Fourth Jump: Skullgirls (Part 1)

Skullgirls Jump (Jump 4)

1000cp + 200cp

Starting Location: I actually rolled an 8! I can choose! I choose… Maplecrest.

Identity: Drop-In (Free) Age 19

Abilities: Street Smarts (Free): You know your ways around the seedy back alleyways of New Meridian. You can tell if someone's a crook just by looking at them, and you can always blend into a

crowd, no matter how outlandish your costume.

Parasite: Medusa (300cp): This parasite replaces one of your eyes, as well as a good chunk of skin around it. Your eye gains a flame-red iris and yellow sclera, while the skin around it seems green and scaly. Medusa's eyelids are actually her mouth, with her eye on the end of a tongue- Medusa can lash out and bite at anything attacking your face with surprising ferocity. Medusa also is capable of covering anything you see in a layer of generic gray stone, whether that thing be an inanimate object or a living person. She can turn this ability on and off as she pleases. Medusa's stone is hard enough to trap normal people with only a moment's glance, and keep them stuck until they die or you let them out. The longer you look at something with this power, the thicker the stone covering it becomes. Medusa can move her eye independent of your remaining eye, and can even pop it out and control it like an agile, prehensile tentacle that looks like a snake's body. With this, she is able to reach a maximum length of about 15 feet. This can be disorienting, since you still see out of Medusa's eye during all this. Medusa is nice enough, but quite vain and very possessive of you, and becomes upset if you try to cover her up. She will start acting out and will petrify your friends to stone if you ignore her for too long. Does not like reflective surfaces.

Like The Back of Your Hand (150cpD): It's always good to have some local knowledge, but you seem to have an uncanny intuition as to your envrions. No matter where you go, you know the area like the back of your hand- every nook, cranny, and back alleyway is innate knowledge to you. You'll never be lost again! This knowledge is so complete to the point where you can use it in combat- Dancing a foe into a wayward cobblestone to trip them, or perhaps positioning them so that you can knock them into a faulty neon sign.

Last Hope (600cp): A top-secret special unit originally belonging to the Anti-Skullgirl labs, the Last Hope was dissolved due to a mysterious incident- But you're one of the last surviving members. You have no superpowers, just top-notch medical training, to the point where your knowledge of the human body is absolute. You know exactly how the human body reacts chemically to just about anything (for good or for ill), pressure points and weaknesses, acupuncture points to bolster or debilitate people, and should you encounter some kind of alien humanoid race with different anatomy, brushing yourself up on all of their details only takes a single dissection. You even know how to safely extricate a Parasite from their host or artificially bond multiple parasites to a

single person- Providing all parties are complicit (or entirely unable to object) in the process. Even so, the most Parasites anyone has ever been able to put into a single person is two, and those were

both Artificial Parasites.

Equipment: 3 Money Under The Mattress (2 for free from Drop-In with a third for 50cp), Hideout (Free), 

Infinite Blade Works (100cp)… Not Unlimited Blade Works, just it’s cousin. Also, the only one that remains after the jump, it seems as far as equipment is concerned: Somehow, you have a just-about endless supply of knives, swords, and other such sharp things that you can pull from any pocket or likewise hidden area on your body. These blades are of high quality and are always sharp, but they're nothing special. They seem to disappear mysteriously once you're done using them.

Drawbacks: Debt (100cp): So, uh, that hideout you have? Turns out you might have skipped the bill once or twice. Or ten times. And there's a lot of interest. Doesn't matter if you live somewhere for free - Now you owe an obscene amount of money to your landlord, who's been generous enough to let you pay it off in payments that I garuntee will leave you in poverty for your entire ten years here unless you work extra hard on paying off your debt. And for some reason, now your Cosmic Warehouse key only works on your hideout's bathroom door, and will stop working if you lose your hideout- So, unless you like living on the streets, you should get on that. 

Action (100cp): People like you tend to like a good scrap once in a while, but this is a little silly.

Seems like you can't take a step out your front door without some random guy crashing into you and

challenging you to a fight on the flimsiest pretenses. It's a constant thing- No matter where you go,

you're constantly plagued by challengers. It's a good day if you only have ten fights on the way home.

