority Figure [1600] STARS Training [1300] Hypnos Gene [1000] Anti-Bodies [400] Key Genes [300]

Items: Personal Kit Body Armor PC356 Badge STARS Training Manual [250] Heckler and Kosh MP5 [200] Splice It In [0]

Virus: [1200 GP] My Works Are Superb - ‘Revelation’ Infection Method - Waterborne Activation Requirement: Contact with Bloodstream Pigmentation [1150GP] - Pale Brain Case [1050GP] Mental Clarity [850GP] Null and Void [650GP] Controlled Infection - All Humans [550GP] Infection Time: Delayed [50GP] Themed Grouping - Cat ears and eyes. [400GP], plus tail [0GP] Adonis [200GP] Sculpted - Petite, effeminate [100GP]

Drawbacks: Road To Godhood [1300] Strapped for Cash [1500] Bounty [1600] Corporation Games [1900]

...I don't know what this bottle is for or what I'm supposed to do with it, but I get the feeling it's not Cherry Kool-Aid. I'm just gonna stick it in the fridge of my Warehouse and hope it doesn't bother me. Anyways! I'm law enforcement again, on the mean streets of Barcelona. I'm going to be cleaning up the crime on these streets and-

12/77 Um. Okay. There's zombies involved now. And okay, now people are shooting at me. Those are definitely snipers and those bullets are tranquilizers. Alright. We're off to a great start here. I was kinda hoping to not be a dirty cop in a totalitarian world this time around, or some kind of mercenary on a desperate manhunt to preserve his own life BUT YOU KNOW I'M JUST NOT ALLOWED TO FUCKING HAVE NICE THINGS. NOW EVERYONE IS A FUCKING ZOMBIE AND PEOPLE ARE OUT FOR MY BLOOD.

It doesn't take long for me to figure out who's behind this. Man with world's worst haircut, Albert Wesker, is gunning for me personally. I only figured that out after ‘interrogating’ one of the mercenaries he sent after me. There was one who kept escaping to fight me another day, too - this midget in a butterfly costume armed with a minigun I'm pretty sure was too big for him to carry. Apparently he went by the name Adonis. And he's an asshole. The sort of asshole who monologues everytime he shows up behind booby-trapped bulletproof glass.

After what I can only describe is Day of the Dead cross-country edition, I finally track Wesker down to his personal facility. Unfortunately, this is where I overestimated my ability to out- think him, because then he caught me in a trap and sicc'd a Cyberdemon-sized BOW at me. And then after I finished that one off, he sent in about ten more. All while I had very limited ammo to work with. So that was fun. But I was out of ammo and Adonis, who was on Wesker's personal payroll, got a bunch of automated turrets to corner me while I taunted him behind glass.

I was about ten-thousand percent done with this bullshit and right when I screamed at him to shut up, the glass he was leaning against vanished from existence. He tripped, fell and ended up impaling himself on weirdly-placed building architecture. I stared in shock for a moment before something in my memory was jogged. That was something Harry did when he first found out he had magic. I had just used magic. MY MAGIC HAD FUCKING FOLLOWED ME.

Revitalized, I ducked into my Warehouse, grabbed the wand, and went to work. I had forgotten most of my old spells by now but I remembered enough to be able to confront Wesker. Sure enough, he went into a villain rant that lasted quite a while - he had beefed himself up with some kind of super-virus meant to fight me, something he had been preparing for since I arrived. Inbetween all the ranting about how most of the human population was garbage and how the strong should thrive, he talked about the Key I was carrying.

>"You see, Anon, you carry the key to ultimate power. The greatest device ever made in the history of all time and space...the World Engine. If only you knew of its true potential...!"

The World Engine. I finally had a name for the force that had abducted me and carried me to other worlds. I tried to coax more answers out of Wesker, but it seems beyond the whole ‘ultimate power’ thing, he didn't know or give half a rat's ass about my own predicament. Figures, right? Goddamn supervillains. Eventually I managed to kill him by dropping him ass- first into the mouth of a volcano the aircraft we were fighting in (long battle, long story) we hovering over.

The day was saved...except, not really. Wesker had already unleashed several viruses across Europe, Africa, and Central America just trying to capture or kill me. I did my best in the clean- up efforts, but I didn't have any way to actually prevent the biohazard, and every pharmaceutical corporation was after the same secret that Wesker was. Because that was somehow common knowledge, I guess!

It only got worse when I was helping man a barricade for a shelter and ended up hallucinating a revived Wesker approaching me, taunting me about my lack of knowledge and how little I 13/77 deserved the ‘gift’ I was given. I yelled at him to shut up, and my magic would misfire and blow up said barricade. I managed to fight off the ensuing hordes, but the damage was done - the blame was placed on me and I was cast out.

...so I'm...a century-long warrior and vigilante who has walked in many lives, fought off armies, and fired more bullets than most armies do in a single battle. I can do anything, it seems, except find my way home. And I know Harry Potter magic. That's definitely...well, freaky.

I hope it stops, someday.

Jump 13: Heathers

Jump 13: Heathers Origin: No-Name Kid Age: 17 Perks: Dang Dang, Diggity Dang Dang! Always on The Move Ich Luge Bullets Drain Cleaner Mix-Up [900] Holy Shit! Holy Shit! Holy Shit! [700] Our Love Is God [500] Say Hi To God [200] Fight The Urge to Strike A Match [0]

Items: Infinite Slushies

I wake up on my desk in the middle of high school. I immediately know that I'm a student and nothing out-of-the-ordinary happens. The first thing I do is let out a long sigh of relief. After everything I've suffered through, a few years in high school is something I can deal with. I don't even give half a shit about the Heathers or teen angst, I just want to fucking relax.

Ram and Kurt tried to antagonize me a little at some point. I broke their noses and fingers on reflex, stopping short of actually killing them. I had to put effort into stopping myself - murder and violence have been my bread and butter for so many years, it takes every inch of me to fight those instincts. I get detention for a week.

I think one of the Heathers tried hitting on me once or twice. I ignored them. Tried to remind myself the sound of locker doors closing and lunch trays hitting the ground aren't something to react towards. Weeks pass. Kurt and Ram turn up dead not long after a Heather does. I don't really care. And then I hear an explosion out in the football field, and I nearly cave some poor nerd's skull in out of reflex, and tried firing a gun I wasn't holding. I got two weeks detention and a pending lawsuit that doesn't go anywhere. I'm given a crackpot therapist. I tell them everything I've experienced. They note me as delusional and that I'm suffering from Middle School Syndrome.

Spent at least a week out of school and in my Warehouse. Constantly reloaded and unloaded all of my guns individually. Contemplated going hunting for criminals in town. Decided against

14/77 it. Everyone's scared of me. Especially me.

I'm a badass. A gun-toting, one-liner spouting one-man army who could live through the absolute worst and come out smelling like roses. So shouldn't I feel good about that? Shouldn't I not be jumping at my own shadow, and taking joy in the fact I get just a bit tougher as time goes on, with each world I enter...?

I guess I'd be if it actually made me any happier. But I just want to lay my head down and rest.

Jump 14: Kamen Rider Showa Part 1

Jump 14: Kamen Rider Showa Part 1 Origin: Drop-In Age: 21 Perks: Badass Biker Breaking the Language Barrier Would You Like Some Cheese With That Ham? [900] Jumper, Friend! [800] Call of the Wild [600] Wild Child [300]

Items: Basket of Fruits Gogo Armlet [0]

Kill or be killed. That is the rule I've lived by for over a century, now. My body is accustomed to violence, my ears tuned to the sound of guns, my hands lovingly familiar with the impact of bone against bone. Those who do not know me consider me a madman. Those who do speak a single curse at me and fight me with all of their greed and drive: “Give me the Key.”

Here isn't any different. I woke up with a strange artifact tied to my arm. When I said the word, I turned into a mighty beast. The transformation is...strange. Exhilarating. Primal. Difficult to control myself. It's not as if I'm in danger of turning into a monster...rather, it feels like it lacks the hesitation and self-doubt I'm plagued by. Like an animal that knows its place in nature - to kill to survive, but no more than that, and no less. It's almost liberating.

I don't bother trying to re-adjust to society. The wild feels like my home more than anywhere else, now. I'm assaulted by monsters each day, each of whom say some variation of that same curse. So there's no point in trying to in the first place, right? If they're all looking for a place to die, I'll be happy to show them the door.

...still, I feel compelled to emerge from that place, sometimes. There are normal people who are threatened by these monsters. I can't ignore them, no matter how hard I try. Why? I know it won't make much of a difference in the long haul. And I always have to leave them behind, one way or another, before something else goes wrong or something new hunts me. But, still...well, it doesn't matter. After all, violence is my most constant companion. And I've plenty to share with these kaijin and their banner ‘Shocker’ in all its forms. So. Here I am. Come and get me.

15/77 A-MA-ZOOOOOOON!

Jump 15: Batman - The Animated Series

Jump 15: Batman - The Animated Series Origin: Drop-In Perks: Timm Design Gimmick Put a Smile On Their Faces Madman Nightmare [900] Multiple-Choice Past [800] ...And The Jumper Got Away! [600] One Bad Day [400] Joker Immunity [100]

Items: Costume Puddin's Pie

Powers: Yellow-Skinned Wacky Man - No appearance change [0]

Drawbacks: Past Tragedy x2 [300]

>Dude, take it from me, get the fuck out of Gotham. What? No, forget the Bat. The Bat will break your bones and ruin your day, but you know, he's at least got the decency to leave you in one piece! I don't know when it started, but there's this...thing that shows up from the sewers. Looks like some kind of lizard and whenever it shows up, it rips people like you and me to pieces. I was running with a bunch of small-times who robbed this house downtown, right? Next thing we know something jumps out of the corner and rips Paul, our muscle, into four different pieces. Everyone opened fire on the bastard and not a single shot actually hurt it. I watched it tear off the arms of one of my buddies, and then shoved a...some kind of claw through the brain of our boss. The thing grabbed me by the neck and I swear to God, I thought it was my last day on Earth, and then it said something to me.

“Tell your friends.”

>Then he just...let me go and left. They say he's going after The Joker next, and I don't know about you, bu I don't wanna be in the same state when those two cross paths. I feel like they're gonna take a whole lot of people with them, no matter who loses. Trust me, just pack the fuck up and leave. I'm not staying in town with that monster skulking around.

Jump 16: Kamen Rider Heisei Part 1

Jump 16: Kamen Rider Heisei Part 1 16/77 Origin: Unknown Amnesiac Perks: Nice Boat Good Cook “Luck” [1200] Goofy Innocence [1100] Awakening [900] Psychic [700] Seed of Light [400] Wandering [300] Myself [100] First Responder [0]

Items: “It's Kuuga!”

Drawbacks: Repainted Legends This Is Serious, Right? [1100] Why Would Anything Easy Happen? [1300]

>"I swear, I saw him, Ichijou! He didn't look anything like the other Unidentified Life Forms. He looked more like...like a big lizard! He was really fast and snarling and acting like he was looking for a fight. But...the whole time, he didn't attack anyone else. He just went right for the other Life Forms and then ran off when I tried to talk to him. He didn't even try to hurt me when I was Kuuga! It was strange. It was like he was scared of me. He'd just look at me for a few seconds and then head off on the other direction. I was thinking, maybe this was a weird one, like how Kuuga is. But...

>Well, first weird thing is when people were being killed out in the open. I saw him use his body as a shield to protect a mother and her child, taking the attacks head on. And then, when they tried to thank him, he didn't react and just ran away, just like when he saw me. I think...I don't think this is one of them. He's not acting like a monster or a killer. It's more like he's scared of everyone and everything. Like he's never had a friend or knows how to make one. I'd really like to talk to him again, someday. I hope I can."

-Godai Yusuke, AKA Kamen Rider Kuuga

Jump 17: Kamen Rider Heisei Part 6+7

Jump 17: Kamen Rider Heisei Part 6 - Kabuto Origin: Drop-In Perks: Grandmother Once Said... The Jumper Who Rules Everything [0]

Items: Here I Am - Import Agito Driver[700] Lord of the Speed [200]

17/77 Jump 18: Kamen Rider Heisei Part 7 - Den-O and Kiva Origin: Prodigal Child Perks: Blood Ties - Fangire Noble Art - Piano Break The Chain [900] The King's Sentence is Given [800] Shout In the Moonlight [600] Supernova [300] Roots of the King [0] Just Passing Through [0]

Items: Jumper Wars - Combine two previous Drivers, then combine with Kivat [100] Mashin Mao Baku Baku [100i] Castle Jadoran [0i] [300]

Drawbacks: Time Trippin' Ride Walking Disaster [300] Blessed be the Meek [400] Did You Say Cry?! [500]

>A Kamen Rider without a name...how troublesome. >He's killing off the remains of the Fangires and the other monsters of the night without mercy. And then he just vanishes again. Some say he's the strange hobo with the glazed look in his eyes. Others say he's a regular at a nearby coffee shop. Either way, there's no real hint to his true identity...he's good at hiding himself. >The notes Shocker left behind call him ‘The Avatar of the World Engine’ or ‘The Holder of Heaven’s Key'...but aside from being a vicious and dangerous combatant, I fail to see what's worth sending our personnel in droves to die to him. >We will file these notes away for a later date, and passively observe this phenomenon for the time being. >...hm? Someone else is looking for him? Who?

Jump 18: Kamen Rider Neo-Heisei Part 1

Jump 18: Kamen Rider Neo-Heisei Part 1 Origin: Inquisitive Perks: Making an Impression Terra-fying Let's Start The Lookup [900] Born From Mother Earth [700] Knowledge Is Power [400]

Items: Cool Jacket and Shades [100i] Legend Rider Movie Belt - Combine Lost Driver with other Driver. [0i]

18/77 Digging Tools Infinite Cake Ingredients Lost Driver [0]

Companions: L'etranger [0]

Drawbacks: Let's Go Kamen Riders Unleash the Greeed - Wolf[200] Rider WTF? [300]

>Someone arrives, holding a paper in her hand. Finally, she's found the place she's looking for. The numbers 1428 on written on the crumpled note. Her poncho sways lazily in the wind as she walks up to the front door. >Once, she knocks. Twice, she knocks. >There's no answer. >She knows this is the right place, and tries again. Finally, a tired voice answers. “Who is it?” >"I heard this was your home, so I came to finally see you again!" A short pause. “...who are you?” >"Hm? You don't remember me? Well, I guess that's a problem..." “Whoever you are, go away.” >"I can't, not ‘til I’ve seen you smile!" “...smile?” >"I swore I'd find you and I'd make you smile. So I'm not leaving!...also, ah...I kinda don't have money for a hotel and it's really cold outside. So could you please let me in~?" The gloomy man then locked the door, the latch audible to her ears. Still, her sunny smile didn't fade away. >"That's okay, I can wait! I came prepared!" The man peered out the window about an hour later to see a strange dark-haired girl setting up a tent and a small campfire in his front yard. She was humming a song as she roasted some fish over the flame, and had hung up several sets of underwear on sticks to dry. He stared, briefly, in curiosity and bewilderment before retreating back into the inside of his house. “I told you to get lost.” >Days have passed and she's still waiting outside, and has claimed a section of the yard for herself. There's a flag of underwear up there somewhere, to his disgust and confusion. >"Not until I see you smile!" “Who even are you...?! How did you find me?!” >"I'll tell you if you come outside and let me see your face!" “GO AWAY!”

The man has only known adversity and violence for such a long time that he has no idea how to react to this very determined woman. His first idea is that this was a deception, and she was some sort of spy sent by Shocker or others to try and get to the ‘Key’ he carried. But something about the goofy earnestness she carried made him second-guess that. He decides to be rid of her, and transforms using his Blood Ties. The door unlocks, and he steps outside and lets out a bestial roar, his claws bared in front of the girl as he crouched in an animalistic posture, giving all the body language of a beast about to kill its prey. >The girl just smiled and poked him where his nose would be. There was no fear in her eyes or her body. “That's cheating, silly.” The man stared in bewilderment. Then he slammed the door shut again. This continued for 19/77 weeks.

Tired and without the ability to scare or the will to actually harm the stranger, he finally asks. “Why are you doing this...? Is this some sort of prank?” >"Mmm...you really don't remember, huh?" “I've forgotten more than you'll ever know.” >"Aaaw, that's mean. But...many years ago, someone saved my life. Someone everyone was scared of. I saw his face, and I noticed how sad he looked. I wondered, how could someone who saved lives and protected me look so sad? And I thought...well, maybe that person didn't have anyone to protect them, or someone to look after them when things were bad." ... >"So, I thought...well, I'm all by myself now. And you're all by yourself too, right? No one else came to visit or say hello. And that's not good. So, um...I wanted to make you smile, you know? Just once. And maybe, if it was alright, I could get to know the person who saved me all those years ago? Life's really short, you know. It's bad to go through all of it without something or someone to be happy about, right?" ... >"...ahaha, yeah, it's kinda silly, isn't it? A little. >"M'hm." ... The door unlocks. “You'll catch a cold out there.” Her eyes lit up and she practically ran inside like a bullet. ...I guess I've made a friend.

Jump 19: Generic Wuxia

Jump 19: Generic Wuxia Place: A Generic Wuxia Setting Origin: Drop-In Age: 24 Perks: Drunken Fist Tiger Style [900] Adaptability [500] Ki Accumulation [300] Buddha's Palm [100]

Items: Student - Import L'etranger [0] -Monkey Style Beautiful Garments [50] Zhong Yi [0]

Drawbacks: You Look Tired, Wanderer [100]

There is more in the world than I could have ever dreamed of. I've been fighting and killing for such a long time, that I had forgotten how to live as a man. Jealously guarding my own jailor

20/77 from those who understood it better than I did, in fear they would hurt me or others if they claimed ‘Heaven’s Key'. So I ran, and hid, and fought, and killed anyone who dared approach me. And in the years that passed, I had truly become a monster - a beast in the shape of a man. Losing sight of myself, of the worlds around me, and any hope of returning home. Then, she appeared before me.

Kaori Kizume.

She tells me I had saved her life many years ago, in the last world. I tried to remember the incident she described, but...I had assaulted so many villains or Kaijin that tried to murder civilians as easily as breathing, only barely remembering the faces of those who had been saved as a result. I hadn't given the much thought at all. But she, too, was alone now. And despite that and the burdens she carried, she greeted life with cheer and a smile I struggled to be able to follow.

The rage and fear I had carried for so many years...for my abduction, the continuing change of my body and growth into something unrecognizable, had finally been tempered. I re-learned how to hold conversation and to live peacefully. While I could never completely escape my own nightmares and sins, there was finally someone who neither feared me nor sought to use me. I had thought it was but a passing dream. A moment of peace in my eternal Samsara, where I would continue to live new lives...likely forever. Never seeing home.

But that light followed me.

It was a shock, to both of us. It had never happened before. She was just a bit younger than before, just like I was, and could remember new martial arts styles. I was distressed, worried, anxious. But she assured me that it was fine, because it meant we could continue or own travels and talks. After all, she didn't carry anything on her except the clothes on her back and several dozen extra sets of underwear. It took me a little while to get over it. But...someone was with me, now. Kaori was with me, on this strange journey.