Not that they're ever really a challenge, but getting anywhere takes forever and you're always dead

tired before you get home.

Equipment from past jumps: Muichimonji, Bottle of Rum, Jar of Dirt (Lancer), PDA

A note from the previous jump: Malfested is now able to be turned on and off. Turning it on, however, activates the entire ability, including the drawback portion for as long as it is active.

Well… Seems I Made a Friend… Why the Fuck is My Eye Moving Without My Input?!

            I grumbled softly, my body shifting around for a moment as a few beams of sunlight shined in through the gaps of the shades that covered every window of my bedroom. It took a moment, but I slowly rolled out of the soft bed that I had dropped-in on this time around. Wait… A soft bed? A soft bed!? When the fuck did I last have a soft bed!? Once this realization dawned on me, I sprung to my feet and looked around for a moment.

            A modern house… I was standing the bedroom of a modern house. Apparently my house if the deed on the nightstand, and the notice from the person I had obtained it from that I was now permanently paying off a constant stream of debt, was any indication. With a small, content sigh, I stepped over into the bathroom, my hands rubbing at my eyes as I went. “Well… Perhaps I will have a break this time. Debt isn’t anything too bad…” I took a quick look in the mirror to at least make sure that everything was normal and, of course, I was not normal even at a glance. I cringed slightly, one of my hands reaching up to rub at the scales that outlined my right eye socket and the space that is covered from the side of my nose, close to my right ear, and how it physically removed my eyebrow on that side.

            ‘Look, I know you have a thing for lamia, but could you please not touch me so early in the morning?’ I heard, my right eye moving to glance toward my left as the voice continued. ‘Also, just a note for later, keep me out of the sight of mirrors… Makes me uncomfortable.’ By that point, I simply blinked the eye that I still had control of and slowly walked back over to my bed, took a seat, and picked my bottle of rum off of the nightstand. “My eyeball is talking to me… What’s your name and where am I THIS time?” I asked simply, taking a long sip from my endless bottle of alcohol before and after I spoke.

            My eye… Her eye… At least I think it was a she… The voice was feminine, if nothing else… Ah, our eye, extended out, forcing me to take a deep drink of my rum now that I was literally looking myself in the eye. ‘Medusa. Pleased to meet you… and you? We might as well get to know each other considering we are now together till death.’ She stated with an eerily pleased tone to her voice. “Aaron. Nice to meet ya’. Till death… Modern house… Parasite… You never answered where we were.” I mentioned, my hand reaching over to grab the deed and take a glance at the information for a location. Good thing I could suppress my emotions, because this was rather… disturbing.

            My conversation was interrupted by a hard knock on the door, forcing me to climb up to my feet and, thankfully I was currently clothed… Minus my boots and coat as I thankfully had a habit of wearing clothes to bed. Either way, Medusa slipped back into my skull and I started to cover her up with my hand, but after nearly losing a finger in the process, I simply apologized and stepped up to the door. “Ah, won’t be doing that again if it obviously upsets you.” I muttered before opening the door. I was greeted with a rather burly man standing there with a bat in hand. ‘You malformed bastard!’ He stated harshly before bringing his bat up and, just before he brought it down, he was completely encased in stone. I could hear him screaming underneath the rather generic rock, so he was at least alive.

            “I… Like you. I will call you Meddy. Also, thank you for taking care of this asshole. It was you, right?” I stated simply to the eye, who I could see lowering their eyelid as if to say ‘Really?’… But, I still had a guy to deal with and it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to let him die. After checking my PDA to see what my mailing list and voting aspects stated… Don’t know why they appeared, but they did on occasion… I reached over to grab him by the arms and, with a decent amount of difficulty, dragged him into the house and off toward the kitchen. “Come here, I will get you out of there.”

            I propped him up in the kitchen and, after a few moments of looking around, drew a small hammer and a screwdriver, which I used to carefully chip away at the stone… Mouth and nose first, then eventually just worked his head free. I gave him a few moments, but as soon as he started to talk, I gave him a few hard hits upside the head till he eventually… calmed down… and took an hour or two to pry him free of the rock and toss him back outside. I actually took a moment to glance around the area. A nice suburban place… Not too bad… At least till I saw someone that I knew rather well. Filia… I saw Filia from Skullgirls walking through the neighborhood. That was all I need to know and, with that, I went right back inside. First, I had to find a way to make enough money to pay off debt… I am sure that I had enough for three months, but not much else. Hmm…. I am going to need a few bottles, my endless rum, and a labeler…

Third Jump: Soul Calibur (Part 2)

Dark Wings That Plot In Secret and the Lost Wanderer Not Of This World

(“Dark Wings That Plot In Secret” is a reference to Tira’s promotional material for SCV and the fact that the narrator of Soul Calibur gives everyone odd titles… Hence the other title.)

Music for the battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEJJ4dZhh98

           

I ducked and rolled off to the side to avoid the woman as she came down, coming up to my feet so that I could run toward the center of the room, my body turning so that my back was facing the very throne that Nightmare once called his own… along with so many others before and after him. “I don’t want to harm anyone… but, I won’t be like that mentally deranged Pyrrha and her possibly incestuous brother.” As I spoke, she gathered herself and walked up, just as the narrator… Wait… Narrator? Really? That was actually canon... Alright. The narrator, who might only be able to be heard by those fighting, called out in his deep, thoughtful voice ‘The wanderer only desires enlightenment, but for the jester… only corruption.’ to add to the rather melodramatic tone that, by this point, saturated the very air of the castle.

At least it banished the current tension, Tira stepping up to a point a few feet away, her blade slung over her shoulder and her body hunched over. A stance that I was familiar with considering how often I used to play the games that she was from. She didn’t say a word and her otherwise Jolly appearance shifted to that of anger and distaste. “Here I thought I was switching emotions much too quickly…” I commented as I hooked the scabbard of my blade to my belt, positioning it off to the right so that I could draw it with my left hand and, just to be ready, I did so. I could already tell that my pacing was off, as well as my mood… Being thrown from one world to another probably wasn’t too easy on my mind and body to begin with, nor the fact that I was now malfested… Was simply waiting for it to claw at the corners of my mind to go on a rampage at this point.

As a fitting switch of atmosphere, everything went silent for a moment. The breeze that went through the throne room eased up, both me and the insane wench that was now my opponent barely shifting even a single muscle. Her manic depression did come with that one side benefit… I could at least count on either of her two emotional… viewpoints… to be stalwart in their thoughts and actions. Quite predictable in that regard.

I was the first to act, rushing forward with my blade held off to the side. I knew that my form was horrible, but I refused to use my malfested arm… At least while I didn’t have to. I brought the sword up from below, Tira stepping off to the side with a small spin on her heel. That circular weapon came around in the same movement, forcing me to turn and push my hips back to just barely, and quite awkwardly, avoid the strike only to feel the heel of her boot crashing into my jaw. I stumbled back a step and brought my katana up, my body turned in a similar fashion to a fencer. A truly improper stance for the weapon I am using. I thought for a moment, my malfested hand flexing as I mulled over my options… before I suddenly tore off my coat with that monstrous hand and tossed it up into the air.

Once the fabric settled, I was already a good forty feet away from Tira and going down a hallway. I ran straight to the first door that I came to, sheathing my katana so that I could pull out my warehouse key and slip it into the lock. I could hear Tira approaching and, as she turned the corner, she was greeted with the barrel of my Lancer pointed down range toward her and my foot propped up on a jar of dirt. “What’s the rule? Use what you have available? Either way… I cheat.” With that, I won the battle… I didn’t kill her, but I left her with a few bullet holes in her legs. Nothing major, thankfully.

I did not stay in the castle, I left… I left and simply found a place to stay for the remaining years… A few run-ins here and there, but nothing that couldn’t be taken care of with a few bullets.