That was when, knowing what I may see and what I may do, I decided to finally temper the rage and the sorrow in my heart. I can't just lament in self-pity or lose myself to my base instincts anymore. It's true. I've killed dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands by now. Sometimes to protect myself. Sometimes out of hate for a foe only I perceived. But if someone believed in me...and if this fate truly isn't my burden alone...then I can't let myself be lost anymore. No matter what I become, no matter what power or item I acquire, I will live as a man. I will master myself, do good where my arms can reach, but no further.

And never again, will I lose myself to rage and hatred.

>This entire speech was interrupted about twenty-different times by random ninjas attacking before being defeated via staff, flying kicks, and slow motion backhands.

Jump 20: Rurouni Kenshin

Jump 20: Rurouni Kenshin Origin: Wanderer: Age: 23 Perks:

21/77 Distant Sky Shinsoku [700] A Wandering Fool [600] The Will To Live [400] Man Slayer [100] Identifying Scar - Scar that traces from left brow to upper lip, crossing along the nose. Warrior's Spirit Unique Style

Items: A Good Blade Meiji-Era Clothing Traveler's Bag

Companions: Destiny - Nah A Single Not-Samurai [0] Kaori Kizume Origin: Citizen Perks: Honest Work, A Tender Heart [100], Like A Fox [0], Warrior's Spirit, Unique Style

Drawbacks: Oro? [200]

... >"..." ... >"Soooo...what's the fox mask for, big, tall, and broody?" ... >"This doesn't help the whole ‘learn to talk to people again’ thing, you know. Come on, take it off. I won't laugh, I promise." ... >"Look, if it's about the scar, nobody will really mind. I promise. It actually looks kinda cute on you, really!" ... >"...STOP IGNORING ME DAMN IT!" >The mask falls off, revealing Jumper is fast asleep. >"...oh." >"..." >Kaori quietly uncaps a sharpie marker she had carried with her for just such an occasion.

Jump 21: Katanagatari

Jump 21: Katanagatari Origin: Wild Man Age: 19 Location: [Free Pick!] Shogun Centre Perks: One Liner

22/77 Boy Beast Judge Me Not Cheerio! [1200] Simple Is As Simple Does [1100] New Sword Style [900] The Unchained Beast [700] Swordbreaker [400] Wild Red Beast [100]

Items: Training Tool

Companions: Import x1: Kaori [50] Origin: Wild Woman Perks: One Liner Girl Beast Judge Me Not Simple Is As Simple Does [500] Wild Red Beast [200] The Unchained Beast [0]

Drawbacks: Caveman [1200] It's All The Same To Me [1300]

>Imagine if you will, a samurai drama about deception and tragedy, and a tale that is woven over the course of a journey. >Now imagine that journey taking a backseat to these two idiots completely failing at not making a social faux pas in a very important city and then running for their lives as fast as they possibly can.

Jump 22: Konosuba

Jump 22: Konosuba Origin: Rogue Age: 20 Race: Humanoid (Human) Perks: The Way This World Works - Advanced Class: Monk [900] To The New World Stop That Thief! Scumper [800] Team Building Exercise [600] Eris Blessing [400] Miracle Man [100]

Items: Adventurer Card

23/77 A Place To Stay Big Book of How Things Work [0] Bag of Eris [0]

Companions: Import: Kaori [50] Origin: Priest Race: Humanoid (Human) Perks: The Way This World Works - Advanced Class: Arch-Priest [500], Confession, Selectively Religious, Natural Winner [300], Holy Hexes [0] Items: Adventurer Card, Aquahol

Drawbacks: Dearth of Eris [100]

>Two men, one teenager and another a young man, drunkenly laugh and toast over their mutual grievances. Aahahaha...I swear, Kazuma, you're the only one here who gets me. >"I was gonna say that to you! You have no idea how great it is someone else sees how this whole ‘lost in another world’ thing is a load of crap! The other guy from Japan I ran into was as dumb as a sack of bricks." "The guy who's useless without his sword, right?" >"Yeah, that guy! He's got several girls all fighting for his attention, too, and you know what he's pining for? Aqua! AQUA, OF ALL PEOPLE!" Wow, that's some pretty bad taste right there. >"I know, right?! Let me tell you - having a bunch of women in the party with you as the only guy isn't as fun as anime says it is. They're all problem children and I keep having to figure out how to get things to work while they keep doing stupid things! If I could trade them for a bunch of generic characters who just did their jobs right, I'd do it in a heartbeat!" Well, wouldn't know about that. I only travel with one girl. I don't think that'd ever be a problem for me. >"You kidding? You've got the whole ‘scarred from the face bishonen bad boy’ look!" See, the way it works is...wait, really? Is that how my face looks? >"When was the last time you looked in a mirror, man? You look like you jumped right out of a manga." ...huh. Well, that's weird. But yeah I don't have any women troubles. Just, uh...woman troubles. >"You mean that priestess who's always around you?" Yeah, Kaori. She's a nice girl, but god damn, it is hard to keep up with her sometimes! She keeps running off to explore the new worlds we end up in and I have to protect her every step of the way! I mean, she can fight too, but I'm the muscle of us two, right? So I keep having to help her when she gets into trouble or decides we need to help out random locals! It drives me crazy, sometimes. >"Oh. Didn't she go off with Aqua earlier? Yeah, I...think...so... >"..." ... The both of us promptly paid the tab with only half the amount of Eris needed and ran off.

Jump 23: Sword and Sorcery

24/77 Jump 23: Sword and Sorcery Origin: Drop-In Age: 29 Location: The Blasted Wastes Perks: To Truly Live [950] A Well Traveled Road [900] Call to Greatness [750] Lost and Forgotten [600] The Heart of Man [300] The Making of Myth [0]

Items: A Wanderer's Cloak

Companions: Brothers Old and New x2 [0] Import: Kaori Origin: Thief Perks: The Trade of Thieves, The Charm of Rogues [850], For Want of a Nail [700], Feet Like Wings [400], Whims of Fortune [100] Items: A Thief's Satchel, A Swift Dagger [0]

New: Atticus of Barton Origin: Sorcerer Perks: One of the Wise, A Scholar's Treasure [850], The Arcane Craft [700], To Call Forth [400], To Treat With Spirits [250], Items: An Arcane Chamber [50], An Occult Tome, A Valued Steed [0]

Drawbacks: The Nail That Sticks Up [200] Branded and Shamed [400] A Selfish World [500] A Cruel World [600]

This is when things became complicated.

Before the jump began, I found myself pondering the broken gears hidden behind the walls of the Warehouse. It was the only physical clue I had - ‘The World Engine’, a strange device that was somehow responsible for my abduction. The key I held, ‘Heaven’s Key', was apparently the way to access it...and everyone wanted it. Like it was some kind of omnipotent wish granter, the sort of thing you'd see heroes of myth fighting over just to possess it. I'd honestly be happy to give it away and just go home, but it seems the only way to separate me from it is to kill me - and most of the types who are after that kind of thing aren't the people I'd trust the idea of ultimate power to. So, reluctantly, I've guarded this ‘Heaven’s Key' and my own life, just on the idea I may find my own way home eventually.

But it's been over two-hundred years. I have no clues, no leads, no idea of what to do. And so I stared into the gears, wondering to myself. “This is you, you, all you...what could you possibly be?” I asked the fragment of the great machine, but received no answer. Without a reply, I stepped outside and greeted the wastes outside of the small ruined tower we had found in the empty plains. Kaori was trying on a variety of hats she had saved from the last world, having been waiting for me to step out into the open. With that, we began to wander, while Kaori told 25/77 me all about her new memories as a thief and told me about the times she stole knick-knacks from random nobles.

The first thing is that...well, everyone here was an asshole. When we finally found civilization, there was not one or two but several ambitious adventurers who were after the Key. Someone had been whispering promises of wealth, eternal youth, and other such banal things to them if they could kill me and take it from me. So once again, I had to fight to protect both myself and Kaori. It was standard fare by now, and while I did my best to avoid killing our opponents, they were not keen on showing me that sort of mercy. We were constantly on the run, until we encountered...him.

He stood strarkly out of place from everyone and everything else. A man about my height with a tuft of messy white hair, his skin as pale as snow and a soft red glow around his eyes. He did not bring minions or weapons, merely greeting us out in the open. The first words out of his mouth, and the sheer weight of his presence, alerted me to the sort of person I was about to face:

“Avatar. It is time you gave the Key to someone more worthy of its gifts.”

There was arrogance his voice, but also the sort of self-assuredness that made it clear: That pride could be backed up. We fought. And we were evenly matched. Before, I would take scratches and bruises. Now my limbs were at risk and I found myself bleeding out on the desert sand. His fists were able to match mine blow-for-blow, using techniques and skills I didn't recognize. It was only once I was tired and running out of ideas that he stopped being defensive, striking at me and tearing a hole into my belly.

This is normally when the story would end from me dying. But at the last moment, the sand came alive around us and a gigantic serpent emerged from it, a man in blue robes riding on top of it and causing the serpent to attack my nameless foe. This was around when I passed out from the blood loss and my injuries. I awoke about a day later to find Kaori looking over me worriedly, while the sorcerer stood opposite of her.

Introductions were made - our savior was named Atticus of Barton. He too, was after Heaven's Key...though not to claim it for himself. Rather, he wanted to know what made others seek it in the first place - after all, everyone before him had died, and he had no reason to slay a random traveler for something he knew or cared little about. Our enemy was a wanderer from distant shores named Darius, who fancied himself a warlord, and was called The Invincible Warrior by the locals. Charming. Atticus, while up-front about his selfish motives - using us to study the Key and the ‘Machine God’ it supposedly led to - was the only person we had met who didn't try to manipulate or betray us. He did ask a lot of questions about where I came from and what I had seen, though...I wasn't in any position to turn down help.

He was also a stickler for rules and politeness. Like, extremely. He would hit either of us with his cane if we were ever committing any sort of faux pas. Half the time I was pretty sure he was making all of it up. Either way, we decided to let Atticus tag along because someone who knew both the world and magic was too helpful to just pass up. Eventually, we would be confronted by Darius again...I broke my personal taboo and used my guns and other out-of- world gear to even the odds. And it STILL took all three of us working together and in tandem to actually bring him down. He even found a way to counter Clock Up through some weird counterattack fighting style I didn't recognize.

I gave him a chance to surrender. That was a mistake. He replied by plunging his own hand into his chest and tearing his own heart out and crushing it. Somehow, he had enough time to 26/77 speak a dying curse: “Avatar...though fate may twist to save you, there will come a day...you will be alone and powerless...and when that day comes, I will return and claim Heaven's Key...I swear it...” Then he fell over and died.

So, yeah. That sure happened.

Jump 24: Gravity Falls

Jump 24: Gravity Falls Origin: Mystery Kid [900] Location: Gravity Falls Junkyard Age: 14 Perks: Awesome Opening Sequence Where Is It, Where Is It, AHA! Dipper Depths [800] Laugh All You Want, I Have A Plan! [600] Journalist [300]

Items: Black Light President's Key [200] GRAPPLING HOOK! [0]

Go figure, Atticus came with us. I used to think that maybe Kaori was brought along because we had some sort of shared emotional bond. And while I trusted Atticus enough not to betray us, he was honestly kind of a jerk all around, so it was a bit of a shock when he appeared in the next world with us. He merely adjusted his glasses and said ‘all within my calculations, of course.’ He said that Key seemed to twist fate around me, and those who were ‘entangled’ in it could follow me...hence why he saved my life and stood with us the entire time. And now he was along for the ride as a result. At least he's honest about it. He's too useful for me to do more than argue with, though - he's our only source of clues so far.

Kaori and him both teased me about my young new appearance, while they were still in their late teens physically. There's nothing wrong about me looking younger, especially temporarily. Shut up. Anyways, we're in a junkyard with a crazy old man building a giant robot. Um. Okay. Not the strangest thing I've seen so far, but whatever. We discover we're in a town called Gravity Falls. That name sounds familiar, but I couldn't quite recall why at the time.

Anyways, our presence didn't change that much, though young Dipper naturally became interested in us once we found residence in town, and ended up being subject to an ‘episode’ of the adventures of the Pines Twins. No, the most interesting parts of this entire adventure are the following. First, I woke up to the sound of a high-pitched and girly scream in the dead of night in the Warehouse. Thinking Kaori was in danger, I immediately prepared to murder whoever had barged in. Except...well, the Warehouse has a forcefield that's always active against anything except me or my two companions. So there wasn't any danger and Kaori was still sleeping until I woke her up.

Instead, we found a short, girlish-looking boy with cat ears and a tail, screaming furiously at

27/77 me and demanding to know why I stored magical potions in my fridge instead of locking them up somewhere safe. Oh. I guess that wasn't kool-aid after all. Because...well, it turned Atticus into a feline trap, basically. I won't lie, after listening to several hours of him lecturing over the superiority of magic and boasting of his accomplishments, this is probably the most hilarious thing I've seen. He STILL hasn't found a way to turn back to normal - whatever changed him was apparently really persistent.

Then there was the Pines Twins. No, not Dipper and Mabel. The originals - Stan and Ford. Ford, when he had returned, was the most tech-savvy person we'd be running into for a long time. So I invited him into the Warehouse and to see if he could tell us anything about the World Engine. Apparently, he had heard of it...it was machine that spanned across all of time and space, able to observe anything that ever existed or ever would, and even manipulate it. The theory was that if someone could access the control room of the World Engine, they were effectively the ultimate authority in all of creation. Anyways, once the whole mess with Bill had cleared up (we weren't much help - reality-warping triangles were out of our expertise at this point), Ford offered to try and help fix my condition, and would come along to study the World Engine. Apparently the two glass pods I had were a way he could come along voluntarily. Stan was insistent he join his brother, wanting to fulfill their promise of being able to travel the world together. I protested, but there was no convincing them otherwise - the two were a package deal.

Also, Atticus and Ford keep arguing about science versus magic while Stan hangs out with Kaori. I guess she reminds him of Mabel. So that's nice, I guess.

Podded: Stanley and Stanford Pines

Companion List: 1. Kaori (L'etranger - Kamen Rider Neo-Heisei Part 1) 2. Atticus of Barton (Sword and Sorcery) 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Pod 1: Stanley Pines Pod 2: Stanford Pines

Jump 25: Street Fighter

Jump 25: Street Fighter Location: Asia Age: 23 Origin: Shotokan Inspired [1600] Perks: I'm Serious! Clear Intentions Tranquility Disciplined Restraint [600] Combat Method - Ansatsuken

28/77 The Street Fighter [900] Ki Manipulation [700] The Power of Nothingness [300] Satsui No Hado [0]

Items: Fighter's Wraps

Companions: Import x4 [1400]

Import: Kaori Kizume Origin: Rogue Perks: Combat Method - Ninjutsu, Unassming, Instant Ninja, Traditional Ninja [300], Base Racer [100], Arsenal [0]

Import: Atticus of Barton Origin: Drop-In Perks: Combat Method - Karate, Mysterious, Hermit, Senjutsu Apprentice [300], Joke Character [100], Guru [0]

Import: Stanley Pines Origin: Fighter Perks: Combat Method - Boxing, Showmanship, Professional, Healing! [500], Social Network [300], Muscle Power! [0]

Import: Stanford Pines Origin: Drop-In Perks: Combat Method - Kickboxing, Mysterious, Hermit, Soul Power [400], Joke Character [200], Ki Manipulation [0]

Drawbacks: Challenger [1100] Impoverished Wanderer [1200] The Demon [1400] Misunderstandings [1600] Debilitating Illness [1800]

Okay, so now we're- >Coughing. >Very loud coughing >COUGHING INTENSIFIES Oh god my insides feel like they're on fire what's going on I can't feel my fingers AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA >"Uh...is he okay, Mr. Ford?" >"Lemme see. Hmm...it appears he has several conflicting energies in his body. It appears to have given him an aggressive infection in his lungs and his liver. And most likely his entire digestive track. In short, he is going to be in intense amounts of pain." >"That's terrible...! Can we fix it?" >"Probably not. Since this happened as soon as we entered, it's probably some kind of backlash from the World Engine. We'll have to make sure he doesn't get hurt by anything for the time being. Let's get him into the Warehouse. >Incoherent babbling and foaming at the mouth 29/77 >"Uh...bro, pretty sure that stuff around his body is settin' stuff on fire." >"Oh, just put him in Atticus' room. Not like anything of value will be lost." >"May the Light damn you, Ford."

Jump 26: Touhou

Jump 26: Touhou Location: Eientei Origin: Drop-In Race: Human Perks: Touhou Soundtrack Jumper's Theme [950] Soar [900] Magician's Mind [800] Focus Undivided [700] Spell Card Pact [600] Tai Chi Master [400]

Items: Spell Cards

Companions: Fated Encounter x2 - Yukari Yakumo, Hong Meiling [0]

Ah...this is a world I could never truly forget. Gensokyo. A world where forgotten myths and legends hide away from the outside world, living an idyllic, mysterious, and even perilous life within. Well, perilous for humans like me, anyways. Or...rather, humans not like me. Because I'm well-equipped to handle such shenanigans by now. And my companions are, too.

...companions...

Come to think of it, only Kaori really wanted to join me for the sake of...being with me, I guess. Ford came along because it was convenient for both of us, Atticus blatantly only wants to see what Heaven's Key will lead to, and Stan's just here because his brother is. Not everyone gets along and we're more like friendly acquaintances than anything else. I worry sometimes the only reason they care about my opinion or actions is because I'm the one with the Key and I seem to be growing the fastest out of everyone else. That's...I hope that's not it. I really hope it isn't.

Well, there's no danger, and my body finally feels better. I should do things like train and explore again, just to make sure I'm not falling out of practice. Need to know the basics of my new abilities, just so I don't use them on accident. I've got the Satsui No Hado, the class levels from the world I met Kazuma, my Driver is still in me...ugh...

There's no getting around it. This feels disgusting. My body is turning into some hideous Frankenstein made up of different pieces of ‘fiction’ from my world, except actual worlds somehow. Nothing I've become since this started was really from me, just assembled from histories and people that were related to where I came from. The only thing I really earned was the ability to survive using what I suddenly already always knew. And it only gets more

30/77 and more intense the longer this goes on. What, will I eventually turn into fucking Captain America-Sonic-Goku-Deku-Superman-Alucard-Madara hybrid by the time the next century or five has passed?

The worst part is, it's all anyone sees! At first I was just Ash's sidekick or things like that, then I was a sewer monster, now I'm an especially talented martial artist who holds a big shiny Key that says ‘FREE OMNIPOTENCE’ on it for some fucking reason, and I can't even go home or get rid of it! No one ever asks about me, how I feel about all of this, or even if I'd be willing to give it up in a way that wouldn't kill me. Because they're all -assholes-. I get so frustrated I kick a random tree over, and it collapses with almost no resistance.

>"Hey, what'd that tree do to you?"

A friendly voice snaps me out of my reverie. I look over and I can see a girl with long red hair carrying a basket in one arm. Her attire catches my attention right away, that uniform of green. I knew who this was. Hong Meiling. I suddenly felt a bit embarrassed having an outburst when someone was watching, breaking out of my stance. I stammered out some sort of justification, but she cut me off.

>"What? I didn't say you did a bad job. But if you put that much emotion into your attacks, you're just wasting energy. You've got to kick in a swift, controlled motion. Like this!"

In a blink, she promptly kicked a tree next to her and totally obliterated it, the wood shattering like glass and scattering around like prickly shrapnel. She then steadied herself and gave me a big grin.

>"See?"

It turned out the reason she had been absent from the gate that day is that Sakuya, the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, had mysteriously come down with a rather severe flu a few weeks prior and that meant Meiling had to pull double duty as gatekeeper and errand-runner for the Mansion, since Patchouli was terribly unfit for outdoors (or much of anything else) and her familiar wasn't a terribly bright bulb. So she was overworked and desperate to find distractions of any kind, and was impressed by the fact I actually practiced martial arts instead of just using magic or some inborn youkai power. It was a rare thing in Gensokyo, apparently.

Not once did she ever mention or ask about the Key. That was probably the biggest reason I would go back and talk to her again now and then. Everyone else was off doing their own things in Gensokyo, mostly in the Human Village. No one really paid us any mind since we didn't start any Incidents (though Ford and Stan were caught trying to pilfer from the Kappa Valley a few times), so we just kinda adjusted to peaceful life in the world. I'd visit the gate to talk to Meiling, to the slight displeasure of her employer and the maid. We got along really well, it turned out. Being close to a character I remember liking in my home world...well. It was a new experience to me, because it had all been happenstance up to this point, and Ash was absolutely insane from his experiences to really feel much of a connection to. It was...nice. I liked it.

Then came the second surprise of my visit. Or rather, the least surprising encounter but the one with the strangest result. While I was walking back to my horrendously-out-of-place suburban home next to the Human Village, I was visited by a certain golden-haired youkai. Smiling softly at me as she hovered directly above.

31/77 >"You must be our newest visitor. Let me welcome you properly to Gensokyo."

Yukari Yakumo. If anyone would know about the World Engine or Heaven's Key, it'd be her. I was instantly on guard...and more than a little scared. Her ability was to manipulate boundaries, both physical and not. I didn't have any kind of counter or answer for that - and if anyone could justify removing me from the equation, it'd be her. Naturally, she said she knew about me and had been observing me for some time. She was surprised I hadn't started an incident of some kind, and was curious about me.

It was annoying that this happened -again-, but I was in a very bad position and didn't want to risk pissing off someone both vastly older and more powerful than me. Sometimes she'd ask me about where I came from...but most of those questions were inquiries along the lines of ‘why does this make you so miserable, exactly?’ Like she expected me to be running amok with my borrowed power. I bit my tongue and answered along the lines of ‘because I know better’.

So this went on for a while. Things were pretty normal otherwise - I'd occasionally find snacks laid out around the house, figuring it was Kaori's sweet tooth at work, and the Pines were banned from most of the locales.

On the final year, I reluctantly told Meiling the truth and that I'd be disappearing soon. Before I did, she wanted to challenge me to a no-holds-barred duel - no special powers, no spell cards, just a brawl between two martial artists. Of course I accepted. It was close - but I was too aggressive. Like Darius, Meiling was able to defeat me through counter-attacks and wearing down my stamina, and when it came down to the final blow with both of us bruised and bleeding, I was the one who fell down first. I didn't mind. It was...honestly a lot of fun. I was actually enjoying myself instead of just trying to survive.

After we both healed and talked one more time - about each other, about the future, and sappy things like that, I got ready to leave. I didn't want to, but I know I had to. Meiling seemed to hesitate for a moment as I stepped away, but she stopped herself. I had to hide my expression when I said farewell.

I didn't realize at the time that she started following me on the way back, and had replaced her usual self with a scarecrow at the gate.

I was confronted one more time by Yukari. By now, her visits were less a thing of abject terror for me and just kind of a recurring nuisance - she kept alluding that she was up to something, but all she ever did was coax me into buying lunch for her. She remarked that I was fairly interesting, and asked one final question of me: That if I thought I'd be the same person if I had volunteered myself to the World Engine instead of being abducted. I answered honestly...no. If I had actively sought this, I probably would have seen things and acted very differently. Maybe better. Maybe worse. But there was no point in regretting it.

She smiled, and then I realized what was actually happening here.

>"Well then...shall we get going?"

God damn it.

32/77 Jump 27: Avatar - The Last Airbender

Jump 27: Avatar - The Last Airbender Origin: Nomad Age: 14 Nation: Earth Kingdom Location: Enemy Territory - Shu Jing Perks: Sense of Humor [1550] Spiritualist [1400] Innovative [1100] Bending Arts - Earth [1000] Bending Genius [400] Maneuverable Bender [200] Combat Bender [0]

Items: Clothing

Drawbacks: The Seven Chakras [1300] Out of the Inferno [1600]

What...what is this? Where am I? My head hurts and everything is spinning. Eastern Air...Temple? What is that? Why am I thinking of something like that? Who are these...oh. They're drawing swords.

I remember how to fight. And what to do when people come after me. This Key. I have to protect this Key at all costs. It doesn't go anywhere and it won't open any door, but I can't let them have it. I need to escape. I need to find someone. I need to -be- someone. The earth moves and breaks along with my movements. Earthbending. The name just pops into my head and the ability to use it comes to me like breathing. The Earth Kingdom...I should escape there, and then find this Eastern Air Temple. Seems as good a place as any to start, right?

Along the way, I hear whispers. Of Fire Lord Azulon being dethroned by Prince Ozai, who was crowned Fire Lord in his father's place. Some say he cut his father's head off right in front of his people and made the Nation bow to him. And that they did, without a single voice of protest. It's only rumors and hearsay, but for some reason, it unsettled me and made me make as much haste as I possibly could to the Earth Kingdom, evading the Fire Nation soldiers as best I could.

They say that Lord Ozai is now marching personally to the front lines. And that he broke the bones of his brother Iroh before throwing him in prison for his brazen cowardice. And that now, Lord Ozai heads to somewhere in Water Tribe territory.

I met a strange girl in green who hugged me, accompanied by a hairy man with a fez. I don't know how I know what a fez is, but it looks ridiculous. They seem happy and relieved to see me, and then confused when I don't recognize them. The man, Stan, says ‘Maybe his memory got all jumbled or somethin’, like when he got sick last time?' The girl in green, Meiling, seems confused. When I say I need to find the Eastern Air Temple, they reluctantly decide to accompany and protect me. I appreciate it, even if I don't remember them.

33/77 Later, it was said Lord Ozai personally retrieved something from the ocean, and then went out of his way to utterly decimate a certain Water Tribe, crashing the entire populace beneath the ice with no survivors. The fact he was able to do this to Water Benders on their home turf inspired great terror and hearsay across all Nations.

We were ambushed by Fire Nation guards, but the green girl used some kind of colorful lightshow powers to protect us. I nearly got my head chopped off by one sneaking up on me for a surprise attack, only for him to disappear into a weird purple hole that vanished a second later. I'm not going to question good fortune, so we continued along the way to meet with the sage who told me the secret of awakening the chakras.

Then we heard that Lord Ozai was personally on the battlefields, killing thousands of his enemies singlehandedly without even using firebending. He was being called a God of War, now. He had also been targetting specific people in his warpath - civilians, specific children. And he was making a beeline straight for us. I was trying to awaken the chakras as the sage instructed, thinking it would give me the power to stop this madman before he reached us, but try as I might, there was one I was stopped by - the Water Chakra, blocked by guilt. There was something I felt guilty about I couldn't quite let go of. Was it the slaughter happening outside of the Temple...?

Eventually, we had to flee. It was as I saw the figure's looming shadow approaching, I realized - the guilt I felt was how helpless I seemed in the face of doom, and how little I had done to stop this armageddon. Somehow, it felt like my fault, and that I was shunning the idea of taking responsibility into my own hands. I don't know why, but for some reason, that helped give me perspective on what I should do to awaken the other chakras.

Stan asked Meiling if she thought they could take Ozai on. Meiling said that it would normally be a piece of cake for her, but something was ‘off’ about Ozai - and that he was fighting like a yuuk-eye or something. We opted to flee and I tried to meditate more on the chakras, but then Ozai himself sent an ultimatum - and a photo. Which is amazing because apparently those don't even exist in this world? I didn't even know what it was until Stan explained it to me. It showed us a picture of a girl in a poncho, a cat-eared boy with his mouth bleeding and blindfolded, a man almost identical to Stan, and a bald kid who looked severely malnourished, and finally a message:

‘Surrender yourselves to the Fire Lord or these three shall pay the price of your cowardice.’

Stan was understandably upset and decided that we needed to finally take the fight to Ozai, and avenge the millions he had slaughtered. They insisted I stay behind and finish my meditation, and they'd take care of things. And I trusted them. I reached inside. The last thing I needed to do was...let go...let go...

...

Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. This is nothing like Ozai. He's ambitious and cruel, but he's not this methodical or forward. And he doesn't have the power to face armies on his own. I need to get out there and join the fight, NOW.

I arrived to see Stan having taken several burns and was down on one knee, while Meiling only had a few bruises and didn't look worse for wear. And then I saw ‘Ozai’...wearing a horned helmet and standing at about seven feet tall, a familiar oppressive aura around him. He had the face of Ozai, certainly, but his eyes and his voice were unmistakable. Along with the black spot around his heart, which pumped a similar ichor into his veins that we could see 34/77 running along his skin. A darker force had taken control of his body.

It was Darius.

Those weren't just random children and innocents he was slaughtering - he had essentially murdered the entirety of the ones who would be part of the Avatar's journey. They were specifically targeted so what would have been the tale of the Last Airbender would have been violently cut short. He did all of it on PURPOSE. My heart burned with rage, and I demanded to know why he did all of this.

>"To punish you for your weakness, Avatar. To show you what real power is capable of, when you aren't so cowardly to grasp it. This is my right, as the strongest one in this world - to claim what I decide is mine, and to shape it to my desires. Nothing in this world can be denied to me."

While he was monologuing, Ford had somehow concocted an escape plan and was starting to pull Aang, Atticus, and Kaori free. But just as it looked like they were home free, he stretched his hand out. All of them were knocked aside...and Aang was torn to pieces. I saw the Avatar Spirit be ripped from his body before Darius-Ozai consumed it whole.

>"Nothing. So long as you exist, Avatar, I will hunt you and punish those around you for your idleness and your stubborn desire to keep the Key for yourself. You say you wish to live and die as a man? Then die by my hand, and perish mercifully before all worlds shun you as the monster you are."

At this point I was too blinded with rage to really care about what he was saying. I felt the Satsui No Hado flare in me as the battle began. With his already-brutal fighting style now combined with all four bending styles and centuries of experience he forcefully poached from from the Avatar, he was able to fight all of us with ease. With Atticus disabled, Stan tired and injured, and Ford generally useless in a straight-up fight with poor Kaori doing the best she could to support us while avoiding Darius-Ozai - he was a pragmatic fighter and would kill our healer the first chance he got, so we had to keep him busy. The battle destroyed the city around us, and I only stopped for a moment when I saw the destruction all of this had created - and the few survivors of the city looking on in a mix of awe and fear, wondering about the fate of their world and their nations.

And I remembered something. Twice, I had been defeated by being too hot-headed. By losing my cool. I suppressed my greatest advantage, the Satsui No Hado...and instead tapped into the Power of Nothingness, remembering what I had learned from opening the chakras. My attacks weren't as destructive as they were before, but with each attack, Darius-Ozai's movements and attacks became more wild and undisciplined - as if he was fighting both us and his own body. Finally, with a well-placed Shoryuken, I managed to rip open his stomach and expel both Darius' spirit and the Avatar Spirit from Ozai's body. Ozai survived, but barely - his mind was destroyed by the experience, only a shell of the man he was before. The Avatar Spirit floated around me, lingering for a moment, before it took the shape of a white spirit in the shape of a boy...and then it pressed a fist into one palm and bowed before it disappeared.

We were victorious.

With Kaori's help, we managed to restore and reunite the party. Atticus was surprisingly more annoyed than traumatized at the fact he had his tongue cut out earlier, as if this was something that happened to him before. But...the damage was done. The world was broken almost beyond repair and nearly a million Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom residents had all 35/77 died. The Fire Nation's leadership was decapitated and the empire would start to fracture thanks to its sudden expansion and retraction. The world would plunge into chaos.

For the next nine years, we would try and repair this broken world. Despite our unknown origins, our personal defeat of what seemed like history's worst warlord in such a short amount of time, we were welcomed as heroes among the Earth and Water survivors. Ford got to work on construction. And mysteriously, obstacles seemed to disappear for us and other individuals would conveniently help us out where needed. Almost as if a combination of luck and a certain person's background dealings were unfolding into something we could work with.

It wasn't much.

But it was something.

I swore I would never let this happen ever again.

Intermission 1: Aftermath

Intermission 1: The Way Forward

The final week had come and gone. The Four Nations had fallen into chaos after the collapse of the Fire Lord's Empire - and Crown Prince Zuko was poorly equipped to handle the mess his mad father left behind, not helped by the corpse going missing after the battle. It was only with the counseling of a miraculously-healed Iroh that it was in any way salvageable, but the empire lost territory after the severe break in administration and their resources meant to handle over-extension almost miraculously evaporated - as if the presence of Ozai-Darius was all that held it together. We had spent years doing what we could to fix the damage done - heal the sick, feed the hungry, assist those of all four nations and discourage the idea of taking revenge or resuming the war.

But the damage was done.

With the Avatar Spirit having been stolen, even for but an hour, the world had been spiritually and physically damaged on a level we simply couldn't wave our hands and repair. The most we could do was entreat to the spirit realm and use Kaori's magic to heal what we could in the physical. It would be a century or more before this world would know prosperity - and that was time we just didn't have. Some were suspicious of us - especially the Fire Nation, as we had slain their leader right when it appeared to be the peak of their victory. Some were relieved, after tales of Ozai's brutality spread like wildfire...but propaganda and love of one's nation is a powerful thing.

Among the Earth and Water civilizations, however, it was the opposite. Apparently an ancient legend matched my description and many had witnessed us putting Ozai-Darius down after he had stolen the Avatar Spirit - a grave sin this world would not forgive. We were named as heroes, calling us ‘The Warriors of Heaven’ - legendary figures from the spirit realm who answered the world's call in their darkest hour. It was romantic. Uplifting. Not quite the truth, but I didn't want to correct them.

I wanted to stay by myself as things settled down. The burden on my shoulders was heavy - knowing that an enemy like Darius would go this far just to claim the Key from me. If I had

36/77 died and he had stolen it, just how much further would he have gone? How many lives would he have destroyed in pursuit of his mad ambition to shape the world to his desires? How many heroes and innocents would be struck down by his hubris? And how would this world have appeared if we failed...? This isn't just a condition or a curse, anymore. It's a responsibility. If I had become this strong after being a weak nobody in my home world, imagine what someone like him would have turned into.

I can only wonder what's going through the minds of my companions. They must be devastated after experiencing something so horrible.

>"I'm freakin devastated after experiencin' that, bro!" >"I know, Stanley, I know." >Ford spoke softly as he continued to tinker with the gears hidden in the wall of the Warehouse. There was a box of metal parts nearby. >"I mean, I knew this wasn't gonna be all fun and games, but geez...that guy was a piece of work! Killin' kids, destroyin' a city, possessing some other dude...it's wigging me out, Ford!" >"We should be thankful we let Mabel and Dipper stay safe in our world. If my calculations are correct, a minute hasn't passed since we left - it'll be like we never gone." >"Yeah, that's great, but what are we gonna do when he shows up again? Maybe he'll be, I dunno, ridin' a freakin three-headed T-rex powered by babies or somethin'!" >"Stanley...that's why we have to stay here." >"Look, I like Anon as much as everyone else here does, but-" >"It's not just Anon, Stanley. Think about it. This machine connects to all worlds - ALL worlds. Including ours. If Darius had ultimately won, think about what would have happened to our home. Our family." >"The kids..." >"Right. And it's our responsibility to help Anon - he may not have chosen this, but he's ultimately not abused the position he's in. We need to keep it that way and help set him free. The sooner we can fix this machine and find the Control Room, the sooner we can stop things like this from ever happening again." >"...you SURE that ain't the only reason, bro?" >"W-well, no...um, partially...but that's not the point. This is our world and billions more at stake, Stanley. And if we're in a position to do something about it, we should. And besides..." >Ford smiled softly and put a hand on his twin's shoulder. >"That means there's plenty of time for us to adventure and make up for our lost time a thousand times over, isn't it?" >After a moment's hesitation, old Stanley returned the smile.

>Meiling was practicing her own katas while Kaori watched the shadow of Anon in the distance. >She stops for a moment to look at the poncho-clad girl. >"You worried?" >"A little." >"Surprised you're not a little more shaken. Most humans break up a little inside after something like that." >Kaori shrugged. “I...it was awful, but I've lived through worse. Besides, someone's got to keep smiling for Anon, right?” She asked, giving a grin. >"That's kind of a weird way to look at it...but hey, I won't judge. I've seen some pretty freaky stuff back home, too." >"People are sad no matter where we go. That's why we need to smile and laugh for them, so they can join us there, too. We do more good that way - helping those in arm's reach. Anon's the sort of person who sees things like that, too. He just won't admit it to himself or others." >"So it's kinda like a job to you?" Meiling asked curiously. 37/77 >"It's the right thing to do," Kaori insisted. >"Hmm...I dunno if I see things the same way, but if you believe that kinda thing, there's nothing wrong with it." Meiling said before getting back into a stance. >"You're here because you believe in Anon too, right?" >"Ain't it obvious?" >"Hee...yeah. You're a good friend." >Meiling nearly tripped over herself after hearing that. >"Hm? Something wrong?" >"Y-yeah, don't mind me!"

>Alone at a desk, Atticus works. He does not care for lives lost or those who suffer. All he cares for is the end result. His cat ears flick softly in the darkness as he carefully opens a foul- smelling box...and staring back at him is the preserved head of Ozai, his expression frozen in a state of shock and horror. >"Darius knows more about the nature of the Engine than Anon does. And you're going to tell me how." >Living matter cannot be taken between worlds - it was one of the first things he had experimented with after joining the party. So all he had to do was make sure it was dead whenever the jump happened. >Murmuring a soft chant over the head, Ozai's expression moved and twitched, letting out an airless scream as his eyes darted about the room, trying and failing to move his helpless head. >"Let's see what you know."

I don't know what they're all thinking right now, but I wouldn't blame them if they're second- guessing coming along with me, now. I wish I could repay them for everything up to this point, but I don't have anything tangible I could really give them. All I have are guns and this empty space. Fighting ability can't really convey things like gratitude or regret, now, can it?

...is someone watching me?

I turn my head around and I swear I can faintly see a shade of violet disappear somewhere.

...

You know, out of everyone, you're the biggest mystery. What are you up to...?