Third Jump: Soul Calibur (Part 1)

Soul Calibur Jump (Jump 3)

1000cp + 50

Starting Location: Ostrheinsburg

Identity: Drop-In (Free) Age 17

Abilities: Forever Onward (100cpD): You become more resistance weather that would otherwise impair your ability to travel. Strong winds, harsh sun, pouring rain, you'll be able to pass through with only a minor inconvenience.

No Remorse-No Pain (200cp): You gain a huge improvement to pain tolerance and easily ignore minor to moderate injuries. You also become better at suppressing emotions.

Chainless Disaster (300cp): Should you ever be bound or imprisoned, you can call upon a powerful reserve of strength to break free from all but the most ludicrous restraints.  

Shin Tenpu-Kosai Ryu (100cpD): A style of swordsmanship skilled in fast and decisive blows. It is used with several stances and excellent close-range grabs to catch opponents off-guard. It is ideally performed with a katana.

Weapon- One of Mitsurugi’s Katanas “Muichimonji” (Translated: Nothingness)  (100cp): An unassuming sword with a dark, iron blade with a matching handle and scabbard. It does not possess a crossguard. 

Demon Hunter (200cp): You can sense the presence of evil entities and those that feed on souls. The more powerful a being is, the further you can detect it at.

Fine Clothes (50cp): Though not intended for fighting in, these fine clothes don't restrict movement in a fight - regardless of how they might look. They are particularly well-suited for formal occasions where they're often stylish and exotic. (Simply imagine a variant of Raphael's current attire with a coat and no hat.)

Drawbacks: Malfested (50cp): Gives you frightening raw strength in your dominant arm, but it can only be used to wield weapons. It takes on a monstrous appearance. Most civilized folk will immediately treat you as a monster. You are more susceptible to Soul Edge, but derive more power from its shards.

Equipment from other jumps: Bottle of Rum

            I yelled out as I fell down from the very ceiling of the castle that I had appeared in, my frame falling down into the awaiting arms of surprisingly strong woman who, without missing a beat, just looked down at me with a jolly, sadistic grin that was tinted with purple lipstick. ‘Oh! You’re new! Where’d you come from?’ She asked me while I was trying my best to gather my wits.

            With a glance over her visage, my own features turned as white as her own, my body writhing for a moment before she outright dropped me to the ground and gave me a hard kick to the gut to send me rolling across the stone work. ‘Awww… Little boy’s scared.’ The harlot chortled as she flipped over toward her ring blade that was propped up against a nearby wall. I, personally surprised by my current pain tolerance, reached over to grab the scabbard of the katana that fell down to the ground with me with my left hand before forcing myself up to my feet.

            “Tira… A woman of two mindsets and an angel of death to some… Where am I?” I asked simply, my right hand slowly reaching to grasp the hilt of my blade. That was until I noticed the way that my arm looked… and even she paused once she took notice of it.

            My arm… Wasn’t my own… Not in the traditional sense… It held a mutated, monstrous appearance. The flesh was replaced with an organic metal, an eye appearing on the back of my hand that moved of its own accord, my fingers fused into two and a thumb, replaced with claws as sharp as the ring blade in the jester’s hands. The bones were sturdy, spikes extending out from the elbow and the knuckles like some grotesque gauntlet that replaced my very arm up to the shoulder, the shoulder itself being replaced with a fleshy, spiked epaulet. Needless to say, my sanity took a hit from the sight.

            I shook in place, frantically looking over my arm that was only covered by the mantel that covered my shoulders whenever I lowered it, yet that hardly helped in any manner. All the while, the jester was hopping up and down in place with a cheerful gleam that only brought fear to my heart. ‘New indeed! Are you here to serve that cowardly Nightmare or can you help me knock him down a notch, hmm? Ultimate power through Soul Edge…’

            Those words ringed in my ears for a few moments before I gave a quick shake of my head and clenched my teeth… and channeled my inner edge. “I refuse such a fate… I serve no one and that includes that cursed blade.” I yelled, my right arm vanishing underneath my mantel as my left hand set itself underneath the crossguard, my thumb curled and ready to free the blade just enough to be drawn by my right hand. Granted, I didn’t want to use my corrupted arm, hiding it behind cloth while keeping my katana held half-way behind the left side of my body. This wasn’t a proper stance… It wasn’t one that was meant for actual combat… I was more ready to turn and run than actually fight. I don’t know why… I was staring a woman of death in the eyes and felt no flight response… or fight for that manner… The odd mental discipline and courage that I gained from my last jump made sure that I felt fear, but it had no control over me.