Jump 28: Scooby-Doo

Jump 28: Scooby-Doo Location: Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated [900] Origin: Meddling Kid Age: 22 Perks: Run For Your Life [800] Black Belt [700] Acting! [100] Ventriloquism [0]

Items: Coolsville News

38/77 Companions: Mystery Incorporated - Shaggy [300]

...

You know what? This is fine. This is alright. I'm sick and tired of all the super kung fu and after the hell that was the last jump...this is fine. It's just fine. We're all going to relax and enjoy ourselves in a world full of masked capers and meddling kids. Everyone can go off and do their own thing, we don't have Darius or other things to worry about. I'm just going to be a completely ordinary human for once and see if I can't hang out with Mystery Inc. I remember watching that show often in my childhood...at least, the old version. I wasn't a big fan of it, but I'm feeling nostalgic and need a break after that mess from before.

>Ten Years Later...

Well, that was an adventure and a half. Turns out there were actually eldritch abominations involved. I somehow slept through that part, though. Anyways, time's almost up, so I should check with every---

How did you get in here. >"Like, I dunno, man! I just walked in here to see you off." But...the forcewall...you shouldn't be able t---oh no. Oh no. Shaggy, get out of the Warehouse. >"What Warehouse?" THIS WAREHOUSE GET OUT HURRY BEFORE IT'S TOO L

Jump 29: Fist of the North Star

Jump 29: Fist of the North Star Age: 34 Origin: Drop-In Location: Cassandra [950] Perks: Omae wa mou shindeiru! Dedicated Training Knowledge of the Past [850] Taizan Tenrou Ken [650] Self-Taught Style [350] Post-Apocalyptic Savior [50]

Items: Post-Apocalyptic Outfit Weathered Cloak

Companions: Canon Companion - Toki [50]

Drawbacks: Fated Foe [350] Infamous [450]

39/77 So I start off in prison. What is this, an Elder Scrolls game? It's a prison controlled by Raoh, AKA Ken-Oh, AKA Big Scary Kung Fu Man. It then turns out that I'm sharing a cell with a certain white-haired kung fu master. My memory manages to recall his name. Toki. He reacts to my presence nonchalantly, and he calmly asked me how I appeared in here. I told him that I was from another world and wasn't quite sure. Aside from an almost minuscule raise of his brow, he didn't react to that in way I could read. I offered to help set him free. He was a bit reluctant, but when the guards came along and tried to kill me, I managed to defeat them handily. This seemed to help change his mind and we both escaped together as I found a door I could use to find my companions.

First off, everyone is absolutely baffled at the presence of Shaggy, myself included. It seemed like at the bare minimum, all of the companions I brought along were either unique individuals or people I had significant emotional bonds with...and while I didn't dislike Shaggy, most of our conversations were about food and complaining about the many masked capers in Crystal Cove. That didn't exactly scream ‘star of destiny’ at work. Ford theorized that the World Engine itself somehow thought Shaggy would be of great importance, and brought him along.

So we gave him the run-down on the situation. He resolved to stay in the Warehouse and eat food. Good enough for me. Anyways, I introduced Toki to everyone, who had been patiently listening in to all of this. He didn't seem terribly surprised by our explanation. When he started coughing and revealed his sickness, he began to talk about how he got the radiation poisoning...right before Kaori abruptly used her Arch-Priest magic to cure him completely. She gave a smart salute and a wink, and a surprised Toki was suddenly back to full health.

Needless to say, his duel with Raoh happened very differently, and Kenshiro actually ended up being late to the party. I don't know how the Hokuto succession thing was resolved, but I know that Kenshiro was living peacefully with Yuria after Kaori ALSO HEALED HER BECAUSE WHY THE FUCK NOT WHY DOES SHE KEEP RUNNING OFF AND DOING THINGS LIKE THAT god damn it I can't stay mad at her for making other people happy. Anyways, Toki ended up facing a lot of what Kenshiro would have, with us in tow.

As for the end...well. This time, I was ready for him. A crow with a letter arrived before me, telling me to meet him in the middle of the desert plains, or else my companions would ‘suffer for my cowardice’. Against my better judgment, I went to meet him. Surprisingly, he was all alone this time - this time inhabiting the body of the deceased Raoh, patches of the flesh of his original body dotting where he had taken damage from his duel from Toki. I wasn't surprised. I had been prepared for this since the years of rebuilding the world of Avatar.

>"You came alone." ... >"You are no fool, Avatar. Both times you have faced me, you had allies to save you at the last moment. The Engine twists fate itself to ensure your survival. Why would you refuse such a blessing?" What I kill doesn't come back. Both times you evaded me by killing yourself or escaping at the last moment, Darius. There won't be a third time. Your insane ambition ends here. And I will be the one to end it. >"You have done nothing but hide from what you are and what you can do, Avatar. Cease this display of bravado and show proper respect to your superior." I'll show you exactly what you deserve, Darius.

The battle began. It wasn't a one-sided struggle anymore - we matched each other blow-for- blow, technique for technique, power up for power up. The desert sand around us scattered in 40/77 gigantic waves, a storm brewing around the battlefield, our blood coloring the ground. After the first few attacks, he stopped for a moment and regarded me curiously.

>"...so it's true. You no longer have the eyes of a coward. I can see that determination in your soul, Anon. You are truly fighting for what you believe in. Answer me this - you've tasted the power the Key can give you. The elation, the abandon that comes with power. You killed thousands in that exaltation. So why did you reject it?" I'm not a God or a King, Darius. I let myself lose control in rage and despair, and played judge, jury, and executioner for it. No more. If I'm to be trapped in this cycle, I'm going to live the way I want to - and that means I won't surrender it to tyrants like you. >"Such arrogance...!"

The fight continued and this time I went on the defensive. I had learned from our prior fights - instead of pressing the attack, I would weave and counter attack when he made large attacks, and I wouild parry his own ki attacks with a double Hadouken each time. There was another break in the fight, both of us wounded but still ready.

>"So you will merely hide and run away from what you are?! You hold the power that billions have stared at the stars and dreamed of, yet you're content to squander it...?!" Yeah, that's a bitch, isn't it? I never wanted power, or to become some sort of freak of nature made up of pieces of other worlds and stories. But...I realized I do have a use for it. Something I can completely get behind. Stopping people like you.

More blows were exchanged.

You just used your own physical power as an excuse to hurt and dominate others! You murdered children just to give yourself an advantage! Destroyed the lives of millions just to claim revenge on one person...! If you're what I would have turned into if I chose this willingly, then I reject that every time! No matter what, I will be the enemy of people like you! And I will never surrender the Key to you! >"Short-sighed fool...! The worlds are infinite. One dead Avatar in one world merely means a million more continue on as normal! I merely needed to ensure I would be able to face you alone!" If you think their lives and their suffering means any less just because they can be replaced, then you can take that self-righteousness with you to hell...!

Where did this resolve come from? Had Kaori rubbed off on me this much? But I believed every word I was saying, and the strength of my blows matched my resolve. Finally, with one last attack, I plunged my hand into Darius' heart and pulled it out...it being a fusion of his original and Raoh's, before I crushed it. His body collapsed and fell on its back a moment later.

His shallow breathing was the only sound around us as I dropped the destroyed organ, with it decaying into dust within seconds.

That was for Aang. >"...I see...so you were the stronger one..." Because someone who fights for those in need will always be stronger than a tyrant. >"Hahaha...sarcasm...listen to yourself...you don't actually believe that wholeheartedly...you wanted revenge just as much as I did..." ... >"It isn't righteousness that wins the day, you know...but the strength to carry on your own beliefs and convictions...and to defeat all who stand in your way...that is the truth of this world." 41/77 You're awfully chatty for a guy without a working heart. >"I won't excuse myself, Avatar...I did seek power for myself. To take revenge on the world for where it had placed me since birth...to live out my wildest dreams and pleasures, and to see the star of destiny shine down on me...I lived as I chose to, just as you did...even now, I have no regrets. I would do it all over again, each time."

To my surprise, he then stood up and spread his arms out, laughing. >"Look at me, Avatar! This is the face of the victor! I die as I lived, and I go without guilt or sin! I am sublime! I am what you will eventually become, when you surpass Gods and Men...!" He let out one more hollow, throaty laugh before Raoh's body finally fell over, dead.

Once I was sure he wasn't getting back up, I collapsed onto the sand, staring up at the night sky above and the full moon above.

What a night.

Jump 30: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Jump 30: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Age: 21 Era: Rise of Dio [800] Origin: Jovial Joestar [900] Perks: Calisthenics Joestar Secret Technique Dynamic Entry Dramatic Persona Bond Of the Soul - Robert Speedwagon [200] Hamon: Steady Breathing, Solar Meditation [150], Awaken [0], Ripple Mastery [300], Infusion [100]

Items: Global Passport [0]

Drawbacks: They Take Notice [600]

>EVEN SPEEDWAGON IS ABDUCTED BY THE WORLD ENGINE.

So after that duel to the death and an exchange of news, we're in a brand new world. Before we begin - to everyone's surprise except him, Toki was still meditating in the Warehouse once we had made the next jump. I guess the only constant is that the ones who are meant to be companions are drawn into the Warehouse and don't leave when we head somewhere else. Due to my age not making much sense otherwise, I was apparently the younger brother of George Joestar, and the uncle of Johnathan. It's kinda weird suddenly being a family member to a character I liked, but, very little surprises me at this point.

I'd like to say how I was alongside young Johnathan's journey the whole of the way. That I would prevent Zeppeli's death through a breathtaking act of heroism and while posing for the camera, and then barely defeating Dio by the skin of my teeth through some clever tactic.

42/77 But...

Well, let's face facts. I had become strong enough to win against Darius just one jump ago. We had Meiling. We had a restored-to-his-prime Toki. And just on the off chance we needed to do a silly chase sequence, we had Shaggy.

>"Like, don't bring me into this, man!"

We even had Ford on the off chance we needed some kind of science device made out of local Victorian-era parts. The moment vampire Dio showed himself, he went down like a bitch. It was kind of laughably pathetic but also disappointing - he was always a fun villain when I wasn't being influenced by memories of his adoptive uncle.

On the plus side, I got to be the best man at Johnathan's wedding, and got to feel good that I nipped that whole ‘reset the universe’ plan on the bud. Naturally, Dio swore revenge against me as he died from the Ripple, but I don't think we'll be seeing him again. I even scattered the ashes into the ocean to be sure. So fuck 'im. Also, Speedwagon somehow heard about our adventures. I just pointed to the Warehouse and told him to take the empty room. I don't even know or care at this point. At least he's earnest about it, ‘wanting to aid our noble journey to the very end’. Or something.

Jump 31: Undertale

Jump 31: Undertale Age: 12 Location: Ruins Origin: Fallen Human [800] Perks: Summon Annoying Dog DETERMINATION ACT [700] MERCY [500] SAVE The World [200]

Items: Meh

Companions: Asgore [0]

Drawbacks: The Taste Is Indescribable [300]

...and that's the story so far.

I finished telling my tale to a very large and confused goat man, his tea cup tilted slightly to the left in his hand, though not enough to spill its contents. Still, he watched and listened patiently the entire time, only chiming in when asking for clarification on something. I think the poor guy went cross-eyed a few times when I went over the worlds of Kamen Rider and Jojo, however. I had waltzed into the home of King Asgore Dreemurr about two days prior. It

43/77 was a small shock when I arrived with several other humans (and a few not!humans), and especially when I asked him to sit down and talk to me, and listen to our story. He was a gracious host, even letting us stay the night twice over when my throat inevitably got tired from telling the story, though Kaori would chime in for the bits she was around for, before Speedwagon VERY LOUDLY PROCLAIMED THE EMOTIONS AND PASSION OF THE BITS HE WAS AROUND FOR and Shaggy ate several pies. Forty pies. That's as many as four tens. And that's terrible.

We also locked a flower in a jar that was now helpfully labelled ‘Angry Flower Jail’. Ford was looking after it, but it was Kaori's turn to do that since he was busy at the moment. Watching Flowey get increasingly agitated and screamy while she patiently spoke to him in her usual cheer was entertaining. It became even more entertaining when his attempts to exploit our situation and the mechanics of it was interrupted by Speedwagon loudly proclaiming ‘WATCH OUT, THAT FLOWER IS TRYING TO MANIPULATE YOU!’ Each and every time.

Yukari was sleeping on the ceiling somehow.

Anyways, I would gently plead with Asgore to abandon his plan to kill one more human in order to open the barrier. I could see the tiny bit of light in his eyes that had been present when the tale began start to die, and he quietly said that he couldn't quite do that. He stood up and prepared to march over to the barrier, before I quickly interjected. There was another way. We could make a way to bypass the barrier without needing to break it. And we had the scientific mind that was capable of it.

Atticus quietly glared at me.

>"Wait, wait, wait slow down...you mean the portal from back home? Even if Ford can rebuild that thing with the stuff down here, we needed, like, high-grade radioactive stuff for that! How are we gonna find that down here?!"

>A few moments later... >Dr. Alphys spit out her coffee. “YOU WANT TO DO -WHAT- WITH THE CORE?!”

And that's how we saved Christmas. Er...Monsterkind, sorry. Eventually we managed to fix Flowey by turning him back into Asriel through me having to coax an angry spirit of a possibly- homicidal and traumatized child, but that's a story that's pretty easy to imagine, isn't it? What came after...well. Without a real Kingdom to rule and his family something he couldn't really repair or return to, Asgore didn't have anywhere else to go. On the last day, there he was, outside of the Warehouse like a confused child. He politely greeted us, and asked...our story and the time we had spent with him in and out of the barrier had been probably the best thing he had experienced in years. He asked if he could come along.

Truth be told, I don't know if there was really a choice in the matter. After all, Shaggy and Toki had been brought along without truly choosing to. But...I think, just this time around, it's something he might appreciate.

Companion List: 1. Kaori 2. Hong Meiling 3. Yukari Yakumo 4. Atticus of Barton 5. Shaggy 6. Toki 44/77 7. Robert E.O. Speedwagon 8. Asgore Dreemurr Pod 1. Stanley Pines Pod 2. Stanford Pines

Jump 32: Duel Monsters - The Heroes

Jump 32: Duel Monsters - The Heroes Location: The Hero City Origin: Elemental Hero Perks: Hero Mask A Hero Arrives [900] Polymerization [700] Righteous Justice [400]

Powers and Gimmicks: Bubble Shoot [300] Feather Break [100]

Items: Costume Home Ground [0]

Drawbacks: Waterfront Disaster! The Interrupted Kaiju Slumber [200]

>tfw too lazy to do imports

This city needs a hero. It needs hope. It needs...the great Elemental Hero, the masked- wearing fang for the fangless, The one, the only, world-walking hero who's name is...!

...guys. Guys, come on. I wanna do this at least once.

>"We're not fusing with you, Anon." Ford says, his arms crossed. >"Yeah, I don't even wanna know what goes on in your head half the time, let alone share mine with it!" Stan agrees. Fine, I'm sure Kaori will... >"Um...I have to...go...give Toki a haircut!" And off she went. ...well, of course Atticus would be interested in the research mat- >"Touch me and I will castrate you in your sleep, and replace the remnants with a thing from beyond the stars." ...Asgore? >"Golly...I'd love to, Anon, but I'm trying some pie recipes out right now. Shaggy really enjoys all of them for some reason. Perhaps next time?" I glance at Speedwagon. He's negotiating a movie deal about my exploits to some executive. I look over and Yukari is currently sleeping on top of my fridge like a cat, and a menacing aura warns me not to disturb her. I'm about to open my mouth and call for Meiling, but she's currently guarding the Warehouse door and has a ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign hanging from her

45/77 neck. ...f-fine! I don't need to fuse with any of you! I'll go out and be my own Hero! I don't need someone to share my soul with! I'll show you! I'LL SHOW YOU ALL! >"...any idea why he's so worked up over this, bro?" >"Stanley, the human brain is a magnificent thing, but it's not prepared for things like centuries of ennui and the ravages of the multiverse." >"What's that mean in English?" >"Anon's a little crazy." >"I coulda told you that."

Intermission 2: A Grim Truth

Intermission 2:

A lone, feline-eared boy stands over a ritual circle in a darkened room. He murmurs fevered chants and sprinkles dust over the decomposed head of a despot from another world. He has done this at least four times prior - once was interrupted when Kaori had abruptly broken into his room to ask if he could use another luck spell on her. He cursed her and told it her it was a blessing. It was funny to him - at least, it would have been if the damned girl was anything except scathingly cheerful all the time. Regardless, Atticus was adept by now at returning the fainting semblance of life to the decaying head...all he needed was to get the barest hint of intelligence and memories, and then the secret he was seeking would be his. He knew it.

Then, the sound of a gun clicking. Atticus turned his head, seeing the barrel of a M41A Pulse Rifle with the slightly worn and crude inscription of ‘BAD MOTHERFUCKER’ written on its side staring at him. But it wasn't being held by Anon. It was held by Ford, who had arrived alone.

>"I should have known you were up to no good, Atticus." The effeminate cat wizard clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes in annoyance. >"Ford. I had wondered when you'd show yourself." >"I knew you were hiding something - aside from that Yakumo woman, you've shown your face in public the least. What is the meaning of all this?" >"Is it not obvious? I'm gleaning insight from the dead. I had thought you of all people would appreciate a reliable source of information." >"And that's why you keep the head of our worst enemy in a...a mini-fridge?!" >"The head of the vessel our worst enemy has possessed. I had hoped to get the genuine article, but it seems the original was destroyed some time ago. Anon's strange nature doesn't allow those he personally slays to return in any form...or at least, no form I can personally create." Atticus opened his eyes and looked at Ford with some curiosity. >"That isn't moral outrage I'm hearing, is it?...you're curious, aren't you?" >"Talk, Atticus. Before I take a page from Anon and shoot first, ask questions later." >"How uncouth of you. Darius' knowledge is still within this brain, even on a subconscious level. It likely holds insight into the World Engine...and perhaps, even a way to access the Control Room." >"I wasn't born yesterday, sorcerer. You planned to take it for yourself without telling Anon." >"Didn't you?" That got Ford's attention. >"I-I want to keep them safe, that's all. If that means I have to keep secrets from the others, so be it. My brother and I have been in worse spots."

46/77 Atticus took a step forward, his posture relaxed, while Ford aimed the Pulse Rifle right at the sorcerer's head. >"One more step and this will take your head clean off, Atticus. Don't make me do this." >"No...rather, I've underestimated you. We're kindred spirits, Ford. More than you may believe." Ford had heard this speech before. His finger is an inch away from the trigger. Atticus stops where he is and frowns. >"...hmm. Disappointing. But really, you can't be satisfied with the way things are, can you?" >"What can I say? It's letting me make up lost time with my brother. And keeping things like you from running amok ever again." >"Things like me? I'm hurt, Ford. I really am. But consider...if you can't trust me, do you trust Anon?" >"Anon?" >"You've noticed it, haven't you? Only sometimes do we gain new powers and trinkets, but the bulk of the haul is always to him with each new world. Before, I suspect, he was as unremarkable as your young relatives in terms of physical ability. But now? Now he is that warrior who topples tyrants and monsters alike." >"..." >"Tell me, do you think he'll keep those altruistic notions of his once the real weight of eternity presses down on his mind, and decides that nobody can stop him from doing what he wants? And worst of all, if he's right? How long will it be? Centuries? Millennia? Maybe it'll be the very next decade we end up in a veritable hell where Gods have forsaken those who scream and crawl on the surface, and his mind shatters from the impact as he works terrible designs of his own misbegotten sense of self-righteousness?" >"...I'll worry about it when it happens." Atticus let out a loud cackle, a grin on his face. Validation. >"Let me tell you what we can agree on - the longer this charade continues, the more of a risk you run of Anon turning into a monster of his own folly. The sooner the Control Room can be found, the sooner we are all freed and given...whatever we happen to need. I want the Control Room for myself. You want it for yourself. Tell me, why should these be mutually exclusive? The worlds are many, after all. If it means preserving ourselves and those we care about, then it only makes sense we work together for now, correct?" >"No deal. I'm putting an end to this right now, Atti-" >"Kill me now and you will have no one left who is willing to stop Anon when the moment is right. And no one to ensure your brother will get home safe. I am the only one who has studied how to disable him with magic. You have done the same with science. Shoot me - and lose that, forever." There was a long pause. With hesitation, Ford lowered the Pulse Rifle. >"If you ever hurt any of them...ANY of them, I will finish what I started." >"Of course. You have my word." Just then, the disembodied head would start to croak. Or rather, speak. And the words it choked out made Atticus' ears twitch with interest, a smirk forming on the sorcerer's face. >"Aaah...I thought so."

Jump 33: Nier

Jump 33: Nier Origin: Family Man Age: 25 Location: Home Village

47/77 Perks: Looking For Work? Magic - Red Orbs[1200] Bring Down The Beast [1100] The Implacable Man [900] No Need To Think Too Hard [600]

Items: Pet Boar Magic Words [300] Family Home [200] Healing Salves [0]

Drawbacks: Gestalt [1300] Ostracism [1400]

>Meiling woke up a bit troubled, one day. The first trouble was that she had awakened at all - the doorway to the Warehouse had become her eternal vigil in the place of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Though the gatekeeper was allowed more breaks than her previous profession had ever given without the watchful eye of Lady Remilia over her, she liked to overachieve and stand guard at all hours whenever possible. Kaori, Stan, and a few others had offered her to head indoors and relax a little...and sometimes, she did, though she would remain outside. >However, something was amiss. Merely a day into their arrival, Anon had disappeared somewhere and didn't say when he intended his return. The others kept close to the house and their shelter, with the world full of strange, dark monsters that rampaged out in the open, and a horrid feeling of dread in the air. Ford and Atticus busily worked away at something in the walls of the Warehouse, while Stan, Shaggy, Speedwagon, and Asgore played poker. Stan would usually win every hand until Speedwagon angrily pointed at him and announced “STAN IS CLEARLY CHEATING!” - usually to distract them from the fact he was also cheating. Shaggy wasn't a good poker player in general and Asgore was just happy to be there. Toki had gone to a nearby village and continued his role as a healer and a teacher. But Anon was nowhere to be found. >Normally, Meiling wouldn't have thought much of it...but Anon wasn't usually the type to miss dinner so many times, or at least not state where he was headed and why. That alone wouldn't be cause for too much concern unless it had dragged on too long. However, one crucial detail hadn't escaped the gatekeeper's mind. One minor detail that only she, as a resident of Gensokyo, would understand the implications of. >Yukari Yakumo was also missing. >It was enough to spur the youkai into action. That woman's presence or lack thereof never meant anything good in the long run - by reputation, the gap youkai was a troublemaker. And Meiling knew enough of the situation that it wasn't Anon that united them all - rather, it was the Key that everyone else seemed to covet. Had Yukari spirited him away in a gambit to try and take it? Or some other sinister reason...? >The first person Meiling questioned was Kaori - Anon's first companion and the one closest to him, at least when it came to trust. Kaori had a distressingly warm demeanor to everyone, even the sour and troubled Atticus, and it often helped bind them together through disagreements and through great hardships - much like the second battle against Darius. It was a surprise that she hadn't gone with him - the girl seemed like his shadow, always close by. But Kaori replied with a sad smile, simply saying ‘I can’t follow him everywhere...this was something he felt he had to do alone.' >Then why was Yukari gone as well...? >Her suspicion and distress growing, Meiling went on an unannounced trip of her own. Several 48/77 of the others present cared little for Anon's health and simply the wellbeing of the Key - and she didn't trust the idea of him being potentially vulnerable to someone like Atticus or the strange, scientific brother of Stan. Her second-hand experiences with the explosive mishaps of the Kappa Valley told her how dangerous an overeager inventor was, after all. >After all, if you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself. >Meiling began her search in the nearby village, where she'd be briefly reunited with Toki, who was mostly protecting the area. He said he had seen Anon run off into the sunset one day and not return, so that's where she went. She offered Toki the chance to come along, but he declined, citing that the dangerous shades were something he had to remain for and take care of. >Along the way, she learned that this dying world was full of jerks. The humans were unpleasant, especially to strangers, ESPECIALLY when she brought up Anon. Apparently he somehow broke every faus pax possible in this post-apocalyptic society or at least had done it enough times to make good malicious rumor fodder. Unfortunately, she didn't quite put it past him for this to be untrue. She was the same way, after all. Not that she'd admit it. >Through the teeth gnashing and the other unpleasant things Anon had been called, she eventually found that he had disappeared into a mountain range a good distance away. >She learned about halfway up said mountain that it was a volcano. >As molten ash and lava rolled down the hill, Meiling remembered she could fly and did so, zooming up before realizing there was a clearing in the eruption: Anon and a thing made of shadow, both covered in an aura she recognized as the Satsui No Hado, were clashing amidst the burning mountain. >Acting on instinct, she arrived and attacked the shadowy being with a hard kick. >Anon was surprised at her presence, but after her arrival, they had managed to dispatch the foe before it bellowed something in its dying throes she couldn't quite recognize. >Anon collapsed from exhaustion as the power of murderous intent faded him, and she had to whisk him off to safety.

The stars are out and we're talking over a campfire. I have a few injuries that are bandaged and my Praetorian armor is resting a few feet away, only wearing a shirt and some shorts underneath. Meiling was roasting a pair of fish over the flame. >"You might've actually died there if I didn't show up, you know!" She laughs about it and gives me a hard pat on the back. “Yeah...I guess I'm just lucky you were around, huh?" Like all the other times I nearly bit the dust. "Did you just follow the volcano?” >"No, I...actually went looking for you." I blinked. “Why?” >"Well, uh...." Meiling stopped for a moment before she took one of the fish and took a bite. If it burned her any, she didn't really show it. >"You weren't around, so I went looking for you. That's a good reason, right?" I just stared at her. >"...what?" “No, it's just...I don't think anyone besides Kaori has done that before.” >"Really? Not once?" “Not really. Not for long.” >"Oh. Huh. Well...sorry?" “No, no, it's...it's fine. I appreciate it, I really do.” There was a long period of awkward silence. >"So, uh...that shadow thing sure was tough, huh!" I shrugged and let out a weak laugh. “Yeah. I was almost a goner. They put up a really good fight.” 49/77 >"Right?!" The two of us laughed over this together. This was where we bonded the most, after all - combat, martial arts, and being mutually bewildered at how confusing other worlds were. It was the simplest thing. But it gave me a moment's solace. We decided we'd return to the Warehouse eventually and reunite with the others, going on a vacation for the rest of the decade.

Once Meiling was asleep, I sighed. “I know you're still there. You don't have to keep hiding.” >"Hmhmhm...I must be losing my touch." “You're almost always shadowing my movements, even when I'm not doing anything interesting. Do you find my situation that fascinating?” >"There's not much else to watch. Nothing I'm not used to, anyways. But...I'm more curious about what's going on in your mind right now." “Of course you are.” >"Hmm? You seemed happier when that gatekeeper youkai was concerned about you. Why so suspicious about me?" “I may be an idiot when it comes to people, but I know how to read clues and investigate events and those around me. And I know I'm in a bad position with everyone else here. Everyone sees me as either a ticking timebomb, someone to either coddle or throw at the nearest evil, or the landlord. You're just as interested in the World Engine as Atticus and Ford are. Why else would you follow me?” She just smiled patiently at me. It seriously pissed me off. >"You're distressed at what that Shade was saying to you, weren't you?" That shut me up. >"I could translate, if you prefer." “...fine. What was it saying?” >"'I want to go home. I want to see their faces again. I want to be human again.'" “...that so?” >"I wonder why it would say things like that. It's so mysterious, isn't it?" ... >"Could you answer one thing for me, at least?" “If it ends this conversation any sooner.” >"Do you plan on keeping your promise?" “My promise?” >"To live and die as a human? It's been several times your lifespan, already. What sort of life will you keep living? And when will it end...?" “That's...” I hesitated before turning around and shouting. “None of your damn business!” And she was gone. Meiling's snot bubble popped and she sat up, groggy. “Huzzawha...?” “...erm. Sorry. I was thinking out loud. You can go back to sleep.”

>"Oh, yeah, no problem. Sorry, sorry." Meiling would grumble before she went back into a rested position and prepared to sleep. Though it'd be difficult, considering she was awake for most of that conversation. >Humans worry about weird things, Meiling mused. Who cares about living or dying as a particular thing, as long as you're using that time in a way you're happy with...? Idly, she wondered if Anon really would have been happy if he got to finally return home and die of old age...or maybe he was just after something else. >She decides it's a question better suited to Yukari, or Ford, or someone smarter than her. Anon was here, so was she, so was Kaori, and so were the others. This was a vacation for her - but it was a worthwhile one. And she'd have no shortage of stories to brag to Sakuya about. >She hoped, somewhere in her mind, that wherever Anon went, she could convince him to let Gensokyo be his final resting place. 50/77 >Not because she was biased or anything. No. That'd be absurd. Completely and utterly. She grumbles as she drifts off to slumber...

Next: Stan, Speedwagon, Asgore, and Shaggy episode in New Vegas.

Jump 34: Fallout - New Vegas

Jump 34: Fallout - New Vegas Origin: Wild Card Location: Camp McCarran Faction: New California Republic Perks: Wild Wasteland Ranger Jingle Jangle Jingle [1000] A Delivery Service You Can Count On [700] Terrifying Presence [500] Whiskey Rose [400]

Items: Basic Gear Pip Boy Ranger Armor [300] Casino [0]

Companions: Import x8 [1200] (Background, Faction, and 500 Caps)

Import: Kaori Origin: Wild Card Faction: New California Republic Perks: Wild Wasteland, Ranger, A Delivery Service You Can Count On [200], Doc Sawbones [0]

Import: Hong Meiling Origin: Soldier Faction: New California Republic Perks: Heave, Ho!, Ranger, Legion Assault [100], Begin Again [0]

Import: Stanley Pines Origin: Leader Faction: Three Families Perks: Milsurp Review, Lying, Congressional Style, Ring A Ding Ding! [300], And You Thought Your Boss Was A Pain [100], Retention [0]

Import: Stanford Pines Origin: Scientist Faction: Followers of the Apocalypse Perks: Retention, Swift Learner [300], Jury Rigging [0], Doc Sawbones

Import: Toki

51/77 Origin: Soldier Faction: Followers of the Apocalypse: Perks: Heave, Ho!, Doc Sawbones, I Could Make You Care [300], Bloody Mess [0]

Import: Asgore Origin: Leader Faction: New California Republic Perks: Milsurp Review, Ranger, Legion Assault [100], Begin Again [0]

Import: Shaggy Origin: Wild Card Faction: The Kings Perks: Wild Wasteland, Every Man A King, Love Me Tender [300], A Delivery Service You Can Count On [0]

Import: Robert E.O. Speedwagon Origin: Leader Faction: Three Families Perks: Milsurp Review, Lying, Congressional Style, Ring A Ding Ding! [300], Playing Caravan [100], Begin Again [0]

Drawbacks: Not SPECIAL - Charisma [1300] Almost Makes You Wish For a Nuclear Winter [1400]

>"Lemme tell ya, boys! We're gonna strike it big with this new Casino. You hear me? Big money!" Stan declared with a look of pride on his face, a strangely shiny new Casino standing in the middle of Freeside compared to the ruined and worn old buildings surrounding it, it stuck out like a sore thumb. >"Capital idea, Mr. Pines!" Speedwagon declared. “I take it our previous games in that last world gave you the idea?” >"Well, yeah, it's a great idea! See, there's no better place to gamble in the world than Viva Las Vegas. And I figure, even if this place is a post-apocalyptic shithole--" >"Language, Mr. Pines." Asogre gently chastised his friend. Stan glared at the large goat man. >"What, the kids are back home in their world, I don't give a rat's ass!" Stan said, throwing his arms up before continuing. “ANYWAYS. Since Anon's running off doing whatever-the-heck he does, we can make some real money settin up a place right here! Where anyone can take a chance and play our totally-not-rigged slot machines and poker!” >"...erm...is that why the Casino is...setup like that?" Asgore asked softly. >The Casino in question was lodged halfway into the wall between Freeside and The Strip, with an entrance on either side of it. >"Yup! I figure, if we're the only Casino you can get in and out of from either side of town, that means we'll get double the income compared to everyone else!" >"Golly! That sounds amazing, Mr. Pines." Asgore said. Speedwagon's cheer became a bit more skeptical. >"Erm...Stan, you do know that Freeside is the poor area of New Vegas, right?" >"Well, yeah, but..." >"And that you probably didn't install a way to separate the two areas inside, right?" >"Why would I?" >"Well, it's just...if someone can go from Freeside to the Strip just by walking into the Casino, won't the locals take exception to that?" >"Eh, who's gonna know, those overgrown tincans at the gate?" >"Unauthorized Casino detected: Stan's Place. You have ten seconds to surrender your 52/77 weapons and repair the damage to the wall surrounding The Strip, or face immediate vaporization." >"Oh. Guess they do know, huh?" >"SCATTER!" Speedwagon yelled and took cover as laser fire ensued. A shootout began and it took about 30 Securitrons before the bullets stopped flying. >"Man, good thing we raided Anon's gun collection earlier." >"Raided? I thought you said he lent it to you." Asgore asked pointedly. >"Eh, lent, raided, same thing. Not like he uses 'em anymore." >"Like, you guys will not believe the day I just had!" Shaggy said, walking over to the trio while wearing an Elvis jacket, having a matching hairstyle, and about twelve different lipstick- kiss marks on his face. “...woah, what happened here?” >"Stan happened." Speedwagon replied coyly. >"Oh, shut it, Speedwagon."

Jump 35: Ranma

Jump 35: Ranma 1/2 Age: 19 Origin: Drop-In Spring: Drowned Cat [900] Perks: Some Kind of Ninja [850] Construction Master [750] Copycat Technique [450] Willing Sensei [0]

Items: Bandanna of Infinite Bandannas [400]

I woke up to a few unpleasant wake-up calls this time around. First off, I was suddenly a cat whenever I got splashed with water. This earned no small amount of teasing from the others and Atticus was particularly smug about it. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was enjoying his new form - he hadn't been trying to reverse it anymore for several jumps. Once I figured out how to reverse it, I became a bit twitchy when I knew a source of cold water was nearby. For a while, I thought I could take things easy - this was just another martial arts world, except with no looming apocalypse or unstoppable adversary to oppose me, so I could just focus on simple things.

Then, Kaori was kidnapped.

Tracking her down by hand didn't work and go figure, Yukari was asleep, Atticus didn't care, and Ford was busy. I was ready to turn the entire city upside-down to look for her when I got what I assumed was a ransom letter. It was from a man who called himself ‘Stone’. He told me that if I wanted to see Kaori again, I was to fight him one-on-one next week in a coliseum called The Ultradome. I don't know who named that and if they deserve a medal or a kick in the face.

Ford and Speedwagon do some research. The man matching that description was a ten-times boxing champion - Ryu ‘Stone’ Takashi. Better known as The Impossible Man. He was undefeated for his entire career, only to retire when he crossed paths with a nameless martial

53/77 artist and took a major injury during the fight. He disappeared from public life afterwards. So how did he hear about me and why did he resort to holding one of my companions hostage...?

Maybe he lost and the blow to his pride made him lose his marbles. It didn't matter. He was a foe I had to defeat, so I'd agree to his terms and fight him head-on: I could probably overpower him easily in a duel. Either way, I could only imagine what conditions Kaori is living under with this boxing madman...

>This was the cushiest kidnapping ever. >Compared to Darius, who had strung her up to a wall like a public execution, Stone didn't even tie her up or lock her in a room somewhere. He just explained himself and asked if she could come along. So naturally, she did! >It wasn't that Kaori was stupid, of course. The 20-something boxer, looking like he was nearing his thirties, looked absolutely intimidating to anyone who examined him. A tuft of messy dark hair, a muscled but lean frame, and an aura of murderous intent that terrified men and animals alike. And then when Kaori pointed out he hadn't combed his hair that day, he immediately became childish and defensive before taking out a comb and trying to fix it. So somehow, she didn't believe she was in actual danger. >This was the best way to figure out why he was doing this and if there was some way she could help. >So that's why she was sitting in the corner while her ‘captor’ was training in a personal gym, hammering away into a punching bag. The force of his punches generating small gusts of wind, rattling the windows nearby. with each pass. >"Sooooo..." Kaori started talking. >"I told you I'm not changing my mind." >"Oh, I know that. Anon's probably really happy someone's challenging him to a fair fight for once. But, uh...why Anon, exactly?" >"Someone told me he was the strongest. I want to be the strongest. So I'm going to beat him in front of the whole world and take his spot." >"...you're not going to kill him, are you?" >"Only if he didn't tap out." >"Who told you that, though?" >"An old sage." >"Why go through the trouble of kidnapping me, though?" >He stopped his punches and glared at her. “You ask too many questions.” >Kaori just gave him a patient smile. “Come on, you can tell me.” >"Most people don' try to help their kidnappers." >"You didn't kidnap me, silly. I came along myself, remember?" >The boxer stared at her before cursing under his breath and furiously punching into the bag again. >"I always believed in helping whoever was in arm's reach of me." >"Why? So you can feel good about it?" Stone growled as he kept up his punches, the ground starting to shake from each impact. Kaori didn't flinch. >"Well...I just know what it's like to be alone and lonely, and hurting inside. So I reach my hands out to people like that. That's how I met Anon. He didn't know what to do with himself and was hurting inside. So I wanted to help him and those with him." >Stone's punches stopped for a moment. “Is that how I look to you? Lonely?” >Kaori tilted her head. “Am I wrong?” >Stone was quiet for a moment before he punched the bag in half, the force of the impact shattering the windows at last.

Alright, Meiling, let's do this one more time. >"You got it, boss!" 54/77 The two of us trained, punches and kicks flying as we sparred and I prepared for the coming match the following morning. >"Like, wow, man. Feels like everyone here knows super kung fu." Shaggy said aloud as he big into a king-sized submarine sandwich. >"Only some of us. It is an art that requires discipline and time to train in." Toki explained. >"Like, it'd be really cool if I could do stuff like that." >"Would you be willing to fight?" Toki asked, curiously." >"Haha, heck no! I just think it'd be cool." >"I see." Toki murmured.