            Tira brought her blade around her body and gave it a small spin around her hips, looking at me with a small pout on her lips. ‘Awwww… No fun… and no different… Many say that, but they all fall. I wonder what your blood looks like…’ She stated the last part with obvious glee and quickly somersaulted to a point within a few feet of me, ring blade seamlessly moving from her hands to her feet and back again without issue. ‘I am sure that it will look heavenly on my hands’.

            Instead of stepping up, I took a step back. I don’t know why… I have killed already. I killed locust… yet, even then, I had a habit of hiding behind cover and running when I could to avoid the conflict. Heck, I ran like a scared chicken with a jar of dirt the last time around. I even had an assault rifle in that jar and still ran. With a long sigh, I started to reach over toward the hilt of my blade with my malfested hand before suddenly turning and bolting off toward the nearest hallway, only to be stopped by a thrown blade that bounced off the wall to my left, my left arm quickly raising up to knock parry the mass of metal, though, when it turned it managed to bash into my and cause me to stumble off to the side. ‘Now, now… No running. That’s not fun.’ The jester woman called out to me as she approached.

            She leaned over and picked up her ring blade as it lazily spun on the ground in the same fashion as a hoolihoop. ‘Why did you run, hmm? Don’t want to have some fun!? I’ll make it painful, if that helps…’ Like that would help anything, it would honestly make it worse. A lot worse.

            I straightened myself up, my right hand reaching over to the hilt of my sword once again. “Because I really don’t want to fight… It’s energizing, it gets the blood pumping, it gives some meaning to your actions by giving you a reason to fight… Even if it’s as simple as just wanting to survive… but… I don’t want to actually harm anyone. Locust are easy… Shooting at something blindly or in the dark when they are doing the same makes it easy. Just pull the trigger and it is out of your hands. That is not the same as cutting them down and killing the locust before they turned into something worse was me doing them a favor!” I stepped back up to the wall behind me, my clawed fingers tightening around the hilt as firmly as possible.

            ‘Locust? Shooting with a trigger? Oh, a crossbow! Quite a good shot, if you can hit a locust... Little hoppers and bringers of famine. Too bad that won’t save you here… Here, let me teach you how sweet it is to kill.’ She stated before she leaped at me, rising into the air with that circular weapon high above her head, threatening to cut me down where I stood in a single stroke, if I did not act…

Second Jump: Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean Jump (Jump 2)

1000cp + 200 from Drawbacks

Starting Location: The Isle De Muerta

Identity: Drop-In (Free) Age 22 (Paid for it.)

Abilities: Curse Like A Sailor (50cpD) Your vocabulary of curse words increases a hundredfold. You can curse a man for days and never repeat yourself. The language you use is inventive, descriptive, and often truly blistering, but it need not even be actual curses; you can speak so eloquently of your hate that you can curse a man by complimenting him.

Swordsman (100cp)You’re an excellent swordfighter. You were born with a cutlass in your hand (Or between your teeth). You can hold off a dozen Royal Marines, and you’re not averse to using dirty tricks to get ahead. While there are swordsmen better than you, you’ve yet to meet one. 

Sharpshooter (100cp) The inherent inaccuracy of unrifled weapons doesn’t affect you. You can hit a pinpoint target with a flintlock pistol from ten feet away, and hitting people on distant ships with a musket shot has more than a chance of success. Further, you’ve got the drill down cold; five shots a minute in any weather, and the roar of cannon no longer deafens you due to long practice.

Cuttlefish Style (100cp) You are a master of that most noble of pirate traditions. You know how to fight... to run away. The instant you create a distraction, you’re 40 feet away and moving fast. You are a master escape artist, and can use distractions in combat to escape even situations that appear inextricable. Any ship or other vehicle you captain also... somehow... has its speed increased when you’re trying to escape a fight.