>It was almost time. >Stone had his bag and gloves waiting by the doorway. He watched the sun start to rise on the horizon past the shattered windows, with poncho-clad Kaori watching him. >"You know what's funny?" Stone asked. >"Mm?" >"Being the World's Strongest isn't all its cracked up to be." >That got her attention. Wasn't he ranting just a day ago about how that his whole goal? >"When fighting is all you're good at, and you've beaten all other challengers, you don't have much of anything left. All you've got is a champion title and a belt. Sooner or later, you get old, you break down, or someone drags your name through the mud. Then, being the strongest doesn't mean much anymore. You can't do much of anything else, so you just fight and fight some more." >Recognition flashed in Kaori's eyes, and she could see a familiar look in the eyes of Stone. One she had seen in Anon. “That's...” >"Then, when your time is up, you've got only two choices. To burn out or to fade away. It doesn't bring friends back to you. It won't even let you make up for what you did before. But it's the most important moment of your life - the moment you die." >Then, he started to cough. He covered his mouth and hunched over, before Kaori went over to him. Once he stopped and pulled his hand back, it had drops of blood on it. >"You..." >"Didn't really survive that injury, yeah. Been on borrowed time." >Instinctively, Kaori raised her hands and they began to glow with healing magic. Only to be stopped as he grabbed her wrist and looked her dead in the eye. >"...why?! This is completely pointless...!" She protested. “You don't have to do this! I can save you! You can come with us...!” >"I told you. I want to die doing what I do best. I don't want to grow old and watch the world go on without me while I can't pick up my fists anymore. This is all I've got. Let me go with it." >He was the same as Anon. Complete tunnel vision down a path of violence and conflict, just picking an opponent and fighting them, because it was all he was familiar with. Is this what he would have turned into if she didn't stop him...? >Or was it a sign of what was to come? >"You're a sweet girl, Kaori. I hope you make him or someone else happy." >Then, he delivered a swift chop to the back of her neck, and she was out like a light.

>"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" A lone announcer speaks to a small crowd - the Ultradome is nowhere near full, but some die-hards and curious onlookers had arrived to the boxer's return. “A legend walks among us again, and the ten-times champion Ryu Stone has returned to the arena!” >Those who were present had cheered. An iron cage slowly descended on the arena. Anon and Ryu were standing opposite of each other, both without shirts, lights bearing down on them both. >"The battle is going by a three round ten-count! Let's get ready to rumble...!" >Then, the fight began. The entire coliseum shook as their punches collided. 55/77 >At first, it looked like Anon had the upper hand - he was not ashamed to use the Satsui No Hado in this duel if it meant Kaori being returned safely. But where his punches flew, he would only hit afterimages. Each punch was met with a counter-punch that could shatter concrete. His strategy of going defensive and relying on counter-attacks instead meant little when his opponent moved like water and could duck and weave around him. >It was only when it was too late did he realize his opponent had been using a natural form of ki channeling the whole time. The tide turned and Anon was being pummeled against the ropes, teeth and blood flying from facial wounds and his arms becoming limp at his sides. As he slumped over the ropes and refused to surrender, Stone threw one more punch. >For a moment, it seemed like this was his final moments on Earth. Meiling came running down the stand to prepare to leap into the arena, and a pair of violet eyes widened briefly in the darkness, as if a moment away from acting. Stan, Asgore, and Shaggy cheered desperately for their badly-wounded ally. >But the final punch didn't connect. >Stone had become as still as his name, his fist an inch away from Anon's face, still standing in place. Blood trickled down his mouth and his body was unmoving, not breathing at all. >Anon looked on in horror and realization. His luck had saved him at the last second, just like always. >He did this as he slumped over to the side and collapsed onto the floor of the arena. Alive, but the most wounded he had been since this journey had started. >The final bell rings, and Anon is declared the victor before he's rushed to the hospital. >The battle had partially destroyed the Coliseum, some holes in the area surrounding it and the ceiling. >Kaori had regained consciousness, and saw the final moments of the battle as she rushed inside. She had yelled for one of them to throw in the towel, but it was too late. She knew. Anon always ‘won’ his fights eventually, even in ways he didn't really want to. Because it wouldn't let him lose. >Stone chased the title of The Strongest because he simply had nothing else he was good at or felt fulfillment in. In him, she saw a shadow of what could have been, or what may eventually be, Anon. >Could she have saved him if she had met him first? Or would Anon have doomed himself in a similar way if she didn't...? >And had Stone really died satisfied this way, or were his final moments full of sadness and regret? >Quietly, as doctors rushed Anon out and retrieved Stone's body, she clasped her hands together. >And murmured a quiet prayer no one else could hear.

Jump 36: My Hero Academia

>Last time on World Engine >Jumper: "MY LEG!" >This time on World Engine

Jump 36: My Hero Academia Origin: Student Age: 14 Perks: Superficial Mutant It Might Be Destiny

56/77 Push Through Old Fashioned [1200] American Dream [1100] Do You Ever Do Something UN-Cool?! [1000] My Way [800] Plus Ultra [500]

Quirk: Blood Manipulation [400]

Items: All Might Memorabilia Scholarship [300]

Companions: Reinforcements [0]

Import: Kaori Origin: Student Age: 14 Perks: Superficial Mutant, It Might Be Destiny, Push Through, Plus Ultra [300], Quirk: Fiber Body [0]

Import: Atticus Origin: Drop-In Age: 22 Perks: Superficial Mutant, Undiscovered, What, Who?, Big Dick Walking [300], Quirk: Blood Knight [100], Slasher's Smile [0]

Import: Hong Meiling Origin: Student Age: 14 Perks: Superficial Mutant, It Might Be Destiny, Push Through, Plus Ultra [300], Quirk: Auto-Pilot [0]

Import: Stanley Pines Origin: Drop-In Age: 27 Perks: Superficial Mutant, Undiscovered, What, Who?, Quirk: Larceny [500], Big Dick Walking [200], Been Around The Block [0]

Import: Stanford Pines Origin: Drop-In Age: 27 Perks: Superficial Mutant, Undiscovered, What, Who?, Old Fashioned [300], Quirk: Peek [0]

Import: Shaggy Origin: Student Age: 14 Perks: Superficial Mutant, It Might Be Destiny, Push Through, Plus Ultra [300], Old Fashioned [0]

Import: Toki Age: 21 57/77 Origin: Hero [400] Perks: Superficial Mutant, Dynamic Linguist, Welcome to the Gunshow!, Heart of a Hero! [100], What Are Your Plans, You Rogue?! [0]

Import: Asgore Age: 26 Origin: Drop-In Perks: Superficial Mutant, Undiscovered, What, Who?, Old Fashioned [300], Quirk: Bottled Lightning [0]

Drawbacks: Bone-Breaking Backlash [1300] Quirkless Loser [1500]

...so, um. For those of you who've never been hospitalized or bedridden...first, good on you, keep living life the way you are because you're clearly doing something right. But yeah, it sucks. It absolutely sucks. I went into a fight thinking I was just going to fight a mildly difficult battle against a one-off ‘villain’ type and then proceeded to get my ass kicked so hard I blacked out for the remainder of the last jump. The injuries aren't gone, either - Kaori has repeatedly exhausted her entire repertoire of spells, and anytime I try to walk or use any of my powers, I'm suddenly in intense amounts of pain and blood vessels start popping, then I'm back in the Medbay.

I almost died. For real, this time.

That little fact hasn't sunk in well with me. And I don't think it has with the others, either. Kaori was constantly at my side, asking me how I felt and if I needed anything. Meiling had been standing guard outside of the Medbay and didn't leave for much of anything. Ford also came in and asked me questions about the battle was like and if I knew I'd run into someone like Stone in the first place. Somehow, I don't think it's my well-being he was concerned with, though. Scientific jackass. If you had just found the damn Control Room, you wouldn't have so much reason to worry, would you...? Neither of us would. Then this purgatorial cycle would come to an end and all of us could just go home.

Ugh. I have to bite my tongue, or I'm just going to start lashing out at everyone. They don't deserve that. This is my fault, isn't it? I was the one who drew them all in, and they're just as stuck as I am. Now the others are off in a superhero world to enjoy the daylight while I'm stuck in Medbay, alone with my thoughts and the image of Stone's fists in my mind's eye.

I'm the Avatar of the World Engine, the holder of Heaven's Key. But somehow, this doesn't really feel like my story. Like I'm just the unfortunate passenger, the wheel by which everything else turns...but not what carries it. I wish the World Engine had a face so I could punch it. In the face. You could've picked literally anyone else to be it. Anyone. Why me?

...wait. I hear something. Chanting?

Meiling just fell over, clutching herself. Her body becomes as still as a statue. I call her name, and I see Atticus approach-gah! What...a needle...what did you...what...

>"Don't worry. It shouldn't kill you. But I need you out of the way." My vision gets blurry and my thoughts become jumbled as he takes the Key from me...and it does not return to me. >"All that really mattered was this. Your presence is inconsequential at the most. And what do 58/77 you know...this is the only space it can be separated from you. How fortunate for me." You...son of a bitch...urk---

Intermission 3: God's Eye

Intermission 3:

>Stan was a little bit bored, he couldn't deny. Speedwagon had persuaded him that getting up to his usual antics when people in funny costumes with weird superpowers probably wasn't the best idea. So instead he was using his own weird new superpower to take people's pocket change and be on his way. Hey, no harm, no foul if they didn't even realize they had been robbed, right? >He was watching two of his fellow travelers, Toki and Shaggy, having a talk. >"...like, after all that, man, I dunno. What if a guy like that shows up again? Where am I gonna hide?!" Shaggy asked the dark-haired warrior. After having his radiation poisoning healed, his natural hair color had gradually returned as the years went on. >"Then it may be necessary for us to fight. As will you." >"Like, ahaha, I'm not much of a fighter, man!" >"You could be." >"You're kidding, right man?" >"I can see it in your eyes. Though you are cowardly, you could perhaps become a great warrior, should you put your mind to it." >"Yeah, and Scoob is hiding in that bush over there somewhere with the Queen of England!...I miss Scoob." >"If you do not believe me, but wish to make yourself, then allow me to teach you how to defend against such foes. Humor an old son of Hokuto, and I promise, you will not be disappointed." >"Like, I think you're wasting your time, man...but if you're like, swearing on your Hocuspocus, then I guess it couldn't hurt to try...right?" >Toki just smiled. >Stan couldn't help but laugh at that. “Pfft, that guy? A fighter? I'll believe it when I see it.” He said, not caring if they overheard. >"It -is- quite the interesting image, isn't it?" >A female voice gets his attention. Stan turns his head to see a familiar blonde-haired woman Yukari with her body standing halfway out one of those creepy purple gaps of hers. That startles him a bit. >"Geez, don't freakin' sneak up on me like that!" He complained, patting his chest a few times with his palm. “...wait, aren't you that weird lady who Meiling talks about sometimes?” >"Weird lady? My, my, how rude. I thought you were a man of class, Stanley." She said with a soft giggle, holding a paper fan at chin-level with her face. >"Right. Yeah, that's me! Classiest guy in the whole world-hopping adventure thing." He boasted, pointing at himself for emphasis. >"Would that honor go to your brother, as well?" >"My brother? Well, he can be a pain in the butt sometimes, so..." >"I suppose that's why he's at the Warehouse right now, about to find the way back home." >"Woah, wait...really? You're serious?!...how do I know this ain't a con?" Stan narrowed his eyes suspiciously. >"It's just a quick trip to the Warehouse, Stanley. It's not as if I need your money, after all." Yukari said in a matter-of-fact tone.

59/77 >"I dunno, I kinda wanted to see Toki kick Shaggy's ass a few times." >"I'll give you twenty dollars for it." Yukari said. >"Sold, to the weird lady!" And Stan promptly ran off. >"...I'm almost disappointed at how easy that was." She murmured. >"I'm almost disappointed at how easy that was." Atticus said as he finally held Heaven's Key in his hand, walking over to the gears in the wall of the Warehouse. He would place the Key into a barely-visible opening hidden between several of them, before turning it. The gears would all creak and groan softly before turning, the wall opening to reveal a steel pathway into a darkened abyss, with a singular light in the distance. >"Finally." Atticus said in satisfaction before he began to walk along the bridge. He took out a flashlight he had picked up a few worlds ago and let it shine forward - still, there was only darkness and the road ahead. It was truly a bottomless, howling abyss between the wall of this pocket dimension. The Control Room was just ahead, he could feel it. Everything he desired - every power he could imagine. His. >A shot from a Pulse Rifle was set off a few feet away from his leg, torching a hole into the old metal. Atticus hissed instinctively and turned around to see Ford, standing there with his weapon primed, just as it was many years prior. >"Stanford." >"I told you before that I was wise to your game, Atticus. You were the one who told Stone about Anon being the strongest opponent he could face, didn't you?" >"I'm just fulfilling my end of the bargain, Stanford. With Anon out of the equation, all that matters is who holds the Key. We both want access to the Control Room and to unlock the Engine's secret. Why be so violent about it?" >"I agreed that Anon was potentially dangerous. I never would have agreed to flat-out stealing it and having the man beaten half to death without a good reason!" >"So sentimental of you. And here I thought you'd know to make sacrifices for the greater good." >"I wasn't born yesterday, sorcerer. You wouldn't have gone through all this trouble without telling me if you truly planned to share the Control Room. I'm going to correct my mistake from years ago right now and take the Key back!" >"For yourself?" >"I..." It was a moment's hesitation, but it was enough. Atticus hurriedly chanted and waved his hand before the Pulse Rifle shorted out and exploded in Ford's hands, with him crying out in pain as his six-fingered hand was burnt in the process. Atticus then leapt forward and delivered a hard kick to the man's face, knocking him to the side and off the edge of the bridge, his burnt hand holding onto it for dear life with the darkness of the abyss below. >"Poor, stupid Stanford. I had thought we were kindred spirits, you know? That's why I went out of my way to spare you and your intellect. But I can see - you're the sort of person who is the architect of his own suffering." >"The stories I've heard about your world have only confirmed my suspicions about that. Someone like you would only damn the world faster than Anon ever could if he gained control of everything, or knew everything. But me? All that matters is my own victory, and seizing my own destiny. All else? Meaningless." Atticus said as he put his foot over Ford's hand. “It's a minimalist mindset I'm sure you can understand. Maybe I'll bring you back to life after I've taken control. Maybe as a circus animal or something.” >"Goodbye, Stanford." >Of course, as is the fate of all villains dumb enough to monologue extensively, the cat trap was promptly punched in the face by the timely arrival of Stanley, who put his newfound super strength to good use. A tooth went flying out of his mouth along with a small trail of blood before he tumbled several feet ahead of them both on the bridge. >"No one picks on my bro but me, you freakin' overdressed feline!" Stanley shook his fist at the downed Atticus before quickly helping Ford back up onto the bridge. >"Stanley...how did you know I was here?" Ford asked. 60/77 >"No thanks to you, Ford! You need to stop doin' this kinda crazy stuff without me!" Stan scolded his brother before turning over to look at Atticus. “He up to no good?” >"He's trying to take the Control Room. He already drugged anon and immobilized Meiling somehow." Ford explained quickly. >"And if we get to that Control Room, the sooner Anon and us can go home, right?" >"That's the plan." Ford said as he drew a new gun, only for it to melt in his hands like chocolate left out in the sun, and he hurriedly throws it away. >"Good enough for me." Stan said as he cracked his knuckles. >Atticus struggled back onto his feet and glared at the Pines twins. >"I've worked my entire life towards this. I won't let it be taken from me by a fool and a con- man." He said with hate in his voice. >"Well, you know what they say. Life gives you lemons..." Ford starts. >"Call ‘em ’yellow oranges.'" Stan said before charging forward. >Atticus looked momentarily perplexed. “That makes no sen-” And he ducked to avoid a second punch, before fighting the two brothers at once, struggling to use the powers he had gained from a couple of jumps to do so. Unfortunately, having spent so much time studying and using magic left little time for things like jogging and training, and he's no match for the street-smart Stan or the just-plain-smart Ford. >The fight ends when the two of them punch Atticus in the face and send him off the bridge, flailing into the abyss, his voice gradually fading away into the darkness. >A bit wounded but not worse for wear, the two of them caught their breath and steadied themselves before Stan realized something. “Huh. Pretty sure we just killed a guy, Ford.” >"You going to miss him?" Ford asked." >"Eh, not really. Guy was kind of an asshole. And like I said, no one picks on my bro but me." Stan said, putting a hand on Ford's shoulder and smiling at him. Ford smiled back before looking towards the light in the distance. >"That should be the Control Room up ahead. We should secure it just in case he somehow survived." >"Good idea. Then we can wake up Anon and let them know the good news, right?" >There was a moment's hesitation before Ford nodded in agreement. After all, this is what they all wanted in the end, wasn't it? >The two brothers would approach the light, their footsteps echoing into the darkness. >"So this is it...?" The two of them would be standing in front of a gigantic blue crystal that was surrounded by gears and wires that went into the darkness and in strange patterns that didn't seem to actually connect to anything. Ford looked on in wonder, while Stan examined the crystal with impatience. >"Doesn't look very user-friendly, bro." Stan pointed out. “Don't see any buttons or levers, either.” >"Stanley, this is a device likely constructed by a highly advanced civilization with control over time and space. They probably left the realm of a simplified user interface along with things like the need for food and water." Ford said as he walked around the crystal. That's when he noticed a crack running along its surface, and several of the gears around it were missing pieces. >"It's just like Anon said - the World Engine is damaged. Everything we've seen so far may be the result of a glitch, or...some kind of broken process." Ford explained. >"Great, so Anon's been stuck reliving high school over and over ‘cause of someone runnin’ Windows 95 on a super god machine?" >"I suppose that's one way to put it." Ford murmured before his six-fingered hand reached out to touch the crystal, before an arc of electricity nearly struck him, making him pull away and hiss in pain, flapping his already-burnt hand in place. >"Yeah, smooth move, bro." Stan said sarcastically before a soft chime began to fill the room. It sounded a bit like... >"Bells?" The both of them wondered aloud before a holographic display appeared in front of 61/77 them. It would make a picture of a single sphere, connected to hundreds, no, thousands of other spheres. Red lines appeared around every odd connection, as if marking an error. Then, the window would zoom out to see this collection of spheres become microscopic dots connected into a single sphere connected to thousands more, then zooming out more to show a display of several million of those, and a billion more of those, before it was united into a single, complex machine that resembled a gigantic humanoid form - missing an arm and a leg. >A little red sign appeared where that tiny, original sphere was, hovering over where the missing leg began, in letters neither of them could read. >"What...does this mean?" Ford asked, pointing at that almost-invisible starting point with the red letters around it. >"If it's anything like those signs at the mall...Ford. I think it says ‘you are here.’" The both of them became visibly pale. >"We're not in the Control Room." Ford realized. >"We're at the -entrance-." Stan finished.

>"So that's what we saw. Then we rushed on over to bring everyone together and tell you what happened." >Ford had just finished explaining the story to Anon, who had been detoxed by Kaori's magic. The atmosphere was a more than a bit uneasy at this revelation. They had all fallen silent. >"So, like...we're nowhere near going home yet, man?" Shaggy asked, looking a bit dejected as Asgore pat his back softly to steady his freeloader friend. >"Not even close." Ford said, his hands in his pockets. “But we know its possible. The Control Room is probably somewhere in the Engine's torso or head. We just need to find a quicker way there.” >Anon had been absolutely silent. >"I'm sorry about Atticus." Ford would add. >"Don't be. I knew the sort of person he was the moment he joined us. I just should have been on guard more." Anon said. “All he cared about was the Key and the World Engine. I just thought he'd be useful to have along in case he actually did find the Control Room. I underestimated how ruthless he actually was." >"Well, don't worry. We'll find it in no time, then we can-" >"You knew the whole time." That caught Ford off-guard. >"You knew about what Atticus was up to and let him off the hook because of me, didn't you?" >"I...how did you...?" >"I was a detective a few times, Ford. And a cop. I can read context clues, even if I can't read people." Anon said with a glare. “You had the idea of reaching the Control Room before everyone else and using it without telling me, didn't you?” >"...Anon, you have to understand, I was just-" >"I don't care. That's all you're all here for, isn't it? The Key. You were either brought along by it or you just want it from me. Because this is a big ‘adventure’ for you. An ‘opportunity’. Or even a chance at power or money, right?! The whole time I've fought and killed to survive, and all people like you see are the fucking ‘benefits’!" >"Anon, woah, calm down..." Stan raised his arms, trying to break up the impending argument. >"I haven't been control of my own life for over three-hundred years! I don't want any of this! I just want to go home and live and die like anyone else! Avatar this, Anon that, go and punch our problems away a little, would you?! And you come in here and tell me all of that is just because a fucking giant robot is -broken- and probably picked me at random?!" >"Well, to be honest, I still have no idea if the Engine is actually sapient-" Ford would start to say as-a-matter-of-factly before ducking as Anon threw an empty water glass at him. >"Do whatever the hell it is you do around here, Ford! That goes for all of you! I don't give a damn at this point!" 62/77 >Meiling rubbed her neck awkwardly and avoided eye contact, while Kaori looked on sadly. Stan felt awkward and Ford kept a stoic expression. Asgore kept his eyes out of view and Shaggy was looking down at an old photo he was carrying. Toki kept silent, his arms folded together. >It was Speedwagon who broke the silence. >"Anon, I understand it may not look like it, now...but you all helped us in different ways, didn't you? You chose, of your own volition, to assist us even when it was completely unnecessary. Those bonds didn't come from destiny or thin air...it was from your spirit when you journeyed into our worlds! And Ford may have deceived you, but he ultimately did what he thought was best, just as you did when you reached your hands out to all of us! Without you, Kaori would not have healed Toki, Asgore would be living alone, and Shaggy would have never been able to try the mile-long cheesesteak!" >"Like, yeah, and I still wanted seconds!" Shaggy chimed in cheerily. >"Even if our motivations may be selfish, our lives were changed forever by you, and likely for the better! For that, we can only thank you. That's why we want to help you find the Control Room and set you free! It's not just about us...it's about helping you find peace of mind! That's something all of us can agree on, right?" >"M'hm!" Kaori nodded and smiled. >"I just like hanging around Anon and fighting with him...the rest is just a bonus, really! So I'll help wherever I can, too." Meiling said with a grin. >"Hey, guy's not that bad, right?" Stan said with a shrug. >"I lost my family a long time ago. This...isn't quite the same, but I like being here with all of you the same. So I want to make that time fun for all of us." Asgore said with a nod. >"Like, you seem alright to me, man. I'd wanna go home, too!...I still do!" Shaggy said. >"Our meeting was not coincidence - you made my dream in my world a reality. The debt I owe you is great, and I wish to repay it tenfold." Toki agreed. >All eyes looked at Ford, expectantly. Feeling the weight of peer pressure, he sighed. >"Anon, I don't think what I did was wrong. But I understand you just want to return home before this goes any further. I promise you - no matter which of us finds the Control Room first, my first choice will be to help you return to where you came from. I swear it." >Anon was quiet. A little surprised, but his gaze went away from the others. >"...I'm sorry." He muttered. >"Hey, don't be. You've had a bad...uh, last two jumps, right? Just get some rest and we'll take care of the other stuff. We'll worry about the rest once you're back up and at ‘em." Stan said as encouragement. “C’mon guys, let's give him some space.” >The others all left the Medbay, save for Meiling. >"Guess they're not so bad after all, huh?" >"You really think so?" >"Hey, that sounded good enough for me." Meiling said with a grin before looking at Anon. “Even if you don't think so, you've got people here for you, you know? And...well, me too, you know.” >"...thank you, Meiling." >"Heh. No problem." >She left the Medbay...at least, the interior. She was standing outside the doorway soon after, as faithful as ever. >...everyone's resolve is so strong, even when having to deal with a mess like me. And I'm still trying to fulfill a promise I'm not sure I'd be able to go through. >Was Yukari right? Would I really be able to keep on going with a promise like that? Would I have to change the way I saw all of this in order to really be able to believe in it...? >I wonder what she thought of all this, Anon wondered. >"With little else to do, he went back to sleep, hoping he'd get to actually participate in the next jump.

63/77 Companion List: 1. Kaori 2. Hong Meiling 3. Yukari Yakumo 4. Toki 5. Shaggy 6. Asgore Dreemurr 7. Robert Speedwagon 8. Pod 1: Stanley Pines Pod 2: Stanford Pines

Jump 37: Superman - The Animated Series

Jump 37: Superman - The Animated Series Origin: Drop-In Age: 24 Secret Identity: Hero [+600 for Powers] Perks: Life of Bibbo Anti-Life Immunity [700] You Are Stronger Than You Think You Are [0]

Items: Radiation Proof Suit

Powers: Kryptonian Physiology [0p] [100] Fine Control [200]

Drawbacks: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Oath Against Killing [200] I Forgot [400]

Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope.

I know that story well. I know it better than any other. It was one of my earliest memories from childhood - that giant in a red cape flying over the streets of Metropolis. I can see myself in his place, my arms outstretched and the sun gleaming above me. I hear the familiar cries of the citizens above, in glee and wonder as they point at me.

>"It's a bird!" >"It's a plane!" >"It's---" >"A monster!"

Suddenly, the sun above me blackens and the sky turns red, and I'm assaulted by a sensation

64/77 of vertigo, like my stomach is trying to launch itself out of my throat. People panic and scream around me as I slowly turn in the air, and I can see fresh blood covering my hands...no, claws. One was the claw of a Fangire, the other of Amazon, and looking into the reflective mirror of a nearby skyscraper...and I see a composite face with many mouths and eyes staring back at me, each one a face I had worn in a previous life. They coagulate together into a singular mess before I a shapeless clump of flesh staring back at in my in my reflection before a many- fanged mouth emerged and -screeches-.

My eyes shoot open. I'm not in the open daylight or the skies of Metropolis, or even in an apocalypse-in-progress. Instead, I'm inside of my personalized cell in Arkham. My body is chained to the wall, and there's a muzzle and a mask covering my face. They didn't care who I was until they saw what was beneath it. This is where I left this world last time - rotting away slowly within this prison with minimal food and visitation, hearing the scratching and screaming of madmen around me. It was quieter this time. I remember - I held up the Clown Prince of Crime's bloodied head up before I was caught and imprisoned. Maybe they can sense my awakening and have decided not to anger the monster.

Nope, wait. I remember now. It's actually Taco Tuesday in Arkham.

The only sound in my room is my own shallow breathing through the mask. My body feels numb. For a while, I contemplate staying in this cell - it's just as well, right? Out there or in here, I'm still a prisoner of the World Engine. This world knows me as a monster already, anyways. What'd be the point of breaking out aside from pissing off the heroes of this world even more?

>"Such a look of self-pity doesn't suit such a youthful face, Anon." A soft voice breaks me out of my thoughts, from just an inch behind me. I know who it is by now. I didn't really have a verbal response to give her, because of the mask. >"We both know these restraints can't hold you. Are you so comfortable in bondage, perhaps~?" Don't make weird assumptions. I can't turn my head to look at her but I'm determined to glare as hard as I can at the wall in front of me by pretending that it's her. >"Don't make such a scary face. You don't really plan to remain here and sulk for ten years, do you?" ... >"Well, I suppose I can't stop you. However, I can only imagine the sort of troubles and dangers the others will face without you...who knows if another Darius or Stone is waiting for them? I do hope they'll be ready for that sort of thing." The chains rattle and the restraints groan. >"Why, they could be in danger right now, and thinking you're about to join them as reinforcements. I do hope they don't despair, knowing you've chosen to languish in a cage." ALRIGHT AL-FUCKING-READY! I'M GOING, I'M GOING! My skin changes to a charcoaled hue and my hair becomes a blazing red as I tear off the chains. I can hear alarms blaring. I can hear cries. The Freak is loose. The Freak is going to kill us all. I wasn't going to kill a single one of them, but I don't think that really mattered in this madhouse. By now, the walls of the Aslyum were more like slightly reinforced paper to me. I'm greeted by the morning sun rising over Gotham. And as the light touches my skin, something in me changes. It's gradual, little by little, like adding extra layers on top of what I already knew and could sense...the sounds of cars and chatter from miles away, my eyesight sharpening to the point I could spot individual, microscopic dents in concrete around me. It became too much, too quickly. I had barely realized several police squads had mobilized to apprehend me before I went speeding past all of them. There was one place I always went when I panicked, the one 65/77 place I truly felt at home - the wild. It was some forest far away from Gotham. I didn't know where. I didn't care. Where were the others? Where had I gone? I needed...I needed to find a door. I needed to figure out what to do next. >"You should calm down." You again?! Why are you always following me around...?! >"I'm hurt, Anon. I thought you enjoyed my company. Isn't that why I'm here~?" You're here because of the World Engine. And for it. Like the others, right? >"One out of two isn't bad, I suppose. But look around you. Listen. There's no one else here." I don't want to hear ANYTHING right now...it's all so loud, everything is so bright. I can't stand it, I can't- >"Sssh. Listen. You know these sounds, don't you? The sounds of a forest? Of the jungle? Try to remember, Anon."

I remember...the sounds of footsteps against branches and leaves. The wound of wind rushing through the trees in a soft whistle. Animals hunting and nurturing their young. I take a deep breath and the air fills my lungs - somehow, it feels fresher, cleaner. I press my palms together and my skin returns to its normal, pale hue and my hair changes back to a blackened color. One more deep breath and I open my eyes to the rising sun in the distance. Something's different. If I'm right, and my body has changed into what I think it has...

Only one way to find out.

I leap upwards. I hold my fist out. I don't fall back down. Instead, I soar. I can feel the ground disappear beneath me and the clouds reach out to embrace me. A flock of birds fly on past me, just out of reach, and I can see the Earth below. It's like falling, but missing the ground. For a moment, I feel elation. I stretch my arms out and laugh. I'm flying. It's been so long since... >"It hasn't been too long, actually." WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT >"You've been able to fly since you arrived in Gensokyo, remember?" ... Oh. Huh. I guess...I kinda forgot? She giggles at that. Stop acting all high-and-mighty, damn it! >"You haven't tried to fly once since you left that world. At first, I had thought you simply believed you lacked the ability. But, you've been trying to suppress your own powers and abilities for so long, I suppose it's possible you genuinely forgot." ...can you blame me? If I use everything at once, I turn into...that thing. >"'That thing?' Anon is Anon. All that changes is your form, correct?" I want to live and die as a man. That means not trying to show off as a Fangire-Replicant- Amazon-whatever-I-am. That's...that's what I promised myself. >"But is it what you really want?" If I just let these powers change me, then that means losing my way home. >"You're dodging the question, Anon. You're terrified of dying, aren't you?" I...ggh, what do you even care?! >"Just be honest with me, Anon. What is it that you really want out of all of this? Do you really want to go home? Or is it something else you're after?" I just want to have control of my own life again, Yukari! I don't want to be turned into some kind of freakish, eldritch -thing- people are either afraid of or want a piece of! I'm already a Fangire and other things, so I- >"Has your heart changed?" 66/77 ...I... >"Has your mind changed?" >"Do you think any less of home? Of Kaori? Of Meiling? Of Asgore? Of any of the others? Any less of humans? Or any less of yourself?" That's... >"Do you think the ones who truly care about you care about the form that you wear? Or that the World Engine matters more than the choices you've made?" ... >"I've been watching you for some time now. And I can see it. Every step of the way, you're fighting yourself. You tell yourself ‘I don’t deserve to win' and ‘I’m a monster'. Your abilities turn inwards and against you, because you think of yourself as ‘human’, and that using all that you have somehow makes you less of one. And constantly keeping all of it bottled without retraining yourself tears at your body and psyche even more, especially when you face a true adversary. Darius. Stone. Your own Gestalt." ... >"You can feel it now, can't you? How fragile the world is in your grip and your heart. And how much more fragile it will become. But that doesn't mean you need only be a destroyer of worlds, a beast that fights evil. You can be what you choose to be. That is the true power of being the Avatar, isn't it? >"To be able to use pieces of these worlds to shape yourself into what you want to be. Home may be far away, but what you do on this wayward road is ultimately up to you. And you need not merely be a passive pawn who merely fights to survive. The lives you touch and destroy in all worlds is truly your own." >"So I ask of you, Anon..." >"Are you just a victim of circumstance, a pawn of a destiny you've long since lost control of?" >"Or are really the hero of this story?" I remember. I remember what ultimately stopped my rampage. When I had killed The Joker, I was confronted by Batman himself. It was one-sided, even with his superior training. But ultimately, I stopped myself, realizing I was fighting a hero. Someone who fought monsters. In shame, I hesitated, and screamed. That's when I was hit with several dozen tasers and de- henshined, before being locked into Arkham. Because even in the worst of my rage, the worst of my self-pity and sorrow and hatred, I realized this wasn't what I wanted to be. So what did I want to be? Did I just take advantage of what I had, what I was getting, and live like a rich jackass for the rest of my life? Or would I try and dedicate that time to living each and every moment of my pseudo-immortal life as if it were my last? ...why are you so interested in this, anyways? Are you trying to make me see things like you do? >"Oh, goodness, no. The last thing I'd ever want is another of me. I do not care what you choose, Anon. I merely want you to make that choice for yourself." You're a weirdo, Yukari. Are you taking cues from Mr. Miyagi, now? >"Who?" Erm...nevermind. I remember. I just fought to punish what I saw as evil. Because I knew what it felt like to be in a position of weakness, to be the downtrodden and the unfortunate. And I felt infuriated at those who I felt got to get away with their crimes, laughing all the way. But life is much more complicated than I could have ever imagined - and I know now I can't live on rage alone. Alone. I didn't want to be that violent avenger, that destroyer of worlds. I wanted to be... I don't know if it was a mirage or a trick of my mind, but I could see a red dot in the distance flying on the horizon before vanishing into the distance. Ah. I remember now. “I want to be a reason for them to smile.” 67/77 I clenched my hands into a fist. This wasn't a curse. It wasn't a gift. It was just tools for me to use. Despite all that's happened, it's still me. I may not be able to make up for all I've done...but it's not too late to start. Before, I did this for fun. And a way to channel my anger. But now? I can't just spend eternity waiting for Ford or someone else to find me the way home. I can't just curl into a ball and weep while the world spins ahead of me. They put their faith in me. I can't let them down. Did that woman smile behind that gap? I couldn't tell, for I had already sped ahead, the gleaming city of Metropolis slowly entering view.

>"Look! Up in the sky!" >"It's a bird!" >"It's a plane!"

Jump 38: Justice League Unlimited

Jump 38: Justice League Unlimited Origin: Hero Age: 24 Race: Human Location: Metropolis Perks: Picturesque PG-13 Brutality A Regular Joe Number One Guy Golden Rule [1100] You're Off Your Meds, Aren't You? [1000] Boxing Lessons for Jumper [800] I'm Gonna Punch A Hole In Your Head [600] Heart of a Hero [300] World of Cardboard [0]

Superpowers: [+400] Flight x2 [200], Toxin Immunity x2 [0]

Items: Costume

Companions: Jumpers Assemble! [1200] Import: Kaori - Origin: Hero, Race: Human, Perks: Picturesque, PG-13 Brutality, A Regular Joe, Number One Guy, Heart of a Hero [500], You're Off Your Meds, Aren't You? [400], Golden Rule [300], World of Cardboard [0], Powers: [+400] Enhanced Speed x2 [0]

Import: Hong Meiling - Origin: Hero, Race: Amazon [600], Perks: Picturesque, PG-13 Brutality, A Regular Joe, Number One Guy, World of Cardboard [300], Golden Rule [200], Boxing Lessons for Superman [0] Powers Source: Spiritual, Powers: Enhanced Strength 1 - Enhanced Durability 1 - Longevity 3

Import: Stanford Pines - Origin: Independent, Race: Human, Perks: Picturesque, PG-13

68/77 Brutality, Aglets are Sinister, One Word of Advice, Who Guards the Guardians? [700], They're all Freaks and Aliens! [600], A is A [300], Gifted Intellect [100], A Line in the Budget [0] Skills: [+400], Survival, Investigation, Tactics, Diplomacy, Escape Artistry, Academics - Physics [0], Items: Personal Weapon, Advanced Personal Weapon, Ground Transport, Gadgets

Import: Stanley Pines - Origin: Drop-In, Race: Gorilla [700], Picturesque, PG-13 Brutality, I'm Actually An Alien!, Take The Controls, Surprised to See Me? [600], Charismatic Philosophy, [300], Great, More Time Travel [0], Powers: Enhanced Strength 1 - Enhanced Durability 1

Import: Asgore Dreemurr - Origin: Drop-In, Race: Humanoid, Perks: Picturesque, PG-13 Brutality, I'm Actually An Alien!, Heart of a Hero [0] Take The Controls, Items: [+400] Green Lantern Ring [0i] [600]

Import: Shaggy - Origin: Independent, Race: Human, Perks: Picturesque, PG-13 Brutality, Aglets are Sinister, One Word of Advice, Powers: Enhanced Strength 3 [500], Enhanced Durability 3 [200], Enhanced Regeneration 2 [0], Skills: [+400], Unarmed Combat [300], Escape Artistry [200], Melee Weaponry [100], Tactics [50], Survival [0]

Import: Toki - Origin: Independent, Race: Martian [0] Perks: Picturesque, PG-13 Brutality, Aglets are Sinister, One Word of Advice, [Critical Weakness: Energy], Power Source: Innate, Powers: Toxin Immunity 1 - Disease Immunity 1 - Flight 1 - Enhanced Strength 3 - Enhanced Durability 3 - Enhanced Regeneration 3 - Shapeshifting 3 - Longevity 2 - Telepathy - Density Shifting

Import: Robert Speedwagon - Origin: Drop-In: Race: Human, Perks: Picturesque, PG-13 Brutality, I'm Actually An Alien!, A Line Item Hidden in The Budget [700], Gifted Intellect [600], Charismatic Philosophy [300], Don't You Ever Get Lonely? [100], Surprised To See Me? [0] Items: [+400] Big Business - The Speedwagon Foundation[0]

Drawbacks: Consistent Continuity Uncreative [1100] Rogues Gallery x3 [1400] Single Episode Superpower [1600]

Let me describe to you the best years of my entire life.