Courage and Fortitude (200cp) Bravery and honor are your meat and drink. You’ll never quail despite frights that would darken the souls of a lesser man, holding strong to your bonds of brotherhood despite certain death. You do not fear death, you can stand and look it in the eye even as the cannonball flies. Unfortunately, standing fast is not always the best strategy....

Fancy Footwork (200cp) You’re always steady on your feet. Forget balancing on a swaying ship; you can hold your balance while swordfighting on the yardarm of a ship surfing the crest of a tidal wave. While it’s snowing. Also, you’ve good enough with trajectories to swing dramatically anywhere you want on the ropes that are always scattered around a ship.

Inventory: Nice Hat (50cp), Jar of Dirt (100cp), Bottle of Rum (100cp), Nice Sword (100cp)

Drawbacks: Missing Some Bits (100cp), Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner (100cp)

Second Jump: Well… I guess it’s not too- Why am I on THIS island!?

            “There be a few things off in the fucking sea… Uh… Nothing is right with the world, such as the fall of Barbados and… ugh…” Those were the words that escaped my mouth, my lips practically saturated in the rum that brought a subtle burning sensation and kept me from becoming too dehydrated… Though, that would not excuse my inability to not talk to the crab that happened to be sitting on the lid of this odd jar of dirt that I had happened to obtain this time around. The crab was barely larger than the palm of my newly-modified hand with a pale-red shell and a damaged claw.

            That was unimportant, however… What was important was the fact that I was stuck on the Island of the Dead and, from the jar of dirt that I happened to possess, I was probably in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe for whatever possible reason. At least I had my seemingly infinite bottle of rum… and scotch… and whiskey… Really, it didn’t seem to end and could change on a dime. Bad news was, I was apparently missing an eye and couldn’t speak in any comprehensible manner. Even I couldn’t understand what I was saying, but at least the crab didn’t mind.
            That was until the crab suddenly hopped off of the lid of my bottomless jar of dirt and skittered off into the water, the footfalls of what could only be pirates hitting the sand and their voices echoing off the rocks. Knowing that, well… As a small island that might be swallowed up at any given moment, I simply stood up off of the rock that I had been sitting on and picked up my jar of dirt. With my jar in one hand, my bottle of rum in the other, and my sword stowed away in said jar of dirt, I simply waited for them to approach.
            When they finally arrived, they all drew their swords as a man stood up… A man with a monkey on his shoulder. I tipped my hat to him with a grin. “Barbossa, the dead man who does not know Davy Jones’ locker.” I said him as best as I could to show that I knew who he was. All I got in return was a screech from his monkey and him yelling for them to kill me.

            Thinking quickly, I suddenly pointed out in the distance and called out “Fuckin’ Jack Sparrow’s got da’ last piece! He’s over by the swells of the waves!” to get their attention and, even though they looked away for only a second, I was already gone and a good forty feet away from them with my fine hat floating down to the sand where I previously stood before they realized I had lied to them. Can’t even believe they fell for my gibberish.

            I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, my feet kicking up sand and water with each movement as I tried to outpace those sea dogs who were now chasing me down. Luckily, for some odd reason, (Because of the GoW jump) there were random boulders that I leaped over every now and then to avoid gunfire.
            Eventually, I would come upon a random boat that they had left behind and, without thinking about it, I grabbed the boat and pushed it into the water. As they ran up, I leaped inside and, with a resounding tone of cheer and pride in my voice, I held up my jar of dirt and yelled out “I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt!” as a distraction, giving me just enough time to drift far enough away in my boat to avoid those that pursued me. They had a rather shocked look on their face, almost as if they had saw that exact action before by someone else… Similar to PTSD… Oh, wait… Sparrow did the exact same thing a while back or a bit later. Either way, it did not matter.
            After that, my little adventure only got, well… Worse… Honestly, that is about it. I ended up stranded on an island and had to live there for a good nine and a half years before my jump had ended and, all the while that I was there, that dang crab from before followed me around… Well, at least I got my bottle of rum and a jar of dirt.