Becoming a superhero, let alone a ‘second Superman’ wasn't something that happened quickly or easily. I took to the skies in Metropolis and began to save others I found in danger, working alongside a very confused Kal-El whenever I could. Initially, he was hopeful there was another survivor from Krypton, but I shot down his hopes and told him the truth - my powers were ‘borrowed’, a snapshot of his own that had been brought into my body. He was a bit confused since I danced around the subject, but he was willing to let the subject go when he saw how troubled I was. Overall, despite the lack of a real familial bond, Clark kinda felt like...I don't know, an older brother to me? The sort who was more grounded. I didn't object to this. Even now, I looked up to him as a hero and did my best to follow in his footsteps. I was done running. I was done hiding, or just being purely reactive. I was given these powers - I should use them to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

Batman eventually entered the picture and was a bit less accepting of me. He remembered my actions as ‘The Freak’ and objected to my presence whenever possible. I don't know if the state of Gotham had made him less sympathetic to my previous madness as the years had rolled on - he treated it as though I was making excuses, and that butchering thousands 69/77 couldn't be so easily forgiven, even if they were criminals and madmen. I didn't blame him. I feel like he and Ford were more worried about the idea of me going rabid again. Those worries only grew once Superman had been brainwashed, however briefly, by Darkseid and I ended up coming to blows with him. Let me tell you - he hits like an angry semi that's also on fire and loaded with several bars of steel. After that incident was resolved, it was my turn to believe in him, even after the public's trust in him had been shaken.

By the time we were on the eve of the alien invasion that would lead to the formation of the Justice League, I had become a known superhero. When they asked what my name was, or the identity I went by, I answered succinctly:

Avatar.

The others had noticed the change in me - I was taking charge more often, trying to coordinate this ragtag bunch into a proper team. I had some help with Kaori and Toki in doing so - most of them were pretty enthusiastic about it, save for Stan and Shaggy - the former wasn't much of a team player and the latter was amazingly lazy. And Ford. Ford was the least happy about me asserting my will - constantly warning me to not let my powers get the better of me, telling me to mind civilians, and asking how strong I felt I was now. Before, I was content just to answer his questions and agree with him - but now it was starting to come down to arguments and mutual suspicion. I'd like to say his fears were unfounded, but after the whole Darkseid incident, I suppose it wasn't - I just wish he'd at least try to trust me a little more.

Pretty sure he kept Kryptonite in his desk somewhere.

So I had become a founding member of the Justice League. I had saved lives, I had fought a trio of colorful villains, and I'd do all of that and more for the years to come. We hadn't quite moved on like I had expected at the end of that decade - instead, everyone kind of spontaneously developed new powers and forms. The results were...mixed.

>"WHY AM I A FREAKIN' MONKEY?!" >"Oh, look, everyone! I can make a little green tea set with this ring." >"Why do I have a sudden urge to wear a leotard and a tiara...?" >"WHEEEEEEEEE I'MFASTI'MFASTI'MFAAAAAAST" >"Like, wow, all that training actually paid off!" >"Shaggy that wasn't from your training at all. Also, I appear to be green."

Yeah.

Also I can fly in space unsupported now. I only found out when I accidentally got shunted into the vacuum of space when my transport got damaged. That was a little traumatizing to discover. But let me tell you - the view of Earth from the upper atmosphere or the moon is nothing short of utterly breathtaking. I took a few pictures once I managed to get a camera that could withstand the journey. Oh did I mention I have a crippling phobia of outer space so I spent my initial time there screaming into the void? That took a little while to get over.

Anyways, Justice League! You've probably seen the show, you know what to expect. Adventures, camaraderie, and I even had my own little ‘sub-team’ in my companions and friends, which inspired the idea of opening up the League a little bit ahead of schedule. While Batman still didn't trust me all that much, he was at least willing to tolerate my presence after a few years, and we were able to work together without too much issue. Thing is, after a while, my...'condition' became common knowledge among the core members. I thought it 70/77 would have been a passing issue, something that couldn't really be helped or addressed.

One day, that changed.

It was the last year of my stay, and I was sparring with Meiling in the Warehouse, mostly to prevent collateral damage to the rest of the Tower. It had become something of a ritual for us to keep up our martial arts, even with our growing powers in other fields. Just keeping up my training - left hook, right jab, snap kick, grapple and um our faces are kinda close right now. She's staring at me. I'm staring back at her. I think one of us should move. Like. Right now. Why aren't we moving. What is happening here. Why am I suddenly really anxious. Why does she look anxious what is this

>"I hope I'm not interrupting."

OH GOD annnnd I dropped Meiling. Um. Sorry. >"Ow." Green Latern was standing in the doorway, looking a little bit amused. Don't you give me that smug look, Mr. Relationship Troubles! ...wait, what?

The League had gotten together to talk about me and the World Engine, and the obvious fact I wanted to return to my home...or at least, not being shunted around randomly every odd decade, with only a few exceptions. And they offered to try and help. We'd begin an expedition into the World Engine and try to locate the Control Room - which, would hopefully result in me being able to return home. It wasn't just the originals, either. Many of the greatest minds and heroes that were on the side of Angels wanted to try and find the way home for me - because it was the least they could do after everything I did to aid them.

I was hesitant. A little choked up. But I had no reason to refuse. Even Ford encouraged the idea of outside help - as long as it meant the Engine would be taken out of my hands, I imagine. With this entire team assembled for this purpose, the idea of being able to journey into the World Engine and find the way home wasn't just a distant goal anymore. It was in sight. We were all starting to talk about what we'd do and where we'd go once the journey was over. Most of them would just go back to their original worlds. Toki was actually contemplating the idea of following his erstwhile student Shaggy to his world, but he had ultimately decided his world likely needed him more. I was wondering what I'd do if I really had the choice to go back to Earth or another world I had been apart of. Time likely hadn't moved since I had left, but...could I really just say goodbye to everyone? Kaori, who was like a little sister to me...poor Asgore, still guilty and looking for a place to be, and...Meiling. Would I just turn my back on all of them?

I didn't have a chance to make the decision.

The expedition began, and we managed to setup a network of portals between the many limbs of the World Engine. Its interior was nothing sort of awe-inspiring - an endless network of clockwork and gears that turned and spun seemingly without support, the sound of bells chiming echoing into the abyss for what felt like an eternity. We made sure to keep the entrance open and a way to return to it - the paths changed randomly, robotic servitors would 71/77 sometimes attack us while using several different powers from other worlds, and it became more and more of an uphill battle as we went. We had to rely on the science team to cook up gadgets to counter abilities none of us could with magic or bruteforce, then a magic team to swap out for them when that stopped working, and so forth.

But then we were stopped. Just when it seemed like we were on the home stretch...we found someone. We found Atticus. He was hunched over and his body crackled with electricity, an electronic whine in his voice before it sounded like a broken speaker. His eyes were glazed over, and the gears around him spun in response to his movements. Was he here for revenge? To claim the Control Room. No...instead, he stepped forward, and spoke words I didn't understand.

What I did understand was the one line he said in English.

S̷̸̡ę̕è̀͢͟k̀͡ ̷ı̀͞͏̶n̛͢͜͟g̵̴̢̧͡ ̷̧̨̧͞t̕͏h́͠ ̸̢͝e̸̷̡͜ ̵͟p͏̀ȩ̀͘a͏̵̸ç҉̛͢͞e͘҉̴ ̸͞o̕҉̧͜͡f̴̢̡̕͢ ̶̕͟͟͝r̀͢͏e̡͘a̵̧͟͝s̨̢͝͡͞o̷̵̸͞n҉̨.̶̡.͞.̀̕̕ The sevitors came back to life and he threw an ungodly amount of power at all of us, scattering the League into portals that opened and led to a non-euclidean network of mazes. Our teams disintegrated, scattered and being hastily teleported back home. None of us could get past him, or even gety a single hit in.

F̷̸͜i̕͜͡͝ǹ͞͡͞a̴̕͢͝l̵͝ ̴́ṕ̴̴͝a̶̛͝͏̨r̸̀͜͞͝a̧͟͞m̛͏̵͟e̶̵̢͡t̴͞ȩ̸͘͜r̶̡s̶̴̀ ̀͜o͘҉͢f̶̴̧ ̴̶̢͞T̸̵̕ę̧ŗ͡͏m҉̵̕i̷̧̕͜͟ǹ̶̕͞a͏̧l̡͢ ̶̀Ṕ͝͠r͏̶͟͟͞ơ̢̕t͏̸̡͠o̵̴̧c̷̶͞o̴͟͝l͢ ͝͞͞h̨̛͢͝a̡̢͢͢͝v̵͟͝ę̵̛͠ ̡͟͢͞n̶̷̛͠ớt̛̀̕͢͠ ̧̨҉̷͞b̸̧ę͡e҉̸̡͜n͞͏ ͝m͏̡͏ę̶́̕t̷̡̢͢.̴͜ ̶́͢͜͡A̵̷l̸̨͠l̢̡͢͜ ̸̢d̷̶i̶̸̢͘̕s̡͏̶͟͏h̢̀͘͟͜a̵̧̕ŗ̕͡͏m̧͢ò̴͟n͠i̛͟ơ̢͡u̸͘ś̛͘͝ ̢͡͞͏e̴҉̶͢l̷̢͠e̶̷m̀̕҉ȩ̴̵̀ņ̧̡̛́ţ̧͢͜s̴͠ ̸̀͜͡w̛͢i̴̧͢͟͟l̕l̡̕͡ ́ ̸͜͝b̶́͠e͟͝͠ ̡͟e̷j̴̛̀͡é͠͏͝c̡͜͞͡t͟͡ę̷d̴̷̨̀ ́ ̷̶̛͘f̶̵̢r̛͝o͏̵͟m̸̢̨͜ ͟͜͞t̷̨͠͝h́ ̵̵͠i̛͟͝ş́̀͟ ́ ̨̧͞u҉n͘i̵̵̧t͝҉͟͝'̡͡ś҉̀ ̵Ç̧͞o̕͠͏̀n̡̧͞t̴̷̛͢͝r͠o̡l̨͞ ̀ ̵͡͏̀C̵̷̢͢h́ ͘҉a̸͞m̨҉͟͡b̛͢e͘r̶̨̢͞͏.͘҉ I screamed, and tried to land one more punch in. I was teleported back to the Warehouse. We tried again, not long after. We failed, the exact same way. Whatever power had possessed Atticus, it was beyond anything we could throw together with what time was left.

We had failed.

All things considered, we were fortunate - aside from some members being teleported on nearby alien planets, we hadn't suffered any fatal casualties - mostly injuries and nausea from the transportation. But what was done was done. Once the bell tolled, I would be moving on to the next world.

...but, hey, no one died. You know what I call that, as The Flash would say? A good day. Chin up, guys! At least we know what we're in for, now. And that just means we need to cook up a new solution. Let's all cook a celebratory dinner for the others, and let them know we're thankful they gave us this chance. >"Anon...are you okay?" Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. No sense in moping about it, right? We know it's possible, now. Or else it wouldn't have tried to stop us, right? So we just need to lick our wounds and try again. One way or another, we'll get home. I promise all of you.

...I can't let myself fall back into self-pity around them. Someone has to be able to smile and laugh all of this off. So I'll do it. This is my responsibility, so I should treat it as such.

The final year comes, and I have to say my goodbyes to the others, unsure if I'd ever return. But ultimately...even with how this ended, I consider my time in the Justice League the best I would ever spend. To be a hero and be surrounded by those who want to do the right thing, to know them and to fight alongside them...that's something I'll never forget.

72/77 I swear it.

Companion Update: Atticus of Barton is no longer a companion - Tempered by the World Engine.

Jump 39: Fate/stay Night

Jump 39: Fate/stay Night Origin: HERO Location: Fuyuki Fire Park [Free Pick!] Age: 14 Perks: Command Seals Magic Circuits Stat Sheet I Need A Hero! Layman Linguistics I'm Just A Janitor [1400] Ever-Distant Utopia [1300] I Am The Bone Of My Sword - Fist [1100] We Can Make It Work [900] Fated Encounters [600] Demi-Servant [100] Catching Up [0]

Items: Senpai's Proof

Servant: Sakura Saber

Drawbacks: Sealing Designation [1200] Servant Override [1400] Nasuspeak [1500]

Demi-Servant: Li Shuwen Class: Assassin [250] Stats: Strength D->B [350] Endurance D->C [400] *Agility B->A [425] Mana E *Luck B->E [350]

Skills: Presence Concealment ---

Personal Skills: Chinese Martial Arts C->A+++[600]

73/77 Sphere Boundary [850]

Noble Phantasm: No Second Strike --- Fierce Tiger Forcibly Climbs A Mountain ---

Servant: Okita Souji Class: Saber [375] Templates: Sakura [675], Living [875] Stats: *Strength A->C [325] Endurance B->E [250] *Agility B->A+ [300] Mana C->E [250] Luck D

Class Skills: *Magic Resistance E *Riding E [275]

Personal Skills: Eye of the Mind (False) C->A [375] Weak Constitution A Reduced Earth [450]

Noble Phantasms: Coat of Oaths C (Freebie!) Flag of Sincerity B [650] Lightless, Three-Stage Thrust ---

Drawbacks: Weak Constitution A [250] Saber again, Really?

The Holy Grail War.

A conflict of seven magi who fight each other using a bunch of dead people as Pokemon in order to win a cup full of magic heaven juice that may or may not be some Persian teenager's hateboner against the entirety of humanity. It was a battle several people had trained their entire lives for, and with the ultimate prize at stake: The Holy Grail, it would be a true test of one's character, humanity, and cunning to be able to win this battle royale.

None of this was on my mind the morning we arrived in this new world. You know what was on my mind as I woke up and crawled over to the coffee machine? How fucking loud the entire house is when you have super-hearing. I could hear Asgore making yet another attempt at a pie recipe and Shaggy being happy to be the taste-tester. Free food was free food, after all. I could hear Kaori and Meiling making small talk about what Japanese cities had in common across the multiverse. Toki was quiet - probably meditating somewhere. Stan was counting money over his ‘COME AND SEE THE TALKING GORILLA’ exhibit from the last world. Ford was probably doing science things. The knowledge this multiversal detour was probably going to continue much longer than any of us could have anticipated likely weighed on his mind. And Yukari was sleeping on the roof. Honestly, did she do much else? It felt like she had slept through most of the journey without really doing all that much. Besides teasing me, that is. 74/77 >"Good morning, Master!" Huh? Oh good morning SabAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA >"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" I screamed. Sakura Saber screamed. Then she started coughing and collapsed onto the floor. I just stared before everyone ran in and I had to explain where we were and what we'd be doing.

Now I'd like to tell you how we had an epic struggle against the other Masters and how we had to pull together to win the War...except, well, we didn't. We sure participated in the fighting, but I wasn't desperate enough to believe the corrupted Grail would grant me a real way home or solve the World Engine problem. So it mostly consisted of us helping out Shirou, Saber, Rin, and Archer. All of whom seemed to like me for some reason. Don't know why. Maybe it's because my hair suddenly turned into a natural red? Which is weird because I haven't used the Satsui No Hado in earnest for nearly fifty years now.

I also blacked out a few times and woke up with new injuries and apparently having defeated a few Servants while I was out. That was a little alarming. Oh, and Kaori bullied Berserker using her super speed. It was funny to watch, at least until he changed targets and went after us instead. That was no fun.

Companion List: 1. Kaori 2. Hong Meiling 3. Yukari Yakumo 4. Toki 5. Shaggy 6. Asgore Dreemurr 7. Robert Speedwagon 8. Okita Souji (Sakura Saber) Pod 1: Stanley Pines Pod 2: Stanford Pines

Jump 40: The Incredibles

Jump 40: The Incredibles Origin: Super Age: 42 Perks: Jammering, Yeah! That'll take me to downtown! [900] We're superheroes. What could happen? [700] Someone's Always In Trouble [400]

Powers: [+300] Incredible Strength [150p] Incredible Durability [0p]

Items:

75/77 Super Suit Man Cave Railway Yard Training [200] Wardrobe [100] Hobo Suit - Import JLU costume [50] Would You Care For More Mimosa? [0]

Siiiigh.

This must be what nostalgia feels like. Already, I can see myself assembling with the rest of the Justice League, going out to save the day from whatever supervillain or hostile alien force is attacking. But here, things are a little more...grounded. Superheroes are outlawed. The Glory Days ended before I re-awakened to my true self. And all of my ‘background’s teammates have simply re-settled or disappeared while I chafe under a soul-crushing office job. I don't know if it's from my body starting off a little older this time around, but I feel a lot more exhausted than ever. Not just physically, but mentally. Still, the worlds needs a hero. And Avatar is that hero. Or, at least, close enough, right?

This winding road has taken me interesting places. First I was just an animalistic survivalist, now here I am rescuing kittens from trees, stopping bank robberies, and flying around Earth while fleeing from the authorities and more. And often without spilling a single drop of blood - my own or that of others. And you know what? It feels good. It feels right. Because instead of just fighting for myself, these powers...these tools, I can use them to benefit others, however briefly.

I wonder how the others feel about this. >"Like, got any fours?" >"Go fish, Shaggy." >"Aha! The wise tactician Okita-san has sank your battleship!" >"Okita we're not even playing that right now." >"Eeeeh? Wait, when did we change games?! Is this the fabled double-switch tactic...?!" >"Why do you keep saying weird stuff like that? You remind me too much of Marisa..." >"Okita, we started playing Go Fish over an hour ago when Stanley threw the board out the window!" >"Hey, eight-player battleship was a dumb idea anyways! And you guys all ganged up on me, anyways! Who the heck would play a game with several other bozos who'd turn on each other for no dang reason with nothing to stop them!" >"I think that's Diplomacy, actually." >"Shut up, Ford! You're not even playing, why should you care?" >"I care!...sometimes." >"Has anyone seen Anon?" >"Think he's doing the Superman thing. He should be back in time for supper." >"At least you all got actual superpowers outta that deal. All I got was to turn into a freakin' gorilla!" >"Stanley, you found out how to turn back to normal already, didn't you?" >"Well yeah, but it's just the principle of the thing, you know? What, am I gonna turn into a slug-man later just cause that stupid Engine thinks I'm greedy or somethin'?" >"Does this mean I'll eventually get a body that isn't always sick?!" >"I'm sure your dream will come true, Miss Okita! Just work hard and look forward to it, and it will come true someday!" >"Uwaaaah...do you really mean it, Miss Kaori?!" >"Hey, don't get sucked into her optimism field. It might make you more sick." >"Nonsense! Okita-san is ready to take on the world and all the otherCAUGH" 76/77 >"SHE'S DOWN!" >"QUICK, GET THE FIRST AID!"

77/77